It‘s no secret that I‘m a huge fan of romance. So I‘m very excited that @StayCurious is putting together a Litsy book club for romance readers! 💖

If you‘re interested, visit her post for a quick questionnaire on what you‘d like. And join us in reading all the kissing books!! 😘

I saw this on my library‘s new books shelf and immediately picked it up after seeing so much love for it on Litsy previously. All the hype is well deserved! 💖💖💖💖💖

I loved the modernization of the characters & the way the author brought them to life. The art style is beautiful and I love the way each character is drawn in a specific color to fit their personality. Beautifully done, fascinating story and I cannot wait to read future volumes.

Here‘s my May #bookspinbingo recap.

I was completely sucked into Ruby Dixon‘s Ice Planet Barbarians series on KU, forsaking most of my original reading plans for the month, but giving me lots of bingos. This series is just so much fun and I finished most books in a day or two.

Finished my #bookspin which was the tagged book and my favorite of the series so far. 💖🧀🏒 The whole “cheese man” part cracked me up and I love the Russian!!

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I don‘t think I posted this earlier so here are my #roll100 choices for June. With so many TBR books on my shelves I doubled up listing 2 choices for each number.

15. Lilac Girls OR The Wicked King
56. Raven Queen OR Gideon the Ninth
62. Chilling Effect OR Gone Girl

No idea which choices I‘ll make this month yet as these are all quite different and I‘m unsure of what I‘ll be in the mood for. Historical? Fantasy? Sci-fi? 🤷‍♀️Maybe not Gone Girl.

Here‘s my June #bookspin list

Lots of room for mood reading this time with library, kindle unlimited and romance titles, as well as books that fill the #nsr22 categories I have remaining @Nessavamusic and my Hollows series reread.

Also included the #pemberlitten reads which I‘m hopelessly behind on but am hoping to catch up.

#roll100 books for this month plus an #authoramonth title
And National Velvet for the #childrensclassicread2022

Here‘s my #bookspin list for May🌷

#roll100 has been fun way to keep reading books off my shelves so my goal is to read all 3 each month.

One spot each for #lmpbc and #authoramonth

All 3 #pemberlittens reads. I‘m going to start out following along with chapter a day schedule, but might shift to reading straight through if it‘s as hard to keep up with as last time.

Added spots for #nsr22 reads, hollows series and categories for mood reads.

Final April #bookspinbingo board! One bingo including North and South which I bailed on and never really felt like picking back up.

Favorites this month are 5⭐️ reads
The Heart‘s Invisible Furies #authoramonth
Never Let Me Go #lmpbc
Don‘t Hex and Drive #roll100
Maus I, which the kiddo and I both loved.

Since my last post, finished the third #roll100 book Valley of Horses, another hollows series reread The Undead Pool & Barbarian Alien on KU.

#roll100 choices! 🎉With so many TBR books on my shelves I doubled up listing 2 choices for each number.

54. A Feast of Roses OR The Graveyard Book. Very different books! Will probably depend on my mood.

85. A Place Called Perfect : the remaining choice as I read Bunny when it was rolled this month.

96. Glaciers OR The Scapegracers. Again very different selections. Leaning towards Glaciers as it‘s a slim book that‘s been on my shelf for years.

Update on my April reading. May post reviews on some of these later.

#bookspin : Ramon & Julieta 3⭐️
#doublespin : tagged, Hollows book 11 5⭐️

Two April #roll100 titles : Bunny 4⭐️
Don‘t Hex & Drive 5⭐️
One #roll100 from March : From Twinkle with Love 4⭐️

#lmpbc : Never Let Me Go 5⭐️

#authoramonth : The Heart‘s Invisible Furies 5⭐️

#pemberlittens : The Other Bennet Sister 4⭐️
bailed on North & South

Free space : Ice Planet Barbarians 4⭐️

This was a sweet epistolary YA romance told through Twinkle‘s diary entries written as letters to her favorite female filmmakers, along with a few blog posts and texts with Sahil‘s perspective. I appreciated how encouraging and supportive Sahil was. Even when Twinkle was making bad choices, it felt authentic to a sixteen year old girl trying to navigate her feelings. 💖

This was a #roll100 pick for March I didn‘t get to earlier. @PuddleJumper

After driving home in snowy weather, it was a delight to open this spring filled #speculativespringswap box! @Pigpen_Reads sent such an amazing package! 📚6 books I‘m very excited to read from my TBR. Book sleeves, bookmark & tea bag holders, tote and a fabric basket filled with candy, all in such lovely spring fabrics! 🌸 Handmade soaps which I love — the whole box smelled delightfully like lavender when I opened it. ⬇️

This series is so fun! I love the Savoie sisters, their various personalities & interests.

Book 2 focuses on Isadora who we didn‘t see much in the first book. I loved her! She‘s quiet & shy, preferring to spend time in her greenhouse or with animals at the local shelter. Devraj, a vampire with special talents of his own & a former Bollywood star, brings out her fire & spirit. Sparks fly while they save human girls being kidnapped by vampires.

And here is April‘s #bookspinbingo board.

#bookspin is a title from my #readromancerepeat subscription box. I have a few on deck I haven‘t gotten to yet that I‘m very much looking forward to.

#doublespin is the next book in my Hollows series reread which will be Ever After.

Fitting picks as these are both things I‘d pick up for mood reading to treat myself, perfect for my birthday month!

March #bookspinbingo🍀Spent the first half of the month with the newest Outlander which was a #roll100 pick.

Favorite was Fault Lines for #lmpbc by far!
Also finished China Girls for #authoramonth and Into the Woods for my Hollows series reread.

#bookspin and #doublespin were both middle grade books off my shelves & I managed to squeeze in the two pictured. Ella Enchanted was cute. New Kid was fantastic & great reading for middle schoolers.
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My #speculativespringswap #sss box arrived today!

I think this is from @Pigpen_Reads 🌸 The box was in some melting snow and dripping water for a bit before I realized it had been delivered. Hopefully nothing inside is ruined. Are things wrapped inside? If so, I would open it to make sure nothing is too damp & can dry it out quickly if need be, but I don‘t want to ruin the surprise if they are not wrapped.

My #speculativespringswap package went out today @Avanders ✨ It should arrive on Saturday.

We had a snowstorm yesterday so it does not feel like spring outside yet… but hopefully it will be here soon. 🥶🌸🌷❄️ I of course forget to take a picture of the box so instead you get a picture of my front porch waiting for spring to arrive.

Finished this one for #authoramonth earlier this week. I‘m giving it a low pick because I cared just enough to find out what happened. However, it‘s my least favorite of See‘s books so far.

Ruby, Grace and Helen are thrown together at their audition to be dancers at the Forbidden City. We follow their careers through the book as they are friends, enemies and generally make bad choices informed by past hardships they‘ve endured. ⬇️

I absolutely LOVED this book. It‘s honest and real, but also snarky and engrossing. I don‘t want to say much more since this is an #lmpbc read. But I will say it‘s going on my best of the year list.

@MaleficentBookDragon I will hopefully have this sent off to you tomorrow.

@Kayla.Adriena @phantomx

Here‘s my April #bookspin list.

Spots for #roll100 #authoramonth #lmpbc and #pemberlittens reads. Filled in the rest with categories, a few titles and the continuation of my reread of the Hollows series. March has not been a great reading month so I‘m hoping April will be better.

#roll100 choices! 🎉With so many TBR books on my shelves I doubled up listing two choices for each number.

49. The Valley of Horses — I read the other choice in January.

85. A Place Called Perfect OR Bunny — no idea yet which one I‘ll choose. Anyone have a recommendation?

100. Wolf Gone Wild — already read so I‘m substituting book 2: Don‘t Hex & Drive. 2nd choice is a Naomi Novik title which I want to save for August‘s #authoramonth

I‘ve been reading the Hollows stories in this anthology in order between the novels in the series. Now I finished the last few non-Hollows stories which are also wonderful. This is a great collection — I loved this reread and will definitely read it again in the future.

My favorite non-Hollows stories were Pet Shop Boys and Grace, but I enjoyed all of them.

Another book down on my Hollows series reread and #seriesread2022 @TheSpineView

It‘s been a hectic month but I finally finished this monster of a book.

Claire & Jamie are trying to manage the rising tensions on Fraser‘s Ridge & beyond. Brianna & Roger are finding their feet as they adjust to being back. Ian, with Rachel‘s help, is confronting his past. William is struggling to come to terms with his parentage.

This feels like an in between book before we get to the big action we all know is coming, but in a good way. 4⭐️

Here‘s my #bookspinbingo board

The Fates have decided to throw me a curveball this month by selecting both middle grade category spots for my #bookspin and #doublespin … instead of one of the many other reads I‘ve committed to. 🤷‍♀️😂 At least middle grade books are usually fairly quick reads for me.

And with that last review, here‘s my final February #bookspinbingo 🎉 stats

2 bingos!! 🎉. 14 books read including:
Both my #bookspin and #doublespin
Both #roll100 books @PuddleJumper
📚8 off my TBR shelves
💖6 romances for #swoonathon @kimmypete1 @MidnightBookGirl
🙌🏿6 books by black authors for black history month
👆🏾1 by Maya Angelou for #authoramonth @Soubhiville
✨2 for #NSR22 @Nessavamusic
📚6 for #seriesread2022 @TheSpineView

Managed to finish one last book last night before the end of Feb.

This is book 10 in #thehollows series as I continue my reread. This one starts off with Rachel at the DMV. All she wants is her license back & to register her new car, but of course the bureaucracy is not making it easy. I love when Harrison throws these real life situations in while giving us a peek at how the addition of inderlanders both changes things & stays the same ⬇️

An amazing #blitsyswap package from @Endowarrior21 😍 Two fantasy books from my TBR. I cannot get over these gorgeous covers, especially the tagged which I‘ve been eyeing for so long — it‘s even more beautiful in person. Plus a beautiful bookmark, glittery ornaments & sticky page flags. My favorite is the body butter which smells amazing (eucalyptus mint scented) and is perfect for me. Thank you Jessi for such thoughtful gifts! #bhms

Finished this yesterday. I‘m still thinking about it! Adunni‘s thirst for knowledge & passion for helping others makes her a wonderful character. She goes through so much, but comes out with her passion, strength & kindness intact. This is one of those books that has been languishing on my shelf for much too long. I wish I had read it earlier. Definitely check content warnings before reading for triggers.

My second #roll100 book for February.

Had a lot of fun hanging out and coloring with my fellow #litsycrafters this afternoon! Thanks for the great conversation. 💖

Here‘s my finished picture.

If you have read The Hollows series (to book 9: Pale Demon) this is a fantastic accompaniment. I loved the way Harrison took the idea of a world book featuring content from & supporting the series, then turned that into its own story. ✨This follows reporter Devin Crossman as he investigates Rachel & her escapades in the previous books, with all the information and facts he‘s compiled. I was just as engrossed as I am with a regular Hollows novel!

My March #bookspin list.

I may have overcommitted myself on buddy reads this month, but they are all titles I have really been wanting to read so we‘ll see how this goes. Filled in with some other categories for mood reading.

Since the tagged book is very long, I gave it two spots. Plus it‘s also one of my #roll100 choices so if I manage to finish it in March, it will count towards three #bookspinbingo spaces.

#roll100 choices! Since I had so many TBR books on my shelves I doubled up giving me two choices for each number. I can choose the one that most appeals to me, or read all four if time allows.

Roll 1: From Twinkle with Love / Truthwitch
Roll 2: The Love Interest / Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

I‘m going for the new Outlander, but it‘s very long so we‘ll see. Then I‘ll probably pick From Twinkle with Love as I know it will be short & sweet.

Last review for today.

I LOVED this f/f regency romance! Tommy is delightful, the Wynchesters are all a lot of fun, and Philippa is the bookish wallflower bluestocking kind of character I immediately love. I throughly enjoyed the way Ridley wrote these two women and their journey to each other. This is my first book by Ridley, but it will not be the last and I‘m going to go back and read the first book in this series plus the two novellas soon.

Also finished this title for #authoramonth

I listened to part of this on audio read by the author and read the rest as an ebook, both formats borrowed from the library via Libby. I‘m glad I finally read this and Angelou is a gifted writer. I enjoyed it, but I think I still like her “Mom & Me & Mom” a bit better which I read a few years ago. Some of that may simply be timing and/or format as I read that in hardcover, my preferred format.

A fun middle grade read along the lines of Rick Riordan‘s books. However, this is not perfect and I do think Riodan‘s work is better. For a kid who has exhausted his work and is looking for something else, this would be be perfect.

What I liked: it‘s fast paced with plenty of action. The MCs are fun to follow and I like their friendship based on accepting each other for who they are and for the things others tease them about.

Continued: ⬇️

Catching up on a few reviews. First up is this delightful paranormal romance. I loved Mateo and Evie together. Alpha added another layer of both humor and depth to Mateo‘s character. The Savoie sisters and their various powers were a lot of fun. I‘ll definitely be continuing this series. If you like witches, werewolves and romance, you‘ll probably like this.

Many thanks again to @LeslieO for gifting me this book in the #hauntedhollowswap ❤️✨

This one has been on my to-read list for awhile. I‘m so glad @JackOBotts had it on the #nywd22 #newyearwhodis list prompting me to finally pick it up.

All the praise for this one is well deserved. Some of this I knew, some of it was new to me and all of it was written with passion and humor. I will likely be purchasing a copy for my own shelves and I‘ve told my son he should read this as well.

Thank you @Johanna414 for this lovely #swoonathon swap package!!

Two books off my TBR which I‘m excited to read… both recommended by Johanna! 💖 I love Lindt truffles so those are perfect plus a caramel heart that looks delicious and a sweet card. Everything is just perfect!

Happy Valentines Day to all my Litsy friends! Know that you are loved 💖🥰✨

These are the ones I have at the top of my TBR right now. I think I‘m leaning towards the tagged since it comes highly recommended by one of my favorite authors. OR Before the Coffee Gets Cold but I believe @MaleficentBookDragon read that one already.

What do you all think? @Kayla.Adriena @phantomx

Received my #bhms #blitsyswap from the wonderful @Endowarrior21 today! Can‘t wait to open it.

Also sent out my box to a lucky recipient today. Forgot to take a photo so instead I‘ve included a picture of the well read black woman sticker I included on the outside of the box made by kLigg on Etsy.

Tagged is one of my current reads which I‘m loving so far.

Finished Girls before Earls today! Hazel is a delightful, bookish heroine trying to build a successful school for girls. Blade enrolls his niece, Kitty, who has lost her parents & is sent to live with her uncle. Hazel agrees to take Kitty in if Blade comes to visit here every fortnight. I loved how she has the girls best interests at heart. This is very steamy while also being a heartwarming book about love, support and finding family. 💖💖💖💖💖

Starting #swoonathon off with these two books from my January #readromancerepeat box. I devoured both of these over the last 4 days!

The Love Con is a fun contemporary friends to lovers story with a fake relationship. Kendra & Cameron have a ton of chemistry, along with a lot of respect and support for one another. The author handles the tension and challenges these characters face in an incredibly positive way I found refreshing. ⬇️

@JackOBotts I‘m so glad you had this on your #nywd22 list! This is a book I‘ve wanted to read, but also felt very intimidated by because of the hard subject matter and content warnings.

Yes, everything that happened to these boys is heartbreaking, but Whitehead handles in the most brilliant way. Allowing the reader to feel for the boys without wallowing in the sadness. To be in the story but not be so weighed down by it like others I‘ve read… ⬇️

My February #bookspinbingo board is all set!

#bookspin is a book from my #readromancerepeat box which will probably be the tagged choice as I‘m most excited to read that one.

#doublespin is a Fantasy book from my shelves — I have lots to choose from so we‘ll see what speaks to me.

January recap:
No #bookspinbingo but I did finish both my #bookspin & #doublespin
Also finished both #roll100 choices

I decided to use the space at the bottom to start tracking progress on #tbr books owned, challenges & categories so I can look back to see how each month progresses.

3 books off #tbrshelf (The Starless Sea, A Million Junes, Severance)
+ 2 rereads (Unexpected Gifts ebook, Pale Demon)
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#swoonathonswap package update!

Mine on the top arrived from @Johanna414 today 💖

The box on the bottom is going out priority mail to a lucky someone first thing tomorrow morning. 💖

@kimmypete1 @MidnightBookGirl

I took a break from my Hollows reread over the holidays. Picked up book 9 because I wasn‘t quite ready to start on February reads yet and figured I wouldn‘t finish another title before the 1st.

I couldn‘t put this down! I forgot so much. I forgot how fast paced this one is. I forgot the joys of putting Rachel, Ivy & Jenks in a car with Trent to drive across the country. So much tension! I forgot how much character growth happens in this one… ⬇️

#roll100 choices

Since I had so many TBR books on my shelves I doubled up my list giving me two choices for each number. I can choose the one that most appeals to me, or I can read all four if time allows.

Roll 1: Secrets of Valhalla or Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
Roll 2: The Girl with the Louding Voice or Red Sister

1st choice leaning towards the tagged book. Not sure yet on the 2nd choice. Anyone want to vote for which title I should read?

Finally had the chance to sit down and paint a little this afternoon. I painted these notecards following the Galaxy Hair tutorial by Let‘s Make Art (link in the comments if anyone‘s interested). These will probably end up being sent out for upcoming swaps.

Which one do you like better — top or bottom? Why?
I think I prefer the bottom which is also the second one I painted but I‘m curious about other‘s opinions.

#litsycrafters #letsmakeart

I was unsure if I wanted to read a book about a pandemic right now… but this was darkly comforting. The story moves back & forth between different parts of Candace‘s which worked well in this case. The parts about wearing masks & how people responded to a pandemic in this book (published in 2018) were eerily accurate. I sort of wish it hadn‘t ended & I could keep reading the rest of her story past where the author left it.
January #roll100 book 2

Today‘s #bookhaul 📚 I had a Barnes & Noble gift card from my Mom for Christmas burning a hole in my pocket. Not pictured are gifts I‘ll be sending out to other littens for the #swoonathonswap and just because.

They had a shelf of #blinddatewithabook titles with some fun looking options. The one I picked ended up being the tagged book which looks fantastic!