Book Haul|| September.

Posted on September 30, 2019 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

Hey!

I am going to just jump right into my September book haul. You can check out a full list of the books that I own over here. There’s links to different pages on my blog that show my e-books and my physical books. Here are the books that I got in September.

Books I Bought:

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Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Frankly in Love by David Yoon

These first three were pre-orders that I have been waiting on and I am so stoked they are finally here! It was a nice surprise when I opened Gideon the Ninth to find that the edges were sprayed black! I had no idea they would be, so that was cool! Frankly in Love has blue sprayed edges, which is cool too. As for Permanent Record, it has a plastic dust jacket, which I actually hate. It’s like the type of cover that Illuminae has. I wasn’t really expecting that since Choi’s book Emergency Contact has a normal cover dust jacket like most books do. Oh well, lol. I am really excited to read them.

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Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness
Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

I had to get Over the Top, because I love Jonathan Van Ness. I read the first chapter of the book and I can’t wait to read more. It’ll have to wait though since I already have a planned TBR for October. I got Dance of Thieves from Books-A-Million for super cheap, I think it was like $4.99? I can’t really remember the exact amount, but it was in their bargain section, so I was stoked about it.

Netgalley:

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

I seen Regretting You up on Netgalley over the weekend and decided to request it. I was approved the next day and was so pretty happy about it. I can’t wait to read it. I’ll probably read it in November.

E-Books:

Romanov by Nadine Brandes
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
Meet Cute by Helena Hunting
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith
Everything You Are by Kerry Anne King

I actually didn’t go too crazy with e-book deals again, so that’s nice. The first three are books that I’ve been wanting to read and the second two were books that I thought sounded interesting and they were free with Amazon First Reads. We Sold Our Souls is another sneak peak at what is on my Halloweenie TBR. Earlier today I posted my September wrap up (linked below) and shared another book that made the list in that post. 😛

What new books did you get in September? Have you read any of the ones that I got? Feel free to link me to your haul post, so I can check it out!

I’ll have my Halloween themed TBR posted tomorrow. I am really excited to share it with you guys, because I love Halloween and it was fun coming up with a list of spooky reads that I hope to read next month.

In case you missed it;
Wrap Up|| September.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Wrap Up|| September.

Posted on September 30, 2019 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

wrapup

Hey!

September was absolutely not my best reading month this year and probably my worst reading month over the last 3.5 years, lol. I had some things happening at home that kind of prevented me from getting reading done and then it also put me into a pretty big reading slump. I tried to read and listen to multiple books, but nothing was really clicking for me. In September I only read one book and listened to three audiobooks. So so sad, especially because I don’t count audiobooks toward my monthly reading challenge. 😦 You can find a full list of these books and the other books I read this year over here. All will be linked to Goodreads below and I will also link to individual blog posts for them if I did a review.

Physically Read Books:
These are the books that I read myself (not audiobooks) throughout the month of September.

Swipe Right for Murder by Derek Milman – 3 out of 5 stars – Review
Overall, I thought Swipe Right for Murder was a really good story even though it was completely different than I originally thought. I had a lot of fun reading it and it kept me guessing and questioning what was really happening. Feel free to check out my review for more.

Audiobooks:
These are the books that I listened to the audio versions throughout the month of September.

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim – 2 out of 5 stars
I’m not really sure how I feel about Miracle Creek. It was interesting, but I also found myself mostly bored with it. I also didn’t like the way some things were said about the children and thought it was weird and insensitive. I also had a hard time really connecting with the characters and the story.

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson – 3 out of 5 stars
A Nearly Normal Family was a pretty good book. There were a couple times where I had no idea what was going on, which I liked. Overall, it didn’t blow me away, but I still liked it.

Psycho by Robert Bloch – 5 out of 5 stars
Psycho was a reread for me. I read the book many years ago and decided I would do an audiobook reread. It was just as great as I remember it to be. This is one of my favorite books of all time.

Currently Reading Books:
These are the books that I started to read in the month of September, but didn’t get a chance to finish them yet.

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

Around October 1st I will be posting my Halloweenie TBR and here is a sneak peak at one of the books that made the list, Imaginary Friend. I decided to start it before October though, because I believe it’s released October 1st and also because it’s 700+ pages and I want to make sure I make the most out of my Halloween themed TBR. With this one being so long, I needed a head start so I can make sure I finish it at a decent time and have time to read a bunch of the other spooky books on my list. I am not halfway through it and it’s so good and so creepy!

What books did you read in September? Have you read any of the books that I read? Feel free to link me to you wrap up post, so I can check it out!

I know I usually have my book haul post up before my wrap up, but I just haven’t taken the pictures for that post yet. I’ll probably take them today, so I can post it tomorrow or later today. So you can be on the look out for my September book haul soon. I will also be posting my Halloween themed TBR like I mentioned above. I am really excited about that one, because I picked some hopefully great books for the season. No “in case you missed it” links today, because I was horrible at blogging this month; so I will end this post here.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Review|| Swipe Right for Murder.

Posted on September 19, 2019 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

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Swipe Right for Murder by Derek Milman
3 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Description: On the run from the FBI. Targeted by a murderous cult. Labeled a cyber-terrorist by the media. Irritated texts from his best friend. Eye contact with a nice-looking guy on the train. Aidan has a lot to deal with, and he’s not quite sure which takes top priority. Finding himself alone in a posh New York City hotel room for the night, Aidan does what any red-blooded seventeen-year-old would do—he tries to hook up with someone new. But that lapse in judgement leads to him waking up next to a dead guy, which sparks an epic case of mistaken identity that puts Aidan on the run from everyone—faceless federal agents, his eccentric family, and, naturally, a cyber-terrorist group who will stop at nothing to find him. He soon realizes the only way to stop the chase is to deliver the object everyone wants, before he gets caught or killed. But for Aidan, the hardest part is knowing who he can trust not to betray him—including himself.

I received an ARC of Swipe Right for Murder from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It was published on August 6th.

I must have forgotten what what Swipe Right for Murder was about by time I got around to reading it, because it ended up being completely different than I originally thought it was going to be? But now reading the description again after finishing the book, I see that it was exactly what the description says haha. 😛 I think that’s part of why I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars. I was expecting something totally different, but totally my fault since I didn’t read the description again before starting the book, lol.

With that being said, I still really enjoyed Swipe Right for Murder. I had a lot of fun reading it and it was a pretty interesting story. There were quite a few twists involved and a couple that I didn’t see coming. I really liked the main character, Aidan and I really felt for him and was rooting for him the entire way through. He is dealing with so many things in his life and then he’s thrown into this crazy situation. He doesn’t know who to trust and I honestly had no idea who to trust either. I was just as confused and frustrated as Aidan was throughout the book.

I don’t want to talk about too much, because I don’t want to give away any spoilers and it’s hard to do with thriller books; at least for me, haha. Overall though, I thought Swipe Right for Murder was a really good story even though it was completely different than I originally thought. Totally my fault with that though, lol. I had a lot of fun reading it and it kept me guessing and questioning what was really happening. It also has a lot of LGBT themes and I felt like it was relevant and relatable. I would definitely recommend picking this one up. Don’t let my three star rating fool you, because it really was a good book.

I have been pretty MIA the last couple weeks on the blog, but life has just been so weird again and I’m not really feeling myself. I don’t think I ever got back to my normal self since my post in April about everything, honestly. I’ve also been in this HUGE reading slump, which sucks. It’s day 19 of September and I’ve only read one book (this book I’m reviewing now). I’ve tried to listen to numerous audiobooks, but none have captured my attention and I end up not even continuing with them. Hopefully I get out of this reading slump before October, because I’ve already created my Halloween themed TBR (which I will post October 1st) that I’m excited about. Fingers crossed! I’ll hopefully find some time this weekend to catch up with your posts and reply to comments. 🙂

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

WWW Wednesday #64.

Posted on September 11, 2019 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly MEME hosted by Taking on a World of Words. Simply answer the following questions. 🙂

The three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

*All books linked to Goodreads below.

Hey!

It’s been a pretty crazy and somewhat stressful September so far. I didn’t really have time for much reading, so I’ve been stuck on the same books all month. I am going to just jump right with the books that I’ve been reading so far this month and that I hope to read next.

Currently Reading:

Swipe Right for Murder by Derek Milman
Ghosting by Edith Pattou

I don’t usually pick up multiple books at a time, but I did this time around. I’m reading Swipe Right for Murder, which is pretty interesting, but turning out to be something different that I originally thought. I will have a review up once I get around to finishing it. I’m also reading Ghosting, because it sounded good. I also picked it up because it’s written in verse and I usually fly through those types of books. My Kindle Unlimited subscription ends next month, so I wanted to read it before it does since I got it through there. I have been focusing more on Swipe Right for Murder though, so hopefully I finish it soon so that I can finish Ghosting.

Recently Finished:

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I didn’t actually finish Gods of Jade and Shadow. I decided to mark it as DNF about 50% through it. I wasn’t into it and found myself really bored. I was listening to the audiobook. I haven’t actually finished a book since my August wrap up, sadly. There has been things happening in my life and I just haven’t been up to reading or really have the time to read for long periods of time. I even went the first seven days of the month not reading a single thing. I finally started to pick up my books again over the weekend.

Reading Next:

Someday by David Levithan
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

I’m thinking I may read Someday next, because I’ve been wanting to read this book for so long now. I loved Every Day when I read it a few years ago. I got the audiobooks of Normal People and Miracle Creek from my library, so I will probably be listening to those next. I’ve been on hold for awhile, so I am stoked I finally got them. I do have some ARCs I need to read as well, so honestly my “reading next” is up in the air.

What are you currently reading? Recently finished? Reading next? Have you read any of these books? Feel free to link me to your posts, so I can check them out!

In case you missed it;
Wrap Up|| August.
Book Haul|| August.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Wrap Up|| August.

Posted on September 2, 2019 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

wrapup

Hey!

I don’t have a whole lot to say about August, so I am going to just jump right into my August wrap up post of the books that I read throughout the month. You can find a full list of these books and the other books I read this year over here. All will be linked to Goodreads below and I will also link to individual blog posts for them if I did a review.

Physically Read Books:
These are the books that I read myself (not audiobooks) throughout the month of August.

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis – 5 out of 5 stars
Heroine was such an amazing book as well as so heartbreaking. It’s such an important book too, because of the opiod crisis.

How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway – 3 out of 5 stars – Review
I had a fun reading How to Hack a Heartbreak. It’s so relateable too. Feel free to check out my review for more.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman – 5 out of 5 stars
I finally read Scythe and it lived up to the hype! I loved it so much and I loved that there was so many things going on so it made it so much fun to read. I can’t wait to pick up the sequel.

Gmorning, Gnight by Lin-Manuel Miranda – 4 out of 5 stars
Gmorning, Gnight was a really great read. It’s a book with inspirational little passages and illustrations. I really enjoyed them and I can see myself flipping through this book quite a bit, especially if I need a little pick me up.

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan – 4 out of 5 stars
I really liked The Weight of Water. It’s told in verse, which I really enjoyed about it. It was a pretty sad story, but I was rooting for Kasienka and wanted nothing but the best for her.

Currently Reading Books:
These are the books that I started to read in the month of August, but didn’t get a chance to finish them yet.

Swipe Right for Murder by Derek Milman

There are some ARCs that I didn’t get the chance to read in August, so I will be starting September off with those. I did get about 15% into Swipe Right for Murder before the month ended. So far it’s pretty interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.

What books did you read in August? Have you read any of the books that I read? Feel free to link me to you wrap up post, so I can check it out!

Things are a little bit crazy at home right now and we have a lot going on, but I am still hoping to find some time to catch up with your entries and reply to comments this week.

In case you missed it;
Book Haul|| August.
Friday Finds #83.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack