Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Spring 2019 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl where each week a new top ten list is shared and fellow bookish folk share their lists on that topic.

This week's Top Ten post is: Books on My Spring 2019 TBR. 

(Click on title for Goodreads link) 

I'm not the most consistent when it comes to read next pile, I'm the biggest ever mood reader, and when a certain genre doesn't work for me either, I'm quick to change it up. But of course I'm once again behind on my ARC books, so below are a few that I need to get through and some other books I hope to read this Spring.  

  

 

 

 

Which books are you looking forward to reading this Spring? 

Weekly Recap #39

Hi guys, I hope this will be me back posting regularly again, I'm still suffering from a blocked nose and feeling tired a lot of the time, but I've bought a higher dose of iron tablets, so I hope those will help. and I really need to get back on track with eating properly, I think because I've had back to back viral infections and colds I've just been eating what I feel like, but I seriously need to sort it out now! But other than that my week wasn't too bad.
We link our weekly wrap ups with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer.

WHAT I READ/REVIEWED 
(Click on title for Goodreads link)

I was surprised to learn that Bridal Boot Camp was a novella, I really did enjoy it, but just expected more. On the Come Up was another great book from Angie Thomas, I think I still loved The Hate U Give a smidge more, but On the Come Up once again had such solid characters. Because You Love to Hate Me had been on my tbr pile for the longest time, I finally decided to give this book a go last month, and just finished it yesterday and to be honest it was kind of disappointing, I think there were one or two stories that I liked, but a lot of them I skim read :/

BOOKS RECEIVED 

 (Click on title for Goodreads link)

  

 

It was my sister's birthday this week and she had been after Emergency Contact for the longest time, I've heard such great things about this book, so can't wait to start it, as soon as she's finished with it.  And I'm not normally one to read graphic novels, but since I really enjoyed The Umbrella Academy tv show, I thought I'd give the comic a go.

NEW TO MY TBR
(Click on Book for Goodreads link)

 

This newest book from Mar H, Choi sounds brilliant, I know I haven't read anything from Choi previously, but I have a feeling that this will be my sort of book. And Christina Lauren have quickly become my go to authors, so I was super excited to find out about their newest release. 

  WHAT I'M WATCHING

So I went to watch Captain Marvel this week and wow this film was just incredible, definitely up there as one of my favourite Marvel movies alongside Black Panther. I loved how we were given the backstory and how it links up with other films, this is one film I highly recommend watching!

EVENTS OF THE WEEK 

This week marked my seven year blogoversary at The Readers Den, it was the day of my sister's birthday and the day I went to watch Captain Marvel, so totally forgot, but thank you everyone who has stuck by me and supported my blog, even though I haven't been that consistent as of late, I appreciate every single comment you guys leave. 
The above photo is the breakfast I had with my friend this week, the egg muffin was absolutely delicious and it was just great catching up in so long. 
And in other news my sister has started a new blog, unfortunately she's not a reader like me, but she's lived with being a coeliac most of her life, and recently has become super strict with her diet (proud sister moment) and so has created this blog, to help others ease their way in living with a coeliac diet. You can check out her blog at Gluten Free & Gut Happy. 

How was your week?

February Monthly Recap

Image credit: Chibird

What I've been up to.

Jasprit: 

Hi everyone, sorry about the radio silence as of late, I just don't know where this last month has gone, I've either been super busy or sick, my immune system has just been so weak, that I tend to be catching everything and then don't have the time to rest either. But February has an eventful month nonetheless. 

 

I got to spend a weekend with one of my best friends Allie, with our busy schedules we of course have to plan way in advance, we managed to find a new show to binge watch and of course went on our usual food crawl, usually we're able to hit a lot of places, but this time around we did get to try out some great food, but were tired so quick! 

What I've been watching 

Allie had been telling me about this show and we ended up starting it on the weekend it was added to Netflix, let me just say I was addicted! I needed something refreshing and different and this was exactly it. 

Reading 

I managed to read six books this month, and they were really a mixed bunch, I sadly only had one book which stood out for me and surprisingly it was the anthology below. Seriously it was super cute and one book I will definitely be highly recommending. 

(Click on title for Goodreads link)

What I plan to read

I hope March will be a better reading month, I started On The Come Up by Angie Thomas, which despite not being able to read as much as I want to, I'm really enjoying. I also have a buddy read planned with Nick, we're reading Meg Cabot's newest book Bridal Boot Camp, which I'm super excited about. And below are a few other books I plan to read in March. 

(Click on title for Goodreads link)

I'm also planning to watch Captain Marvel this week, for my sister's birthday, to be honest this film wasn't on my radar, (I've been eagerly anticipating Avengers Endgame and X-Men: Dark Phoenix), but everyone seems to have watched this over the weekend, so I'm really looking forward to it now. 

I hope you all have a great upcoming month!  

Review: Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet by Various authors

Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet by Various authors
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 2nd 2018
My rating: 4.5 stars 

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of "how they first met" from some of today’s most popular YA authors. Readers will experience Nina LaCour's beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard's glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon's imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno's story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick's charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants. This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

“All love ends”, she says. 
“Maybe” I say. “But it has to start somewhere”. 

This anthology was probably one of the best that I’ve come across, the stories were short yet sweet (sometimes too short in my opinion), but I ended up liking so many of them, and could imagine them being written as full novels and me just devouring them up. Here I thought I’d share some of my favourites. 

Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno 
This was such a cute story, but also made me feel quite mellow after finishing it; two classmates end up hiding out in the bathroom together when the police show up to break up a party. Despite barely knowing one another, I loved how with just the small amount of time Wolf and Hailey end up spending together hiding out, they end up forming some sort of meaningful connection. I liked how Cotugno gave us little snippets into their lives outside of the bathroom and party, how two people who’d formed wrong opinions about each other, but were exactly what they needed in that moment in time. I was really gutted when I came to the end of this story, as I was so left wanting more. 

Print Shop by Nina Lacour 
Again, this was another book that I loved the direction the author took the story in, Evie ends up taking a job in a print shop, the first day she starts work, she’s told to try and promote the shop through social media, they’ve never done it before, so want some sort of online presence. Evie’s never done something like this before either, but once she has the shop’s Twitter page going, she’s overwhelmed with negative tweets about the shop’s service. I loved this story from the get-go, I wanted Evie to do well at her job, but felt really sorry for her dealing with the wrath of these negative tweeters just because someone else had messed up with a customer’s banner. But like I said I loved the direction that Lacour took with this story, as she went onto show you really could find love in the most unexpected of places. And it was thrilling seeing Evie experience it first-hand. 

Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi 
This short story had so many things going for it, I adored the main character Cherish, her voice was strong and I admired her for sticking to what she believed in, (her best friend messes up, but Cherish still decides to go to prom on her own, and with a few days left still needs to get an outfit). It did take me a little longer to get into this story, but again I felt this story just ended so abruptly, what happened with Cherish? did she get her outfit? did she go to prom? and is she even talking to Stacy anymore? these are things I need to know! 

Click by Katharine Mcgee 
I think Click was probably my favourite story from this anthology collection, Mcgee gives us a great futuristic take on what dating could be like for us in the next few years and a wonderful chase over the city when our MC leaves her phone in the taxi and her date agrees to help her locate it. What I loved about this story was how our MC really thought her date wasn’t her typical guy, but as they spend time together in search of her phone, they get to know each other more. And that twist at the end was just pure brilliance! 

Meet Cute is one book I highly recommend reading, it was really the perfect book that reminded me of why I loved YA romance in the first place. The stories were ones that left a big goofy grin on your face and yearning for more, I know this is one anthology that I will go back to for re-reads especially when I need a quick pick me up.

Mini-reviews: More Than Words, When You Read This & Fame, Fate and the First Kiss

More Than Words by Jill Santopolo
Publisher: G.P Putnam's Sons 
Publication Date: 5th February 2019
My rating: 3 stars  

Nina Gregory has always been a good daughter, a good girlfriend. Raised by her father, owner of New York City's glamorous Gregory Hotels, after her mother's death, Nina was taught that family, reputation, and legacy are what matter most. And her boyfriend Tim, thoughtful, kind, and honest, not to mention her best friend since childhood, feels the same. But after Nina's father passes away, she learns he may not have practiced what he preached. As her world falls apart, Nina begins to question everything she thought she knew and to see the men in her life--her father, her boyfriend, and unexpectedly, her handsome and attentive boss, Rafael--in a new light. Soon Nina finds herself caught between the world she knows and loves, and a passion that could upend everything.

I was the biggest fan of Santopolo’s The Light We Lost, it was a story which had me thinking about it for days after and Santopolo’s world building was majestically done. So, when I first heard about More than Words, I dived right in, going into books with the least amount of impressions works wonders for me, as I like being surprised by the different elements a book may bring. And whilst I loved Santopolo’s writing once again with this story; it really was beautifully done, I felt that More than Words wasn’t able to leave a big of an impact as The Light we Lost did. Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy this book, I liked following Nina on her journey of who she was, with the way her life had been going, things were already expected of her; to take over her father’s firm and she was in a secure relationship with her boyfriend Tim. But then with her father passing away and revelations coming from all over the place, things really weren’t as they seemed, what did Nina really want to do with her life? I liked how Santopolo allowed Nina to really explore her options, yes at times there were difficult decisions to make, but if Nina really wasn’t happy with something then she really shouldn’t have to settle. Despite there being several bumps along the way, I was happy with the character that emerged in Nina at the end of this story.

More than Words, gave us in my eyes a truly different story from Santopolo; but one I really appreciated, she once again gave us a gorgeously written story, and although it was tinged with loss and sorrow, it was still a story I devoured in such a short period of time.

When You Read This by Mary Adkins 
Publisher: Harper 
Publication Date: 5th February 2019
My rating: 3 stars   

Iris Massey is gone. But she’s left something behind. For four years, Iris Massey worked side by side with PR maven Smith Simonyi, helping clients perfect their brands. But Iris has died, taken by terminal illness at only thirty-three. Adrift without his friend and colleague, Smith is surprised to discover that in her last six months, Iris created a blog filled with sharp and often funny musings on the end of a life not quite fulfilled. She also made one final request: for Smith to get her posts published as a book. With the help of his charmingly eager, if overbearingly forthright, new intern Carl, Smith tackles the task of fulfilling Iris’s last wish. Before he can do so, though, he must get the approval of Iris’ big sister Jade, an haute cuisine chef who’s been knocked sideways by her loss. Each carrying their own baggage, Smith and Jade end up on a collision course with their own unresolved pasts and with each other. Told in a series of e-mails, blog posts, online therapy submissions, text messages, legal correspondence, home-rental bookings, and other snippets of our virtual lives, When You Read This is a deft, captivating romantic comedy—funny, tragic, surprising, and bittersweet—that candidly reveals how we find new beginnings after loss.

I went into When You Read This not really sure what I was expecting, and to be honest this book did end up surprising me in a lot of ways. Although the story was given to us from the main character Iris’ blog, I liked how despite Iris not being here anymore, the blog had an effect on all those left behind. Those individuals who were an integral part of her of life were bought together in the most unexpected of ways. I really liked the way the story was given to us in the form of emails and text messages, I’ve read a handful of books where this format has worked before, and I’m pleased to say that Adkins was also able to make it work with this book too. It is typically an unusual format, but once you got to know the characters, the story really begins to flow easily amongst them. Despite the story focusing on loss, I liked how Adkins was able to sprinkle some humour in the story too and gave us some lighter scenes to turn too when things became a little grim. I wish I had more of a connection with certain characters, that definitely would have made this story for me, but overall I did enjoy this book and how Adkins showed people dealing with a loss in their own different way. 

Fame, Fate and the First Kiss
Publisher: Harper Teen 
Publication Date: 5th February 2019
My rating: 3 stars    

Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part. But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her. As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction. With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.

Kasie West’s last couple of books hadn’t really worked out for me, I’d struggled getting through them, or the MC’s just appeared too young for my liking. So, I went into Fame, Fate and the First Kiss with mixed assumptions. But I’m glad that I decided to give this book a go, because it started off great, Lacey, had finally got her big chance starring in a zombie movie alongside big time actor Grant. But Lacey had been struggling with her role, her dad was being over-protective and there was always seemed to be a negative press around her. I really was rooting for Lacey, I wanted her to do well in this role, and she was trying her utmost hardest. Then later it seemed like someone was sabotaging her all along, I must admit my interest was piqued here, and of course I had a couple of suspicions of who it could be. This aspect really did have me excited about the book, but then once the person behind it all was finally revealed, it felt like a big build up for no reason. Overall, I did enjoy this book, I was a fan of the cute love interest and the direction the romance went in, but again I felt like some of these characters were just too young for me, I don’t know if it’s because I’ve just moved away from YA books a lot in the last year, or that West’s books are just no longer working for me anymore. 

Weekly Wrap-Up #38

Hi guys, just me Jasprit this week. I had a bit of a slow week this week, I was off sick from work, as I couldn't do much around the house, my only options were reading and watching tv shows, (no complaints here!). I used this week to catch up with Arc copies, I've really been slacking on this front, if anyone actually wants to buddy read any upcoming arcs, let me know, I'd love the extra motivation. And finishing and starting some new shows!
We link our weekly wrap ups with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer.

WHAT I READ/REVIEWED 
(Click on title for Goodreads link)

 

Despite being home for the week, I had a slow reading week, I blame this entirely on the fact that I have so many books on the go at the same time :/  (I'm currently reading four right now). The Lost Sisters was a quick read, I know a lot of readers were quite impressed with this short story, I unfortunately wasn't. When You Read This ended up being a so-so read, I like the direction the story went it, but didn't really get a real emotional connection as I expected to. 

BOOKS RECEIVED 

 (Click on title for Goodreads link)

  

I had some great holds come in from library this week, I hadn't been on their digital site in forever and was impressed to discover they had copies of One Day in December (a book I'd had my eye on for sometime) and Children of Blood and Bone. Kleypas' Travises and Galbraith's Cormoran Strike are two series I still need to finish and I've been super excited about reading Backman's books! 

NEW TO MY TBR
(Click on Book for Goodreads link)

 

Thank you to Nick for putting Symptoms of a Heartbreak on my radar! And I started Kasie West's Fame, Fate and the First Kiss this week and I'm surprisingly enjoying it, so I went to check out her future releases and came across this book, which sounds super cute! 

  WHAT I'M WATCHING:

 

I finally finished The Good Wife, the finale episode was sort of disappointing, I was hoping there would be some closure on some aspects. Regardless I started The Good Fight which is a spin off show, and I'm almost done with Season 1, I'm really enjoying it so far! And I've made it a resolution this year to finish so many of the shows that I had started ages ago, so I finally started Season 4 of Jane the Virgin! 

EVENTS OF THE WEEK 

So we were given snow weather warnings this week, but luckily we managed to miss it all, we have had a bitter cold wind, but avoided the heavy snow, the rest of the country got! Thought I'd leave you this cute little dog in the snow. 

Source: Alex Beresford Twitter

How was your week?