The Romance Bookie

 Hey Everyone! I've got some catching up to do!  Hopefully, more reviews will be up very soon, as I've got a list of ones I need to read, for some of the books I've read this year.   I know I am late to the game, but a friend and I have decided to start our little book club together, and for our first book we chose A Good Girl's Guide to Murder  by Holly Jackson. This one has been on my radar for a few months now, mainly because of finding my love for YA Murder-Mystery/Thrillers last year.  I understand, it's been hyped about for quite some time now, but I finally got to find out why. From Goodreads: For readers of Kara Thomas and Karen McManus, an addictive, twisty crime thriller with shades of Serial  and Making a Murderer  about a closed local murder case that doesn't add up, and a girl who's determined to find the real killer -- but not everyone wants her meddling in the past. Everyone in Fairview knows the story. Pretty and popular high school sen...

 Hey Everyone! It's been a minute, and for once it isn't because I haven't been reading!  In fact, I have A LOT of catching up to do!  Like a lot! I have been reading a lot! In fact, every time I finish a book, I just roll right into the next one, instead of updating The Romance Bookie, working on the Bookstagram, or even updating my Always Fully Booked Planner.   So here goes the updating! This review is for Last Chance Books  by Kelsey Rodkey. From Goodreads: Don't you just love the smell of old books in the morning? Madeline Moore does. Books & Moore, the musty bookstore her family has owned for generations, is where she feels most herself. Nothing is going to stop her from coming back after college to take over the store from her beloved aunt. Nothing, that is--until a chain bookstore called Prologue opens across the street and threatens to shut them down.  Madeline sets out to demolish the competition, but Jasper, the guy who works over at Prologue...

 Hey Everyone! I can't believe I forgot to write a review for this one!  It was so good!  I started listening to it while on my trip, and finished it last week!   One of Us is Lying , the first book in the series by the same name, by Karen M McManus.  From Goodreads: Pay close attention and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain , is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty , is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal , is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete , is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast , is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, w...

 Hey! Apparently January has become the month I catch up on Marissa Meyer's books!  I've been behind for a few years! And now with the access to my local libraries Audiobook database, I get that chance to catch-up!   I have Heartless on my shelf since its release in 2016, and just have never had a chance to read it, or honestly been in the mind set, because I rarely read fantasies at this point; so when it saw on the Libby App, I finally checked-it out via audiobook and began.   From Goodreads: Long before she was the terror of Wonderland -- the infamous Queen of Hearts -- she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen. Then Cath meets Jest, the ha...

 Hey Everyone! Another review coming your way! This one is of a book I found at the library a couple of weeks ago, and it was an absolute cover-read!  The cover caught my attention, and then once I read the inside flap, I knew this sounded like my kind of book! So here's my review of Recommended for You  by Laura Silverman! From Goodreads: To All the Boys I've Loved Before meets You've Got Mail  in this charming and hilarious rom-com following two teen booksellers whose rivalry is taken to the next level as they compete for the top bookseller bonus. Shoshanna Greenberg loves working at Once Upon, her favorite local bookstore. And with her moms fighting at home and beloved car teetering on the brink of death, the store has become a welcome escape. When her boss announces a holiday bonus to the person who sells the most books, Shoshanna sees an opportunity to at least fix her car, if none of her other problems. The only person standing in her way? N...

 Hey! So last book from my weekend reading binge, for now! This is for the novel I actually read this weekend.  Truly Truly enjoyed this one! My review for To Be Honest by Maggie Ann Martin! From Goodreads: Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her sister goes off to college.  But if she can just get through senior year, she'll be able to escape to college, too.  What she doesn't count on is that her mother's obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy's mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats. Between her mom's diet-helicoptering, missing her sister, and worrying about her collegiate future, Savvy has enough to worry about.  And then she meets George, the cute new kid at school who has insecurities of his own. As Savvy and George grow closer, they help each other discover how to live in the moment and enjoy the here ...

 Hey! Another review from my weekend binge reading! This one is another graphic novel titled, This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. From Goodreads:   Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach.  It's their getaway, their refuge.  Rosie's friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose's mom and dad won't stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It's a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other. In This One Summer  two stellar creators redefine the teen graphic novel. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, the team behind Skim , have collaborated on this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about a girl on the cusp of her teen age-- a story of renewal and revelation.  My Tho...

 Hey Everyone! My husband and I recently moved our little family to a new town, and last week we decided to go for a walk together and check out our new (to us) local library.  It was such a great experience, because for one, I haven't set foot in a library in quite some time (both due to Covid, but also because my old local library wasn't really all that great), and two because we have such a great library now.  They have a beautiful children's section, decked out with a giant pirate's ship, columns holding up the building that look like giant books, and a wonderfully stocked Young Adult section.   They had an ample supply of graphic novels, and because of my newly found obsession this year, on graphic novels, I found myself filling the stroller with those initially.  I ended up with four graphic novels, and two regular chapter novels.  To which my husband said, "That's probably enough."  Well, challenge was accepted apparently, because I finished all...

 Hello Everyone! It's been a minute! I have not been able to read much lately, but finally finished a book!  July was not a good reading month for me, hopefully this month will be a bit better!   I ended up finally finishing Tokyo Ever After  by Emiko Jean yesterday! From Goodreads: Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in -- it isn't easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, Northern California town.  Raised by a single mother, it's always been Izumi --or Izzy, because "It's easier this way" -- and her mom against the world.  But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father's identity... and he's none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess. In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the county she always dreamed of.  But being a princess isn't all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hung...

 Hey! I finally finished an actual novel this month!  It's been a rather odd month.  I'm feeling off at the moment, can't really explain it, but my head has been in the clouds so to say.   But anyway, finished an actual book in July, instead of another graphic novel. The Girl Least Likely by Katy Loutzenhiser was released on June 29th, so a new release! From Goodreads: To All the Boys meets The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (with a dash of Dumplin' ) in this funny, romantic, and heartfelt coming of age story about a teen stand-up comic learning how to be her truest self, from the author of If You're Out There . Gretchen has always been more of a "least likely" than a "most likely" kind of girl. So how does she somehow find herself living out every trope from her favorite rom-coms...? The Best Friend Crush: Why is it suddenly so hard to act normal around her childhood BFF, Samuel? Must be time for a -- Makeover(!): Black leather pants and some red lipstic...

 Hello! I hope everyone had a nice weekend! I can't believe it is Monday again and that we are approaching the midway point for 2021 already!  It is seriously blowing my mind how fast time is passing by!   Last night I finished Nicola Yoon latest release Instructions for Dancing ! From Goodreads: Evie Thomas doesn't believe in love anymore.  Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began...and how it will end.  After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually. As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance Studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X.  X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything -- including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl...

 Hey Everyone! Book #2 of June done!  This is one I have had sitting on my shelf for years!  I got this one as an ARC well before its release at YA'll West in 2016.  But 2016 ended up being a really tough year for me, so it unfortunately just ended up collecting dust on my shelf.   That book is Something in Between  by Melissa de la Cruz.  This one has stuck out to me for quite some time.  I was really excited to read it, because it deals with a subject very near and dear to my heart.  Immigration.  A topic not talked about very much in books in general, but especially Young Adult novels.   I'm actually an immigrant.  I moved to America in 1998, at the age of seven.  I've lived here since then, and never been back to my home country of Germany.  I am actually turning thirty next month, and the day before my 30th birthday will mark 23 years in this country for me.   I am a DACA child.  If you don't know what ...

 Hey Everyone! I waited all day today for my mail.  Why? Because three awesome books were released today! And two of them were expected to come in today! (One I'm waiting on, because I ordered a signed copy, and those always take longer to arrive).   I ended up devouring my first one already...and okay it was a graphic novel, but I was so excited for it, and just couldn't help myself. Poison Ivy: Thorns  Written by the fabulous Kody Keplinger and illustrated by the very talented Sara Kipin! From Goodreads: New York Times bestselling author of The DUFF  Kody Keplinger and artist Sara Kipin reimagine an iconic DC antihero with a gothic-horror twist. There's something unusual about Pamela Isley-- the girl who hides behind her bright red hair.  The girl who won't let anyone inside to see what's lurking behind the curtains.  The girl who goes to extreme lengths to care for a few plants. Pamela Isley doesn't trust other people, especially men. ...

 Hey Everyone!   So I finished another book! I actually just upped my  Goodreads  reading goal, because I had it set to 10, and I've already surpassed it! I have it now set to 25, which if I keep going the way I have been these last few months, I shouldn't have a problem at all!  :).  It was a long week for us!  We had appointments after appointments.  And then on Friday I did the most horrible thing...dropped my phone into our pond.  😭😭😭😭😭 It is gone.  We can't find it.  Our pond is super deep, and you can't see to the bottom.  My husband tried for hours!  He went in, and swam around, and then I ran from store to store to find a huge magnet and rope, and then he went fishing for it for hours and hours.  But no luck.  So Friday we got to run to the Apple Store in the evening and get me a new phone.  I'm just super bummed, because normally I would love a new phone, but I truly love my XS Max.  And t...

 Hello Everyone! I finally finished a book that I truly truly enjoyed! I'm so excited! This is a new one, that was just released last month!  It's called What's Not to Love  and it's by the authors Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka!  Who are a real life couple and this book, I believe, is semi-based on their life! :) From Goodreads: An academic enemies-to-lovers YA with all the nerdy drama, high school antics, and heart pounding romance of the Netflix original series Never Have I Ever. Since high school began, Alison Sanger and Ethan Molloy have competed on almost everything. AP classes, the school paper, community service, it never ends. If Alison could avoid Ethan until graduation, she would. Except, naturally, for two over-achieving senior with their sights on valedictorian and Harvard, they share all the same classes and extracurriculars.  So when their school's principal assigns them the task of co-planning a previous ...

 Hey! Today's review is for Four Days of You and Me  by Miranda Kenneally! I am enjoying reading so much again, I am just on a roll!   From Goodreads: A new swoon-worthy romance following a couple's love story on the same date over four years. Every May 7, the students at Coffee County High School take a class trip.  And every year, Lulu's relationship with Alex Rouvelis gets a little more complicated.  Freshman year, they went from sworn enemies to more than friends after a close encounter in an escape room.  It's been hard for Lulu to quit Alex ever since. Through breakups, makeups, and dating other people, each year's class trip brings the pair back together and forces them to confront their undeniable connection.  From the science museum to an amusement park, from New York City to London, Lulu learns one thing is for sure: love is the biggest trip of all.  My Thoughts: This one was cute!  I'll be honest, it wasn't my favorite Mi...