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.

Book Tag: What's On My Bookshelf?

I was tagged by the Aimee @ Aimee, Always to tell you What's On My Bookshelf?, a tag which was  originally created by Naty @ Naty's Bookshelf.

In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights. These three books were really different from each other, but they had one thing in common - all three had fantastic endings and left me utterly satisfied.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: In Your Shoes - Donna Gephart

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 In Your Shoes!

Top Ten Tuesday: How Have I NOT Read This Book!

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

How Have I NOT Read This Book!

Today I am berating myself for those books by my favorite authors that are still unread. I have a healthy list of go-to authors, and of course, I want to read all their books, but for one reason or another, these have slipped through the cracks. I may make this another challenge for myself, and try to read all ten before the end of the year.

Blog Tour: Perfect Harmony - Emily Albright

Perfect Harmony
Emily Albright
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Amberjack Publishing
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Pippa Wyndham is a top cellist―she’d never settle for anything less. Determined to get into the nation’s most prestigious music college, nothing’s going to stand in her way . . . Until her senior year of high school when a new guy from a fancy New York conservatory transfers to her school.

Declan Brogan’s cocky, and he knows how amazing he is at the cello. He has every intention of knocking Pippa out of first chair and showing her who really belongs on top. Forced together when assigned a duet, their personal competition and mutual dislike transform into a teasing friendship.

Torn between her childhood crush and the boy who threatens her dreams, Pippa finds herself at risk of losing her best friend, her future, and the boy who makes her heart melt. Struggling to make things right, Pippa discovers that sometimes the thing you want the most doesn’t always end up being the thing you need.

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.

Discussion: All the Feels

This Week’s Topic: All the Feels

I saw this quote many, many years ago, and it still comes to mind often:

Blog Tour: 500 Words or Less - Juleah del Rosario

500 Words of Less
Juleah del Rosario
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Nic Chen refuses to spend her senior year branded as the girl who cheated on her charismatic and lovable boyfriend. To redefine her reputation among her Ivy League–obsessed classmates, Nic begins writing their college admissions essays.

But the more essays Nic writes for other people, the less sure she becomes of herself, the kind of person she is, and whether her moral compass even points north anymore.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty

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 Nine Perfect Strangers!

Nine Perfect Strangers
Liane Moriarty
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: November 6, 2018
Goodreads

Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? In Liane Moriarty’s latest page-turner, nine perfect strangers are about to find out...

Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.

Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?

It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.

Top Ten Tuesday: My Fall TBR

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

My Fall TBR!

Fall is one of my favorite seasons, and I will welcome it with open arms! Since my 2018 review books are dwindling, I plan to read all the unreleased books, as well as circling back for some releases I missed and a few older titles that have been on my TBR for a long while.

In a Nutshell Reviews: The Adult Romance Edition

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

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.

Discussion: Deja Vu?

This Week’s Topic: Deja Vu?

Should I Stay or Should I Go?: September 2018

I was inspired by Lia at Lost in a Story 's Down the TBR Hole and Carole at Carole's Random Life in Books's Books From the Backlog. Both these memes are a way for us book hoarders to whittle down our TBRs. I also want to make this interactive by having YOU tell me, which book you think I should read next. (Yes, it's a million memes in one!)

Blog Tour: Two Dark Reigns - Kendare Blake

Two Dark Reigns
Kendare Blake
Series: Three Dark Crowns, #3
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

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

Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.

Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.

While one queen rules, another queen rises. Don’t miss the next thrilling chapter in this dark and dazzling fantasy series!

Praise for TWO DARK REIGNS

“Tragic, devastating, horrifying, enthralling.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Praise for ONE DARK THRONE

★ “Blake’s already pitch-dark tale shades even darker. Exquisitely restrained prose, deliberate pacing, paying off in a tumultuous climax that piles one shocking twist upon another. Achingly gorgeous and gruesomely fascinating.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This sequel to Three Dark Crowns loses none of that book’s momentum, powering toward a conclusion that leaves several doors open. With wonderfully drawn characters and a lethal, unpredictable plot, this follow-up will leave readers breathless as the queens’ fates unfold.” ―ALA Booklist

Praise for THREE DARK CROWNS

“New exciting heights with a driving plot. Dark indeed, and exploring themes of loyalty, this is a thrilling sequel with everything from action to romance to entice readers. A strong purchase for YA fantasy shelves.” ―School Library Journal

“Three Dark Crowns is a brutal and inventive fantasy that is as addictive as it is horrifying. I can’t begin to guess the fates of these three remarkable sister-queens, but I’m salivating like poisoners at a feast to find out what will happen next.” ―Marissa Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of the Lunar Chronicles

“Full of mystery, intrigue, and deadly girls I wouldn’t dare cross, Fennbirn is a darkly magical world I’m both drawn to and frightened by. In short, this is a book I could linger in for months, with three girls I am rooting for with all my heart.” ―Megan Shepherd, New York Times bestselling author of The Cage series

★ “With exquisite world building and luminous detail, this is high fantasy at its best. The magic is fierce and the plot intensely twisted, but at this novel’s dark heart beats a story about sisterhood, the unbreakable bonds of family, and ties that bind enough to kill.” ―Booklist (starred review)

★ “The opener to a pitch-black epic fantasy series. Blake has constructed an insular, matriarchal society from convincing intimate details, vivid, complicated characters, [and] sumptuous, poetic prose. Gorgeous and bloody, tender and violent, precise, and passionate; above all, completely addicting. ” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“I loved this book. Blake’s Three Dark Crowns is hypnotic, twisting, and beautiful...as satisfying as a drop of poison in an enemy’s cup.” ―April Genevieve Tucholke, author of Wink, Poppy, Midnight

“Readers will be riveted by Blake’s ingenious world-building, stunning developments of main and supporting characters, and spiraling tensions. Highly recommended for fans of fantasy action thrillers with strong female leads, such as Victoria Aveyard’s ‘Red Queen’ and Sarah J. Maas’s ‘Throne of Glass’ series.” ―School Library Journal

Top Ten Tuesday: Hidden Gems

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

Hidden Gems!

You know I love those hidden gems! Those little books, which quietly entered my life, and left a big impression. My list is made up of some of the gems I have uncovered in the past year or so. They have a low number of Goodreads reviews, but lots of love from

In a Nutshell Reviews

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

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.

Discussion: Identity Crisis!

This Week’s Topic: Identity Crisis!

We Live and Breathe books was started as a YA book blog, and I have stayed true to this vision by featuring predominately YA books. Lately though, I have been pondering my blogging identity.

Review: Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Pride
Ibi Zoboi
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Retelling
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Broken Things - Lauren Oliver

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 Broken Things!

Broken Things
Lauren Oliver
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Thriller & Suspense
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Goodreads

It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.

Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.

The only thing is: they didn’t do it.

On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.

Top Ten Tuesday: Shows I Wish Had Not Gotten Cancelled

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

Shows I Wish Had Not Gotten Cancelled!

Once upon a time, I used to watch A LOT of TV. However, I am reluctant to start any new series, because I have trust issues. Why? Because networks have cancelled too many of my favorite shows. There are many that got axed right when they were picking up speed, and others eliminated without tying up loose ends. Below is a list of some of the shows Kiersten and I both wish had not been cancelled.

In a Nutshell Reviews: Middle Grades Edition

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

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.