Showing posts with label Top Ten Tuesday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Top Ten Tuesday. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

TTT: Books That Awaken the Travel Bug In Me

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Without further ado, here are my TTT Books that Awaken the Travel Bug in Me (And Why)!

1. I See London by Chanel Cleeton is my absolute favorite New Adult book of all time! It's the only book I've reviewed and given 5 stars. While most people were mooning over Anna and the French Kiss a few years back, I was shouting my love of this London-based book from the rooftops. Anna and Etienne just don't compare to the chemistry of Maggie and Samir in London. The characters leap off the page as does the setting, which is a character of its own. I still want to go to London and experience it after reading this book.

2. London Falling by Chanel Cleeton is the sequel, give a more grown-up perspective to Maggie and Samir's love. It's less fun and game, and more seeing into the future of what these two really could have if Samir made the choice to make Maggie a permanent part of his life.

3. French Kissed by Chanel Cleeton...Noticing a pattern? I can't help it! This not-quite-sequel to the first two books is about Samir's French cousin Fleur. Not only do you get more of what London has to offer, you get a taste of France for good measure. I HIGHLY recommend all three if you like New Adult. You won't be disappointed!

4. Love, in English by Karina Halle is another New Adult offering involving a married 38-year-old Spanish man and a single 23-year-old Canadian woman who meet in Spain for conversational English lessons. While I'm not a proponent of cheating, I did enjoy the author's authentic portrayal of both of the differences between the characters and their similarities. It didn't hurt that the entire book took place in Spain.

5. The Villa in Italy by Elizabeth Edmondson is a departure from my list of New Adult novels in places 1-4 on this list. Four different people are named in a will - Delia, an opera singer robbed of her voice by illness; George, an idealistic scientist; Marjorie, desperately poor & unable to dislodge her writer's block; & Lucius, whose personal life is in chaos. This is a tale of four strangers summoned to a grand but neglected villa on the Italian coast. The setting is grand. The mystery of why the 4 of them were chosen to inherit the villa is grand. It's quite a long, involved saga that isn't an easy read, but it is a satisfying one. It makes me wish I was one of the participants going on a scavenger hunt in hopes of inheriting the villa.  

6. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale makes me want to jump in a carriage, travel to a magnificent home, and drink lots of tea, pinky in-air, of course. I'll admit that I watched the movie, Austenland based on Ms. Hale's first book prior to reading either book, but I found her latter book much more enchanting. The characters in the original book lacked depth and style. Ms. Hale wrote Midnight using the movie's enchanting characters. Plus, I love a good mystery. If you're an Austen fan, I highly recommend this trip to Austenland!

7. Driving Sideways by Jess Riley is a heart-warming and heart-wrenching road trip book. After spending 5 years on dialysis, Leigh gets a kidney transplant from a deceased donor named Larry. She's tired of living in hospitals and wants to use her newfound freedom to meet Larry's family and thank them for their gift of life. Along the way, she picks up a teen hitchhiker, finds her wayward mother, and learns the hard way that nothing is meant to last forever. I highly recommend this one. Having a best friend in the same predicament made it mean even more to me.

8. The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham is the basis for the first episode of the British TV Show Midsomer Murders (which I'm obsessed with). While this isn't necessarily a book about travel, I do wish I could go travel to the British countryside and solve a good murder mystery. The characters in this book are so alive (and quirky) that it's no wonder it was made into a successful TV Show with 20 series under its belt. I highly recommend the show and the book!


Bonus Movie Mention: Before Sunrise and its sequels, Before Sunset and Before Midnight. All three movies follow the lives of Jesse (an American) and Celine (a Parisian) who meet by chance on a train in the first movie, and spend 24 hours together exploring Vienna. The other movies are follow-ups, with the second another meet-by-chance, and the third showing them as a couple with twins. I will admit that I haven't been able to get into the third the way I did the first and second. They're all character pieces set amidst the background of Europe. If you enjoy rambling pieces which discuss a wide array of topics and show the humanity of love, I highly suggest starting at the beginning with Before Sunrise! You won't be disappointed!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year

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Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year


1. Yours Truly by Annabel Pitcher - Zoe has an unconventional pen pal -- Mr. Stuart Harris, a Texas Death Row inmate and convicted murderer. But that's okay, because Zoe has an unconventional story to tell. A story about how she fell for two boys, betrayed one of them, and killed the other.

2. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman - A novel about a young girl whose grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending her on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother’s fairy tales.

3. The Truth Commission by Susan Juby - A story about easy truths, hard truths, and those things best left unsaid.

4. Left Drowning by Jessica Park - (Or anything by her, really!) What does it take to rise from life’s depths, swim against the current, and breathe?

5. Hot Head by Damon Suede - Since 9/11, Brooklyn firefighter Griff Muir has wrestled with impossible feelings for his best friend and partner at Ladder 181, Dante Anastagio. Unfortunately, Dante is strictly a ladies’ man, and the FDNY isn’t exactly gay-friendly. For ten years, Griff has hidden his heart in a half-life of public heroics and private anguish.

6. Seven Letters from Paris: A Memoir by Samantha Verant - At age 40, Samantha Verant's life is falling apart-she's jobless, in debt, and feeling stuck... until she stumbles upon seven old love letters from Jean-Luc, the sexy Frenchman she'd met in Paris when she was 19. With a quick Google search, she finds him, and both are quick to realize that the passion they felt 20 years prior hasn't faded with time and distance.

7. Tomorrow River by Lesley Kagen - During the summer of 1968 in Rockbridge County, Virginia, eleven-year- old Shenandoah Carmody's mother disappeared. Her twin sister, Woody, stopped speaking, and her once-loving father slipped into a mean drunkenness unbefitting a superior court judge. As the first anniversary of their mother's disappearance nears, her father's threat to send Woody away and his hints at an impending remarriage spur a desperate Shenny to find her mother-before it's too late.

8. Jane and Austen by Stephanie Fowers - Meet Jane and Austen. First there's Jane—an impractical, starry-eyed wedding planner; if love can’t match what she’s read in a book, she doesn’t want it. And then there’s Austen—a pragmatic, logical-to-a-fault financial consultant; even if he were interested in someone, he wouldn’t know.

9. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma - Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As de facto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love.

10. Sneaking Candy by Lisa Burstein - A graduate student by day, an erotic romance author by night, a forbidden attraction I can't deny...

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

TTT: Top 5 Best Books I Read in 2015

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5 Best Books I Read in 2015

For NA:

Prick: A Stepbrother Romance by Sabrina Paige - HEA for young adults is sometimes hard for me to swallow, but this author made it feel realistic. It was HOT.

Schooled by Piper Lawson - I'm reading the second book now! Lex is a smart, interesting MC who falls, though she tries not to, for her best friend's little brother Dylan. It was well-written and made me want to read more by this author!

Everything Has Changed by Mia Kayla - Atypical of NA, this wasn't a hot and heavy book, but rather a natural journey showing two people who know each other so well but are so close that they can't actually see that the other loves them as more than a friend. Worth the read.


Memoir:

The Reluctant Psychic by Suzan Saxman & Perdita Finn - While there were times that I really couldn't identify with the things Suzan was into, including the men she was interested in, the book showed her natural journey to self-discovery as an oracle and finding her place in the world. It was grounded, which I wasn't expecting.


Thriller/Mystery

Sparrow 59 by Devon Ashley - I'm pretty much dying for the 2nd book to come out! It was labeled "The Bourne Identity meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith for the new adult crowd," and I loved every second of it!

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

5 Celebrity Memoirs I Want to Read

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5 Celebrity Memoirs I Want to Read

Sorry for doing my own topic this week, but I'm not a huge Halloween person.

1. Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood & Scientology by Leah Remini - After 30+ years in Scientology, she bares all. I have a friend who grew up in Scientology and I'm interested to learn more about its aftereffects. I saw them in my friend and I'm sure Leah has a lot to say on the subject.

2. Wildflower by Drew Barrymore - From clubs at 7 to rehab at 12, her life was very unconventional. Regardless, she has blossomed beautifully. Her first memoir, Little Girl Lost sounds like a good read too.

3. There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me by Brooke Shields - Brooke's stage mom pushed her into puberty too early and lived vicariously through her until daughter didn't know where she began and mother ended. Her mother sounds like she had Borderline Personality Disorder, like my mom does.

4. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography - While I'm not a fan of his - I think he comes off as rather arrogant at times - I do think the concept of this book would make it an interesting read.

5. unSweetined by Jodie Sweetin - How America's Sweetheart turned into a Meth head. Sad.

Celebrity Memoirs I've Read & Recommend

1. High on Arrival by MacKenzie Phillips - This is a very sobering, sad read. Trigger Warning: Incest. Well-written though and really helps you understand her lifelong drug addiction.

2. Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia di Rossi - Trigger Warning: Anorexia

3. Off Balance: A Memoir by Dominique Moceanu - Trigger Warning: Abusive Childhood with father and gymnastic coach Bela Karolyi

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

TTT: Plots I'm Sick of Seeing

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This month, I'm posting about my favorite books from the 80's and 90's! Leave your fave books in comments so I can check them out!

Plots I'm Tired of Seeing

I decided to do this instead of my much-anticipated TBR list, because I'm just so tired of seeing the same blurbs over and over again. Here's my list. Which plot formulas are YOU tired of reading about?

1. The "Mary had everything: a home in the suburbs, a career in publishing and a loving fiance . . . until she found out her fiance was cheating (with his secretary/a man/her sister/her friend), got fired/laid off from her job, and had to move out of her house. Now she's homeless, jobless and loveless. Will Mary survive (yes)? Will she open that funky little bookstore she's always wanted to own (yes)? Will she find her true love by the end of the book (yes)?

2. See Jane. See Jane look for a roommate. See Jane think that Kelly, her new roommate, is a girl. See Jane find out Kelly is a hot ex-marine. See Jane hate Kelly. See Jane have sex with Kelly. See Jane and Kelly live happily ever after.

3. Sarah has one hot and unforgettable night with a guy she met in a bar. She's so lucky she'll never have to see him again. Fast forward to the next day . . . and she walks into her new job only to find out that her new boss is (yep, you guessed it) the guy she just slept with! Eek! Whatever will happen? A bend over the desk during the work day perhaps? Um, probably.

4. Then there's the old book where "Hallie inherits her crazy old aunt's large estate and decides to turn it into a bed and breakfast" routine. The guy hired to do construction on the place is of course her end of the book boyfriend.

5. We can't forget the book that spans two weeks, yet finds two people who met at the beginning of the book getting engaged by the end. Two. Weeks... Two. Weeks.

6. Calypso (yes - the books with super creative names bug me too) has to go back to the tiny old rundown trailer park she left 10 years ago to take care of her dying mother. What she doesn't expect is that her first love still lives in the town . . . and still loves her . . . Will she go back to the big city after her mother's passing or will she stay in town and make a life with Rafe? I think we know how this one ends.

7. Kate works 3 jobs to keep herself and her 5 year old daughter afloat. One day, her handsome, rich ex comes back into town. What he doesn't know is that when he left Kate for bigger and better things 5 years ago, she was carrying his child. By the end they're a happy little family and everything is forgiven.

8. The high school plot: Amber is drawn to the mysterious Rico who's from the other side of the tracks. He has a tragic past, and only Amber can heal his soul and bring him happiness . . . Dude. They're only in high school. That's just not realistic.

9. Cara is overweight, shy and doesn't know how to date. She begs her handsome friend Colin to teach her how to kiss etc. By the end of the book, she's lost the weight and bagged the babe.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

TTT: Books I'd Love To See As Movies/TV Shows

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This month, I'm posting about my favorite books from the 80's and 90's! Leave your fave books in comments so I can check them out!

Books I'd Love To See As Movies/TV Shows


I'd like to see a TV show based on the characters in Chanel Cleeton's New Adult series, International School. This includes, I See London, London Calling and French Kissed. The setting is at London's International University. The main characters are Samir, the handsome, rich, mysterious Arab, Maggie, the American fish out of water who's strangely attracted to Samir, Fleur, Samir's French cousin known as the "Ice Queen" and secondary characters Michael, Max and Mya. There's plenty of drama, plenty of romance, and plenty of heat. The characters leap off the pages of her books, and I know bringing them to life on camera would be an easy transition.



Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward would make a great movie. Greta and Elec are newly step-siblings. Elec is tattooed, angry and hates his father. Greta tries desperately to get through to him, just wanting to be his friend. Eventually, Elec gets sent away and the two reunite at home, years later, and finally act on their feelings. There were wonderful quotes that would make great dialogue in a movie.

Elec: "I never had a problem with the way you look at me. My issue is the way it makes me feel when you look at me: things I'm not supposed to feel, things I can't let myself feel for you. At the same time ... nothing felt worse than when you stopped looking at me, Greta."

Greta: "You were the best thing that ever happened to me. I hope someday I can say you were one of the best, but for now, it's only you."


Sparrow 59 by Devon Ashley could DEFINITELY be a good spy TV series. Book one would make a great Season One! Members of the CIA’s specialized team Sparrow were all murdered in one quick sweep. But when Samantha finds herself suspiciously spared and Drew missing, she doesn’t want to believe what the CIA claims – that Drew is not only alive and has defected from their organization, but is facilitating the deaths of prominent research developers worldwide. Now the only member of Sparrow who hasn’t been killed off, Samantha finds herself under serious investigation by association – and a prisoner within her own home.

Can't wait for Book 2!!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

TTT: Books I'll Never Read

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This month, I'm posting about my favorite books from the 80's and 90's! Leave your fave books in comments so I can check them out!

Books I'll Probably Never Read

1. Any BDSM books - As a survivor of assault, you'll never catch me reading anything that results in women being treated as objects or being abused. It's totally ok with me if you like to read them. I know not all BDSM books portray helpless women - that they are women characters who are strong but like that kind of thing . . . you'll just never catch me reading any of them. Too triggering.

2. The Twilight Saga - Yeah. I tried to read the first few paragraphs of the first book, and I felt like I was reading something my 13-year-old self would've written in 8th grade. It was very immaturely written and I couldn't stomach it. I did, however, plow through Vampire Academy. Although the first book was tentative at best and mostly set up the rest of the series, each book got better and better. Maybe Twilight was like that, but I really couldn't even get through the first chapter.

3. Anything by JK Rowling - I don't do magic children. I just don't. I'm sure Harry and Hermione and the gang are awesome. It's just not my thing.

4. Anything by Tolkien or that involves trolls, gnomes, scary monster-looking beasts, dragons, people with pointy ears - I'm not into fantasy. I don't believe in flying horses (although I do like unicorns - you gotta like unicorns).

5. Anything recent by Jodi Picoult - I enjoyed The Pact and My Sister's Keeper, but now, I feel like she's taking the most contrived situations and turning them into stories so unrealistic, I don't bother wasting my time reading them. Like, The 10th Circle . . . don't get me started on that.

6. Anything by John Green other than The Fault in Our Stars - I've tried about 3 times to read the book about Alaska, but can't get into it. Same with An Abundance of Katherines. They're just . . . bad.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

TTT: Books on my Spring TBR List

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Books on my Spring TBR List!

1. The Enlightenment of Nina Findlay by Andrea Gillies - For her whole life Nina Findlay has been in a love triangle with two Italian brothers, Paolo, whom she married, and Luca, with whom she was always in love and who remained her best friend throughout her marriage.

2. Second Position by Katherine Locke - Four years ago, a car accident ended Zedekiah Harrow's ballet career and sent Philadelphia Ballet principal dancer Alyona Miller spinning toward the breakdown that suspended her own. What they lost on the side of the road that day can never be replaced, and grief is always harshest under a spotlight…

3. Leaving the Beach by Mary Rowen - Erin Reardon gets her first kiss from Jim Morrison. She loses her virginity to David Bowie. When she flunks out of college, Bruce Springsteen is there to comfort her, and Elvis Costello breaks her heart in Europe. So what happens when she actually meets a rock star?

4. The Guest Cottage by Nancy Thayer - New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer whisks readers back to the beloved island of Nantucket in this delightful novel about two single parents who accidentally rent the same summer house—and must soon decide where their hearts truly lie.

5. Visiting Hours by Amy Butcher - A memoir about a woman who remains friends with her murderer friend while he's behind bars.

6. Resilience by Jessie Close & Pete Earley - A memoir of cults, mental illness, and family.

7. Where We Belong by Eve Connell - At the age of seventeen, Amelia Baide won silver at the Olympic Games and was the second-fastest woman in the pool. Then one tragic night she crashed into a lake and was dragged out without a pulse. Now twenty-four, she is still haunted by it and hasn’t swum again. Until this year’s anniversary of the accident. It is a day unlike any other and a strange turn of events finds Amelia back at a swimming pool.

8. MacDeath by Cindy Brown - Like every actor, Ivy Meadows knows that Macbeth is cursed. But she’s finally scored her big break, cast as an acrobatic witch in a circus-themed production of Macbeth in Phoenix, Arizona. And though it may not be Broadway, nothing can dampen her enthusiasm—not her flying caldron, too-tight leotard, or carrot-wielding dictator of a director. But when one of the cast dies on opening night, Ivy is sure the seeming accident is “murder most foul” and that she’s the perfect person to solve the crime.

9. Nearly Broken by Devon Ashley - Nineteen year old Megan Smith has spent the past year working in a small town diner in the middle of nowhere. Life is quiet, simple, safe. Then comes the news that her look-a-like has gone missing.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

TTT: Top 5 Debuts of 2015

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Top 5 Debuts of 2015!

1. Everything That Makes You by Moriah McStay - Hasn’t everyone wondered what if? One girl. Two stories. Meet Fiona Doyle. The thick ridges of scar tissue on her face are from an accident twelve years ago. And what if there hadn’t been an accident? Meet Fi Doyle. Fi is the top-rated female high school lacrosse player in the state, heading straight to Northwestern on a full ride.

2. Like It Never Happened by Emily Adrian - Can you say theatre-themed book?

3. Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira - When Phoebe finds out that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her, she turns to her favorite books for advice. I was totally a band geek who played clarinet AND brought a book to slumber parties, much to the chagrin of my friends. lol.

4. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper - I've gone. I've never seen the water, so I've gone there. I will try to remember to come back. Etta's greatest unfulfilled wish, living in the rolling farmland of Saskatchewan, is to see the sea. And so, at the age of eighty-two she gets up very early one morning, takes a rifle, some chocolate, and her best boots, and begins walking the 2,000 miles to water.

5. When Reason Breaks by Cindy L Rodriguez - Two different teens struggling with trauma come together over their love of Emily Dickinson. Emily's poetry has gotten me through a few hard times too, especially this one.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

TTT: Top Ten Books I Read in 2014

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I decided to answer last week's question instead!

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Top 10 Books I Read in 2014!

1. Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward -
Elec: "I never had a problem with the way you look at me. My issue is the way it makes me feel when you look at me: things I'm not supposed to feel, things I can't let myself feel for you. At the same time ... nothing felt worse than when you stopped looking at me, Greta."

2. Chanel Cleeton's International School Trilogy starring Maggie, Samir, Fleur & Max. Yummy.

3. Finding It by Cora Carmack -
A graduate traveling through Europe to escape her painful past. Throw in some swoons and some theatre, and you'll be sold.

4. The Remember When Trilogy by T Torrest -
Book 1 tells the high school friendship between Trip and Layla, from their first meeting to their first kiss near the end of the book. Book 2 picks up several years later when Trip is a famous actor and a household name - of course, he's never forgotten his first love.

5. Conduct Unbecoming by L.A. Witt -
One of my first m/m sexy romances and I just loved it!

6. Talania: A Trip Down Memory Lane by Crystal D Spears -
Evelyn Beaumont can't remember anything from the time she was 14 until she was 19. She lost five years of her life because of brain cancer. Now she is a 20 years old survivor and enrolled in college, determined to reclaim her life. There she meets Tristan Monroe, but it isn't the first time they’ve met. In fact, Tristan and Evelyn were once in love.

7. Dream Chaser by Angie Stanton -
With time on her hands, she auditions for a musical production directed by a Broadway choreographer. Just as things are looking up, Willow discovers she will be performing opposite Eli McAvoy, the best friend she abandoned three years before.

8. Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard -
Because I'm talented, I accidentally erased the review I just did of this one. Ugh. It's a re-telling of Phantom of the Opera from a dance perspective. I highly recommend it if you like YA books centered on dance.

9. Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park -
This is one of those books that changes your views on everything, from family to love to friendship. Read. It.

10. Before You by Amber Hart -
A wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance with depth.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

TTT: Top Ten New To Me Authors from 2014

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Top 10 New to Me Authors from 2014!

1. Chanel Cleeton (I'm obsessed) - I See London, London Falling, French Kissed. If you like Anna & the French Kiss but like things a bit spicier, you'll love this new adult series!

2. Jessica Park - Flat-Out Love. I want to read Flat-Out Celeste too. Has anyone read that one? Did you like it?

3. Cora Carmack - Finding It, Losing It, Faking It - I love the theatre theme that weaves them all together.

4. Shannon Hale - Austenland & Midnight in Austenland. Truth be told, the first installment, although a BRILLIANT idea, was a tad dull. The movie version starring Keri Russell really brought the characters to life. After the movie was written, Ms. Hale wrote the 2nd book, and it was teeming with intrigue and vivacious characters unlike the drippy characters from the first book. Thanks go to the writers of the movie for sparking better characters for Ms. Hale in the second book. I loved it!

5. Amber Hart - Before You. A wonderful spin on the wrong-side-of-the-tracks love, but MUCH more emotional and action-packed. Diego and Faith are a force to be reckoned with.

6. Juliet Madison - Haunted Ever After. Loved this quirky book about a soon-to-be wed girl who is haunted by the ghost of her fiance's ex-gf. Hilarious. I see that she has another funny one coming out soon, The 12 Daves of Christmas (which sounds a lot like the movie, "Letters to Juliet"). I must read that one too, especially since I'm dating a Dave.

7. Peter Monn - The Before Now & After Then. A wonderful coming-of-age LGBT novel.

8. Crystal Spears - Talania: A Trip Down Memory Lane. I love first love, teen, coming-of-age books! While I probably would've titled the book something shorter and sweeter, I absolutely adored this book!! I'd love to read more of her but her Breakneck series about a crime family or her new book Orlando about the porn industry don't interest me.

9. L. A. Witt - Conduct Unbecoming, Starstruck, The Walls of Troy etc. I never knew I'd enjoy m/m romance until I started reading her books!

10. Penelope Ward - Stepbrother Dearest and My Skylar. Stepbrother Dearest was . . . I just loved it! My Skylar wasn't on the same calibur but it was still good. If she has another SD-type calibur book out there, count me in! Should I try her debut, Gemini?

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

TTT: Halloween Post!

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Books/Movies To Read Or Watch To Get In The Halloween Spirit OR Characters Who I Would Totally Want To Be For Halloween

1. I'd watch all of the Pretty Little Liars Halloween episodes (there are 4 of them by now) - They're always creepy AND the girls always get to wear the best costumes!

2. I'd watch a marathon of The Dead Files for sure.

3. The original Exorcist is a must-see as well! Ok . . . I'm gonna need an old priest and a new priest, stat!

4. The Last Exorcism - That girl used the be a gymnast and she can contort in the craziest of ways. Eep! Apparently there's a second one!

5. Book-wise, I'd re-read Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

6. As for who it would be fun to dress up as? Rose from VA!

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

TTT: New Series

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New Series I Want to Read

I wasn't going to do the TTT this week, then upon reading someone else's post, I bought the first book in the Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout and am devouring it. So . . .

1. Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout
2. Mara Dyer series - I own the first 2 books

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

TTT: Places From Books I Want to Visit

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Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit (whether fictional or real)

1. St Vladmir's Academy from Vampire Academy

2. London - Inspired by London Falling & I See London by Chanel Cleeton (new adult)

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

TTT: Character-Driven Books

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Character-Driven Books

1. Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern - The book is told entirely in notes passed in school, emails, letters, and instant messages. It's the story of Rosie and Alex and their epic struggle to get back in the same city and back on the same page so they can FINALLY fall in love, already! Somehow this is only $1.99 today on Kindle. Better snatch it up!

2 & 3. I See London & London Falling by Chanel Cleeton - Maggie & Samir (and even the secondary characters) are so alive! I felt like a voyeur in the corner watching their lives unfold.

4. Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park - A highly dysfunctional family teaches the student staying with them about love while she teaches them about healing and facing old wounds. Very moving, yet quirky and fun at the same time. I'd love to hang out with every single one of these characters!

5. Then and Always by Dani Atkins - Rachel wakes up from a coma only to find her life is very different than what she remembered. The only person keeping her sane is her trusted friend Jimmy. A beautiful, character-driven story.

6. Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher - Much like #1, Love, Rosie, DCM is a book that exists only in memos and recommendation letters. There is no action. It's all character-driven and centers on Professor Jason Fitger as he wastes away at university, spending 99% of his time writing useless recommendation letters for students and friends. It's HILARIOUS! You should read it.

7. Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay - This is another one that's fueled by letter-writing, although there is actual action in this one. In order to maintain her pre-paid university scholarship, Sam must write to her benefactor who is only to be known as, "Mr. Knightley."

8. The Before Now and After Then by Peter Monn - This is a coming-of-age LGBT love story. It's about finding out who you really are as well as finding love with someone very different from you. Danny and Rusty. Yum!

9. Before You by Amber Hart - Diego & Faith! These are two characters who are trying to play by the rules, keeping who they really are locked up inside. This book is a journey in which they let themselves be who they are and let themselves fall for someone very different.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

TTT: Books That Were Hard For Me To Read

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Books That Were Hard For Me To Read

1. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - Sexual Assault Theme/Victim Blaming

2. Brave New Girl by Louisa Luna - Sexual Abuse Theme

3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - I'm one of the people who hated the book, but forced myself to keep reading. The wife was SUCH a sociopath/psychopath. I mean, she was NEXT LEVEL. And *SPOILER* her stupid husband stays with her at the end anyway b/c he figures he's no better than her. I DO NOT want to watch this movie.

4. The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult - I used to love old Jodi and her fresh ideas until I tried (and failed to finish) this little gem. Um, the date rape scenario in this is so not plausible and was upsetting to me as a date rape survivor. At least write something plausible if you're going to touch a sensitive subject like this. I'm guessing it isn't something Jodi has ever gone through or she wouldn't have written this book.

5. Blood Lines series by Richelle Mead - Love VA, but couldn't get into these. I read 2 of them but they were horrible. The writing wasn't as good as VA. I also didn't like the peripheral characters or the plot. I still loved Adrian and began to like Sydney, but that was it.

6. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - Everyone raved about this but I just couldn't get into it. I love friendship books, but this bored me. Sorry, folks. Didn't finish it.

7. The Required Reading Books: The Scarlet Letter, A Separate Peace, etc - It baffles me that people actually liked these. It really does. Am I just not cultured?

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

TTT: Top Ten on My Fall Reading List

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Top Ten Books on My Fall Reading List

1. French Kissed by Chanel Cleeton - I'm hoping I get to read this arc before it comes out in December! I'm obsessed with the first 2 books in the series (I See London & London Falling) and can't wait to read Fleur's story in the final installment!

2. Rewind to You by Laura Johnston

3. This Little Piggy by Bea Davenport

4. Emma, Mr. Knightley and Chili-Slaw Dogs by Mary Jane Hathaway

5. Remember When 3: The Finale by T Torrest

6. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

7. Portraits of Celina by Sue Whiting

8. The Forgotten Girls by Sara Blaedel

9. Very Wicked Things (Briarcrest Academy Book 2) by Ilsa Madden-Mills

10. The Vampires' Last Lover (Dying of the Dark Vampires Book 1) by Aiden James & Patrick Burdine