My Summer TBR

June 30, 2019 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

With July fast approaching (how did that happen?) I thought it was about time I posted my Summer TBR. I probably should have done this a month ago but ummm… *frantically tries to come up with an excuse and fails miserably*

I’m notoriously bad for sticking strictly to my TBRs but I do find it a useful way to keep track of what books I’ve got to read and how I’m doing against my reading goals (not well). There are probably more books on this list than I’m realistically going to get through but I like to set stretch targets 😀

FROM MY SPRING LIST

I posted my last TBR list back in March and while I did manage to read 11 of the 28 books listed I did wander a little off course. There were a few on the list I can admit I’m probably never going to get to – or won’t get to any time soon – but there are a few ARCs I received from NetGalley I still plan on reading in the near future.

Believe it or not I’m still kind of okay date wise for Rosamund Lupton’s book Three Hours. There’s still a bit of time before it’s released which is part of the reason I’ve been bumping it down the list. I’m also a little wary of books about school shootings but it does seem to be getting great reviews. I do not have the same excuse for Tana French’s The Wych Elm. I’m a big fan of French’s writing and this was published ages ago. I think it’s more a case of occasionally finding her books hard to get into so waiting til I’m in the right mood.

Archenemies by Marissa Meyer and The Queen’s Resistance by Rebecca Ross both fall into the category of sequels to books I really enjoyed. But, both are YA genre fiction which I’ve been a little down on lately. Not sure if I’ve been reading too much of it but they’re all starting to feel samey.

It’s kind of a similar story with Light Years and Nocturna. Both are new to me authors and these series look great but they sound similar to other recent reads and I’ve been reluctant to start yet more series until I finish off some of the million others I seem to be midway through.

FROM NETGALLEY & READERS FIRST

My spiraling out of control NetGalley shelf (there are currently 79 books on it) does not seem to be stopping me from requesting more books. I am reading them, just haven’t been doing so well at reviewing them… oops.

Given my downer on YA fantasy I probably shouldn’t be requesting more but I just can’t resist. I mean look at the cover for We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal, there’s no way on earth I wasn’t going to try and get my hands on a copy. Sea Witch Rising is the sequel to Sea Witch (a kind of Little Mermaid villain origin story) which I loved so I couldn’t resist, and Sorcery of Thorns just seems to be getting lots of great reviews.

Thankfully I do have some crime/thrillers in the form of Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas and Shari Lapena’s Someone We Know. Then She Vanishes will be my first book by Douglas and I’ve already started it. So far it’s going well. I’m a big fan of Lapena so I have faith that Someone We Know will be fantastic.

Arctic Zoo, Serious Moonlight, and Recursion were slightly more impulsive requests. I haven’t read anything by these authors but they sound quite unique and different so am very excited about them.

FROM MY BOOKSHELF

I have sooooo many books on my bookshelf I haven’t read it’s frightening. I’m thinking I may actually need to instigate a book buying ban which is a truly terrifying thought.

At the start of the year I set myself what I thought was the easy goal of finishing off some of the series I’m midway through. I thought this would be incredibly doable because I knew two of my fave trilogies were coming to an end this year. Holy Sister and Finale have both been on my most anticipated list but despite pre ordering them and having them sitting on my shelf I’ve been putting them off.

I actually won The Corset and Social Creature in a twitter giveaway but they were already on my want to read list. They just sound so different and intriguing. Other Words for Smoke has pretty much been on my TBR since I finished Spare and Found Parts. I loved that book so am keen to get to Other Words for Smoke asap.

ON AUDIO

So I took out an audible membership this year and there have been a lot of very tempting deals. I’m a little slow on getting through audio books but I do love them. The narrator can make or break them but they’ve definitely helped me tackle books I otherwise wouldn’t have considered reading.

Illuminae and Rosemary and Rue are both new series to me but I’m a big fan of the authors. I listened to Seanan McGuire’s whole Wayward Children series on audible and loved it so I’m hoping Rosemary Rue will be of a similar quality. As for Illuminae, a few people have recommended listening to it and reading at the same time so am gonna give it a bash.

I absolutely adored the narrator of the Diviners by Libba Bray, she brought the story to life so I feel like I have to listen to continue the series on audio with Lair of Dreams. I actually can’t imagine reading the books now. I read Lady Midnight a couple of years ago and am afraid I didn’t love it but I noticed that the second book Lord of Shadows is narrated by one of my fave narrators James Marsters so I’m gonna give it a go that way.

FROM MY E-READER

I’m kind of scared to check how many unread books I have on my kindle. I think when I looked a year or two ago there were around 300 and I have definitely been buying more than I’ve been reading. Would be nice to get that number down a bit and actually read some of the books I’ve bought.

Another of my bookish resolutions this year was to read more translated fiction and books set, or by authors outwith the UK/US. I started the year pretty well but most of my recent reads have been by US or UK authors. I’m therefore hoping to get to Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir and The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen. I read and loved Palm Beach Finland by Tuomainen earlier this year so have high hopes for The Man Who Died, and Snare has been on my want to read list for a while.

To balance out all of the sci fi and fantasy I also want to pick up The Puppet Show and The Passengers. I know the second is technically sci fi but I’m intrigued by the mystery/thriller aspects to it and I’ve heard so many great things about it.

As the list is looking decidedly light on romance I think I’m also gonna pick up The Risk and Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating. I doubt these are the only romance reads I’ll pick up (it’s summer after all) but I love these authors so it’s pretty certain these will get read.

So that’s my reading plan for the next couple of months or so. Hopefully I’ll manage to stick somewhat close to it and not get tempted by too many other new books on Amazon or NetGalley (ha who am I kidding).

Have you read any of these? Are there any others I should make room for on my list? Any you’re particularly excited about?

Happy reading ❤

Summer TBR Wipeout – Update (1)

July 15, 2018July 14, 2018 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Doesn’t time fly when you’re taking part in a reading challenge 🙂 It seems like only yesterday I posted my introductory post for Candid Cover’s Summer TBR Wipeout but it seems we’re already more than two weeks into the 7 week challenge so it’s time for a progress update.

Read / Currently Reading

Time does seem to have gotten away from me a bit so I haven’t finished as many books as I’d hoped by this stage (note to self: don’t sign up for a reading challenge when you’re trying to sell & buy a house) but on the positive side I have at least managed to stick to the list. The following books I’ve either finished or have made a good start on.

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence – 4.75 Stars – I absolutely loved this sequel to Red Sister. There’s lots of action, a few unexpected twists and some fantastic character development. I especially love the relationships between the characters in this story, they’re just wonderful. Not sure what’s holding me back from giving it the full five stars but there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on (maybe just that the author keeps killing off my fave characters or that I’m going to have to wait almost a year for the next book even though it’s already written)
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – 4.5 Stars – A funny and wonderfully sweet romance with a main character who has autism. It’s kind of a gender switched Pretty Woman with our MC hiring an escort to teach her how to be in a relationship. I loved both leads and the relationship between them but did get a little frustrated with the lack of communication at times. For a debut though it’s pretty impressive and I certainly learned a lot about autism.
The End We Start From by Megan Hunter – 4 Stars – This was a very short but completely unique read about a woman trying to keep herself and her newborn baby alive when the southern parts of the UK flood. It has a very quirky style to it, it’s very much inside the head of the MC, with very little in the way of descriptions, detail or dialogue (the other characters are referred to by their initials only) but there’s something about it that made it difficult to put down.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – In Progress – I’m currently around half way through as I’m writing this post and really enjoying this story of a mixed species spaceship crew making a long and dangerous journey. The characters are incredibly likeable and even though there’s not much in the way of story it’s pretty addictive reading.
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig – In Progress – I started this about a week ago and am currently about a quarter of the way through. Haig’s a great writer but this real story of his battle against depression and anxiety is a challenging read for me so I’m dipping in and out.

Books Added/Removed

I know it’s not been long but yep, I think I need to switch some books around on the list.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers – Added – Given I’m going to see Becky Chambers on the 24th July for the launch of the third book in the Wayfarers series I think it’s probably a good idea for me to read the second book. Plus I’m really enjoying the first book 🙂
The Power by Naomi Alderman – Removed – I was planning on reading this as part of a buddy read starting today but as I’m midway through another couple of books and have quite a few others to read in the next 9 days I don’t think I’ll have time. It’s staying on my TBR but probably won’t be read as part of this challenge.
Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings – Removed – The negative reviews for this are really putting me off reading it so with all of the other books on my TBR I’m really excited about I’m going to knock it off the list. I may change my mind if loads of people tell me it’s brilliant but that seems unlikely.
Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella – Added – I meant to include this in my original list but felt like the 21 books I already had on it were more than enough. Kinsella is however one of my fave authors and I managed to snag a copy from the library so I’ll definitely be reading this at some point. And I need a bit more romance on this list 😉

So that’s my progress to date, it’s actually kind of freaking me out that I haven’t read more (I blame the weather). Hopefully I’ll have made a bit more progress by my next update around the end of the month.

Have you read any of the books on the list? What did you think of them? Have I made the right decisions to drop a couple off the list or would you recommend I keep them on there? Feel free to leave comments and links to your summer TBR below.

Happy reading everyone ❤

Summer TBR Wipeout – Introductory Post

July 2, 2017 Ali@abookishlife17 Comments

Otherwise known as the post where I freak out about how many books I need to read over the next few weeks. I know, it’s terrible being forced to read lots and lots of lovely books but somehow I’ll struggle through 🙂

I don’t usually do a TBR post, I’m never that organised, but when I spotted Candid Cover was hosting the second annual Summer TBR Wipeout it seemed like a good way to get motivated and finally knock some books off my ever increasing TBR.

The challenge runs until 13th August and if you want to join in you can here

I have a ridiculous number of books on my TBR (maybe 400, I’m scared to do a proper count) so as I’ve only got 6 weeks I thought best be at least kind of sensible and pick some of the ARCs with pending release dates and other books I’m keen to read sooner rather than later.

So here we go

NetGalley ARCs

I currently have 41 books sitting on my NetGalley shelf, *hangs head in shame*, so it’s safe to say I have a bit of a backlist. Before I get to work on that I really want to clear off the following upcoming releases.

The Rome Affair by Karen Swan – Due 13th July
Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody – Due 25th July
The Marriage Pact – Due 27th July
Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker – Due 8th August
Yesterday by Felicia Yap – Due 10th August
The Scandal by Frederick Backman – Due 10th August

Readers First

Because I clearly don’t have enough pressure in terms of ARC’s I recently joined Readers First which gives you a chance every week to win books before they’re released. All you have to do is read a first look (about the first 30 pages) and give your first impression and you’re entered into a draw to win a copy. You also collect points for writing first impressions and reviews which you can exchange for books. I currently have the following books I need/want to read.

Don’t Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon – Due 6th July
Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley – Due 6th July
Tall Oaks by Chris Whitaker – Released

Author Events

So August has turned into a month of many author events for me (currently 10) due to a combination of the Edinburgh Book Festival at the end of the month and lots of authors being on tour (they should really plan better and spread their events). Thankfully some of the authors I’m going to see (Victoria Aveyard, Patrick Ness, Alwyn Hamilton) I’m all up to date on but others I’m either behind or haven’t read a single book (oopsy) so I’m going to try and catch up over the next 6 weeks.

This Savage Song & Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab – 1st August
We Were Liars by E Lockhart – 2nd August
Wing Jones by Katherine Webber – 2nd August
Maresi by Maria Turtshaminoff – 19th August
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (or pretty much any Holly Black book) – 19th August
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy – 19th August
The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey – 20th August
NOS 4R2 by Joe Hill – 20th August

Other Books

Book club books, Fairyloot books, new releases and just general books I’ve had sitting on my shelf for a while. You can see a rather large collection of these in my header image but these are the three I really want to read (ok not the last one but definitely the other two)

Now I Rise by Kiersten White – released 6th July in UK
Roar by Cora Carmack – Fairyloot
Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk – bookclub on 14th July

Phew, that’s a lot of books.

I’m not sure 21+ is a realistic target (particularly due to my tendency to wander off track) but it’s supposed to be a challenge and there are a lot of books on this list I’ve wanted to read for ages so I’m looking forward to it.

Are there any on the list you’ve read and would recommend? Any you’d avoid? Particularly interested in recommendations for Joe Hill, Derek Landy and Holly Black books as they are completely new authors to me and I may switch what I read from them 🙂

Anyway, it looks like my next 6 weeks are going to be super busy so I’d better get reading. Wish me luck and I’ll post an update around the 15th.

ARC Review: Holiday in the Hamptons by Sarah Morgan

June 11, 2017 Ali@abookishlife11 Comments

Holiday in the Hamptons by Sarah Morgan

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I always look forward to a new book from Sarah Morgan and yet again I managed to devour the whole thing in one sitting, they are just sooo addictive. Absolutely perfect when you want to lose yourself for a little while.

This is the 5th book in the author’s From Manhattan with Love series but could easily be read as a standalone as, while there are some mild spoilers for previous books, there doesn’t tend to be too much of an overlap.

This time the story follows Felicity (Fliss), sister of Daniel who was the MC in the previous book New York, Actually, who as the story begins is trying to avoid ex husband Seth. They married when they were teenagers but it was a short marriage that left them both a bit broken. Unwilling to face him when he starts working in Manhattan, Fliss flees to the Hamptons to stay with her Grandmother but her plan fails spectacularly when she bumps into him within an hour of arriving and finds he lives in the area.

Seth however has never gotten over Fliss and is determined to win her back no matter what lengths she goes to to avoid him. But with all of the history between them, can you ever really go back?

Essentially it’s a story about dealing with and learning from past mistakes and maybe trying again and I really loved it. Felicity is probably one of my favorite Sarah Morgan characters, or at least the one I can relate to the most. She’s not a gushy romantic who wants to talk about her feelings. She’d much rather bottle everything up and channel all of her energy into her work. It’s not necessarily that healthy but I loved how independent and determined she was. She’s terrified of being hurt or showing how she feels in case it’s used against her but in many way’s she’s incredibly strong and fiercely protective of her twin sister Harriet.

Seth *swoons* is probably my idea of the perfect romantic interest. I’m an animal lover and he’s a vet so I was always going to crush on him (I’ve had a crush on just about every vet I’ve met in real life). What makes him better though is that he’s just so sweet and caring *swoons again*.

The relationship between them is definitely interesting and they balance each other out nicely. There was possibly a bit less of a spark than I would have liked but there is just enough chemistry that you want them to get together.

One of the highlights of this book however was the animals. Seth is a vet and Fliss runs a dog walking business with her sister so dogs feature a lot and Morgan gives them such great characters that I wanted to rush out and get one (possibly Hero). They definitely add a lot of light relief which is occasionally needed in this story.

I also loved how Matilda, a very minor character from the first book in the series got to play a much more significant role this time around. She’s now a happily married and successful romance writer and the source of some brilliant insights into relationships (and hilariously funny at times). I would actually be quite interested in getting to read her story at some point as I think I’d enjoy it.

I did love the story in this one, I like a good second time around romance and while you know how it’ll no doubt end it’s an enjoyable ride with a bit more depth than you would expect from this type of read. There are quite a few secrets revealed throughout and some surprises that definitely keep you reading even when you should be doing something much less fun (cleaning, cooking, sleeping).

Overall, yet another great read from Morgan and now I’m looking forward to book 6 which I suspect will be Harriet’s story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.