BOOKS FROM THE BACKLOG #29

Hi,

Books from the Backlog is a weekly feature hosted by Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books.

[WEEKEND READS] where I failed yet another Dewey's readathon

no new photo this time. will bloghop tonight!!

Hi,

Welcome to another late weekend post because busy life and I tried to do the #readathon which I somehow failed (?) but I did read more than usual which is also a good plus. Let  me talk about it!

I started the readathon strong. It starts at 8PM in my place and I started reading at around 11PM and kept reading on and off up to 2AM or 3AM-ish. I wasn't doing much update like before but I got through a total of 97 pages that night. Then I got up late the next day, read a few pages during breakfast then read a few more after Church. After lunch, I practically slept throughout the afternoon. Nothing like a good siesta, yeah? lol. I ended up picking up The Ask and The Answer again until the readathon ends. That night, I read 132 pages. So all in all, I only got through 229 pages which sucks but it's fine I guess. I got through a good chunk off The Ask and The Answer and I finished The Yellow Wallpaper. 

I'm doing personal 24hr readathons anyway, so we'll see how I'll do next month but the next Dewey's 24hr Readathon is on October.

[24HR READATHON] April 2021 Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon Day!!

Hi,

It's that time of the year!

Last year, #readathon was good for me. I participated and live-tweeted last year's October readathon and personally, I think it was a success for me. I juggled among 4 books and finished 2 of them. I got pulled out early because of work but I got back for the missed hours and read. That may be cheating but I don't care. I counted them and I had fun.

I'm participating again this April and I'm hoping for great things. I'm somewhat running out of short books but I do have a couple of 100+ pages on my Kindle so we'll see about that. I'll just throw everything out here THEN let's see right after which of those I end up reading. I'm also picking up one of the books on last year's TBR which is L Change the World which I think is 100+ pages (or maybe 200? idk. but it's short).

BOOKS FROM THE BACKLOG #28

Hi,

Books from the Backlog is a weekly feature hosted by Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books.

[REVIEW] Mother May I

title: Mother May I

author: Joshilyn Jackson
genre: adult, suspense
published: April 6th 2021 by William Morrow
my copy: eGalley, 336
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

Revenge doesn’t wait for permission. 

Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned by her single mother that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world. 

Until the day she awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window—an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that overcomes her. 

Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daugh­ters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened so quickly—Bree looked away only for a second. There is a note left in his place, warning her that she is being is being watched; if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions that will follow. 

The mysterious woman makes contact, and Bree learns she, too, is a mother. Why would another mother do this? What does she want? And why has she targeted Bree? Of course Bree will pay anything, do anything. It’s her child. 

To get her baby back, Bree must complete one small—but critical—task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price, making her complicit in a tangled web of tragedy and shocking secrets that could destroy everything she loves. It is the beginning of an odyssey that will lead Bree to dangerous places, explosive confrontations, and chilling truths. 

Bree will do whatever it takes to protect her family—but what if the cost tears their world apart?

lacks on certain aspect but I do like the overall point of it.

When I requested this, I didn't really read through the plot. Then reading the first chapter or two, I found out that it involves a kidnapping of a child (so there's that for ❗❗ trigger warning). But unlike See How They Run and The Couple Next Door, Mother May I is a revenge plot.

[WEEKEND READS] where a Bookshop-related book somewhat made me feel frustrated (?)

Hi,

This is such an uneventful week. It's the usual thing. I was busy with work. I finally finished the menu I've been working on for a couple of weeks now. Or at least I hope it's done. lol. There were parts about it that I really like and other parts just felt 'meh' but that's what they asked me to do, so whatever, I guess. I also submitted a few logo proposals but have yet to receive feedback on that but I hope those work out. 

On other things, the Yankees have been terrible and they're unbearable to watch. Such a pain. Feels like watching them is such a waste of time. I'm glad the other team I occasionally watch, the Cincinnati Reds, are going so well. I'm still out here watching every Yankees game though hoping they pick it up. I mean it's only almost three weeks into the season so, everything can change.

BOOKS FROM THE BACKLOG #27

Hi,

Books from the Backlog is a weekly feature hosted by Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books.

Q1 Reading Stats + TBR Updates

Hi,

As I've generally used the blog as my reading diary of some sort where I just share everything I'm doing reading-wise, I thought why not do a quarterly update since I also would like to see my TBR progress. So here we are!

[REVIEW] Hourglass

title: Hourglass (Evernight #3)

author: Claudia Gray
genre: young adult, paranormal
published: July 1st 2010 by HarperTeen (first published March 15th 2010)
my copy: paperback, 329 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas.

After escaping from Evernight, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas seek refuge with Black Cross, an elite group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at its hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend--the vampire Balthazar--all her secrets threaten to come out.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful vampires of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they run, Bianca can't escape her destiny. Bianca and Lucas have always believed their love could survive anything--but can it survive what's to come?

the best book in this disappointing series.

This is a reread and another overdue review. Just found this review I wrote a year back.

[WEEKEND READS] where I make a weekly "reading plan" to spice up my reading

Hi,

I'm really happy about how I'm able to manage work quite well these part few days. New work from home routine is probably working. I get to finish everything early and my mood is always topnotch and focused on what I'm doing (unlike before). Unlike a couple of months back, I work overtime late at nights because I spend way too much time procrastinating and such but not this time. I really hope things continue well for me.

Also today, it was finally announced that they're lifting the strict lockdown they did a couple of weeks back due to the spike on COVID positives. The cases have gone down a bit so they're easing up once again. I hope that people learn to not be too at ease despite that. On other updates on that matter, my mom finally had her first dose of the vaccine. My dad's scheduled to have his first dose next weekend.

How Do You Take Your Thrillers?

Hi,

It's Mystery & Thriller Week at Goodreads and I just thought, why not post something about it because I've had this topic in my head for a week or so now. It was also last year's Mystery & Thriller Week that I decided to give myself a little mystery/thriller reading challenge (which I posted a couple of months after. lol) about reading 2020's/2019's most popular mystery/thriller books as per goodreads.

BOOKS FROM THE BACKLOG #26

Hi,

Books from the Backlog is a weekly feature hosted by Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books.

MARCH WRAPUP (aka the month of being overwhelmed with work)

Hi,

I struggled reading a bit this month. I had that 2-ish weeks of reading slump of some sort because of: (1) work, and (2) getting so into watching Breaking Bad. Either way, I think it was still quite productive reading-wise since I'm still on pace for my goodreads reading challenge. 

Blogging-wise, I was consistent until I had the slump and got overwhelmed with work. I stopped posting and visiting but since coming back, I've been quite active, I believe. As usual, I've scheduled a few things already and have mapped out my posts for the entire month. I plan on sharing my TBR progress, how I did over the first quarter of 2021 and I'm also hoping to increase my reviews per month. In case you missed them, here are some of my posts for March: February Wrap Up + March TBR and reviews for The Dirty Book Club (overdue review. drafted this 2yrs ago), Waking Gods (absolutely loved this!), and The Lost Village (rare advance copy I posted before its release date).

books read

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten | Waking Gods (Themis Files #2) by Sylvain Neuvel | The Switch by Beth O'Leary | The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness | The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill

[REVIEW] How to Find Love in a Bookshop

title: How to Find Love in a Bookshop

author: Veronica Henry
genre: adult, contemporary, chick lit
published: July 10, 2018 by Penguin Books (first published May 19, 2016)
my copy: paperback, 352 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

"Absolutely delightful." --People 

The enchanting story of a bookshop, its grieving owner, a supportive literary community, and the extraordinary power of books to heal the heart 

Nightingale Books, nestled on the main street in an idyllic little village, is a dream come true for book lovers--a cozy haven and welcoming getaway for the literary-minded locals. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father's death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia's loyal customers have become like family, and she can't imagine breaking the promise she made to her father to keep the store alive. 

There's Sarah, owner of the stately Peasebrook Manor, who has used the bookshop as an escape in the past few years, but it now seems there's a very specific reason for all those frequent visits. Next is roguish Jackson, who, after making a complete mess of his marriage, now looks to Emilia for advice on books for the son he misses so much. And the forever shy Thomasina, who runs a pop-up restaurant for two in her tiny cottage--she has a crush on a man she met in the cookbook section, but can hardly dream of working up the courage to admit her true feelings. 

Enter the world of Nightingale Books for a serving of romance, long-held secrets, and unexpected hopes for the future--and not just within the pages on the shelves. How to Find Love in a Bookshop is the delightful story of Emilia, the unforgettable cast of customers whose lives she has touched, and the books they all cherish.

bookshops are not just bookshops.

The title of this book and the bookshop setting are what caught my attention. I mean who wouldn't want to read about bookshops? Don't we all?

[WEEKEND READS] where I get back to getting things on track

Hi,

Happy Easter to everyone!

Since celebrating the Holy Week is a thing in my country, I had Thursday and Friday are holidays. Thus, I had a pretty good 4-day long weekend. I didn't read much though because my sister came home we rewatched the entire Saw movie series (kind of odd for the holiday) and I got my sister to finally watch Breaking Bad and we got to almost the end of the 2nd season which I'd say is such a win!

As you all know by now, I'm just here waiting for baseball season to start for the past few months and it's finally here!! Two game in for the Yankees. Lose the first one, won the second one. I'm watching the third game laterrrr even though it starts at 1AM here in my place. lmao.

10 Books from the Backlog Picks I Need to Get to

Hi,

Last month's I barely read. I struggled with reading for most of the month because of work. I probably had one and a half good reading week and that was it for me. lol.

I'm still keeping up with this monthly tbr though and I'm excited to get through another set of books. I picked my recent Books from the Backlog picks just so I can finally push myself to get to them. I just started with The Little Bookshop on the Seine and I'm liking it. I relate to the bookish aspects of he main character. Other than that, The Unhoneymooners, and Shadow Sands, I'm not really much into picking these books up soon but we'll see I guess.