Month: June 2018

Monthly Motif: June Update

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It’s time for another Monthly Motif reading challenge update! In June, the theme was crack the case, so it was all about mysteries! I don’t read a lot of mysteries, but with the help of some of my favorite bloggers, I came up with a couple choices! ❤ I ended up really enjoying both books, so I think this whole mystery thing might be here to stay.

Books read:

Books not read:

  • People Like Us by Dana Mele, which I might still read in the next couple days if my library hold ever comes in!
  • Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, which was recommended by spinesthatshine. I didn’t get to it this month, but I put it on my library wishlist!
  • The Dry by Jane Harper, which was recommended by miscellanypages. I also didn’t get to it this month but it’s also on my library wishlist!

July’s theme is vacation reads, which works out pretty nicely since I’m headed back home to Wisconsin for a few days, so I guess I’ll be sharing the books that I read on the plane! I’m also headed to Virginia for a bit at the end of July, so I might as well share the books I read there, too. (It’s a long drive, so maybe an audiobook will do the trick.)

Previously: January | February | March | April | May

Are you participating in the Monthly Motif reading challenge? If so, what did you read for this month’s prompt? Do you have any favorite mysteries that I should check out? Or, looking forward, do you have any recommendations for what I should read in July?

Blog tour (+ playlist!): Seaside Sweets by Melissa Chambers

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Seaside Sweets by Melissa Chambers
Series: Love Along Hwy 30A #1
Links: Goodreads ♥ Amazon
Publication Date: June 19, 2018

After her ex runs up her credit card, clears her bank account, and gets her fired, Seanna Perry makes her escape to the quaint beach town of Seaside, Florida. The houses are pastel, the ocean air heaven, and the men hot as the Gulf Coast sun…one in particular. But while paying the price, literally, for the last man she trusted with her heart, she’s not interested in any sort of beach romance, or so she keeps reminding herself.

Living in the idyllic coastal paradise of the 30A area hasn’t eased Blake Evans’ guilt over what went down three years ago. He can’t stop blaming himself, and certainly none of his wonderful friends can ever find out what happened. Blake’s done a good job of keeping romantic feelings toward any women at bay, and he needs to keep it that way. But when Seanna begins to show him how to live again, he finds himself struggling to keep his guard up.

Seaside Sweets is book one in the Love Along Highway 30A series, which features beautiful beach communities, a circle of unique and amazing friends, and romances that will have you cheering on the couples and fanning yourself from the heat. All books are standalone and can be enjoyed in or out of order.

Excerpt:

An M83 song came over the speakers, electronic dance music’s answer to the slow dance. She tilted her head to the side, lifting an eyebrow. “After that Chicken Dance, you got this one in the bag.”

He huffed a laugh, trying to hold back his grin, but not doing a good job of it. She hadn’t seen him smile this much the whole time she knew him. He pulled her to him, resting his hands on her hips. She eased her hands up to his shoulders, her stomach alive with a nervous flutter. She had always been fairly confident around men. It had been the rare bird who could put her insides into a tizzy. But there was something about Blake’s quiet cool, the fact that he seemed to listen when she talked and actually care about what she said. He wasn’t one of those straight guys where she felt she had a good thirty seconds then needed to wrap it up.

But more than anything, it was the way he looked at her—his blue eyes boring into hers like he knew her…like he was curious about her. And she wanted to know more about him—anything he’d be willing to share. He lifted his chin, seeming ten feet tall so close to her, sending her heartbeat up a step. She looked away, breaking under his gaze.

She leaned into his chest, as he pulled her there. She wasn’t sure who had made the move—maybe both of them at the same time. She breathed in the scent of his skin and lifted her chin to get a good whiff of his neck. The subtlest hint of his body wash lingered, causing her to close her eyes and drink him in.

Her hands wanted to wander down Blake’s back toward his ass—his perfectly proportioned, round ass. Tonight, it was covered by his blazer, but Halloween costume material was thin and cheap. If she could get her hands down there tonight, she could get a good squeeze in. He pulled back from her. “What are you smiling
about?”

I shared my review of Seaside Sweets a couple days ago, but now I’m so excited to share something else with you! It’s no secret that I’m a huge music fan, so I was thrilled when Melissa Chambers offered to create an exclusive playlist inspired by her book! I hope you like it as much as I do.

It’s summertime!

I’m a summer fanatic. It’s probably why most books I write take place at the beach! There’s nothing better than relaxing in a chair with your feet dug in the sand and a
sweet, summer tunes flowing through your earbuds.

So in celebration of summer, and of the release of Seaside Sweets, here’s an exclusive playlist for Sara’s followers!

Go get your summer on! And pick up a copy of Seaside Sweets for your beach bag
while you’re at it! 🙂

Melissa Chambers writes contemporary novels for young, new, and actual adults. A Nashville native, she spends her days working in the music industry and her nights tapping away at her keyboard. While she’s slightly obsessed with alt rock, she leaves the guitar playing to her husband and kid. She never misses a chance to play a tennis match, listen to an audiobook, or eat a bowl of ice cream. (Rocky road, please!) She serves as president for the Music City Romance Writers and is the author of The Summer Before Forever and Falling for Forever (Entangled Teen).

Website ♥ Facebook ♥ Twitter ♥ Instagram ♥ Goodreads

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway here!

 

Tags: Book Personality Challenge + Mid-Year Freak Out

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I wasn’t tagged to do the Book Personality Challenge, but I saw that Gerry did it and it looked like a lot of fun, so I just went right ahead and stole it.

What is your MBTI personality type?
I’m a turbulent ISFJ! Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging – “The Defender.” The turbulence basically means that I’m a “self-conscious perfectionist” and I don’t know if that could possibly be more accurate if it tried.

I’m going to copy Gerry here for a second and annotate my personality description.

(My manager and my boss didn’t come in on Thursday, so this is what I did at work. Whoops. I also had my work bestie take the test to find out her MBTI type and we’re the same!)
If you were a character in a book, what would be some of your character strengths and flaws?
I’m not a character in a book, but I’m pretty sure all of these are 100% correct and that’s a little bit creepy.
Strengths:
  • supportive
  • reliable and patient
  • imaginative and observant
  • enthusiastic
  • loyal and hard-working
  • good practical skills

Flaws:

  • humble and shy
  • take things too personally
  • repress their feelings
  • overload themselves
  • reluctant to change
  • too altruistic

Do any authors share your personality type?
Nope! But here are some celebrities who do.

What fictional characters share your personality type?

If you were a character in a book, what job would you have?
Apparently I’m on the right track since ISFJs tend to do well in the medical field! If I were a book character, I might also be a teacher, a social worker, or a volunteer at a shelter, food bank, or school.

What personality type would complete your OTP?
According to personalityrelationships.net, I am best paired off with an ESFP or ESTP.

Who are some fictional characters that would complete your OTP?

ESFP:


ESTP:

I can’t say that I’m really too excited about any of these choices!

I wasn’t actually tagged to do this one, so I’m not going to turn around and tag anybody either. That said, please link back to me if you decide to do this tag! I’d love to see your answers.

I’ve seen a million and one people do the Mid-Year Freak Out Book Tag and I was so happy to actually be tagged by Bibi to do it! I really enjoy freaking out about books, so here it goes…

1. Best book you’ve read this year?
I’m going to say it’s a toss-up between The Kiss Quotient and Love and Other Words. I also really loved Starry Eyes and Alex, Approximately. And if I’m expanding to four, I should probably just really go for it and also include Little Fires Everywhere and the entire Raven Cycle.

2. Best sequel you’ve read in 2018?
Definitely The Dream Thieves!

3. New release you haven’t read yet but want to?
Well, everybody in the world is talking about how amazing Circe is and I’m pretty mad at myself for not choosing it as my Book of the Month. Also, literally every book that’s sitting unread in my bedroom.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?
All of them? But really, What If It’s Us, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, Vengeful, City of Ghosts, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, My Plain Jane… I could go on…

5. Biggest disappointment?
Easily Distrust. Other one-star books include Torn Hearts, Axl, and Before I Knew.

6. Biggest surprise?
Maybe The Brightsiders? I was kind of indifferent to Queens of Geek but I ended up absolutely adoring The Brightsiders. I was also really surprised at how much I enjoyed Bro Code!

7. Favorite new-to-you or debut author?
Hands down, the best debut I’ve read this year has been The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. Other debuts I also really liked were Love Scene, Take Two by Alex Evansley, A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole, and Frat Girl by Kiley Roache. For new-to-me authors, Jenn Bennett, Shaun David Hutchinson, and Maggie Stiefvater.

8. Newest fictional crush?
Michael Phan from The Kiss Quotient!

9. Newest favorite character?
Every single Raven boy.

10. Book that made you cry?
Have I actually cried over a book this year? I guess I teared up a little bit while reading Head Over Heels by Serena Bell? Oh, I think Love and Other Words also made me cry.

11. Book that made you happy?
Wallbanger was so funny!

12. Favorite book-to-film adaptation?
The only adaptation I’ve seen this year is Love, Simon but I really liked it!

13. Favorite post you have done this year?
I really enjoyed coming up with my summer TBR (I think I’ll do one for all the seasons now). I also liked my post about BookCon since it sparked a lot of discussion.

14. Most beautiful book you’ve bought this year?
Probably Wild Beauty, but I haven’t read it yet!

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
Please reference my sixteen mile-long TBR.

I think at this point, everyone that wants to do this one has probably done it. But if you haven’t, please consider yourself tagged and link back to this post so I can see your answers!

Book review: The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

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The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
Series: All for the Game #1
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Links: Amazon • Goodreads
Publication Date: January 15, 2013
Source: Purchased

Neil Josten is the newest addition to the Palmetto State University Exy team. He’s short, he’s fast, he’s got a ton of potential—and he’s the runaway son of the murderous crime lord known as The Butcher.

Signing a contract with the PSU Foxes is the last thing a guy like Neil should do. The team is high profile and he doesn’t need sports crews broadcasting pictures of his face around the nation. His lies will hold up only so long under this kind of scrutiny and the truth will get him killed.

But Neil’s not the only one with secrets on the team. One of Neil’s new teammates is a friend from his old life, and Neil can’t walk away from him a second time. Neil has survived the last eight years by running. Maybe he’s finally found someone and something worth fighting for.

Do you belong to any Facebook groups for your favorite authors? I do, but only two: Krista & Becca Ritchie’s Fizzle Force and Sally Thorne’s Flamethrowers. Both groups post a ton of book recommendations and it’s generally terrible for my TBR. There was one day, several months ago, when it seemed like the entire group was talking about how much they loved this series. I figured I didn’t have much to lose by one-clicking the first book. Of course, I didn’t pick it up until four months later, but it’s the thought that counts.

I actually wasn’t even planning to read this book this month. I just wasn’t feeling my predetermined #killingthetbr books and I was really sick of all of them turning out to be awful, so I tried to pick one that I thought I’d enjoy. I was wrong. I’m really bad at this book-choosing thing lately. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Also, it’s Pride Month, so I thought it might be fitting. It really wasn’t. I don’t know why this is tagged as an LGBT romance on Goodreads. It’s not. It’s just a bunch of crazy kids beating each other up.

I just… didn’t like this book. Apparently the series gets better as it goes on, but I’m just not feeling it and I have no desire to keep going. I’m not sure why everything’s so violent and I keep hearing all this stuff about how cute Neil and Andrew are but they just keep fighting? (More accurately, Andrew keeps punching people for no good reason.) The book is about a made-up sport (Exy) that doesn’t even make any sense. It’s weird and it’s so boring.

This isn’t how college works.
This isn’t how sports work.
This isn’t how drugs work.
This isn’t how teamwork works.

Literally the only positive thing I can say about this book is that it made me want to adopt Neil. He deserves better than his current life. The only reason I’m giving this two stars instead of one is because it’s marginally better than the last few single-star books I’ve read.

PS: I love this review over on Goodreads.

#killingthetbr: four months on shelf

TBR goals: Summer 2018

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You know, back in the day, I used to get all my reading done over the summer. Summer vacation was a time to catch up on books, marathon an entire series (or several), and head over to my BFF’s house (or meet her at the ice cream shop — I am from Wisconsin, after all) to talk about our latest book obsessions. Now that I’m a Certified Adult, my summers are crazy! I’m expected to actually go places and do things and be sociable and still have a full-time job? I’m not sure if I’ll be able to cross all of these books off my TBR by the end of the summer, but I’m sure going to try.
  • Are you sick of me hyping up To Be Honest yet? I haven’t even read it and I can’t stop talking about it!
  • My boyfriend grabbed How to Breathe Underwater for me at BookCon and although it wasn’t on my radar before, I’m really excited to read it now!
  • I am beyond excited to read Running With Lions. Not only did Becky Albertalli recommend it as a good fluffy romance, but Julian Winters could not have possibly been nicer when I met him at BookCon.
  • I’m not really sure why I did this to myself, but I requested Salvation on Netgalley and was actually approved. I really love Peter F. Hamilton and I think he’s a fantastic writer, but this book is huge and it’s just going to make me want to read more of his stuff.
  • I had planned to read Bring Me Their Hearts a couple weeks ago, but it never happened. Maybe if I add it to this list, I can shame myself into finally picking it up.
  • I also thought I would’ve read Kingdom of Ash and Soot by now, but I didn’t! Hopefully this weekend.
  • The Astonishing Color of After has been on my nightstand for months and I need to find the time to read it!
  • Same with The Queen’s Rising! Why haven’t I picked this one up yet? I think I’ve had it since February!
  • The Book of Essie isn’t the kind of book that I typically read, but it sounds amazing and it’s been getting such great reviews! It’s my June Book of the Month and maybe I’ll actually read it within a reasonable timeframe.
  • Ink, Iron, and Glass was my Uppercase book from March (I think?) and I’m just not that excited about it! It has mediocre reviews and steampunk isn’t really my thing, but I’m ready for it to be off my TBR! (And hopefully I’ll end up liking it.)
  • Why did I preorder Leah on the Offbeat if it was just going to sit on my nightstand, unread, for several months? Valid question. Please let me know if you figure out the answer.
  • I won Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit in a giveaway earlier this year and I still haven’t taken the time to read it! Why am I the worst?!
  • My first experience with Jay Kristoff is going to be a buddy read of Nevernight with Leslie! We’re starting this one pretty soon and I’m super excited about it!
  • I’m also planning a buddy read of The Catcher in the Rye with Daniel! I last read this book in high school so I’m really curious about how different my opinions will be now.
  • I might as well throw a Pulitzer winner on my summer TBR, right? Why not Less?
  • I always have to be reading some type of non-fiction, so this summer I’m hoping to read When by Daniel H. Pink. Please enlighten me on how to be more productive and when to appropriately change careers.
  • It seems like overall, Educated is getting pretty great reviews! This book sounds super interesting and I can’t wait for my library hold to finally come in.
  • Let’s just end things on a pretty dire note with Fascism: A Warning. I actually really enjoyed How Democracies Die, so I’m sure I’ll find this one really interesting (and timely) also.

What are you planning to read this summer?
Have you read any of the books on my list?
Let me know in the comments!