Can’t Wait Wednesday | 2/3

February 3, 2021February 3, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Can’t Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings based on the meme Waiting on Wednesday by Breaking the Spine. In this weekly post people share a book that they’re excited about being released.

I was really excited about this one when I first heard about it and am eager to get to it. It comes out April 6th from Delacorte Press – be sure to check it out!

As sweet as a macaron from Laduree, with writing as crisp as a freshly baked baguette, this romantic novel set in Paris about an American ballerina and a charming French boy is parfait for fans of American Royals and Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Sixteen-year-old Mia, an American girl at an elite summer ballet program, has six weeks to achieve her dreams: to snag an audition with one of the world’s best ballet companies. But there’s more to Paris than ballet—especially when a charming French boy, Louis, wants to be her tour guide—and the pair discover the city has a few mysteries up its sleeve.

In the vein of romances like Love and Gelato, this is the perfect summer adventure for anyone looking to get swept away in the City of Love.

Happy reading!

Review | Girl Logic by Iliza Shlesinger

February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

From breakout stand-up comedian Iliza Shlesinger comes a subversively funny collection of essays and observations on the secret genius of irrational behavior.

Have you ever been pissed because you’re not pretty enough, and then gotten even more pissed that someone didn’t find you as pretty as you think you are? Have you ever obsessed over the size of your thighs while eating dessert, all the while saying you’ll work out extra tomorrow? Or spent endless hours wondering why you have to bear the brunt of other people’s insecurities? I mean, after all, I’m pretty great. Why cope with insecurities I don’t already have?

That last one’s just me? All right, then.

But if the rest sounds familiar, you are experiencing Girl Logic: a characteristically female way of thinking that appears contradictory and circuitous but is actually a complicated and highly evolved way of looking at the world. You end up considering every repercussion of every choice (about dating, career, clothes, lunch) before making a move toward what you really want. And why do we attempt these mental hurdles? Well, that’s what this book is all about.

The fact is, whether you’re obsessing over his last text or the most important meeting of your career, your Girl Logic serves a purpose: It helps push you, question what you want, and clarify what will make you a happier, better person. Girl Logic can be every confident woman’s secret weapon, and this book shows you how to wield it.

Since I really enjoy Iliza Shlesinger’s comedy I was eager to pick this up as soon as I knew about it. If you do not enjoy her comedy style or jokes, then you will likely not enjoy this book. It’s like an extended comedy show with anecdotes and stories to illustrate her points. I do recommend picking up the audiobook for this one since Iliza narrates it herself and this makes it even more like one of her shows. I did enjoy the background she gave through her childhood and up and could definitely relate with what she said about how your 20s definitely differ from your 30s.

If you enjoy Shlesinger’s comedy style, then you will likely enjoy this book, but if you don’t like it then you may not enjoy this book. It is infused with her specific style, especially in the audiobook.

Happy reading!

Book Haul | January 2021

February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Hey everyone! That’s right, book hauls are back now too – at least for the foreseeable future. I won’t lie, going book shopping or ordering a couple books have been boosts to my mental health when I’ve needed it, so this month’s haul is pretty large.

In January I acquired 16 books – four came from book of the month (my pick, two add ons and my freebie from the finalists for being a BFF) a couple came from Amazon and then the rest were split between my local indie bookstore and Barnes and Noble.

I don’t know whether February will be better or worse, but I’m not going to beat up on myself if it’s worse. This is one of the few things boosting my mental health, so if it helps I’m not going to tell myself not to do it. Plus, I read way more books than I acquired – which I consider a win.

For those wondering where Calypso is in all this…she was supervising of course!

Happy reading!

Wrap Up | January 2021

January 31, 2021January 31, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Hey everyone! I know I haven’t done wrap ups in a while but they are definitely back. There are going to be some changes though. I’m not going to be going super in depth on what I read or my specific ratings and do something more like bullet point updates. This may evolve and change over time, but I’m going to do what feels right to me.

If you want to see all the books I read and my ratings on books that I read that I don’t necessarily cover on the blog – you are more than welcome to add me as a friend or follow me over on Goodreads. There are some books that I don’t always write up full reviews for, but I always rate them over there.

While today is still technically the 31st, I don’t anticipate finishing any more books by the end of the day, so I’m fairly confident this post will be accurate. In the month of January I’ve completed a total of 32 books, which does include a good mix of poetry, manga, graphic novels and short stories/novellas in addition to full length novels.

For my TBR game I ended up completing four of the six books I had selected, which I’m pretty happy with. Yes, I probably could have taken care of at least one of them this weekend, but it ended up being more of a self care weekend where I did other things. I will be carrying Shutter and Bed of Roses over until I finish them.
For my Nancy Drew reread “challenge” I ended up completing three books, which were 12-14 – The Message in the Hollow Oak, The Mystery of the Ivory Charm and The Whispering Statue.
For my Series I want to complete in 2021 goal I made progress on both Fruits Basket and Locke and Key.

Now for something completely new, I decided that when I can clearly define what my favorite book of the month was I would include it in my wrap up. This month I definitely had a favorite, which ended up being Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston. I cannot praise this book enough and encourage everyone to read it, if you want to find out more you can always check out my review of it for more info.

That’s going to cover it for this month! As I said I will likely make changes to what information I include in wrap ups, but for now this is the type of format I’m going to work with.

Happy reading!

Review | The Sprite and the Gardener by Joe Whitt and Rii Abrego

January 30, 2021January 30, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Long, long ago, sprites were the caretakers of gardens. Every flower was grown by their hand. But when humans appeared and began growing their own gardens, the sprites’ magical talents soon became a thing of the past. When Wisteria, an ambitious, kind-hearted sprite, starts to ask questions about the way things used to be, she’ll begin to unearth her long-lost talent of gardening. But her newly honed skills might not be the welcome surprise she intends them to be.

The Sprite and the Gardener, the debut graphic novel by Joe Whitt and Rii Abrego, is bursting with whimsical art and vibrant characters. Join our neighborhood of sprites in this beautiful, gentle fantasy where both gardens and friendships begin to blossom.

If you’re looking for a heartwarming story about finding friendship and doing what makes you happy, this is a wonderful, whimsical graphic novel that will fit the bill. Though we don’t get a ton of insight into the other sprites as much as we do into Wisteria, they still come across as individuals. Wisteria’s need to do something and to have a purpose was very sweet and her creating bonds with others as the story went on was a great plot point. The story itself is very sweet and the art style matches that. Overall it was a great pick me up read that will leave a smile on your face.

Happy reading!

February TBR | Reading Plans

January 29, 2021January 29, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Hey everyone! Well, another month has pretty much passed us by. Where did January go? It’s been a pretty good reading month and with a couple more reads I’m trying to get a couple more reads in, but I’ll discuss that in my wrap up (yes, wrap ups are coming back!). As of writing this post I have read four of the six books that I picked for January and I’m hoping to finish at least one more before the month ends. As a reminder I’m not punishing myself if any are unfinished – I am carrying them over and picking them up as I can, but I’m not pressuring myself with any punishments or anything. My wrap up will come in a few days, but for now let’s get to what the cards determined for February.

4 of Diamonds – Netgalley
2 of Spades – Kindle + YA
Jack of Clubs – Under 300 Pages
King of Clubs – Rich’s Stack of 5
10 of Hearts – Historical
2 of Clubs – Classic

Most of these made me sigh with relief as I was hoping for a slightly lighter month – especially since I’m always playing catch up due to the century that was 2020. For the most part I was really happy with what the cards revealed.

For my NetGalley pick I went with the next blog tour I have scheduled, so This Golden Flame will be covering that card pick. For the Kindle + YA I have a collection on my kindle that is just YA, so I decided to be kind to myself and chose a short story/novella, which was The Automaton’s Treasure.

Under 300 pages did make me cheer just a bit and I was super excited to grab Kiki’s Delivery Service right off my book cart. Rich got it for me for Christmas and I have been dying to read it ever since, so I jumped at the chance to squeeze it into the TBR.

I groaned just slightly when that king card came up, just because most of the books Rich chose when I started this challenge are a bit on the larger size and I had already had one of the stack of 5 on January’s TBR. For this one I ended up going with Kill Creek.

Historical is one that will probably be removed from the board at some point just because I don’t have a ton of historical books – but for this category I’m including other genres that may have a historical setting, so I went with Stalking Jack the Ripper since I really need to get to that series.

Finally we landed on classic and I won’t lie, I was cringing just because I haven’t been in the mood for classics, but then I remembered that I still have some Shirley Jackson that I haven’t read so I leapt at the chance to pick up Let Me Tell You by her. Even though it was released only a few years ago, it’s previously unreleased work by her, so I’m counting it.

So there we have it! I think this months picks will be mostly easy to handle and if nothing else, fun to read!

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | Forgiven by Garrett Leigh | Review

January 28, 2021January 28, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

High school sweethearts Mia and Luke get a second chance at love in this brand-new contemporary romance from award-winning author Garrett Leigh.

When Mia Amour returns to England to open a florist shop, all she wants to do is put her lousy ex behind her and never look back. But getting a fresh start is easier said than done when her first love, the boy who once broke her teenage heart, strolls back into her life. He’s every bit as sexy as she remembers, and the urge to melt back into his arms almost makes her forget how devastated she was when he took off without a word. Almost.

Left with no choice, Luke Daley did what he had to do, leaving town to earn enough money to save his broken family, though it just about broke him, too. But now he’s back, running his uncle’s business and trying desperately to forget about Mia, the girl he left behind all those years ago. When he runs into her in town, the shock of seeing her again brings an intense rush of emotions: love, guilt…and an overwhelming urge to find out if it’s still as amazing between them as it used to be.

It doesn’t take either of them long to give in to desire and discover the fiery passion they once shared burns hotter than ever. With each new touch, each moment of forgiveness, old hurts heal and the future they’d hoped for ten years ago becomes possible again. But their fragile connection is tested by a threat neither of them saw coming—a threat that could end their second chance before it even gets started.

Oh boy, if you’re looking for a second chances romance that is full of angst and very strong emotions, then this one will fit the bill. These characters and their feelings towards each other were deep rooted and intense, but not in a bad way. I really enjoyed Mia and Luke’s journey even though some of Mia’s reactions and emotions seemed perhaps a little too much, still it was believable with what she had been through as well as her personality overall.

It was an intense story, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing style was easy to read and moved along at a good pace which made this a perfect read for a single sitting. I also really enjoyed some of the side characters and their interactions, which pointed towards the next book in the series.

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.

Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with photographer Dan Burgess.

Connect with Garrett Leigh

Happy reading!

Review | The HAunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates

January 27, 2021January 27, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Could you survive a week in a haunted house?

Mara is the daughter of spiritualists. Her childhood was filled with séances, scam mediums and talk of ghostly presences.

When Mara finally left her family’s home, she vowed she would never allow superstition or false religion into her life again. Now she’s ready to start over with her fiancé, Neil, in a world based on rationality and facts.

But her past isn’t ready to let her go just yet.

Mara and Neil purchase Blackwood House, a derelict property outside of town. They’re warned about strange occurrences in the crumbling building. Doors open by themselves, voices whisper in the night, bloody handprints appear on the walls, and cold spots linger in the basement, where the house’s original owner was murdered.

But Blackwood was dirt-cheap and came with a large plot of overgrown land. Mara loves her new home, and disregards the warnings.

Because ghosts aren’t real…

…are they?

This was my first experience with Darcy Coates’ writing, but I had been wanting to pick up her books for ages and so many of them had caught my eye. I wanted to start with this one because the synopsis grabbed me and I was not disappointed. If you’re looking for a creepy haunted house book that is also psychological, this is a great example. I kind of wished more of the history of Blackwood House had been revealed a little earlier as I did feel that some of the foundation of the story was a little slow, but when we did get to the meat of the history it was definitely a great payoff. Mara did sometimes get on my nerves with how…fiercely independent she was, but that was explained in a great way that made it very understandable, so I was happy about that. While I did guess the final twist before it happened, it didn’t lessen the story’s impact for me, so I will definitely be picking up more of Darcy Coates’ books in the future.

Happy reading!

Writing Update | January

January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

So…I know I’ve been pretty quiet for the last month or so regarding my writing – and honestly I was just letting myself take a little break. The last few months have been stressful everywhere, but certain things have definitely affected my mental health and such. In that time I have been reading a ton, but not necessarily writing.

I have opened some of my WIPs and read through them, have done some editing and have also spent time thinking through the plotlines of a couple of them. But actual writing? That hasn’t happened…and I’m perfectly ok with that.

Sometimes you need a break, especially when things in your life are a little topsy turvy. Plus, it’s always good to take a mental health break from things if you need to.

I definitely plan on doing Camp NaNoWriMo in April, but before that I’m not sure if there will be a ton of updates on the writing front. Who knows? We’ll see how my self care goes and if inspiration strikes me then I will definitely act on it.

How’s everyone else’s writing going so far this year?

Happy writing!

Blog Tour | Aftershock by Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell | Review

January 25, 2021January 25, 2021 DeAnne2 Comments

When an earthquake strikes San Francisco, forensics expert Jessie Teska faces her biggest threat yet in this explosive new mystery from the New York Times bestselling authors of Working Stiff and First Cut.

At first glance, the death appears to be an accident. The body is located on a construction site under what looks like a collapse beam. But when Dr. Jessie Teska arrives on the scene, she notices the tell-tale signs of a staged death. The victim has been murdered. A rising star in the San Francisco forensics world, Jessie is ready to unravel the case, help bring the murderer to justice, and prevent him from potentially striking again.

But when a major earthquake strikes San Francisco right at Halloween, Jessie and the rest of the city are left reeling. And even if she emerges from the rubble, there’s no guaranteeing she’ll make it out alive.

With their trademark blend of propulsive prose, deft plotting and mordant humor, this electrifying new installment in the Jessie Teska Mystery series offers the highest stakes yet.

After reading the first book in the series, I knew I wanted to read this one as well. While you can read this one by itself without reading the first one, there are some references which will stand out more if you have already read the first one. That being said, I loved this one just as much as I enjoyed First Cut.

The twists and turns of this one, especially with the earthquake thrown in, made for a fast paced story. Jessie is strong in her desire to discover the truth and admittedly that doesn’t always sit right with people, especially those who haven’t appreciated it in the past. Some of the best moments in the book are the interactions between characters and how hard Jessie works to uncover what really happened. To be fair she doesn’t always choose the best way to do it, but it makes the story more impactful.

Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell are the New York Times bestselling co-authors of Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner, and the novel First Cut. Dr. Melinek studied at Harvard and UCLA, was a medical examiner in San Francisco for nine years, and today works as a forensic pathologist in Oakland and as CEO of PathologyExpert Inc. T.J. Mitchell, her husband, is a writer with an English degree from Harvard, and worked in the film industry before becoming a full-time stay-at-home dad to their children.