Author: Haze

Book Review | The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Posted December 8, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

The Reason

I just really needed something light-hearted after a lot of horror for October, plus other heavy reads.

The Quotes

“When we care about someone, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. We have to consider not only what they did, but also why they did it. Intent matters.”

“We get to decide how much of our hearts we want to give them.”

“Being an artist is sometimes about not being afraid to do it badly first.”

“The day my husband moves out of our apartment is also the day Resident Evil Village releases for PlayStation, and you might be surprised which of these things lands with a greater emotional impact.”

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this one because I absolutely love the fake dating trope. But also, a lot of the story resonated for me in terms of having a difficult relationship with family and finding someone who advocates for you no matter what. One of the reasons I love the found family trope as well.

The premise is a little fantastical because we all want to be married to a rich heir who’s actually a really good guy, but they are few and hard to find in our real world. But who cares? This is a book, for escapism, and fantasizing about being the adored wife of a hot billionaire who’s absolutely into you. So I am totally here for it!

I loved Anna and West. I love their story and the way their fake marriage turned into a real one. I hated West’s parents with a passion, and I’m not completely satisfied with their comeuppance, but as long as Anna and West get their HEA, I’ll accept it.

This was just the book I needed after reading so many heavy/horror books over a short period of time. I think I need more!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Posted December 8, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless – mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

The sequel to The Shining, which I read recently, and I’m reading everything Stephen King! Book by book.

The Quotes

“There came a time when you realized that moving on was pointless. That you took yourself with you wherever you went.”

“The silence wasn’t uncomfortable or hostile but exhausted–the quiet of people who have a great deal to think about but not a hell of a lot to say.”

“We’re only as sick as our secrets.”

“You don’t have to live this way if you don’t want to. You CAN, of course… but you don’t have to.”

The Narrator(s)

Will Patton. He’s one of my favorite narrators for Stephen King books!

My Thoughts

I watched the movie for Doctor Sleep a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I meant to read the book then but hadn’t gotten around to it until now. The first time I read The Shining (and watched the movie) was even more years ago and by the time I watched the Doctor Sleep movie, I’d pretty much forgotten everything about The Shining except for the regular pop culture references.

The Shining was the BOTM for my online bookclub in October, and I loved revisiting the story again so after it was done, I decided to go ahead and jump into Doctor Sleep next. I’m so glad I did because it was brilliant!

I’m a huge fan of SK’s books so I may be a bit biased, but I love how he tells a story. The transition from Danny Torrance being little boy in The Shining to a full adult in Doctor Sleep is so smooth and expertly written. I loved seeing him as an adult; reflecting on his childhood, his experience in the Overlook Hotel, the loss of his father, and what happens next. That in itself is brilliant!

And then there’s the story itself! Abra is another little girl with the Shining and there are evil forces who want to possess her Shine. Danny plays a part in thwarting the evil forces, and I love how things come a full circle in the end. The character development in SK’s stories are always so incredible, and as I’ve said so many times, I’m a character-driven reader, so it’s no wonder I love his books. I will never not recommend SK’s books!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Posted December 3, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love – and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph – a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

This has been on my radar a long, long time. I did start reading it a couple of times but felt intimidated by the chonk and didn’t get into it. Finally decided to bite the bullet because it was a buddy read which helped to keep me motivated.

The Quotes

“I had the epiphany that laughter was light, and light was laughter, and that this was the secret of the universe.”

“Caring too much for objects can destroy you. Only—if you care for a thing enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn’t it? And isn’t the whole point of things—beautiful things—that they connect you to some larger beauty?”

“You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life.”

“When you feel homesick,’ he said, ‘just look up. Because the moon is the same wherever you go.”

“Sometimes it’s about playing a poor hand well.”

The Narrator(s)

David Pittu. It was perfect! I enjoyed listening to his narration and the voices for the different characters.

My Thoughts

This book reminded me a lot of Demon Copperhead as I was reading it. A coming-of-age story about a child who loses his mother, gets tossed around by his supposedly well-meaning (and some not-so-well-meaning) guardians, with questionable friends and companions, battling personal demons, and long, rambling storytelling (in a good way).

They are very different stories though, even if they have some of the same elements, and I really enjoyed reading this one. It managed to surprise and shock me, and there are several interesting and colorful, and complex, characters that I can’t help but enjoy. I want to throttle some of them, but do I also love them? Yes, unfortunately! There are, of course, difficult things that happen in the book, but there’s also a sense of humor that comes through in the telling of the story.

This was such an amazing story and so immersive once I got into it. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read and to finish it.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

Posted December 3, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they’re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor’s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain’s shoes, for an adventure that is both ‘brilliant’ (Holly Black) and ‘supremely satisfying’ (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue’s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Bookish Books Challenge

The Reason

I was enticed by this because it was a buddy read, but had no idea what it was about going in. I ended up loving it so I’m glad I read it!

The Quotes

“I love you as a knife loves a throat,” he murmured as the dead overwhelmed her. “I crawled out of hell to fall at your feet.”

“An anti-hero was just a villain with good PR.”

“In real life, people let you go. That was why people longed for the love from stories, love that felt more real than real love.”

“Consider this. A witch who curses you is just telling the future you don’t want to hear.”

“Only heroes cared about honour. Villains were allowed to be practical.”

My Thoughts

I abso-freaking-lutely love this book! I went in with no idea what it was going to be about and was so pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up loving it! It’s isekai, a term I just recently learned about, and it’s just so much fun!

Isekai, a fantasy subgenre featuring stories in which ordinary people are transported to a magical world.

I love the story, I love the characters, I love that it’s a found family story! It’s funny and irreverent, it makes fun of book tropes, and I love how relatable the villains are. I am completely invested, and now I’m just so upset that I need to wait so long for the next book to come out. This book was such a delightful read!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Dear Enemy by Jean Webster

Posted December 3, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Dear Enemy by Jean Webster

Dear Enemy is the sequel to Jean Webster’s novel Daddy-Long-Legs. First published in 1915, it was among the top ten best sellers in the US in 1916.

The story is presented in a series of letters written by Sallie McBride, Judy Abbott’s classmate and best friend in Daddy-Long-Legs. Among the recipients of the letters are Judy; Jervis Pendleton, Judy’s husband and the president of the orphanage where Sallie is filling in until a new superintendent can be installed; Gordon Hallock, a wealthy Congressman and Sallie’s later fiancé; and the orphanage’s doctor, embittered Scotsman Robin ‘Sandy’ MacRae (to whom Sallie addresses her letters: “Dear Enemy”).

Webster employs the epistolary structure to good effect; Sallie’s choices of what to recount to each of her correspondents reveal a lot about her relationships with them.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
The Classics Club

The Reason

I loved Daddy-Long-Legs by the author, and although I’ve read this sequel before, it’s been a long time and I thought it might be time to revisit.

The Quotes

“The more I study men, the more I realize that they are nothing in the world but boys grown too big to be spankable.”

“The awful thing about a vacation is that the moment it begins your happiness is already clouded by its approaching end.”

“We all have a collection of memories that we would happily lose, but somehow those are just the ones that insist upon sticking.”

My Thoughts

I didn’t love this as much as Daddy-Long-Legs because I think Judy is so much more relatable and perhaps also it was her carefree nature that got me. Sallie wasn’t as fun, but to be fair, they have grown up a bit since college, and she’s handling an orphanage which obviously requires a lot more responsibility than college kids normally think about.

I think the romance with this book is cute though! With a title like Dear Enemy, and the enemies to lovers trope being so popular now. The ending did seem a little abrupt to me, I feel like I need a little more romance than that!

We don’t see a lot of Judy at all, but at least we see her through Sallie’s letters and we know that she’s happy and well! I feel like this book is a different tone than what we got with Daddy-Long-Legs and talks about some serious topics. I was also surprised with some of the more “modern” takes – simply because I have no concept of history and when some ideas were introduced to the world, but I do feel like Sallie was progressive for the time and I liked that.

I read this book before and I think I didn’t care very much for it then, maybe because I was also expecting more of Judy and the same vibes I got from Daddy-Long-Legs, but managing my expectations this time, I enjoyed it a lot more for what it is and I think it’s a good read on its own merit.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Posted December 3, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.

It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—the signs of what June always knew was coming. But June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.

After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant novel of romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.

The Reason

It’s a buddy read and it sounded interesting!

The Quotes

“You may have ruined my life, June. But first, you gave me one.”

“We stood there, four generations of Farrow women, cursed to live between worlds. But in that moment, in the valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains, we existed only in one.”

“I had only one ambition in my simply built life, and that was to be sure the Farrow curse would end with me. It was as good a place as any to end a story. I wasn’t the first Farrow, but I would be the last.”

My Thoughts

On the pacing
I didn’t know it was a time travel story when I picked it up! The description sure didn’t mention any of that, but I liked that it pretty much went quickly into the time travel storyline rather than keep us hanging. In fact, I think the thing I liked most about it is that things moved quickly and we get into the meat of the story immediately. I was slow to start the book but once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down and had to keep reading! I think if this was a slower-paced story I wouldn’t have liked it as much because a lot of things might not hold up very well if the author gave us more time to contemplate.

On the idea
I tend to give a lot of leeway to time travel stories for how they handle the paradox of the past affecting the future and all of that, and I love the way the author uses a different concept of time travel here and how she resolves the paradox.

On the characters
I don’t feel like the characters in the book were developed very well. Things moved too fast for us to get to know them deeply. We’re told, not shown, who the love interests are, who the good guys are, who the bad guys are. There’s no subtlety; they’re almost caricatures. And as I mentioned earlier, if this was a slower-paced story, I might hate that about the characters, but since it was so fast-paced, I just went with it and enjoyed the story for what it was.

On the story
Again, the fact that it was fast-paced helped to gloss over a lot of the things I feel are unresolved; details that I won’t mention here, but of the things that did get resolved, I do like how they got resolved.

Overall
I loved the pacing and the time travel idea. I really loved the story too, in and of itself. I think that the character development and connections were the weakest part of the book but easy to overlook because of the fast pace. However, I won’t dwell too much on that because if I do, I’ll start nitpicking and I don’t think I need to do that with this book. It’s good as it is and I enjoyed reading it very much!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Monthly Wrap Up | November 2024

Posted December 3, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 0 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

November 2024 Wrap Up

November was a hectic month for me and I missed several weekly posts and didn’t write a single book review. I also haven’t replied comments here or visited other book blogs. I have so much to catch up on! I’m also feeling a little pressured because there is one more month in 2024 left, and I haven’t read so many of the books I listed on my 2024 tbr, and I don’t think I can.

December is probably going to be another hectic month, and I’m already thinking of all the ways I want to slow down for 2025. Unfortunately, I already committed to some things that will go on into 2025, but I’ll do my best to lock it down!

My November 2024 TBR Intentions

I did relatively well on my November TBR intentions, but The Glass Chateau has been on my TBR the longest out of all the others listed, and it’s the one I don’t think I’ll be able to get to until next year! But let’s just focus on the wins, okay? 😅

  1. Super Powereds: Year 3 by Drew Hayes
  2. Super Powereds: Year 4 by Drew Hayes
  3. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  4. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
  5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
  6. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  7. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan
  8. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
  9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Books Read in November 2024

  1. Super Powereds: Year 3 by Drew Hayes
  2. Super Powereds: Year 4 by Drew Hayes
  3. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  4. Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
  5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
  6. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
  7. The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
  8. The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes
  9. Undeath and Taxes by Drew Hayes
  10. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  11. Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
  12. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Notable Books This Month

I was super surprised with Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan! I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, but it was just fun and so enjoyable to read. It’s isekai, apparently (I just learned the term isekai recently!), and I love it!

There were a couple of heavy books this month but because of stuff happening in my personal life, I ended up reading a lot of light and fun books this month because they were all I could do. Specifically I loved:

  • The Super Powered series by Drew Hayes
  • Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
  • Fred, the Vampire Accountant series by Drew Hayes
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman

There are many more books to go in the latter two series and I am so hyped up about them! I had to pause on them because there were other books with deadlines I had to finish, but I’m totally going back to them whenever I can!

Reading Challenges

All done with challenges this year. Time to think of new challenges for next year! I’m going to slow it down and go a little easier on myself next year, hopefully.

December 2024 TBR Intentions

Most of the books listed below are December BOTMs or buddy reads with a December deadline. I also fully intend to continue with the other series I’m reading now; Fred, the Vampire Accountant, and Dungeon Crawler Carl.

  1. The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
  2. In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren
  3. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
  4. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
  5. The Outsider by Stephen King
  6. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
  7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

At this point, there are several books I listed on my TBR since the beginning of the year that I still haven’t gotten to and don’t think I’ll be able to get to before next year. Oh well. There have also been so many books I didn’t intend to read this year, but did and loved, so it totally balances out!

December is the last month of the year; I hope you all reach your reading goals this year, receive all the bookish gifts and wishes you make, and have the most wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

How was your month in November? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful December with lots of great books!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Bookish Things I’m Thankful For In 2024

Posted November 25, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 13 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie

Canada’s Thanksgiving was last month, but I’m happy to play for bookish things I’m thankful for this year! Also, I’m having a couple of intense weeks and I haven’t been around much on the blog but I’m really thankful that you’re here and I’ll resume visiting blogs and replying comments as soon as I can!

Top Ten Bookish Things I’m Thankful For In 2024

  1. The Calgary Public Library – I honestly believe that my library is the best library in the world. So many book selections both physical and digital, so many books you can check out at any one time, so many free programs, so much support provided to the people of Calgary. I even had a friend from New York visit and even she said that my library is better than the one she has in New York! I am thankful every day for my library!
  2. My bookish friend visiting from New York – I met her through an online bookclub, and we bonded through the mutual love of books. Plus we did all the bookish things while she was here, and she gifted me a couple of gorgeous handmade book sleeves!
  3. Calgary Reads Big Book Sale – She happened to visit during the book sale, so we went and we got lots of books for cheap, and I went back on the final day when all the books were free!
  4. My in-person bookclub – I started the bookclub early this year and it’s been going really strong even though we started out with only a few members. We even went on a road trip to the Royal Tyrell museum together when we read our non-fiction dinosaur related book this summer! I look forward to seeing them every month and we always have a great time. So thankful for my bookclub family!
  5. My online bookclub – A different bookclub from the one I met my bookish friend in New York. I’m no longer in the first one, but a different friend introduced me to this other bookclub this year and I love it! It’s bigger and has so many more bookish activities – it’s a blessing and a curse, tbh, because I’m finding it hard to say no to all the fun activities and buddy reads!
  6. All the buddy reads – I realize some people are solitary readers – and I’m happy reading quietly on my own too sometimes – but I also absolutely love buddy reads and talking about the books with other readers! It enhances my reading experience, helps me remember the books better, and gives me so much perspective from other readers’ POVs. I just love buddy reads!
  7. An Audible membership – I treated myself to an Audible membership for my birthday this year, and I’m already loving it so much! I got it on a discount and I’ve already listened to so many amazing books this year, and discovering more! I still love reading books on text but some books are just better on audio, especially when you’ve got a great narrator on board!
  8. Discovering so many amazing new-to-me books this year – One of the best things about being a part of book communities is discovering all the books that I might not have picked up on my own, but because of other book bloggers and bookclub members raving about them, made me pick them up. I’ve read so many new favorite books this year I never expected to love!
  9. Meeting with another book blogger – So even though I’m active in a few online book spaces, I haven’t been to many in-person book events. However, I got lucky that one of the people I got to know from the bookblogging community lives relatively close to me and I got to meet her in real life! I met Susan from The Cue Card last month and had the best time hanging out with her!
  10. The bookblogging community – And last but not least, I am so grateful to be a part of this bookblogging community, and especially every one of you taking part in the Top Ten Tuesdays, hosted by the wonderful Jana, every week. It’s one of the highlights of my week; coming up with ideas for top ten lists and seeing what everyone else has come up with! I am so thankful for every one of you!

What bookish things are you thankful for this year? Did you discover any new favorite books? Have you met any new bookish friends?

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books Beginning with B

Posted November 18, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 13 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My TBR (submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits).

I sort of already have a list of earliest published books on my TBR, for The Classics Club challenge, so I decided to go with the next alphabet on my easy go-to topic; Books Beginning with B. (I can’t believe I’m only on the second letter!)

Top Ten Books Beginning with B

  1. Bear by Marian Engel – This is a weird but interesting book. I’m not sure if I would recommend it to anyone, except for the sake of curiosity. I buddy read it with some friends and we did get some interesting discussions out of it though.
  2. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center – I loved this one! Katherine Center has become one of my favorite authors, and I’d probably read anything she writes.
  3. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree – Another one I loved! I love Viv, and I love her friends, and I love the whole cozy bookshop setting as well. And obviously, the best thing for me about these books is the found family aspect, because I love found families!
  4. The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz – This one was okay. It’s a good and fun read, but nothing really special stood out for me.
  5. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie – I wasn’t sure about this book at first because the characters were so unlikeable in the beginning, but I ended up really loving it and the characters!
  6. Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane – This has been on my TBR for ages and I’m trying my best to get to it soon! I love the author’s other books, and I’m sure I’ll love this one too, I just have to read it.
  7. The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey – The first book of an amazing series! I highly recommend this one!
  8. The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed – I have not read this one, but it’s been praised a lot and I am very interested in the premise!
  9. Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe – Tess Sharpe is so great at writing badass young female protagonists! I loved this one and also The Girls I’ve Been, which is supposed to be made into a movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, but I haven’t any news about it since.
  10. Book of Night by Holly Black – I’m a huge fan of Holly Black, and I loved this story and the characters! There’s also supposed to be a sequel coming out next year and I cannot wait to dive back into the story!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Top Ten Tuesday | Witches, Witches, Everywhere

Posted November 11, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 33 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Destination Titles (titles with name of places in them. These places can be real or fiction!) 

Looking up books with destination titles, I came across a lot of titles with witches from somewhere or other, and I decided to focus my list today on them! It’s also because I ended up adding so many of these to my TBR and book addicts love company, so I’m obliged to share these in the hopes you’ll add some to your TBR too!

Top Ten Books with Witches Everywhere

  1. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare – I don’t remember reading this, but it’s listed as read on my GR and I gave it 2/5 stars! I don’t know if I clicked it by accident or if I really didn’t like it, but I must (re)read it soon to find out for sure!
  2. The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho – I haven’t read a lot of Coelho but I did like The Alchemist. I’ll probably read this one too someday.
  3. The Witches of New York by Ami McKay – This is one where witchcraft and medical science collides. It sounds delightfully creepy and mysterious and I am very interested in reading it.
  4. The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike – I feel like I’ve heard about this one before and also the author, but the ratings aren’t very good. That makes me very curious!
  5. The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy – This one follows three generations of women and as with many witch stories, has vibes of unfair prosecution of witches. Gothic horror and historical fiction, sounds right up my alley!
  6. The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche – The MC uses gemstones to heal the sick, but has to play nice with others to get herself recognized as a physician. This one sounds really good too, and I love the cover!
  7. The Witch of Little Italy by Suzanne Palmieri – This one looks so charming and light-hearted compared to the other books listed here. The author has several books about witches in other places as well; The Witch of Belladonna Bay, The Witch of Bourbon Street, but I chose to go with this one because it’s her debut.
  8. The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris – Inspired by the true story of the last person to be executed for witchcraft in Britain. I need to read this!
  9. The Witch of Napoli by Michael Schmicker – Aaahhh, the battle between science and religion! Personally, I believe that science and spirituality are compatible with each other. Religion is a different story, however.
  10. The Witch of Cologne by Tobsha Learner – A sexy, witchy romance! Sign me up! This author’s name is very familiar to me but I can’t remember where I heard about her.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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