Slotting in my #AuthorAMonth right under the wire 😅

I had originally planned to read two by this author because the titles seemed intriguing - perhaps another time. Like a lot of the authors this year, she is “new” to me.

I hovered between soft Pick & So-So but ultimately the love story at the crux of this felt a bit needless in my opinion. The originator of the “curse” on the other hand was very compelling and the final quarter made me like the book infinitely more. This is ultimately a story of family (both found and inherited) - I wish that was the focal point throughout. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Overall, was a quick read with a great setting.

The tagged *finally* came off hold for me! So on to a belated #AuldLangSpine pick 💖 @DGRachel @monalyisha

Well, this lil dally into horror was a bit of a fail. Interesting premise that took too much of a walk to get to, then crash ending that was bewildering. Maybe if you‘re into Lovecraft you‘ll get more from this?

Hmm. I won‘t pan it - though I‘m tempted. Maybe with time, I‘ll change my mind (like I did with Book 2) but this as an ending to an epic world building that started with Chainsaw (the absolute best horror book I‘ve read in a long while), the homage to slasher films turned too navel-gazey and ultimately got far too convoluted and confusing. I‘m sad about it to be honest. But Jade will always be a final girl to me.

I eat sweets for breakfast and horror movies for lunch. 🤷🏻‍♀️

As a horror movie & book nerd, Jade Daniels has become one of my fave heroines to root for. It‘s for that reason that I had to postpone all my holds to read the ending to her trilogy as soon as I humanly could. 😭

I‘m a third in and not a lot has happened yet, which feels slow for this author, but I trust him to not let me down.

Despite this being a horror novel, this was quite wholesome. I‘d argue it‘s Hendrix‘s most accessible novel to horror-averse people yet. There‘s only a handful of scenes that are remotely “gory” (generous)…unless you‘re afraid of puppets. In that case, avoid this.😅 Overall, it‘s a well done commentary on family dysfunction and grief.

Requisite eclipse pic 🌙🌖🫣

Another successful in person Book Club meetup, discussing the tagged book! Scored a swap that I know so many on Litsy are raving about, as well as two used bookstore finds for under $10. 📚💖💪🏻

Finished this ARC today just in time for its release on April 9th! 💃🏻

As a fan of the original ‘West Side Story‘ film since my childhood, I was intrigued to learn more about the actor behind my fave character, Riff. His memoir is quite thorough and unflinchingly honest, even about the more grimy parts of his past & behavior. I‘d recommend to fans of Old Hollywood &/or 60‘s counterculture.

My Library Card expired so went in person to get a new one…featuring Jay-Z‘s album art. Brooklyn Public Library did a huge installation with him a few months back. 🔥

Book Club pick finished! I found this one pretty clunky - rather than building a compelling mystery, so much is just held back til the last few pages like a giant gotcha. Also the MC? What the heck you doin‘, girl? So many elements took me right out of it. Still hoping it‘ll lead to a rousing discussion on Sunday, tho. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣🫣

Photo is adorable Hello Kitty mochi a coworker brought back from his Japan vacay! 💖

I inhaled this (just as I have every other Jewell book I‘ve read🤷🏻‍♀️). Admittedly, while it‘s twisty, many of the twists are predictable (the title seems like…a choice) but in terms of popcorn fast reads, this author is top class.

Will be gifting this in a swap for my Book Club on Sunday. Off to start our pick (with less than a week to spare 😆🥳🤯💪🏻).

The low rating on here has me baffled!

This is the perfect mix of wild, unnerving, and twisty- set through a lens of Black Women in the workplace. But if that is not you and you‘ve worked in (or can imagine) any cutthroat office environment, this really works, and makes you question *everyone‘s* motives. Some points shaved for some loose strings, but this has been one of my fave reads so far this year.

Learned a new phrase: “tabula rasa” = “blank slate”.

I like when books (about book editors!) teach me new vocabulary 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️🤌🏻

Raining ☔️ hard outside so cooked up this cozy sheet pan meal and started diving in to the tagged book. Need to bring two books to Book Club in 2 weeks to swap (and I haven‘t even started the Book Club pick!) so figured I‘d use the weather to get a move on.

Halfway through and really enjoying the world building in this who-dunnit thriller set in rural Australia during a severe drought - adding an environmental element to the “why” in addition to cinematic setting. Apparently there‘s a film version starring Eric Bana 😍 - may need to find when I‘m done.

I don‘t think I‘ll get to another Harper book this month but I‘d def continue this series. 🇦🇺 #AuthorAMonth

A timely choice — Women‘s Month, Ramadan, obviously the devastating situation in Gaza. This book sets up a modern-adjacent timeline from the POV of a young Palestinian woman (and largely focuses on the women in her orbit, her family & friends), a history of sorts of her life as effected by the conflict & general misogyny. Well done but a painful read. Triggers abound.

Happy St Paddy‘s! ☘️🇮🇪💪🏻

This was poetically written —as poetic as a darkly gore-y fairytale adjacent can be, I suppose closer to the Grimm intent —but the flowery prose hid a lot in terms of plot advance.

This started slow but ended well, really delving into the psychology of all of the women in Aiden‘s orbit and the effect of victimization & misogyny. Better than average thriller imho.

Still have yet to find my first real 5-star read of the year but this was a solid 4.

Tagged as Untitled bc it‘s not yet in the database.

This short story is free this month at Amazon First Reads (March 2024). I find Allende to usually be so solid but this was just too goofy for me. Two strangers, soaring on love, allegedly break into an art museum. A bit nonsensical to me.

Three stars, I guess. After 23 hours, I feel…indifferent? I like Rhys as a character, I feel like Feyre has grown a bit but her self-centeredness takes me out. Do future books shift POV? A part of me wonders why Book 1 even needed to happen as it did? So many convenient coincidences & plot holes.

That said - I will get to Book 3 at some point bc I want to see how this turns out (and if it redeems itself?).

I‘m approaching halfway through and I think my main issue with this series (so far) is largely Feyre herself. She self-sabotages and is so defensive all the time and never hears anyone out - not her sisters, not Rhys, not even Tamlin. She paints herself like she‘s the big savior but in the end she always is helped at the last minute and that credit is rarely acknowledged. Sigh. I hope she heals bc this series will be tough if not.

Welp, I‘m back in the ACOTAR mode. So many people have said #2 is their fave of the series/when it starts to get “crazy”. I‘m almost a quarter deep and so far, the only character who doesn‘t make me deeply cringe is Lucien. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I‘m not loving the retcon of Tamlin‘s whole character to further twerk on the obvious love triangle of it all but already Rhys is more likeable than in #1 so… 🤷🏻‍♀️😂👀

This book has been on my TBR for awhile, I‘m so glad I finally got to it. It‘s definitely a thinker (and might require a re-read) but combines sci-fi & modern politics into a thoughtful, poetic look at racism and misogynoir. It‘s the type of thing that I would think would be a great conversation piece for high school or college students, most certainly. Novella but has serious depth.

Photo is from this weekends Galentines brunch 🥰😘

Welp. This just didn‘t hit. There was *so* much going on but the pace was so fast, each mini reveal didn‘t have the impact they could have. Also so much relied on coincidence & half-explanations. I think I would have enjoyed more if it wasn‘t well under 300 pages - this was more like a lengthy novella. It needed more time to cook to really flourish. 🐴

Cue Beyoncé‘s “Texas Hold ‘Em”. ?? (This is mostly set in Montana but you get the vibe, right?)

In need of a palate cleanse so it‘s time to try this one out. Got the chance to meet the author and get this signed in person at Brooklyn Book Festival.

This graphic novel reminded me of early seasons of ‘Riverdale‘ — noir-esque but centered around two “outcast” kids, solving “mysteries” together. This volume sets up a larger mystery to come. The art is phenomenal and I love that the central character is a nuanced, darkly-written girl (Friday, ha). Graphic novels aren‘t usually my speed, but I like the elevated dark tone of this.

I think I burnt myself out with short stories. This was my least fave of the Groff I read, because it just felt too stream of conciousness rather than meaningful. There was a clear through line thread, but it felt like a slog to finish. #AuthorAMonth

What a rollercoaster of a read! The tension was palpable - it was just the right mix of spooky with real, palpable fear. The crux of the story reminded me of the film ‘The Babadook‘ - taking a familiar emotion/reality of everyday life and juxtaposing it against the innocence & confusion of a small child. In doing this, it arguably ratchets up the tension by using a relatable reality to underscore the scare device. 😰👀🏡👨‍👩‍👧👹 Overall, solid.

We got snow overnight, looks like it‘ll stick around for a lil. Perfect excuse to curl up inside & hopefully finish this ARC. I‘m enjoying it so far - a mixture of spooky & relatable.

My book prize arrived today from the GR giveaway! Sounds like a scorcher. 😰

What a day to finish this one! “Big” (ish lol) snowstorm here in 🗽

Groff‘s words kept me so engaged for a story that in other‘s hands I think I‘d find pretty tepid. This one requires a strong stomach though: lots of blunt talk about biology (let‘s leave it at that) & relationships with animals when you are in survival mode. Set in Colonial America, also grapples with spirituality, sexuality, & classism. #AuthorAMonth

Wow. I‘m floored by the low rating on this. If this is my intro to Lauren Groff, I‘m in for a(n intense) treat.

This was pure, tangible anxiety & panic put on a page. Both relatable & all-consuming. It triggered an intense feeling of empathy because I know people like Ange. Sometimes I feel just like Ange. The world we live in is so interconnected and sometimes the selfishness is astounding.

Wow. #AuthorAMonth

Welp. I wanted to love this the way so many do but I‘m kind of floored by the lack of world building and the half dozen plot holes. Fantasy requires some suspension of disbelief but this was…something else. It also felt very YA until the final quarter, and I have whiplash. 😂

Not sure I‘ll return for part two. But I do think it‘ll fare better as a television series. Maybe?

Brought the tagged book with me to my Vday mani/pedi appt today. Goal is to finish by the end of the week so I can spend a solid week with Lauren Groff for #AuthorAMonth & also finish some BHM/romance-y titles for February.

I get why it‘s so popular - very Harry Potter (fanfic?) meets Game of Thrones. Dain is already on my nerves but so is MC so… 😜

Not sure why this has such a low rating on here! This was funny, light but nuanced, and overall a clever subversion of familiar tropes (& stereotypes/double binds familiar to most women with time and experience). I think it pairs well with the traditional fairytales mentioned (Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel) to offer grounding and an alternate perspective. ⚖️🤷🏻‍♀️💅🏻✨💖

“Faraway” Collection on Amazon complete - this was my fave.

My jury duties are officially complete so I treated myself to a lil spree at one of my fave local indie bookstores.

Only got about 10% deep into Fourth Wing while I was waiting. I‘m enjoying it so far - well fleshed out world building even if the MC is a lil cringe uwu at times. 😅

Quick #AuldLangSpine wrap up - I finished two titles from @DGRachel ‘s list and loved both!

I‘m currently waiting on Starling House from my Library. For February, I‘m thinking since Knockout is Book 3 in a series, I‘ll start from the top there and try to do all 3. The author isn‘t familiar to me but its described on GR as Victorian era women smashing the patriarchy…I‘m here for it. 💖💪🏻

It begins, y‘all!

2024 is my year of #romantasy (or at least that‘s what it‘s shaping up to be).

Also hoping to tackle #2 in the ACOTAR series & the sequel to Divine Rivals if I can get my hands on a copy (my local bookshop was out!). 🥰🤷🏻‍♀️💖 It is “love” month after all.

Book 12 of ‘24

Took longer to finish than expected. Sad, but it didn‘t really *go* anywhere. Horrific as it sounds, I was expecting more visceral moments regarding the religious fervor & child trauma at the heart of this story. Instead, it‘s just pretty tepid and sad. There is one mild twist but not a real gotcha. Overall, not sure I‘d recommend. Not for the faint of heart.

So I have Jury Duty on Thursday.

Do I use that time spent waiting around to start/get a sizeable chunk into ✨Fourth Wing✨ and see what all the hype is about?

One of my goals for this year was to tackle more ARCs. 💖📚

As a fan of Sloan‘s work, I did like this but think it came off surface-level. The 1st half doesn‘t present much of her story to becoming a comedian. Many of the stories do not come off very funny (but I‘m sure the 🎧 will).

I really enjoyed the last few chapters, on auditioning & her time spent on ‘The Daily Show‘. Overall the memoir felt fairly unfocused and surface-level.

Can we talk about these adorable cupcakes (topped with our club logo complete with edible glitter!)?? The cutest. Such great conversation with lots of new friends. The general consensus was the tagged book was a bit polarizing but ultimately kept you engaged. All of the commentary was thoughtful & thought-provoking. Nothing quite like like-minded fellow book nerds! 💖✨💪🏻

#literatewomenbookclub #nyc #readingishot

Headed to Book Club! We‘ll be discussing Bright Young Women — and we‘re tasked with bringing two other books, one to swap & one as a donation to a local Little Free Library. 📚

10 of ‘24.

A bit of a thinker — ruminates on the power of memory (and empathy) in a fantasy way, where people imbue memories on physical objects by touching them, and people can relive those memories by touching that object again. An intense concept - I think the short story element was a detriment here.

Book 9 of ‘24.

Suffers from timeline switching - so one timeline slows down the overall pace for mainly exposition - and a criminal case of “no normal people talk like this”. I‘ve never read this author before but it feels in line with Lucy Foley or Riley Sager — popcorn mystery with a lot of red herrings and dead ends with unlikeable (but human) characters.

Book 8 of 2024.

Solid subversion of fairytale tropes - a hard and ugly look at (high school) misogyny being instilled via toxic masculinity and wanting to “fit in”. The sidebar of the undercover cop-student relationship wasn‘t great…but it fit for the idea expressed. Despite being a short story, this was well fleshed out and didn‘t feel rushed. Quality YA fantasy horror.

Book 7 of 2024.

Enraging. Engrossing. Knoll is such a capable writer when it comes to really making you feel her characters emotions.

Parts of this felt like a raw nerve. I wish this was a more universal viewpoint given this explosion of true crime popularity - the focus on the victims rather than mythologizing the perpetrators. This examines in particular the misogyny at the heart of lionizing The Defendant.