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october wrap up

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the books i’ve read in october. i honestly read a ton of books, even if it didn’t really feel like that for me, since i feel like i read like 5. but, i honestly read so many good books this month, which i’m so excited to talk about.

the atlas six by olivie blake. i gave this book 5/5 stars. i honestly loved this book so much. like, i think these characters were done so well and i completely love all of them, even if they were kind of a dick. like, i feel that the plot and the characters and this world was done so well, which i think was just so good and i honestly really think was so cool. and also that most / if not all are all queer, i honestly loved that and i can’t wait to see that grow in the next two books.

act cool by tobly mcsmith. i gave this book 4/5 stars. i honestly liked this book, but i feel like some of the actions of some of these characters weren’t it. and i think that some of the things they said / did could honestly be improved and change. i also listened to this book via audio book, which i think just took away from the story a little bit.

the violent season by sara walters. i gave this book 3/4 stars. this book was kind of a mess, but i guess it did have some good moments. i didn’t really like the one stage sex scenes and the graphic rape scene, since i feel like it was just kind of a mess. but, i feel like there was so many unanswered questions in here, and i think they should have made this book bloodier and kind of spookier.

the crusible by aruther miller. i gave this book 4/5 stars. this is probably one of the better school reads i’ve had to do, in my opinion. and i honestly feel like this would be such a great halloween read, and i think it was just a really good book with the witch trials and kind of telling each of the characters stories.

people we meet on vacation by emily henry. i gave this book 4/5 stars. i honestly really liked this one, but i don’t think it lived up to the hype completely for me, cause some of the characters actions weren’t my favorite and annoyed the hell out of me. but, i feel like so much of this book they weren’t together, and when they actually got together, they were together till they fought and broke up, and then got back together. and they were together for what feels like 10 pages.

malibu rising by taylor jenkins reed. i gave this book 5/5 stars. i honestly loved this book so much, and i loved all the characters and to see how they grew threw this book. and i also loved how we got to see each of the kids mirror their parents and/or their relationship in someway, which i thought was so cool. and i think each of the siblings had such a good story and i liked to see each of them. and i especially like nina, since she definitely had the best story.

the sum of all kisses by julia quinn. i gave this book 4/5 stars. honestly, i liked this book, but i feel like the wedding plots in this book were kind a mess, since they planned into the other books. so, having them also be in here was just a little bit of a mess. but, i do think the romance was honestly done really well and i feel like how they got together and all of that, was really cute.

the lucky list by rachael lippincott. i gave this book 3/5 stars. overall, this was a decent book and had a decent plot. but, i feel like it was kind of messy, in the end. like, i feel like there was way to many open questions, in the end of the book, which kind of just annoyed me. but, i feel like emily was also really annoying, and she honestly just got on my nerves after awhile, especially with all her drama surrounding literally every aspect in her life.

the ivies by alexa donne. i gave this book 3/5 stars. again, it was a decent book, but i feel like the who done it was revealed way to early in the book, which i feel like just took away from the book. and i feel like there wasn’t a real mystery after awhile because it was reveled way to soon and just was a hot mess. and everything that happened in this book was just way to easy for everyone, like with were they were going and who they were seeing and finding, just ended up being to easy for every party involved, when this is supposed to be a mystery.

the secrets of sir richard kenworthy by julia quinn. i gave this book 1/5 stars. the easily way to talk about about this book is to flat out say its terrible and it sucks. like, he really lived up to his namesake, since he was such a dick and there was so many communication issues between the two of them. and they were also just so abusive towards each other. like, they constantly said that someone was grabbing someone and they yelled out in pain or something along those lines, and i don’t know who let that slide past.

the obsession by jesse q. sutanto. i gave this book 3/5 stars. this had a lot of issues and plot holes, nonetheless though, it was a fun and easy read. like, the plot moved quickly and i think it kept you interested enough through the book and the story. but, i also think so much of this book is unbelievable, cause you’re telling me that not a single person on the block had cameras in their backyard, especially their neighbor, who apparently had one but they didn’t see anything. it just wasn’t believable.

house of hollow by krystal sutherland. i gave this book 4/5 stars. this was honestly a really good book and i didn’t expect this when i went into it, i honestly just thought it was going to be about a sister going missing in the real world. but, i honestly really like the fantastical take on it all, and i think it was just super cool and well done. and i would honestly kill to see more stories set in this world, but with different characters, since i think the world is super interesting.

seduce me at sunrise by lisa kleypas. i gave this book 4/5 stars. i honestly really liked this book, and i think they did very close friends / to borderline family to lovers really well and i honestly really liked to slowly see them embrace their emotions and feelings to each other. but, kev was a bit of a dick and i feel like some of his actions were annoying as all hell. but, i still really liked them together and to see them get married and all of that.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly think i had a really good reading month, and i hope this month is good so i can cram a lot of last minute reading in.

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october book haul

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the books i hauled this month, which is quite a lot. like, i feel like i got so many arcs this month, which probably happened because i hit 80% on netgalley. so, this is going to be a bit of a longer post.

jade fire gold by june cl tan. ahn is no one, with no past and no family. altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child. when they meet, altan sees in ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities. but they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.

fable by adrienne young. for 17 years, fable, who is the daughter of the most powerful trader in the narrows, the sea is the only home she has ever known. it’s been 4 years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. the next day, her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. to survive, she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one, and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. the only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father, and demanding her rightful place besides him and his crew, to do so fable enlists the help of a young trader named west to get her off the island and across the narrows to her father.

this is where it ends by marieke nijkamp. 10:00 am, the principal of opportunity, alabama’s high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve. 10:02, the student gets up to leave the auditorium for their next class. 10:03, the auditorium doors won’t open. 10:05, someone starts shooting. in 54 minutes, four students must confront their greatest hopes and darkest fears, as they come face to face with the boy with the gun.

love and other disasters by anita kelly. thank you forever for an arc of this book! recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, dahlia woodson is ready to reinvent herself on the popular reality competition show, chef’s special. too bad the first memorable move she makes is falling flat on her face, sending fish tacos flying-not quite the fresh start she was hoping for. still, she’s focused on winning, until she meets someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money. after announcing their pronouns on national television, london parker has enough on their mind without worrying about the klutzy competitor stationed in front of them. they’re there to prove the trolls- and the fellow contestants and their dad- wrong, but falling in love was never part of the plan.

portrait of a thief by grace d. lie. thank you tiny reparations books for an arc of this book! across the western world, museums display the spoils of war, of conquest, of colonialism: priceless pieces of art looted from other countries, kept even now. will chen plans to steal them back. a senior at harvard, will fits comfortably in his carefully curated roles: a perfect student, an art history major and sometimes artist, the eldest son that has always been his parent’s american dream, but when a shadowy chinese corporation reaches out with an impossible, an illegal, job offer, will finds himself something else, the leader of a heist to steal back five priceless chinese sculptures, looted from beijing centuries ago.

once upon a k-prom by kat cho. thank you disney books for an arc of this book! elena soo has always felt overshadowed, whether by her successful older sister, her more popular twin brother, or her more outgoing best friend, everyone except elena seems to know exactly who they are and what they want. but she is certain about one thing, she has no interest in going to prom, while the rest of the school is giddy over corsages and dresses, elena would rather spend her time working to save the local community center, the one place that’s always made her feel like she belonged. so when the international k-pop superstar, robbie choi, shows up at her house to ask her to prom, elena is more confused than ever.

bravely by maggie stiefvater. thank you disney books for an arc of this book! one princess, merida of dunbroch needs a change. she loves her family, jovial king kergus, proper queen elinor, the mischievous triplets, and her peaceful kingdom. but she’s frustrated by it’s sluggishness: each day, the same. merida longs for adventure, purpose, and challenge, maybe even, someday love. two gods, but the fiery princess never expects her disquiet to manifest by way of feradach, the uncanny supernatural being tasked with rooting out rot and stagnation, who appears in dunbroch on christmas eve with the intent to demolish the realm, and everyone within. only the intervention of the cailleach, an ancient entity of creation, gives merida a shred of hope: convince her family to change within the year, or suffer the eternal consequences.

happily ever island by crystal cestari. thank you disney books for an arc off this book! head in the clouds romantic, madison and driven pragmatist, lanie, are unlikely best friends, but the two would do anything for each other. so when madison’s life starts to fall apart, lanie agrees to join madison for the test run if disney’s newest resort experience during their first college spring break: happily ever island, an immersive vacation destination, where guests can become their favorite disney character for a week. madison decides to go as the iconic princess herself, cinderella, with lanie as bow wielding merdia. it’s not lanie’s idea of fun, but she knows madison needs her, and besides, she could use the break from her strenuous course load anyway, plus she might get to shoot things.

meet me in the margins by melissa ferguson. thank you thomas nelson publishers for an arc of this book! savannah cade is a low level editor at pennington publishing, a prestigious publisher producing only the highest of highbrow titles. and while editing the latest edition of the anthology of medieval didactic poetry may be her day job, she has two secrets she’s hiding. one, she’s writing a romance novel. two, she’s discovered the book nook, a secret room in the publishing house where she finds inspiration for her ‘lowbrow’ hobby. after leaving her manuscript behind one afternoon, she returns to the nook only to discover someone has written notes in the margins. savannah’s first response to the criticism is defensive, but events transpire that force her to admit that she needs the help of this shadowy editor after all. as the notes take a turn for the romantic, and as savannah’s madcap life gets more complicated than ever, she uses the process of elimination to identify her mysterious editor, only to discover that what she truly wants and what she should want just might not be the same.

the wedding crasher by mia sosa. thank you so much avon for an arc of this book! just weeks away from ditching DC for greener pastures, solange pereira is roped into helping her wedding planner cousin on a random couple’s big day. it’s an easy gig, until she stumbles upon a situation that convinces her the paris isn’t meant to be. what’s a true-blue romantic to do? crash the wedding, of course. and ensure the unsuspecting groom doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life. dean chapman has his future all mapped out. he was about to check off “start a family” and on track to “make partner” when his modern day marriage of convenience went up in smoke. then he learns he might not land an assignment that could be his ticket to a promotion unless he has a significant other and, in a moment of panic, dean claims to be in with the woman who crashed his wedding. now, dean has a whole new item on his to do list: beg solange to be his pretend girlfriend, and she feels a tiny bit bad about ruining dean’s wedding, so she agrees to play along.

love from scratch by kaitlyn hill. thank you delacorte press for an arc of this book! this summer, reese camden is trading sweet tea and southern hospitality for cold brew and crisp costal air. she’s landed her dream marketing internship at friends of flavor, a wildly popular cooking channel in seattle. the only problem? benny beneventi, the relentlessly charming, backwards-baseball cap wearing culinary intern, and her main competition for the fall job. reese’s plan to keep work a no feelings zone crumbles like a day old muffin when she and benny are thrown together for a video shoot that goes viral, making them the internet’s newest ship. audiences are hungry for more, and their bosses at friends of flavor are happy to deliver. soon reese and benny are in an all out food war, churning homemade ice cream, twisting soft pretzels, breaking eggs in an omelet showdown, while hundreds of thousands of viewers watch.

the liars beneath by heather van fleet. thank you wise wolf books for an arc of this book! after a tragic accident that ends her best friend’s life, 17 year old becca thompson succumbs to grief the only way she knows how: by wallowing in it. she’s a fragment of the person she once was far to broken to enjoy the summer before her senior year. but, when ben mccain, her best friend’s older brother, returns home, becca must face her new reality head on. she isn’t interested in ben’s games, especially since he abandoned his sister during the months leading up to her death. but when he begs for her help in uncovering the truth about what really happened that night of his sister’s death, becca finds herself agreeing, hoping to clear up the rumors swirling in the wake of her best friend’s accident. an unhinged ex boyfriend, secret bucket lists, and garage parties in the place becca calls home soon leads her to the answers she’s so desperate to unveil. but nobody is being honest, no even ben. and the closer becca gets to the truth and to ben, the more danger seems to surround her.

castles in their bones by laura sebastian. thank you delacorte press for an arc of this book! empress margaraux has had plans for her daughters since the day they were born. princesses sophronia, daphne, and beatriz will be queens. and now, at age sixteen, they each must leave their homeland and marry their princes. beautiful, smart and demure, the triplets appear to be the perfect brides, because margaraux knows there is one common truth: everyone underestimates a girl. which is a grave mistake, sophronia, daphne, and beatriz ae no innocents, they have been trained since birth in the arts of deception, seduction, and violence with a signal goal, to bring down monarchies and their marriages are merely the first stage of their mother’s grand vision: to one day reign over the entire continent of Vesteria.

anyway, that is all all for today! i am honestly so excited to read these books, next year, or later this year, depending when they get published. but, anyway, thank you for reading!

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the hyped for halloween book tag | freak week day 7

hello everyone! happy freak week day 7! today i am going to be doing the hyped for halloween book tag. and honestly can’t wait to do this since it just sounds so fun and fitting for halloween.

WHAT BOOK GAVE YOU THE CREEPS?

house of hollow by krystal sutherland. i finished this books a couple days ago, and honestly this book was just so creepy and that i feel like with how the author thought of all of this, it is just so crazy and it honestly was something that was just a creep book, especially the end.

WHAT BOOK GIVES YOU THE BEST HALLOWEEN VIBES?

stalking jack the ripper by kerri maniscalo. this was honestly something that just gives me the biggest halloween vibes. like, i think i read this book around halloween the first times, so i honestly think it was just so crazy and i feel like it was something with them stalking threw the night, i just think it is the biggest halloween book.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE VAMPIRE BOOK?

i honestly don’t think i’ve ever read a vampire book, besides twilight, that i did like. which, i do want to read more of them, since there is a few cool ones that came out recently.

WHAT BOOK SCARED YOU SO MUCH YOU SLEPT WITH THE LIGHTS ON?

as good as dead by holly jackson. i didn’t sleep with the lights on, but it did honestly scare me and that it honestly made me really paranoid, and i feel like it really put me on edge a lot, and i think it was just so creepy and that it was something that was just so weird.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK ABOUT WITCHES /GOBLINS /GHOST / DEMONS?

cemetery boys by aiden thomas. this was honestly such a cool book and i think that this was just so good. and i feel like it was something that was just kind of cool. and i feel like this is by far one of my favorite books with ghosts.

WHAT’S A BOOK YOU WISH WAS SCARIER THAN IT WAS?

survive the night by riley sager. as much as i like those books, but i feel like it was definitely something that was a bit spooky, but i think that it should have been something that had a little bit more scary moments.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK THAT TAKES PLACE IN OCTOBER?

i honestly can’t think of a book that takes in october.

anyway, that is all for today! happy last day of freak week and happy halloween! this was such a fun post and i honestly really liked talking about it.

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spooky books next on my tbr | freak week day 6

hello everyone! happy freak day 6! today i am going to be talking about the spooky books that i want to read next, and just to talk about some of these. there honestly isn’t that many, but there still is enough to talk about these books.

a lesson in vengeance by victoria lee. in the catskills mountains, the centuries old ivy covered campus was home, until the death of her girlfriend. now, after a year away, felicity is returning to graduate. and she even got her old room in the godwin house, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirit of the five dalloway students, who are believed to be witches. the school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do, and before her girlfriend died, felicity was drawn to the dark, and she is determined to leave that behind now, all felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and to graduate. but, it’s hard when dalloway’s occult history is everywhere, and when the new girl won’t let her forget. it’s ellis haley’s first year at dalloway, and she already has a following, a prodigy novelist at seventeen, ellis is a so called ‘method writer.’ and she is eccentric and brilliant, and felicity can’t shake the pull to her, and ellis asks felicity to help research the dalloway five for her second book, and felicity can’t say no.

the secret history by donna tartt. under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever and eccentric misfits at an elite new england college discover away of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existences of their contemporaries. but when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal and at last, into evil.

a deadly education by naomi novik. there are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow it’s students to leave until they graduate or die. the rules are deceptively simple: don’t walk the halls alone and beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere. el is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. she may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power, strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. it would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. and the problem is that her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

ace of spades by Faridah Abike iyimide. welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways and the students are never less than perfect, until now. because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. talented musician devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. and head girl chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has to paid for power. someone is out to get both of them, someone who holds all the aces and they are playing way more than a stupid high school game.

every single lie by rachel vincent. nobody in beckett’s life seems to be telling the whole story. her boyfriend, jack, keeps hiding his texts and might be cheating on her. her father lied about loosing his job before his sudden death. and everyone in school is whispering about her and her father behind her back. but, none of that compares to the day beckett finds the body of the body of a newborn baby in a gym bag, jake’s gym bag, on the floor of her school’s locker room. as the word leaks out, rumors that beckett’s the mother takes off like wildfire in a town all to ready to believe the worst about her, and as the police investigation unfolds, she discovers that everyone has a secret to hide and the truth could alter everything she thought she knew.

all these bodies by kendare blake. summer 1958, a string of murders plague the midwest. the victims are found in their cars and in their homes, even in their beds, their bodies drained, but with no blood anywhere. september 19th, the carlson family is slaughtered in their minnesota farmhouse, and the case gets its first lead: the 15 year old marie catherine hale is found at the scene. she is covered in blood from head to toe, and at first she’s mistaken for a survivor, but not a drop of the blood is hers. michael jensen, son of the local sheriff, yearns to become a journalist and escape his small town. he never imagined that the biggest story in the country would fall onto his lap, or that he would be pulled into the investigation, when marie decides that he is the only one she will confess to. as marie recounts her version of the story, it falls to michael to find the truth: what really happened the night that carlsons were killed? and how did one girl wind up in the middle of all these bodies?

the woods are always watching by stephanie perkins. best friends, neena and josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. now, with college and two thousand mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together, a three day hike into the woods of the pisgah national forest. simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare, and then into something far worse. something that will test them in horrifying ways.

anyway, that is all for today! there isn’t honestly so many books that i really want to read like these, but i’m really excited to get to these, hopefully before the end of the year. but, happy freak day 6! and hopefully i’ll see you tomorrow for the final post!

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the monster mash book tag | freak week day 5

hello everyone! happy freak week day 5! today i am going to be doing the monster mash book tag. i don’t think i’ve ever done this tag, so i’m honestly so excited to do this post and to talk about these different prompts and books.

i was working in the lab late one night“- what’s a book that kept you up at night?

as good as dead by holly jackson. this book is like 560 pages long, and i read this in like day, which was so crazy and i feel like it probably wouldn’t have happened if this was any other book. and i feel like this book was just so amazing and this book was just so amazing.

my eves beheld an eerie sight“- what’s the weirdest or creepiest shit you’ve ever read in a book?

the mary shelley club by goldy moldavsky. this was so weird with the whole scream plot going on, and just with all the different masks they wore was just something that i think it was just so creep and just a mind fuck. and i think that if a bunch of people came at me with masks on, i would freak out.

get a jolt from my electrodes.”- name a book that completely shocked or surprised you.

she’s too pretty to burn by wendy heard. this book was just so crazy, and especially at the end of it. i feel like the ending of this book completely made the book up, and i feel like it was just so crazy and honestly kind of a mess. and i think this book was just something that i have no clue how heard thought of this ending. and i think it was just so crazy.

the guests included wolfman, dracula, and his son.” – name your favorite monster or villain from a book.

stalking jack the ripper by kerri maniscalo. i’m not going to say the actual name of the villain, since it would be a major spoiler, but i honestly really liked the villain in this book and all the talk and build up till we get to see who it actually did it, was just so good and i really liked it. and i feel like it was just so cool.

whatever happened to my translvania twist?” – name a book that was super hyped when it came out, but no one talks about it anymore.

lost in the never woods by aiden thomas. i feel like this could go for a lot of books, mainly thrillers since i feel like a lot of people never really reread and continue to hype up thriller books. but, compared to the hype cemetery boys continues to get, i feel like this book gets literally zero hype and nobody talks about this book anymore.

they did the monster mash.” – name your favorite book that is a mash up of two or more genres.

hunting prince dracula by kerri maniscalo. i feel like this is a mash up of historical fiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, and thriller spun into one book, which was done so well. and i don’t think to many authors could put all those genres into one book and have the book actually make sense.

it was a graveyard smash.” – what is your favorite horror novel?

survive the night by riley sager. i honestly don’t read to much horror, and i’m not sure if i’d even consider this book to be a horror novel, but it is like the only book i read this year that is kind of close to being one.

the scene was rockin,’ all were digging the sounds.“- what’s your favorite song based on a book?

honestly, i don’t know any songs based on books.

tell them boris sent you.” – what’s your go to book recommendation?

a good girl’s guide to murder by holly jackson! i talk about this book 24/7, so it’s not really a surprise that i recommend this book a lot. but, yeah, it’s probably this book.

anyway, that is all for today! this was such a fun tag and i honestly loved doing this post. and i feel like this was just such a cool tag with these different prompts. and hopefully i’ll hopefully see you tomorrow for day 6!

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dark academia books | freak week day 4

hello everyone! happy freak week day 4! today i am going to be talking about some dark academia books. i honestly really love this genre, but it is something that i do want to get into more and what i hope to read more of in 2022, since i think this genre is just so cool.

the atlas six by olivie blake the alexandrian society, caretakers of the lost knowledge from the greatest civilization of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. those who earn a place among the alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the sex most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation. enter the latest round of six: libby rhodes and nico de varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. reina mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. parisa kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. callum nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. finally, there is tristan caine, who can see through illusions to new structure of reality, which is so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.

if we were villains by ml rio. oliver marks has just served ten years in jail for a murder he may or may not have committed. on the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the man who put him in prison. detective colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happen a decade ago. as one of the seven young actors studying shakespeare at an elite arts college, oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. but when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the play spills dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. the rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

ace of spades by Faridah Abike iyimide. welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways and the students are never less than perfect, until now. because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. talented musician devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. and head girl chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has to paid for power. someone is out to get both of them, someone who holds all the aces and they are playing way more than a stupid high school game.

a lesson in vengeance by victoria lee. in the catskills mountains, the centuries old ivy covered campus was home, until the death of her girlfriend. now, after a year away, felicity is returning to graduate. and she even got her old room in the godwin house, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirit of the five dalloway students, who are believed to be witches. the school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do, and before her girlfriend died, felicity was drawn to the dark, and she is determined to leave that behind now, all felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and to graduate. but, it’s hard when dalloway’s occult history is everywhere, and when the new girl won’t let her forget. it’s ellis haley’s first year at dalloway, and she already has a following, a prodigy novelist at seventeen, ellis is a so called ‘method writer.’ and she is eccentric and brilliant, and felicity can’t shake the pull to her, and ellis asks felicity to help research the dalloway five for her second book, and felicity can’t say no.

the ivies by Alexa Donne. everyone knows the Ivies, this is one of the most loved universities in the United States. but, way more importantly, there are the Ivies. the ivies at Claflin academy are five girls with the same mission, to get into the ivy league schools, with any means necessary. they disrupt class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions, among many other things. they improve their odds, by decreasing the fortune of others. since hyper elite competitive college admissions are a serious business, and in some cases, they are deadly.

the secret history by donna tartt. under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever and eccentric misfits at an elite new england college discover away of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existences of their contemporaries. but when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal and at last, into evil.

ninth house by leigh bardugo. galaxy “alex” stern is most unlikely member of yale’s freshman class. raised in the los angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends and dead end jobs and much worse. and by the age of 20, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. some might say she’s thrown her life away. but, at her hospital bed, alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. still searching for answers to this herself, alex arrives in new haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the actives of yale’s secret societies. these eight windowless ‘tombs’ are well known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high ranking politicos to wall street and hollywood’s biggest players. but their occult actives are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

vicious by VE schwab. victor and eli started out as college roommates, brilliant, arrogant and lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. in their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near death experiences and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. but when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, thing go horribly wrong. 10 years later, victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend, aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. meanwhile, eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super powered person that he can find, aside from his old sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archenemies have set a course for revenge but who will be left alive at the end?

a deadly education by naomi novik. there are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow it’s students to leave until they graduate or die. the rules are deceptively simple: don’t walk the halls alone and beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere. el is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. she may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power, strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. it would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. and the problem is that her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

anyway, that is all for today! happy freak week day 4! i honestly really loved making this list and i can’t wait to read these in the future, since they all sound like something i could totally get into in the winter when it’s cold and snowy. and hopefully, i’ll see you again tomorrow for day 5!

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adult mystery books of 2021 | freak week day 3

hello everyone! happy freak week day 3! today i am going to be talking about some adult mystery books of 2021. honestly, i feel like so many books that came out this month, so i’m honestly really excited to talk about these and to red them if i haven’t read them yet.

if i disappear by eliza jane brazier. sera loves true crime podcasts, they make her feel empowered in a world where women just like her disappear daily. she’s sure they are preparing her for something, so when rachel, her favorite podcast host, goes missing, sera knows it’s time to act. rachel has always taught her to trust her instincts. sera follows the clues hidden in the episode to an isolated ranch outside, rachel’s small hometown to begin her search. she’s convinced her investigation will make rachel so proud. but the more sera digs into this unfamiliar world, the more off things start to feel. because rachel is not the first woman to vanish from the ranch, and won’t be the last.

arsenic and adobo by mia p. manansala. when lila macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. she’s tasked with saving her tita rosie’s failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgement. but when a notoriously nasty food critic, who happens to be her ex boyfriend, drops dead moments after a confrontation with lila, her life quickly swerves from a nora ephron romp to an agatha christie case. with the cops treating her like she’s one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the macapagal family out and resell the storefront, lila’s left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. armed with the most auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted dachshund, lila takes on this tasty and twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block.

the maidens by alex michaelides. edward fosca is a murderer. of this mariana is certain. but fosca is untouchable. a handsome and charismatic greek tragedy professor at cambridge university, fosca is adored by the staff and students alike, particularly by the members of a secret society of female students know as the maidens. mariana andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on the maidens when one member, a friend of mariana’s niece zoe, is found murdered in cambridge. mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinsiter. and she becomes convinced that, despites his alibi edward fosca is guilty of the murder. but why would the professor targets one of his students? and why does he keep returning to the rites of persephone, the maiden, and her journey to teh underworld? when another body is found, mariana’s obsession with proving fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships.

survive the night by riley sager. josh baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to charlie. they met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to ohio. both have good reasons for wanting to get away. for charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the campus killer. for josh, it’s to help care for her sick father. or so he says, like the hitchcock heroine she’s named after, charlie has her doubts. there’s something suspicious about josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t seem to want charlie to see inside the car’s trunk. as they travel an empty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly worried charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the campus killer.

the burning girls by cj tudor. welcome to chapel croft. five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the sakes here. thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared with a trace, and two months ago, the vicar of the local parish killed himself. reverened jack brooks, a single parent with a 14 year old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping to make a fresh start and find some peace. instead, jack finds a town mired in secrecy and the strange welcome package: an old exorcism kit and a note quoting scripture. the more jack and her daughter, flo, gets acquainted with the town and its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into their rifts, mysteries and suspicions. and when flo is troubled by a strange sightings in the old chapel, it becomes apparent that there are ghosts here to refuse to be laid to rest.

the girls are all so nice here by laurie elizabeth flynn. a lot has changed in the years since ambrosia wellington graduated from college, and she’s worked hard to create a new life for herself. but then an invitation to her ten year reunion arrives in the mail, along with an anonymous note that reads, ‘we need to talk about we did that night.’ it seems that the secret of ambrosia’s past and the people she thought she’d left there, aren’t as buried as she believed. amb can’t fixating on what she did or who she did it with: larger than life solane sullivan, amb’s former best friend who could make anyone do anything.

never saw me coming by vera kurian. meet chloe sevre. she’s a freshman honor student, a leggings wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties, and plotting to kill will bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her. chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths- students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. the study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements. when one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and chloe goes from hunter to prey. as she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of the fellow psychopaths, and everyone knows you should never trust a psychopath.

the push by ashley audrain. blythe connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby, violet, that she herself never had. but, in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter, she doesn’t behave like most children do. or is it all in blythe’s head? her husband, fox, says she’s imagining things, and the more fox dismisses her fears, the more blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what blythe is telling us about her life as well. then, their son, sam, is born and with him, blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. even violet seems to love her little brother, but when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall out forces blythe to face the truth.

we were never here by andrea bartz. emily is having the time of her life, she’s in the mountains of chile with her best friend, kristen, on their annul reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. but, on the last night of their trip, emily enters their hotel room to find blood and broken glass on the floor. kristen says the cute backpacker she’d been flirting with attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self defense. even more shocking: the scene is horrifyingly similar to last year’s trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. emily can’t believe it’s happening again. and back home in wisconsin, emily is struggling to bury her trauma, diving head first into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. but when kristen shows up for a surprise visit, emily is forced to confront their violent past and the more kristen tries to keep emily close, the more emily questions her friend’s motives. as emily feels the walls closing in on their coverups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friends.

anyway, that is all for today! happy freak week day three. and i honestly had so much fun talking about this list, since i feel like these books all sound so cool and i can’t wait to read so many of these hopefully soon. and hopefully i’ll see you soon for today for the next post.

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halloween creatures book tag | freak week day 2

hello everyone! happy freak weak day two! today i am going to be doing the halloween creatures book tag. which i think this is my second time doing this tag, which i’m still so excited to do and to talk about books, but in a halloween way. and for this, i’m going to try to do most books i read this year, if i read a book with this prompt.

WITCH– a magical character or book.

the atlas six by olivie blake. this can kind of go both ways with this, since everyone in here is a magical characters, but than also the book is also pretty magical, since it does deal with magic. so, it honestly could go both ways, but it does fit the prompt completely.

WEREWOLF– the perfect book to read at night.

stalking jack the ripper by kerri maniscalo. i honestly think this series would be perfect to read around halloween and/or at night. so, i honestly think it would be so cool. especially cause jack the ripper hunts at night and there is parts were they are walking around at night trying to find him.

FRANKENSTEIN– a book that truly shocked you.

survive the night by riley sager. this wasn’t one of the most truly shocking book that i read, but i do feel like the epilogue was something i didn’t expect and i didn’t expect it to end that way. but, i do feel like it was still such a cool book and i think it was done so well.

THE DEVIL- a dark, evil character.

the ivies by alexa donne. i’m going to go with the girls from this book. granted, it wasn’t the best book, but i feel like this book had so many evil characters in here and all the girls in here aren’t the best characters in the world.

GRIM REAPER– a character that never should have died.

barney from a good girl’s guide to murder. i’ll never honestly get over this death, since i feel like it was so not good, but i feel like it was just not something that i expected to happen and it was one of the saddest moments in the book. and i feel like this was just such a sad thing and the dog should like, never die.

ZOMBIE- a book that made you ‘hungry’ for more.

as good as dead by holly jackson. i know this is the last book in the series, but we deserve a novella where ravi and pip get engaged or married or with them as kids. and i feel with the ending of this book, we really need something like that just to make the ending not be so sad anymore.

GARGOYLE- a character that you would protect at all cost.

ravi singh from a good girl’s guide to murder. i know i’ve used this book a lot, but i feel like he is such a pure and sweet character and i really think he was just such a cute character and i love him so much. and i think he is one of the best YA characters, and i feel like he doesn’t deserve some of the hate he gets.

VAMPIRE– a book that sucked the life out of you.

malibu rising by taylor jenkins reid. honestly, this book sucked the life out of me, but in a good way. i honestly think that this was such a mess of a book and i feel like it was such a sad book and it honestly mick was such a dick, and just like sucked the life out of me throughout this book.

GHOST– a book that still haunts you.

that weekend by kara thomas. look, this wasn’t a bad book by any means, and i even think the mystery was really good. but, there was one thing that happened in this book that literally was so gross and i hated reading it, since it was just so random. and i think it was just something that i hate reading about, so it was just so gross.

DEMON– a book that really scared you.

the project by courtney summers. i wouldn’t say this book scared me, but i do feel like it was just so creepy and honestly so twisty. and i really think it was so crazy and i think it was just such a mind fuck to read.

SKELETON- a character you have a bone to pick with.

14 ways to die by vincent ralph. i honestly feel like this book was just such a random book with so much happening, and nothing really made sense. like, i feel like everything that happened was just so stupid, and it honestly kind of pissed me off.

MUMMY- a book you would preserve throughout time.

six of crows by leigh bardugo. i honestly think this book was so good and i think it is one of the best fantasy books because of the crew of the characters. and i honestly think it that this would be such a good book for a lot of people to read.

that is all for today! this was honestly such a fun post to do and to talk about these books. but, i mean, it was still such a good book to read and of course we always love a spooky book tag. anyway, i’ll hopefully see you tomorrow for a next post.

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YA mystery books perfect for halloween | freak week day 1

hello everyone! so, as today is the first day of freak week, which is just halloween bookish posts from today, 10/25, to halloween. and today i am going to be talking about ya mystery and thriller books that i think are perfect for halloween. most of these books were published in 2020 and 2021, but there is a couple older ones, since it’s the first book in the series and it makes most sense to talk about the first book.

a good girl’s guide to murder by holly jackson. the case is closed. five years ago, andie bell was murdered by sal singh. the police know he did it, everyone in the town knows he did it. but, growing up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, pip fitz-amobi isn’t sure he actually did it. so, when her final project for school comes around, she chooses this as the topic. she soon starts to uncover secrets that someone in the town desperately wants to stay hidden, and if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep pip from the truth?

the ivies by alexa donne. everyone knows the ivies, the most coveted universities in the untied states. but, the ivies are more important, who go to the infamous claflin academy. five girls with the same goal, to get into the ivy league by any means necessary. and olivia knows, she is one of them. they mess with the class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions. they improve their own odds by decreasing the odds of others because elite colleges admissions is series business, and in some cases, deadly.

how we fall apart by katie zhao. nancy luo is shocked when her former best friend, jamie ruan, top ranked junior at sinclair prep, goes missing, and then later found dead. even more shocking, the word starts to spread that she and her friends, krystal, akil, and alexander, are the prime suspects, thanks the anonymous incriminating school social media app. they all used to be her best friends, how knew they’re deepest and darkest secrets, now, the proctor has them too. now, the four of them must go and uncover the true killer before the proctor exposes more and more about them.

the dead and the dark by courtney gould. something is wrong in snakebite, oregon. teenagers are disappearing, some of them turning up dead, the weather isn’t normal, and all the fingers start to point to the tv’s most popular ghost hunters, who now have just returned to town with their daughter, logan ortiz-woodley. ashley barton’s boyfriend was the first teen to go missing, and she still feels his presences. but, now that they are back, his ghosts starts to follow her more than ever, and the only person she can trust is logan. and when they team up to figure out the truth, about who or what is haunting the town, they start to reveal their families, the town and even themselves, which none of them are ready for.

a lesson in vengeance by victoria lee. in the catskills mountains, the centuries old ivy covered campus was home, until the death of her girlfriend. now, after a year away, felicity is returning to graduate. and she even got her old room in the godwin house, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirit of the five dalloway students, who are believed to be witches. the school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do, and before her girlfriend died, felicity was drawn to the dark, and she is determined to leave that behind now, all felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and to graduate. but, it’s hard when dalloway’s occult history is everywhere, and when the new girl won’t let her forget. it’s ellis haley’s first year at dalloway, and she already has a following, a prodigy novelist at seventeen, ellis is a so called ‘method writer.’ and she is eccentric and brilliant, and felicity can’t shake the pull to her, and ellis asks felicity to help research the dalloway five for her second book, and felicity can’t say no.

ace of spades by faridah abike- iyimide. welcome to niveus private academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. until now. because, an anonymous texter, aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. talented musician, devon, buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. head girl, chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. someone is out to get them both, someone who holds all the aces, and they’re planning much more than a high school game.

you’ll be the death of me by karen m. mcmanus. ivy, mateo, and cal used to be close. now, they all have in common is carlton high and the beginning of a very bad day. type a ivy lost a student council election to the class clown, and now she has to face the school, humiliated. heartthrob mateo is burned out, he’s been working two jobs since his family’s business failed. and outsider cal just got stood up, again. so, when cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into ivy and mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. they’ll ditch and go into the city. just the three of them, like old times. except they’ve barely left the parking lot before they run out of things to say, until they spot another carlton high student skipping school, and follow him to the scene of his own murder. in one chance to move, their days turns from dull to deadly and it’s about to get worse. it turns out, ivy, mateo, and cal still have some things in common, they all have a connection to the dead kid and they’re all hiding something.

every single lie by rachel vincent. nobody in beckett’s life seems to be telling the whole story. her boyfriend, jack, keeps hiding his texts and might be cheating on her. her father lied about loosing his job before his sudden death. and everyone in school is whispering about her and her father behind her back. but, none of that compares to the day beckett finds the body of the body of a newborn baby in a gym bag, jake’s gym bag, on the floor of her school’s locker room. as the word leaks out, rumors that beckett’s the mother takes off like wildfire in a town all to ready to believe the worst about her, and as the police investigation unfolds, she discovers that everyone has a secret to hide and the truth could alter everything she thought she knew.

she’s too pretty to burn by wendy heard. the summer is winding down in san diego. veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. they’re artists first, best friend second. but that was before mick, delicate, lonely, magnetic mick: the perfect subject, and veronica’s dream girl. the days are long and hot, full of adventure, and soon they are falling in love. falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. one fire, two murders, three drowning bodies, one suspect, one stalker. this is a summer they won’t survive.

all these bodies by kendare blake. summer 1958, a string of murders plague the midwest. the victims are found in their cars and in their homes, even in their beds, their bodies drained, but with no blood anywhere. september 19th, the carlson family is slaughtered in their minnesota farmhouse, and the case gets its first lead: the 15 year old marie catherine hale is found at the scene. she is covered in blood from head to toe, and at first she’s mistaken for a survivor, but not a drop of the blood is hers. michael jensen, son of the local sheriff, yearns to become a journalist and escape his small town. he never imagined that the biggest story in the country would fall onto his lap, or that he would be pulled into the investigation, when marie decides that he is the only one she will confess to. as marie recounts her version of the story, it falls to michael to find the truth: what really happened the night that carlsons were killed? and how did one girl wind up in the middle of all these bodies?

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really loved making this list, since i feel like there is so many good YA mystery books, but i feel like it is still such an underrated genre. and getting to talk to them was just so cool. and i hope you liked this list, and i’ll see you tomorrow for the next post.

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excuse me while i ugly cry review

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about excuse me while i ugly cry by joya goffney. i gave this book 2/5 stars. i honestly wished i liked this book more, but i feel like there was just so much going on in this book and i feel like it was just kind of a mess at certain points, but i do think that it still had some better part at some points.

trigger warning- bullying, racism, racial slurs, dementia, toxic friendship, misogyny, panic attacks / disorder, abandonment, alcohol, chronic illness, hate crime, mental illness.

i think my biggest issue with this book was that quinn was annoying. like i feel like page one we really got to see quinn just bitch about everything under the sun and just complain about everything that happens to her. and that honestly just got on my nerves after awhile. and i feel like everything she did she got to complain about and after awhile, it just kind of annoyed me. and i feel like it shouldn’t have been in here and i just think that she could have been written so much better.

and i also think that carter and quinn were not a good couple. like, they’re whole relationship is built on quinn just accusing carter that he stole her journal and then him saying that he didn’t do it and then just more fighting about that. and that honestly just annoyed me so much. and i think they should have just been handled better. and i feel like quinn was so self centered in this relationship, like she was so into herself and making sure her life is perfect, even though she has no clue what is happening in carter’s life, and that just honestly pissed me off and i think they should have changed that, or at least to a degree. and also, their communication sucked, which i hated.

with that being said, i feel like the plot around the journal just kind of died? like i don’t know if saying it died is the right word, but i feel like they had so much plot about it all and how this journal is so personal to her, but then once she got the journal back, it was just like ‘oh thanks i guess for the journal.’ and that it was like over and done with that plot. and i feel like they needed to expand it a little more and i feel like they needed to maybe have this plot stay a stable, and not have this quick and stupid ending, since so much of the drama of this book was about the damn journal going missing. and so much of this conflict of this book just got brushed over and pushed to the side.

and like the kids in the school and also quinn for that matter, there was so much bad things happening, and they did so many bad things happening to them, and i feel like there was so many rude and mean things, that they talked about a ton, but they never really talked about it. like, there was consequences about how they spread her journal around, but they never really did to much about what quinn did and what she said to people. and i think it was just kind of annoying, and i feel like they needed to change it a bit.

and like, this book is supposed to take place in a school, and which deals with the school plot. like, i feel like it was so crazy, and i mean, i feel like they needed to have some more plot about them at school, seeing that they supposed to take place in a school. like, they needed to have more plot, or at least scenes, were they were actually in school, and i feel like they needed to have that. like, they needed to kind of play it all together, to some degree, and just to have school be this plot in the book.

i personally don’t really mind if books have lists in the books, and have lists be this central plot point of these books. but, i feel like that this book had these plot with them just so boring. like, she kept going on and on about how the plot was kind of weird. like, she made these points that this journal and that this journal was supposed to be so incredibly private, and that nobody should ever see it. yet, she just carries it around at all times, and that she is lazy enough with this journal to have some random person be able to pick it up. which, just kind of annoying and it just got to be to much after awhile.

anyway, that is all for today! this is honestly such a short review, but i don’t really know what more to talk about, since i feel like this book is just kind of boring and i don’t have to many thoughts about it. but, i do think this book could have been better, in the long run.

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