A predictable ending but that didn‘t make it any less delightful. I want to live in this world.

An interesting read, but extremely dry in some parts; it was a bit of a slog.

Utterly delightful thus far. I want to keep reading but I also don‘t for fear it will be over too soon 🥲

That pain is in my bones, in my blood.

I'm not saying I can read ten books in three days, but I'm not saying I can't either. #goodreads #readingchallenge

When you avoid solitude, you miss out on the positive things it brings you: the ability to clarify hard problems, to regulate your emotions, to build moral courage, and to strengthen relationships. If you suffer from chronic solitude deprivation, therefore, the quality of your life degrades.

Cal Newport: The urge to check Twitter or refresh Reddit becomes a nervous twitch that shatters uninterrupted time into shards too small to support the presence necessary for an intentional life.
Me: 🤔…😱…🤯…
Also me: Gotta post this on Litsy

This book is beautifully written and the story so delicately crafted. This speaks to my everything.

Only 40% through, and still some of the best-written smut I have read in a very long time.

Reverse harem meets The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Maximum spice 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

Out of all of these arse hats, Ezra‘s probably my favourite; he‘s the only one who appears to be up front with Esther. Mind you, I‘m only about 40% through the book so who knows how this will pan out? 🤷‍♀️

Mack‘s not a mystical person by any means, but she‘s going to win. It feels inevitable. It‘s not a triumphant feeling, though. It‘s heavy and monstrous. Familiar.

In a time when social media is encouraging over-consumerism while simultaneously furthering disconnection, this book's message is something that I think would resonate with a lot of readers.

The fire is so hot on Mack‘s face, her back is cold. She can feel the night there, all the darkness pausing, leaning in to listen like everyone around the fire. This isn‘t real. None of it is real.

Despite a few cringe moments, I actually really enjoyed this. It had a decent amount of adventure, romance, and spice. It does drag in some spots but just think sexy pirates and you‘ll keep going! All in all, not bad.

That sunset must be shredded 💪🌅
Zach came to stand beside her, his shirttail whipping against his lean stomach, his gaze fixed on the twilight blue horizon. She had kissed him there, explored each rib and hollow, run her tongue around his navel before he pulled her atop him.

We get it, you‘re a tits man. But please don‘t mix metaphors: cake, sunsets, acorns it‘s all just too much cringe. “Though her nipples were the icing on his fantasy cake. They were the color of a pink sunset the day after a furious storm, and looked to be hard as an acorn right now. He reached to palm one, then the other until she squirmed and quivered, lifting her hand to cover his. He loved nipples better than anything on a woman, hands down.”

47%: “A rush of pleasure made her scalp prickle”

Is this a thing 🤷‍♀️

This “Sexy” version of Sleeping Beauty is supposed to reveal the unspoken implications of the original fairy tale, which is a pretty interesting concept. I just found the prince to be sleazy; I imagined him with greasy hair and back acne.

DNF. I could not get behind this writing style. I felt like the pacing was off and there wasn‘t enough in the plot to keep pushing me forward.

TikTok made me do it 🤦‍♀️

Flexibility without structure is chaos

A great anthology of articles for creatives. Some resonated with me more than others, but there were elements of each that I could relate to in some way.

I also appreciated the almost analytical approach that some of the authors took when explaining their creative routine; a "first pants, then shoes" type of structure .

Harkness's writing style has a simple elegance to it. I can only imagine the level of research that went into writing this story. It's refreshing to see a novel of this genre and subject matter finally treated with a certain level of genuinity.

Drethi Anis' debut novel is a bit rough around the edges but is teeming with potential; this author is one to watch

This reads like a high school kid‘s creative writing project.

A transcript of a conversation between Oprah and her therapist.

DNF @ 86%. A friend gave me this to read so I tried to read most of it. In the end, I just found myself not caring about any of the characters or the plot.

This wasn‘t necessarily a bad book, it simply didn‘t bring anything new to the table. Additionally, the tips at the end of each chapter are summaries, so one may choose to forgo the 85% of the book by reading said summaries.

It just didn‘t gel with me. Maybe it will gel with you? *shrug”

What a delight.

DNF @ 35%

I was pitched this book as an adult fantasy horror. It‘s not. It‘s a young adult fantasy thriller. It took me a while to get into the author‘s writing style but when I did, I realised that I didn‘t really care about the plot. I don‘t think it‘s a bad book; I‘m just obviously not the target audience for this one.

Wow. Just wow.

DNF @ 60%. There‘s something about theologians that just make me uncomfortable

So begins my obsession with Colleen Hoover

How can he write without (his pen)? He doesn‘t manage to write anything with it, either, but he‘ll be convinced it‘s the lack of pen holding him back.

She often wonders which is more anonymous; a big city with so many people to notice that no one notices anyone, or the empty countryside where no one lives.

It‘s been a hot minute since I‘ve read a romance novel with this level of quality writing. I did feel that the romantic tension did somewhat wain which I put down to dialogue; straight off the bat the two main characters are openly flirting with one another. After a few scenes of this dynamic you‘re just left kind of wishing they‘d get on with it. Still worth the read and Hunting‘s writing style has helped restored my faith in the genre.

Holy sh*t f**k. This is amazing!

Why have one romance troupe, when you can have them all?
Also, everyone seems really well-adjusted have just survived a plane crash.

Ok, so it‘s Brendan Fraser‘s “The Mummy” but Greek ❤️

When you recognise the voice of the narrator...

Academics: Gaskell's North and South is a social novel which focuses on the differences between the gentry and agricultural workers.

Me: Nah, Yeah, Nah.

*Brain implodes* ❤️

The heroine gave her sexual satisfaction greater priority than the lives of her crew.

The author's positivity about the female body radiates off the page...

She is therefore unqualified to write this book.

I imagine that this is what the assignment was like from that one guy who took "creative writing" at college.

“Is it true you only have one testicle?“ someone shouts.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookowl

It is with good reason that this is a Canadian classic. It's beautifully written and poignant. Just one question: why a bear?

Fifty Shades of Groundhog Day, but will do in a pinch if you're stuck at the airport.