Welcome to Litsy!

Thank you @dabbe for creating this fun play-card and for the tag ☺️💝.

Well, I'm apparently terrible at reading holiday books! Better at movies.

Last year, I've began to correct this about myself. This year I have four Christmas books planned.

My favorite from last year was actually more of a wintertime story: Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw ❄️💫😉📚.

#TLT
#ThreeListThursday

#winterwoodreviewedbyanncrystal

#litsycommunitylittenanncrystal

It was good. I liked the atmosphere and the magical forest aspect. I wasn‘t expecting one of the twists at the end but it was a nice surprise

Knew it! Suspected this from the very beginning...the ending was, nevertheless, unexpected. Unexpectedly, delightfully perfect!

This was a slow-burn mystery about a girl who knew she was a witch (by birthright), yet seemed to be the first one born to her family tree without powers.

Been awhile since I've enjoyed a really good read, where I relished every word of every scene like it was my favorite, savory treat....👇.

This is interesting! Interesting indeed! Unexpectedly magical...like a fairy or folks tale.

The only time I have to read this is during the night... which seems to add to the atmosphere!

Since I've gobbled up the one and only grown-up Christmas book that I believe I have in my little Library...I told myself that the first book I run across on my bookshelf of the unread that feels like the season (whether Christmassy or Winter) I will read.

This was the seventh book that I came into my hand 📚😉📗. Interesting!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5/5)

I was initially going to give this 3 stars, however the ending redeemed it a bit. I wasn‘t a fan of the characters and found that their inner monologues were repetitive. Nora was frustrating as she frequently made dumb decisions and would spend one minute adamant that Oliver was a murderer and then later would be smitten with him. I also saw the first plot twist coming a mile away, and the second one wasn‘t that surprising either.

I loved this book! The lush, lyrical writing, and the beautiful, isolated, winter forest setting drew me in. The magic and mystery were lovely aspects. Had originally rated it 4.5 ⭐ on Storygraph, but I think it needs to be bumped up to 5⭐.

This was extremely repetitive and the twist was super predictable. I had high hopes for this one so I‘m a little bummed. The writing was beautiful though, and I enjoyed the fun little blurbs about her ancestors.

16 pts for #TeamGameSleighers

This was my #BookSpin for November but I struggled to pick it back up when I put it down so I just finished it now :(

Next up! Going for a less heavy read after that last one 😮‍💨

Thank you so so much Court 🖤 this was an awesome birthday surprise. Thank you for your kindness and I truly appreciate your friendship ♥️

What a amazing story Nora walker the youngest walker witch finds a missing boy in the wicker woods the story is beautifully written reminds me of practical magic. The story was amazing. A lot of twist and turns

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Her writing is dreamlike and atmospheric, and even though magical realism can feel disjointed to me, this one flows beautifully. I did find the plot predictable, but the almost fairytale-like quality made this one really fun for me. A great wintertime witchy read!

Bk5 of my #Scarathlon2020 #Screamathon2020 #Pageathon #Thrilloween #TrickOrTreatathon #Sbooktober #RockyHorrorathon & #Gothtober is done! It fits the prompts of #ABookWithWitches #Witch #Rocky #FemaleProtagonist & #IPutASpellOnYou I loved this authors 1st book The Wicked Deep & loved this as well. She has a dreamy flow to her writing that is just beautiful. I think it covers #TeamSlaughter themes, it‘s a mystery/suspense that has witches.576pts

Good morning/afternoon my fellow #Scarathlon2020 #Screamathon2020 #Pageathon #Thrilloween #TrickOrTreatathon #RockyHorrorathon #Sbooktober & #Gothtober ‘thonners! Phew, I‘m getting cramp writing that out every time👋. I‘ve added another 11pts to #TeamSlaughter with The Mummy(1999) & an ep of original The Addams Family. I‘m now in my library to get stuck into Bk5 of my ‘thons. I‘ve had this on my TBR for ages, Oct is the perfect time to start.🌲❄️

Just can‘t. The writing is SO heavy-handed, she‘s trying so hard to make it spooky or whatever that it ends up being laughable. And the short sentences separated line by line is not dramatic and deep, it‘s just cringey. Feels like a high school kid trying to make the minimum word count. Repetitious, slow, cheesy, looked up spoilers and was just like ok bye. Don‘t mean to sound condescending but I think I could‘ve liked this at 20. At 40? Nah.

I‘ll be honest—I‘m not expecting to like this very much, based on reviews and just how tired the synopsis sounds. But I have it, and it‘s this very pretty Owlcrate edition, so...I‘ll give it a go.

Well #JoysofJune was one of my most successful readathons, thanks to some extra reading time last weekend and a quiet work week!! I exceeded my 2700 page goal (2889 pages!!) and completed 12 books!! Thank you so much for hosting @Andrew65 - there were a couple of evenings where wanting to hit my page goal encouraged me to pick up a book instead of my phone!!

This was a book with a lot of atmosphere, and sometimes there was more atmosphere than plot, but I still overall enjoyed it and can see myself rereading it someday now that I know the twist. It was definitely a wintery read, and the weather and woods play a big part in the story. I didn't love this one, but I did like it.

I actually got #bookmail today!!! Could NOT resist mostly completing my Chiltern/Austen collection (sadly can't find P&P anywhere!!), plus both #LMPBC books came today!! @babyruth2510 I am afraid that your book's cover got bent somewhere along the line! 😬 But I am quite interested to read both of these!!
@Bookwormjillk @Professional_Book_Dragon @hes7 @Chili @Jerdencon

@TheAromaofBooks I‘m shipping this! Sorry it‘s late. I got two day shipping so you should have it by Friday :)
 @Bookwormjillk @babyruth2510

@Bookwormjillk @babyruth2510 @TheAromaofBooks - I just finished this and loved it!

I got this in the mail yesterday! Excited to read it!

I watched You‘ve Got Mail last night and it made me miss bookstores and coffee shops so much I had to make scones for books and breakfast this morning. I‘m enjoying this #LMPBC book!

I did another pick a book do a look! I didn‘t enjoy this book 😅 but I do think the cover is beautiful! Plus it snowed the other day and I felt inspired. (The book photo is older it didn‘t snow that much in April 😅)

@bookriot has a fun quiz posted to find your next YA Fantasy read!

https://bookriot.com/2020/04/07/ya-fairy-tale-quiz/

#whattoreadnext #bookriotquiz #quizrecommendations

Yes!! Ernshaws new book is going to be adult fiction! So excited!

March wrap up:best reading month so far!

Favorites: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo & Mirage

2 ebooks

2 physical books

1 library book

3 Goodreads TBR

3 booked2020 prompts

Goodreads Challenge-9/31

Winterwood-⭐⭐⭐

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo-⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the Desk of Zoe Washington-⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mirage-⭐⭐⭐⭐

#monthlywrapup

#readingwrapup

#marchwrapup

This book is so beautifully written and I really needed a magical love story. I also enjoyed reading a book set in a small mountain town isolated by a snowstorm since we too are in a form of isolation.

#bookreport

Another long week-Tuesday, my work/library made the decision to close for two weeks. Not sure what will happen after that, playing it day by day.

I did get quite a bit of reading done this week and finished three books:

“Winterwood”-⭐⭐⭐

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo-”⭐⭐⭐⭐

“From the Desk of Zoe Washington-”⭐⭐⭐⭐

Haven‘t started anything new yet, but I‘ll get there.

@Cinfhen

I enjoyed this, but not as much as “The Wicked Deep.” It was missing something, but I really enjoyed the atmospheric writing and the relationship between Nora and Oliver.

#weeklyforecast:

On track to finish both of my current reads within the next few days.

Then I want to look at my shelves and pick
something for covercrush and finish in a day-my last two #booked2020 winter prompts!

@Cinfhen

#bookreport

It's been a long week- the first coronavirus death in my state and my library has canceled all programs and events until the end of the month. We were able to get out and stock up on supplies earlier this week. Hoping everyone is staying safe and healthy.

“Winterwood” has a twist coming, I can feel it. And I'm loving “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo"- the last 25% has been riveting.

@Cinfhen

#weeklyforecast:

Going to continue my two current reads. Not sure what I‘m in the mood for next, but will try to get through my #Libby checkouts and decide on my next challenge prompts.

@Cinfhen

Such a beautifully written, magical love story!
I had trouble putting it down!
Our country home is surrounded by woods, which I will forever look at a little differently after having read Winterwood.
I‘d be remiss if I didn‘t mention the cover artwork. So beautiful! I was pleasantly surprised to see that when I removed the dust cover, even the hard cover was decorated. I loved the little spells that were interspersed throughout the story.

#bookreport

“Winterwood” is my before bed book-I‘ve been too tired to read at night, so there‘s just been a bit of progress.

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is my ebook/lunch break read. 38% in and I am really enjoying it so far.

@Cinfhen

I really liked Winterwood! I read her previous book The Wicked Deep and thought it was "okay" and I can definitely see that the author's writing has improved with her second novel. I pretty much knew what was going to happen from the beginning so that was a little bit of a letdown, but still enjoyable!
The "Spellbook pages" were my favorite!

Nothing better than finding a beautiful cover hidden underneath the dust jacket.

#weeklyforecast:

Same as last week-want to continue “Winterwood” and start on my Set in Hollywood prompt. I‘ve got six titles from my TBR to choose from and will be starting with “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.”

@Cinfhen

#bookreport

Finished “Cloche and Dagger”-⭐⭐⭐

On page 79 of “Winterwood.”

@Cinfhen

#weeklyforecast:

I‘d like to make good progress on my two current reads-or even finish one of them!

Then I want to work on my next #booked2020 prompt- Set in Hollywood. I‘ve got a couple ideas in mind, but I‘ll see what sticks.

I also want to start another #Owlcrate backlog book.

@Cinfhen

This is so emotionally well written! I found it kind of boring in the middle though, so I stopped reading it for awhile, but I decided to give it another try and was surprised 😲! It got exciting!

Winterwood was just as solid as The Wicked Deep, and a fantastic read. The story was woven beautifully. I wasn't positive which way the mystery would turn but I did kind of predict it. It would be great to have some spinoff stories from this world! I love Ernshaw's writing style, it's like watching a blooming flower. I think I will read anything she writes.

💜I hope to find a love just like this💜

Witchy winter. I loved this book about the mysterious mystical winter. Perfect for winter moods.

I got the tagged book for Christmas. I definitely need to read it before winter is over. Of course we just got a fresh batch of snow here in NY, so winter will probably last a while longer. 📚💙❄️🥶 https://bookstr.com/list/five-frigid-books-for-a-warm-winter/

My current read ☺️ I like it so far! But I feel like I‘m going to be semi disappointed in everything after wicked saints and ruthless gods. 😅

Being at one with trees, the forest and nature in general does not necessarily mean that you are a whitch with Supernatural powers.