Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Liked But Don't Talk About Much

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Like a lot of bookworms, I have a tendency to rave about my favorite books and mention them at every turn. But that means I neglect some books I genuinely thought were good - and they might become someone else's favorite, if I were to talk about them more.

1. Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali

2. Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

3. For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig

4. The Beholder by Anna Bright

5. Tumbling by Caela Carter

6. Jackpot by Nic Stone

7. The Possibility of Now by Kim Culbertson

8. We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

9. Rules for 50/50 Chances by Kate McGovern

10. And We're Off by Dana Schwartz

Bonus pick: You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner


Tell me: which books did you like but don't tell many people about?

Review: The Silence of Bones

The Silence of Bones by June Hur
Grade: C
Release date: April 21, 2020
An e-galley was provided by Macmillan via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: 1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.

As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.

But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Everything about The Silence of Bones should've equaled a book that I loved. I enjoy a good murder mystery. I like books set outside the United States and Europe. I love YA historical fiction. Yet, I felt oddly ambivalent for the entire course of this novel.
The subject matter of this story is so fascinating. I did like learning about how the police bureau in early 19th century Korea worked. (And Korea in general, during this time period.) Historical fiction mysteries are also very cool. However, the prose felt a bit dry, and that made reading take way longer than it normally does for me. It needed a bit more work to draw the reader in and keep them interested. There were also some plot details that were confusing, about Seol's past. There was a lot she couldn't remember and then other details that were vague, which was peculiar and frustrating to me. And unfortunately, I didn't connect with the characters, which I really need to do to love a novel.

Content warnings: murder, some mild gore

The Verdict: Probably another book that partly fell victim to my lack of focus during COVID lockdown. Will absolutely try whatever June writes in the future. :)

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: Alas, probably not.

The Little Bookshop's Shelf Scavenger Hunt

One of our local indie bookstores, in an effort to fend off boredom and spread some bookish cheer, created a bookshelf scavenger hunt for their followers. My mother and I attempted it earlier this week. We limited ourselves to the six bookcases in my room, and a few of the categories proved to be a challenge, but we did it!

1. A book with a color in the title

2. A book published in 2018

3. A book that’s considered a classic

(I could've gone with any of my Austen titles, of course, but I thought it might be interesting to choose an author I don't mention much.)

4. A book with an animal in the title

(My gut reaction was to reach for Six of Crows, but I tried to choose titles not many people know about.)

5. A book with someone’s name in the title

(TWO names.)

6. A book that’s the first in a series

7. A book that begins with the letter L

(With two more featured in the background, lol.)

8. A book that is blue

9. A book title that ends with an S

10. A book with a title that is hyphenated

11. A book with a flower(s) on the front

(My mom thought of this one before I did!)

12. A book with the word “of” in the title

(Oh there are so many in YA. So many books are titled "_ of _ and _". This one is a little different at least.)

13. A book that is green

(Greeeeeeeeeeennnnn.)

14. A book that has stripes on the cover

(A very subtle stripe.)

15. A book that has the words “first” or “second” in the title

So there you have it! If you're looking for an at-home activity, I'd definitely suggest this scavenger hunt.

Why I Love Break the Fall

I'd been looking forward to Jennifer Iacopelli's YA book about gymnastics, Break the Fall, for a really long time, and it was such a satisfying read. Here are a few more in-depth reasons to hopefully convince you to buy and read the book too.

1. The romance

Ugh, I love a good swoony romance with chemistry and characters who care about each other. Also Leo fully roots for and supports Audrey, which was very nice to see.

2. The nuance of characters

There's a couple of gymnasts that are sort of mean girls, and of course there is strong competition between all the different gymnasts from different countries. But, when it really matters, they bond together to support one another.

3. The gymnastics

One of my top two favorite sports. There are so many great details about movements and training, and behind the scenes stuff the average person doesn't know. Also it's finally pushed me to start watching Make It or Break It.

4. How much it made me cry

When a book makes me cry, it's a big deal. (I cry easily, but usually it's because of movies or TV shows.) And I didn't necessarily cry because of sad things; I was just so proud of certain characters, and like I said above, there's some great coming-together-to-support-each-other moments, and those usually make me cry.

I'm going to be talking about this book for months to come, but why wait?

Goodreads  Barnes & Noble  The Book Depository  Read Between the Lynes

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Bought on Impulse

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Often when I go to a bookstore, I have specific books in mind to buy. I know that's not a common thing to do, but it generally helps me buy mostly books I will love and not want to return. But there have been a few occasions where I bought a book not even on my radar, or one that was but I was planning to get from the library first. Here are ten of those books.

1. There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

2. The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe

3. Ruined by Amy Tintera

4. Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren

5. Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

6. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

(I got this one and Lamar's book through BotM, but they still count as impulse buys.)

7. Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson

8. To Be Honest by Maggie Ann Martin

9. Puddin' by Julie Murphy

10. In the Shadow of the Sun by E.M. Castellan


What books have you not planned to buy, but then bought at the bookstore anyways?

Rewind & Review #157

Created by Shae Has Left the Room.

~I've unfortunately been furloughed from my job, so things are looking really uncertain right now. Virginia is on a stay-at-home order til June 10, so it's going to be til then or longer. :/
~I'm finding it so hard to focus on reading right now, which is sad because I've never had so much free time.
~I just want things to get back to normal. :(

Books I Received for Review

Keep My Heart in San Francisco by Amelia Diane Coombs (from S&S via NetGalley)

Books I Bought

The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey
Moment of Truth by Kasie West

Books I Read

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills (reread)
The Silence of Bones by June Hur
Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart (2 stars)
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu (3 stars)
Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett (DNF)
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson
Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer

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

   (from 3/23-3/28)

• Top Ten Tuesday: Emma's Favorite Memoirs
• 17 Series Whose Second Books Is as Good as the First
• So You Like... #94
• Review: It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood (3 stars)

   (from 3/29-4/4)

• 11 Women-Centric Books to Read Even When Women's History Month Is Over
• Top Ten Tuesday: Signs You're a Bookworm
• Most Anticipated April 2020 Releases
• DNF Review: The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park
• Random Friday: Funko Pops

Random Friday: Funko Pops

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.

I've talked about Funko Pops before in a Random Friday post, but I thought it might be fun to bring it back around again - this time, with pictures of my own Pops. :)

My Harry Potter trio (I just want Professor McGonagall to complete the group)

Gilmore Girls. :)

Look at the tiny Pascal!

True wuv.

You have brought honor to us all.

"You gonna break my heart, Covey?"

All the superheroes (plus Katniss). And yes, I have three different Wonder Woman Pops (and will be acquiring more with the new movie lololol).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

DNF Review: The Perfect Escape

The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park
Grade: DNF
Release date: April 7, 2020
An e-galley was provided by Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Nate Jae-Woo Kim wants to be rich. When one of his classmates offers Nate a ridiculous amount of money to commit grade fraud, he knows that taking the windfall would help support his prideful Korean family, but is compromising his integrity worth it?

Luck comes in the form of Kate Anderson, Nate’s colleague at the zombie-themed escape room where he works. She approaches Nate with a plan: a local tech company is hosting a weekend-long survivalist competition with a huge cash prize. It could solve all of Nate’s problems, and Kate needs the money too.

If the two of them team up, Nate has a true shot at winning the grand prize. But the real challenge? Making through the weekend with his heart intact…

When did I stop reading?: Like 5 or so chapters in.
Why did I stop reading?: The character voices and actions just felt weird and inauthentic to me. I was so looking forward to this book, but it was such a struggle to get through. (Also I'm very tired of overprotective YA parents.)

Most Anticipated April 2020 Releases

Happy two year anniversary of starting this series! To celebrate, I'm not only sharing the April 2020 releases I'm looking forward to or already loved, but I'm also going to share some of my favorite April books from 2018 and 2019.

Waiting For

1. Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed (4/7/20)
This one has been on my TBR for so long. I even made it a Nineteen 2019 Reads pick, and then it got pushed back. ;P

2. The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson (4/7/20)
A continuation in the Girl of Fire and Thorns universe?? Yes, please!

3. Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan (4/21/20)
This one sounds so perfectly teen.

4. Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer (4/21/20)
This one sounds a little like Laughing Crying, and I really liked that book.

5. Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (4/21/20)
Latest Wibbroka. Obviously this is on the list.

6. Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson (4/28/20)
A Black girl equivalent to Ramona Quimby? Count me in.

Already Read - You Should, Too!

1. What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter (4/7/20)
Another YA You've Got Mail remix.

April 2018 and 2019 Books

1. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

2. Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

3. Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

4. Summer of a Thousand Pies by Margaret Dilloway

5. If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

6. A Kind of Paradise by Rebecca Tan

7. Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali

8. Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn

9. Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett