Always Me

Happy Sunday everyone!  This October I've decided to take part in a new-to-me readathon - the FraterFest Read-A-Thon hosted by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer .  It runs from October 11th through October 16th and the rules are pretty simple - you read or listen to mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, horror, paranormal, supernatural books and novellas.  You also must participate in at least challenge over the course of the readathon - you could win a prize!  You can also share your progress on Twitter (or Instagram) with #FraterfestRAT .  Now I know I'm going to be fairly busy during the course of the readathon, so I've only selected four books for my TBR.  Fingers crossed that I'll enjoy all of them (and even get to all of them)! Day Shift ( Midnight, Texas #2) by Charlaine Harris - I'm really looking forward to picking up this sequel since I liked the first book and loved the first season of the tv adaptation.  I need to read this before season t...

It's already the end of September- meaning 18 of the 24 tasks for  Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge  are complete!  The tasks I completed required me to read a n assigned book you hated (or never finished)  and a n Oprah Book Club selection .  For the tasks, I selected  The Bluest Eye  by Toni Morrison  and  A Million Little Pieces  by James Frey  respectively.  Read on to see my mini reviews and what's next for October: ❋  ❋  ❋ This was the first Toni Morrison I read for 10th grade English while I was in high school. I couldn't get into at the time - and I think a good chunk of that had to do with how the story and it's difficult subjects were handled in a classroom setting. Now that I can say I've read it again for Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge (an assigned book you hated or never finished), I could definitely appreciate it more. Since I read this novel the first time around, I've had more e...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 1716, Merrin Smith is an orphan desperate to unravel the secrets of her past. Disguised as a sailor, she joins the crew of a pirate ship helmed by the tenacious (and rumored a madman) Captain Erik Winters. They will sail for the island of Bracile, a place hidden between air and sea that exists only for a moment every two years, and which has never returned any man who has sailed for its shores. Since Merrin can read, she becomes the Captain’s apprentice, looking for clues to the island’s location as the ship sails to the heart of the ocean. She will have to keep her identity hidden from the Captain, as well as the ship's quartermaster who speaks of legends of the sea, and boatswain that Merrin feels drawn to. During the journey, she begins to suspect that her own past might have more to do with Dunn’s legends and myths than she ever could have guessed. I lucked out when I was approved f...

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by  Freda's Voice , Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader , and 50/50 Friday is a new weekly link up and it is hosted by  Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader  and  Laura @ Blue Eye Books . For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Then, for 50/50 Friday, every week there's a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts blogs. This week I'm sp...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. These are the rules of Blackheath - Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m. There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit. We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer. Got it? Well, then. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. Every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest and some of his hosts are more helpful than others. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton is one of the most hyped up books of the season - and I'm stunned I managed to get approved for a copy via NetGalley. The premise is fascinating and luckily for me it's one of the coolest mysteries I've had the opportunity to read. It was such a fun challenge to work my way through. I was a little worried about keeping track of the timelines and POVs. I'll admit I was ...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to the Top Ten Tuesday now hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven’t Read.  Here we go without further ado, in order by title: The Archived ( The Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab - Somehow I haven't read any of Schwab's non-adult books - I'm going to have to change that starting with this novel. Grave Sight ( Harper Connelly #1) by Charlaine Harris - I've read all of the Sookie Stackhouse books and I'm working on the Midnight, Texas series.  I definitely wan to to try this since I've heard Manfred appears in this series as well. In A Handful of Dust ( Not a Drop to Drink #2) by Mindy McGinnis - I've read quite a few of this talented Ohio author's books, but somehow I haven't gotten to this one yet (as well as her two most recent releases).  I definitely have to get to this companion soon. It by Stephen King - I've read ...

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below. Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s). If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url. Earlier this month Hozier released his new Nina Cried Power EP featuring four songs.  I don't think I can adequately express how happy I am to have some brand new music from him.  I can't decide which of the four songs from the EP is my favorite, so I'm just sharing all four of them - "Nina Cried Power" featuring Mavis Staples ...

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by  Freda's Voice , Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader , and 50/50 Friday is a new weekly link up and it is hosted by  Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader  and  Laura @ Blue Eye Books . For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Then, for 50/50 Friday, every week there's a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts blogs. This week I'm s...

Happy Thursday everyone!  Today I'm sharing two mini reviews of novels I received from authors in exchange for honest reviews: Aaru: Halls of Hel ( The Aaru Cycle #2) by David Meredith & The Friar's Lantern by Greg Hickey .  Read on to see my thoughts on these two novels: ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ Aaru: Halls of Hel by David Meredith is a more than worthy sequel to the outstanding series opener which I also read for review. I'm so happy that the author remember me and how much I enjoyed it so I could have the opportunity to return to Aaru and the Before world with Rose and Koren. It was fantastic to see how far both of them have come from the moment we met them. Due to their experiences they're a bit different than they were before, but I adored getting to see them grow over the course of the story, especially Rose who's really had the chance to come into her own since she got a second chance at a life after her life before was stolen from her. As you can imag...

I'm very excited to welcome you all to my leg of the Zero Repeat Forever website reveal , hosted by  Rockstar Book Tours !   Today, you'll find the details and summary, the book trailer, an exclusive link to the novel's website,  a giveaway, and the tour schedule.  Thanks for visiting my stop ! About The Book: Title: ZERO REPEAT FOREVER Author: Gabrielle Prendergast Pub. Date: August 29, 2017 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Pages: 496 Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook Find it: Amazon , B&N , Audible , iBooks , TBD , Goodreads He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind. Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall. His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting. Until a human kills her… Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to the Top Ten Tuesday now hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Books On My Fall 2018 TBR and I'm focusing on new releases from this September through November.  Here we go, in order by release date. September: Escaping from Houdini ( Stalking Jack the Ripper #3) by Kerri Maniscalco - Release date: September 18, 2018 - This author has quickly become one of my favorites and I can't wait to see more from Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell. For a Muse of Fire ( For a Muse of Fire #1) by Heidi Heilig - Release date: September 25, 2018 - I loved Heilig's brand of fantasy in The Girl from Everywhere duology and I'm excited to see where she goes in this all new Asian cultures inspired fantasy series. Vengeful ( Vicious #2) by V.E.Schwab - Release date: September 25, 2018 - I don't think I can adequately express just how excited I am for this sequel!! October: The Hollow Fear ( Lady S...