I have seen TBR Jars all over TikTok lately and I decided that I need one because I have so many books on my Physical TBR that I need to read! I have also decided to try and go on a book buying ban for the month of July to not only save money but to get through some of my books I already have on my shelf.
How It Works
TBR Jars are all pretty much the same, you put the names of all your books on your TBR onto a piece of paper, cut them up and drop them into a jar. Every time you need a new book to read you pull a random title out of the jar. Pretty simple but this is also my nightmare! I am a major mood reader so I am making some new rules just for me to follow.
Each Pull I get a second chance to pull a different book and I read the one I would rather read more than the other at that time.
I must read at least 50 pages of the book before I can decide whether I would like to DNF the book or just put it back in the jar for another day.
I need to read at least five books before I can buy another book to add to my shelf.
The start of my Jar
Choosing Stickers
Final Product
Overall
I am very excited to see what my first book is from my jar. I am also very interested in seeing if I can actually stick with this and save some money for the month of July and maybe even longer! Because of this I don’t have a hopefuls list for July but I do know I have two buddy reads so you should be seeing reviews for “Truly Devious” and “Daisy Jones and the Six”.
June has a bunch of great books being released and I really want to focus on the ones I am personally most excited to read. I am not sure when I will be able to read these but they are all very high on my list! All book blurbs are directly from GoodReads. I will also share the average rating so far on GoodReads as well as release dates and main genres of the books.
Books
“Island Time” By Georgia Clark
Release Date: June 14th, 2022
Main Genres: Romance, LGBTQ, Fiction
Average GoodReads Rating: 3.54
The Kellys are messy, loud, loving Australians. The Lees are sophisticated, aloof, buttoned-up Americans. They have nothing in common…except for the fact that their daughters are married. When a nearby volcano erupts during their short vacation to a remote tropical island off the coast of Queensland, the two families find themselves stranded together for six weeks.
With only two island employees making up the rest of their party, everyone is forced to question what—or who—they really want. Island Time is a sumptuous summer read that dives deep into queer romance, family secrets, ambition, parenthood, and a bird-chasing bromance. This sexy, sun-soaked paradise of white sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters, and lush rainforest will show you it’s never too late to change your destiny.
“The Messy Lives of Book People” By Phaedra Patrick
Release Date: May 31st, 2022 (I know, not June but still super excited and I mean what’s one day?)
Main Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Book about books
Average GoodReads Rating: 3.96
Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can’t believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, megabestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship.
But when Essie dies suddenly, a devastated Liv is astonished to learn of her last wish: for Liv to complete Essie’s final novel. But to do so Liv will have to step into Essie’s shoes, and as Liv begins to write, she uncovers secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the two women–one that will change Liv’s own story forever…
Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of liquor, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is rich; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.
One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other—and the longer Casey watches—it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage is not as perfect and placid as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey becomes consumed with finding out what happened to her. In the process, she uncovers eerie, darker truths that turn a tale of voyeurism and suspicion into a story of guilt, obsession and how looks can be very deceiving.
It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in sweet, sunny Cape Cod—just me and my beloved brother—but discovering a corpse in our rental house really throws a wrench into our tanning schedule. Now a rude, crude bounty hunter has arrived on the back of his motorcycle to catch the killer and refuses to believe I can be helpful, despite countless hours of true crime podcast listening. Not to mention a fulfilling teaching career of wrangling second graders.
A brash bounty hunter and an energetic elementary schoolteacher: the murder-solving team no one asked for, but thanks to these pesky attempts on my life, we’re stuck together, come hell or high tide.
I’m just here to do a job, not babysit an amateur sleuth. Although…it is becoming less and less of a hardship to have her around. Sure, she’s stubborn, distracting and can’t stay out of harm’s way. She’s also brave and beautiful and reminds me of the home I left behind three years ago. In other words, the painful hunger and protectiveness she is waking up in me is a threat to my peace of mind. Before I sink any deeper into this dangerous attraction, I need to solve this murder and get back on the road. But will fate take her from me before I realize the road has been leading to her all along?
Seventeen-year-old Ivy’s summer break kicks off with an accident, a punishment, and a mystery: a stranger whose appearance in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, heralds a string of increasingly unsettling events. As the days pass, Ivy grapples with eerie offerings, corroded memories, and a secret she’s always known—that there’s more to her mother than meets the eye.
THE CITY, BACK THEN . . .
Dana has always been perceptive. And the summer she turns sixteen, with the help of her best friend and an ambitious older girl, her gifts bloom into a heady fling with the supernatural, set in a city of magical possibilities and secret mystics. As the trio’s aspirations darken, they find themselves speeding toward a violent breaking point.
Years after it began, Ivy and Dana’s shared story will come down to a reckoning among a daughter, a mother, and the dark forces they never should’ve messed with.
The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.
These are my top six books that I am very excited to read that will be released this month (and the last day of May). All of these books look and sound like they will be amazing reads and I really hope to get them and read them soon! There are so many other books being released this month but I really just wanted to focus on a few that really caught my eye.
QOTD: What is a new book release that you are excited for?
June is Pride Month and this year me and Noah are participating in all the festivities in our area! I am so excited to actually get to participate in the Pride festival, our town hasn’t had an actual festival in over three years, mostly because of Covid, but we finally have a chance to gather again!
With June being Pride month I have decided to dedicate my monthly reads to LGBTQ+ reads. I went to Amazon and added about 20 books to my wish list but there is no way I have the time or money to actually read them all. I ordered a few books and I have a few already on my shelf so I will list all my hopefuls down below and see how many I can actually read by the end of the month. I am moving this month and I have a lot of packing to do, along with a vacation, so I don’t expect to read too many books this month but I am very excited for what I can get too.
Hopefuls
I am currently reading “Read Between the Lines” and listening to “Written in the Stars”. So far I am really enjoying both books! “Written in the Stars” is a fake dating trope and I honestly believe besides friends to lovers that this is my favorite romance trope. “Read Between the Lines” I already know is going to be so cute because a bookstore owner falls in love with her favorite author! These two could be my favorite books of this month.
These are the three books that I just ordered and picked over like 20 other options from my Amazon Wish List. I am extremely excited for all three of these books, plus they are all different genres.
“Loveless” is written by Alice Oseman who also wrote the “Heartstopper” Series which I was obsessed with so I already know I will love this. I am also interested to see how different her novels are compared to her graphic novels.
“Ace” is a nonfiction book explaining what Asexuality is and what it is like to be Asexual. I am really interested in learning more about Asexuality because it is something I haven’t had the chance to explore and learn about and now having a book that has a 4.4 rating on Goodreads to help me learn as much as I can will be a great start! Reading all the reviews on Goodreads, I feel like this is going to be such a great experience.
“Coming Home to Her” By Emily Juniper is a poetry book. I don’t have much experience in reading poetry but I think it is about time I start reading it. I am very interested in poetry books but they are so very different from novels that I just haven’t really given them a chance. This one has a 4.1 rating on Goodreads and I think based off of the reviews that this will be a great poetry book to start with.
Like I said above I have like 20+ other books in my Amazon Wish List that I would really love to read but because I am moving this month I really don’t know if I will even be able to finish these five books but I really hope to at least read these ones. I plan on reading more LGBTQ+ reads throughout the year and I am very excited to post my reviews.
I have been thinking about not posting a May hopefuls post because I have a ton I would like to read this month and I know there is no way I would actually be able to read all these books but why not make the post and see how many I actually get too.
Funny enough I am getting ready to move in a few months so I keep telling myself that I need to start getting rid of books to make the move easier and to free up space. However, in the past two weeks I have either bought or been given over probably 15 books. I want to read every single book I have gotten in the past two weeks but I am a pretty slow reader and also a mood reader so the odds of me reading these books this month is actually slim to none.
Because I have already finished “I Kissed Shara Wheeler” by Casey McQuiston I won’t add it to this list but it was my number one book for this month and I knocked that out before I could get to this post. Make sure to check out that full review!
Ok so these are my top three most anticipated reads for this month. “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry has been on my reading list for months! It came out on May 3rd and I meant to pre order it but forgot, but it is now here and I am hoping I get into it this month! I really loved Emily Henry’s othe rtwo books “Beach Read” and “People We Meet on Vacation” and I really loved them so I have high hopes for “Book Lovers”.
“The Change” by Kristen Miller and “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus are both from Book of the Month club and I have heard so many great reviews that I couldn’t imagine passing them up so they are extremally high on my list for this month! Also I really love their covers and we all know I am a sucker for a book with a cute cover!
I am not saying that these books are low on my list, I do still want to get to them this month but if I can’t get to them I know I will soon! “Darling Girl” by Liz Michalski is another Book of the Month pick and the main reason I picked it was because I needed a book for my main pick and this sounded the most like my style. It is a Peter Pan retailing which I think could be really fun and cute! “No More Bad Days” by Lindsey Whitaker and “Doctor Glass” by Louise Worthington are both books I have received from the authors for an honest review and both of them sound like really amazing psychological thrillers which I have been needing in my life! So I really hope to have these reviews up soon especially for the authors who so kindly sent them to me.
I am obsessed with the “HeartStopper” Series by Alice Oseman and I have only read the first two books so I know that i will be reading these last two as long as amazon delivers them this month like they say they will. Fingers crossed!
If you haven’t read this series please do! It is so cute and a fast read because they are graphic novels. After you read the first two you can watch the Netflix show and I promise it is worth it!
As I said above before I got into my hopefuls, I read “I Kissed Shara Wheeler” by Casey McQuiston already earlier this month. Casey McQuiston is my all time favorite author and I fell in love with her writing through her first two books “Red, White and Royal Blue” and “One Last Stop” with One Last Stop” being one of my all time favorite books! Well Now that her new book has came out I decided I would really love to reread these two books if I can find time in my busy reading schedule this month. I just think it would be fun to read all three of her books in celebration of the new release of “I Kissed Shara Wheeler”.
I have no clue if I will be able to read even half of these books this month but I think I have a pretty good list curated for this month. It would be a miracle if I don’t stray from this list due to mood reading but we will see. Wish me luck!
QOTD: Do you have an ambitious monthly TBR? Are any of these books on your TBR currently?
This is my first time ever writing about upcoming releases that I am excited for. I believe this is because I typically don’t pay attention to new releases because My TBR is already so big that I will probably not get to these books in the near future. However, May has quite a few books coming out from some of my favorite authors and I have already pre ordered a few! What books are you the most excited for this coming month? Did any of them make the list?
All Book Summaries came from goodreads, as I haven’t read the books quite yet. Also I am not affiliated with any of the below mentioned links such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, I just wanted to list the links if you were interested.
May Releases
“I Kissed Shara Wheeler” By Casey McQuiston
Release date: May 3rd, 2022
Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny.
But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes.
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story.
But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing right out of college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, living at home, still an editorial assistant, and the only Black employee at her publishing house. Overworked and underpaid, constantly torn between speaking up or stifling herself, Izzy thinks there must be more to this publishing life. So when she overhears her boss complaining about a beastly high-profile author who has failed to deliver his long-awaited manuscript, Isabelle sees an opportunity to finally get the promotion she deserves.
All she has to do is go to the author’s Santa Barbara mansion and give him a quick pep talk or three. How hard could it be?
Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession…or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness—and leave him there.
Jen Hansen, Kittie Spears, and Cynthia Nichols have been friends since childhood. They are now approaching forty and their lives have changed, but their insular East Texas town has not. They stay sane by drinking wine in the afternoons, dishing about other women in the neighborhood, and bonding over the heartache of their own encroaching middle age and raising ungrateful teens.
Then Will Harding comes to town, moving into one of the neighborhood’s grandest homes. Mysterious and charming, he seems like the answer to each woman’s prayers. He’s a source of fascination for Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia, but none of them are ready for the way Will disrupts their lives.
Over all I am beyond excited to read these releases next month whenever I can actually get to them. There are also so many other books coming out in the next few months that all sound amazing! My TBR is about to grow exponentially!
QOTD: Did any of these books catch your eye? What books are you excited for in the next few months?
For the month of March I took some of my most anticipated reads from my TBR and featured them on my Bookstagram. I am super excited to turn this into a blog post to share with even more people. To be honest this challenge was tough because I have over 100 physical books on my TBR and trying to narrow it down felt impossible! Lets see what made it on my list.
Top Ten TBR
Day One
I won this book in a giveaway a few months back and to be honest I had no clue how big this monster was! This book has so many pages and it is so intimidating sitting there on my shelf staring down at me.
I really want to read this one but the size alone just scares me, I feel like I will need to read this over a few months. I have also heard that the first half of the book is very confusing which worries me and makes me think it could end up as a DNF for me. However, I won’t know till I dive in!
Day Two
I bought this book the day it came out and it immediately went straight to my shelf. I have seen so many amazing reviews of this book but the big consensus is that it is an emotional rollercoaster! I just don’t know if my heart can handle an emotional read right now but when the day comes that I am in need of a good cry and heart tearing experience, this book will be their waiting for me.
Day Three
I read the first book in this series “Crave” back in December last year and instantly fell in love! I knew I had to get my hands on the rest of the series as soon as I could, and I did, my dad gave me the second and third book for Christmas and I would love to get to reading them but I am taking a small break from fantasy for a little bit so I can focus on the genres I know I love. I know this book will be in my near future it is just a matter of when.
Day Four
This is a book that I have had on my shelf for about a year and honestly I forget that it is there. I haven’t read a book by this author but I have heard some amazing things and so I really need to dive into this one as soon as I can find room for it in my busy reading schedule.
Day Five
I received this book from Book of the Month Club last year and It really intrigued me and sounded like a cute romantic book. I have a lot of romance books on my TBR but this is one that really sticks out to me. I also really like the cover, I would say that is what pulled me in at first.
Day Six
This is a book that has a New Years theme and with holidays I feel like I have to read the book around that time of the year. I tried to read it this year around New Years but I had just read a few romance books and felt burnt out so I had to put it down. Maybe I will get to it for 2023.
Day Seven
I found this book at a local goodwill for like three bucks, I couldn’t pass up an amazing deal like that! I had seen this book all over bookstagram so I knew for a deal I should grab it and give it a chance. However, I feel like I am not a big fantasy reader and that is why I keep pushing it back. It is a lot to commit to a full series! One day I will read this though!
Day Eight
I have actually read this book almost to the halfway mark and I put it down. I enjoyed what I was reading but during the time I was reading this book I just wasn’t in a place where a memoir was what I needed to read. I really love Gilmore Girls and she is one of my favorite parts of the show. This book really reads just like you are listening to her on TV which made this book really fun and engaging. My goal is to pick this up soon and finish the last half of the book.
Day Nine
When I first started my bookstagram I saw this all over the place so it got added to my TBR fairly quickly. I love the idea of a friend zone type book. I am so over Enemies to lovers so this sounds like a nice change of pace for me. The main reason why I haven’t read this book yet is because I have seen a few reviews that say the main character is a bit annoying so that has pushed this book back while I read other books. I am thinking this might be a good read for April, who knows!
Day Ten
This is one of the newest additions to my TBR from my Book of the Month subscription back in February. I have so many romance reads on my TBR but I feel like this is the front runner. This book sounds super cute and I am a real sucker for an LGBTQ read. I am so excited to dive into this one as soon as I possibly can!
Recap
This month has been a crazy month! I only read three books this month but made so many posts on my bookstagram and basically neglected my blog. I love this blog so much but when I don’t have a book to review I feel like I don’t have content. I also have been super busy with work and life so my time to write my blogs is few and far between. But I have some great content Ideas coming soon! I hope you all are looking forward to checking out my next blog posts. I love you all and I am very thankful for all my supporters!
World of Bai 