Susan’s Book Blog

So I didn’t read quite as many as I’d wanted to. I got a little bogged down when I got to The Foxhole Court. I had to fight to finish it. I moved onto the second one in the series but I had to put it aside. I just wasn’t feeling it and needed to do CPR on my reading motivation’s will to live.  The ARCs I received this month were outstanding. If This Gets Out and Part of Your World were two of my favorite reads. Chef’s kiss. And speaking of, Chef’s Kiss , the graphic novel, was pretty adorable. I highly recommend all three.  It Happened One Summer was cute but overall left me pretty underwhelmed and a little disappointed. Especially after all the hype it received. I thought it was okay. I might reread it at some point in the future, and I will probably read the sequel that comes out next year. Here the Whole Time was so sweet. It’s not often you get to read about a boy in high school struggling with his weight and body image and also trying to navigate his changing feelings...

  This book should be called  Romeo & Juliet Get a Happy Ending This book is amazing. I smiled and laughed and squeed my way through the entire thing. I may have even cried once or twice. I have nothing to nitpick about it. Absolutely nothing. The premise was unique and the plot was compelling. The characters were fantastic from top to bottom. The dialogue is some of the best I’ve read. The pacing was perfection. And it totally puts the “com” in “rom-com”. It was SO funny I was dying.  I’m in awe of how Abby Jimenez makes writing characters with such depth and humanity look so effortless. So much of the book is normal romcom romance and angst and relationship drama but she elevates the whole genre when she works in topics like privilege, status, grace, kindness, and integrity.  It also deals with the heavy topics of emotional abuse and domestic violence in a smart and sensitive way.   That’s part of what makes this book so special.   This is a dual pers...

 Just got these gorgeous hardcovers in the mail today and I’m looking forward to getting a chance to dig in. These are just a couple of many many books I keep seeing over and over again on Bookstagram by people I follow. I haven’t read any of the Shadow & Bone series yet though or actually anything by Leigh Bardugo, so hopefully I won’t feel like I’m missing anything.  But first… I got approved for Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez on NetGalley today! Holy cow! I am SO excited to start reading this!! I’ll be opening that on my kindle in a few minutes. The first four chapters were so enjoyable, I can’t wait to see what happens next.  (Thank you, Forever/Grand Central Publishing!!!)

  I got to read the first four chapters of the upcoming Abby Jimenez book Part of Your World  (pub date Apr 2022) on NetGalley tonight and I was super impressed. I’ve never read anything by Abby Jimenez before (I know, shock, gasp ) and now I feel like I definitely need to explore her back catalog now. Her writing is so good! The pace of this one is snappy and the characters (Alexis and Daniel) are interesting and hilarious and smart and very easy to like. I liked everything about what I read. I’m in. I will definitely be preordering this one. 

I’ve just made some recent acquisitions for my ever growing library of My Favorite Books Of All Time. For years now I’ve been studying Russian off and on, mostly on my own in addition to the college course I took many years ago. I recently started learning Swedish via Duolingo  (which I’m having a lot of fun with and making excellent progress on!) so I decided to seek out copies of my two favorite romances in those languages. I enjoy paging through them to see how much I can recognize and translate - and it’s good practice! I knew from Instagram and some googling that Russian editions existed of Red White & Royal Blue as well as Boyfriend Material , and also discovered that RWRB has also been translated into Swedish. (I may actually be able to read most of that one 😂)  The Russian editions I got from Ruslania.com (a very good website for a lovely store based in Finland - I can vouch for their excellent customer service) and the Swedish edition I got from Book Depositor...

 I was so happy to see two of my favorite reads from this year ended up on Barnes & Noble’s Best of 2021 list! (Click here to read their blog post!) They might even be two of my favorite books of all time. They’re that good. I was fortunate enough to have received digital ARCs of both of these books back in April and was absolutely thrilled with how utterly magnificent they both were. They are both profoundly beautiful and make wonderful reads for any age, not just the YA demographic. If you want something to make you feel all the feels and be left with a sense of hope, give these a try.

 These just arrived and I am so excited! I’ve already read the Captive Prince trilogy and Jay’s Gay Agenda (they are uhh MAYYY zingggg!) but I had to have them for my bookshelf. The rest are being added to my TBR pile and I hope to get to them very soon. (Sorry to the books that have been on my TBR forever. 😬) I’ve only read three of Cat Sebastian’s books (Two Rogues Make a Right, and the two Cabot novellas) and I am a HUGE fan of her style. I’ve heard so much about The Queer Principles of Kit Webb and am so excited to get to it. She writes such great characters and always has a wonderful, smart sense of humor. She’s the best. Payback’s a Witch is one of those cute seasonal holiday finds that I was intrigued by. I think it’ll be a great Halloween read next week. In Deeper Waters I know less about but I know I’ve read a lot of excellent reviews for it and really look forward to digging in. Not really sure what to expect from Dark Rise , and it’s not normally a genre I read muc...

💋 💋 💋 💋 /5 Well, this was adorable. And funny and sweet and thought provoking. I requested this from NetGalley but reading the blurb still didn’t prepare me for what was inside. It’s an odd mix of down to earth and surreal. The pig was OTT and a bit too much at times but in the end, I think once you understand the tone, it works. The authors solidly blended old school style and important modern topics. I especially loved the restaurant setting. It was like Top Chef meets The Real World meets… Charlotte’s Web? Or something. I don’t know but I liked it.  Ben is a newly graduated English major hoping to land an entry level writing job somewhere, anywhere, but eventually decides to take whatever he can get when nothing else turns up. Being a fairly skilled amateur home cook already, he lands a job in a restaurant and finds that he really enjoys it. Which makes him question all of his decisions about his future up to that point.   This really surprised me with the level of...

 Like so many of you out there, I recently read The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood - and I ADORED it. Sometimes (as you’ve seen if you scroll down my blog a bit) I get inspired to create my own Funko Pops. I wasn’t very far into TLH when I decided I needed Adam & Olive for my shelf.  So I did some online window shopping to see if I could find the right pops to use to create them, then I made a mock-up of what I hoped the finished product would look like. (At the bottom, you’ll see what I used.)  Tell me what you think!  Adam & Olive are on the top shelf standing in front of their book. ⤵️

 Just one more mention then I swear I’m done crowing about these, but I just have to show them off because they arrived yesterday! 🥰  These books have some of the most gorgeous cover art I’ve ever seen, from the graphics and sketches to the beautiful calligraphy to the sun setting and dawning over the horizons. I especially love how they actually tell a story when placed side by side. The day is dawning and things are looking bright in the second one, don’t you think?  I am so pleased to have these on my bookshelf. I hope they make it to yours as well. Happy reading!

Today is Pub Day for the sequel to Ari & Dante! My request for this book on NG was graciously approved by the publisher earlier this year and I feel enormously grateful to have been allowed to read it early. I want to shout from the rooftops about this book. It. is. a. stunning. sequel. It's so beautiful. It met and exceeded all my expectations. I give it ALL THE STARS. I urge everyone to read this book as well as the first volume, Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. You will not regret it. ➤  GR Review Ari & Dante are as heart-meltingly wonderful as ever, and the writing is as elegant and profound and poignant as ever. Like the first book, there’s so much beauty here: in the characters, the experiences they go through, the things they learn. This book, again like the first, rather meanders through the story. Even so, I never felt bored or wanted to put it down. The pace isn’t hurried at all but the writing is still compelling. I think that’s one of ...

 I've just started this trilogy ( All For The Game ) seeing as I've seen it talked about and gushed over by just about everyone I follow on Bookstagram and GoodReads. And I truly did not expect to have such a hard time with it. This book was making me feel like I was having a stroke. Does anything make sense? Dialogue? Descriptions? Characters? Anything? Ever? I was so confused. Sakavic's writing style does not mesh well with my brain. Sometimes her phrasing and word choices trip me up and make me wonder (sincerely) if English is her first language. However, I am reading the kindle version and have caught several typos (the kind that add or change a word rather than just a simple misspelling) and it's making me wonder if that's where the problem lies. It's an interesting story even if it's fairly ridiculous in parts. The title, The Foxhole Court (which I doubt I need to explain seeing as I'm likely the last person on earth to be reading these) refers to...

 You guys. You GUYS. Did you see what's available to preorder RIGHT NOW?? UK bookseller Waterstones has made a beautiful sprayed edge version of Carry On to match the other two in the trilogy they sold previously. And like the other two, it's a very limited edition so go now if you want one! It's sooo pretty, I can't wait to see it in person. (You can see pics of all three editions below.) This edition will actually complete a third entire set of the trilogy for me. So I beg the publishers, please do not come out with anymore versions. Have mercy on my bookshelves and my bank account. I beg you. 

You guys. You GUYS. The sequel to Aristotle & Dante is being published on Oct 12 - and there’s going to be a box set of both books in hardback! I’ve never preordered anything faster. If you’ve never read Ari & Dante , rectify that immediately and thank me later. Ari & Dante and it’s sequel are two of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I’m not even going to attempt a description here but trust me when I say it’s worth your time to grab these. They’re LGBTQ YA books but there’s not a person of any age on this planet who won’t be better off for having read them. Each one immediately went straight to my all time favorites list. The books are written so beautifully, it’s almost like poetry. I’ve never read anything like them before. Benjamin Alire Saenz must have a really beautiful soul to have had these books in him.  My GoodReads review links are below. Do yourself a favor and give these a try.  GR review: A&D book 1 GR review: A&D book 2

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood 5 stars out of 5 (and high heat)  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 🔥 I loved everything about this. This is a wonderfully fresh take on the fake dating trope, a delicious slow burn, and my absolute favorite trope of them all - grumpy/sunshine. And I honestly don’t know what it’s called or if it even has a name but you know that dynamic where Person A is feared by everyone and Person B discovers that Person A is actually a misunderstood teddy bear? Yeah that. This is that. And. I. Love. It. (Adam really is just the Best ever book boyfriend. Drew from The Wedding Date, take fucking note.) I really enjoyed Ali Hazelwood’s writing style. It was easy and relatable and smart and funny. I think Olive’s awareness of romance tropes was so great and cleverly incorporated into the story. I also appreciated the feminist perspective she gave to the book and its characters and how the power imbalance in Olive & Adam’s relationship was addressed. Will definitely check out anyt...

 I was fortunate enough to have received this ARC several months ago from NetGalley and MacMillan/Tor books, and when I tell you it was one of the MOST AMAZING BOOKS I have EVER read... oh man. I knew I had to get a copy (or three) for my shelf. I preordered a copy, then preordered the beautiful sprayed-edge set pictured below from Illumicrate when that was announced (that I AM SO EXCITED about!! Cannot WAIT to get them!) But Tor was running a promotion for those who preordered UtWD that they would send out a poster created by immensely talented artist Venessa Kelley (take a look at her Instagram !) and it just arrived today! What a great preorder incentive. It's absolutely beautiful. 😭  

So we all know about Funko Pops, right? Those adorable little 4" tall plastic characters from movies or TV that have become so popular in the past few years. I have my own collection; I have the Animaniacs, all five of the Gummi Bears, Josh and the Zoltar machine from Big,  Peter Venkman, Zuul, Louis Tully, and the Ghostbusters firehouse, among others. I shall not say exactly how many. Ahem.  I think they're so stinking cute and sometimes when I read a book I can picture what the characters' Pops would look like. If I can figure out which actual Pops resemble the characters (the right outfits, hairstyle, etc) then I can swap heads & bodies, do a little painting, and voila! I have my own one-of-a-kind Pops for my favorite book characters! (If you're interested in making your own but don't know how, I'd be happy to walk you through the process. Just message me.) Here's a quick list of the ones I've made so far. You can visit my Pinterest page for mor...

  Hello all! I thought I'd start up a blog to contain all my thoughts on everything I've been reading lately. I'm currently reading so many amazing books and want to share them with you all! I also on occasion create custom Funko Pops (when I'm feeling especially inspired) for certain of my favorite books and their characters. They've been a pretty big hit on Instagram so I will be sure to post them here! Can't wait to dig in! In the meantime, look forward to several posts that will catch everyone up on everything from the past few months while I establish the blog with some content. 😬