May 2017 Wrap Up & Book Haul

*May Book Haul*

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
Ally by Anna Banks
In the Afterlife by Alexandra Bracken
Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh
The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
Seeker by Veronica Rossi
Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith
Midnight Jewel by Richelle Mead
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

*May Wrap Up*

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Lock & Key by Sarah Dessen
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
The Truth About Happily Ever After by Karole Cuzzo
The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr
The Traitor's Kiss by Erin Beaty

**not pictured**
Arrowood by Laura McHugh
It Started with Goodbye by Christina June
Ruined by Amy Tintera
Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
Everland by Wendy Spinale

You guys!! May was SUCH a great month for books!!
There were SO many releases, and I'm thrilled to add some of them to my collection.
I didn't read as many books this month as I did last month, but I did manage to read 14 books, which isn't too shabby.
I'm still a bit behind, but I'm hoping to work on that next month when I tackle
my June TBR!!

How many books did you read in June??
And what new books did you add to your TBR?!

Waiting on Wednesday #279 - All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

All the Crooked Saints
by Maggie Stiefvater
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: October 10th 2017
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780545930802

Available for Pre-Order:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Here is a thing everyone wants:
A miracle.

Here is a thing everyone fears:
What it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

Maggie Stiefvater has been called “a master storyteller” by USA Today and “wildly imaginative” by Entertainment Weekly. Now, with All the Crooked Saints, she gives us the extraordinary story of an extraordinary family, a masterful tale of love, fear, darkness, and redemption. (Goodreads)

Whooo hoooo!!
A new book by Maggie Stiefvater, COUNT ME IN!!
Does this book sound interesting, or what??
I can't wait to check it out. :)

**"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine,
that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.**

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For The Second Half of 2017

May 30: Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For The Second Half of 2017

2017 has been a GREAT year for books already, and there's STILL more to come!
Here are just a few books I'm excited for in the second half of the year:

1. Once and for All by Sarah Dessen - Who's not waiting for this book? Seriously! I'm hoping that I'm caught up with my Sarah Dessen Readathon soon so I can start on this one when it arrives!

2. Midnight Jewel by Richelle Mead - I adore the cover for this book. It's gorgeous! And I can't wait to get back into the story as well!


3. The Dire King by William Ritter - Ah, I love this series! I still need to read the third book, but I'm super excited to read it AND this one as well!!

4. Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo - Ah! It's a Wonder Woman book from Leigh Bardugo!! Count me in! Super excited to read this one.


5. One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake - Ah! Three Dark Crown's was SO good. I can't wait to continue this story with One Dark Crown!!

6. There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins - Ok, I'm both excited, and a little terrified about this book. On one hand, I LOVE Stephanie Perkins! On the other hand, I'm SUCH a big chicken when it comes to scary stories. I'm totally going to read it anyways.


7. Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore - Kristin Cashore has a new book, so OF COURSE I want to read it! Although I still need to read a few of her previous books, I can't wait for this new one.

8. The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano - I've always wanted to read something by Lauren DeStefano, and haven't yet had the chance to do so. The Glass Spare sounds like something I definitely want to check out!


9. All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater - A NEW BOOK BY MAGGIE STIEFVATER!! This book sounds awesome. I can't wait to check it out!!

10. Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson - This is definitely one of my most anticipated reads for the rest of 2017! This series is so good. If you've not yet checked it out, you totally should!!

So many great books! I can't wait to read them all!!
What's on your list this week??

Week in Review • Week 21

Happy Sunday, Bookworms!!

Last week was a little hectic for me, as the kids kept me pretty busy with end of school stuff, but thank goodness Summer Break has arrived! I'm hoping to spend the next few weeks getting caught up on my TBR, watching all the movies and shows I'm currently behind on, and reading some Summer books as well!

Here's what I was up to this week:

I only read one book this week, which was kind of a bummer, since I had such great reading mojo lately. I'm hoping to get back on the wagon this coming week. I read Arrowood by Laura McHugh with my book club girls, and it was a really interesting read!!


I also managed to watch a few movies this week, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which I watched with Kathy from A Glass of Wine! Believe it or not, this was the first movie I've ever watched with Marilyn Monroe in it, and I'm super excited to watch more now!!



The family and I also started re-watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies this weekend, in preparation of the new movie being released. We watched The Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest so far, and we're hoping to watch the rest tomorrow and Monday. :)




If you haven't already heard, Lori from Pure Imagination and I are hosting our very own Book Challenge next month on Instagram!! ( #AllTheBooksJune ) It's going to be SO much fun, so if you're on Instagram, be sure to check that out, and join along with us!!

As I mentioned above, Summer Break has finally arrived! And thank goodness for that. Though, the kids are still busy for the next few weeks with school activities, but it will be nice not to have to wake up at 5 am for a while. *grin*

That's about all I have to report for this week... here's hoping for a better week next week!!

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer Books in my Beach Bag

May 23: Summer Reads Freebie: In preparation for Memorial Day (which is always the unofficial summer kickoff for me), let's rec some summer/beach reads: books to go in your beach bag, best books set in summer, books with summer-y covers, best beach reads for people who don't enjoy contemporary/realistic reads, best beach reads for fans of X genre, etc. etc.

Today I'm sharing a couple of summer books that will be in my beach bag this year!!

1. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson - I've been meaning to read this book for a while now, and now that it's almost summer time, it's the perfect time to finally do so!!

2. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson - Same as above!!


3. Forever in Love by Susane Colasanti - For the past few summers I've read the first and second books in the City Love series, and I'm excited to read Forever in Love this summer!

4. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen - I've actually already read this book before, but I plan to read it again for my Sarah Dessen Readathon!!


5. Summer Days and Summer Nights by Stephanie Perkins - This is yet another book that's been on my TBR for too long, and I'm going to try my best to read it this summer!

6. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares - I read the first book in this series a few years ago, and I keep meaning to finish the rest of them, and haven't done so yet. I'm hoping to get to them ALL this summer!


7. Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank - Ok, does this cover scream summer, or what?? I've not read anything by this author before, but I've seen this one a lot lately, and I'm curious!!

8. All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank - Same as above! I think I had this on my TBR last summer, but I'm hoping to read it this summer!


9. Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer - This is another book that drew me in by it's awesome cover! I've not read anything by this author before either, but I can't wait to do so!

10. The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner -Same as above! I have this on hold at the library and I can't wait for it to come in.

There you have it, friends! Just a few of the books in my beach bag this summer.
What's in your bag? Leave a link so I can check out your list!!

Sarah Dessen Readathon: Along for the Ride

Along for the Ride
by Sarah Dessen
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: first published June 16th 2009
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 399
ISBN: 9780142415566
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Source: Own

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Up all night.

Nights have always been Auden's time, her chance to escape everything that's going on around her.

Then she meets Eli, a fellow insomniac, and he becomes her nocturnal tour guide.

Now, with an endless supply of summer nights between them, almost anything can happen... (Goodreads)

My Thoughts...
Along for the Ride is the next book on my list for my Sarah Dessen Readathon, and I was excited to read it again! I originally read the book a while back, way back in 2009 actually, so most of the details were blurry in my mind. I was really looking forward to rereading the book though, as I remember really enjoying it the first time I read it. And, of course, I did once again.

There are so many characters to like in this book, including the main character, Auden. I was definitely able to relate to her in more ways than one. Her parents were both kind of flakey in their own ways, but she had really cool step-mom. I completely forgot how selfish and annoying the dad was in this book. He was definitely my least favorite person. I really loved the friends she met in Colby. They were all awesome, including Eli!

I love that this book, like most of Sarah's books, was set during the summer. I'm not usually a big fan of summer, or of the heat, at least, but I've read a LOT of summer themed books lately, and they have me super excited for summer to finally arrive. The book was also set at the beach, and I definitely feel the beach calling me now.  The storyline was really light-hearted, and made for a really fun read.

Overall; now that I've reread Along for the Ride, I totally remember why I loved it so much. I'm so glad that I took the time to reread it again, and I definitely plan to reread it again in the future! The next book on my readathon list is What Happened to Goodbye, which I have NOT yet read before, and I'm really looking forward to finally doing so!

My Thoughts: It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

It Started with Goodbye
by Christina June
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: May 9th 2017
Publisher: Blink/HarperCollins
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780310758662
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Source: Netgalley

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts...
The first thing that drew me to It Started with Goodbye was the super adorable cover. (I can't help it; I absolutely can't resist a cute cover!) Then I read the summary for the book and discovered that it was a modern day Cinderella retelling, and I knew I would totally have to check this book out!

When we first meet the main character in the story, Tatum, she's being punished for a crime that she didn't commit, thanks to her best friend's criminal boyfriend. Now Tatum is stuck spending her summer doing community service by day and is under house arrest with her strict stepmother by night, left behind by her father who is away on business and her best friend who was shipped off to boarding school. But just when she thinks things can't get any worse, they actually start to get better, which is not at all what Tatum expected.

There were some really interesting characters in the book. I especially loved Tatum's abuela, who really was like a fairy godmother. There's also Tatum's stepsister, who was not at all what I expected, and Tatum's parents as well. And, of course, there is SK, the love interest in the story. (There is a bit of romance in the book, but it doesn't overpower the story at all, and it's super adorable.) I also really liked the storyline for the book, which, as I mentioned above, is a modern day Cinderella retelling. It's also set in the summer time, and I'm really enjoying all the summer themed books in my TBR at the moment.

Overall; It Started with Goodbye was a really quick, fun summer read! It's a perfect book to have on your Summer TBR. I'm super curious to read the companion novel to this story, Everywhere You Want To Be, which is about Tatum's stepsister, Matilda, and is due to release next May!

Week in Review • Week 20

Hey guys!!

This week has been a really long week!
The end of school stuff for the kids is really time consuming,
and we're all ready to be done with it already.

I actually had a pretty productive week despite the madness, surprisingly.
Here's what I've been up to this week!

This week I read two review books. I have to say, I absolutely LOVED The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord, which was SO good, as I knew it would be. I also read It Started With Goodbye by Christina June, and I'm hoping to have my thoughts up on the blog for it this coming week. :)



I also finished two books for my Sarah Dessen Readathon this week as well, the first being Lock and Key, and the second Along for the Ride. My thoughts for Along for the Ride will be up on the blog tomorrow! I can't believe I'm almost finished reading ALL of her books!!

Believe it or not, I actually had time to watch a movie AND some tv this week! I watched The Usual Suspects with my book club girls, and it was a really interesting movie! I've also been watching Timeless while I'm on the treadmill during the day, and I'm thrilled to be catching up on it, finally.

 You guys!! By this time next week, we will officially be on SUMMER BREAK!!
I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this, even though the kids already
have a summer packed with activities. I'm hoping we can enjoy some of it though.

My May TBR is still kicking my butt, but I'm trying to keep up with it.
I'm actually looking forward to being done with it, as I have a plan to spend the next

few months actually reading books and series that I'm behind on.
I've bought so many that I haven't even read yet!
That really bums me out.

That's all for me this week, so...