March Wrap-Up 2020

Hey there! It’s been a long time and tough times have brought me here. Currently being stuck at home during this pandemic means no work, no performances (spoken word), no  socializing, etc. And so I’ve been finding myself reading a lot more than usual. I truly do miss blogging and here we are.

In the month of March I read 9 books and DNFed 2 books. The title of the books will link you to the goodreads page

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Books Read

1. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James – ★★★★ 
   Genre: Thriller
2. Depression & Other Magic Tricks by Sabrina Benaim – ★★★★★ 
   Genre: Poetry
3. House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas – ★★★★★
   Genre: Adult Fantasy
4. Root of It by Lee Ortiz – ★★★★★
   Genre: Poetry
5. Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong – ★★★★★
   Genre: Poetry
6. New American Best Friend by Olivia Gatwood – ★★★★★
   Genre: Poetry
7. Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2) by Lyssa Cay Adams – ★★★★★
   Genre: Adult Romance
8. One Day In December by Josie Silver – ★★★★
   Genre: Adult Romance
9. Nothing is Okay by Rachel Wiley – ★★★★
   Genre: Poetry

My favorite reads this month were House of Blood and Earth, Depression & Other Magic Tricks, and Undercover Bromance. I’m so happy that I gave Sarah J. Maas another shot. She has definitely grown as a writer, the diversity felt organic, and I really believe that Adult Fantasy is her genre to write. She has so much freedom and it was just *chef’s kiss*,  I cannot wait to read the other parts of this series. It ended great but I can’t wait to see what happens.

Depression & Other Magic Tricks was a complete fave! What a poetry collection. I resonated and connected so much. Not only with her themes but with how she writes too. Undercover Bromance was another amazing book for me. I read that within 24 hours. I loved it so much. It was hilarious and deep too. I can’t wait for the third book because I also loved the first.

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Books I DNFed

When I had originally found out that Wild at Heart (Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker was coming out, I was super excited and surprised as well. Surprised because I thought The Simple Wild ended perfectly. I read 120 pages of Wild at Heart before giving up on it. I couldn’t do it. The main character was annoying me and I’m not in the mood to continue reading about a character is keeps making my eyes roll lol.

Then there’s Writers & Lovers by Lily King. I was really excited about this book. I actually like the writing. However, it was a scene in this book that did it for me. This small scene that scarred me. There are certain things that I cannot read at all. It’s not a trigger warning per se, it’s just a personal thing.

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and that is all for now! i will do a march book haul in a separate post. how are you all doing? and what was your favorite book in march? xo

Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

Life Update, Currently Reading, & September TBR

Hi everyone! It’s been a while! Just out here enjoying life and still figuring out this new life schedule of mine. I read nothing but The Diviners in the month of August, therefore no August Wrap-Up will be posted. Instead of reading, I watched all the seasons of La Casa De Papel and How To Get Away With Murder. I was also having fun and going out. Sometimes I think of doing blog posts of places I’ve visited. However, I’m the type of person who likes to enjoy the moment rather than take pictures of every single thing so I guess that’s a wrap lol.

ALSO!!!!!!!!! It’s September!!! Which means it’s my birthday month!!! I turn 30 on the 20th. I’ll be going to Vegas and the Grand Canyon (team virgo all day every day!! earth sign gang!!!). I have a lot going on, many of my loved ones also celebrate their birthday this month. Therefore, I know that audiobooks will be my best friend cause I won’t be getting much reading done. It’s alright though! I refuse to be hard on myself because life is worth living and I love being a happy bitch.

Okay but now that I’ve given you a little life update, let’s get to the books because that’s what y’all are here for!

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Currently Reading

In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are.

France, 1939
In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real–and deadly–consequences.

Currently listening via audiobook and reading along with paperback. I’m close to the 200 page mark and loving it! I can definitely see why this is a favorite. It’s gripping! Every time I put it down, I look forward to picking it back up.

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September TBR

So many books, so little time! I have a little TBR pile that’s sitting on my bedside. However, it’ll be getting side eyed this month. Therefore I chose three books that I’m sure I can get too; one hardcover book, one audiobook, and one ebook (two of them mostly for my plane rides to and from vegas/nyc).

Hardcover Book (Historical Fiction):

For fans of Before We Were Yours and Where the Crawdads Sing, a magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression, from the New York Timesbestselling author of Ordinary Grace.

1932, Minnesota—the Lincoln School is a pitiless place where hundreds of Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to an orphan named Odie O’Banion, a lively boy whose exploits earn him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee, he and his brother Albert, their best friend Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own.

Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphans will journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an en­thralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.

Audiobook/Hardcover (Thriller):

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. The last she—or anyone—saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings—massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.

Yet it’s immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp’s twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present.

And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

Ebook (Suspenseful Romance):

“Must be slim, able to stand for long periods of time, and be impervious to the cold.”
The headline caught my attention.
“Hours are negotiable, pay is minimal, clothing absolutely forbidden.”
The second line piqued my curiosity.
“Able to hold your bladder and tongue, refrain from opinions or suggestions, and be the perfect living canvas.”
The third made me scowl.
“Other attributes required: non-ticklish, contortionist, and obedient. Must also enjoy being studied while naked in a crowd.”
The fourth made me shudder.
“Call or email ‘YOUR SKIN, HIS CANVAS’ if interested in applying.”
The final made my heart race.
I should’ve kept scrolling past the advertisement.
I should’ve applied for the boring receptionist job at minimum wage.
I should’ve clicked on any other job where I got to keep my clothes on.
But I didn’t.
I applied.
My interview is tomorrow…

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That’s all for today! Any fun things you got going on in September? What books do you plan on reading? Let me know in the comments xo

Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

Whew! Hello there! How are you? Hope you’re well. I’ve seen this tag floating around and I thought of partaking because it seems fun!

1.Best book you’ve read so far in 2019?
I’m going to go with the majorities answer, and that is: Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

This book was also the reason why I got back into reading this year. I’m so grateful. After being in a slump for over a year, Daisy Jones got me out of that.

 

 

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2019?
When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton! It’s not a continuation but it is a companion novel and omg what a book!!! I actually read it this month. Hopefully I’ll post a mini review for it soon. I would highly recommend this book and Next Year In Havana. Definitely worth the read and it’s own voices too!

 

 

 

3. New Release you haven’t read yet, but want to?
Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine! I’m grateful that I received this book from the author and publisher. I definitely want to get to it ASAP!

 

 

 

 

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year? 
Ninth House (Ninth House Series #1) by Leigh Bardugo! I am so excited to read this because it’ll be my first book where it’s not Grishaverse related. No, I did not read her Wonder Woman book. Ninth House does sound right up my ally; thriller, adult, fantasy, secret societies. SIGN ME UP!!

 

 

 

5. Biggest Disappointment? 
Hate to say it but definitely King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. I DNFed it at 100 pages. I tried so hard to give it a chance but I couldn’t do it. It was not in me/not for me.

 

 

 

 

6. Biggest Surprise?
For this question, I’m going to say Sadie by Courtney Summers because it was my first real Audiobook that I loved and devoured. I was not expecting to like it very much, especially since I can’t really get into YA anymore. However, this book, the theme, the plot, EVERYTHING, really did it for me.

 

 

 

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)? 
Taylor Jenkins Reid. I read both Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo this year and now I want to read all of her work.

 

 

Honorable mention for Chanel Cleeton. Just like Taylor, I also read Next Year In Havana and When We Left Cuba this year. I definitely will be reading her other books in the future.

 

 

8. Newest fictional crush?
I thought I was going to have a hard time choosing an answer for this question but umm HAVE YOU HEARD OF SHEPARD OLSEN???!!!????!?? He’s from Rebekah Weatherspoon’s romance novel, Haven. Wheewwwwww yes get your life by reading this book. And you’re welcome.

 

 

 

9. Newest favorite character?
EVELYN HUGO!!!! She is that bitch! Wow wow wow. I love how strong willed she is and her “take no bullshit” “do what you gotta do to survive” type of personality she has. I love reading morally gray characters, who you don’t necessarily agree with their decisions but you get why they do it and don’t hate them for it.

 

 

 

10. Book that made you cry?
A lot of books made me cry so far this year lol. However for this one, I’m going to choose one that’s impacted me. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James is a thriller but there’s such a beautiful story with some of the characters that made me emotional.

 

 

 

11. Book that made you happy?
Next Year In Havana by Chanel Cleeton!! I cried so much for this book but I was so happy with everything and how the story closed up, especially the character endings as well. Ugh, I was smiling big at the end.

 

 

 

12. Favorite book to film adaptation that you’ve seen this year?
Uhhhhh I don’t think I’ve watched any book to movie adaptations. Or maybe I just can’t remember right now to be honest lol.

13. Favorite review you’ve written (Booktube or written)?

14. The most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)?
I had to look at my bought books and I’ve decided to choose Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This book is beautiful on the outside and the inside. Also! I wanted to add that the cover matches the atmosphere of the content.

 

 

 

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
I don’t need to read any books but I definitely want to get to these:

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And that is all for today! I will not be tagging anyone. Please feel free to tag yourself. Any of these answers same as yours? Let me know!

Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @chicnerdreads