How the heck is it the end of July?!!?!? I am in stunned shock, because it also means I AM DONE WITH GRAD SCHOOL!! I am just waiting on official grades now, but I’m done! Free!!! Free to be a librarian! (This includes a lot of shelving!)

Anyways….! July was an epic month of reading!

Read Books

TitleAuthorRating
Book of NightHolly Black⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kill the QueenJennifer Estep⭐⭐⭐⭐
What Happened to the BennettsLisa Scottoline⭐
Protect the PrinceJennifer Estep⭐⭐⭐⭐
Crush the KingJennifer Estep⭐⭐⭐⭐
For the ThroneHannah Whitten⭐⭐⭐⭐
The MaidNita Prose⭐⭐⭐
Abandoned GirlLexie Winston⭐⭐⭐
Broken GirlLexie Winston⭐⭐⭐
Capture the CrownJennifer Estep⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tormented GirlLexie Winston⭐⭐⭐
Her Majesty's Royal CovenJuno Dawson⭐⭐
Shades of WickedJeaniene Frost⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wicked BiteJeaniene Frost⭐⭐⭐
The Last GraduateNaomi Novik⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sisters of the SnakeSasha Nanua⭐⭐⭐
Wings of ShadowNicki Pau Preto⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brutal VowsJ.T. Geissinger⭐⭐
Forging Silver into StarsBrigid Kemmerer⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Merciless OnesNamina Forna⭐⭐⭐
BravelyMaggie Stiefvater⭐⭐⭐
The GuncleSteven Rowley⭐⭐⭐⭐
This Vicious GraceEmily Thiede⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Prince's Poisoned VowHailey Turner⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dead RomanticsAshley Poston⭐⭐⭐
The Drowned WoodsEmily Lloyd-Jones⭐⭐⭐
The Echo KillingChristi Daughtry⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read Arcs

TitleAuthorRating Publish Date
One Dark WindowRachel Gillig⭐⭐⭐⭐October 18, 2022
Back to the GardenLaurie R. King⭐⭐⭐⭐September 6, 2022
The Couple at Number 9Claire Douglas⭐⭐⭐⭐August 2, 2022
BelladonnaAdalyn Grace⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐August 20, 2022
Three Kisses, One MidnightRoshani Chokshi⭐⭐⭐⭐August 30, 2022
The King Will Kill YouSarah Henning⭐⭐⭐August 2, 2022
These Fleeting ShadowsKate Alice Marshall⭐⭐⭐August 9, 2022

ARCs Received

  • The Luminaries
  • Unseelie
  • Queen Among the Dead
  • Witcha Gonna Do?

Reading Stats

This month I read: 33 books total!

Fantasy Books – 59%

  • 20 total
  • 9 Young Adult
  • 11 Adult

Mystery/Thriller Books – 18%

  • 6 total
  • 1 Young Adult
  • 5 Adult

Romance Books – 20%

  • 7 total
  • 1 Young Adult
  • 6 Adult

Other Books – 3%

  • 1 total
  • 1 Adult

On the Blog

Once more, July was me posting reviews of upcoming ARCs! I’m VERY excited to post some of the ones coming out in August!

Around and About

Working on getting myself onto a schedule…is not working. Lore Bookclub will be taking a break in August — then we’ll plan out the fall/winter books we want to read!

My favorite book this month was as tie between This Vicious Grace and Belladonna. I’ve been into more adult books recently, but these are both published as YA. The characters are all 18+ in both, but these two books have a stranglehold on me and I need to know what happens next. My next favorite was probably a tie between One Dark Window/Forging Silver Into Stars/The Prince’s Poisoned Vow. All were stupendous in their own ways.

August Hopefuls

🤷‍♀️Who knows? Probably finish the Harper McClain series, and read some more book box books.

Hello all!! I hope June treated you well. Sadly, America seems to be going back in time – so I’m a little scared and nervous. On the other hand I’m halfway through my last 2 MLIS classes. Good news for me. I had an amazing month of reading! I finally felt motivated to read a bunch, mostly due to KU and getting obsessed with some book series and wanting to read book box books! All total I read 37 books this month!

Read Books

TitleAuthorPublish DateRating
The Intended K. M. Rives⭐⭐
The Replacement K. M. Rives⭐⭐
Wicked SoulsKatie Wismer2021⭐⭐⭐
The MarionettesKatie Wismer 2021⭐⭐⭐
Faking with BenefitsLily Gold2021⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dinosaurs, Disasters, and Albert EinswinrSedona Ashe
The Other FamilyWendy Corsi Staub2022⭐⭐⭐
The Stardust ThiefChelsea Abdullah2022⭐⭐⭐⭐
BurnSuzanne Wright 2015⭐⭐⭐⭐
Together We BurnIsabel Ibanez2022⭐⭐⭐
Star EaterKerstin Hall2022⭐⭐⭐
The Royals Next DoorKarina Halle2021⭐⭐⭐
A Soul to Keep : DuskwalkerOpal Reyne2022
The Blood is LoveKarina Halle2021⭐⭐⭐
Black SunshineKarina Halle2021⭐⭐⭐
No Offense Meg Cabot2020⭐⭐
MaliceJohn Gwynne2012⭐⭐⭐
Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not DatingChristina Lauren2018⭐⭐⭐
Watch Over MeMila Gray2019⭐⭐
High VoltageKaren Marie Moning2018⭐⭐⭐⭐
FeversongKaren Marie Moning2017⭐⭐⭐⭐
FeverbornKaren Marie Moning2016⭐⭐⭐⭐
IcedKaren Marie Moning2012⭐⭐⭐
The Atlas SixOlivie Blake2022⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Bone Shard EmperorAndrea Stewart 2021⭐⭐⭐⭐
Such a Quiet PlaceMegan Miranda2021⭐⭐⭐
Wild and Wicked Things Francesca May2022⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Relative MurderJude Deveraux2022⭐⭐⭐
Lightbringer Claire Legrand2020⭐⭐⭐⭐
Graduation and GiftsHeather Long2021⭐⭐⭐⭐
Defiance and Dedication Heather Long2021⭐⭐⭐⭐
Legacy and LoversHeather Long2021⭐⭐⭐⭐
Songs and Sweethearts Heather Long2021⭐⭐⭐
Trials and TiarasHeather Long2020⭐⭐⭐
Brazen and BreathlessHeather Long2020⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hangovers and HolidaysHeather Long2020⭐⭐⭐⭐
Farewells and ForeverHeather Long2022⭐⭐⭐

ARCs Received

  • Belladonna

Reading Stats

This month I read:

  • 14 fantasy books — 2 young adult and 12 adult
  • 3 mystery & thrillers — 3 adult
  • 20 romances — 1 young adult and 19 adult

This months statistics are:

  • 37% Fantasy
  • 9% Mystery & Thriller
  • 54% romance
  • 8% Young Adult
  • 92% Adult

On the Blog

I posted quite a few reviews this month; mostly for ARCs! Here they are:

Around and About

Not too much else has gone on, I’m almost through all my requested ARCs, and I made it through most of my physical TBR.

July Hopefuls

I want to read Her Majesty’s Royal Coven with the Lore Book Club. And then everything else is sort of up for grabs!

Happy June all! I’m only three days late with this post. Forgive me. (Or don’t, that is really up to you). Despite having a relatively busy month I did get quite a bit of reading done and I have some excellent books to share with you!

Read Books

AuthorTitlePublish DateRating
Renee AhdiehThe Righteous20214
V.E. SchwabGallant20223
Alix E. HarrowThe Ten Thousand Doors of January20193
Abby JimenezThe Friend Zone20193
Katy BirchallThe Secret Bridesmaid20213
Sophie SullivanHow to Love Your Neighbor20223
Tessa BaileyHook, Line and Sinker20224
Ruby DixonBarbarian Lover2015????
Tasha SuriThe Jasmine Throne20213.5
Ashley JadeThe Words20223
Maya HughesThe Perfect First20192
Ron FranscellShadowman: An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of FBI Profiling20223
Simone St. JamesThe Book of Cold Cases20224
H.D. CarltonHaunting Adeline20213
H.D. CarltonHunting Adeline20223
Hannah HazeIn Deep20224
Heather LongRules & Roses20194
Heather LongChanges & Chocolates20204
Heather LongKeys & Kisses20204
Heather LongWhispers & Wishes20204

Read ARCs

AuthorTitlePublish DateRating
Foz MeadowsA Strange and Stubborn EnduranceJuly 26, 20225

ARCs Recieved

  • Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King

Reading Stats

I mostly read adult books and romances this month, and I actually did tuck into a non-fiction book for once. Surprise!

On the Blog

I had a lot of reviews posted this month! Seven in total! That’s almost two a week!

Around and About

My favorite book this month was definitely A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. Be on the lookout for my review, as that should be going up sometime soon! It’s definitely going to be one of my favorite reads of 2022.

I am also now addicted to a new reverse harem series, The Untouchables by Heather Long. It’s high school contemporary and I just finished book five. There are twelve total in the series.

Not too much else to talk about to be honest!

June Hopefuls

I’m hoping to finish The Untouchables, the final book comes out in June. And then Wild and Wicked Things and Atlas Six maybe?? We’ll see.

What about you?

I clearly jinxed myself last month when I said I “ONLY” read 17 books. 😑Because you know how many I read this month?

Yeah, it wasn’t 17.

It was 12. Whyyyyyyyy? I bemoan. I have SO MANY books I need to read, and I will never be able to read everything unless I keep up my pace. Urgh. I can’t even explain why my reading habits have fallen off. I think it was just another slumpy month. I’m planning on reading some different things to see if I can get myself out of this slump.

Plus, I’ve got The Jasmine Throne to read for my book club this month. Don’t forget, you can always click the link in the navigation bar to head to the book club! 😁 I am excited to read this with a great group of people. It’ll be fun!

So let’s get down to what I read this month:

Read Books

AuthorTitlePublish DateRating
Alice OsemanLoveless20214
Jessica S OlsonA Forgery of Roses20223
Roshani ChokshiThe Bronzed Beasts20213.5
Stacy WillinghamA Flicker in the Dark20224
Maggie StiefvaterThe Raven Boys20125

Read ARCs

AuthorTitlePublish DateRating
Ava WilderHow To Fake It In HollywoodJune 14, 20223
Kelly deVosGo Hunt MeJune 14, 20223
Tiffany MeuretLittle BirdJune 7, 20224
A.C. WiseHookedJuly 12, 20223
Catherine DoyleTwin CrownsMay 17, 20225
Jennifer SaintElektraMay 7, 20225
Lana HarperFrom Bad to CursedMay 17, 20224
Wendii McIverRelic and RuinJune 7, 2022DNF

ARCs Recieved

  • Little Bird by Tiffany Meuret
  • Relic and Ruin by Wendii McIver
  • Go Hunt Me by Kelly deVos
  • These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
  • Hooked by A.C. Wise
  • A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

Reading Stats

I decided to work on my sheets skills and have started tracking my reading. So here are some stats pulled from my spreadsheet.

Total ReadBooks BoughtCost
1213$282. 93
Yeah…that is definitely not my $80 book budget.

Format

Rating

Audience

Genre

In an unsurprising turn of events, fantasy was my most read genre. Although my horror quota was in second place with paranormal/supernatural! So that was really cool to see! Everything else is about the same! Once again, no big surprise, I was evenly matched in Adult vs YA reads, and 3 stars is my favorite rating. This month I read mostly ARCs. I wasn’t behind, but I did want to get ahead so I could get the reviews posted when they need to go up.

On the Blog

What, oh what, did I post this month? I started a new blog series entitled “Throwback Thursdays”. Never said I was catchy! This new series features old books that I’ve read as well as user suggestions! I feature some of my old instagram posts as well! It’s a little look back! You never know, you might find some great “new” books in these posts!

Around and About

Whew! That was a bit, and if you’ve stuck around this long, thank you! 💟 I finished my grad school semester, and my FINAL semester starts in about a week. Lots to unpack there. I didn’t get the job I applied for, but I know there will be other opportunities. I’ve started to try and get myself on a more regular schedule. Sometimes it is so difficult though!

May Hopefuls

What am I going to read in May? Here are the list of books that I’m hoping to get to this month!

  • The Jasmine Throne (Book Club)
  • Ten Thousand Doors of January
  • The Secret Bridesmaid
  • Gallant
  • A Strange and Stubborn Endurance
  • Any ARC that’s due 😅
  • Probably some KU books

Honestly, if you know me, I am a total mood reader.

Well! It was certainly an exciting month — even with a lack of books!

How did your April go?

Let me know in the comments!

It has been a HOT MINUTE since I did a wrap-up, and this one is going to be pretty boring for the most part. Somehow in the span of a 31 day month I only read 17 books? WHAT? you ask. Mere, your usual reading is something like 25+ books.

I know, I know. The horror of it all. Absolutely unbelievable. I can’t account for what happened this past month. The only way I can conceive of what happened is I went into a reading slump and didn’t come out of it. (Okay, this is still slightly true. I’m having trouble reading anything at this moment.)

How to explain this past month? Well, let’s do a brief overview.

Read Books

TitleAuthorPublish DateRating
Say You SwearM. Brandy2022⭐⭐⭐⭐
Daughter of the Moon GoddessSue Lynn Tan2022⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The War of Two QueensJennifer L Armentrout2022⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A River EnchantedRebecca Ross2022⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Marvellous LightFreya Marske2021⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fire HeartEmma Hamm2022⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dragon HeartstringJuliette Cross2016⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dragon's Are a Girl's Best FriendIsla Frost2021⭐⭐⭐⭐
All is Faerie in Love and WarIsla Frost2021⭐⭐⭐⭐
Vampires Will be VampiresIsla Frost2021⭐⭐⭐
CourtTracy Wolff2022⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The ChaseElle Kennedy2018⭐⭐⭐
The RiskElle Kennedy2019⭐⭐⭐
The Off Limits RuleSarah Adams2020⭐⭐

Feel free to sort the table however you like. You’ll notice I didn’t read a lot of books, but 29% of them were 5 star reads. So that is pretty amazing to be honest! I’m quite happy with how many I had.

Read ARCs

TitleAuthorPublish DateRating
Ashton HallLauren BelferJune 7, 2022⭐⭐⭐⭐
Juniper & ThornAva ReidMay 24, 2022⭐⭐
Nettle & BoneT. KingfisherApril 26, 2022⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARCs Recieved

  • From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper
  • Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle
  • The King Will Betray You by Sarah Henning
  • How To Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder
  • Three Kisses, One Midnight by Roshani Chokshi

On the Blog

I posted 2 times on my blog in March. Whoops.

A History of Wild Places

City of Dusk

Around and About

I’ve been busy with school, I’m taking my research seminar and a collection development course. They end this month! Then I have 2 final classes and I’ll be done with grad school. I’ve applied to a Youth Librarian Position, which is exciting!

I’ve been keeping my instagram updated. I also have one for Poppy now too that you can follow!

It’s at wolfie.poppy.

CONCLUSION

Thus concludes my March 2022 wrap up!

I absolutely cannot  believe it is October! What happened to September? Here it is a rather unfortunate mid-80s, and that doesn’t seem about to change anytime soon. I am very much looking forward to cooler weather. Weather that I can wear sweaters in. That’s a bit besides the point, but my month of September for reading was very good. I read thirty 30! Books this month. I was averaging a book a day. But I also messed up my October hopeful books because I ended up reading some of them in September. Now I’ll just have to find some new books to read. (I got a little obsessed and couldn’t decide what to read…so here we are.)

My favorite book this month was definitely Half Sick of Shadows. Laura K Sebastian is an amazing author and this book was no exception. I had a few four star reads, like Afterlove, The Hollow Gods, A Lesson in Thorns, Death in the Family, and Say You’re Sorry.

Then there were a few  three star reads that verged on four and include books like The Witch Haven, and The Echoed Realm.

Most of the rest were three stars, but I did have one two star read that surprised me: The Final Girl Support Group.

Overall it was a great month!

Happy September all! I’m a little belated in posting this (yet again) and one day I will post these in a timely manner. But today is not that day! So this is my August wrap-up in the first week of September.

I had no five star books in August. 🙁 While that is disappointing I did have some amazing reads this past month that weren’t five stars, but ones that I really enjoyed. I’ve been more on an adult fiction kick, but I did read some YA in August.

My favorite four star reads were:

-Talk Bookish To Me

-The Mask Falling

-The Deal

-The Winner’s Kiss

-The Simple Wild

My least favorite book this month was Savage Lands. This was followed by:

-Finding Grace

-Beautiful Legend

-Master of Salt & Bones

-Music of the Night

The book that surprised me the most that I enjoyed was To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. It was way more enjoyable than I thought and I gave it 3.5 stars. Also middle of the road books that I expected to love is JLA’s Covenant series. I didn’t end up loving it, but it was enjoyable.

I’m definitely looking forward to fall and some great new reads!

Well, well, well. I haven’t done a wrap up since March. Oops. But promise, I had a good reason. I’ve been just so busy with life! And reading. Also I sometimes forget I have a blog. I’ll try and be better. I’m sure you’re curious about how my month was, right?

It was a good month overall. I’ve found myself gravitating to more adult fiction, especially my KU subscription. I’ve also apparently been giving out less five stars and more three stars…weird.

Anyways, the books I read were:

books I read in July 2021

  • The Burning God
  • Curse of the Specter Queen
  • The Traitor Queen
  • Daughter of Sparta
  • Tithe
  • Valiant
  • Ironside
  • For the Wolf
  • Any Way the Wind Blows
  • Zodiac Academy 1-6
  • Gild
  • Glint
  • Gleam
  • House of Hollow
  • Of Wolves and Wardens
  • Fire with Fire
  • Gods & Monsters
  • Birthday
  • Girl
  • Six Crimson Cranes

my top reads

My top reads of the month include Any Way the Wind Blows, Daughter of Sparta, Gild, Glint, Gleam, Curse of the Specter Queen, The Crown of Gilded Bones, Gods & Monsters.

I enjoyed most of the rest. Really, I had a good month with enjoyable books which is SUCH a nice change. Sometimes I get a lot of bad books and I don’t really enjoy them which is unfortunate.

the bad

Really, the only one I really didn’t enjoy was Of Wolves and Wardens.

Although The Modern Faerie Tales were okay, I gave them three stars, but that was on the bottom. I didn’t love them as much as I wish I did. And Zodiac Academy was decent. I don’t know whether I’ll continue reading that series or not.

overall

Overall, I think I had a good month. Not sure what I will be reading next month, however!

march 2021, what a month!

Hello all, first off, happy April! This is my month in review! I can’t believe we’re almost into spring already! Warmer weather will be here soon and that means I’ll be headed outdoors to enjoy my reading. But what absolutely astonishes me is it has been over a year since the pandemic “officially” started! Time has flown by so fast! As of right now I am in classes four and five of my MLIS out of thirteen total. So this summer I’ll be halfway through.

One of the things I wanted to mention is I have had less time for bookish related things as grad school has ramped up. I’m not posting as much on my blog or instagram as I want to, and I have had to drop booktube entirely. Just not enough time in a day to keep up with everything! I have also been reading less much to my disappointment. I only read twenty three books in March. It is a low number for me.

But onto the stuff you really care about…what I read this month!

five star reads

I had five 5 star reads this month. Covet was my most anticipated alongside One Last Stop, so I’m glad they lived up to my expectations. Then two JLA books which were ridiculously good, and a surprise, Ariadne which was beyond excellent.

four star reads

I had four 4 star reads this month. I enjoyed them all!

three star reads

I had eleven three star reads. Most of them I enjoyed, although a few more than others.

two star reads and below

These are the books that were two stars and below. Four Winds is here because I did not know what to rate it.

the posts

This month was mostly about reviews, although I did do one post on Book Box Subscriptions! Overall, it was a pretty slow month because like I said, grad school and work have been keeping me really busy.

last thoughts

I hit 4k on my bookstagram last month, which was awesome! Way more than I could believe! Overall it was a good month. JLA is now a favorite author of mine!

How was your month?

Intro

I cannot believe that it is February as I type this! I have no idea what happened to January! (Actually, I do. I was busy posting about it on instagram. In fact, the tl;dr is that I had a whole host of medical issues & grad school started.) January was a really busy month because I was doing readings for two intensive grad school courses as well as dealing with all those medical issues, so I read twenty three books this past month. Which is rather low for me. So, how was my month overall?  

What I Read This Month

Pretty good to be quite honest! I had four five star reads, The Queens Rising and The Queen’s Resistance by Rebecca Ross, Fire by Kristin Cashore and Namesake by Adrienne Young. 

I had a whole bunch of four star reads as well! My reread of A Court of Wings and Ruin was a four star. Other four star reads were: Sweet & Bitter Magic, The Once and Future Witches, A Sky Beyond the Storm, An Ember in the Ashes, The Lives of Saints, Master of One, and The Burning Shadow.  

Gold stars, computer illustration.

As far as three star reads I had a few of those as well! Bitterblue, A Reaper at the Gates, Divine Blood, The Chalk Man, The Hiding Place, The Swallows, The Book of Two Ways, A Deal with the Elf King, The Assassin’s Blade, and To Love and to Loathe were all my three star reads.  

I only had one two star read: Truth, Lies and Second Dates.  

And I had no one star reads! Which is really fun. Sometimes I get one or two a month, but I think I picked books I knew I would like this month, and I think I did pretty well with that. 

My Thoughts

The most surprising thing this month for me was that Fire, was a five-star read. I liked Graceling and Bitterblue, but I adored Fire. And Namesake is now my highest rated Adrienne Young book!  I started several series, and some I plan to continue (Master of One, Origins) and others I don’t plan on continuing (Divine Blood). I also finished a few series’ and they had an epic conclusion. There were a few standalones I enjoyed by CJ Tudor and surprisingly I did not cry at Jodi Piccoult’s book. 

The most disappointing thing was that Deal with an Elf King I didn’t like as much. I really wanted to love the book, but I just thought it was okay. Kova has other works that are far superior to this one. I guess I was also disappointed in To Love and to Loathe because I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other book.  

I realized that I read a few novellas this month. Both for very popular series. I didn’t like The Assassin’s Blade as much as I wanted to. But it was nice to get backstory. The Lives of Saints was ridiculously gorgeous. The illustrations were beautiful and I enjoyed learning about the saints that make up that world. 

Looking to February…I don’t have a lot of books on my TBR. Mostly because my budget is shot due to medical issues. I don’t own a lot of TBR books at this point. (Only one; Wicked.) But I have a few books I own that I’m rereading that I didn’t like for some reason or another that are getting second chances before being sold or given away.  

Wicked, The Family Upstairs, Red Rising, Crier’s War, and There Will Come a Darkness are books I aim to read this month.

How was your January? What are you thinking of reading this month?