To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): Lara Jean’s love life is about to go from imaginary to out of control.

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her – one for every boy she’s ever loved. She can say anything she wants, because the letters are for her eyes only. Until the day they’re sent out …

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): Pay close attention and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): For the first t, Angelou reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence – a presence absent during much of Angelou’s early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. The subsequent feelings of abandonment stayed with Angelou for years, but their reunion, a decade later, began a story that has never been told. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou dramatises her years reconciling with the mother she preferred to simply call “Lady,” revealing the profound moments that shifted the balance of love and respect between them. Delving into one of her life’s most rich, rewarding and fraught relationships, Mom & Me & Mom explores the healing and love that evolved between the two women over the course of their lives, the love that fostered Maya Angelou’s rise to the heights.

The Best True Crime Stories: Smalltowns by Mitzi Szereto Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): A collection of non-fiction accounts by international writers and experts on small town true crime shows readers that the real monsters aren’t hiding in the woods, they’re inside our towns. Small towns aren’t always what they seem. We’ve been told nothing bad happens in small towns. You can leave your doors unlocked, and your windows wide open. We picture peaceful hamlets with a strong sense of community, and everyone knows each other. But what if this wholesome idyllic image doesn’t always square with reality? Small towns might look and feel safe, but statistics show this isn’t really true. Tony town, big crime. Whether in Truman Capote’s detailed murder of the Clutter family or Ted Bundy’s small-town charm, criminals have always roamed rural America and towns worldwide. Featuring murder stories, criminal case studies, and more, The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns contains all-new accounts from writers of true crime, crime journalism, and crime fiction. And these entries are not based on a true story – they are true stories.

Dust & Lightning by Rebecca Crunden Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): In the near future, humans have gone beyond simple space travel. By the year 4054, multiple solar systems are inhabited, and taking a spaceship is as commonplace as taking an aeroplane. Unfortunately, not everything about the future is so advanced. The central planets, led by Earth, have risen high at the expense of cheap labour on distant worlds. Dissent is widespread and arrests are common. Sometimes prisoners are released; sometimes they disappear without a trace, sent to labour camps in other solar systems. When Ames Emerys receives a letter telling him that his brother Callum has died en route to the remote planet of Kilnin, he takes the first ship he can off Earth, desperate for answers. But the secrets Ames uncovers prove far more dangerous than he could have imagined. And trouble isn’t far behind.

I’m Participating in the Gilmore Girls Readathon 15th – 22nd November!!

Hello fellow bookworms,

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve sat down and typed out a blog post which isn’t for a book review and I can only apologise for my lack of content on my blog this year. Even from just writing the three lines above, I can already feel that warm, cosy feeling I get from being around this community.

As you can tell by the title, I will be taking part in the Gilmore Girls Readathon hosted by @livs_library, @theglobegoers, @mackenzieashtonlane and @bookables and they have an actual Gilmore Girls Readathon Instagram page (click here) and you can find them on Twitter as well (click here) which has more information on there if you want to get involved! I slept on Gilmore Girls so so so badly! I first watched this incredible series last year. L A S T Y E A R!? What had I been doing with the past 24 years of my life!? I instantly fell in love with the autumnal aesthetics, the quirky mother/daughter relationship and all of the characters that we meet in Stars Hollow. It soon became one of my all time favourite TV shows. When I saw the above hosts had created this really fun Readathon based upon Gilmore Girls I knew I wasn’t going to pass it up.

There are two ways you can participate in this Readathon and that is either by using the prompts that they have given you, the Readathon Bingo board or you can do both if you’re feeling really daring! Here are the prompts and bingo board that the hosts have supplied:

I’ve picked my books that I’m going to be reading for the Readathon prompts and see how I do in the week to possibly try completing the bingo board as well. The books I have chosen for the Readathon prompts are:

Read a book set in a small town: for this prompt I have chosen to read The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns by Mitzi Szerto.

Read a book that features a mother/daughter relationship: for this prompt I have chosen Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou.

Read a book set during fall/winter: for this prompt I have chosen One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus (I looked through the Goodread’s lists and this book was under the books set in fall/winter so I’m hoping this is correct. This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while now and I can’t wait to pick this one up.

Read a book with complicated love interests: for this prompt I will be reading After We Fell by Anna Todd which is the third instalment into the After series. Nothing gets more complicated than Hardin and Tessa do!

Read a book by an Asian author/has Asian representation: for this prompt I have chosen to read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. I am super excited to pick this book up, it’s been a long time coming since I’ve wanted to read this book/series.

Bake a fall treat & watch your favourite episode: I’m going to be baking Cinnamon Swirls and watch the episode from Season Two, Episode 13 – A-Tisket, A-Tasket – one of my favourites! I might fit in a couple more episodes that day too…

Read the next book in a series you haven’t finished: for this prompt I’m going to be doubling up one of my prompts which is After We Fell by Anna Todd as this is the current series I am reading and that is the next book to come.

I’m super excited to start this Readathon tomorrow!

I hope you’re all keeping safe and healthy during these unprecedented times.

Will you be taking part in the Gilmore Girls Readathon? If so, what books are you going to pick out for the Readathon? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy reading,

Claire 📚

Catching Irish by Katy Regnery Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): Finian Kelley and Tate Jennings met at a wedding… …but that doesn’t mean they had romance in mind. Since meeting Finian Kelley at a wedding last fall, where they agreed to be physical with no strings attached, Tate Jennings can’t get him out of her head. So when an invitation arrives at her Florida condo, inviting Tate to spend St. Patrick’s Weekend back at Summerhaven where Finian works, she can’t resist heading up to New Hampshire for the festivities. Having just gotten out of an awesomely bad relationship, Finian Kelley has sworn off romance, which is why it’s good that hottie Tate Jennings lives far away in the Florida Keys. They may have fooled around at Rory’s wedding, but at least they have no future together, right? Wrong. When an annual celebration brings Tate back to New Hampshire, will Finian be able to stay away from the woman who’s already made an unwanted impression on the heart?

The Book Ninja by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): Frankie Rose is desperate for love. Or a relationship. Or just a date with a semi-normal person. It’s not that she hasn’t tried – Frankie is the queen of online dating. But she has had enough. Deciding to embark on the ultimate dating experiment, inspired by her job at The Little Brunswick Bookshop, Frankie places her hope in her favourite books to find her the perfect man… Secretly planting copies on trains, trams and buses, Frankie hopes to find the man of her dreams through a mutual love of good books. But one spontaneous kiss later and Frankie begins to fall for a guy called Sunny. There’s just one tiny problem – Frankie is strictly a Jane Austen kind of woman and Sunny is really into Young Adult. Seriously, obsessively into it… Can Frankie overcome her book snobbery for the man of her dreams? Or will she be left searching the trains for her modern-day Mr Darcy forever?

After We Collided by Anna Todd Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): Tessa has everything to lose. Hardin has nothing to lose; except her. Life will never be the same… After a tumultuous beginning to their relationship, Tessa and Hardin were on the path to making things work. Tessa knew Hardin could be cruel, but when a bombshell revelation is dropped about the origins of their relationship – and Hardin’s mysterious past – Tessa is beside herself. Hardin will always be Hardin. But is he really the deep, thoughtful guy Tessa fell madly in love with despite his angry exterior; or has he been a stranger all along? She wishes she could walk away. It’s just not that easy. Not with the memory of passionate nights spent in his arms. His electric touch. His hungry kisses… Still, Tessa’s not sure she can endure one more broken promise. She put so much on hold for Hardin – school, friends, her mom, a relationship with a guy who really loved her, and now possibly even a promising new career. She needs to move forward with her life. Hardin knows he made a mistake, possibly the biggest one of his life. He’s not going down without a fight. But can he change? Will he change… for love?

After by Anna Todd Book Review

Book Description (via Goodreads): Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way. But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, and tattoos, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to. But he’s also rude- to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does- until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her,and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before. He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn’t the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper. Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her? Unless… could this be love?