Category Archives: read-a-thon

Buzzwordathon Wrap Up

Round five of the buzzwordathon is over and I had an amazing week of reading. I managed to read four books and was part way through my fifth book when it ended. All the books are amazing and I recommend all of them. I even discovered one of my favorite books of all time!!  Buzzwordathon is my favorite readathon to participate in and I can’t wait to see what the word(s) for next round are going to be. But before we start anticipating round 6 too much lets wrap up round 5.

reid_9781524798628_jkt_all_r1.indd

Rating: 5/5

This is one of my favorite books I have read this year! Actually it might be in my list of top ten favorite books. I have never read a book where the characters felt so real. I wish they were real so I could obsessively listen to their music! This book is perfection and I can’t wait to read it again. The writing in this book was so amazing because it really feels like you are reading an interview. After awhile each character started to have a specific voice in my head which only helped to make this book even more real to me. I also appreciated the fact that Reid would have multiple people talking about the same event and all of them had a different view of what happened.

35960886._SY475_

Rating: 4/5

I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the first one. I read the first one all the way back in August of 2017 and you can my review of it here. This book is told in a podcast format which just make this book feel so real. Reading feels like listening to a podcast which is a testament to the author. I love true crime podcasts so this is the perfect book to me. I had an idea of what a cool twist for the story would be but of course the book didn’t go that way so I was left feeling a little disappointed. There are at least two more books in this series that I know of and I will hopefully get to those early in the new year.

32571395._SY475_

Rating: 4/5

To me this is the perfect YA mystery. The clues are all there and the ending is so sinister. I saw a large majority of the ending coming and I still wasn’t disappointed. If you have heard about this book before then you know that it is compared to The Breakfast Club and I think the author did a fabulous job of taking that iconic movie and making it her own. I am also not always a fan of romance in YA but I think the one here is well done. I feel like sometime it can take away from the story but in this case it definitely added to it.

25912358._SY475_

Rating: 4/5

This is a really beautiful YA romance that also is the one of the saddest books that I have ever read. I was getting a lot of A Walk to Remember vibes which is why I only rated it four stars. If you have ever lost a loved one to cancer I would encourage you to make sure you are in the right headspace to read this book. I lost my Grandma to cancer almost three years ago and I have only just started the past few months to feel strong enough to confront my grief head on. There is also a part of the book that deals with the famous Footprints in the Sand poem and that was difficult for me because that is what I read during my Grandma’s funeral. There is nowhere in the synopsis that says anything about this book being a cancer book which I think is wrong because this topic can be incredibly triggering for people.

36300625

I only made it about a third of the way through this before the readathon ended. I am loving it so far though. I didn’t realize going into this how funny it would be and I am enjoying the utter mess that is Darcy’s life. I’m kicking myself for not picking up one of Wall Thorne’s books sooner. The Hating Game is for sure going to be one that I pick up in 2020!

~Cassie

Buzzword Round 5 TBR

I am so hyped for this latest round of the Buzzwordathon. This is my favorite readathon to take part in and I love the words for this round. All you have to do is read anything with a number in the title. At first I was like huh because I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head. I then finished watching Lala’s video and got more into the idea. I then looked around my shelves and my Kindle and found tons of books that I have been dying to read that have a number in the title. I never realized how many titles have a number in them but I guess that’s the fun of this readathon. I managed to narrow my list down to five books that I want to read the most.

Ebooks

25912358._SY475_

One kiss lasts a moment. But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime. One boy. One girl. A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade. A bond that neither time nor distance can break. A bond that will last forever. Or so they believe.

When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway to the sleepy town of Blossom Grove, Georgia, where he befriended Poppy Litchfield as a child, he has just one thing on his mind. Why did the girl who was one half of his soul, who promised to wait faithfully for his return, cut him off without a word of explanation? Rune’s heart was broken two years ago when Poppy fell silent. When he discovers the truth, he finds that the greatest heartache is yet to come.

A stand-alone young adult tearjerker romance, recommended for ages fourteen and up.

35960886._SY475_

*This one is stretching it a bit but it is the second in the SIX stories series and I have been wanting to read this for like a year so I’m going to allow it 😉

A family massacre. A deluded murderess. Five witnesses. Six stories. Which one is true?

One cold November night in 2014, in a small town in the north west of England, 21-year-old Arla Macleod bludgeoned her mother, father and younger sister to death with a hammer, in an unprovoked attack known as the Macleod Massacre. Now incarcerated at a medium-security mental-health institution, Arla will speak to no one but Scott King, an investigative journalist, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation.
King finds himself immersed in an increasingly complex case, interviewing five witnesses and Arla herself, as he questions whether Arla’s responsibility for the massacre was a diminished as her legal team made out.
As he unpicks the stories, he finds himself thrust into a world of deadly forbidden ‘games’, online trolls, and the mysterious black-eyed kids, whose presence seems to extend far beyond the delusions of a murderess…
Dark, chilling and gripping, Hydra is both a classic murder mystery and an up-to-the-minute, startling thriller, that shines light in places you may never, ever want to see again.

Physical 

reid_9781524798628_jkt_all_r1.indd

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.

36300625

Crush: a strong and often short-lived infatuation, particularly for someone beyond your reach…

Darcy Barrett has undertaken a global survey of men. She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. That’s the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty—ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough.

When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they’re left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom’s arrived, he’s bearing power tools, and he’s single for the first time in almost a decade.

Suddenly Darcy’s considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for grey and chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that’s inspiring her to pick up her camera again. Soon sparks are flying—and it’s not the faulty wiring. It turns out one percent of Tom’s heart might not be enough for Darcy anymore. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.

32571395._SY475_

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

~Cassie

Spookathon 2019 Wrap Up

Last week went by so fast and it was so fun on Youtube to see all the people who don’t normally read thrillers or mysteries giving them a go. It did make me realize that some books are either marketed or talked about as thrillers because that’s the in thing right now but they are really mysteries. Which isn’t really anyone’s fault but if you go in expecting some crazy twists and turns and it’s really a mystery where the clues are laid out the book and especially the ending are going to be disappointing. I am guilty of labeling books as thrillers and mysteries at the same time and I am committing to not falling into that trap anymore. It annoys me when I go into something and it turns out to be something else and I don’t want to contribute to disappointing anyone. Now that is out of the way lets get into all the books I read last week. I changed my Spookathon TBR up a tiny bit but overall I’m really pleased with how well I did. I only read four instead of the five I had wanted to but we also went on a road trip this past weekend so that obviously didn’t leave much time for reading.

41150380

Challenge: Read a book with a spooky setting

You can read my full review of this but don’t be misled by the title. This is a trapped elevator setting and NOT an escape room.

Rating: 3/5

51lWFL1nZsL._SL300_

Challenge: Read a book with a spooky word in the title (13)

This was one of my favorite Agatha Christie’s that I have read. I still have a ton more to read but this one will be a favorite. I was trying to solve this one right along with Hercule Poirot and I thought I had it all figured out but at the end he went through various theories and said how they were all wrong. Then gave the correct one of course. I also liked the humor in this one. This is the first time I have read a Hercule Poirot with his friend Hastings narrating the story. They very much had a Sherlock and Holmes kind of relationship and I enjoyed it.

Rating: 5/5

41940236-1

Challenge: Read a thriller (I thought this was a thriller but it is definitely more of a crime mystery)

It took me about 60 pages to get into this book and then I read the roughly 300 more pages all in one sitting. There are some reveals that come out of nowhere and some twists so I can see why people say it is a thriller. It is definitely slow paced though and I didn’t really get the hype but about  the half way point things start happening and it got good. As a mom of three boys though this book was difficult to read because of the children aspect of the story. I also thought the main character, Tom, was annoying especially when it came to how he handled things concerning his son, Jake. I really liked this weaving tale that Alex North put together and how everything fit. The ending was ok but the last page had me so disturbed. I don’t think I will ever forget the way this book ends.

Rating: 4/5

40816622._SX318_

Challenges: Read something you wouldn’t normally read & Read something with red on the cover (this is more of a red orange but I’m still counting it!)

This is my second ever manga and the last one I read was also by Junji Ito. That one was Shiver and it was also a collection of short stories. I liked Shiver more but this one was still really good. I remember with Shiver I thought the title story was the best of the bunch. With this collection I feel like Smashed was the worst story of the bunch. The were also three stories that all kind of connected with each other (and also a couple of stories from Shiver) so that was fun to read. My favorite story of this collection was probably the home library story about a guy who has over 150,000 books. Smashed had some heavy topics like suicide, eating disorders, sexual assault and things of that nature so be mindful of that if you would like to give this book a try.

Rating: 4/5

~Cassie

 

Spookathon TBR

One of my favorite readathons of the year is upon us!! I love setting aside a week during the spookiest time of the year and reading all the thrillers, mystery and horror that I can. For all the information on #spookathon you can check out Lala’s (the creator of this readathon) video here and the official Twitter here. This readathon goes from the 14th- 20th and there are five challenges.

Read a thriller

41940236-1

In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.

After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.

But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed “The Whisper Man,” for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter’s crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man.

And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window…

The Whisper Man by Alex North

Read a book with red on the cover

41154336-2

The heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing.

If you find one, he’s already found you.

A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.

His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.

Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.

A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?

To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.

Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.

And no one is safe.

The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup

Read a book with a spooky word in the title

*I chose the word thirteen because I was born on Friday the 13th and on my birthday in elementary school all the kids would call me a witch haha

51lWFL1nZsL._SL300_

Here is another thriller by the master of mystery – and the most popular author of all time. Lady Edgware wants to marry a duke, but Lord Edgware won’t divorce her. She jokingly tells Poirot that if he won’t kill Lord Edgware, she may have to. When the lord turns up dead, Lady Jane is suspected. Will her alibi hold up?

Thirteen at Dinner

Read a book with a spooky setting

*The book I picked is set at a haunted boarding house!

35533431._SY475_

A suspense novel from the award-winning author of The Haunting of Maddy Clare…

Vermont, 1950. There’s a place for the girls whom no one wants–the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It’s called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it’s located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming–until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .

Vermont, 2014. As much as she’s tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister’s death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can’t shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past–and a voice that won’t be silenced. . . .

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Read something you wouldn’t normally read

*I chose a horror manga because I have only read one and some of the stories genuinely freaked me out.

40816622._SX318_

Thirteen Chilling Nightmares Presented by the Master of Horror.

Try not to be noticed when you eat the secret nectar, otherwise you’ll get smashed… What horrific events happened to create the earthbound-people tied to a certain place for the rest of their short lives? A strange haunted house comes to town, but no one expects it to lead to a real hell… Welcome to Junji Ito’s world, a world with no escape from endless nightmares.

Smashed by Junji Ito

~Cassie

 

Contemporary-a-thon Round 5 TBR

The fifth round of the contemporary-a-thon starts Monday Sept. 23- Sunday Sept. 29. I am so excited to be participating and I seriously can’t wait to read every single book on my TBR. A lot of the books on my TBR can be used for at least one more challenge but I really wanted to find seven books that fit each challenge. In a perfect world I will be able to read all seven, especially since contemporaries tend to be quicker reads.

  1. Read a 2019 release

41734205

Millie Quint is devastated when she discovers that her sort-of-best friend/sort-of-girlfriend has been kissing someone else. And because Millie cannot stand the thought of confronting her ex every day, she decides to apply for scholarships to boarding schools . . . the farther from Houston the better.

Millie can’t believe her luck when she’s accepted into one of the world’s most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Everything about Scotland is different: the country is misty and green; the school is gorgeous, and the students think Americans are cute.

The only problem: Mille’s roommate Flora is a total princess.

She’s also an actual princess. Of Scotland.

At first, the girls can barely stand each other–Flora is both high-class and high-key–but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Even though Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, Millie knows the chances of happily ever afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn’t a fairy tale . . . or is it?

2. Read a contemporary with yellow on the cover 

35230420

A magic passed down through generations . . .

Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.

An island where strange things happen . . .

No one on the island of By-the-Sea would ever call the Fernwehs what they really are, but if you need the odd bit of help—say, a sleeping aid concocted by moonlight—they are the ones to ask.

No one questions the weather, as moody and erratic as a summer storm.

No one questions the (allegedly) three-hundred-year-old bird who comes to roost on the island every year.

A summer that will become legend . . .

When tragedy strikes, what made the Fernweh women special suddenly casts them in suspicion. Over the course of her last summer on the island—a summer of storms, of love, of salt—Georgina will learn the truth about magic, in all its many forms.

3. Read a diverse contemporary (aim to read something outside of your own experience)

40948486._SX318_

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl.

George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part . . . because she’s a boy.

With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte — but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

4. Read a contemporary with an illustrated cover

37585029

Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there’s a new player on the horizon, and he’s in a league of his own…

Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She’s definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There’s just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.

Gavin fights to show Marlee he’s nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team’s wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee’s return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.

Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin’s relationship to survive the season.

5. Read a dark/hard hitting contemporary 

31351689

“I need Owen to explain this. Because yes, I do know that Owen would never do that, but I also know Hannah would never lie about something like that.”

Mara and Owen are about as close as twins can get. So when Mara’s friend Hannah accuses Owen of rape, Mara doesn’t know what to think. Can the brother she loves really be guilty of such a violent crime? Torn between the family she loves and her own sense of right and wrong, Mara is feeling lost, and it doesn’t help that things have been strained with her ex-girlfriend and best friend since childhood, Charlie.

As Mara, Hannah, and Charlie navigate this new terrain, Mara must face a trauma from her own past and decide where Charlie fits in her future. With sensitivity and openness, this timely novel confronts the difficult questions surrounding consent, victim blaming, and sexual assault.

6. Read a contemporary with plants on the cover

36478784._SY475_

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

7. Read a contemporary that is beloved by a member of the book community

Basically everyone who has read this has recommended it!

32620332-2

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Written with Reid’s signature talent for creating “complex, likable characters” (Real Simple), this is a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it costs—to face the truth.

~Cassie

#Classicsathon

August is the start of the #Classicsathon and I am happy to be participating this year. This is a super chill readathon meant to give some love to classics. This readathon was started by lucythereader over on Youtube and I will leave the link to her announcement video right here if you want some more information. The only challenge is to read at least one book. I feel like this couldn’t have come at a better time for me because of my current slump. I’m also currently reading a classic as part of my Fox Book Club so I know that I will for sure win this readathon.  I did go through and pick some books off my shelf and from my library that I hope to read this month and I will be sharing them below. Most of them are on the smaller side so I hope I can knock a few of these off my list.

7134

Dashing young Edmond Dantès has everything. He is engaged to a beautiful woman, is about to become the captain of a ship, and is well liked by almost everyone. But his perfect life is shattered when he is framed by a jealous rival and thrown into a dark prison cell for 14 years.

The greatest tale of betrayal, adventure, and revenge ever written, The Count of Monte Cristo continues to dazzle readers with its thrilling and memorable scenes, including Dantès’s miraculous escape from prison, his amazing discovery of a vast hidden treasure, and his transformation into the mysterious and wealthy Count of Monte Cristo—a man whose astonishing thirst for vengeance is as cruel as it is just.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

*This is the book that I am currently reading. I am almost half way through and really enjoying it. Unfortunately this is an abridged edition which I didn’t know when I bought it. I do appreciate the added notes and essays that give a better understanding of Dumas as well as what was happening historically during his life. I have decided that I won’t be rating this version since it is not the complete book and will hopefully pick up a beautiful edition sometime in the future to read.

157993-1

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

5890

‘In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop… There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white’

The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright’s eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter becomes embroiled in the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his ‘charming’ friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons, and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

89717._SY475_

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

348914._SY475_

Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, situated on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before; of the intense relationship between the gypsy foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw; and how Catherine, forced to choose between passionate, tortured Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton, surrendered to the expectations of her class. As Heathcliff’s bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal is visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

5308

Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull’s egg, as “perfect as the moon.” With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security…

A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man’s nature, greed, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

~Cassie

 

Smutathon Wrap Up

I’m here today to go over all the books that I read (and in one case, tried to read) during the Smutathon. This was a really fun readathon for me and I discovered the authors Christina Lauren that I absolutely adore and want to read everything they have ever written. Which is interesting because I think I inadvertently picked two of their most tame books smut wise.

17699906

This was a fun read but it was definitely inspired by 50 Shades of Grey. I really enjoyed the romance between Kate and Drake. I didn’t like the over the top judgmental behavior of one character. I also didn’t like how Kate had to keep reassuring herself of what she wanted and it turning into a mini rant on BDSM. Maybe because I’m already on the side of people should do what makes them happy (as long as no one is physically or mentally hurt) but it became irritating every time we had to stop the story to have these moments.

Rating: 3/5

24526242

I dnf’d this at 45%. I didn’t care about the characters and their insta love after so much time apart. I also didn’t like that Bailey kept making excuses for Adam’s behavior and he would never apologize. So when I got to the part where they didn’t use a condom after multiple times being told how many other people Adam has been with I just decided I was over this book.

11358180

I loved Amy and Sebastian’s romance. It starts off in a fun way and I loved the way they were together. I didn’t so much like the “mystery” they were trying to solve and all the random family drama from Amy but overall this is good smutty fun. I definitely want to check out more of Saskia Walker’s work in the future.

Lastly, I read my first two Christina Lauren books and I am a fan. I loved the romance better in Roomies but the characters better in My Favorite Half-Night Stand. I can see why everyone raves about their books. I think I might have read their two least smuttiest books but they can write an amazing love story.

Roomies: 4.5/5

My Favorite Half-Night Stand: 4/5

~Cassie

Smutathon TBR

I have never participated in this readathon before and I was going to pass this time because the next round of buzzwordathon takes places mid June but I have decided to go for it. I have so many romance books on my kindle that I never prioritize and this seems like the perfect opportunity to read some. Here is the link to the official smutathon twitter account where you can find all the official information and links to the hosts. 

 

I’m not sure how many books I will be able to read but I would like to complete as many of these challenges as possible. Here’s what I plan on reading:

One Word Title

34466910

Roomies by Christina Lauren

Friends to Lovers

38357345

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

Finish a book in one day

11358180

Minding Amy by Saskia Walker

Out of your comfort zone

17699906

The Agreement by S.E. Lund

Second Chance

24526242

Adam (Riding Hard #1) by Jennifer Ashley

I’m excited to take part in this fun readathon and also knock some books of my kindle tbr. Good luck to you if you are joining in on smutathon!

~Cassie

Buzzwordathon Round 3 Wrap Up

I finished three books during the buzzwordathon which isn’t too bad except for the fact that one of the books only took me 20 min. Which to be fair I didn’t know going into it that it was going to be so short and I don’t even know if it really counts. Here are the books I read and links to their Goodreads pages and my review of it.

28096541

Goodreads

Review

Rating: 4/5

40717447

Goodreads

Review (as part of a mini review collection)

Rating: 4/5

13220420-1

Goodreads

Review (as part of mini review collection)

Rating: 1/5

I just finished the following book today:

25817531

Goodreads

My review for this one will be out on Thursday 🙂

Rating: 4/5

I am roughly over half way through the following book:

34273236

Goodreads

I hope to have this finished and reviewed next week.

Wrap Ups

Everyday of the readathon I did a wrap up on my blog. The first two days I took pictures throughout my day but I wasn’t too happy with what I was putting out. Day 3 I started just summarizing my reading throughout the day and I feel like it was much more effective. I liked talking about my thoughts while I was reading and I will continue doing some sort of reading diary throughout the year.

Buzzwordathon Day 1

Buzzwordathon Day 2

Buzzwordathon Day 3

Buzzwordathon Day 4

Buzzwordathon Day 5

Buzzwordathon Day 6

Buzzwordathon Day 7

My husband and I are working our way through Game of Thrones and that definitely hindered my productivity this readathon. I know I brought it up a lot during my wrap ups but I love that show and I can’t wait for the new season to start. So it was definitely a worthwhile investment to spend that time with my husband. I usually do the majority of my reading at night when my kids are sleeping so it was interesting trying to fit it in during my day. Overall, I had a good time and I love doing anything related to books so it was a total win in my book. I do wish that I had been able to hit my four book goal but I am choosing to be ok with it.

~Cassie

 

Buzzwordathon Day 3

Hey everyone. I have decided to switch things up from how I was previously doing these readathon updates. After I published day 2’s post I spent some time thinking about what I really want to accomplish with these posts. The first two days I was basically doing Instagram on my blog and I didn’t really like it. My blog is for me to talk about books and I felt like I was barely doing that. What I really want to do is to give you daily updates about what I am thinking about each book as I read it. I also want to update you on my daily progress through the readathon. So I am going to be trying out a new format for these updates.

The Nowhere Girls

I finished my first book of the readathon!! I have already reviewed this on my blog so I will leave a link to that post here.

Little Fires Everywhere

I did read a chunk of this book and I am now on page 71. I am liking it but I’m also confused because the synopsis says its about how a community deals with the adoption of a Chinese American baby and none of that has happened yet. I don’t even have a clue one who is adopting the baby and this is only a 336 page book so I’m not too sure how things are going to unravel. But everyone raves about this book so I still have high hopes for it.

Home is Where the Bark Is

After I finished Nowhere Girls I went on to my kindle app and just scrolled through to see if anything got my eye that had a buzzword in the title. I saw this one that I recently bought and I figured it would be perfect because it is a cozy mystery. I love cozy mysteries so much and I haven’t read a single one this year. They are also super quick reads so it has that going for it to. If you aren’t familiar with cozy mysteries they are basically fun stories told in a small community setting where there isn’t a lot of violence. Everything is super light and fun. These are feel good stories that I enjoy so much. My favorite ones involve baking and inns. The one that I am currently reading is obviously about dogs and the main character is trying to figure out who killed the dead person in her yard. I read 68% of this one.

If you are participating in buzzwordathon I hope that you are having a successful readathon. If you aren’t participating I hope that you are having a great reading week.

~Cassie