A book lovers blog
October is spooky season and I have so many books that I really want to get to before this month is over. I plan on doing 12 hour read-a-thons over the weekends to help me knock out a few more books than I usually do each month. Hopefully I can tackle this big list of books!
QOTD: What do you hope to read this month?
In September I read a total of five books! Two were on Audio, two were physical books and one was on my Kindle. None of which were on my September hopefuls list, Shocker.
“Hotel Magnifique” By Emily J. Taylor
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.Jani is a 17 year old girl who has been taking care of her 13 year old sister for several years since their mother passed. She promised her sister Zosa that she would one day save up enough money to move them back to their hometown but the only reasonable way to make enough money for this is by getting a job with the Hotel Magnifique. A hotel where magic is practiced safely and travels from place to place every Midnight and you never know where it will be next.
When the Hotel appears in an alleyway near their home Jani and Zosa get in line to interview for a position. When Zosa is the only sister to get a job, Jani refuses to let her leave without her so she does everything she can to convince a worker to let her have a maids job. With both sisters now working for the magical hotel nothing can stand in their way for a better future. Well maybe one thing…. I suggest reading your contracts thoroughly before signing, you never know what rights you might be signing away.
“Spin The Dawn” By Elizabeth Lim
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.
Synopsis From GoodReads
“Ugly Love” By Colleen Hoover
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.
Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.
They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.
Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.
Synopsis is pulled from Goodreads
“The Butterfly Garden” By Dot Hutchison
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.I don’t have a full review for this book here on my blog so here are some of my thoughts.
This book was an amazing audio and I highly recommend that you pick this one up. The over all story was really interesting and left my skin crawling! I listened to this really quickly and I really didn’t want to put it down.
“Heart Bones” By Colleen Hoover
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.Beyah has been raising herself her whole life, having an absent father and a drug addict for a mother. She has just graduated high school and has a full ride volleyball scholarship to a school in Pennsylvania all due to her own hard work and determination. This scholarship finally gives her the chance to leave her life behind and start over. But when her mother dies at the beginning of the summer she has no where else to turn to except her absent father for a place to stay until school starts.
Her father has a new wife and a step daughter only a few years older than Beyah and this stings but with no where else to go she tries her best to fit in. When she meets the next door hot boy, Samson, they clearly have nothing in common on the surface but quickly learn they both have damaged pasts. Will Beyah find her place in this strange new world and can she truly leave her damaged past behind?
“Final Girls” By Riley Sager
I was supposed to read this book with my book club for our monthly pick. However, All of us but one person had to DNF this book. It was just super boring! I made it over halfway before I decided it wasn’t worth my time. Honestly nothing happens in this book at all. I was really hopeful for this book because it was my first book by this author and I have heard nothing but good things about his work, but now I am scared to read any of the others.
“Sometimes I believe personalities are shaped more by damage than kindness. Kindness doesn’t sink as deep into your skin as the damage does. The damage stains your soul so bad, you can’t scrub it off. It stays there forever, and I feel like people can see all my damage just by looking at me.”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
“I think when you’re the worst of people, finding the worst in others becomes a survival tactic of sorts. You focus heavily on the darkness in people in hopes of masking the true shade of your own darkness”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
“Love isn’t always pretty. Sometimes you spend all your time hoping it’ll eventually be something different. Something better. Then, before you know it, you’re back to square one, and you lost your heart somewhere along the way.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love
“I’d battled ghosts and touched the stars. I’d climbed a mountain to the moon and conquered the fury of the sun.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn
QOTD: What was your favorite September read?
I read this book with my small book club of friends and I wasn’t entirely sure of what I was getting myself into other than the fact that this is a Mulan retelling. I am not a huge Mulan fan but this was a pretty cute take on that story.
“You’re used to being underestimated, so you want to prove yourself. Don’t let that be your crutch. Accept help when you need it.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn
About The Book
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers
Published Date: July 9th, 2019
Page Count: 392
Main Genres: Fantasy, YA, Romance
GoodReads Rating: 4.00
“I knew then that we were like two pieces of cloth, sewn together for life. Our stitches couldn’t be undone. I wouldn’t let them.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn
Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.
Synopsis From GoodReads
“I’d battled ghosts and touched the stars. I’d climbed a mountain to the moon and conquered the fury of the sun.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.I was a little worried to read this book because I am not a big fan of Mulan. However, I really loved the twist to this story. Her being a tailer was a fun story line that was pretty easy to follow along with.
I thought the characters were all very well written and well rounded. You have characters you loved and hated which made you really want Maia to be victorious.
The Romance aspect in this book was probably my favorite part. I think both Maia and Edan are made for each other and I hope things work out for them in the next book.
I rated this book a 3.5 because part two in this book felt really slow to me and made it really hard for me to want to pick the book up and finish it. While most of the romance was in part two and most of the character development, it was just really slow. I am glad I finished the book and the ending made me really want to pick up the next one to see how the story continues but I am not sure I will be doing that anytime soon.
“Seize the wind,” I whispered. “Don’t become the kite that never flies.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn
QOTD: What is your favorite retelling?
I saw this books cover and I was mesmerized. I had no clue what this book was about when I picked it up other than a magical hotel. There is no need to know anything more about the book other than that, you will be hooked within the first few chapters!
About The Book
Author: Emily J. Taylor
Publisher: Razorbill
Published Date: April 25, 2022
Page Count: 391 Pages
Main Genres: Fantasy, YA, Fiction
GoodReads Rating: 3.82
“But in Aligney I could breathe with every corner of my lungs.”
Emily J. Taylor, Hotel Magnifique
Jani is a 17 year old girl who has been taking care of her 13 year old sister for several years since their mother passed. She promised her sister Zosa that she would one day save up enough money to move them back to their hometown but the only reasonable way to make enough money for this is by getting a job with the Hotel Magnifique. A hotel where magic is practiced safely and travels from place to place every Midnight and you never know where it will be next.
When the Hotel appears in an alleyway near their home Jani and Zosa get in line to interview for a position. When Zosa is the only sister to get a job, Jani refuses to let her leave without her so she does everything she can to convince a worker to let her have a maids job. With both sisters now working for the magical hotel nothing can stand in their way for a better future. Well maybe one thing…. I suggest reading your contracts thoroughly before signing, you never know what rights you might be signing away.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.Like I said above, this book hooked me with just a few chapters. The magic system is fairly simple to grasp onto and is really interesting to learn about the more the book goes on. I really loved how everyone who had any kind of magic ability had their own item that helped them control their magic, it added a fun element to each individual character.
The chapters in this book were all fairly short which made this a really quick read and kept me hooked. After a chapter was done I wanted to just keep reading to find out what happened next!
One thing that I would like to bring up is that this book was fairly predictable but I personally didn’t feel like that took away from my overall enjoyment. I might have guessed one or two big things that happened but they were such interesting twists that I didn’t mind too much.
I would love a second book to this because the ending I felt left us with a great story line to continue on. Plus I loved the characters and would like to know what happens next for them all!
QOTD: What is a magical book that I need to read?
“May your artéfact guide you toward your soul’s desire.”
Emily J. Taylor, Hotel Magnifique
This month I meant to focus my reading around thrillers so I can start getting into the spooky season vibe. However, I have read two Collen Hoover books instead. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants and you can’t tell it no, what can I say?
“I wonder what kind of upbringing is worse for a human. The kind where you’re sheltered and loved to the point that you aren’t aware of how cruel the world can be until it’s too late to acquire the necessary coping skills, or the kind of household I grew up in. The ugliest version of a family, where coping is the only thing you learn.”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
About The Book
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Hoover Ink
Published Date: August 19th, 2020
Page Count: 338 Pages
Main Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult
GoodReads Rating: 4.35
“People sometimes still drown in the shallow end,”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
Beyah has been raising herself her whole life, having an absent father and a drug addict for a mother. She has just graduated high school and has a full ride volleyball scholarship to a school in Pennsylvania all due to her own hard work and determination. This scholarship finally gives her the chance to leave her life behind and start over. But when her mother dies at the beginning of the summer she has no where else to turn to except her absent father for a place to stay until school starts.
Her father has a new wife and a step daughter only a few years older than Beyah and this stings but with no where else to go she tries her best to fit in. When she meets the next door hot boy, Samson, they clearly have nothing in common on the surface but quickly learn they both have damaged pasts. Will Beyah find her place in this strange new world and can she truly leave her damaged past behind?
“Sometimes I believe personalities are shaped more by damage than kindness. Kindness doesn’t sink as deep into your skin as the damage does. The damage stains your soul so bad, you can’t scrub it off. It stays there forever, and I feel like people can see all my damage just by looking at me.”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.This book has been super high on my list to read, mostly because I find the cover absolutely gorgeous! But most importantly the story was really what pulled me in. I read this book over two days and could hardly put it down!
Beyah and Samson just have this natural connection that really makes sense by the end of the book. These two were meant to find each other and I was really wanting them to end up together in the end despite the challenges they go through together. I think they had super great banter even though they are both pretty soft spoken
I also really loved the sisterly bond Beyah and Sara developed over the course of the book. Beyah really needed someone she could trust and talk to and really just become best friends with and Sara helped her with all of those things. This was a very important relationship in this book and honestly one of my favorites.
The pinwheel is a major symbol in this book talking about turnings ones luck around. I have seen many people get the pinwheel tattoo for this book and I was so curious as to why and now it all makes sense. I might be getting one of my own now thanks to this beautiful book!
“I think when you’re the worst of people, finding the worst in others becomes a survival tactic of sorts. You focus heavily on the darkness in people in hopes of masking the true shade of your own darkness”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones
QOTD: What is your most meaningful tattoo? If you don’t have one what would you get?
This is my third book by Colleen Hoover and to say I am a fan of her writing would be an understatement! So far I have read Verity and It Ends With Us and they were both my top two favorite books! Lets see how Ugly Love stacks up.
“When life gives you lemons, make sure you know whose eyes you need to squeeze them in.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love
About The Book
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Artia Books
Published Date: August 5th, 2014
Page Count: 337 Pages
Main Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary
GoodReads Rating: 4.23
“Ugly love becomes you. Consumes you. Makes you hate it all. Makes you realize that all the beautiful parts aren’t even worth it. Without the beautiful, you’ll never risk feeling the ugly. So you give it all up. You give it all up. You never want love again, no matter what kind it is, because no type of love will ever be worth living through the ugly love again.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.
Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.
They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.
Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.
Synopsis is pulled from Goodreads
“Love isn’t always pretty. Sometimes you spend all your time hoping it’ll eventually be something different. Something better. Then, before you know it, you’re back to square one, and you lost your heart somewhere along the way.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.I listened to this book on audio and I typically don’t do full book reviews for audio books but I have all of my other Colleen Hoover books here on my blog so I figured why not?
I convinced my boyfriend to read this book with me and he is still in the middle of the book but I plan on sharing his thoughts as well.
I gave this book 4 stars because the writing was not exactly my favorite compared to Verity and It Ends With Us. I just feel like her earlier books might not be my favorites and I feel like that is to be expected because your writing will really progress the more you write and publish your work.
I feel like my least favorite part was the narrator for Miles. I really didn’t love his voice. However, Miles was my favorite part of the story. His background is so tragic and I can completely understand why his character is so grumpy and sad all the time.
I am a sucker for the grumpy sunshine trope but I wouldn’t quite say that is the trope of this book because Tate is also a grumpy character. I almost wish this was a book only about Miles and Rachel. But it wasn’t and over all Miles and Tate had a complicated love story that in the end I did end up falling in love with.
“I know the thought of confronting your past terrifies you.It terrifies every man. But sometimes we don’t do it ourselves. We do it for the people we love more than ourselves.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love
QOTD: What Colleen Hoover books have you read?
World of Bai