Susan’s Book Blog

  You can see all my reviews for these books at my GoodReads page here .  (Template provided by FairyLoot)

 Ok so I went a little crazy this month. Not sure why. But here’s the books I got this month to add to my way out of control TBR pile. I think my New Years resolution for 2022 is going to have to be Read Only From the TBR!  I am so excited to have discovered Olivia Dade, Lucy Lennox, and Jenny Holiday. I absolutely adore All The Feels, Virgin Flyer, and Duke Actually. I’m also very much looking forward to trying Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven cycle books and trying Colleen Hoover. I’ve heard so much about both of them. I read the first chapter of Shadow and Bone and I have high hopes it’ll be enjoyable. A very interesting world in that book. Can’t wait to see where it goes…  After reading CS Pacat’s Captive Prince trilogy this year, I’m super eager to try Dark Rise. I have no idea what to expect with Caraval but I wanted to give it a try. I think my 2022 TBR is looking pretty good! Have you read any of these? Any faves? Disappointments? Thoughts?

 Here’s what I chose for this month’s Book of the Month : I got The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox and added on In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren just for some added holiday vibes. Looking forward to getting these!  I know In a Holidaze has been around for a while. Have you read it? If so, what did you think? I’ve only read two other books by Christina Lauren - I loved The Unhoneymooners - so I’m hoping it lives up to that one!  —— If you’d like to give BOTM a try (no strings attached, you can pay monthly and skip anytime) sign up with this referral link . It’s super easy, affordable, and a lot of fun! (And sometimes you get hardbacks of books that never came out in hardback!)

 I recently decided to give Illumicrate’s new  Afterlight subscription box a try. According to their site:  Afterlight will include a newly released paperback romance, 3-4 fandom-neutral, useful items with a ‘take time for yourself’ focus, plus signed bookplates & author letter (where possible). Here’s what I received today:  I chose their Spoiler Alert add-on so mine came with the two books, and two non-book items. I am SO digging the  mug. It’s perfect for me as I am definitely a night owl reader. Take a look. I love the packaging (those bright yellow bags!) and the adorable sub-exclusive covers, and both the non-book items. I’m super happy with the box, so I’m excited to see what comes in future Afterlight boxes!          Click on this link for more info about this subscription box! 

 The year is going to be winding down soon and I was thinking about all the books I’m excited about in the coming year. A couple I’ve been able to read ARCs of, and others I’m just waiting patiently for like everyone else. ⏳ 🕰 📚 Books I’m Highly Anticipating in 2022 Book Lovers by Emily Henry Available May 3, 2022 A by the book literary agent must decide if happily ever after is worth changing her whole life for in this insightful, delightful new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation . I adore everything I’ve read by Emily Henry so far so I am very excited about this one! Anticipation for this one has been swirling around Bookstagram for months. Her writing is next level and always filled with emotion and humor. I can’t wait to meet these characters. This one is going to live up to the hype. Click here for more info and preorder links Weather Girl  by Rachel Lynn Solomon Available January 11, 2022 (Berkley) A TV m...

 It’s that time again - GoodReads is narrowing down their shortlists of the best books of the year. And there’s so many excellent deserving books. Go vote now!   📚 🗳  Click here to Vote Now!  🗳 📚 

  🏰🏰🏰🏰✨ 4.5 castles out of 5 I loved this, it was so much fun! This was one of those books where I knew it was going to be a favorite even before the first chapter was over. The writing is sharp and the characters are quickly and fully realized. Max and Dani are amazing and I loved their banter and the rapport they have. Dani’s lack of awe for Max’s position had me cracking up. (And Max liked it too which made me like him even more.) A couple of my favorite things from the book: The Dirty Dancing lifts ‘Max Maximus’ & ‘Max Minimus’ “Dukish casual” The MC’s BFFs who are loving and supportive but don’t let them get away with any bullshit This book surprised me because the premise is super Hallmark fairytale Christmas movie, which is not normally my thing, but somehow it felt thoroughly grounded in real life with plenty of depth. I did feel like a subplot involving Max’s brother was left a little… unresolved. But overall it is fun and funny and delightful and adorable and supe...

I got a big bright yellow box of HAPPINESS from Illumicrate today! I was fortunate enough to be able to order their TJ Klune set when it became available back in August. I’d read both books (and if you’ve read my other posts, you know how much I love them both) and knew I had to have them in these gorgeous signed hardback editions. (I am so excited to put these on my shelf!) Take a look! Beautiful edges that match the covers! Surprise illustrated covers!  Look how adorable they are! Front: Front & back: GoodReads page for The House in the Cerulean Sea  GoodReads page for Under the Whispering Door  

 I love everything Alexis Hall writes so I am here to remind you that his newest book is released TODAY!  Murder Most Actual available only on Kobo and the app is free to download.  Try it and tell me what you think! (See how many classic mystery genre references you can spot throughout the book. 🕵🏻‍♀️😉)  Murder Most Actual  by Alexis Hall  is now LIVE!  Download today on Kobo!    https://bit.ly/3EMWSQL     Goodreads:  https://bit.ly/39xTqeb From the author of Boyfriend Material and Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake comes a cozy mystery that revisits the Golden Age of detective fiction, starring a heroine who's more podcaster than private eye and topped with a lethal dose of parody -- perfect for fans of Clue, Knives Out, and Only Murders in the Building! When up-and-coming true crime podcaster Liza and her corporate financier wife Hanna head to a luxurious hotel in the Scottish Highlands, they're hoping for a chance to rekind...

 If you’ve been in a book fandom for a little while or you follow a bookstagram or two, you’ve probably heard of Longhand Pencils . It’s a small business based in Texas run by the lovely Kasee Bailey. You should definitely check it out! She creates fun pencil sets sporting quotes from popular books, TV shows, and movies, and once you buy one set you WILL be back for more. They’re addictive. You can’t just have one. Take a look at the sets I’ve snagged so far. (I love mine!!!!!!!) Romance tropes set ⤵️ Any Way the Wind Blows set ⤵️ Red White & Royal Blue set ⤵️ Young Royals set ⤵️ AWTWB on the shelf ⤵️ HEA or GTFO ⤵️ (The “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” set is in the background on the left; Tropes on the right.)

It’s always an exciting day when book mail arrives, but look at these beauties!! Above Left: Fairyloot Special Limited Edition hardcover of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper  graphic novel. Pink foil accents and pink sprayed edges. Above Right: Waterstones exclusive special edition of TJ Klune’s Under the Whispering Door. Signed with teal sprayed edges. Pick up these books in any form you can. They are wonderful!!  Heartstopper Vol 1 summary: Charlie and Nick are at the same school but they’ve never met… until one day they’re made to sit together. They quickly become friends and soon Charlie is falling for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realized. Under the Whispering Door summary: When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own sparsely attended funeral, Wallace is outraged. But he begins to suspect she’s right and he is in fact dead. Then when Hugo, owner of a mo...

  How cute is that cover?  This book is a lot of fun. It has all of the depth and humor and cleverness you’d expect from an Alexis Hall novel. But it’s a mystery! And it’s a love story! And an homage to classic mysteries! All at the same time! I’ve never read a “cozy mystery” before. I haven’t read many mysteries, cozy or otherwise, to be honest. It’s not a genre I’m terribly familiar with but - and forgive the cliché - I would read a book full of IKEA furniture instructions if they were written by Alexis Hall. So this was a no-brainer choice for me. But now I wish I had more knowledge of mysteries because with my minuscule pop culture knowledge I was able to pick up on the not-so-subtle nods to all six of the original Clue characters and Hercule Poirot with the premise of And Then There Were None. I just wonder what other genre references I’m missing.  And the cozy mystery might be a new genre for Hall but this book has several of his signatures:  socially conscious...

  GR review here While we’re waiting on my slow ass to get through Murder Most Actual , I thought I’d post my review for If This Gets Out . It deserves a lot of love.  I adored this one. It lived up to everything I’d hoped it would be. It’s the first I’ve read from either of the authors and I am impressed. The writing is excellent - it kept me turning pages right from the beginning. The characters are well drawn and interesting. I was all in before I was halfway through the first chapter. Ruben and Zach are members of a popular boy band and the book starts off with a detailed moment-by-moment description of Ruben’s concert performance experience. It actually feels like you’re getting a behind the scenes peek at how giant music industry machinery works.  I loved all four of the band members. They’re funny and smart and like-able but, most importantly, they’re believable as 18 year olds. The book’s POV switches back and forth between Ruben and Zach, but we get to know all f...