Finished The Fountains of Silence yesterday. It‘s my least favorite of Ruta Sepetys‘s books. To be fair, I have given her other books 5 stars, and I still liked this one. It made me want to learn more about Spain under Franco.

The sweetest Texas A&M student just delivered the 27 book series I ordered for my preschooler at the beginning of the summer. Seeing her walk down my driveway with a box full of books was so exciting. As you can see, my little one zeroed right in on the sticker book. 💕💕💕

I devoured Cultish. I thought it was a cool concept for a book: how cult-like organizations use language to influence their followers. It starts with the dangerous, violent cults everyone automatically thinks of when they hear the word. Gradually the author starts examining less and less dangerous businesses, like boutique fitness studios and MLMs. I give this 👍🏻👍🏻.

Just finished listening to this book by a retired FBI agent. Some of the details are quite harrowing; the author investigated child murders and child sexual abuse cases. However, it was heartening to see the author‘s abundance of empathy and emotional intelligence, something law enforcement isn‘t really known for.

56 Days was riveting and difficult to read at the same time. It‘s a murder mystery set during the pandemic. While I absolutely loved Lee and Karl, the Guardaí, it was really hard for me read about the pandemic. And a lot of words are spent on the pandemic and the characters‘ reactions to all the changes. I didn‘t think I was that traumatized by the past year, but maybe I was wrong. I think 56 Days should have a COVID19 trigger warning.

I got this lovely book in the mail last week for #LMPBC #GroupI! 💕💕💕 My book will go in the mail tomorrow.

This was a #blameitonlitsy purchase. Someone, I don‘t remember who, posted about this book recently and I immediately downloaded the audiobook not knowing anything else about the book except that it‘s going to be a Netflix show/movie soon and the audio is read by Bahni Turpin. I was not disappointed!

I couldn‘t put this one down. It‘s helped pull me out of an epic reading slump. It‘s set in South Dakota on a Lakota reservation and written by an indigenous author. Honestly, I hope they make a movie out of this. 🎥🍿

Here are a few options I was thinking about for #lmpbc #round12 #groupi

What do you think, @Susanita @robinb @megnews

Wow! Kate Morton outdid herself in The Secret Keeper. It had her classic intricate plot with alternating timelines, which I always love. This one was set partially in World War II London, but it‘s not a WWII book. It focuses much more on the relationships between the characters than on the war. And there‘s a huge twist at the end. I‘ve still got a few more of hers to read, but this one is my favorite so far.

Woke up in the middle of the night not feeling that well, so I decided to read this. I‘m on a true crime kick and this book offers a much different perspective than the usual. I just want to give this woman a hug and tell her it‘s not her fault. (Also, I feel much better now.)

It‘s finally Friday and I‘m curling up with this book. It‘s... interesting, to say the least. I‘m about 100 pages in and the fog of confusion is slowly starting to lift.

It was really difficult to choose my #botm this month because I wanted all of them! I finally settled on Malibu Rising. Hoping it‘s more like Daisy Jones & The Six than The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

My current view. Listening to Crown of Gilded Bones. 🌊🏖

This cozy mystery is just the escape I need right now. #botm

Jane Harper has quickly become one of my auto-buy authors. Loving this so far. #currentread

This wasn‘t on my radar at all until it won the Goodreads Choice Award for fiction. It was ok, kind of like a darker, present day version of A Christmas Carol.

Wow! This is one of my favorite books of the year. So, so good. I am going to read everything Kiley Reid publishes from here on out.

Hello fellow Littens! It‘s been a while since I‘ve posted, but I‘m back. :) it‘s been a tough few months, but I couldn‘t stay away from the best place on the Internet.

Happy book birthday to The Half Sister by Sandie Jones! I‘ve read all of her novels and this one is my favorite. It‘s a great domestic thriller that shocked me more than once with unexpected twists.

Thanks for the tag, @EadieB

1. Tallahassee, Florida
2. Where‘d You Go, Bernadette?
3. Depends on my mood, but I‘m general about 350 pages.
4. @Pogue @Bookgirl

#LcokdownLowdown @veritysalter

Thanks for the tag, @Mrs_B

1. Books all the way. No competition.
2. Tea. I never developed a taste for coffee.
3. Savory snacks most of the time. Unless I really want chocolate.
4. @DarcysMom

#WhatWouldYouDo

Had a socially- distanced beach day yesterday. It was so nice to get out of the house and spend some time in the sun with a good book.

My first Darynda Jones book and I didn‘t like it. Sunshine Vikram is the newly elected sheriff of Del Sol, NM. She hits the ground running when a teenage girl goes missing. I did not connect with any of the characters and the mystery was uninspired. I‘m disappointed because I was really looking forward to this one.

“Take your clothes off.”

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Finished this one just in time for #flaviabuddyread questions tomorrow! I am really starting to love Flavia. I‘ve found myself thinking, when I have a bad day, that I just need to read the next Flavia book. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Fabulous! I honestly don‘t know why more people aren‘t reading this Australian murder mystery series. Gone by Midnight is the third installment. The first is called Crimson Lake. If you like mysteries, I guarantee you will love this series!

I got a lovely surprise in my email inbox today. I won an audio download of this new book from Brad Meltzer! 🎉

Finished this the other day. I really enjoyed it! It was faithful to the original and a nice, quick read. It‘s in the mail to you now, @sblbooks #LMPBC

@dwRavenPuff @jeannasser

Here are my #BOTM picks for May! I love it when the new picks are posted a bit early!

Thanks for the tag, @JaclynW

1. I should, but I usually don‘t. If needed, I‘ll look up a synopsis online.

2. I just started the new Cassandra Clare series. Also doing a buddy read of the Flavia de Luce series with some fellow littens.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

“Two years into a twenty-three-year prison sentence, on a day pushing 100 degrees, Ronnie Jones had his first visitor.”

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

This was the psychological thriller I NEEDED to read right now. It‘s a nice counterpoint to other novels of the same genre that I‘ve read recently.

Here is my #Winter #booked2020 list. I read some good ones this quarter!

#covercrush - Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

Millennial Author - Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

#liveandlearn - Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Set in Hollywood - The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Finish in a day - Winter‘s Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Headcovering/Hat on cover - The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

Disappearing Toilet Paper. 🤣

How apropos.

IMHO, this book is the perfect book to read while social distancing. It‘s very comforting to read about Churchill‘s first year as PM. I also learned that even the king of England had trouble getting toilet paper during WWII. Apparently hoarding TP in times of crisis is nothing new. 😂

So glad I stuck with this one. I wasn‘t feeling it until I got about a third of the way thru. Queenie was in all out self destruct mode and was in complete denial. It was difficult to read, but entirely realistic. Don‘t, worry: it has a good ending.

#booked2020 #millenialauthor #botmbacklog

So I‘m about 100 pages into this and I have to ask my fellow Littens a question: does this get any better?

The June Boys is my second 5 star read this year! It‘s a fantastic YA mystery. Every few years The Gemini Thief abducts a few young boys in Tennessee on June 1 and returns them on June 30 the following year. Thea is determined to find her cousin, Aulus, after he becomes one of the thief‘s June Boys. Thanks to @ThomasNelson for the ARC! #TheJuneBoys

“To the best of Lord John Grey‘s knowledge, stepmothers in fiction tended to be venal, evil, cunning, homicidal, and occasionally cannibalistic.”

Gotta love Diana Gabaldon 🤣
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

#FriYAYintro @howjessreads @4thhouseontheleft

Thanks for the tag, @sblbooks

1. Yep. I totally do.
2. How to Talk do Kids Will Listen & Listen so Kids Will Talk
3. Local TV news
4. I set three alarms every morning because I don‘t trust myself to hit snooze instead of just turning the alarm off.
5. @jeannasser

Thanks for the tag, @Ddzmini 🤗

1. I usually give away or donate the books I‘ve read. The books on my shelves are mostly ones I haven‘t read yet.

2. It depends on how much I like it. If it‘s really good, it‘ll take a day or two. If it‘s not that interesting it could take me weeks.

3. The Farm by Joanne Ramos

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

My three year old is sick and whiny tonight. Thank goodness I have this book to distract me. 📚 📖 📚

It‘s an #unpopularopinion but this way too YA for my taste. Otherwise, it was a very good romance.

Very good book! It follows Ifemelu and Obinze, high school sweethearts in Nigeria, as they become expatriates in the US and the U.K., respectively, and eventually find their way back to Nigeria. It was a little long and I got bored at the end. Other than that, it was a five star read. Side note: audiobook narrator‘s American accent was laughably bad!

This is another home run from Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks! You Are Not Alone is a fast-paced thriller with some unexpected plot twists thrown in as well. It was a treat to read!

Saw this Eleanor Oliphant-inspired Valentine posted on Facebook by the publisher. I just had to share. 😂

Starting the second book in the Flavia de Luce series for the #flaviabuddyread! This is my first time through the series, and I am really looking forward to it.

I forgot to take a picture of it, but I put the next #LMPBC book in the mail to you yesterday, @HerDarkHuntress1 . It should arrive on Monday.

Picked my #BOTM books! The Holdout wasn‘t on my radar, but the blurb hooked me.