April Wrap-Up 2019

I am rusty, dusty, and cruuuuusty with these wrap-ups lol. I haven’t done one since Fall of 2017. You know what? This is a free judgment zone so please don’t lmao!

Alright so I want to do something different with these wrap-ups. I not only want to share what I read but also other things so let’s get started!!! All book titles will link you to Goodreads.


What I Read

  1. Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger ★★★★
    A mystery thriller novel with paranormal elements. My first Lisa Unger book and I really enjoyed it. Definitely has that atmospheric dark tone read but not scary at all. I have a non-spoiler review here.
  2. Baptized in Moonlight by Morgan Scott ★★★★
    A poetry collection on self, growth, journey, and many other topics. I am so glad that I got to this! I have a full review with some of my favorite poems here.
  3. Sanctuary (Beards & Bondage #2) by Rebekah Weatherspoon ★★★★
    An adult erotica romance, this is my second time reading the author’s work. I definitely enjoyed the first one a lot more. What I love most about the author’s books is that it includes people of color as her characters which make it that much more fun. No review but I would definitely recommend, starting with the first one, Haven.
  4. Miracle Creek by Angie Kim ★★★
    A courtroom drama mystery thriller novel about a Korean Immigrant family and an explosion that happened. I have my full thoughts in a non-spoiler review here.
  5. Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ★★★★
    A historical fiction coming of age novel with a little mystery in it. Wow, my favorite read of the month!!!! This book will stay with me for a long time. I have a full non-spoiler review here.
  6. The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker ★★★★.5
    An adult contemporary romance about a young woman who’s absent father is sick and she goes to visit him to possibly reconnect somehow. However, during the trip to Alaska, she was not expecting to bond with the guy who’s been an asshole to her since she landed. This book has the hate to love trope and is definitely a slow burn romance. I highly enjoyed this book because it was more than the romance, it was about self as well.

After typing out all the books I’ve read, I’m really surprised with how much I read. I think I found the genres that are for me (Mystery, Thriller, Adult Romance).


Books Acquired

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ICYMI, I did my first ever monthly subscription box to Book of the Month! Check this post if you want to read all about it. I received Miracle Creek by Angie Kim.

 

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One Saturday after my therapy session, I wanted to go book shopping and spend some money on myself. I missed roaming Barnes and Noble in peace and looking at the books, deciding which books to get. I bought these three books that were on my TBR shelf (two already read *high fives myself*).

Books in photo:
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

 

 

I feel like I’m doing so good with acquiring books and reading them right away! I’ll be starting Love and Other Words this week so I’m on track!


What I Watched

the-orderThe Order is about a secret society in a university. Except this secret society is filled with witches and warlocks. However, other monstrous things start taking place. I loved this and I hope there’s a second season.quicksand-netflix-reviewQuicksand is a 6 episode mini series about a school shooting. The episodes are a timeline of what led to the school shooting and what we see in the courtroom. I didn’t love this mini series but it definitely kept me interested, wanting to know who really did it and who was going to be prosecuted. Trigger warnings for school shootings, blood, suicide, and drug use.
AAAABTmInXtUWRG5D2F8YeNXd-a3HKryfQYLYa94N-GMP59U_Fw5juFG51curJ3UaPH4VAQo5wK64Mq2ndET3xbt587vc7m1XO-cOkay so this was a total rewatch for me. I’ve watched this movie like 4 times already lol. It’s the true story of two former Texas Rangers who killed Bonnie and Clyde. I love it because they don’t romanticize Bonnie and Clyde. I also really do love a good ole drama thriller set in the 1930s. Old crime stories really fascinate me.

And last but definitely not least lol. Are we surprised? C’mon are we actually surprised? Of course I watched Endgame the first weekend it showed and I enjoyed it!! Game of Thrones also started in April and FINALLY!!! The wait is over, we will get to know what happens. Yes I have watched every episode since it has aired. What a time to be alive!


Other Mentions

IMG_6114In April, I went to go see Bad Bunny in concert!!! If you don’t know who Bad Bunny is, he is a Puerto Rican Latin Trap Artist. This is my second time seeing him live and wow what a great time I had. I definitely love his new album X100PRE and he never disappoints! Arcangel and El Alfa also joined the stage with him to sing some of their songs together. I got to meet up with some of my friends who I haven’t seen in a long time and I also got to look super cute lol. After the concert was over, I was starved. So my friend took me to this spot called The Meatball shop which was my first time ever trying. The food was great and I want to go back!

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But let’s talk about one of the most exciting things that happened this month!! BANKS came out with a new single titled Gimme and I have not stopped playing it at all. I have been waiting forever for Banks to drop something. She’s been hinting working in the studio for quite some time now and when this bop came out, I was not disappointed at all. I am so ready for an album. And I really hope she goes on tour to NYC so I can see her!

 


And that is all I have for today! What was the highlight of your April? Let’s chat in the comments!

Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

Where the Crawdads Sing Non-Spoiler Book Review

37703550Title: Where the Crawdads Sing
Author: Delia Owns
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult, Mystery
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Format: Hardcover
Pub. Date: August 14, 2018
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
A novel about a young woman determined to make her way in the wilds of North Carolina, and the two men that will break her isolation open.

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. She’s barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark.

But Kya is not what they say. Abandoned at age ten, she has survived on her own in the marsh that she calls home. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life lessons from the land, learning from the false signals of fireflies the real way of this world. But while she could have lived in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world–until the unthinkable happens.


plot

A contemporary coming of age story sprinkled with some mystery told in a timeline from early 1950s to the 1970s. We follow Kya Clark from the age of 6 and her story to adulthood. Always known as “The Marsh Girl”, life hasn’t been very nice to Kya. She’s had to deal with abandonment since she was 6. Slowly but surely her whole family walks out on her and at the age 10 she has to learn to survive on her own. She becomes familiar with her surroundings and her friends are nature. There have always been stories of “The Marsh Girl” in Barkley Cove, North Carolina. However no one knows that Kya didn’t chose this lonesome path, she craves love and touch and familiarity. She’s just scared that if she gets close, people will leave her again. While reading about Kya, we also learn that in late 1969, Chase Andrews is found dead, and everyone easily suspects Kya Clark, the girl raised from the wild. Jumping timelines, we watch Kya grow and learn about Chase’s involvement in Kya’s life.

“There are some who can live without
wild things, and some who cannot.”

plot-2

WHAT A WORK OF ART!!!! This book is so lush and every single word captivates you. I even learned about animals, the marsh, the waters, and nature. I loved the added pieces of poetry too.

This book deals with a lot of abandonment and loneliness. And let me tell you that the author knows exactly how to convey that. I felt it all throughout the book, I cried many times while reading this, feeling for our MC Kya. My chest was hollow time after time. The author articulated every little thing perfectly. I found no flaws with the writing and pacing and flow of the book.

This novel was heartbreaking, beautiful, and haunting. Very atmospheric. I cried and rejoiced with the character, I screamed when she screamed, and felt her frustrations. The added mystery to the novel was a plus. It was very well done. I wouldn’t go into this book thinking it’s a Mystery Novel because it’s more so a coming of age story.

I loved how the author didn’t shy away from what was occurring during that time period 1950s-1970s. We see racism (with other characters) and how a whole town had it against Kya. I felt sucked into this timeline every time I picked up this book.

“Don’t go thinking poetry’s just for sissies. There’s mushy love poems,
for sure, but there’s also funny ones, lots about nature, war even.
Whole point of it–they make ya feel something.”

plot-4

I absolutely loved this novel. Everything, from the characters, the scenes, the stories, the mystery was just written beautifully. From beginning to end, I was engrossed in this book and was left thinking about it even after I finished. Those are good books right? The ones that really mark you and leave you lingering days after? I am so happy to know that it has been picked up for a movie. I know for a fact that I will need a lot of tissues for it. This was such a great debut. The author always transported me to this world when I opened the book. Where the Crawdads Sing is captivating in every which way. I loved all the themes of strength, resilience, hope, desperation, etc. I’m a huge fan of Mother Nature and I felt connected to it through this book as well. I highly recommend!

“I’m sure you know that most stars are too far away for us
to see. We see only their light, which be can be distorted
by the atmosphere. But, of course, the stars are not
stationary, but moving very fast.”


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I’m starting to think that I’ll probably have to check out Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks. First Daisy Jones and now this? Have you read Where the Crawdad Sings?


Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

Ink and Bone Non-Spoiler Review

img_0013Title: Ink and Bone (#5)
Series: The Hollows
Author: Lisa Unger
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal
Publisher: Gallery Books
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Pub. Date: June 7, 2016

Synopsis:
In this explosive psychological thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger, a young woman’s mysterious gift forces her into the middle of a dangerous investigation of a little girl’s disappearance.

For as long as she can remember, twenty-year-old Finley Montgomery has been able to see into the future. She dreams about events before they occur and sees beyond the physical world, unconsciously using her power to make supernatural things happen.

But Finley can’t control these powers—and there’s only one person who can help. So Finley moves to The Hollows, a small town in upstate New York where her grandmother lives, a renowned seer who can finally teach Finley how to use her gift.

A gift that is proving to be both a blessing and a curse, as Finley lands in the middle of a dangerous investigation involving a young girl who has been missing for ten months and the police have all but given up hope.

With time running out there’s only so much Finley can do as The Hollows begins to reveal its true colors. As she digs deeper into the town and its endless layers, nothing is what it seems. But one thing is clear: The Hollows gets what it wants, no matter what.


plot

Main character, Finley Montgomery, can see into the future since a child and needs help. However, the only person who can help Finley lives across the country. So Finley packs her stuff and moves in with her grandmother, Eloise Montgomery, to The Hollows, NY. Finley’s grandmother is a seer and she can teach Finley about her gift. Not only is Eloise a seer, she sometimes helps Detective Jones Cooper with his private investigations. This time though, when a young girl goes missing and things start unraveling, The Hollows demands help from Finley. Jones and Finley team up. Following different perspectives from Finley and the parents of the missing girl, things slowly come together and the truth will reveal what happens next.

plot-2

This is my first Lisa Unger book and honestly I’m kind of mad that I didn’t read the other books in this series before. Simply because I felt like there were things mentioned that I didn’t understand. For example, the story of PI Jones Cooper, we meet a character who makes a reference to Eloise helping him before and I just didn’t get it, etc. etc. Maybe if I would’ve read those books, then my enjoyment of this book wouldn’t have felt so empty.

Lisa Unger’s writing style is simple, easy to read. She wrote this Thriller in the way I love to read Thrillers: with different perspectives till it all comes together in the end. We have Finley’s and Merrie’s (the missing girl’s mom) perspectives. In some chapters with Merrie we even jump back to before the investigation and learn how everything came to be with her daughter missing.

The reason why I gave this book a 4 star is because of the pacing. I thought it dragged out more than it should. At some point I said “I don’t care about their past anymore, can we just get into the investigation already?” I was already past the 70% mark and when we did get into the important parts, the author still added parts of the characters background that I thought weren’t necessary during the climax.

I loved the paranormal elements of this book. It felt natural and not something extra. I loved how the author weaved all of that in together perfectly.

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I usually add a character section to my non-spoiler reviews. However, I’ll put it simply: I liked them all. I really enjoyed Finley’s character arc. Her independence, her strength but still loving and caring. I loved the grandmother, Eloise, she definitely had all those grandmotherly vibes and always gave out words of wisdom. Merrie and Wolf (husband) were the typical dysfunctional couple and I liked how Lisa Unger wrote them out.

Overall, I did like this book and plan on reading more books from this author. I liked the dark tone of this book and the author really knows how to set the vibe. I was always transported to this world when I opened the book and was kept interested the whole time regardless of the problem I had with it. I would recommend this book for sure!


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So far I feel like I’m doing good with tackling my “books I would like to read this year” TBR. I know I’m super late to the Lisa Unger bandwagon, any other books you would recommend by her? What are your favorite mystery/thrillers?


Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

Baptized in Moonlight Poetry Book Review

42961506Title: Baptized in Moonlight
Author: Morgan Scott
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Morgan Scott
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Pub. Date: November 24, 2018

Synopsis:
In this collection of poems, Morgan Scott depicts the story of a young girl turned ferocious woman, and ties her growth to the phases of the moon. Written with the intimacy and unflinching honesty of an untamed spirit scorned and reborn, Baptized in Moonlight is a book for anyone who has ever felt as if the odds were stacked against them. Filled with painful acknowledgments of broken relationships – and the hope of a life lived with wild passion – you will dive to the depths and ascend to new peaks as you begin your own journey through the lunar cycle. This collection is part heartbreak story, part coming of age, part love song, and part battle cry. You will find yourself among the pages, and be spurred to get to know yourself on a deeper level.


 

Baptized in Moonlight is divided into 4 sections titled Waning, New, Waxing, and Full. Each phase of the moon (section) is tied to the authors growth, her journey, and things she has gone through. This poetry collection has themes of heartbreak, healing, abuse, finding yourself, spirituality, motherhood, self-love, and acceptance.

it is heavy
to carry my sadness
over my shoulder
every place i travel

and yet
she is the only consistent
friend that i have ever known

and there is comfort
in knowing
that she will never
leave me

no matter how hard i try
to release her

I really enjoyed this collection and read it in a few sittings, wanting to take it all in slowly. I loved how the author not only named the sections the phases of the moon but she also gave it definition. The poems in this collection are longer than what I usually see nowadays in poetry collections and I loved that too!! Morgan Scott really conveys her emotions and impact with her words. There are also illustrations sprinkled throughout the book which gave it an extra touch.

love is not slipping
not choking
it is not bending
as far backwards as your body can
until it breaks

love is not toeing the line
between anger and passion
worried that one wrong move
will land you in terror

love is not hiding yourself
trying to contort into his dream girl

love is not dumbing yourself down
to make him appear smarter

love is not not not not not not
the rush of air before his palm
strikes your cheek

so don’t believe him when
he tells you it is
because the picture he has built of love
is one that temporarily plugs his wounds
while ripping yours open

Although I don’t rate poetry books based on connection, I ended up really connecting with the poems and author. Specifically with her poems about god, spirituality, self (surrounding those previous themes mentioned). It felt nice to feel understood in that aspect. I really appreciate the author just being straight forward and not making it pretty. Poetry that is raw like this really gets me in my feels. I found myself dog earring (yes, judge me) a lot of her poems. Overall, I would highly recommend this poetry collection! Also, the author is super freaking sweet and you should check her out. Her links will be at the bottom!

women are born full
full of magic
and tenderness

our hands
and our hearts
have carried the weight of
the entire galaxy
for generations

we could tap into our
mother energy
and heal the world of pain
if only you would
move out of our way

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Author Links:
Instagram
Amazon


That is all for today! Just a reminder to please support Indie Authors and their work! I hope you all have a great day xo

Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

WWW Wednesday

I haven’t done one of these since October of 2017
so please forgive my rustiness lol

Hi everyone! I thought I would participate in WWW Wednesday today. This meme is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. You can link your blog post to Sam’s website that way we can interact and find other bloggers =)

The questions are:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?


www stuff

40121959I am currently reading an Adult Mystery/Thriller novel titled Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. I’m only about 50 pages in. However, I’m really enjoying it. It’s told by different perspectives but still maintaining a 3rd POV which is really interesting. It has me intrigued enough to want to know what’s going to happen next.

Synopsis:
A literary courtroom drama about a Korean immigrant family and a young, single mother accused of murdering her eight-year-old autistic son

My husband asked me to lie. Not a big lie. He probably didn’t even consider it a lie, and neither did I, at first . . .

In the small town of Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine—a pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives” with the hopes of curing issues like autism or infertility. But when the Miracle Submarine mysteriously explodes, killing two people, a dramatic murder trial upends the Yoos’ small community.

Who or what caused the explosion? Was it the mother of one of the patients, who claimed to be sick that day but was smoking down by the creek? Or was it Young and Pak themselves, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? The ensuing trial uncovers unimaginable secrets from that night—trysts in the woods, mysterious notes, child-abuse charges—as well as tense rivalries and alliances among a group of people driven to extraordinary degrees of desperation and sacrifice.

Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek is a thoroughly contemporary take on the courtroom drama, drawing on the author’s own life as a Korean immigrant, former trial lawyer, and mother of a real-life “submarine” patient. An addictive debut novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng, Miracle Creek is both a twisty page-turner and a deeply moving story about the way inconsequential lies and secrets can add up—with tragic consequences

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www stuff(1)

42961506.jpgI finished Baptized in Moonlight, a poetry collection, written by Morgan Scott. I do plan on reviewing this book so stay tuned for that! This was a 5 star read!

Synopsis:
In this collection of poems, Morgan Scott depicts the story of a young girl turned ferocious woman, and ties her growth to the phases of the moon. Written with the intimacy and unflinching honesty of an untamed spirit scorned and reborn, Baptized in Moonlight is a book for anyone who has ever felt as if the odds were stacked against them. Filled with painful acknowledgments of broken relationships – and the hope of a life lived with wild passion – you will dive to the depths and ascend to new peaks as you begin your own journey through the lunar cycle. This collection is part heartbreak story, part coming of age, part love song, and part battle cry. You will find yourself among the pages, and be spurred to get to know yourself on a deeper level.

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898-2

 

35209847I also finished Sanctuary (Beards and Bondage #2), a Romance novel with a sprinkle of Erotica, written by Rebekah Weatherspoon. This is a companion novel to her first book, Haven. I loved the characters in this one but I definitely was expecting a little more. I feel like there wasn’t a smooth transition to the romance and them being together sexually. I rated this book 4 stars.

Synopsis:
When she needs a sanctuary…

Targeted by a sadistic former client, attorney Liz Lewis needs a place to lay low. When a friend offers her his family farm as a safe house, she eagerly accepts, unaware that she’ll have to share the farm with her friend’s brawny, beautiful brother, Silas McInroy.

…she invades his…

Weary of a world that doesn’t understand him, Silas just wants to be left alone to grow the best produce upstate New York has to offer. Still, he’s not going to toss a woman out when her safety is on the line. But the only way to explain her presence on his farm is to claim that they fell in love online…and the last thing he needs is a fake relationship that threatens to become more and more real every day.

With her world turned upside down and danger on her trail, Liz knows that this temporary refuge can’t last forever…but leaving the comfort and ease of Silas’s arms and farm to face the reality of her life may be the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.

*** WARNING: This book contains scenes of mild bondage and domination between a gorgeous lawyer and a sexy farmer who is terrible with women. And five farm dogs with varying degrees of loyalty to both the hero and heroine.***

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www stuff(2)

40236964My next read will be Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, a collection of short stories. Thanks to the author and Penguin for sending me a final copy of this book. I plan on seeing Kali next week Monday during her book tour here in NYC. I am really excited and would love to read this book before the event.

Synopsis:
A haunting debut story collection on friendship, mothers and daughters, and the deep-rooted truths of our homelands, centered on Latinas of indigenous ancestry that shines a new light on the American West.

Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit. Set against the remarkable backdrop of Denver, Colorado–a place that is as fierce as it is exquisite–these women navigate the land the way they navigate their lives: with caution, grace, and quiet force.

In “Sugar Babies,” ancestry and heritage are hidden inside the earth but tend to rise during land disputes. “Any Further West” follows a sex worker and her daughter as they leave their ancestral home in southern Colorado only to find a foreign and hostile land in California. In “Tomi,” a woman leaves prison and finds herself in a gentrified city that is a shadow of the one she remembers from her childhood. And in the title story, “Sabrina & Corina,” a Denver family falls into a cycle of violence against women, coming together only through ritual.

Sabrina & Corina is a moving narrative of unrelenting feminine power and an exploration of the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home.

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Have you read any of these books or plan too? Let’s chat in the comments!


Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

My First Book of the Month Subscription Box!

SnapseedHey everyone! Hope you’re doing well and if not, then I send you loads of love and peace! Today’s post is all about my first ever subscription box to Book of the Month. I know I’m probably super late to the game here but I AM SO EXCITED!! Since I don’t read YA pretty much anymore and I want to get into more Adult books, I thought this would be the perfect way to get into it. And shout out to my Twin, Lilly over at Lair of Books, for pushing me to do this! I feel like this was a really good decision and I also get to treat myself every month one way or the other with a book. Plus, if I don’t like the books they are offering for the month, I can skip it! Love the variety of this box and the books they have to offer. Wow this sounds sponsored af lol!

 

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There were different books to chose from and they all sound great. However I decided to choose a debut mystery thriller novel, Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. The synopsis can be found below! This box came with a book mark and a welcome booklet. The book comes wrapped so no worries about it getting destroyed!

 


Synopsis:

A literary courtroom drama about a Korean immigrant family and a young, single mother accused of murdering her eight-year-old autistic son

My husband asked me to lie. Not a big lie. He probably didn’t even consider it a lie, and neither did I, at first . . .

In the small town of Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine—a pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives” with the hopes of curing issues like autism or infertility. But when the Miracle Submarine mysteriously explodes, killing two people, a dramatic murder trial upends the Yoos’ small community.

Who or what caused the explosion? Was it the mother of one of the patients, who claimed to be sick that day but was smoking down by the creek? Or was it Young and Pak themselves, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? The ensuing trial uncovers unimaginable secrets from that night—trysts in the woods, mysterious notes, child-abuse charges—as well as tense rivalries and alliances among a group of people driven to extraordinary degrees of desperation and sacrifice.

Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek is a thoroughly contemporary take on the courtroom drama, drawing on the author’s own life as a Korean immigrant, former trial lawyer, and mother of a real-life “submarine” patient. An addictive debut novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng, Miracle Creek is both a twisty page-turner and a deeply moving story about the way inconsequential lies and secrets can add up—with tragic consequences.

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898-2


There’s currently a giveaway going on for this book on Goodreads! What subscription boxes are you into? How does this book sound? Let’s chat in the comments!


Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

Friday Reads & Event Reminder in NYC

Hello everyone!! Happy Friday! It is a rainy gloomy day here in New York City and I am living for it. I just wish I was at home with my dog snuggling with my current read instead of being here at work managing an office lol. But the bills aren’t going to pay themselves so here I am!

I am currently reading A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab and let me tell you something…I AM LOVING EVERY BIT OF IT!!! Ugh I am so happy that I finally got into this series because it’s amazing! I am at the halfway point and I am hoping to maybe finishing it this weekend. I would say tonight but I have a hot date with Lilly@LairOfBooks via Facetime and that’s more important to me hehehe.

The world, the characters, the plot, EVERYTHING is dark and magical. Typical in Schwab fashion and I am absolutely fascinated!


22055262Goodreads Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.


Event Reminder!

I will be at Bluestockings Bookstore on Thursday July 27, located at:
172 Allen St.
New York, NY 10002

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This event is hosted by La Pluma y La Tinta. An organization that focuses on inspiring, elevating, and shining spotlight on people of color writers/poets. I will be reading some poetry pieces alongside with other writers.

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If you’ll be in the area, I would love to see you there! You can RSVP here.


let’s chat in the comments! i know i am completely new with reading ADSOM, have you read it? thoughts?


Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine. On every Wednesday you discuss a book that you are highly anticipating.

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The Language of Thorns:
Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
by Leigh Bardugo

Illustrator: Sara Kipin
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Publisher: Macmillan
Genre: YA Fantasy, Short Stories

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.

Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid’s voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy’s bidding but only for a terrible price.

Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.

Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, these tales will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.

This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, all of them lavishly illustrated with art that changes with each turn of the page, culminating in six stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.


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This might be on a lot of people’s TBR list but I seriously cannot wait for this book. I am such a Grishaverse fan that I almost screamed when I found out about this one a few months ago. Plus there are illustrations included in Language of Thorns and I NEED TO SEE IT!!

I’m really excited each short story. However, I look forward to reading is the young mermaid story because I love mermaids and anything dark. Language of Thorns definitely sounds like a magical haunting read. And I am sure that Bardugo is going to captivate us with her writing skills and rich world.

September is right around the corner, along with Autumn (favorite season) and my birthday. This book releases 6 days after my birthday and I sure am going to gift this one to myself.


are you anxiously waiting for this book as much as i am?? let’s chat in the comments!!


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