This week was a bit of a doozy. If anyone needs me, I'll be cozied up, spending quality time with my bookshelf all weekend 📚

PS: What are you reading right now? Anything you'd recommend?

The backstory isn't quite as endearing as most of Tessa's more recent stuff, but all of her signature chemistry and wit is there so it's still a pick overall ❤️

Phenomenal! At some point maybe I'll stop being shocked when Slaughter exceeds my already high expectations, every single time. Here's hoping she continues to crank out these books, bc I don't know how I'll ever say bye to Will Trent 🤗

I've been falling down the rabbit hole that is start/stopping library books and feeling guilty because of how long I was on the waitlist for them. So I decided to put my Kindle to the side for a sec and reach for a pinch hitter that I'd been saving, the most recent Karin Slaughter 👏🏽

Bailing at 35%. I gave it 4 days and 275 pages, but it's taking a realllyyy long time to get anywhere and I just can't imagine slogging through 525 more pages before it's due back to the library. Bummer bc I've heard good things, but maybe just not what I'm in the mood for at the moment? 🤔

This is a really hard choice, but I'd probably have to have endings spoiled because it would suck to never be satisfied 😱

1. Tessa Dare is truly a gem - this book is a phenomenal addition to the series and I absolutely inhaled it in one sitting. I have yet to read something of hers that I'm not completely enamored with!

2. My bag made it onto the flight! Yay! Never have I ever been so relieved to see it come around the carousel 😂. And thank goodness too, because my original flight out of Orlando is still grounded and not scheduled to leave for another two hours!

My flight home from Orlando was massively delayed (like 6+ hours delayed 🙈) so I wrangled my way onto an earlier flight into LGA instead of JFK. It will be a minor miracle if my checked bag made it on the plane too, but in the meantime it won't do me any good to worry about it so I'm digging into this gem of a book and hoping it will keep me distracted 🛫

All year long ❤️🍂📚

A little underwhelming, if I'm being honest. Though a bit of that could probably be attributed to a busy week and scarce time to read, I was just bored. Could be a good pick for folks who enjoy romance of the PG "closed door" variety though!

Done with the conference and enjoying a few extra days in the Orlando sun. Got some reading in at the Volcano Bay water park yesterday, but I haven't really connected with this book or the characters yet so it's feeling like a bit of a slog. Probably not the best choice for a busy week with minimal time to read, but I was trying to balance my library holds 😆.

Loving this brief, sunny respite before heading back to fall in NYC 🍂

Welp, was gonna get Imaginary Friend since I'm not feeling this month's picks, but I hesitated and now it's sold out. So no #BOTM for me this month 😩

A forthcoming Hunger Games prequel? Say what now?!

I'm in Orlando for work this week, attending the Grace Hopper Conference (for women in tech). But ya'll - Google gave us Universal park tix and we're having a private kick off event in Diagon Alley after hours (😱). I've got my butterbeer and am basically just living my best life 😂

I wasn't really feeling this month's #BOTM picks and was planning to skip, but then I discovered that you apparently don't have to pick one of the new ones if you start with a "member favorite". So now I'm trying to decide whether or not to get Imaginary Friend so that I can add on Wayward Son (which is what I really want). I guess it's a horror, which at least makes sense for October? ??

What do you think I should do? Skip or nah? ?

Gym this morning followed by brunch, a cocktail, and a book this afternoon. I enjoyed this book same as the others, though I'm hoping the series will start to shake up the whole "every murder being investigated seems to have a big connection to Roarke and/or his empire" angle. I love him and all, but that hand is well overplayed at this point.

I feel like I should prefice this by saying that my sister was in town the last week so my reading time was few and far between, I read this book in short bursts and it certainly didn't help. I love Laura Lippman in general, and this was written very well, but the twist didn't do it for me and the ending felt a bit anticlimactic. Loved the use of shifting perspectives though!

Three words: HARRY POTTER WALLPAPER. I may need to redecorate my house, I'm actually a bit obsessed with the dark "Black Family Tree" print ?

www.minalima.com

Non-bookish post (apologies for that) but I wanted to share with my Litsy fam. This past year has been a journey - I had weight loss surgery, started working out 4x/wk, completely overhauled my diet, and lost 75 pounds. These two pictures were taken exactly one year apart (😱). I'm just here to say - never be afraid to go after what you want!

WLS also sometimes has a weird stigma, so I'm trying not to hide that part of me. I'm proud of myself!

I was browsing Libby (like I don't have enough on hand to read 😂) and stumbled on this Will Trent novella! Short stories aren't usually my thing but Slaughter's signature awesomeness was enough to have me inhale this one, like a brief hello to one of my favorite characters. It's unsettling and my heart was in my throat, but a quick, nicely done page-turner!

What do you think? I would have to slog through that DNF, because not getting to finish my next three reads feels infinitely worse to me 😂

Fantastic! Totally different from The Gentleman's Guide, but equal parts amazing and a great sequel. Think a lot less romance, and a lot more laugh-out-loud smashing of the patriarchy. Incredibly well done, with interesting characters and important themes, all wrapped up in historical fiction that feels authentic but still fresh and modern 👏🏽

YAAASSS. Slaughter's next Will Trent book has a name 👏🏽 (we just have to wait until Aug 2020 😭)

I'm so excited about this new Starz series based on Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad books! 👏🏽

I've been in LA for work this week and haven't had much time to read. But that view! 😍

Got in some quality hammock reading time today with a new book 👏🏽

This was good! Several mysteries wrapped up in an interesting backstory that made for a compelling beach read. It was a little longer than it needed to be, so the ending dragged a bit, but overall I'm wondering why I don't pick up Mary Kay Andrews' books more often! 🏖

"Why spend 6 hours seeing IT when you could spend 45 hours hearing IT?" - Audible's Instagram post

I still haven't made it all the way through this brick of a book, but this made me laugh ?

This was good, though I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as everyone else seems to. Cute, but predictable and schmaltzy and kind of gave me lifetime movie vibes. #BOTM

Loved, loved, LOVED this book! I was worried that I'd feel election fatigue but was delighted to find myself completely sucked into this gem of an alternate reality where there's a female democratic POTUS, a multi-racial first family (from Texas), and some serious ? between the first son and "Henry" the Prince of Wales (don't let the cutesy cover fool you, this is not "YA" like I thought ?)

Really impressed by this swoony debut! ??? #romance

Throw in a bookish candle and a pumpkin spiced cold brew and it's 💯% accurate! 🤓🍂

HECK 👏🏽 YES 👏🏽 such a great follow up to the first book! Intensely steamy and leaves off in a place that makes me glad I'm already on the waitlist for when the third book comes out ❤️ #romance M/M

(📸 I'm a brunch obsessed New Yorker, what can I say 😆)

As a southern woman now living in NYC I expected to relate to this at least a little bit, but ultimately found the "humor" to be dated and just kinda boring. The "Southern Lady Code" was basically one sentence per essay and the only one I liked is on the cover. Otherwise, the essays felt like weirdly pieced together ramblings and I only finished because it was short. Bless her heart, Helen was just not my cup of tea I'm afraid.

I don't know what it was about this particular instalment that had me hooked from start to finish (more so than usual I mean), but I absolutely inhaled it! May just have really been in the mood for Roarke 😂

(📸 me being a basic b*tch with my delicious pumpkin cream cold brew from Starbucks 😋)

I was only going to get one but my thumb slipped 🤷🏽‍♀️ #BOTM

As a single female with absolutely no desire to have kids, I can't really relate to this sordid tale about a fancy new school for gifted children and the lengths these competitive, wealthy parents will go to to ensure their kid makes the cut (thank goodness). But it's chock-full of juicy drama, compulsive writing, and bad behavior, so I basically just grabbed some popcorn and let myself be entertained 😂 #BOTM

It's like the unofficial rule of library holds - they always, always, always seem to come in at once! I just started one of last month's BOTM picks and then I'll have to dive into one of these - they're all so different I'm not even sure where to start 😆

Whew, that was much more intense than the average Nora Roberts book! The romantic plot doesn't come into play until nearly halfway through and there isn't much of a mystery because you're told exactly who the bad guy is early on - but that doesn't make it any less sinister. The mass shooting storyline is a bit too real, but I definitely recommend!

(📸 Book + brunch + soaking in the last of summer by sitting outside to eat for as long as I'm able)

I've mostly been checking stuff out from the library lately, but a new Slaughter has to stay on my shelf. Now the question is - do I inhale it immediately or save for a rainy day 🤔

"A half-Jewish, half-nothing queer kid moves to an LDS-infested town. He can't wait to leave."

I've read several Christina Lauren adult romances, but this was my first of their YA - I definitely recommend! It gives definite Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda vibes, but takes place deep in a predominantly Mormon town - cue the obvious complications. Felt a bit too churchy for me at times, but well done and tugs the heartstrings! #loveislove ?️‍?

Oof, I don't even know where to start. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things was by far my favorite book in 2016 so the bar was set *extremely* high, and sadly, as much as it physically pains me to say it, I didn't enjoy this at all. Gentry's whole medieval speech angle felt forced, tedious, and exhausting. I feel like I just got caught in the crosshairs of a drive-by Renaissance fair. This will be a love it or hate it book, for sure #BOTM #WTF

Squeee, I won the Broadway ticket lottery for today's Frozen matinee! I haven't seen it yet and it isn't one that I'd pay top dollar for, even knowing that bc it's Disney it's unlikely to ever go on sale. But $35?! Heck yes! ❄️

I do so love when an opening paragraph immediately grabs your attention! #BOTM

A bit humid in NYC today but that didn't stop me from soaking in every bit of summer still left and taking a nice, long stroll that conveniently included one of my favorite pastimes - perusing the $1 carts at @strandbookstore 😍

Another solid addition to the series! Though I wish I'd had the time to get through it quicker, the suspects started to blur together so some of the twists weren't as impactful as they could have been with me trying to remember who the person was, haha.

But I'm finally up to double digits with this series! 10 down, 40 to go 🤣

Accurate 🤣

Oh. Em. Gee. I'm blushing! I've seen this book described as "the gay 50 Shades" but I honestly think that does it a grave disservice considering how fantastic a writer Alexis Hall is!!! I mean, whew, I don't know what else to say besides holy smokes and I'm already on the wait list for book 2 ?

#romance

A decent twist wasn't enough for me on this one, I'm afraid. I feel like you never truly get to the root of the characters and their motivations, it all stays very surface level and contrived. You also really need to suspend disbelief to buy that the "diary" chapters were written by an 11-yr old ?

(? another day, another book, another brunch ?)

I have no plans to leave the house this weekend. Just me, a bunch of library holds, and some book boyfriends 📚

I guessed whodunnit very early on but figured I had to be wrong because it seemed too obvious. Entertaining enough, but not my cup of tea. But then again I don't tend to gravitate towards gothic mysteries in general, so I may be the wrong audience. I could see this being a cozy fall read if you enjoy this type of book though! 🎃