Emma's 2020 Preorders

Every December I talk about the books I've preordered so far for the upcoming year. Usually I do a giveaway too, but alas, I'm on a bit more of a budget this year. But still read on for all the books I'm looking forward to so much that I preordered them. (And then maybe share what you've preordered in the comments?)



1. The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord (Jan. 7, 2020)
2. The Night Country by Melissa Albert (Jan. 7, 2020)
Even if I hadn't gotten an ARC of Emery's latest, she's an auto-buy author for me. And then I really enjoyed The Hazel Wood (getting it in an OwlCrate put it on my radar), so I decided the sequel was worth preordering.


3. Lucky Caller by Emma Mills (Jan. 14, 2020)
It's so freaking good, y'all. (Emma is another auto-buy author for me.)


4. The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson (Jan. 21, 2020)
Gotta finish out the trilogy!
5. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord (Jan. 21, 2020)
I have an e-galley of this one, and it's so cute and sweet and teenager-y and filled with food.


6. Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli (Feb. 18, 2020)
I love gymnastics and Olympics books.


7. Every Reason We Shouldn't by Sara Fujimara (March 3, 2020)
I also love figure skating and Olympics books.


8. A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn (March 10, 2020)
Ugh this series is my catnip. It has a slow-burn ship to end all slow-burn ships.


9. Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (April 21, 2020)
If I'm Being Honest was one of my favorite books of 2019, so obviously I'm excited to see what Team Wibbroka writes next.


10. My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (June 2, 2020)
More fun retellings of history! (Also have y'all heard about the series they're doing next? About three different Marys?)


11. The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning (July 7, 2020)
Since its deal was announced, this book has been pitched as inspired by The Princess Bride, and everyone should know how I feel about that movie.



So, what books have you preordered for 2020, or which ones are you planning to?

DNF Review: Finding Mr. Better-Than-You

Finding Mr. Better-Than-You by Shani Petroff
Grade: DNF
Release date: January 14, 2020
An e-galley was provided by Macmillan via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Camryn has been dating Marc FOREVER—since freshman year! She dropped out of volleyball to go to all his games, switched her schedule around to be in his favorite class, and has been busting her butt to get into Columbia so they can go to the same college. So when Marc suddenly, and very publically, breaks up with her a week into their senior year so that he can date the new transfer student, she’s absolutely devastated.

But why be sad, when you can get even? Inspired by her favorite movies, Camryn decides that the best revenge is a Senior Year well lived, starring a boy who is ever so much better than her ex. With a little help from her friends, Cam is going to have the Best. Senior. Year. Ever.

Or else!


When did I stop reading?: A couple chapters into my e-galley.
Why did I stop reading?: It just really wasn't holding my interest. Even though I'm past the target ages for YA, I still love most titles and the teenageriness of them. But this one just seemed so...immature and tired right from the bat. I'd lost interest in the concept, and the beginning wasn't capturing my attention. That's not to say actual teens won't like this book! It's just one of the ones that's definitely no longer for me.

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter 2020 TBR List

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

On Friday, I shared a few of the winter releases I'm looking forward to, and now I'll share several more. ^.^


1. Clean Getaway by Nic Stone


2. Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith


3. Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian


4. Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland


5. Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon


6. Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter


7. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu


8. Every Reason We Shouldn't by Sara Fujimara


9. Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas


10. A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn


Share the link to your TTT in the comments, and I'll try to check it out later! :)

12 Days of Christmas Book Tag

I always try to come up with creative holiday posts to do in December, and so I was delighted to stumble upon this Christmas-themed book tag. I found it at The Sassy Book Geek, and the original tag maker is Lizzie Loves Books on BookTube.



Partridge in a Pear Tree - Favorite Standalone

Obviously, I had to choose an Emma Mills book.


Two Turtle Doves - Your OTP


Anne and Gilbert



Three French Hens - Best Trilogy

This answer is a bit traditionalist, but it's such a strong trilogy.



Four Calling Birds - Best Series with 4+ Books

I have read a surprising lack of long series that I'd put up for this category. Thankfully, Kendare Blake's Three Dark Crowns counts.
 



Five Golden Rings - Favorite Villain/Antagonist
The Emperor from The Winner's Curse trilogy


Six Geese-a-Laying - Favorite World/Worldbuilding

Dark of the West



Seven Swans-a-Swimming - Favorite Animal Sidekick

I feel like I don't read a lot of books with actual animal sidekicks. Murphy from Second Chance Summer should count, though.



Eight Maids-a-Milking - Book with Best Food Descriptions




Nine Ladies Dancing - Favorite Female Lead
I did this category and the next specifically for 2019 releases.

Jo - The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee



Ten Lords-a-Leaping - Favorite Leading Lad

Nasir - We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal




Eleven Pipers Piping - Favorite Book with Musical Influence




Twelve Drummers Drumming - Favorite Read of 2019
I tried really hard to only pick one Emma Mills novel for this list, but I am powerless against my own reading tastes.




Let me know if you do this tag, too!

Random Friday: Winter 2020 TBR

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.

Winter always brings a bunch of new books, and there's a bunch of backlist titles I still need to read, too. Here's my list!


1. The Night Country by Melissa Albert


2. The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson


3. Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli


4. Moment of Truth by Kasie West


5. The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski


6. Chirp by Kate Messner


7. This Train Is Being Held by Ismée Amiel Williams


8. Storm from the East by Joanna Hathaway


9. Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay
10. Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower
11. Tart of Darkness by Denise Swanson


What's on your winter TBR? :)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

What I Reread in 2019

Barring whatever I'll reread in December, I reread 67+ books this year. And I thought it would be fun to discuss which ones I did, and what I wanted to but didn't get around to rereading.


What I Reread



~I binged the Harry Potter series again this summer! What a wild ride. It had been a few years since I read them. I'd reread a few a few years ago when I wrote my essay about why Severus Snape is the absolute worst, but most of that was skim rereads.
~I reread more SJM books for work.
~I reread several of the books in my beloved The Mother-Daughter Book Club series, as well as some of the later Betsy-Tacy books.
~I may have reread several Babysitters Club books, though I didn't put most of them in my spreadsheet since I blazed through them so quickly. Shoutout to the NYPL for having most of the series as e-books.
~Another longtime favorite - the Heist Society trilogy - got a reread this past spring. I live for the day Ally Carter announces book four.
~I only reread two books more than once: Famous in a Small Town and Foolish Hearts. #1 Emma Mills stan, if you couldn't tell.
~Last month, I did a mini readalong with a fellow blogger who was reading the Murder Most Unladylike series for the first time! I hadn't read the first two books in AGES, so that was a fun rediscovery.



What I Wish I'd Reread

There were definitely several books I didn't have the time to reread. Here are a few key titles:



~I really wanted to reread the Gallagher Girls series. I reread Heist Society every year or so, but GG has definitely fallen by the wayside. (I think it being a longer series makes it a little more daunting.)
~Every year I set a goal to reread books I haven't in awhile, to see if I still like them and if I still want to own them. I suck at fulfilling this goal. (Though I did manage to do it with a few books!) Namely, though, I didn't get around to rereading Rachael Allen's books or The Secrets of Lily Graves.
~After I loved the Veronica Speedwell series this winter/spring, I wanted to reread them, now that I own all four. Alas. I'll probably wait until it's closer to book 5's release, now that 2019 is almost over.
~As for a few other books that it's been awhile since I reread, here's what I'm hoping to get to:

• The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee
• The Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu
• For Darkness Shows the Stars and Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
• Kissing in America by Margo Rabb
• Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

So what did you reread this year, or what had you hoped to reread in 2019?