Swear on This Life | 
“We can‘t always control our circumstances, who our parents are, where we live, or how much money we make, but in those rare moments when we can shape our fate, when we do have the power to make our own happiness, we can‘t be too scared to do it.”
so-soNew Bingo board template thanks to Canva. I stayed up until 2 a.m. last night to finish "Swear On This Life" by Renee Carlino. I had high hopes for it as it sounded like a book that would capture the feeling I had as a teenager reading Dessen YA novels. Sadly, something fell flat. The book was more of a healing arc than a romance read.
#BookSpinBingo
Hoping for the tagged book to be my #BookSpin read for June, but I guess we'll see! Here's my June list, with my library holds doubled up again.
@TheAromaofBooks #BookSpinBingo
pickI really enjoyed this cute story about first loves reconnecting after many years. I am a hopeless romantic, and strongly believe in fate so this was right up my alley. A little overly complicated at times, but a perfect read for my lazy Sunday.
And my last #newyearwhodis book! Thanks @veehabib! @monalyisha
Left over birthday cupcakes for breakfast
pickThis was my first book of 2019! And I couldn‘t put it down. Immediately it is easy to read and flows so nicely. The characters are relatable and the hardship is palpable if you have personal experience. A beautiful story! I got to meet the author who is amazing and so down to earth- it‘s not surprising that she is as relatable as her books!
Absolutely amazing meeting Renee Carlino! Hearing her stories, and her being so relatable was awesome! This is the first Renee Carlino Book I have read and in love with her writing. I felt so infatuated with Jase/Jackson and Emiline/Emerson that I could not put this book down! To call this book a “romance” is too limiting, this is more about how two people‘s lives are magnetic and intertwined by fate. Beautifully written and highly recommend!
"It‘s like reading a good book. The kind where you don‘t want to skip pages to see what happens at the end. Each moment is a story in itself."
*I loved this book from the first page, it was one that I didn't want to put down and when I had to put it down I couldn't wait to start reading it again.
pickEasy read, made for excellent discussion at book club! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars
so-soThis is my second Renee Carlino book and l have to say, the little things that bothered before bothered me here as well. Don't get me wrong, Carlino writes stories that keep you interested, but I never have a strong sense she knows where she wants her own stories to go. It's almost like she flips a coin and decides along the way. Yet while her writing is so unpredictable in so many ways, it's also oddly predictable. Does that make any sense?
I already had this one in my collection, so I‘m giving it a shot next. I‘ll let you know what I think @Hollie !
Tell me about your book clubs. I‘m reading this one for an online reading group. Do you belong to any reading groups? Online or in real life?
Also, shout out the best book you‘ve read with a book club this year. 📖 #bookclub 🙂
so-soThis book is very readable. I wanted to know what happened despite being irritated with most of the book. But, there are so many problems with it. The biggest is that the "novel" within the novel, is not good. It's supposed to be a first novel and a literary darling. It's not written well and the story line is melodramatic. There were other smaller issues, with plotting, dialogue, inaccurate facts and borderline stalking behavior.
There have been so many books written about lost love, it's impossible to tag all of them. Here's a sample of a few on TBR. Anyone read any of these? #lostloves #jubilantjuly
pickBeautiful and captivating book! Page turner that you won't want to put down.
This one was #tearinupmyheart when I was reading it. An adjunct writing instructor starts reading a new bestseller and quickly realizes that it is her painful childhood written on the pages and that the new hot mysterious author is her childhood best friend/first love. She's furious that he would write HER story. I burned through this book and ugly cried at the end. I think it just hit me in the feels at that time! #90sinjuly
Here's a bunch of life related titles off my TBR list. Anyone read any of these? #life #junebookbugs
so-soMy expectations for this book were pretty high and I'm sad to say that it didn't really meet them. The writing felt very off and the story didn't have a natural flow at all. Overall, this was quite disappointing for me.
91° with a breeze on this beautiful afternoon. finally found some down time to sit and read this book! (and shout out to my love for the bday gift!)
My read for the plane back home. Making sure I don't finish my April #girlybookclub selection the day of like I did last time haha.
@Hollie Thank you so much! The Jane Austen socks are so perfect and can you believe I have not read any of these books!!!! You are the best and I love my #cupidgoespostal gifts!!!
pickI gave this a pick because i'm a sucker for happy endings but i found the main character very unlikable, even after you find out about her childhood. The premise of girl reading a book that happens to be about her, written by her first love who she hasn't seen in 12 years is great. Just execution and some story choices bothered me. Like the lets say Trevor is an addict out 30 pages from the end to give Emi an out. It was alright.
This book and almost all the others recently read have made me realize is that bad parent characters make great books. And if a main character has good parents, there is a price they pay.
#inthemoodforlove #seasonsreadings2016
You guys, this love story hit me right in the feels. It's about an aspiring writer who picks up a bestseller and is sucked into the story...only to realize the mysterious author is actually her childhood best friend and first love and this story is about her!! She's pissed that he would write about her traumatic childhood and she hasn't seen him in 10 years, oh but that changes...read it with tissues handy!
so-soI loved Renee Carlino's characters in Sweet Thing and expected the same chemistry and story telling in this book but didn't find it. I had a hard time liking Emiline. I found some of her interactions with people around her cold and distant. That could have been because of her past but it made it hard to connect with her. I liked the story told within the story more than the actually story.
😂
pickHad to rush and finish this with my morning coffee while the baby was asleep. This book was great, the characters were compelling and I always ❤️ a story with a book within a book plot line.
so-soI didn't love Em but I did love Jase. My problem with the book was I couldn't understand why he loved her so much. I know they went through major stuff together and she was very damaged but I just couldn't understand why she chose to run from him. And I couldn't understand why she kept trying to make things work with Trevor. Overall though I would recommend for Colleen Hoover fans. It was a mix of November 9 and It Ends With Us.
Warning: This book may cause you to question your path and completely change it.
pickEmiline es una escritora de veintisiete años que no encuentra la inspiración para escribir, que está en una relación para nada apasionada con su novio de hace siete años. Su amiga le recomienda leer la novela de la que todos están hablando y desde el principio ella encuentra su propia historia trágica y de su mejor amigo y primer amor Jase. 4⭐️
Aunque es una buena novela, no es tan buena como Cuando éramos extraños de la misma autora.
Phew. This line got me. My grandfather, who was an absolutely brilliant, hardworking, incredible man, died a few years ago. I remember reading his obituary and thinking this exact same thing.
"We can't always control our circumstances, who our parents are, where we live, or how much money we make, but in those rare moments when we can shape our fate, when we do have the power to make our own happiness, we can't be too scared to do it."
Spending this Saturday am reading. Wasn't sure I could deal with what felt like juvenile writing but by chapter 2 I'm completely absorbed and having trouble putting this one down. ** update ** finished this just now. It was soooo good! Highly recommend.
pickThis book was incredibly amazing, I loved it so so much, and good not put it down. From the very beginning I was hooked, and couldn't wait to find out what happens with "Emerson" and "Jax". Such an incredible love story, with a very happy ending. Go get it ASAP, you'll be happy you read it!
“Jackson?” I asked.
“Yeah?”
“What‘s going to happen?”
I could feel his heart beating fast against my chest. “Nobody knows.”
“I hate that,” I said.
“I know, I hate it too, but I guess it‘s like reading a good book. The kind where you don‘t want to skip pages to see what happens at the end. Each moment is a story in itself.”
Do y'all prefer long paragraph on books. Or do you just like a quick sentence or two on how I feel? Just wondering as I normal make them very short to sum up my feelings.
panI really wanted to like this book but I couldn't. The writing needed a good edit and the characters were unrealistic. Also, truly terrible dialogue. I'm so disappointed!
#CurrentStatus Enjoying my fave #CruBeaujolais from #Morgon + enjoying a wonderful book, while hubs is out. #WineNerd #booksandwine #Gamay
