Tag «tag it thursday»

Burn, Rewrite or Reread Tag – 2022 Edition

tagitthurs

Burn, Rewrite, Reread Tag 2022

As I’ve done for the last few years, I’m doing this tag as part of my annual wrap-up traditions. I just love doing it! It’s great to highlight some of the titles I read this year that wouldn’t necessarily make my Year’s Reads in Review list. I always find it interesting to see if my thoughts about a book have changed much since I read it.

Here’s a recap of what you are supposed to do:

The Rules:

-Randomly choose 3 books.

-For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread.

-Repeat until you completed three (I do 5) rounds

To get the books for each round, I used a random number generator to pull titles from my “Books Read in 2022” excel file. This includes any DNF’d titles for the year; and if a number repeated itself (or landed on a heading), I reran the generator until I got a fresh title.

Round 1

Burn: I’m going to be a little cheeky about picking Captive Bride as my burn title because I honestly really loved this book. I actually enjoyed all of these romances in this grouping; I’d say that they were my most anticipated in all their respective series! Which is why I have to say the chemistry between our leads is what creates these burning sparks 😉

Rewrite: Like I said above, Twisted Lies was probably my most anticipated book in the Twisted Series. And while I really enjoyed the novel, I did struggle with the pacing sometimes so that would be the only thing I would tidy up for this great book.

Reread: Dark Reign is a standout read for me in the Midnight Dynasty Universe. It was such a refreshing romance for me to read and I would definitely reread it in the future!

Round 2

Burn: I haven’t finished the Spy Girl series yet but I’m enjoying watching this lighter romantic espionage story. It isn’t the greatest series I’ve ever read–albeit entertaining–which is why I would burn it in this grouping.

Rewrite: I actually had no plans to continue reading the Hellfire Club Series (or at least finish it right away) after I finished the first novel, Wicked Idol (it was a spinoff character from the Midnight Dynasty Universe). But I really wanted to see this romance unfold in Callous Prince! However, there are a few things I would tweak, like the Veronica Mars angle as well as the somewhat rushed ending.

Reread: I feel like I just need a refresher of what happened in Kingdom of the Cursed before I pick up book #3 to remember those finer details.

Round 3

Burn: Unfortunately, for every Ella Miles novel I love, there are a few that just don’t work for me. Pretend I’m Her which is only available in the boxset for the Pretend Series was a book that just didn’t work for me.

Rewrite: I honestly don’t know what I would rewrite about Stone Cold. I gave it a 5 stars, read it in one-sitting and loved every moment of reading it. I wouldn’t burn it but I don’t think I would reread it either. It just feels like one of those books that you savor the first time you read it because you don’t know what will happen next. But maybe I’d rewrite it so that the characters could have more answers (though I think that is part of the charm of this novel and its story).

Reread: I forget so much of what happened in Defy the Night so I should brush up before I read the sequel. But I also think that it would be interesting to reread to catch some of the twists earlier now that I know they are there.

Round 4

Burn: Prince Charming falls into the typical book-2-of-a-trilogy-slump for me. It wasn’t overly exciting, especially compared to the first novel. It sets up some stuff for the finale but I also think this series could have easily been a duet by omitting this novel.

Rewrite: I feel like the romance between the two leads in Exposed has been building throughout all the other novels in this series. So maybe my expectations were too high? This story was just missing something for me–though I can’t pinpoint what that is exactly. But if I could figure it out, that is what I would rewrite into the story.

Reread: Clearly I had a thing for dark romances this year (I did binge read most of the Midnight Dynasty Universe novels in a two month span). Dangerous Temptation was another highlight for me. It was a great forbidden, taboo romance and I just loved these two so much!

Round 5

Burn: I’m sure I’m the minority for picking King of Scars. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely things I really enjoyed about this series, but at the same time, there are some things I could have done without. Getting through this series became a chore for me near the end as I didn’t love a lot of the things that happened along the way. So perhaps I’m just bitter with the turn of events but I did feel let down by this series.

Rewrite:  I love a good slow burn romance which is what A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime is at its core. I just felt like it took me a long time to get into the story, so I would add a few little sparks at the start to get the momentum going earlier.

Reread: When I want a feel good story that is sweet and charming, Cookie O’Gorman’s books do the trick. I was so happy that we got to spend more time with the Southern U O’Briens in The Sweetest Game and I can’t wait to go back!


What would you Burn, Rewrite and Reread from 2022?

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Burn, Rewrite or Reread Tag – 2021 Edition

tagitthurs

Burn, Rewrite, Reread Tag 2021

As I’ve done for the last few years, I’m doing this tag as part of my annual wrap-up traditions. I just love doing it! It’s great to highlight some of the titles I read this year that wouldn’t necessarily make my Year’s Reads in Review list. I always find it interesting to see if my thoughts about a book have changed much since I read it.

Here’s a recap of what you are supposed to do:

The Rules:

-Randomly choose 3 books.

-For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread.

-Repeat until you completed three (I do 5) rounds

To get the books for each round, I used a random number generator to pull titles from my “Books Read in 2020” excel file. This includes any DNF’d titles for the year; and if a number repeated itself (or landed on a heading), I reran the generator until I got a fresh title.

Round 1

Burn: I actually have nothing against The Immortal Vow, it’s simply that I rated the other two books as a 5-stars! It was a fun paranormal romance, it just doesn’t compare to the other two!

Rewrite: Despite giving it 5-stars, I did struggle with some of the content in Ruin. Maybe things didn’t have to be so intense with Celia and we still could have achieved the fantastic character evolution we get from her.

Reread: Colin’s book was one of my most anticipated reads in the Bridgerton Series, so it should go without saying that I loved Romancing Mister Bridgerton.

Round 2

Burn: I honestly think that every woman should read Long Shot. It’s a powerful story about how you can get trapped in an abusive relationship but not realize it until it’s too late. The only reason I would “burn” it is that I hope it never becomes anyone’s reality.

Rewrite: I wasn’t overly pleased with how one character’s story wrapped up in particular in A Sky Beyond the Storm so that would be what I rewrite.

Reread: The reason Rivalry is even on this list is that I reread it this year before I finished the rest of the series. But I loved it just as much the second time and it’s the start of one of my favourite contemporary romance series ever.

Round 3

Burn: Again, I really enjoyed Washed Up Royal. I thought it was a fresh take on modern royals. I guess I just wouldn’t reread it and there was nothing I would change about it so here it is in the burn pile.

Rewrite: I adore Ana Huang’s work and Twisted Love was no exception. My only “low” for this book was that the pacing of the plot felt choppy at times so if I could smooth that out, I would!

Reread: I’m a sucker for forbidden romance and I really loved the Romeo and Juliet take Enemy Dearest had. And I think I might have to reread it when Soren’s book comes out!

Round 4

Burn: Even if I did enjoy the simplicity of High Society, it could have used more development for its characters and plot.

Rewrite: I really thought These Violent Delights would be a 5-star read for me thanks to its 1920s Shanghai retelling of Romeo and Juliet. But I was left disappointed in the romance and I struggled at times with the plot.

Reread: As I said, I love Ana Huang and Twisted Games was everything I wanted it to be!

Round 5

Burn: While I loved the wild ride that was The Burning Kingdoms, I felt like the ending was rushed and almost a cop-out so I was left disappointed.

Rewrite: There were parts of Never is a Promise that didn’t work for me when it comes to the romance so I would rework that second chance reunion.

Reread: I like a good happy ending it was quite the read to see if that was what we would get in Fighting for You.


What would you Burn, Rewrite and Reread from 2021?

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Burn, Rewrite or Reread Tag – 2020 Edition

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Burn, Rewrite, Reread Tag 2020

I’ve been doing this tag as part of my annual wrap-up traditions for the last two years and I just love it! It’s great to highlight some of the titles I read this year that wouldn’t necessarily make my Year’s Reads in Review list. I read a lot of books in a year and I’ll admit that I forget about most some. But doing this recap helps remind me of the various books I spent time on this year.

Here’s a recap of what you are supposed to do:

The Rules:

-Randomly choose 3 books.

-For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread.

-Repeat until you completed three (I do 5) rounds

To get the books for each batch, I used a random number generator to pull titles from my “Books Read in 2020” excel file. This includes any DNF’d titles for the year; and if a number repeated itself (or landed on a heading), I reran the generator until I got a fresh title.

Round 1

  

Burn: I didn’t finish Now or Never because it couldn’t get into the romance. Things happened quickly and the way the hero would describe the heroine just grossed me out. Such a shame because I really enjoyed the other books in the Irresistible Series.

Rewrite: I loved the inaugural series Vicious Lies stemmed from (Truth or Lies), and I did enjoy finally getting this particular story. I think it could use a few tweaks (like less mention of rape and recycling the plot) would make this book fabulous!

Reread: I don’t think I’d actively seek out The Wright Mistake to reread it. However, I would pick up a print version as the accents in the audiobook drove me nuts!

Round 2

Burn: I wouldn’t actually burn the entire book of The Royal We, just a few chapters because this book is SO LONG!

Rewrite: I wasn’t a huge fan of the romance in the Sinful Truths Series so I would tweak a few things in Fallen Love to get my onboard. I wouldn’t change that ending though!

Reread: I’ll probably have to reread Dance of Thieves before I read its sequel just so I can remember what happened!

Round 3

Burn: Oh, I’d burn Kingdom of Ash without a doubt. I struggled to get through this book: 3 serious attempts over the last year. This series morphed into something that just wasn’t for me.

Rewrite: I actually thought The Everlasting Rose was a much stronger book than its inaugural series title. But it could use a few changes to make the story even more epic.

Reread: I thought Inferno was a great finale for the Talon Series.

Round 4

Burn: Honestly, Love the One You’re With is an entertaining, albeit quick, read so I feel bad burning it. But you could find the plot on any Hallmark Movie.

Rewrite: I was very excited to see our leads in I Hate You fall in love. Their banter in the other books in the series had me hooked! But I feel like some of the logic for staying apart could have used some refinement.

Reread: I really liked how the relationship came together in Rescue.

Round 5

Burn: I had kept Soleil on my TBR list for years because I loved the other books in the series. But this one was a little too quirky for me and I got lost in the Alice in Wonderland allusions.

Rewrite: I loved the premise of A Daring Sacrifice and it’s allusions to Robin Hood. I just think having a second narrator for the male POV would make the audiobook fantastic!

Reread: Now that I know what to expect from Neighbors and Favors, I think I would enjoy it more if I read it again.


What would you Burn, Rewrite and Reread from 2020?

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Burn, Rewrite or Reread Tag – 2018 Edition

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Burn, Rewrite, Reread Tag

While I essentially gave up doing my random tags over the last two years (I have so many other things to post!), I remembered doing this tag back in December 2016 as a way to wrap up my reads for the year. So this year, I thought I’d bring this back and make it an annual tradition. I always do my Year’s Reads in Review feature but this one really makes you think about things and features some books that wouldn’t necessarily make my Top Picks of the Year.

Here’s a recap of what you are supposed to do:

The Rules:

-Randomly choose 3 books.

-For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread.

-Repeat until you completed three (I do 5) rounds

To get the books for each batch, I used a random number generator to pull titles from my “Books Read in 2018” excel file. This includes any DNF’d titles and if a number repeated itself, I reran the generator until I got a fresh title.

Round 1

Double Exposition (Songs and Sonatas, #1) Exmas The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder

Burn: There were definitely things I liked about Double Exposition, but it got the lowest ratings of this group so it’ll get burned.

Rewrite: The predictability of Exmas is what stopped that book from being a 5 star read for me, so I would rework it a bit so the plot wasn’t as obvious.

Reread: There is a bit of a mystery to The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder— one I didn’t figure out at all. So I think it’s always interesting to reread those books that had you stumped the first time around to see if you could figure it out earlier.

Round 2

Watching You Without Merit Free to Risk (Freedom #3)

Burn: I had high expectations for Watching You as a YA thriller but it got a little lost in the romance. Plus, now that the suspense of the stalker is mute, I’m not sure if I would enjoy another read through it.

Rewrite: First, I find it crazy that I would rewrite anything by Colleen Hoover (she’s one of my all time favourite authors), but Without Merit just had a little too much going on to make it cohesive and amazing.

Reread: When I need an emotional read with strong characters, Free to Risk is a great one to pick up!

Round 3

The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight, #2) Blood Match (Blood Type, #2) Sweet Black Waves

Burn: This has more to do with the audiobook narrator than the actual book itself — I can’t stand how she does male voices in The Shadow Hour.

Rewrite: There isn’t much I would change about Blood Match except the one super obvious plot point of this novel. And maybe more sexy times?

Reread: I DEVOURED Sweet Black Waves when I read it June. I just loved the characters so much!

Round 4

Be with Me (Wait for You, #2) Gunslinger Girl Only Between Us

Burn: I had high expectations for Be With Me after reading its predecessor but this book fell flat very quickly. Immature characters, a lack of chemistry between the leads (which was crazy because it was so there in the first book when they were there for all of 5 minutes!) and just a boring plot–nothing new here! Which is probably why I DNF’d it a third of the way in.

Rewrite: I thought Gunslinger Girl was going to be something completely different than what it actually was so I would totally rework parts of the story to make it more exciting…and more Wild West.

Reread: If you want to read about characters with tragic pasts and flaws, you don’t need to look further than Only Between Us. It will cause absolute havoc on your heart.

Round 5

The Wager (The Bet, #2) Stripped Bare (Vegas Billionaire, #1) Legendary (Caraval, #2)

Burn:I DNF’dThe Wager at 14% so clearly something didn’t work for me very early on. The chemistry was off and the plot wasn’t very mature so I had no problems putting it down.

Rewrite: While I enjoyed Stripped Bare, there were some predictable twists and I wanted to see the leads talk to each other more than just jump each other’s bones all the time. So you could definitely make this story stronger with some additional scenes.

Reread: There wasn’t much I didn’t enjoy about Legendary. I thought the pacing was great and I loved Tella as a heroine!


What would you Burn, Rewrite and Reread from 2018?

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Tag it Thursdays: How I Read Tag

tagitthurs
Tag it Thursdays: I occasionally get tagged by fellow bloggers to complete various tags. Once a month I will post my response. Please, feel free to tag yourself if any of these tags interest you!

This month’s tag:

How I Read Tag

I found this tag last summer on two blogs: Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian and later, McKenzie @ Bookish Things and Tea’s blog. I wanted to do this particular tag because it asks some cool questions about reading and blogging–not just the typical/standard ones. Enjoy:

How do you find out about new books to read?

Definitely Goodreads! Their “Readers Also Enjoyed” side widget is deadly! Kobo also does a great job of recommending books to me as well since I do get so many from them.

And of course, all the other blogs out there! I’ve made it a point to make sure I note which books I find from others (because how many times do we comment that we will let someone know our thoughts and never follow up?) along the way.

How did you get into reading?

Both of my parents are active readers so reading has always been a part of my life from an early age. But I credit The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants for reigniting my regular reading habits. I devoured that book in a weekend and loved every minute of it. Afterwards, I wanted to get that feeling back and so I became an active library patron from then on. It also helped I had to commute 1 hour each way to my high school and so I had time to kill and reading was a great way to do that.

Image result for reading book gif

How has your taste in books changed as you’ve gotten older?

When I was a teenager, I couldn’t get enough of YA paranormal reads. I pretty much picked up every title my library had. However, I’ve recently discovered I can’t stand them! All the petty problems are just not for me anymore. I find myself getting more annoyed by the character’s and their antics than I am enjoying them.

I’m also outgrowing certain authors as well. I adored Meg Cabot as a teen and as I get older, even her adult novels are loosing their appeal. Lots of authors have a formula that works for them and I find the more you read by them, the more you start to see it. It can make books rather boring.

How often do you buy books?

This year I’m on a bit of a self-imposed book buying ban while I try to clean up my eReader. So lately, I’ve been buying books sporadically whenever there is a very good sale. And that varies month by month so I would say that I buy 0-5 books on a monthly basis.

How did you get into book reviewing?

Because I read so many books in a year (150+), I wanted to help others decide what was worth their time. My friends always ask me about books and so it’s a role I’m comfortable in. I decided to focus on series in particular because I had just finished a series I had invested 3+ years in and it had the shittiest ending ever and I wish someone had told me the whole series wasn’t worth my time. (That series was Delirium BTW)

My other motivation was to have a place to remember how I felt about a particular book! I have a crappy memory and sometimes books get lost in the shuffle so it was great to have a place to keep track of everything.

How do you react when you don’t like the end of a book?

This one is tough! Anger is the first thing that pops into my mind. If it’s a physical book, I probably close it a little too forcefully but since I mostly eRead, I don’t get to do that. Then I take some time and try to rationalize why the ending would be what it is before I compose my review.

Image result for book slam gif

How often do you take a sneak peak at the ending to see if there is a happy ending?

NEVER! I hate spoilers with a passion and why reveal the biggest one of all!


Don’t forget to check out Krystianna’sMcKenzie’s answers! Thanks for bringing it to my attention <3

Please Tag Yourself and Link Back for me to read!

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Tag it Thursdays: This or That

tagitthurs
Tag it Thursdays: I occasionally get tagged by fellow bloggers to complete various tags. Once a month I will post my response. Please, feel free to tag yourself if any of these tags interest you!

This month’s tag:

This or That Tag

I love tags that make me choose between a set of predetermined choices–less work for me…in theory. There are a few categories down here that I wish had a third option for.

This tag was originally created by Ayunda @ Tea and Paperbacks and I was tagged by the awesome Jordan @ The Heart of a Book Blogger. Definitely check out her answers because she’s got some great ones.

The Rules:

  • Mention the creator of the tag (Ayunda @ Tea and Paperbacks).
  • Thank the blogger who tagged you!
  • Choose one of the options, you don’t have to tell the reasons why you chose that but you can also do them if you want to.
  • Tag 10 other people to do this tag to spread the love!

1. Reading on the couch or in the bed?

I’m a bed reader. It’s how I wake up in the morning and how I go to sleep at night.

2. Male main character or female main character?

I want to read more books where the lead is a male. I tend to stick to genres where female characters are more prevalent; though, duel POVs seems to be very popular in New Adult fiction…

3. Sweet snacks or salty snacks?

I have such a sweet tooth, it’s insane.

4. Trilogies or quartets?

Trilogies though I honestly prefer duologies. Trilogies have a more natural progression to me, even if they slump a bit in the middle. Quartets are hard to write plot-wise.

5. First person POV or third person POV?

Man, sometimes I wish these questions had a situation to give some context! I tried to answer this exact question in a Throwdown Thursday post earlier last year. Short answer: I prefer my romances to be first person but my mysteries and thrillers to be third person.

6. Reading at night or in the morning?

Damn, I do both. But I find the morning to be most productive in terms of reading more. I get up earlier than I have to in order to get a few chapters in before work/school.

7. Libraries or bookstores?

I am cheap but I also love to support my local library. I would say that 90% of the books I read are from the library though I’ve tried to read more of the books I own over the last year.

8. Books that make you laugh or books that make you cry?

Let’s go with cry. I usually read alone so no one can judge me as I shed a tear or fill a bucket. I prefer my movies to be humorous.

9. Black book covers or white book covers?

Are we talking the hard cover the dust jacket covers? In that case black because it shows less dirt.

If we are talking the cover itself, I like the clean contrast a white cover provides.

10. Character driven or plot driven stories?

I’m going with plot. I can hate the lead characters but still enjoy the plot of a novel; it just helps if I like them or if they have strong character development.


Thanks again Jordan!

Please Tag Yourself and Link Back for me to read!

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Tag it Thursdays: R.I.P. or Ship Tag

tagitthurs
Tag it Thursdays: I occasionally get tagged by fellow bloggers to complete various tags. Once a month I will post my response. Please, feel free to tag yourself if any of these tags interest you!


This month’s tag:

R.I.P. or Ship Tag

So I know the officially holiday for romance was two days ago, but when you create a tag feature that can only be done on Thursdays, you just have to post things on that day of the week. So keeping with the theme of love, I decided to do this tag.

When I saw this tag on Em @ Em’s Book Corner last year, I wanted to give it a shot. It’s originally created by Booktuber emmmabooks.

The idea: you choose characters from the books of your choice, write down their names and put them in a jar. Then you pull out two names and decide whether or not you like (“ship”) or dislike (“R.I.P.”) the new relationship.

For my tag, I used 10 books that I’ve marked on Goodreads as my “fav couples” ever. I figured if any character has a shot with another random character, its the one half of my favourite couple/friend combo ever.

1–Lily (Touch Me Not) & Devi (Porn Star)

When I first pulled these two ladies out, I thought: OH the irony. See Lily has an issue being touched and Devi makes money by being in pornography videos–pretty polar opposites. But part of Lily’s journey in Touch Me Not is to be comfortable touching another person, so who better than Devi? Devi has great self-confidence and I think she would be a fantastic influence on Lily. And can probably give her some nice tips on how to handle her new relationship in more ways than one.

Verdict: friendSHIP

2–Drew (Tangled) & Haley (Until It’s Right)

Drew needs someone who can put him in his place but still appreciate his charms and I don’t think that is Haley. Haley is a nice girl but doesn’t quite have that self-confidence (yet) that Drew requires.

Verdict: R.I.P.

3–Dmitri (Vampire Academy) & Chloe (Crushed)

Haha what a combo! At first, I was a hard NO with these two but I could definitely see Chloe giving Dmitri a piece of her mind when the occasion calls for it. Dmitri is a pretty intimidating guy but I don’t think that would stop Chloe from being honest with him. Oh, but don’t forget that Dmitri is technically part vampire so…

Verdict: R.I.P.

4–Dylan (Schooled) & Sophia (Rook)

I’m not even going to elaborate on this one. Dylan wouldn’t be able to handle Sophia and her scheming, mysterious lifestyle and Sophia wouldn’t like Dylan’s straightforward approach to life and relationships.

Verdict: R.I.P.

5–Logan (Porn Star) & Lola (Dark Wild Night)

Oh, this has potential! Both Logan and Lola know what is means to have a missed connection that they know could be more. My only concern would be the Lola couldn’t handle what Logan does for a living and seeing him around other girls on a regular basis so unfortunately:

Verdict: R.I.P.

6–Michael (Crushed) & Kate (Tangled)

This could actually really work! Kate has great self-confidence and is a lot of fun. Michael is a little scorned but I think Kate could mend his broken heart.

Verdict: relationSHIP

7–Dean (Hopeless) & Alexis (Schooled)

I really like this one! Dean is a very patient guy and so, so sweet. Sure he has a bit of a reputation but underneath, he’s a keeper! Alexis is determined to succeed and she is very understanding. I think she could see past Dean’s reputation and they could be great together…if their ages were closer.

Verdict: relationSHIP

8–Rose (Vampire Academy) & René (Rook)

I kinda like this one. Rose can handle a life of adventure and scheming–I mean that’s what happens all the time in Vampire Academy. René reminds me a bit of Adrian who I thought had great chemistry with Rose throughout the VA series. René exudes confidence, has a bit of mystery and is very intelligent. Their relationship would be fast and furious I think but perhaps not long lasting.

Verdict: relationSHIP

9–Oliver (Dark Wild Night) & Kyle (Until It’s Right)

What a great match! These two would hit if off I think. Both are nerdy, slightly geeky guys who are just super nice!

Verdict: friendSHIP

10—Sky (Hopeless) & Nikoli (Touch Me Not)

At first, this was a no-go for me. But I see an older Dean (Hopeless) when I think about Nikoli. Sure, he as a reputation but throughout Touch Me Not he showed that he has a heart of gold and can be patient when he needs to be. So I think he really could help Sky navigate her life…if they were the right age.

Verdict: relationSHIP


What do you think about my pairings?

Please Tag Yourself and Link Back for me to read!

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Tag it Thursdays: ABBA

tagitthurs
Tag it Thursdays: I occasionally get tagged by fellow bloggers to complete various tags. Once a month I will post my response. Please, feel free to tag yourself if any of these tags interest you!

This month’s tag:

ABBA Tag

I was just 11 years old when my mom introduced me to the music of ABBA. We had just gone to see Mamma Mia and I loved it! To this day, I’ve seen is 3 glorious times and I count it as my favourite musical that is based on previously released songs (ie not an original score).

As for the movie…it was a bit of a miss for me. I love Meryl Streep but not as Donna. Otherwise, I enjoyed the casting and it was fun. I still watch it when I get a hankering for ABBA and sing all the songs.

When I read Ranu @ Araliya Bookshelf‘s post of this tag, I had to give it a shot. I’m glad she corrected the titles of the songs from the original tag because that is a little irksome. So, for those songs where the lyrics were misinterpreted, I’ve changed the tag to better suit what the song actually is about.

Beautiful Broken Promises (Broken Series Book 3)

Take A Chance On Me

A book you unexpectedly liked

After feeling underwhelmed by the first two books in the Broken Series, I almost didn’t pick this one up. But I’m so glad I did! It was amazing and completely unexpected!

The Winner Takes It All

An Overhyped Book

The Grisha Trilogy was such a disappointment for me. While I loved the concept, I did not love Alina nor the execution of this series.
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1)
Violins of Autumn

Waterloo

An amazing historical fiction

I loved this one! Violins of Autumn takes place during WWII and focuses on one girl’s role in the war. It was an enthralling adventure!

Does Your Mother Know?

“A newly released novel you want to read”

The next line in the song is “does your mother know that you’re out” so I went with a newly released book I can’t WAIT to read. I eagerly awaited Starflight and adored it, so I am STOKED for the sequel, Starfall.
Starfall (Starflight #2)
The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)

I Have A Dream

A favourite, ‘ideal’ book

You can read my fangirl babbling of The Winner’s Trilogy in my review. But I loved this series for the political intrigue and the intelligent heroine. This book reminded me of why I love to read.

Dancing Queen

A book with royalty

Cross the Stars grabbed my attention because it focuses on the cultural and political issues revolving around an American girl and a Jordanian Royal.

Cross the Stars (Crossing Stars #1)
Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)

Money, Money, Money

A book you’d pay good money for.

The Red Rising Trilogy absolutely blew me away. It’s the next series I plan on purchasing for my collection.

Lay All Your Love On Me

A book that needs more attention

I don’t usually read YA contemporaries but Adorkable was AMAZING! I laughed, I cried and I most definitely swooned. It was perfect and it was Cookie O’Gorman’s debut!

Adorkable
Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1)

Mamma Mia!

“A book that gave you a serious book hangover”

“Blue since the day we parted” That was the lyrical inspiration for this redo of the original tag. I waited for YEARs for Lady Midnight but it didn’t disappoint. When I finished it, I was so upset…I wanted it to go on forever.

S.O.S.

A book that should fall in trouble and never be rescued.

I don’t even think I got past chapter 2 for Until I Met You. I have never disliked a character as much and so soon as I had with this one.

Until I Met You
Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy, #1)

Knowing Me, Knowing You

A book that just wasn’t for you

I really wanted to like this book. I was excited to read another Western novel and I had heard great things about Walk on Earth a Stranger. But this novel was just too slow for me to fully appreciate it.

Man, I love that GIF 😛


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Tag it Thursday: Burn, Rewrite or Reread

tagitthurs
Tag it Thursdays: I occasionally get tagged by fellow bloggers to complete various tags. Once a month I will post my response. Please, feel free to tag yourself if any of these tags interest you!

This month’s tag:

Burn, Rewrite, Reread Tag

I found this tag on Analee @ Book Snack in January of 2016 and thought it was a lot of fun to do. I thought it would be a fun way to wrap up my 2016 reading year by only using books I read in 2016. Which, was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Why Goodreads doesn’t have a random feature is beyond me, but I figured it out!

The Rules:

-Randomly choose 3 books.

-For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread. (A lot like Kiss, Marry, Kill.)

-Repeat until you completed three rounds (I like 5 as a better number)

Round 1

Dangerously Damaged (Addicted to You, #1) Wicked Sexy Liar (Wild Seasons, #4) The Revolution of Ivy (The Book of Ivy, #2)

Burn: Dangerously Damaged is the first of a serial that was never finished. Something I didn’t know when I started to read it in August. Super disappointing…probably why you don’t see it for sale anywhere.

Rewrite: While I enjoyed The Revolution of Ivy, I wouldn’t have minded a little more excitement. I always wanted this series to be a little more “dangerous” and that’s what I would hope for in a rewrite.

Reread: Wicked Sexy Liar was a lot of fun to read. The Wild Seasons is one of my favourites!

Round 2

Incarnate (Newsoul, #1) The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy, #3) Schooled

Burn: Incarnate was a huge disappointment. It was slow and dull and not what I expected at all. It would be shame though to burn such a beautiful cover.

Rewrite: This one is tough because Schooled was AWESOME! The only thing I would rewrite about it would be giving us Dylan’s POV as well as Alexis’.

Reread: The Winner’s Trilogy (The Winner’s Kiss) is one of my all time favourite series so this is a given. I’ve even bought all the books (a rarity for me) just so I can have them later in life to reread–and share!

Round 3

Kick, Push (Kick Push, #1) Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3) Why Not Me?

Burn: I’m going to go with Why Not Me? for this one. I much preferred Why is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Rewrite: This is tough because nothing comes to mind immediately in terms of what to rewrite for Kick, Push. Maybe rewrite it so I don’t get all those feels? Haha. No, in all seriousness, maybe more focus on the skateboarding aspect?

Reread: Cress is one of those books I appreciated a little more in hindsight I think. The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favourite reads and this one was one of my favourites in the series. Oh Captain Thorne…

Round 4

Gambit (The Prodigy Chronicles, #1) Say Nothing... (Speak, #2) Modern Romance

Burn: This really isn’t fair because I truly enjoyed Modern Romance. It was very interesting and the audiobook was hilarious. But it’s kind-of a one time read…

Rewrite: YES! Rewrite Gambit! This book had so much potential but really lost it on the execution if you ask me. It had a weird flow and the exposition was much too long. But it has all the right stuff there just itching to be put to good use.

Reread: The Speak Series (Say Nothing) has a great couple in Ari and Ben. Their story and connection was so sweet and heartwarming, why wouldn’t you want to reread this?

Round 5

If You Leave (Beautifully Broken, #2) The List (College of Charleston, #1) 27 Days to Midnight

Burn: The List had pretty much every trope I hate in New Adult romance: love at first sight; a love triangle and a selfish heroine. One of the most frustrating reads of this year.

Rewrite: I really enjoyed the concept of 27 Days to Midnight but I wanted it to be a little more exciting. Maybe some more romance?

Reread: Courtney Cole writes fantastically heartbreaking New Adult novels and If You Leave is no exception. One of my 5 star reads of this year and one I wish I had read earlier!


Disagree? Let me know!

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Tag it Thursdays: Totally Didn’t Book Tag

tagitthurs
Tag it Thursdays: I occasionally get tagged by fellow bloggers to complete various tags. Once a month I will post my response. Please, feel free to tag yourself if any of these tags interest you!

This month’s tag:

Totally Didn’t Book Tag

When Stephanie @ Stephanie’s Book Reviews did this last year, I book-marked it to do at a later time. Not only did I love Stephanie’s answers but the tag is just so much fun that I had to do it. I had to dig deep to answer some of these questions so I hope you enjoy it!

Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy, #1)Totally didn’t need to have a sequel/sequels!

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Mythos Academy Series! But it is one of those series that suffered from having too many sequels, hereby dragging out the overarching plot.

This series could have easily have been a trilogy, maybe even 4 books max and still delivered all the awesomeness I love about it!

Origin (Lux, #4)Totally didn’t need to have more than one point of view!

I love me some Jennifer L Armentrout (that’s why she is one of my most read authors) but I didn’t totally love when she introduced Daemon’s POV into the Lux Series. JLA is a bit of a formulaic author so I find her characters kinda sound the same in all her stories–and that is a bit of the case here with Daemon and Katy. Plus, I kinda liked Daemon being a mystery and not seeing inside his head.

Totally didn’t need to change cover art through the middle of a series!

This one was tough for my to answer because I don’t really notice when covers change. But one I did notice was the Arcana Chronicles. I can’t say that I prefer either cover to be honest.

Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1) Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1)

Bad RomanceTotally didn’t need a love triangle!

I struggled with listing a book for this one. I think love triangles are very rarely needed in a novel so I could have more than 20 books listed here.

But I’m going to go with Bad Romance because the love triangle here is completely ridiculous. The logic actually hurts my head. I wish the forbidden romance between step-siblings was emphasized more instead of the love triangle.


Entwined with You (Crossfire, #3)Totally didn’t need this book to be included in this series!

This book immediately popped into my mind but I was shocked when I saw that I gave this a 4/5 on Goodreads!

The Crossfire Series is one that was originally a trilogy but was extended to be a 5 book series shortly after the 2nd book was published. And it shows in this instalment. This book is pure filler at its finest!

Whisper the Dead (The Lovegrove Legacy, #2)Totally didn’t need a cliffhanger!

Alyxandra Harvey is a favourite Canadian author of mine and I was really enjoying her Lovegrove Legacy Series until I read Whisper the Dead and found out that the next book wasn’t going to be published!

What a bummer! And what a cliffhanger we were left on too! I hope that someday I can find out what was going to happen next for these 3 cousins!

(Turns out, there is a 30 page novella that wraps everything up but I would have preferred a whole novel!)

Totally didn’t need to have just one point of view!

I like when my romances have dual POVs because I need to see that emotional connection established between the two leads that only a character specific POV can provide.

In Beyond the Stars, I would have loved to have learned more about Jack as a character. He had so much potential to be a complex character and I just felt like he wasn’t developed as well as he could have been.

Real (Real, #1)Totally didn’t need that much hype!

I was so, so excited to read Real. It topped tons of romance read lists and I couldn’t wait to see what got people so hyped about this series.

Wow–what a disappointment! I detested the whiny heroine, disliked the alpha hero and couldn’t get over the repetitiveness of the writing!

(And don’t get me started on the words used in the sex scenes!)

Totally didn’t need a relative book reference! (e.g. Hunger Games fan would love Divergent.)

I picked up Trust Me, I’m Lying because it said:

Fans of Ally Carter, especially her Heist Society readers, will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.

And while it does draw those comparisons, it really does stand out on its own and is one enjoyable, exciting read!

Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4)Totally didn’t deserve my time!

Don’t even get me started on the mess that is Breaking Dawn in the Twilight Saga!

It’s a mishmash of fan-service, silly characters and dragged out story lines. I’m not even going to mention the fact that the story builds up to some epic battle that merely ends with a hand-shake…ugh!


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