#Pemberlittens

In chapter 2, Catherine has a very low-key parting from her family (no tears or gnashing of teeth), an uneventful journey to Bath (no kidnappings or carriage accidents) with the perfectly nice Allens (no dastardly plans for our heroine) and, after some shopping and style-watching, attends her first ball in the upper rooms. The ball turns out to be crowded & awkward as they know nobody, but two gentlemen think our girl is pretty!

I had to add this book to the Litsy database, but please don‘t take that as an endorsement.😂

I needed a #DarkAcademia book for #Booked2022 and since I‘ve read most of the great ones, took a chance with a book that Booktok actually seems to think fits that category. While it is dark, and at a school, it‘s also ridiculous and just not well written at all. Must get myself on a better side of Booktok.

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#Pemberlittens! Show us your copy of Northanger, and tell me… is this your first time or a reread?

In chapter 1, we are introduced to Catherine Morland, who had a quiet, happy childhood with her family, was a good kid with no aims at grandeur, started to get a bit pretty as she got older despite having no dashing potential love interests nearby, is mediocre at piano, can‘t draw, but loves to read, and (at last!) has an opportunity for adventure.

I read a lot in September… finished 29 books (20 audiobooks, 6 Kindle books, and 3 paper books), had a #BookSpinBingo blackout for the first time ever, and successfully defeated my library holds that tried to bury me.

My favorites for September:

Babel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Funny You Should Ask ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dear Martin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

White Tears/Brown Scars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Pros: quick, easy listen that I started last night and finished today. My oldest daughter loves CoHo, so we can chat about this.

Cons: kind of a hot mess of ‘new adult‘ tropes, mediocre writing at best, and some the dumbest character names I‘ve seen (that‘s saying something). I spent 80% of this book being annoyed and now have to tell my daughter that. 😂

Of course I will read the 🤬ing sequel.

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We are still reading our September/October selections (Northanger starts tomorrow!), but it‘s time to vote for our November/December books!

This time, we will be reading:

- Something by Austen
- An adaptation of one of Jane‘s books, and
- A book by another female author

Everyone is welcome to vote and to add other books that don‘t show in the voting.

Added a question for planning next year too!

Vote here: https://forms.gle/cdwxU77krKo7PnTr7

This was SO GOOD. Not just for a second-in-series, but in general. Novik‘s usual stellar writing, fantastic characters that have just continued developing from the first book, a nonstop action-packed story, and monsters, monsters, monsters.

I am extremely happy that I waited until the 3rd and final book was out because that ending was just a mean, cruel cliffhanger, and that took a star off my review. 😂

Really great on audio, too.❤️

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My #BookSpin #BookSpinBingo list for October is completely full (no free spaces 😫) in clear evidence of how completely out of control my library situation is. 🤪😳

The first book in this 1930s gothic mystery series was just a so-so for me, but this second installment was really good!

I warmed all the way up to main characters Rachel Savernake, amateur detective, and Jacob Flint, intrepid crime reporter, and this mystery with its maze of interconnecting murders was so fun. Secret clubs, debauchery, lions and tigers, frame jobs… climaxing with a Clue-esque stormy night at a crumbling mansion. 🖤

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I needed a middle grade novel for one of my reading challenges, and this has just been hanging out on my kindle forever… absolutely loved it!

Time travel, sixth grade angst, late 70s NYC, and $25,000 Pyramid. Lots of fun and a super quick read.

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Let‘s get this out of the way first: I 100% bought this Audible book because that cover is giving Brad Pitt in Troy. I am a weak creature, but this turned out to be a sound investment because I enjoyed the heck out of the book.

Pretty brutal at times (biblical apocalypse duh), but also smart, with a snarky female mc who is tough, foul-mouthed and did not annoy me. Of course it gets sexy and romantic too…I mean just 👀 at Pestilence.

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#ManicMonday #LetterH

📖 tagged, Harry Potter (any/all), The Highland Witch

✍️ Thomas Hardy, Kristin Hannah, Alice Hoffman

🎥 The Hangover (it‘s ok, you can judge me)

🎤 Harry Styles, Hozier, Hanson

🎶 Hail to the King (A7X), Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley), Handle with Care (Traveling Wilburies), Hard Road (Johnny Flynn), Headfirst for Halos (MCR), Here With Me (The Killers), Hey Jude (The Beatles), Hotel Yorba (White Stripes), Hurt (Johnny Cash)

@PatriciaU gave me this book forever ago, but I‘m so happy to have finally read it! Completely unexpected, so quiet and melancholy but somehow also hopeful—I thought the writing was just amazing. I do find myself wishing for more from the ending, but realize it was probably the best way to end Iris‘ story.

Thanks for this gem, Patricia! I probably never would have discovered it if not for you. ❤️

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In my humble opinion, this debut was neither spellbinding nor suspenseful, but it did keep my interest enough to finish in a day. I wasn‘t really fond of any of the characters, didn‘t understand all the stupid lying everyone did, and thought the ending could have been improved on, but I stuck around to see the mystery solved. 🤷🏻‍♀️

My #AboutSisters book for #Booked2022

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❗️ANNOUNCEMENT ❗️

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You know that thing where you put a book on hold at the library, then it comes in months later and you don‘t remember why you wanted to read it or have a clue what it‘s about, but you start, thinking ‘oh this is a cute romcom & isn‘t it funny she‘s got a surprise man roommate‘ & then BAM she finds out her funny, endearing, cute surprise roommate is a famous porn star? This book has that thing!😂

Spicy, surprisingly feminist, & funny.

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One week until our chapter-a-day #PemberLittens buddy read begins! Get your copy ready, and I will see you on October 1. 😃

Tagging the people who previously said they want to participate, but all are welcome. Let me know if you‘d like to be added to my tag list! ❤️

I‘m starting to think I‘m doing this wrong… this one seems to be a 🌶️ darling on Booktok, has great reviews on Goodreads, and a favorable rating here on Litsy, but it annoyed the living shit out of me.

I did devour the whole thing in one day, so I guess I can‘t pan it? 😂

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Damn, SK… don‘t let up AT ALL on the tension and misery. 😬

I feel like 17 hours of my last four days have been spent in the dome with this poor, abused cast of characters. Just when I thought the situation for the inhabitants of Chester‘s Mill couldn‘t get any more dire, King thought of something worse.

Great writing, some really excellent characters, a story that I could not quit… all the things I‘ve come to expect from this guy.

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@AmyG thank you so much for these lovely, thoughtful gifts! You really didn‘t need to, but I appreciate you. This lotion smells divine. ❤️

#ManicMonday #LetterG

📖 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

✍️ Diana Gabaldon, John Green, Neil Gaiman

🎥 Goonies, Gladiator

📺 Game of Thrones, Good Omens

🎤 Gorillaz, Grateful Dead, Green Day, Guns ‘n Roses

🎵 Georgia (Vance Joy), Ghost of You (My Chemical Romance), Glycerine (Bush), Goodnight Rose (Ryan Adams), Golden (Harry Styles), Golden Years (David Bowie), Good Riddance (Green Day), Gunslinger (Avenged Sevenfold), Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac)

I don‘t have anything new to add to the praise chorus for this book. I will just reiterate that it‘s incredibly well-written, breathtakingly beautiful, intellectual, literary, and every bit as fantastic as promised.

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This is not really my kind of book, but I read it because I have a galley of the 2nd book in the series.😬

A clever, well-written murder mystery/thriller with a lot going on plot wise and very few characters that are actually likable. It‘s got a few twists I will admit I didn‘t see coming. Definitely going to read the second book!

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Oh em gee I loved this book!

A very self-aware horror/haunted house/psychological/body horror/ghost story that was creepy and funny, scary and dramatic, and kept me guessing until the end. Bonus: I added a bunch of mentioned horror movies and haunted house books to my to-do list as well.

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So glad that #AAM finally made me try Nic Stone. A really fast, well-written, timely, and impactful read. I loved Justyce, and his story is an excellent way to bring the racial injustice we continue to see today to a wide audience of readers.

The audiobook is especially good, read by one of my favorite narrators.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Another book that should be required reading, especially for white feminist women. Uncomfortable but extremely important information.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Simone has figured out the perfect formula for writing mysterious/ghostly/slightly romantic books, and I love her for it.

I don‘t have much to add over what others have said about her latest. Well-done dual timelines, a slowly unfurling mystery, fantastic characters… what‘s not to love. Also really good on audio.

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Yet another #BookTokMadeMeDoIt because I will never learn.

This book is super popular in my corner of BookTok and has all the trigger warnings for being very dark and very spicy. It is those things, and actually makes an attempt at having a plot. Unfortunately that plot is completely unbelievable, the writing is not great, and it‘s got so many annoying tropes.

Warning: throw your feminism card out the window if you‘re gonna try this. 😬

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#ManicMonday

I was not expecting #LetterF to be so hard!

📖 tagged, The Fifth Season (Jemisin), Fingersmith (Waters), Flight Behavior (Kingsolver)

✍️ Susan Fletcher, John Fowles

🎥 Ferris Bueller‘s Day Off

🎤 Fleetwood Mac, Florence + the Machine, Foo Fighters

🎵 Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead), Famous Last Words (My Chemical Romance), Feel Good Inc (Gorillaz), Fiction (Avenged Sevenfold), Footsteps (Pearl Jam), From Eden (Hozier)

I don‘t read a lot of this genre, mainly because they tend to annoy me, but this one came for postal book club. I ended up listening instead, but I enjoyed this book. It‘s filled with the kind of characters I expected (rich, self-absorbed, hard to believe, and totally unlikable), but it‘s twisty and definitely kept me guessing. Just when I thought it was done throwing me curveballs, it threw a few more just for the hell of it. 😂

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This is a fun fantasy-romance/contemporary/witchy/LGBTQ+ book, and an excellent pick for #LMPBC. ❤️

Lighthearted and fast-paced with a pretty cool magic system and snarky main characters. It‘s apparently first in a series, but totally works as a standalone, which I love. I really enjoyed this!

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

My library loan was expiring so I couldn‘t stick to the #LittensLoveRomance schedule, but I loved this book! Funny and sweet, but this story still touches on some more serious issues. Well-written with lovable characters, and the audio is very well-narrated.

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I‘ve had a galley of this book for an embarrassingly long time…

I really like the magic system in this book: witches have seasonal-based magic and are strongest in their seasons, they work to control extreme weather and help the planet. Very unique themes, a diverse cast of characters, and a very well-plotted story. The only complaint I had was that at times it was super YA. That‘s not a bad thing for everyone, but I sort of struggle.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I read this last week, almost immediately after it was out. Almost immediately wondered why I do these things.😂

I went back to read my reviews of the first two in this series (both 2⭐️ pans) where I complained about no plot… in this one, the author decided to go for a plot, but it was a rambling, incoherent mess that almost made me wish for more smut.

I still don‘t like the MC and barely care about the rest, but Pan & Hook intrigue me.

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I listened to this on the recommendation of my #booksister @HOTPock3tt and absolutely loved it.

Funny, ridiculous, cute, and sexy all at once. Everything you want in a romcom. 😍

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Off to watch the movie!

Whimsical, funny, and filled with beautiful writing. I love magical realism, but this one was almost a little too over-the-top at times. I felt kind of let down by the end, but really enjoyed this book for the most part.

My #IncludesARecipe book for #Booked2022… it contains several of them, and I‘m planning to try a couple of Tita‘s recipes myself. 😋

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

#1001Books

Very well written, and very much not what I was expecting. Sort of a love story, definitely a time travel story, absolutely an immigrant story. This audiobook was completely engrossing and has left me with some feelings. 🥺

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Ok these magnets are adorable so I had to share.

Am I being rewarded for actually reading 12 of my BOTM books in a year as if that‘s not something I should do anyway? Yes.

Do I still have 28 (now 29 lol) BOTM books on my shelf to read? Also yes.

The romance one suits my personality, as a total cynic who can‘t stand most actual men, but loves romance novels. 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

#ManicMonday #LetterE

📖 Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton), End of Watch (Stephen King), Emma (Jane Austen)

🖊 Louise Erdrich

🎥 Emma (2020) ❤️, Edward Scissorhands

📺 ER

🎤 Elvis, Elbow, Eminem

🎵 Easy Plateau (Ryan Adams), Every Breath You Take (The Police), Evil Urges (My Morning Jacket), Exodus (Bob Marley)

Hello, my pretties!

Matches for #BasicWitchSwap were sent on Saturday, so if you haven‘t already, please check your email and respond to let me know you‘ve received yours. Any questions, please ask. 🖤

Feel free to use the above optional image to post and let your match know more about your witchy self!

We have a great group this year, and I can‘t wait to see what everyone comes up with. Happy shopping and swapping!

I absolutely loved this audiobook, start to finish.

The author has said the inspiration came from Edith Zimmerman‘s GQ interview with Chris Evans, and honestly if you‘re a romance reader who also has ever had any kind of movie star crush, how is that not prime fantasy material? 🤩😍

Happily, the execution was perfect for me: good writing, funny characters, actual feels… I didn‘t roll my eyes at all and actually wish for a sequel. 😯

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I was starting to think Bardugo was going to employ every single YA trope before we were done, but I think she left a couple out. 😂

A satisfying, if abrupt, ending to this series. Love the Grishaverse, so many of these characters, and the writing. I definitely loved the Six of Crows series more, but I‘m going to read King of Scars next.

And now I can watch the Netflix show! 🎉

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August was another great reading month! 😃

I finished 23 books: 12 on audio, 9 on Kindle, and 2 print. I got 5 BookSpin bingos, too.

One of my favorite stats from Storygraph is my ratings. I like to read diversely, and that includes reading some masterpieces, some absolute crap, and a lot of just good books. 😉

My favorites last month (all 5 stars):

Alone With You In the Ether

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

The Silver Dark Sea

My last finished book of August… I didn‘t want it to end.❤️

I‘m so enamored with this author and her books. Such gorgeous prose…this is not really fantasy, not really romance, maybe magical realism? It‘s a story about grief and love and family and loneliness and storytelling, set on a tiny Scottish island with a varied, colorful population of characters. It‘s so sad and so sweet and I loved every page.

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I‘m just powering through these I guess. My review of book 1 actually said I like how Bardugo writes YA that doesn‘t make me roll my eyes BUT

Alina seems to find it impossible to just be friends with the selection of hot men she‘s around, so despite being in lifelong love with one of them she‘s thinking of kissing all of them but him.🙄🙄🙄

Still, action-packed beginning & end, slower, angsty stuff in the middle, & fun new characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Signups for #BasicWitchSwap are coming to a close!

Are you interested in magic, nature, spells, spirituality, &/or feminine power (fiction, real or both), or just down for some witchy stories or witch-related spookiness? Do you love Litsy swaps?

#BasicWitchSwap is back for the 4th year… sign up now, as the form will close tonight!

Matches will be sent by 9/3. See the link for more info:

https://forms.gle/6zGj9HSvgRgVFxxf8

🖤🖤🖤

My September #BookSpinBingo list. 😬

I read and loved the Six of Crows duology years ago, and have had this whole series on my Audible shelf for years, but it took Ben Barnes in the Netflix show and my silly book-first rule to make me listen. 😅

I really enjoyed this one! Fast-paced and full of action, with characters I give a damn about and great world building. I love that Bardugo can write YA that doesn‘t make me roll my eyes. I‘m a simple reader.😂

On to book 2!

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#ManicMonday

📖 Dandelion Wine, The Dutch House, Doctor Sleep

✍️ David Duchovny, Charles Dickens, Anthony Doerr

🎥 Dirty Dancing, Dead Poets Society

📺 Doctor Who

🎤 The Doors, Death Cab for Cutie

🎵 Disarm (Smashing Pumpkins), Dear God (Avenged Sevenfold), Desire (Ryan Adams), Don‘t Cry (GnR), Drive (The Cars), Dustland Fairytale (The Killers)

When I‘m not reading (or listening to) Stephen King, I forget how freaking much I love Stephen King… but it all comes back so fast.

My Duma Key hardcover has been on the shelf long enough for several people to borrow/read it (and to lose its dust jacket) but I listened instead.🤷🏻‍♀️

I loved the weirdness, creeping dread in paradise, difficult relationships honestly dealt with, and amazing characters. Plus art and a ghost ship!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2