It’s getting closer to the end of the month and it’s been almost a month of me talking about houses! I am getting bored of viewing houses… but I’ve found two houses I think I like. I know, my uncertainty doesn’t fill me with confidence either, but that’s more because I barely know what I’m doing rather than me not liking the houses. These two houses are kind of similar but also not. I won’t go into great detail on them because I feel like if I talk about them too much I’ll jinx it and one will get sold before I can make my mind up on them. I do have to say viewing houses really helped me figure out what I want in a house, though. I guess those TV shows and online articles are right, looking online is not the same as actually seeing it. I thought I wanted loads of room but actually, I just want a nice little house, I don’t need a massive second bedroom but I most certainly require a shower and a bathtub. I didn’t know any of this when I started but I’m slowly figuring it all out and I like that. My two houses give me these things, but now it’s a case of figuring out what I want. I feel like one I’m going with my head and the other just gave me a feeling… but I’m thinking my head might be right this time around and I sort of thought I’d go with my heart in choosing a house.
So yeah, this week has been very much house focused. I didn’t even turn on my laptop and attempt to read blog posts until Friday and even that failed because the blergh, pissy mood continues. What is wrong with me? I think some of it is I’ve had a couple of terrible nights sleep, but I don’t know what’s caused it. To be fair, this week has very much been out to incite my anger and tried to fuel my bad mood. A manager I really like left work this week. It was very sudden and he never got the chance to say anything to anyone, we just had an email announcing he was gone and that was that. It upset a lot of people in the office and I think it’ll be felt for a while, but we have all been trying to not let it get to us too much. It was upsetting, though, and I’m hoping it’s the last of the big changes at work but I doubt it. It meant there’s been a weird mood all week at work and by Friday afternoon everything felt off. I’m hoping i can shake off the mood over the weekend and return feeling a bit better otherwise work is going to be tough.
Anyway, the weird mood continues and that’s sorted of affected everything reading and blog related. My motivation is shot and I hadn’t even visited any blogs until Friday. I’ll try and catch up soon but my brain is all house all the time so I’ve been struggling to think about other stuff. I’m mostly just stressing with everything that comes next but I remind myself I get a house at the end and that’s the important thing.
What I’ve Been Reading
I can tell my mood has been affecting my reading because it took me nearly 5 days to finish White Hot and I’ve not even been able to develop the motivation to read Wildfire properly and I adore that series! I’m hoping to pick up Wildfire soon, but until then I decided to read Famous in a Small Town and that book was finished on Friday evening. I think I needed the quick easy read a romance offers but I’m once more stuck on what to read next. I’ve just not been in the right mood and it’s frustrating, it could be the right time to start a blog post I’ve got ideas for, though. We’ll see.
New To Me
Just one new ARC addition this week. I loved Jane Doe when I read it last year so as soon as I saw Victoria Helen Stone and then saw this was a sequel I just had to request it on Netgalley. I can’t wait to start reading.
How have you been? Any new bookish additions you need to tell me about? And please keep giving me house advise, what did I agree to here?
17 September 2019
Call It What You Want // Another Brilliant Book From An Author Who Always Hits the Mark
Source: Netgalley/Purchased
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult
My Rating:
When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.
Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle.
When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they’re both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they’ve built. But when Maegan learns of Rob’s plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship...
This captivating, heartfelt novel asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?
Brigid Kemmerer is a goddess who writes some of the best YA and I know this and still sometimes put off reading her releases. I was approved for an ARC a while back on this one and was so insanely excited, but then the formatting for it was a little skewiff on my Kindle and I put off reading when various slumps happened. I treated myself to a copy (because there was never any doubt I would buy myself a copy as well) and I have no regrets.
This one was a little darker than some YA I’ve read of late. Rob is struggling with his fall from popularity due to the revelation his dad had been stealing from people and had blown the money folks had given him to invest. Rob used to be that popular, privileged guy in high school that you hated but people seemed to flock to just to be in his orbit. He’s struggling with that change and the isolation of losing his friends is tough on him. It’s made even worse that people seem to hate him and believe he was stealing right along with his dad. When the book starts he spends more time reading than anything else and it inadvertently led to him getting excellent grades.
And Meaghan? Everyone knows her as the girl who tried to cheat on the SATs and made everyone fail their test and have to retake it. She’s struggling with her own issues and she’s certainly had a few snide comments made in her direction. When she’s paired with Rob on a class project it’s hard to say who is less excited to be working with the other.
I have to say, I wasn’t sure how Rob and Maegan were going to work together, I mean they didn’t seem like they should fir but somehow they really did. It was lovely to see Rob’s polite good side come out, especially when so many people expected the worse from him from no other reason than who his dad was. Meagan saw the best side of Rob and I think he needed someone to see him that way. Especially as Rob has to face his father every day and struggle with the man he once viewed him as and then the reality facing him. He and his mom were primary carers for his dad and that was tough to read. It’s something no kid should have to deal with and it was a tough blow for Rob as he felt a lot of hatred for his dad but also loved who he once thought he was. It was a lot for him to reconcile and having Meagan there really helped him, I think, because she felt the pain Rob did and helped him realise it was ok to be hurt by his dad and still love him.
Now, the next paragraph is like a major spoiler so please skip it if you don’t want to know a big plot point of this book.
There were some moral questions being asked in this book. Rob is seen as a thief by everyone so is it wrong for him to follow through, especially when he’s doing it to help others? Where is the line on these things? And the people who are benefitting, would they want to know where these things are coming from and would they accept if they knew? It was all a series of questions and I really liked exploring it in this book. I didn’t know how Rob would resolve it with himself doing wrong and how it could possibly end well for him. It did go a little wrong, but I loved the ethics explored as he struggled with his choices as he was driven so far he wanted to cross the line. And was that how his dad felt when he crossed the line to stealing?
And now to non-spoilery things. I loved the friendships in this book, and how it explored friendship where you may not agree with your BFF’s actions but how they can act badly and still be looking out for your best interests. And the friendship between Meagan and her sister! I love strong bonds between family and seeing Meagan slowly grow slower to her older sister once more was brilliant, and when she had to stick up for her sister at one point in the book I was full on cheering, even though she was the younger sister she totally had her sister’s back.
This book was just brilliant and I strongly recommend you read if you haven’t already. it looks at ethics, friendship and what being an outsider is really like. It was just so good.
Have you read this or any of Brigid Kemmerer’s other YA books? What did you think?
Not gonna lie, this attempt number two to write this post. Why? Because this post got deleted and I thought I’d saved it but I hadn’t! It’s a nightmare, and I was typing it up over a couple of hours. I can’t remember everything I said so let’s try again.
I have had a weird week. I went to the festival with work and I' have been exhausted and in a slightly bad mood ever since. It sucks because I was feeling super positive on the dya of the festival and I just think exhaustion has made me be in a pissy mood. Even a couple of the women I work with commented on it and I had to say sorry. I knew I was snapping and couldn’t help myself but they’ve been pretty good about it.
The festival was a really fun day. I was exhausted getting up at 5:30 am but I had a great time. I went on a bunch of fair rides (and screamed on one I did not expect to spin me upside down… and then went on it again). I ate tasty food (hot, sugary donuts and halloumi fries are my fave). It was a fun day for everyone, I am so glad I went. I was only annoyed by two things: the length of time travelling, and the two people who arrived late both in the morning and the afternoon for the coach.
Apart from my pissy mood and festival fun, there is one other thing that happened this week. I went to my first house viewing! Yep, did the grown-up thing, booked a house viewing and kind of liked the house. I realised there were some strange things about it later on, though. I mean, I went alone so there wasn’t a second pair of eyes with me, but when I was talking about the things I liked and the viewing with friends and family I realised two strange things. First, it was hella weird the owners had a bit of land that was outside of their fence that their neighbour was using and the extension looked into the neighbours garden because of it. But also the sellers were definitely lying about their reason for moving. They said they were moving to be closer to his parents… but his parents lived a 15-minute walk the other side of town. It was weird! I liked the property but I think I need to see more of what’s out there. Talk about a small world, though. I’ve another viewing booked next week and when I told my stepdad about it turns out he used to work with the guys whose house it is. And even weirder, that guy is my best friend’s uncle! It’s craziness, this kind of thing never happens but I’ve had a small world moment. But I wish folks told you buying a house is stressful, I’m one viewing in and I’m stressed.
What I’ve Been Reading
Yeah, my reading has been severely impacted by previously mentioned pissy mood. I couldn’t get into How to Love a Duke in Ten Days despite initially really liking it. Dalliances and Devotions ended up being DNFed because I couldn’t get into it at all and it had such potential! I ended up starting to reread Burn For Me in the hopes of cheering me up. I am enjoying it a lot, at least, maybe it’s time for Hidden Legacy reading, who knows. We’ll see how it goes anyway.
New To Me
Just one book this week (well done me) but also, shouldn’t have bought it because I’ve read nothing new! I have plans to clear off the old reading shelves, though. I won’t say more now but lookout for some posts soon(ish).
And that is my week, what are your reading suggestions to shift a bad mood? And fill me in, how has your week been?
This past weekend I was inspired to tidy up my Goodreads shelves because of Nick’s post about cutting back on her TBR. It’s not the first time I’ve organised my Goodreads shelves, I’m all about the exclusive shelves on there and have a lot of shelves. I managed to clear off a lot of books, especially ones which have been on my TBR for so long but I know are definitely not to my tastes anymore. My to-buy lists have been cur down, I’ve created lovely new shelves for the books I know I can borrow so really shouldn’t spend the money buying if I’m not certain about them. I honestly feel pleased looking at my maybe buy and must buy shelves (why yes, I need two separate shelves for the books I am contemplating buying, I need some way to prioritise my shopping, obviously). But there are two shelves I haven’t even attempted to tidy up and those are my ‘Want to Read’ and ‘Kindle to Read’ shelves which each contain the books I actually own.
Why have I avoided tidying up these two shelves? Well, these are the shelves which contain books I actually own. The books which are sat either on my physical shelves (on my Want to Read shelf) or my Kindle shelf (inventively named Kindle to Read). And the combined total of these shelves?
495!
Yeah, I’m not even joking. I have nearly 500 unread books, and that doesn’t even include ARCs, library books, and there’s probably a whole bunch of Kindle books I’ve yet to successfully get on to my shelves. I most definitely have a problem and I know I need to sort it. I have a TBR pile I can never hope to conquer and a strong need to clear those shelves to more manageable levels. You might think that I am proposing a book buying ban (don’t make me laugh) or some insane plan to cut it down (nah). But I do want to know how you know you’ve got a book buying problem?
My realisation came in stages. I mean, I know how I got to this point. I used to go mental with Kindle freebie books and whenever I saw a good deal for a book I’d even slightly heard of I would be there buying it. I look back on my book tracking spreadsheets and I got 200+ books each year. That does include library books and ARCs, but that is still more books than I read each year and everyone knows the way to reduce your TBR is to read more than you buy, not less.
I think it all properly sank in at some point last year. I feel like it coincided with me getting my latest Kindle (I’ve gone through a few over the years, my need for new tech is a whole other issue we won’t talk about). I was there looking at what books I needed to download onto my Kindle so I had plenty of unread books to start reading…. and I found I was downloading pages of books. I couldn’t believe how many books I’d bought in even the space of a few weeks. I had around 50 and that was probably only a couple of month’s worth of books. Or, I felt like I’d only bought the books recently anyway. My Kindle was a mess and it was new, it should have been tidy and organised and I realised I was the problem. The issue only got worse with the new Kindle feature of being able to filter your shelves by read and unread books.
I was (and still am) a sucker for a good book deal but no more buying a whole series before I’ve even started the first book. I won’t be getting any more freebie books I know I’m not interested in and I’m not buying a book just because I’ve seen everyone else reading but don’t even have a clue what it’s about. If I can borrow it and it’s not a must-buy author I’m going to borrow it every time and save me some money! And books by authors I’ve never tried before? Yeah, you know I’m trying the sample first that is totally free and means I can avoid buying books where the writing style totally doesn’t work for me. Basically, I’ve finally started doing all the things I should have done in the first place to avoid getting into this kind of state with my shelves.
So, for me, it took four years and two Kindles for me to realise that I had an insane book buying problem when it came to Kindle books. The cheaper price point and the frequent sales meant I couldn’t help but treat myself to books. It doesn’t help that I couldn’t see them so I didn’t realise how many books I was getting until I had to download them.
Have you ever hit the point of realising you had too many books and needing to make a change? Do you buy books, or are you addicted to requesting something new on Netgalley?
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Historical Romance
My Rating:
A stunning debut for author Evie Dunmore and her Oxford Rebels, in which a fiercely independent vicar's daughter takes on a powerful duke in a love story that threatens to upend the British social order.
England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.
Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?
Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke....
This book wasn’t even close to being on my radar because I got all judgey of the illustrated cover (look, all those folks being drawn in my illustrated covers thinking they’re chick list are like I am except the chance it might be chick lit puts me off some, even though I’ve liked plenty of chick lit in the past). Luckily for me, I saw romance readers I trust talking about this book and I slowly became interested and I am so glad they started talking about this because otherwise, I might have missed out!
Historical romance has slowly become a go-to genre for me. The books may be a little OTT with the drama, but the romance is always swoony and there is something about time periods when male/female relationships were so much stricter which just charms me. And this book was no different and I can't wait to read more from Evie Dunmore if this book is anything to go by she is going to reward us with many a wonderful romance.
Annabelle Archer is attending Oxford University, one of the first women to do so, and she is sponsored in her studies by suffragette’s and must attend meetings to help further women’s cause in gaining the vote. She was the ideal well-educated and passionate woman to help support votes for women. She had spent her time being relegated to cleaning the home and caring for her cousin’s family even though she was far brighter than the role of maid and he didn’t deserve her in his life but she could not leave because she was dependent on the care of her family to not fall any lower in the world. I was there cheering Annabelle on throughout this whole book because she deserved so much better yet men in the world continually gave her nothing and thought they had the right to make decisions for her.
If you’re on the lookout for a powerful feminist read then this is definitely the book for you. Seeing these intelligent women at Oxford campaigning hard for progress made me want to glare at men who made sexist comments and put them in their place. And could it be more anymore relevant when there are politicians passing legislation on women’s bodies thinking they have the right to tell women what they can and can’t do with their own body when they are the reason women fall pregnant in the first place yet they think they can dictate if women can make that difficult decision to have an abortion or not. And it’s not just in America, look at Ireland’s abortion laws. This book hit so close to home in terms of men legislating on women’s rights without ever taking the time to speak to women! I definitely loved this book for being so relevant and so smart about things.
Anyway, the heart and soul of this book is Annabelle and I don't know how you couldn't like her, poor decisions and all. After trying to speak to Sebastian, Duke of Montgomery, about the suffragette movement she gets tasked with trying to learn more about him and ends up at his ducal home right before Christmas. And the rest? Well, it’s pretty awesome. I thought Sebastian was pretty stuffy and boring, much like Annabella did actually. I was swayed by his charms and the fact he rode out in a snowstorm to bring her back to his home rather than let her freeze to death. Admittedly, it was his fault she was out there jumping to conclusions and acting high handed and judgey like some men in her past had, but it was still a little charming. This was especially true when he helped care for her when she was sick (although he did at a distance… societal rules and all that). That man had layers! And under the rigid façade was a soft heart and a passionate man who had taken on a lot of responsibility at a young age and was doing what he viewed as right, not what he needed to do for himself.
Sebastian and Annabella had heaps of chemistry, they were so well matched. They were both very smart and even though they shouldn't have been well suited, they were perfect for one another. They could easily debate politics and philosophy but they also spoke to each other as equals. I was there cheering on their romance, even though they weren't even close to being on the same level when it came to societies expectations and me totally why each of them made some of the choices they did, even when I didn't agree with them.
I cannot recommend this book enough to romance readers... or just readers in general. It was honestly brilliant, which was good because I was wary of the cartoony cover that has become the trend with romances, but this one was a solid read. It did make me enraged at the idiocy of men, and also made me want to march on parliament because the idiocy seen of these men in parliament in this book is the same thing I see of the MPs of today, but that's a whole other debate.
Have you read a book you judged too harshly by the cover and were pleasantly surprised by? And please tell me you’ve either read this or I’ve convinced you to give it a try.
I’m writing this post on Friday because I’m busy over the weekend. I’ve got a work thing on Sunday… it’s a festival of sorts. It’s not a proper festival, but they’re putting on fair rides and some bands down south and it should hopefully be a laugh. It does mean I have to up at 5am to go to work to sit on a coach for almost four hours, but what can you do? I’ll take photos and fill you all in next week, but it means I have lost a weekend of blog-related things. I’m hoping I can spend Friday night and some of Saturday blogging and drafting posts and give myself a few days next week to chill.
I have had a very quiet week this week. No drama, no fun events, just relaxing. I’ve been browsing houses and tried to psych myself up to view some but I’m still stuck in the terror stage. I think I need to book a couple of viewings because that will get me excited to see what comes next.
What I’ve Been Reading
It was another decent reading week. Kindling the Moon was finished on Sunday and I won’t be labelling it a favourite I will say I’m excited to see where the series is going next. I will say Bringing Down the Duke was absolutely amazing, I will be reviewing next week (hopefully) but it was a great feminist read that made me angry at politicians and just made me so happy to read. As for A Prince on Paper, it’s perfect. I’ve not finished it yet but by the time this post is live, I will have done. It’s just so perfect, I am about ready to die for Nya she deserves so much, and Johan? I have a soft spot for Jo-Jo and I’m glad to see he’s becoming a fully-fledged character and all his personality quirks are coming out.
New To Me
I was trying to be so good, but then I saw The Ambassador’s Mission for 99p and I adored the first trilogy series so much and couldn’t resist. And No Judgments and Trail of Lightning are both ARCs I didn’t expect to get approved for on Netgalley. I am determined to read all of my ARCs and I need to get on top of them all. No more impulse requests, even if I don’t think I’ll get approved.
Anyone else had big plans for the weekend? What have you been reading of late?
I’m not going to do the usual ‘where is the year going’ malarkey… but only because I covered that in my Sunday Summary post because how is it September already?!
August was a busy month and a really fun one… just not great for blogging. I went to Newquay for my step sister’s wedding (it was lovely), scattered my nan’s ashes, saw the sea for the first time in forever, and then went and played some bingo. Yeah, I know bingo sounds like a mega let down in comparison to the other stuff but this bingo is insane, it involves dancing, drinking, and possibly standing on a table or two. You don’t get too many cash prizes, but there is the chance to win a box of Coco Pops. I mean, who doesn’t want that? So August was quite a month for me. I felt so busy and so exhausted and I ended the month having a meeting about how much mortgage I can afford and finally beginning the process of being able to buy a house! I now need to begin arranging viewings, seeing if I can get better mortgage offers from other banks and trying to sort out being a proper grown-up. I have come to the realisation I use Google to navigate grown-up life and that this may not be the best path in life… and also that I do not like talking about money and have no clue what questions you should ask when looking at potential homes. I am pretty sure I am failing at the business of adulting… but I am doing the best I can and I can do no more than that.
What I’ve Been Listening To
Just a short playlist this month. I’ve been listening to my iPod a lot and I can’t really just put all of the music on my laptop on here. I did listen to some good songs on the way to and from Newquay, though. That’s pretty much what this playlist is, songs that played on my car journey and whatever has been stuck in my head the past couple of weeks.
August Reads
Considering I felt like I was in a bit of a reading slump this month I’m impressed with how much I read. Only one of these was just ugh and that was Stripped where the book should have been right up my street, I really liked the writing and the characters…. but felt absolutely nothing when reading. It was the most frustrating of reading experiences because it should have been a me read and worked in every way but the most important one. I think This Earl of Mine and The Simple Wild would be my highlights of the month because both were so enjoyable. And three contemporary YA reads that I would definitely recommend.
August Posts
And that is my month of August. I really want to start linking to posts I’ve been loving and fill this up with really fun stuff outside of books… but I haven’t had time lately. Maybe that can be my quest for September. It coincides with the new school year and I just find that September is like the second New Year where you feel motivated to do better and be more organised… and then give up on it all a few weeks later. It’s just the time for a renewed effort to complete resolutions and goals for the year and I think it’s because my brain is forever programmed to think in terms of school years despite being well past full-time education.
How was your August? What were your highlights in terms of blogging, books and just anything really? And does anyone else feel a renewed motivation to complete goals and resolutions in September or is it just me?
How is this year so close to being over. It’s September already! It's craziness, I really feel like I could have blinked and missed this year, and that wouldn’t be an all bad thing, but it has been a good year as well.
Sorry I’ve not blogged (and commented) more this week. It’s been a bit of a crazy one which has left me wanting to just curl up in front of the TV, or with a good book, most evenings. It does mean I’ve read a couple of really good books this week, and that’s always a plus for me.
Let’s start with the non work stuff. I caught up with a couple of friends this week and it was so much fun to chat and have a laugh after a stressful few days. I know as I get older me and my friends don’t hold all that same interests but when you’ve gone all the way through high school together I think you can’t help but want to stay friends. And it was good to chat about something other than work.
I also had my mortgage meeting with the bank and now I have an idea of what I can afford I get the joy of looking at houses. I’ve already got my mom showing my lots of different houses saying they look nice. I swear she’s trying to get rid of me. But I do love looking at houses online, now I need to brave it and look at some in real life. I just need to figure out what I want beyond space for some bookshelves!
And now to the walk related drama (you know I always have some). It was a very weird week this week, it was actually a long weekend so I only had a four day working week and still I managed to find drama. Someone I have been working with for a while has been off. We’ve notice her being quiet and she’s had some health problems of late. You can imagine our surprise when we were sat at work Tuesday and we notice her nodding off at her desk. It was following a very warm bank holiday weekend so I kind of figured she was just tired from lack of sleep. We banged about a bit and woke her up and through that was the end of it…. and then the same thing happened Wednesday. I’ve not been getting along well with the person for a little while so I didn’t think I could really speak to them and say ‘you’re falling asleep, get help’ so in the end I had to speak to our manager and get them to have a word. It was a very weird, and really bizarre situation. They did approach me after our manager had spoken to them, and thanked me for showing some concern. It was a relief to tell someone because it was honestly worrying she might fall asleep at the wheel. But yeah, first time I’ve had to deal with someone falling asleep and having to report them at work. Fingers crossed she gets the help she needs because seems like it might be her meds screwing her over.
What I’ve Been Reading
Two YA reads this week and I’ve started reading another book on Scribd. First & Then was on my TBR for so long and I am glad I read it, Emma Mills writes YA I always end up enjoying. Then I moved on to another anticipated read from an author I enjoy, Call it What You Want. Brigid Kemmerer is a genius and that book was so good. And then we have Kindling the Moon. I’m only a couple of chapters in so I will make no comment.
New To Me
Just one new book this week. Sapphire Flames was a preorder and I want to reread the whole series and then start this. I did also get one new ARC in as well. Bringing Down The Duke has been popping up on my Twitter timeline and I am very excited to read.
This may be my last post in a little while. We might be without internet for a little while so I’ll see if I can post. Let me know how your week has been and tell me what you’ve been reading.
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