Monthly Archives: November 2020

Book Haul|| November.

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Hey!

My book haul for this month is actually pretty small, so with that, I’m just going to jump right into my haul for this month. 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.

Print Books I Bought:

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

I of course had to get the novella that goes along with the Folk of Air trilogy, because overall I loved the series (aside from book two not being that great). Again I went with the black Barnes & Noble edition, so it could match the rest of the series. I have the entire series in the black version. 🙂 I can’t wait to read How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories. I was flipping through it a little bit and all the pages have illustrations, which is really cool!

Books from Publishers:

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Pretending by Holly Bourne

I won a Goodreads giveaway for One Last Stop, which I was so stoked about because I loved Casey’s book Red, White & Royal Blue so much. I was part of the blog tour for Pretending, so I was sent a copy of that. You can check out my review and excerpt of Pretending on my blog. I’ll link those posts at the end of this one.

What new books did you get in November? 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 November wrap up posted in the next day or two, so be on the look out for that. I promise to blog hop at some point really soon this week to catch up with all of your posts. I know I am a bit behind on doing that; life has been distracting me a bit from being on the blog lately. I start a new job today, so I’ll be a little busy with that for the next month. But I should definitely catch up on your posts in the next few days. Pinky promise from afar! 😛

In case you missed it;
Blog Tour: Review|| Pretending.
Blog Tour: Excerpt|| Pretending.

I hope you have a great day!

Blog Tour: Review|| Pretending.

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Pretending by Holly Bourne
3 out of 5 stars

Book Description: In this hilarious and heartbreaking debut novel perfect for fans of Fleabag, a woman struggling to move on after a traumatic relationship pretends to be “the perfect girl” in an act of vengeance that goes awry when she finds herself emotionally compromised. He said he was looking for a ‘partner in crime’ which everyone knows is shorthand for ‘a woman who isn’t real’. April is kind, pretty, and relatively normal – yet she can’t seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she’s found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry. Until she realizes that what men are really looking for is Gretel. Gretel is perfect – beautiful but low maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not a slut. She’s a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door With No Problems. When April starts pretending to be Gretel, dating becomes much more fun – especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?

I received an ARC of Pretending from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It was published on November 17th, so it is out in the world now!

I have never read any books by Holly Bourne, but I’ve always heard great things about her writing. I was so excited to be a part of the blog tour for her new book, Pretending. As soon as I read the book description, I knew I wanted to read it! 

I want to point out that the subject matter is very heavy and could be very triggering to some people. I was actually not expecting it to be what it was. April went through a pretty bad thing in her life and she struggles with the aftermath throughout the entire book. She struggles to find herself and who she is as a person. She had some really great friends to help her through all of her difficult times and I loved the strong friendships as part of the story.

I know I only gave Pretending three stars, but that’s because I couldn’t 100% relate to the characters and this is the type of book that it’s kind of hard to rate and review (at least it is for me, I’m sorry!). I did like the story and I liked April though. I was rooting for her the entire way through and wanted everything to work out for her. She goes through so much; so many emotions and heartache. Her struggles were pretty intense and very valid. 

Overall, I really think Pretending is an important story and I liked it. I really liked the ending and felt that April really grew throughout the story. I am so glad I was given the chance to read this book. As far as if I would recommend reading it…yes! I would recommend reading it. It may not have been five stars for me, but I know so many people will really like this book.

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BUY LINKS:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Apple Books
Kobo
Google Books
Bookshop.org

You can check out an excerpt of the first chapter of Pretending and more about the author over on my blog post from earlier today. I’ll have it linked below! 🙂

In case you missed it;

Blog Tour: Excerpt|| Pretending.

I hope you have a great day!

Blog Tour: Excerpt|| Pretending.

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I’m here to share with you an excerpt from Pretending by Holly Bourne! I’ll also have my own review of this book later in the day, so be on the look out for that!

9780778331506_PRD_rev

Pretending by Holly Bourne
On Sale Date: November 17, 2020
9780778331506, 0778331504
Trade Paperback
$17.99 USD
416 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In this hilarious and heartbreaking debut novel perfect for fans of Fleabag, a woman struggling to move on after a traumatic relationship pretends to be “the perfect girl” in an act of vengeance that goes awry when she finds herself emotionally compromised. He said he was looking for a ‘partner in crime’ which everyone knows is shorthand for ‘a woman who isn’t real’. April is kind, pretty, and relatively normal – yet she can’t seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she’s found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry. Until she realizes that what men are really looking for is Gretel. Gretel is perfect – beautiful but low maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not a slut. She’s a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door With No Problems. When April starts pretending to be Gretel, dating becomes much more fun – especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?

EXCERPT:

I hate men.

There, I’ve said it. I know you’re not supposed to say it. We all pretend we don’t hate them; we all tell ourselves we don’t hate them. But I’m calling it. I’m standing here on this soapbox, and I’m saying it.

I. Hate. Men.

I mean, think about it. They’re just awful. I hate how selfish they are. How they take up so much space, assuming it’s always theirs to take. How they spread out their legs on public transport, like their balls need regular airing to stop them developing damp. I hate how they basically scent mark anywhere they enter to make it work for them. Putting on the music they want to listen to the moment they arrive at any house party, and always taking the nicest chair. How they touch your stuff instead of just looking; even tweak the furniture arrangement to make it most comfortable for them. All without asking first—never asking first.

I hate how they think their interests are more important than yours—even though twice a week all most of them do is watch a bunch of strangers kick a circle around a piece of lawn and sulk if the circle doesn’t go in the right place. And how bored they look if you ever try to introduce them to a film, a band, or even a freaking YouTube clip, before you’ve even pressed Play.

I hate their endless arrogance. I hate how they interrupt you and then apologize for it but carry on talking anyway. How they ask you a question but then check your answer afterward. I hate how they can never do one piece of housework without telling you about it. I hate how they literally cannot handle being driven in a car by a woman, even if they’re terrible drivers themselves. I hate how they all think they’re fucking incredible at grilling meat on barbecues. The sun comes out and man must light fire and not let woman anywhere near the meat. Dumping blackened bits of chicken onto our plates along with the whiff of a burp from their beer breath, acting all caveman, like we’re supposed to find it cute that we may now get salmonella and that we’re going to have to do all the washing up.

I hate how I’m quite scared of them. I hate the collective noise of them when they’re in a big group. The tribal wahey-ing, like they all swap their IQs for extra testosterone when they swarm together. How, if you’re sitting alone on an empty train, they always come and deliberately sit next to you en masse, and talk extra loudly about macho nonsense, apparently to impress you. I hate the way they look at you when you walk past—automatically judging your screwability the moment they see you. Telling you to smile if you dare look anything other than delighted about living with stuff like this constantly fucking happening to you. 

I hate how hard they are to love. How many of them actually, truly, think the way to your heart is sending you a selfie of them tugging themselves, hairy ball sack very much still in shot. I hate how they have sex. How they shove their fingers into you, thinking it’s going to achieve anything. Jabbing their unwashed hands into your dry vagina, prodding about like they’re checking for prostate cancer, then wondering why you now have BV and you still haven’t come. Have none of them read a sex manual? Seriously? None of them? And I hate how they hate you a little just after they’ve finished. How even the nice ones lie there with cold eyes, pretending to cuddle, but clearly desperate to get as far away from you as possible.

I hate how it’s never equal. How they expect you to do all the emotional labor and then get upset when you’re the more stressed-out one. I hate how they never understand you, no matter how hard they try, although, let’s be honest here, they never actually try that hard. And I hate how you’re always exhausting yourself trying to explain even the most basic of your rational emotional responses to their bored face.

I hate how every single last one of them has issues with their father.

And do you know what I hate most of all?

That despite this, despite all this disdain, I still fancy men. And I still want them to fancy me, to want me, to love me. I hate myself for how much I want them. Why do I still fancy men so much? What’s wrong with me? Why are they all so broken? Am I broken for still wanting to be with one, even after everything? I should be alone. That’s the only healthy way to be. BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE ALONE. I hate men, that’s the problem. GOD I HATE THEM SO MUCH—they’re so entitled and broken and lazy and wrong and…and…

Hang on…

My phone.

HE MESSAGED BACK!!!

WITH A KISS ON THE END!

Never mind.

Forget I said anything. It’s all good.

Excerpted from Pretending by Holly Bourne, Copyright © 2020 by Holly Bourne. Published by MIRA Books. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Holly Bourne is a bestselling UK-based YA and Adult Fiction author and is an Ambassador for Women’s Aid. In 2019, she was an Author of the Day at the London Book Fair, and was named by Elle Magazine’s weekly podcast as one of “Six Female Authors Changing the Conversation in 2019”. Pretending is her US debut.

BUY LINKS:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Apple Books
Kobo
Google Books
Bookshop.org

SOCIAL LINKS:
Author website: https://hollybourne.co.uk/
Twitter: @holly_bourneYA
Instagram: @hollybourneya
Facebook: @Holly.BourneYA

I hope you have a great day!

WWW Wednesday #71.

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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!

Has it really been seven months since I’ve done this type of post? I used to be on top of it weekly, but I guess with me not reading as much this year I just haven’t had any books to update about. In October, I did amazing with reading so many books and listening to so many audiobooks. Well, it’s November 10th and I feel like I’m back into a reading slump. UGH. This month has been weird though, especially with the election that was happening. I spent four or five days glued to the TV almost 24/7 watching all the election results and news. Some nights I stayed up until 5am, because I didn’t want to miss anything. There was even one day where I didn’t go to sleep until 7:30am after having been awake for almost 24 hours. During that week (last week) I didn’t do a single thing besides watch election coverage, lol. So you’re probably wondering if I have even read anything at all so far this month? And that’s a yes and a no…lol. I would say I barely read, but I did finish one book and started a couple of others. Shall I jump into today’s post? I shall…

Currently Reading:

instantkarmacrazystupid

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer
Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

I was approved on Netgalley for Instant Karma and I am finally getting the chance to read it. I’m only a few chapters in, so I don’t have a real opinion about it yet, but I’m looking forward to reading it. It does make me nervous because I wasn’t a fan of Marissa’s book series the Lunar Chronicles, but this is completely different, so maybe I’ll like it better! I am listening to the audiobook of Crazy Stupid Bromance. I’m about 25% into it and so far I like it. I have to actually try to finish this audiobook ASAP, because it’ll be returned to the library in a week….YIKES!

Recently Finished:

sidewaysstoriesfromwaysideschool

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Okay….so Sideways Stories from Wayside School is a children’s chapter book. BUT….I don’t care because I loved this book as a kid and I wanted to read it again. It’s also a four book series and I’ve only ever read the first two books, so I am currently waiting for the others from my library, so that I can read them all! Life has been a little rough, and this year hasn’t been the greatest; I needed some happiness and I remember this book making me happy as a kid. I liked it now just as much as I did when I was a kid too.

Reading Next:

9780778331506_PRD_rev

Pretending by Holly Bourne

I plan to read Pretending next, because I am part of the blog tour. I’ll be posting a review and an excerpt from the book on November 23rd! Realistically though, I may end up reading this as soon as the copy of the book gets to me. I want to make sure I have it read and my posts ready for the 23rd, so this may take priority over anything else that I am currently reading (if I don’t finish them before I get this one) or whatever else I plan to read next.

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!

I know that it’s probably way too early for Christmas decorations, but like I mentioned earlier in this post…this year hasn’t been the greatest for me. Any bit of happiness I can find, I take it. Christmas makes me happy, Christmas decorations make me happy….so we put up our Christmas tree! Check it out:

We also put up Christmas lights outside on our house, so that also makes me pretty stoked and excited. Christmas cheer for a messed up year! 😛 I still need to fluff the tree to get rid of empty spaces, hang ornaments on the tree, and stockings on the fireplace. Speaking of fireplace, the hubby built it himself! Minus the actual fireplace insert (the black part), but the frame and everything else he did himself! Anyway, that’s all for this post.

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

I hope you have a great day!

Wrap Up|| October.

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October flew by! I didn’t have my best blogging month and I’m sad about that. I just had no motivation or inspiration and that’s so sad. We were also pretty busy at home with a lot of different house projects; as you may have seen in my previous post that we redid my book room! I’ll leave a link at the end of this post in case you missed it and want to check it out. I did try to blog hop once in a while though and stay caught up with you guys! As far as reading goes, I think I had a good reading month, especially compared to past months. I even got ahead on my Goodreads challenge. It felt nice getting ahead after being behind for so long.

So, I made this Halloweenie TBR at the start of October and while I didn’t read as many books as I hoped I would off the TBR, I did manage to read a few of them. I also listened to some thriller audiobooks as well. Before I get into that though, first as always 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. So, what did I read and listen to this month?

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

clowninacornfieldhalloweenseasonbeetleandthehollowbonesswampthingheartbones

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare – 4 out of 5 stars
Halloween Season by Lucy A. Snyder – 3 out of 5 stars
Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne – 5 out of 5 stars
Swamp Thing by Maggie Stiefvater – 3 out of 5 stars
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover – 4 out of 5 stars

I really liked Clown in a Cornfield. It was a creepy and fun story. It was perfect for Halloween. Halloween Season was interesting. It’s a bunch of Halloween/spooky short stories. Some stories were really great and others not so much. I had fun reading them though. I LOVED Beetle & the Hollowbones. It was a cute and fun graphic novel and the illustrations were so pretty. I’m not really a DC Comic fan, but I bought Swamp Thing anyway. I liked it and the illustrations were great, but I felt like something was missing. Or maybe I’m not getting it since I’m not a DC Comic fan? Or maybe it ties in with that new show I keep seeing previews for on TV? Who knows. I probably would love loved the graphic novel if there was more to it. I started to get a little burned out on Halloween vibe/Psychological Thriller books toward the end of the month and decided to pick up Heart Bones. It has skulls on the cover…so I mean, at least the cover fits the vibe of Halloween? 😛 I really enjoyed Heart Bones a lot. I flew through it in just a couple days, it was so hard to put down. Colleen Hoover books usually end up being books you can’t put down.

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

finalgirlsperfectlittlechildrenrecursion

Final Girls by Riley Sager – 3 out of 5 stars
Perfect Little Children by Sophie Hannah – 1 out of 5 stars
Recursion by Blake Crouch – 3 out of 5 stars

I don’t think I had the best luck with the audiobooks that I listened to this month. While I did like a couple of them, I wasn’t blown away by them like I had hoped; especially Recursion. I thought I would be blown away by Recursion because I loved Blake’s book Dark Matter. Sadly, I was not. I really liked it at the beginning, but then it just got annoying and I wanted it to just end. Final Girls was good and I liked it, but once again I was not completely sold or blown away by it. Perfect Little Children was so bad. I felt like nothing really happened and the main character annoyed me so much. The shock factor just wasn’t there for me either. The entire time I was hoping something would happen and by the time something did happen, I was already over the story, so I didn’t care all that much.

DNF (Did Not Finish):
These are the books that I tried to read in the month of October, but ended up not being for me so I stopped.

ananonymousgirl

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks

I got halfway through An Anonymous Girl before I didn’t I was done with it. I was just so bored and I couldn’t really listen anymore. I wanted to listen to more psychological thrillers this month, but I think I’ve noticed that I’m not that into them or I don’t love them as much as I think I’m going to. Will I still attempt them? Of course, I will. I like to torture myself I guess. 😛

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

noneshallsleep

None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney

I am also still reading None Shall Sleep. I was hoping to finish it in October as well, but I just didn’t get around to it. I do want to finish it as soon as I can and get a review posted for it. I started it in the middle of September, but I just haven’t been in the mood for it. I don’t want to force it right now and then end up not liking it because of that. So far, I do like it though. It gives me Mindhunter vibes, if you’ve seen that show on Netflix. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it.

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

Yesterday I was finally able to find some time to blog hop, so I got all caught up with your posts. If I missed anything, please feel free to send me links to those posts and I will definitely check them out. 🙂 I am really hoping that I’ll have a better blogging month in November. Fingers crossed!

In case you missed it;
Book Haul|| October. & New Book Room!
Book Haul|| September.

I hope you have a great day!