Waiting on Wednesday (195)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. Click the link to see the original post plus a whole slew of links to other blogs. After you read this one, of course.

In Search Of

Author: Ava Dellaira 
Publisher: Farrar Straus
Release Date: March 6, 2018

Goodreads:

The author of the beloved Love Letters to the Dead returns with a parallel story of a mother and daughter each at age seventeen. Marilyn's tale recounts the summer she fell in love and set out on her own path. Angie's story is about her search for her unknown father.

This sweeping multi-generational love story introduces readers to mother-and-daughter pair Marilyn and Angie. To seventeen-year-old Angie, who is mixed-race, Marilyn is her hardworking, devoted white single mother. But Marilyn was once young, too. When Marilyn was seventeen, she fell in love with Angie's father, James, who was African-American. But Angie's never met him, and Marilyn has always told her he died before she was born. When Angie discovers evidence of an uncle she's never met she starts to wonder: What if her dad is still alive, too? So she sets off on a journey to find him, hitching a ride to LA from her home in New Mexico with her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Along the way, she uncovers some hard truths about herself, her mother, and what truly happened to her father.

Why I'm Excited: I really liked Love Letters to the Dead and have been waiting for this author's follow-up. I love the idea of parallel stories of a mother and daughter at the same age (I like it so much, in fact, that I'm writing something similar right now--but different enough that this doesn't make me want to break down in sobs or anything. Lol). I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for this one. 

What are you waiting for on this Wednesday? Link me up!

Weekly Rewind 6.24.17

Weekly Rewind
The new books on my shelves and my week in a nutshell.

Throughout my student teaching semester I was using my weekend post as a way to let people know what's going on in my life, so I've decided to rename my weekend post because this feature is more personal than just what books I've received. The Weekly Rewind will be about what's going on with me and my blog, as well as about the books I've added to my shelves. This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves over at Tynga's Reviews and the Sunday Post over at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

My Life and Blog

Life: This first week of my summer vacation has definitely had some ups and downs. I had a second-round interview the first day of break--which I thought I rocked, but I found out yesterday that I didn't get it. This came after a disastrous interview on Wednesday where I babbled incoherently in a way that made me want to get up and leave in the middle. It was so fucking horrible. I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before and my brain just stopped working. You would have thought that I just learned how to speak English instead of spending the last 3 years teaching it. So embarrassing.

It's early in the summer still, but I'm already steeling myself for yet another year away from home. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, but it is hard. I just want to live with my husband. That isn't a lot to ask. Ugh...sorry. I'll quit now.

On a positive note, I took my kitty to the vet yesterday and he got an all clear. After losing my sweet Juniper a couple of months ago, I've had a huge hole in my life. Of course, a new pet can never replace an old one, but it is so nice to have a little buddy. We have our calico, but since she has spent most of her time exclusively with my husband, she is definitely his cat. They (the cats) are getting along like gangbusters, which is so awesome. Here's a photo:

Blog and reading: A WoW this week, but I'm hoping to get back into some light blogging this summer. Another positive is that I've been reading up a storm this past week. I was going through a slump like you wouldn't believe the last 6 weeks, or so, of school, so it is so nice to have my mojo back. I finished reading Devoted--which is about a girl who is starting to question her life in a cultishly religious church. I'm currently reading Eliza and Her Monsters, Summer Sisters, Once and For All, and Why Not Me?. 

New Books: A handful of new stories this week. So without further ado, I hope you're all having fabulous weekends! 

New Books

  

Now I Rise by Kiersten White

I snagged And I Darken in paperback this week to catch up on the series before diving into the second book. I've heard great things about it, so I'm definitely excited. 

Bombshell by Rowan Maness 

A teen girl who lives multiple lives online gets an anonymous email threatening to expose her. This seems like a pretty common synopsis lately, but I like the cover and am hoping for some light fun. 

The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy

I'm not exactly how to summarize that synopsis...so I'm not going to. I know this is magical realism, and that's about it. 

Coming Up For Air by Miranda Kenneally

I have yet to read a book by this author despite owning at least a couple arcs. This one follows a competitive swimmer. I'm hoping to get to it, but we'll see. I'm not really feeling cutesy romances lately. The used to be my bread and butter...

What I Bought

And I Darken by Kiersten White

Like I said above, I've heard great things about this. For whatever reason, I thought this was a duology instead of a trilogy, which is disappointing, but I'm excited regardless.

What I snagged from the library

   

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

I was so excited when I got the e-arc for this a few months back. Even though it was early, I started it right away, only to realize that even on my laptop the "extras" of the book (drawings from the comic, mostly) just weren't showing up clear enough to be appreciated. I put it aside and decided to be patient, and I'm glad I did. I'm loving this story of a girl who starts to fall for the new boy at school who happens to write fanfiction for the online comic she created.

The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green

I used to be a huge fan of Ms. Green back in my early 20s when the chick lit genre was exploding. I haven't paid much attention to her work lately, but for whatever reason decided to give this a try. I'm liking it so far, but am only a few chapters in.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

This book was a casualty in my fickle reading habits. I started it months ago, and was enjoying it, too, but put it aside for whatever reason and never picked it back up. I'm going to have to start over, but I am determined to read it. 

Movie:

La La Land

Ok, so I would have actually featured this last week but didn't do a weekend post. I already watched this and loved it so much. The scene in the beginning when Emma requests Ryan's band play Hungry Like a Wolf at the party--so funny. I cried at the end. So good. 

Well that's it for me this week. Feel free to leave a link to whatever weekend post you do (Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post, etc). I love to see what books people have recently snagged and especially enjoy hearing about my fellow bloggers' weeks. I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!

Waiting on Wednesday (194) Olivia Twist

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. Click the link to see the original post plus a whole slew of links to other blogs. After you read this one, of course.

Olivia Twist

Author: Lorie Langdon
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: March 8, 2018

Goodreads:

Olivia Brownlow is no damsel in distress. Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving London street gangs, she is as tough and cunning as they come. When she is taken in by her uncle after a caper gone wrong, her life goes from fighting and stealing on the streets to lavish dinners and soirees as a debutante in high society. But she can’t seem to escape her past … or forget the teeming slums where children just like her still scrabble to survive.

Jack MacCarron rose from his place in London’s East End to become the adopted “nephew” of a society matron. Little does society know that MacCarron is a false name for a boy once known among London gangs as the Artful Dodger, and that he and his “aunt” are robbing them blind every chance they get. When Jack encounters Olivia Brownlow in places he least expects, his curiosity is piqued. Why is a society girl helping a bunch of homeless orphan thieves? Even more intriguing, why does she remind him so much of someone he once knew? Jack finds himself wondering if going legit and risking it all might be worth it for love.

Olivia Twist is an innovative reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic tale Oliver Twist, in which Olivia was forced to live as a boy for her own safety until she was rescued from the streets. Now eighteen, Olivia finds herself at a crossroads: revealed secrets threaten to destroy the “proper” life she has built for her herself, while newfound feelings for an arrogant young man she shouldn’t like could derail her carefully laid plans for the future.

Why I'm Excited: I never knew I needed an updated version of Oliver Twist--starring a young heroine--but now I do. This sounds really fun. I'm not enamored by the cover, but it isn't the worst. Regardless, I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for this one. 

What are you waiting for on this Wednesday? Link me up!

Weekly Rewind 6.10.17

Weekly Rewind
The new books on my shelves and my week in a nutshell.

Throughout my student teaching semester I was using my weekend post as a way to let people know what's going on in my life, so I've decided to rename my weekend post because this feature is more personal than just what books I've received. The Weekly Rewind will be about what's going on with me and my blog, as well as about the books I've added to my shelves. This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves over at Tynga's Reviews and the Sunday Post over at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Life and Blog

Life: Today was the last day of school!!! I just woke up from a 3 hour nap. Lol. Today was a good day, but exhausting. We always do a field day for the last day of school and I spent the morning doing Wii Dance and the afternoon in the hot sun watching kids run around losing their minds. I'm so ready for summer! My husband will be down tomorrow to help me pack up to go home for the summer (at least...hopefully for good). I still have to go in on Monday for in-service days, but I'm pretty much done with everything. I have to do some last minute organizing, but all of my grades are posted and everything is pretty much a wrap. 

I'm going out tomorrow with my roommate and her boyfriend for a last hurrah. The house we live in has been sold, and they have bought a place together. Sunday my English team is getting together with spouses for our final send-off, too. It should be a fun, albeit, bittersweet weekend. 

Blog and reading: I've been so busy these past couple of weeks, that I just haven't had time to post. I also haven't been reading at all. I just haven't been in the mood to read lately, and cannot get into any of the books I've picked up. Although I started The Woman in the Window last night (which is supposed to be the next "big" thriller). I has super short chapters, and I definitely would have read a bit more if I hadn't started it at, like, midnight the night before the last day of school. I've been very much struggling with YA lately, so I'm hoping an adult mystery will help snap me out of my slump. 

New books: Just a small handful today. So without further ado, I hope you're all having fabulous weekends! 

For Review

  

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

I usually try to keep a loose reading schedule, but I've been slumping so hard lately, that I just decided to read the first couple of pages of several books to see if anything stuck. This doesn't come out until 2018, but it caught my attention, which is frankly all I care about right now. This is about a woman who watches the neighbors in her NY neighborhood and believes she sees a crime in one of their houses--very Rear Window.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

I've been looking forward to this one for awhile. I need to get on it. 

Such a Good Girl by Amanda Morgan

I'm not sure about this one. As a teacher, I struggle with books about teacher/student relationships because it is seriously gag-worthy to me (for real--so gross). I've heard there are some good twists to this one, but I read the first chapter and had to put it down when the girl's parents weren't excited for her when she got into Princeton. Give me a break.

What I snagged from the library

 

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen

Nothing says summer like a new Dessen novel. I know I'm not going to get to this this weekend between packing and partying, but luckily it is waiting for me at my PA library, too. 

Movie:

Passengers

This really didn't get the best reviews, but I really love both of them, so hopefully I'll enjoy it more than most. 

Well that's it for me this week. Feel free to leave a link to whatever weekend post you do (Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post, etc). I love to see what books people have recently snagged and especially enjoy hearing about my fellow bloggers' weeks. I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!