Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Bionic Book Worm. This week’s topic is: Top 5 Books that Made Me Laugh
My Lady Jane by the Lady Janies.
Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
Let’s Get Textual (Texting #1) by Teagan Hunter
Dating You/Hating You by Christina Lauren
Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is about books you hope to find under your Christmas tree, but I decided to change it up and do My top ten favorite Kindle Unlimited Books I read in 2019. I’ve had 3 different 2-3 month subscriptions of KU this year. I only sign up for it when I can get a good deal on it (they’ve ranged from 2 months for free to 3 months for $1.99) and that is usually when I get all my cheesy or angsty contemporaries in – but sometimes I come across a book I really enjoyed and that’s what this list is for.
1., 2., & 3. R.S. Grey is the big Kindle Unlimited winner for me. I’ve read several of her books through KU, but these three are the ones that really stood out to me: Hotshot Doc, Not So Nice Guy, The Allure of Julian LeFray.
4. Huge Deal (21 Wall Street #3) by Lauren Layne
5. The Stand-in Boyfriend by Emma Doherty
6. Let’s Get Textual by Teagan Hunter. This was actually a re-read for me – and that’s how much I love it!
7. & 8. Girl at Heart by Kelly Oram and One of the Girls by Robin Daniels. 2 authors, 1 series, and some seriously adorable YA romance.
9. A Killer’s Mind by Mike Omer.
10. Faking Under the Mistletoe by Ashley Shepherd.
I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. Reviewing the Unreviewed is my monthly post where I share my few thoughts on all the books I didn’t formally review.
Bred by Ginger Scott. Read July 6-8. 3.5 Stars.
I mostly enjoyed this book, though not a lot really seemed to happen. I thought Lily was a likable main character and I shipped the romance. There were several characters, though, that I wished we got more development on. Henry and Elena, particularly. I expected Elena to be a little more horrible than what she has. She has a reason for her behavior, but she was never much more than a caricature of a villain. I also would have liked to see Lily’s relationship with her guardians explored a little more. I also didn’t really love the end. It felt kind of anticlimactic and I expected a bigger payout. Maybe if the epilogue was set several years in the future instead? I must admit that I am a bad book worm and have never read Great Expectations, the story this book is inspired by, so I can’t say how close it is to the source material. I’m giving it an extra half star, though, because it was a pretty addictive read, even if slow paced.
The Friend Zone by Sariah Wilson. Read June 30 – July 13. 3 Stars.
Kind of cheesy, but sweet and cute. The characters were likable enough. Another book that was decent for a KU pick, but one I’m glad I didn’t spend money on.
The Stories You Tell (Roxane Weary #3) by Kristen Lepionka. Read July 12-13. 4 Stars.
I can always count on this series to deliver some addictive entertainment. I enjoyed this a lot, but after reading a few 5-star rave reviews, I hyped myself up for it a lot and was left a tiny bit disappointed. It was still very enjoyable, just not quite as amazing as I was hoping for. Anyways, the mystery was well done, even if the story telling felt a little unfocused at times. I didn’t really guess the ending, so that’s always fun. Some of the characters that were involved in the mystery of the last book show up, but since it’s been a long time since I read it, I couldn’t really remember who they were and there wasn’t really any recap info to remind me. Catherine is still the literal worst and I am Team Tom all the way. The romance aspect definitely took a backseat in this installment, though, and that was fine with me. I also always have to mention that this series is set in Columbus, which makes it extra fun, since I’m from Ohio.
Maybe This Time by Kasie West. Read July 14. 4 Stars.
This was probably more like 3.5 stars, but I’m bumping it up to 4 because it was a fast, easy read I finished in a day and it got a lot better for me towards the end. Sophie was really rude for the majority of the book and I had a hard time always liking her. I wish she would’ve become a little more self aware sooner. I liked how the story was broken up by major events throughout the year, but I don’t think it was always used very effectively. I felt like it was kind of just the same thing over and over again each time with Sophie and Andrew sniping at each other to hide their attraction and very little forward motion. I feel like their relationship should have progressed a little more each time, but it took about halfway through the book for the plot to advance at all. I felt like a lot more should’ve happened in the story for how long it was. However, once things started to develop a little more in their relationship and Sophie started to become more aware of herself and those around her, I really enjoyed it. I just wish more of the book was like that. I also could’ve used an epilogue. But, overall, it was another enjoyable Kasie West book and I look forward to her next one.
The Prenup by Lauren Layne. Read July 19-20. 4 Stars.
I loved this. It did take me a little while to get into it, though. The story is told completely from Charlotte’s first person POV and I was expecting (hoping) to also get Colin’s point of view. However, once the story hooked me, I didn’t want to put it down and I completely got on board the sole POV. Both Charlotte and Colin were likable and I shipped them hard. A big thanks to Deanna for lending me her copy to read!
The First Mistake by Sandie Jones. Read July 25-27. 3 Stars.
Pretty entertaining at times, but a little underwhelming overall. The twists and turns weren’t hard to figure out and it was a little frustrating how long it took Alice to put things together. Speaking of Alice, she reminded me a lot of the main character from this author’s previous book and that is not a favorable comparison. I was so annoyed by how she reacted to things. I didn’t care for the other characters, either. Part 2 of the book, from Beth’s POV, was very slow and I skimmed a lot. However, the first part and then towards the end was faster paced and much more entertaining. I think people who don’t read a lot of this genre might enjoy this, but it will be a little ho-hum for those that are more familiar with this type of story.
Shamed (Kate Burkholder #11) by Linda Castillo. Read July 27-28. 4 Stars.
Another great installment in the Kate Burkholder series. I thought the mystery was well done and the story was really well paced. I liked seeing Tomasetti play a bigger part in the case than he has been in the last few books, though I will always want to see more of him. I love this series and can’t wait for the next book!
Once and for All by Sarah Dessen. Read July 28-30. 3.5 Stars.
This was my first Dessen book. I wasn’t exactly blown away like I expected, but I did enjoy it. I thought the character development was really well done. I liked pretty much all the characters, with the exception of Jilly who never really lived up to the Great Friend raving Louna often said about her. Some of Ambrose’s actions annoyed me, but overall I liked him and I shipped him with Louna. I liked the wedding planning backdrop, as well.
Where the book really didn’t work for me was with Ethan. SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS* So it doesn’t take long to figure out that Ethan died and how he died. Because of that, I never got that invested his and Louna’s story. I also thought their relationship was ridiculous. They have “one epic night” together and then the rest of their short relationship is phone calls and texts. On the night that they meet Louna loses her virginity and before they say goodbye they declare their love for each other. *Insert eye roll emoji here* What made this even more ridiculous is that Jilly ends up having “one epic night” of her own with a new guy and while Louna is happy for her, she mentions several times that it happened really fast. You think, Louna?
Let’s Get Textual by Teagan Hunter. I enjoyed this just as much the second time around.
Where Do I Begin? by Elvia Duran – 4 Stars
Love on Lexington Avenue (Central Park Pact #2) by Lauren Layne – 4 Stars
The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon – 4 Stars
WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.
Nothing at the moment. I just finished a book late last night and will start a new one during my lunch break today.
Maybe This Time by Kasie West and The Arrangement by Robyn Harding.
I just got The First Mistake by Sandie Jones from the library. I was also thinking about re-reading Let’s Get Textual by Teagan Hunter (don’t judge it by it’s cover!!) while I still have Kindle Unlimited.
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is: New-to-Me Authors I Read In 2018. I’m going to break this up by established authors and 2018 debut authors.
1. Fredrik Backman. Read: Bear Town, Us Against You
2. Mariana Zapata. Read: Dear Aaron, From Lukov with Love, The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, Under Locke, Luna and the Lie
3. Peter Swanson. Read: All the Beautiful Lies
4. Jennifer Hillier. Read: Jar of Hearts
5. Teagan Hunter. Read: Let’s Get Textual, I Wanna Text You Up, Can’t Text This
6. Cara Hunter. Read: Close to Home
7. Carola Lovering. Read: Tell Me Lies
8. Joseph Knox. Read: Sirens, The Smiling Man
9. T.M. Logan. Read: Lies
10. Oyinkan Braithwaite. Read: My Sister, the Serial Killer
This annual survey was developed by Jamie over at The Perpetual Page-Turner.
I can’t pick one, so here are the three that I gave 4.5 Stars in 2018: Close to Home by Cara Hunter, Beartown and Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
My Plain Jane by the Lady Janies. I absolutely adored My Lady Jane and I expected to love this one just as much, but it was probably my biggest disappointment of the year.
I mean come on, does Let’s Get Textual by Tegan Hunter look like a book I would enjoy? But I totally did enjoy it. I read it in a day and laughed all the way through it.
So I don’t actually feel like I pushed many books on people this year. I will say that I told my mother about Healing from Hidden Abuse by Shannon Thomas and then when I started sharing some quotes with her she said she wanted to read it so I bought it for her for Christmas.
Started: Beartown by Fredrik Backman, Sequel: What You want to See (Roxane Weary #2) by Kristen Lepionka, Ender On Magnolia Lane (Blue Ridge #3) by Denise Hunter.
Cara Hunter and Fredrik Backman
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. I don’t read a lot of horror and while I had my issues with this one, I mostly enjoyed it.
I can’t really think of any books that were really action-packed, so I’m going with one of my re-reads for this year, Golden Son (Red Rising #2) by Pierce Brown.
Beartown
The Promise (DS Imogen Grey #4) by Katerina Diamond
Benji from Beartown
I mean, not to sound like a broken record, but Beartown.
There were a lot of good lessons in the The Faithful devotional.
Without Merit by Colleen Hoover. Brandie bought me a copy for my birthday in 2017 and it was almost a year later before I read it and I really enjoyed it.
“When we decide that boundaries are needed, they can be hard to set – and maintain – if we doubt ourselves and our assessment of the situation. Survivors often wonder if they are overreacting or being too sensitive…Another reason setting boundaries is difficult to do? We internally worry that we are withholding forgiveness and staying resentful. Boundaries have nothing to do with forgiveness or resentment. They have everything to do with the quality of our interactions with the people in our lives.” – Healing from Hidden Abuse by Shannon Thomas.
Shortest: My Sweet Friend by H.A. Leuschel
Longest: Oblivion by JLA (this was a re-read!)
(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
The subtle twist at the end of Our House by Louise Candlish is probably my favorite shock of the year.
Bellarke forever!!! This is more about the show than the book, but I’m counting it.
The group of friends in My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren.
The Smallest Part by Amy Harmon
Have to go with Beartown again. I wouldn’t have ever picked it up if Brandie hadn’t lent it to me.
Chase from One Small Thing by Erin Watt.
Close to Home by Cara Hunter.
Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) by Pierce Brown
Let’s Get Textual by Tegan Hunter.
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
The Paris Wedding by Charlotte Nash.
Beartown and Us Against You
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.
Restore Me (Shatter Me #4) by Tahereh Mafi. I was so excited for this series to continue, but the majority of this book was just the characters taking major steps back and rehashing old drama. It seemed like really lazy writing and it made me mad because I expect more from this author.
I always feel too bad to answer these questions. Add to that I always forget how long I’ve been following someone, so I’m going to skip this question. I love you all, though!
Favorite Mysteries and Thrillers
This beautiful book-themed cake my former co-worker made me for my goodbye party.
This year I went to events for Linda Castillo, Karin Slaughter, and Linwood Barclay and they were all fun.
I hit over 1,000 blog posts and reached over 1,000 followers.
Due to real life, I ended up taking two month-long (or almost month-long) hiatuses.
My review of Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage.
I mean, honestly, all of them.
I don’t really feel like I made a bookish discovery this year?
I did the Good Reads reading challenge with a goal of 105 books and I surpassed that (147 at the time of writing this, but it will probably go up before the end of the year).
I don’t think it will be my number one priority, but I really wanted to read Archenemies by Marissa Meyer. I got it from the library, but my hold came in at a bad time and it expired before I got to it.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.
The Winter Sister by Megan Collins
Dark Age (Red Rising #5) by Pierce Brown
Review more books. It feels like I only properly review ARCS and a few select other books and I want to get back into reviewing the majority of what I read again.
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing and I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella
I’ve seen this tag floating around over the last month or so and I have done it the past couple of years, as well, so thought I would keep the tradition going. One thing I have noticed about my reading year so far is that I have not read a lot of books that are really that memorable. I do have several 4 star reads, but even most of them don’t really stand out in my mind. I want to try and make some better choices for the remainder of the year.
I haven’t given any books above 4 stars (if you know me, you know I haven’t given out a 5 star rating yet since starting this blog, but I usually have a few 4.5 stars every year, but none so far in 2018), but Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier and The Promise by Katerina Diamond stand out to me.
What You Want to See (Roxane Weary #2) by Kristen Lepionka
Tell Me No Lies (Follow Me Back #2) by A.V. Geiger. I’m still waiting for this one to come to the library.
Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. It took me forever to finish this book and the humor felt so forced.
Let’s Get Textual by Teagan Hunter. I mean, come one, does this look like a book I would like? I really enjoyed it, though!
Jar of Hearts was the first Jennifer Hillier book I’ve read and it definitely made me want to read more from her.
Chase from One Small Thing by Erin Watt
Ivan from From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
None!!
Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West. Kasie West books always make me happy.
I haven’t seen any.
Favorite Mysteries and Thrillers
The Smallest Part by Amy Harmon
The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout. A lot of her books have been been hit or miss for me lately (mostly miss), but this is the spin-off to the Lux series which I had a lot of love for when I was first getting back into reading, so I’m feeling optimistic about it.
A couple of months ago I received an e-mail with a deal to try Kindle Unlimited for 2 months for $0.99. I’ve been wanting to try out KU and decided that deal was too good to pass up. I read many books that are not available at my library that I’m sure I would have never picked up otherwise and really loved a few of them. I definitely got my monies worth, but would I subscribe again? And should you? Maybe.
If you are a Romance fan – especially of the New Adult variety – than there are a TON of options. There were many books that had been on my radar from fellow bloggers that I was happy to finally be able to try. There were also many that I knew would not be for me, but if Romance is your genre of choice, then I definitely think it would be worth you to spend a little money for a month of books.
I had a harder time finding books that interested me in other genres. Most of the Mystery/Suspense titles I looked into I ended up not even reading because when I looked them up on Good Reads they had pretty bad reviews. The one book I was looking forward to the most (and the only book I’ve almost bought on multiple occasions, but never pulled the trigger) was Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine and I was so let down by the hype that I never even picked up the sequel during that two month period.
While I was able to read plenty of books, I also had library books come in off the Holds list and some ARCs that I had to get to, as well. If I were to pay for KU again I would try to make it a month where I didn’t have books I was waiting on from the library or any ARCs that are publishing during that time. I would suggest being able to devote all your reading time to it if you’re going to be paying money for it.
So what did I read? I’m glad you asked.
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine – 3 Stars
Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata – 4 Stars
From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata – 4 Stars
Under Locke by Mariana Zapata – 1 Star
Moonshot by Alessandra Torre – 3.5 Stars
Co-Wrecker by Meghan Quinn – 3 Stars
Infinity + One by Amy Harmon – 4 Stars
The Dreamer by E.J. Mellow – 3 Stars
The Dreamcatcher by E.J. Mellow – 3 Stars
Ninja Girl by Cookie O’Gorman – 3.5 Stars
Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon – 4 Stars
My Sister’s Intended by Rachael Anderson – 3 Stars
Let’s Get Textual by Teagan Hunter – 4 Stars
I Wanna Text You Up by Teagan Hunter – 3.5 Stars
Synopsis from Good Reads:
From Teagan Hunter, author of the Here’s To series, comes a fun, witty STANDALONE romcom!
A wrong number is supposed to be just that–a wrong number.
Delete. Done.
Do not continue to text. Do not flirt.
A wrong number shouldn’t be the first person on your mind in the morning, or the last at night…and you’re definitely not supposed to talk them into buying a baby goat.
Because that would be weird.
When Zach Hastings and I get into a wrong-number mix-up, we don’t follow the rules. We keep texting and flirting, because he’s wicked funny and perfectly nerdy and a wonderful distraction.
I’m not looking for love, and Zach definitely had the wrong number.
But maybe…
Maybe he’s the right guy.
So I know what you’re thinking. The innuendo book title. The cover picture. You must have stumbled upon the wrong blog. This could not be a “Stephanie” book, right? Well, while I do hate that cover, I loved this book! I read it in one evening (staying up way past my bedtime) because I could not put it down.
This book was so funny! With a title like Let’s Get Textual you know it either has to be funny or stupid and I’m so glad it was the former. The banter between Delia and Zach had me smiling throughout the whole book. Yes, there was some definite innuendo – and a couple of scenes that were a little more than I generally appreciate reading about – but for the most part, their oddball sense of humor really resonated with me.
I’m a sucker for the mystery texter/pen-pal trope and I loved it here. Delia and Zach text for quite awhile before they decide to meet and even after they begin a relationship the texting is still a large part of the book. I loved how their relationship progressed and shipped them pretty hard. I didn’t love the requisite Big Misunderstanding toward the end of the book, though. I thought the situation itself was kind of stupid, but also Delia did not handle it well At All. It seemed a little out of character for her because with Zach she was painfully honest all the rest of the time.
Overall, I really enjoyed Let’s Get Textual. I loved the main characters (and their goat) and could not get enough of their fun banter. This is definitely a book I’m glad I didn’t judge by it’s cover.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars
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