Discussion Post: What Inspires You?

I know you've heard me cry about how hard discussion posts are for me. Hey, I'm a reader, not a writer, but I'm trying. What I have been wondering about lately is how do you come up with your discussion topics.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Snow in Love

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for Snow in Love!

Snow in Love
Melissa de la Cruz, Nic Stone, Aimee Friedman, Kasie West

Series: n/a
Release Date: October 30, 2018

Publisher: Point

Waited on by: Sam

Goodreads

What's better than one deliciously cozy, swoon-worthy holiday story?

Four of them, from some of today's bestselling authors.

From KASIE WEST, a snowy road trip takes an unexpected detour when secrets and crushes are revealed.

From AIMEE FRIEDMAN, a Hanukkah miracle may just happen when a Jewish girl working as a department store elf finds love.

From MELISSA DE LA CRUZ, Christmas Eve gets a plot twist when a high school couple exchange surprising presents.

From NIC STONE, a scavenger hunt amid the holiday crowds at an airport turns totally romantic.

So grab a mug of hot cocoa, snuggle up, and get ready to fall in love...

Top Ten Tuesday: Iconic Performances of the 2000s

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Iconic Performances of the 2000s!

My mother is always amused by my description of 2000s movies/characters/songs as Iconic, so she suggested this topic. While the fashion choices of the 2000s were possibly questionable (I mean, I kind of love it and hate it at the same time), this period was filled with incredible, Iconic performances. While there are many Iconic performances of the time, I've chosen ten of my favorites to share below (in no particular order). Shoutout to 2004 for having so many Iconic performances.

In a Nutshell Reviews - The Broken Hearts Edition

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights. I am calling this one "the broken hearts edition", because each of the narrators in these three books had their hearts broken. They all dealt with this heartache in very different ways, but in the end, they gained some clarity and insight into themselves.

Dating Disasters of Emma Nash
Chloe Seager
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Don’t miss the laugh-out-loud novel of the year!

Online, you can choose who you want to be. If only real life were so easy…

Emma Nash may be down, but after months of wallowing, stalking her ex online and avoiding showering—because, really, who’s going to care?—Emma’s ready to own her newly single status, get out with her friends and chronicle her dating adventures on her private blog.

But life online doesn’t always run smoothly. Stumbling upon her mother’s Tinder dating profile, getting catfished and accidentally telling the entire world why her ex-boyfriend Leon’s not worth any girl’s…um…time… Okay, those were disasters.

But surely nothing else can go wrong?

Filled with fun, flirty encounters and heartwarming friendships, Dating Disasters of Emma Nash will shock and delight scores of readers looking for something fresh.

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post

Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

I have been so busy preparing for my daughter's move to Chicago, and am therefore really grateful for this three-day weekend. I have little plans, other than trying to do some last minute packing. We will be driving on Thursday and Friday, and then trying to take care of as many things as possible before I leave Chicago on Sunday. I am exhausted just thinking about it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I have good weather and little traffic.

I am a little sad, that I will not be attending BookCon since it started. Yep, I even went the year it was in Chicago, but I hope everyone who is attending has a fabulous time.

If you haven't done so yet, and Book Depository delivers to you - GO and enter our blogiversary giveaway.

Discussion: Is It Historical?

What makes a book "historical" fiction? This is what I have been contemplating lately, and I am hoping you guys have some ideas for me.

Review: Listen to Your Heart - Kasie West

Listen to Your Heart
Kasie West
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Point
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Talking to other people isn't Kate Bailey's favorite activity. She'd much rather be out on the lake, soaking up the solitude and sunshine. So when her best friend, Alana, convinces Kate to join their high school's podcast, Kate is not expecting to be chosen as the host. Now she'll have to answer calls and give advice on the air? Impossible.

But to Kate's surprise, she turns out to be pretty good at the hosting gig. Then the podcast gets in a call from an anonymous guy, asking for advice about his unnamed crush. Kate is pretty sure that the caller is gorgeous Diego Martinez, and even surer that the girl in question is Alana. Kate is excited for her friend ... until Kate herself starts to develop feelings for Diego. Suddenly, Kate finds that while doling out wisdom to others may be easy, asking for help is tougher than it looks, and following your own advice is even harder.

Kasie West's adorable story of secrets, love, and friendship is sure to win over hearts everywhere.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Two Dark Reigns - Kendare Blake

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for Two Dark Reigns!

Two Dark Reigns
Kendare Blake

Series: Three Dark Crowns, #3
Release Date: September 4, 2018

Publisher: HarperTeen

Waited on by: Sam

Goodreads

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake returns with the highly anticipated third book in the Three Dark Crowns series!

Katharine sits on the throne, Mirabella and Arsinoe are in hiding, and an unexpected renegade is about to wage a war of her own. The crown has been won, but these queens are far from done.

Top Ten Tuesday: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

Since May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I thought I would share books written by authors, who are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. These are all books I have read, but I also have a ton on my TBR.

In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

Puddin'
Julie Murphy
Series: Dumplin', #2
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

It is a companion novel to Dumplin', which follows supporting characters from the first book in the months after Willowdean's star turn in the Clover City pageant.

Millie Michalchuk has gone to fat camp every year since she was a girl. Not this year. This year she has new plans to chase her secret dream—and to kiss her crush. Callie Reyes is the pretty girl who is next in line for dance team captain and has the popular boyfriend. But when it comes to other girls, she’s more frenemy than friend. When circumstances bring the girls together over the course of a semester, they will surprise everyone (especially themselves) by realizing they might have more in common than they ever imagined.

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post

Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

It was another tough week for us here in the US. My heart goes out to all those, who were affected. I taught high school science for 12 years, and I get really emotional when things like this happen in our schools.

However, it was a big week for us here at WLABB. We celebrated 5 years as a blog, and I was really happy that my co-bloggers had time to reflect on this happy occasion. I was also happy to post Kiersten's reviews. I bet some of you were confused to see a non-contemporary book on the blog, but that's why I love having co-bloggers.

Blogiversary - Look Who's 5!!

Today is a special day here at WLABB. It's our 5th Blogiversary! In honor of this special day, the WLABBers want to share their thoughts on how their lives have changed since the birth of this blog.

Review: Thunderhead - Neal Shusterman

Thunderhead
Neal Shusterman
Series: Arc of a Scythe, #2
Genre/Age: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Summer of Us - Cecilia Vinesse

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for The Summer of Us!

The Summer of Us
Cecilia Vinesse

Series: n/a
Release Date: June 14, 2018

Publisher: Poppy

Waited on by: Sam

Goodreads

Aubrey and Rae have been planning their trip around Europe practically from the moment they became BFFs in primary school. And, now, it ought to be the perfect way to spend their last summer together before university.

But things are more complicated at eighteen than they were at ten. There's Jonah, Aubrey's seemingly perfect boyfriend, and his best friend Gabe, the boy Aubrey may have accidentally kissed. And there's Clara, the friend Rae is crushing on, hard, even though there's no hope because Clara is definitely into guys, not girls.

Five friends. Ten days. Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Florence, Barcelona. And a messy, complicated, can-this-really-be happening love story, or two ... because how could there not be?

Top Ten Tuesday: Mental Health Awareness Month

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

YA Mental Health Books!

In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

Bobby Sky: Boy Band or Die
Joe Shine
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Suspense
Publisher: Soho Teen
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

At fourteen, Robert “Hutch” Hutchinson is out of luck. His charm and singing voice—and penchant for bursting into song at all the wrong times—can’t keep him out of trouble anymore. When he’s arrested (again): he’s given a choice: die in juvie or become a Shadow: the fearless, unstoppable, and top-secret guardian of a Future Important Person, or FIP.

With nothing to lose, Hutch accepts. After two grueling years at the Future Affairs Training and Education (FATE) Center, Hutch can barely remember the boy he once was. His entire existence has been erased. Ready for anything, he expects to be plunged into a battle zone.

Instead he learns that his FIP is someone named Ryo Enomoto. Yes, the Ryo Enomoto: front-man of world-famous boy band International. Worse, Hutch has to put his old talents to use. He must join the band and change his name to Bobby Sky. Is this for real? Has he really turned himself into a lethal killing machine . . . only to become a teen pop sensation?

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post

Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

To everyone out there, who is celebrating:

Blog Tour: Love & Luck - Jenna Evans Welch

Love & Luck
Jenna Evans Welch
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.

So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.

Hidden Gems: Phantom Limbs - Paula Garner

Hidden Gems was inspired by Bee at Quite the Novel Idea. I think we all have those books, which we loved so much, but are just overshadowed by bigger releases. This post will celebrate those books,  and I hope you will join me in sharing your own hidden gems.

Today's gem is...

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Little White Lies - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for Little White Lies!

Little White Lies
Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: n/a
Release Date: 

Publisher: Freeform

Waited on by: Sam

Goodreads

"I'm not saying this is Sawyer's fault," the prim and proper one said delicately. "But."

Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother's "society" might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father's identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn't expect to find is friendship, but as she's drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn't the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother's glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer's search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.

Set in the world of debutante balls, grand estates and rolling green hills, Little White Lies combines a charming setting, a classic fish-out-of-water story, and the sort of layered mystery only author Jennifer Lynn Barnes can pull off.

Top Ten Tuesday - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Somewhere Over the Rainbow!

Blog Tour: Spies, Lies, and Allies by Lisa Brown Roberts

Spies, Lies, and Allies 
Lisa Brown Roberts
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Summers are supposed to be fun, right? Not mine. I’ve got a job at my dad’s company, which is sponsoring a college scholarship competition. I just found out that, in addition to my job assisting the competing interns, I’m supposed to vote for the winner. Totally not what I signed up for.

There’s a crazy guy running the competition like it’s an episode of Survivor. Then there’s Carlos, who is, well, very distracting –– in a good way. But I can’t even think about him that way because Crazy Guy says any fraternizing on the job means instant disqualification for the intern involved.

As if that’s not enough, an anonymous weirdo with insider intel is trying to sabotage my dad’s company on social media…and I’m afraid it’s working.

Much as I’d love to quit, I can’t. Kristoffs Never Quit is our family motto. I just hope there’s more than one survivor by the end of this summer.

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post

Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

I am writing this in-between graduation and packing the car, so I'll be brief. It's wonderful seeing my child again. I get to have her for one month, and will treasure every second. I am also excited to see Noor, our fellow WLABBer, again. We will dine and celebrate together.

I didn't get to read as much, since I spent almost all of Friday in the car, and Saturday doing packing/graduation things, but I did listen to a lot of audiobooks, and I chose wisely, because the ones I listened to in the car were fantastic!

Discussion: How Do You Review Audiobooks?

Once upon a time, I didn't think I would like audiobooks. It took me a while to find the type of stories that work for me, and now I LOVE audiobooks! They have helped me beat my backlist, and I love passing the time as I do chores or drive listening to a good book. I have only done an "official" review for one audiobook, but I would love to work more audiobook reviews in with my other book reviews, but I struggle a little with these reviews.

Blog Tour: Tradition - Brendan Kiely

Tradition
Brendan Kiely
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Prestigious. Powerful. Privileged. This is Fullbrook Academy, an elite prep school where history looms in the leafy branches over its brick walkways. But some traditions upheld in its hallowed halls are profoundly dangerous.

Jules Devereux just wants to keep her head down, avoid distractions, and get into the right college, so she can leave Fullbrook and its old-boy social codes behind. She wants freedom, but ex-boyfriends and ex-best friends are determined to keep her in place.

Jamie Baxter feels like an imposter at Fullbrook, but the hockey scholarship that got him in has given him a chance to escape his past and fulfill the dreams of his parents and coaches, whose mantra rings in his ears: Don’t disappoint us.

When Jamie and Jules meet, they recognize in each other a similar instinct for survival, but at a school where girls in the student handbook are rated by their looks, athletes stack hockey pucks in dorm room windows like notches on a bedpost, and school-sponsored dances push first year girls out into the night with senior boys, the stakes for safe sex, real love, and true friendship couldn’t be higher.

As Jules and Jamie’s lives intertwine, and the pressures to play by the rules and remain silent about the school’s secrets intensify, they see Fullbrook for what it really is. That tradition, a word Fullbrook hides behind, can be ugly, even violent. Ultimately, Jules and Jamie are faced with the difficult question: can they stand together against classmates—and an institution—who believe they can do no wrong?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Cheerleaders - Kara Thomas

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for The Cheerleaders!

The Cheerleaders
Kara Thomas

Series: n/a
Release Date: July 31, 2018

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Waited on by: Sam

Goodreads

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Need in My Grabby Hands - NOW!

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Books I Need in My Grabby Hands!

This week we are talking about books that we would love to be reading RIGHT NOW, but, like, we don't have them or a time machine so that we could travel forward in time and make them be released. BUT! until then, we have these wishes in our hearts, and will pray to the book gods for approvals, book mail, or Goodreads wins.