June 30, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases in 2020, Part Two


I posted my first list for this year back in January. Now here are the rest.

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1. The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning
(Y'all are probably gonna be so glad when I stop talking about how much I want to read this book, lol.)

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2. Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

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3. Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan

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4. Death Sets Sail by Robin Stevens

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5. The Knockout by S.A. Patel

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6. The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

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7. Majesty by Katharine McGee
(I didn't love the first book, but the premise is so enticing that I can't resist.)

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8. Recommended for You by Laura Silverman

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9. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

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10. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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11. Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

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12. This Is How We Fly by Anna Meriano

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13. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong


So what are the books you are looking forward to most for the next six months?

June 28, 2020

Rewind & Review #163


~Posts are going to be a bit more sporadic over the next few weeks. I've had a bunch of other stuff on my mind.

Books I Received for Review
The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks (from Amulet Books via Edelweiss)
I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan (from AW Teen via Edelweiss)

Books I Bought
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

Books I Read
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (3 stars)
How to Speak Boy by Tiana Smith (3 stars)
Lucky Few by Kathryn Ormsbee (reread)
Beach Read by Emily Henry (3.5 stars)
By the Book by Amanda Sellet (4 stars)
My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (3.5 stars)

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks

June 27, 2020

Most Anticipated July 2020 Releases

How's everyone's summer going? Are you managing to read lots of great books? Well here's a few more for those TBR lists.

Waiting For

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1. The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning (July 7)
I've talked about this one enough that no one should be surprised it's on yet another list.

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2. Loveless by Alice Oseman (July 9)
A UK release with an asexual main character, which still isn't all that common in YA.

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3. Running by Natalia Sylvester (July 14)
With this burst of political YA, we'll see how this one goes down.

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4. The Invention of Sophie Carter by Samantha Hastings (July 14)
We love YA historical fiction that does something different.

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5. Now & When by Sara Bennett Wealer (July 14)
Speculative fic that sounds very interesting.

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6. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon (July 21)
Sandhya's latest rom-com! 

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7. More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn (July 21)
This is my book club's August pick. I'm very excited.

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8. Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy (July 21)
More unique YA historical fiction.

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9. This Is My America by Kim Johnson (July 28)
Sounds super timely.

Already Read - You Should, Too!

None actually! Oops.

June 26, 2020

Random Friday: My Ideal Taylor Swift Concert


Want to participate in Random Fridays? Just do the following:
  • Include the above image in your post and link back to my blog.
  • Blog about this week's topic (or a variant of it).
  • Add the link to your Random Friday post at the bottom of this one.

Loverfest has been cancelled for this summer, though I was not planning to go. The only two U.S. locations she was playing were much too far away. However, if I could customize a Loverfest setlist, I think this is what it would look like. (There are a few songs I think Taylor would include that I didn't, and I doubt she'd actually do a setlist quite this long. But a girl can dream.)


Open with:

Cruel Summer

Why?: For a summer festival tour, this would be the perfect track to kick things off with. In my imagination, she'd pause one second longer after singing, "He looks up grinning like the devil," before launching into the chorus.

2. You Need to Calm Down
3. Blank Space
4. The Man
(She did this song acoustically at her City of Lover concert, but I think this is the rare Taylor track that shines better with full production.)

*costume change*

5. Sparks Fly/I Think He Knows mash-up

Why?: They're both about Taylor getting the hots for a guy.

6. Paper Rings

*move to B stage during this song for acoustic set, mini costume change*

7. You Are in Love/Lover mash-up
8. Cornelia Street (while it's lovely with full production, it's equally lovely acoustic)
9. Our Song
10. It's Nice to Have a Friend (preferably with ukulele instead of guitar)
11. The Archer

*move back to main stage while singing this next one*

12. Delicate

*costume change*

13. Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince
14. I Knew You Were Trouble
15. Out of the Woods

*costume change*

16. Style/Love Story/You Belong With Me mash-up, exactly like it was on the Reputation Stadium Tour
17. Death by a Thousand Cuts (I like this better as the acoustic version she did for City of Lover, but I already included more acoustic songs than she usually does.)

*costume change*

18. Red/Daylight piano mash-up

Closer:

Afterglow

Why?: Because it's still drum-heavy but also a bit slower. Also it would be the perfect set-up for her post-show meet-and-greet room to be called The Afterglow, and she's literally closing the show by singing, "Meet me in the afterglow."

*quick costume change for encore*

Taylor hasn't done an encore since the Speak Now World Tour, but I am willing it into existence.

20. Long Live (on guitar of course)
21. Me! (Couldn't leave this one off the setlist unfortunately. It has closer potential, but I like the note of closing on Afterglow, then coming back and doing this one.)


So which artist would you design a setlist for, and what would it consist of?



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June 23, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Reads of 2020 So Far


2020 has been a bit slower with favorite books so far. Another thing coronavirus has ruined. But these favorites are amazing.

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1. All-American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney

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2. Slay by Brittney Morris

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3. Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning

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4. The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

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5. Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli

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7. Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed

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8. This Is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregorio


What books have been your favorite reads thus far?

June 22, 2020

So You Like... #98

My music obsession this spring has been Heartbreak Weather by Niall Horan. I probably listen to the album every other day. So if you like Niall's music and particularly his new album, I have some book recs for you.


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What other books do you think pair nicely with Heartbreak Weather?

June 20, 2020

Twenty 2020 Reads Check-In

Well it's just about halfway through the year, and so that means it's time for my annual check-in on how I'm liking some of my most anticipated books. I'll do this alphabetically by author this time.

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Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed - A fairly solid book. For more thoughts, I linked my review.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor - Not out yet! Its pub date is set for October 6th of this year. :)

The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson - I have a copy sitting in my TBR stack. Planning to read once I reread the original trilogy.

Muse by Brittany Cavallaro - Pub date pushed back to February 2021. :(

Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas - DNF. Alas.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn - Pub date is currently set for September 15, 2020!

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne - Haven't read it yet. :)

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Every Reason We Shouldn't by Sara Fujimara - A bit of a letdown. See my review for more details.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong - Due to release on November 17 of this year. I'm eagerly awaiting it!

Eventide by Sarah Goodman - Another fall 2020 release.

My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows - It's on my TBR shelf and I hope to get to it soon!

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The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning - Publishing in just a few weeks, and I have it preordered!

The Sound of Summer by Veera Hiranandani - I have a feeling this one will be pushed back to 2021, since it does not seem to have a pub date or cover yet.

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The Silence of Bones by June Hur - Unfortunately, this wasn't quite the book I hoped it would be. I'm planning to give the author's future works a try, though.

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Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli - Loved this book so much. I'm a sucker for gymnastics.

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The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson - I don't think I liked this quite as much as the rest of the trilogy, but it was still very engaging.

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What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter - Kind of okay?

Six Angry Girls by Adrienne Kisner - Was supposed to pub in June but got pushed back to August, thanks to the virus.

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Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer - I really, really liked this one. Read my review for more details.

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le - Another title pushed back to February 2021.

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Anna K. by Jenny Lee - Shouldn't have been YA, honestly.

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Tweet Cute by Emma Lord - Truly cute and very, very good.

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The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu - Wasn't really engaged by this one. Might be partially the coronavirus's fault, so I'm hoping to try it again at a later date.

Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore - Due to release in September.

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Chirp by Kate Messner - Solid middle grade.

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Lucky Caller by Emma Mills - Mills continues to solidify herself as my favorite author ever.

One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite - It has a title and a cover but was pushed back to 2021.

Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy - Pubbing in a month! :)

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The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton - Lacked a compelling voice.

The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park - DNFed because I really wasn't feeling the character voices.

Magic Dark and Strange by Kelly Powell - Another fall book. Much to look forward to in the second half of 2020!

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The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski - I love Marie's fantasy and that she's expanding the world of The Winner's Curse.

By the Book by Amanda Sellet - Still need to read. I own a copy at least.

How to Speak Boy by Tiana Smith - The plot was good; the prose was skimmable.

Rebelwing by Andrea Tang - Still need to read this one! :)

This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria - Another whose pub date moved to February 2021.

Off Script by Kate Watson - None of the libraries I have access to have acquired a copy, unfortunately.

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Most Likely by Sarah Watson - Very meh overall.

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Moment of Truth by Kasie West - While still not quite as good as some of Kasie's earliest books, I felt this was a return to form, after the last two books in this sort of companion trilogy.

My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong - Thoroughly removed from my TBR after several poor reviews.


So there you have it! Four firmly pushed to 2021, one more likely to be moved as well. Two DNFs, four new favorites, and fifteen still to read (that pub in 2020)! I'll update y'all again in December.