“I am the maker of my own destiny.”

This book whisked me away to a beautiful, magical world full of mythology and lore. The descriptions were vivid and entrancing. The character connections were tender and wholesome. Overall, the story left me happy and hopeful. Thanks for sharing it with me, Kate!! 4.25/5

My #10ForTheEnd and December forecast! I can‘t believe this year is already over. I‘ve already reached my reading goal, so I‘m ready to sit back with some mindless holiday books and enjoy the season! 🥰

I saw this while looking up fan art. El seriously cracks me up sometimes, she‘s so me. Like imagine having magic, but you had to fold laundry or do push ups just to access it… I‘ll do it but I‘m going to complain the entire time! 😂😂

The squad 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️ I love them so much! Liu and Aad got me tearing up 🥲

Oh my lanta.. This was significantly better than the first book for me. Everything I loved about ADE is amped up in the sequel. The stakes get higher and the relationships get deeper the closer everyone gets to graduation. I liked El even more- she‘s extremely relatable no matter how snarky she can be. This is a slow burner with an extremely satisfying climax and one hell of a cliffhanger. Have the third book ready! 4.5/5

I actually couldn‘t put this book down for the life of me. I read this in a sitting and rated it 4.5 stars! A paranormal/true crime thriller that will have you hooked from the start! The illustrations were so well done and were the perfect addition to the creepy atmosphere of the story. Thanks to whoever recommended this to me for my #12bookchallenge! Book 121 of 2023 😊

New cute romcom alert!! 🚨🚨 A Bachelorette inspired second-chance romance, y‘all I ate this up! Great pacing, lots of angst, an inevitable HEA. I loved Cooper, too! I was so excited when I found out the sequel features him! I kept imaging Jamie from Outlander ever since the author said it. 😅 4/5 Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc!

Overall, I thought this was an excellent sequel and a great set up for the rest of the series. I actually did cry at the end, and books that make me cry like that are rare. It was a very emotional ending. I like that the politics are the main plot line of the story and enjoy the world RY has created and I hope she continues to elaborate her world in the next books to come. Love X and V, obviously and all our side characters, who I hope continue

I am DETERMINED to finish Iron Flame tonight! I‘m on chapter 48 😏😏 #IYKYK

These are my thoughts so far: first 200 pages were ROUGH for me idk why, Xaden is infinitely hotter this time around (his words 🫠🤤), the pacing is really good- she‘s kept things moving well, and I like how the romance has taken even more of a backseat this time around, but it‘s still a lil spicy and like just enough to carry the book in between plot points.

It‘s my Litsyversary! I‘m so happy to have found this amazing community 3 years ago! Thanks to all the friends I‘ve made along the way! 💞

Somehow I‘ve managed to read another moth-man inspired arc from NetGalley and I wasn‘t even mad about it. I quite enjoyed this YA thriller. I absolutely loved the setting, deep in the Appalachians, such a wonderful and mysterious place. For this to be this author‘s debut novel, I was surprised because this was fantastic! I will be picking up the sequel. 3.75/5

More great fan art with these two. 😂 I loved their relationship and banter.

If you can get past the massive info-dumping for the first 20-30% of this book, you‘ll find a fun dark academia novel with really unique world-building and magic system. I imagine The Scholomance like the school in Legacies, monsters included haha. The main characters El and Orion give major Meg/Hercules vibes which I absolutely ate up. If you don‘t like stories with lots of inner monologue and slower pacing, you might not enjoy this one. 3.75/5

If this book was shorter and more intricately woven, this could easily be a 5 star for me! The beginning was very strong and immediately captured my attention, the middle kinda lost me, and the ending picked back up with a nice little twist I did enjoy. 4/5 stars I hope this UK author brings some of her other books over to the States!

Once again, Ashley Audrain manages to capture the darkest and most disturbing thoughts on motherhood and express them so blatantly on page. This wasn‘t as bone chilling as The Push for me- it‘s really just shitty people doing shitty things to one another behind their backs, but I was still invested in the story and the characters (love a good goss 🍿) The ending fell flat for me, while not being entirely disappointing(that last line tho 😏) 3.75/5

Quick little read tonight, I liked it! Very quirky, lots of fun facts and a unique perspective into the the mind of an autistic teenage boy. 3/5

This book is actually called The Whispers by Ashley Audrain. I loved The Push, so I have high expectations for this one. Great dedication 🥺

Part paranormal thriller, part true crime mystery and I was invested from the start! A spooky, haunted motel, and a serial killer on the loose made this the perfect read for the season. This is my first Simone St. James and not the last. I fell a little behind on my #12bookchallenge this year, but I‘m hoping to get a few more completed! 4.5/5

In this YA novel we meet Red, the fearless and vivacious piratess and daughter of the Pirate King, who was sent on a mission to infiltrate an enemy ship and locate the map to the biggest and oldest treasure known to man. I loved the banter between Red and Riden and can‘t wait to continue the trilogy! 4/5

I‘ve been catching up on my shows and still getting over this nasty infection, so I haven‘t gotten to read much this week, but I picked this arc up recently and wow!! I understand why this author is so popular in the UK! She has gotten me hooked from chapter 1! Really excited to finish this one. #NetGalleyArc

A classic I have put off for far too long! The middle was meh, but the beginning and the end?! Solid 4 stars from me!

A sapphic vampire story with a twist! In a dark, gothic setting, an ominous atmosphere, and prose that‘s somehow lyrical and beautiful, while also being gory and repulsive. Underlying themes of wealth, race, class, obsession, and toxic relationships. Check CW. Solid 4 stars from me! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

My Amazon book haul on top and my thrift book haul on the bottom! Pretty good stack if I do say so myself! Most excited for Pretty Girls, Jade City, and The Scholomance trilogy! 😁

Stuck in bed for the foreseeable future. 🤧 I‘m so sick, but this book is making me feel a little bit better. Perfect October gothic vibes! #currentlyreading

A beautiful conclusion to an amazing trilogy! This is getting 4 stars from me because this is the only one out of the 3 that felt like it really dragged in the middle. But the ENDING.. ifykyk 😭

My looming TBR.. 😅😅

Great dedication 🥹 #whimsicalreads

I was not expecting this to turn out to be one of my favorite retellings ever! I loved that this author added such amazing, cunning female characters to a story that had originally had none. Her author‘s note at the end sums it up perfectly! Elizabeth is brilliant, somewhat morally ambiguous, but she‘s a SURVIVOR, and I was inspired by her resilience in the face of so much abuse and loss. Loved it! 5/5 #whimsicalreads #bookclub

This book took my heart and stomped on it. A character study on the relationship between 2 people over the coarse of several years, as their relationship takes many different forms. This is not a “romance” per say, because it‘s way too real for that. Sally Rooney explores what it means to be “normal” as an individual and as a society as a whole. You either love or hate it and I absolutely LOVED it. The message is in between the lines. 5/5

Super excited for my October TBR!! Finishing the Mistborn trilogy, completing Manacled, enjoying the classic Dracula, and finally getting to Empire of the Vampire, which I‘ve specifically been saving for October.

I, for one, am THRILLED!!! 👻🎃🕷️🕸️🧙‍♀️🧛 Happy, happy October everyone! 🧡

Viv, an orc and ex-mercenary, decides to hang up her sword and open a coffee shop in a city where no one knows what coffee is. She finds her tribe along the way. What a delightfully charming little book about found family, community, kindness, and reinventing yourself after starting over again. The equivalent of a big warm hug on a chilly autumn day! Definitely add this to your fall TBRs and don‘t forget to grab a cuppa before diving in! 💚 5/5

A wonderful little Christmas book with all my favorite holiday tropes- rivals to lovers, holiday games, grinchy main character who finds their love for Christmas again, in a perfect small town community. A little cheesy and predictable, but that‘s why it‘s so perfect! 4/5 #NetGalleyArc

Corie, the illegitimate daughter of a noble and sister to the future queen, spends her summers at Castle Auburn, visiting her sister and getting to know the royals and servants alike. Lots of plots and political intrigue to be discovered. I‘m in my cozy fantasy era! 🤩 This was such a charming little book and instantly has became one of my favorites! Thank you, @KateReadsYA for sharing this extremely underhyped author with me! 5/5

A YA horror mothman inspired story I never knew I needed! This was great, from the writing to the characters. Our FMC Wil, had me intrigued from the first page. The fiesty girl and shy boy is such a fun trope! Thanks NetGalley for the Arc! This one is perfect for October spooky reads and the cover is beautiful!! 4.5/5

This is one of the most eloquent and beautifully written book I‘ve read this year. I love the atmosphere, the imagery, and our FMC, Alizeh. She is so strong and resilient, but kind and compassionate also. My only complaint had to do with the pacing- this is a sloooow burn. The ending was definitely unexpected, but I can‘t wait to see what happens next with these characters! 4.25/5 #whimsicalreadsbookclub

Next week is my birthday!! S/O to all my Libra babies 💖 All I want for my birthday this year is books to fill up the bookshelf my husband just built me! Here‘s a link to my birthday book wishlist! https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/15ENSZHHBST80?ref_=wl_share

Also, if your birthday is this month, leave a heart emoji and at the end of September I‘ll be doing a giveaway!! 💖

In this continuation of Beartown and all those who inhabit it, is this intensely immersive multi-layered story with complicated character relationships. Some characters you love, some you despise, but everyone roots for Beartown! We are the bears! The bears from Beartown! Beautiful, reflective writing 4.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc! Anna is desperate for a baby, and she‘s convinced someone is doing everything they can to stop her from getting pregnant. What I thought would be a psychological thriller quickly became a pregnancy horror story! Definitely check TW before picking up! 3/5

I loved this trilogy! All the characters have stolen my heart and I‘m sad to say goodbye to them. It helps that everyone got the ending they deserved. 5/5

Aghhhh this author knows cliffhangers!! She‘s killing me! You can‘t help but love these characters and get emotionally invested in them. Although Kiva did make me question ALL of her choices. I really don‘t know what she was thinking half the time.. I also I thought the pacing was much better this time around! Immediately jumping into the next one! 4.5/5

I can‘t believe I actually won a Goodreads giveaway! And I‘m really excited for this one!

Thanks NetGalley for this thrilling arc! This was fast paced, intriguing, and mysterious. Unreliable narrators, dual POVs, and a chilling atmosphere kept me guessing until the very end. My only complaints were that it still felt kind of unfinished. There were a few questions I felt didn‘t get answered. I just wanted a little more for the ending. 3.5/5 would still recommend!

If anyone would like to join us this month, our pick is This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi, author of the Shatter Me series! Our book club is pretty laid back. Read at your own pace and post your thoughts and review tagging @KateReadsYA and using the hashtag #whimsicalreads so others can find your post to interact! Happy September! ❤️❤️

It‘s one of those days. 😅

Just an example of the beautiful artwork to expect from this book. I can‘t wait to get my hands on a physical copy! This is a must-have for your book shelf display! It is releasing September 19th and is available for preorder on Amazon! #NetGalleyArc

I absolutely loved this beautiful work of art, from the graphics to the storytelling, I was engrossed from start to finish. The attention to detail in the colorful illustrations throughout the book really brought the stories to life and made the characters even more imaginable. You can tell it was thoroughly researched for accuracy.

Sloan and Cherry are the sole survivors of a summer camp massacre; their trauma bonding them in a way few people can understand. Sloan has been having a harder time moving on due to her memory loss during that fateful night. On a mission to uncover the truth about what happened and gain her memories back, Sloan uncovers more than she can handle. This took a heartbreaking turn. I enjoyed this for what it was. YA queer slasher 4/5 #NetGalleyArc