Give me all the dark, gorgeous atmospheric descriptions; the non Native English-speaking characters who have trouble with idioms; a touch of realism!
Do NOT give me dragging/pointless backstory that bury the mystery. Lack of any feeling about the MCs (except the Parisian Inspector) made reading this difficult.

And that unrealistic, unsatisfying ending! 😡

I was sent a paperback ARC in for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinions.

I had an Instagram prompt for a #shinybook so I grabbed one off my shelf . . . And I used it as an excuse to make coffee to go with my brownie.

This book is high on my #tbr list, but right now it's just so pretty!

A couple of weeks back, I won this gorgeous book from Crooked Lane Books, an independent publisher of mystery, suspense, and crime fiction based out of NYC.

They don't have a litsy account but go check them out on Instagram!

I'm super excited to dig into this, but in the meantime, look at how pretty it is! (And now I'm craving doughnuts again. 😂)

#nationalcookieday

Cookies and milk, one of the many books on my #TBR that I'm trying to knock out of the park (since it's only been languishing on my shelf for the better part of a year) by buddy-reading with a friend, and one of my many crocheting projects I'm trying to finish by Christmas. 🍪

Only I go to a museum (Planes of Fame Air Museum Chino, California) and find the books. 😂

#wwii #airplanes

I don't even read a lot of contemporary, but this one I liked. For all her mistakes, I really enjoyed Evelyn's no regrets attitude and the careful balance between Monique as the narrator and Monique as a person within her own life not just an extension of Evelyn's story were well-balanced.
Drama the old school Hollywood, what's not to love?

I won an #ARC of "The City of Brass" by S.A. Chakraborty from @harpercollinsus @harpervoyagerus last week and I'm super excited to read this!!

That cover!! ??
I'm really hoping they keep this one for the finished copies!!

Today was not a good day for picture taking, so I'll just show off the autographed copy of "Deadly Silence" by Rebecca Zanetti I got a few weeks back when I won a giveaway from @foreverromancebooks. (Thank you again!)
?
I've never really owned any autographed books before so excuse me while I fangirl all over again.

Here we go, one appropriately spooky read for October, featuring a realistic teenage friendship complete with drama, misunderstandings, and petty squabbles. All set against the backdrop of the former asylum turned dorm. All perfectly normal, right? 👻
Relatively quick read, a little issue with the pacing (IMHO) and a couple questions at the end of how things went together, but overall an enjoyable read.

Sometimes you just really need to visit a carnival.

Two books in one middle grade fiction, had a few good points when it came to the atmosphere and magic and the like but overall not as good as I had hoped.

Maybe in this case the movie was better than the book? Maybe I'll consider watching it, someday.

Assassin nuns.

That is all.

One gorgeous fictionalized take on the history of Richard III, thought to have murdered his nephews he could ascend the throne . . . Or did he?

How can a historical fiction lover resist?

One book featuring a medium, ghosts, and other assorted magic, perfect for October.
👻
Somebody did something bad, they sold an ARC to a used bookstore where I happened upon it, but *clicks tongue* bad reader, bad.
👻

"[. . .] coffee can energize the industrious at dawn, calm the reflective at noon, or raise the spirits of the beleagured in the middle of the night." --Count Rostov, "A Gentleman in Moscow", Amor Towles

I'm currently reading "Lilac Girls" and I even broke out the matching tea set. Mostly because of these cookies.
I'm adulting like a pro here!
Somebody pick this up and read it with me!

Happy #nationalcheeseburgerday which at very least sounds better than happy Monday.
🍔
So here's more proof that my brain is a funny place. Cheeseburger + lemonade = yellow, yellow = yellow(ish) book = this picture. 😅 #ithinkimfunnycantyoutell

Not as thriller-y as I was expecting; perhaps I was expecting too much. Still a very twisty read, even if the multiple points of view were a little confusing to wade through, and perhaps a couple of them were difficult to relate to.

3.5 ⭐⭐⭐🌠 try it for yourself! Read all the books! 😁

. . . I did a bad thing. I bought another book and it's still July . . . So here's book number 8 of my July haul. 😅😂😌

@barnesandnoble why do you tempt me so? (Please note; I'm not actually asking you to stop. 😂)

#barnesandnoble #hypedbook #newbook #julyhaul #hardcover #royalbastards #andrewshvarts #ya #yafantasy #booksonthebed #ididathing #booksmakemehappy #ineedmorebooks #ineedmorebookshelves #quickphoto #icanttakephotostosavemylife

Set in Hemingway's favorite city, "The Cuban Affair" sees our hero, boat captain and veteran Mac on an only slightly illegal trip to Cuba at the request of a beautiful woman. Somewhat full of overused tropes and lacking subtlety, DeMille still weaves together an enjoyable narrative from Mac's stream of consciousness set against the backdrop of burgeoning Cuba/US relations and of the true complexity of Cuba's uncertain future.
A solid 3 ⭐ read.

I was not prepared. I'm not a big contemporary person, and because I don't "get" 90% of the human emotional spectrum, I don't read a lot of "emotional journeys" but this had such beautiful prose and such vivid, real imagery . . . If I didn't want to see France/Brittany before, I do now!
Finding yourself at 22 or at 61 like Marianne, it doesn't matter so long as you can chase happiness for yourself, what it means for you individually and catch it.

BOOKMAIL!!!!! I (well, Dad) just got our first bookmail! I entered a giveaway from @simonbooks for Father's Day and won. Thank you!!!

Dad now has an advanced reader's copy of "A Cuban Affair" by Nelson DeMille! (Maybe when he's done, he'll let me borrow it!)

(Yes, okay, awkward photo, I'll take a better one later, maybe when Dad is actually reading it. ??)

#newbook #bookmail #simonandschuster #simonbooks #arc #thecubanaffair #nelsondemille

Confession time!

Guess who almost forgot about #socksunday because it was too hot? Me!

Guess who didn't watch #GoT7 tonight because she hasn't seen the show? Me!

Guess who tried reading #got and had a hard time with the voice to get into the storyline? Me!

Guess who #canttakepicturestosavemylife ? Me!

Guess who #thinkstheyrehilarious ? Me!

#bookstagram #book #paperback #confessiontime #gameofthrones #awkwardphoto #booksinbed

This had a pretty cover to start and then you throw a filter at it, and then suddenly it's super pretty! 😍

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. What more needs to be said?

Oh, perhaps that it's movie was an animated Hayao Miyazaki film?! Or that the original copyright was from '86, and I've have this since 2001?

Also, how did I not know there was a sequel to this until last week at the #mysteriousgalaxybookstore in San Diego?! More to the point, why didn't I buy it?! 😅😂😓

"In Japanese, bachi was when you snapped at your wife, and then tripped over a rock in the driveway. You didn't suffer your punishment in another lifetime, but within the same life, even within the next few minutes." -- Mas Arai