My Most Anticipated Summer Releases!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be talking about some books that I cannot wait to be published. As a blogger, I am so thankful to have the opportunity to have read ARCs of upcoming releases, and I will talk about the ones you should look at for in another post.

Since June is already underway, I'm only going to highlight books that were published in June that I have not read yet, since I can't necessarily anticipate a book I've already completed. There are already some wonderful summer reads on shelves like The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren and Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. There's also upcoming releases, like The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai, that I highly recommend as well!

Without further ado, here are the summer releases I'm most escited for, save the ARCs I have read!

June

Virtually Yours by Sarvenaz Tash 
Release Date: June 4, 2019
 

Goodreads

I wanted to request Virtually Yours via Netgalley, but didn't have the time (management) to download this one. However, Virtually Yours literally sounds like my dream book. Virtually Yours follows Mariam Vakilian, a NYU freshman, and her love life. I personally love novels set in college/university, particularly because I am attending UNC right now. Also, I am a sucker for love triangles, which sounds pretty prominent in the synopsis.

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

Release Date: June 4, 2019

Goodreads

Wild and Crooked is a YA contemporary novel set in a small town, in which two main characters Kalyn Spence and Gus Peake, are connected, just not in a good way. Kalyn's father murdered Gus', and when Kalyn moves back, she must under pseudonym. I don't know too much else, but the synopsis really struck me! 

June TBR!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be taking a look at the books I hope to read this June. Of course, this doesn't always mean that I'll read them; I'm a mood reader, after all. 

Nevertheless, here are the 10 books that are at the top of my list. 

The Last Hope (The Raging Ones #2) by Becca and Krista Ritchie

The Last Hope is the sequel to Krista and Becca Ritchie's sci-fi/fantasy novel, The Raging Ones. While I did find The Raging Ones slow, I thought the premise and characters were so strong, pushing me to download the sequel from Netgalley. I just started this one, and I have high hopes for this conclusion to the duology. You can read my review of the first book here.

Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

I mentioned earlier this year that Again, but Better was one of my most anticipated reads. I have watched Christine's videos since the dawn of time (at least, it feels that way), and have been watching her progress with Again, but Better since her first video on it. Needless to say, I was excited. However, I started hearing some pretty mixed things, so I took my time with picking it up. I'm about 100 pages at the time of writing this post, and most likely will be done by the time you're reading. I'm enjoying it now, even though I see the flaws others have discussed. 

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

It's no secret that Jenn Bennett is one of my favorite authors. Read my rave reviews of her contemporary novels here (Serious Moonlight), here (Starry Eyes), and here (Alex, Approximately). After hearing that Bennett's upcoming release was a historical fiction, I wanted to give it a go. I don't stray away from my contemporary reads that much, but I will for Bennett.

Bewitching by Jill Barnett

This might come of as an odd pick, and you're right! This year, I've decided to participated in Romanceopoly. Though I haven't done as well as I hoped with the challenge this year, Bewitching does fit the prompt for my current challenge to read a romance novel where the protagonist can wield magic. Now I just have to make the time for it!

Twisted Family Values by VC Chickening

I'm not too sure if I'm going to have time for Twisted Family Values this month, but I do want to get to it soon, so I decided to be an optimist today! I received Twisted Family Values via Netgalley, and ever since interning at Algonquin Books last semester, I've wanted to read more literary/adult fiction in my free time. This fits the bill!

The Fever King (Feverwake #1) by Victoria Lee

Much like Twisted Family Values, The Fever King is also a book I received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I actually started to read this right before finals last semester, but put it down once finals season was really upon me. It's now been about a month since I've been out of school, and I definitely have the time to now to read this e-arc.

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

Okay, there's definitely a trend here. And yes, I know I need to read my ARCs! Yet again, Wild and Crooked is another arc I downloaded. Honestly, I downloaded this on a whim and I'm not too sure what it's about, but I've seen some good reviews from bloggers whose opinions I tend to agree with lately, so I think I'll like it. 

The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce

I saw this a week or so ago on Netgalley and immediately requested it. I don't read too many anthologies, but The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce really spoke to me, solely from its title. As someone who is trying to accept her body, I've begun to read more fat-positive literature (I highly recommend There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon), and this fit the bill.

Start Here by Trish Doller

I received a physical arc of Start Here from Simon and Schuster just a week after contemplating on requesting it from Netgalley. This came at the perfect time, and I'm looking forward to reading a a novel that seems to balance the fun of a summer read and more somber topics. 

Containment by Caryn Lix

Last but certainly not least is...you guessed it! Another arc. Do I have a problem? Yes. However, I actually haven't downloaded this one yet, so my NetGalley ratio is perfectly in tact. After reading Sanctuary by Caryn Lix last year (review here), I have been wanting to read the sequel since. Once I get through some of the other books on this list, I'm going to head over to NetGalley and download.

Are any of these books on your list or have you read any? What were your thoughts?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading! 

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

BOOK REVIEW | The Red Labyrinth by Meredith Tate

Title: The Red Labyrinth
Author: Meredith Tate
Series? Seemingly so, but I can't find any information.
Pages: 352
Publication Date: June 4, 2019
Publisher: Flux Publishing
Source: I received an e-arc of The Red Labyrinth in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

The massive labyrinth was built to protect Zadie Kalver's isolated desert town. Unfortunately, living in the maze's shadow makes her feel anything but safe. Even without its enchanted deathtraps and illusions, a mysterious killer named Dex lurks in its corridors, terrorizing anyone in his path.

But when Zadie's best friend vanishes into the labyrinth-and everyone mysteriously forgets he exists- completing the maze becomes her only hope of saving him. In desperation, Zadie bribes the only person who knows the safe path through-Dex-into forming a tenuous alliance.

Navigating a deadly garden, a lethal blood-filled hourglass, and other traps-with an untrustworthy murderer for her guide-Zadie's one wrong step from certain death. But with time running out before her friend (and secret crush) is lost forever, Zadie must reach the exit and find him. If Dex and the labyrinth don't kill her first.

Goodreads

Let's Discuss! | Is Shadowhunters Worth Watching?

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! If you've been following this blog for a while, you might remember a series I did on my blog called "Adaptation Talk." In that series, I either reviewed or listed my opinions on some big name adaptations. One of those was Shadowhunters.

Shadowhunters recenlty concluded, with Freeform cancelling the series after 3 seasons. Since the show had not yet covered all the source material, there was a special 80 minute episode at the end that covered the last novel, City of Heavenly Fire. The show has a total of 55 episodes, including the longer finale episode. Considering that all episodes are free to watch on Freeform's website and they had only 3 seasons, Shadowhunters can be easily binge-watched this summer.

But is Shadowhunters a good enough TV show to merit watching?

The season 3 poster

The short answer is maybe, depending on whether or not you read (and are a fan  of) the books. If you haven't, you'll most likely enjoy the show for what it is: an urban fantasy show that tackles political issues (both in our reality and in the fantastical world), battles with some solid choreography, and a shit ton of hot people and their romances. But if you read the books? Well, Shadowhunters is mainly a disappointment, since it's not a good adaptation. What I mean by "good adaptation" is not whether the show is good or not, but that it doesn't follow the books. Essentially, Shadowhunters takes the structure of Cassandra Clare's novels, with the same world, power structures, and roughly the same rules and laws, but makes monumental changes to the plot, switching the sequences, altering interpersonal realtionships, and at times completely disregarding huge plot points of the novels.

Since I have read the novels, I've always struggled between enjying Shadhowunters for what it is and being disappointed. I did read all six Mortal Instruments books a while ago, but I do remember key points, so when the show didn't deliver on them (like having the Alliance rune during the battle with Valentine, or having Jace and Sebastian linked, or the whole Simon/Maia/Izzy love triangle) I was let down.

However, the show did have its merits as well. Now that I have completed the series, I'll give you a pros and cons list of the show, and let you decide if you should watch the show or not.

May Wrap Up!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today I'll be wrapping up May. May was half busy and half relaxed for me, and overall a good month personally, professionally, and reading-wise!

Without further ado, here are the 9 books I read in May!

The Play by Karina Halle 

Goodreads

The Play was a big old "oof." Unfortunately, I didn't like this one at all. I had high hopes, considering that this was from the same series as The Pact and The Offer, both of which I enjoyed, and the same author as Smut, which I read a couple years back and really liked. For me, The Play was about 200 pages too long, clocking in at 568 pages. Personally, that's way too long for a contemporary romance, and most of it was just angst and the same conflict happening again and again. By the end of the novel, I was tired of reading about these characters, and even started to talk back to the audiobook. The performances of the narrators weren't amazing either, with the Scottish accent all over the place.

Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

Goodreads

I had my eye on Meet Cute for quite some time, and was glad when I finally picked it up this May! Meet Cute wasn't my favorite romance ever, but it was a solid foray, and I'll be reading more of Helena Hunting in the future. The novel read more like general fiction with a heavy romance sub-plot, though. Don't get me wrong, it was written well, it just wasn't what I was expecting, and I wish the promotion and the synopsis more accurately represented the novel.

DISCUSSION | Cover Trends

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I have a bit of a light-hearted post for you to read. As you peruse these covers I've mentioned today, you can click the cover and it will direct you to that novel's goodreads page!

As I pursue goodreads and see upcoming releases, I've noticed quite the trend with covers. Today I'll be looking at four different trends I've noticed.

The first trend I noticed was that there are so many yellow covers! Now you might be thinking, there's surely not that many yellow covers. But here's three just off the top of my head.

Here are three examples:  

Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

And here are two others that I found literally two seconds ago on goodreads, when I went to my current read's page and updated my progress. 

The Marriage Clock by Zara Raheem

The Arrangement by Sonya Lalli

And what do these books have in common? Well, they are all spring or summer releases that are marketed as contemporary romances. I'm not too sure that yellow screams romance - I'll leave that to red, pinks, and purples - but it sure does scream fun and fresh. The bright yellow consistently draws my eyes, and that's undoubtedly what these covers are trying to do, get readers' attention.

An Update | On Reading, Blogging, and My Life!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be giving you an update on, well...everything! If you haven't noticed, I haven't been to active on this blog, and there are several reasons for why my blogging has fallen to the wayside. 

Since you haven't seen me regularly on this blog in quite a while, I figured I would give you some updates on reader-y things and a little bit of my personal life! 

Reading

So, funny thing. I was actually going to write an April wrap up, but when I checked goodreads, I was surprised to realize that I only read two books. I'm not behind on my reading goal (100 books) but I am *gasp* on track! Before this semester started, I was easily 7-8 books ahead of schedule, and it was nice to know worry about that. I try not to give too much weight to arbitrary goals, but I've been reading at least a 100 books for a four (?) years now, and I definitely want to continue on that goal. 

Now that I'm done with school for this semester (more on that later!), I've begun to read a lot more! I'm almost done with one book, in the middle of another, and over halfway through an audiobook. I'm looking forward to getting back on my expedited track! 

Besides the goodreads challenge, I am technically a participant of Romanceopoly, a reading challenge with a romance-themed monopoly board. Out of all the squares (I have no idea how many there are, tbh), I've only completed two. For someone who wanted to finish the whole board, I know that this isn't going to happen. But I hope to put some more attention into this reading challenge! 

As for what specific books I am reading....you'll get another post on that soon (imagine me winking, but in a non-creepy way).