For What It's Worth


Monday, June 1, 2020

My Monday Musings…



Total shocker but after months and months of not being able to read – I’m reading ALL the books! 15 in May!

I’m totally caught up on review book reading so I’m free and clear to get back to my TBR pile.
Here’s a bit of a wrap up the past week.

Currently Reading:



He’s Come Undone: A Romance Anthology by Emma Barry, Olivia Dade, Adriana Herrera, Ruby Lang, Cat Sebastian ~ Goodreads I’m a fan of every single one of these authors and this anthology about uptight men and the women that unravel them is one of the better anthologies I’ve read.









Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. kendi ~ Goodreads I’ve been trying read more non-fiction and I love Jason Reynolds, so when I was offered this for review I grabbed it. Stamped is a remix of Kendi’s adult Stamped From the Beginning and aimed at teens to educated and get readers to understand how racism has been baked into the fabric of America (and the world) right from the beginning.  While also teaching how to examine those ideas and stamp out those teachings.

The writing has a very frenetic energy that is kind of hard for me to follow but is perfect for teens to grab their attention and an absolute must read for parents and kids to start discussions.



Read:

Fell of Dark but Caleb Roehrig ~ Goodreads This is a very ambitious book. Roehrig combines snark, historical figures, vampires and werewolves in a very entertaining way. There’s a touch of romance or more like attraction maybe between the teen protagonist Auggie who discovers he’s the Chosen One holding a demon vessel inside of him (major Buffy vibes!) and 2 vampires who come to town and it plays out in a very interesting way – as a way to show LGBQT history and attitudes throughout time and to play with the turn your lover into a vampire and stay together for eternity trope.

There’s loads of danger and action and it’s fun – yet it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. There were so many characters (primarily his best friend and her love interest) that came and went only to service the plot as needed and I was a little squicked out but how old the vampires were in relation to Auggie. Even though they are *stuck* in time as teens. But that’s just me as an old lady – I used to be all about that during the Twilight years – even though it bothers me now. So you know…ignore that if it doesn’t bother you.



Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert ~ Goodreads I’m a huge Annabeth Albert fan and this first NA title by her was a delight. Much tamer than her adult series (and most NA) but still full of romantic tension between these two rivals to more.

As always, she brings depth to her characters – one of the MC”s is neurodiverse and Jewish – both have complicated relationships with their parents – while adding the fun road trip aspect and of course the major competition between Alden and Conrad for a spot on the Odyssey Pro Tour – something they both desperately need – but only one can win.

The ending was a little dragged out and overly sappy but I do like my solid endings so I’ll overlook it. And there were several repeated phrases that might be cleaned up in the finished copy.


Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo ~ Goodreads  I loved this one! This is a one day romance with a fairly unlikable hero but she made it work. I hope to have a review up for this one soon.











The Summer Deal (Wildstone #50 by Jill Shalvis ~ Goodreads I’ll be reviewing this one for an upcoming tour so I’ll be brief and say this was a very messy, complicated look at friends, family (by blood and found), and forgiveness and I loved it!








What have you all been reading? HAVE you been reading? 

33 comments:

  1. I've been reading YA stuff mostly but I'm feeling like something a little darker- maybe I need a thriller next lol- although my reading has been really down. I have a ton of books I want to get to though so maybe June will be better. These look pretty good though! Conventionally Yours sounds like maybe it has a convention as a setting? I've been enjoying books like that lately.

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    1. My reading is ALL over the place but I guess it's working since this is most I've read in a long time.

      Conventionally Yours is more road trip but they do end up at a convention but it's for gaming so there is some cosplay and all that going on but it's more about the game.

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  2. So, I read the last three as well, and am so excited that you also liked them. I went 4/5 for Conventionally Yours. There was something in the pacing that was off for me, but I found so many things to love about it, and I liked the ending. It was predictable and surprising at the same time. That is an great group of authors in that anthology. I have to take a look at it.

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    1. I agree about Conventionally Yours. I can't really put my finger on it but maybe it meandered a bit?? But I liked it.

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  3. I've been really struggling to read physical books lately. Thankfully I'm starting to catch up on audiobooks. This is at least helping me stick to my book a week goal!

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    1. Mine have been a mix of Kindle and physical and I just threw audio back into the mix. I haven't been able to focus on those for a while.

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  4. You have some GREAT reads on here! I'm so glad you're reading more again!

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  5. 15 books in May is awesome... and being all caught up with review books is such a good feeling. I'm on the fence about Conventionally Yours. I really like the synopsis but I've not *loved* anything I've read by Albert before. They've all fallen into the "fine/good" category.

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    1. What have you read by her? Because I was a HUGE fan of some of her earlier books but her recent books have been just good.

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    2. I think I've only read two: Better Not Pout and Arctic Wild. I've had her Out of Uniform series on my TBR for ages but after reading those two I'm undecided. They were fine but not really anything memorable.

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    3. Try At Attention. That's my all time favorite of hers. I also liked Trust With a Chaser.

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  6. Fairly unlikable hero, lol, ok, I did listen to a Goo last year

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    1. Well, he's a paparazzi and takes awhile to do the right thing but I ended up liking him.

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  7. Oh - I hope you enjoy He's Come Undone as much as I did. I'm finishing up The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon and then on to the new Nalini!

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    1. So far, I like it a lot. I know all the authors but read my favorites first lol

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  8. Stamped sounds super relevant to everything right now and like a great book. Idk if I've heard of The Fell of Dark or how I missed it because you know vampires always catch my attention lol.

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    1. It really is. I started reading it weeks ago but it's hitting home right now.

      Ha! It's YA but you might like Fell of Dark. It's not your usual vampire story.

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    1. I KNOW!!!

      Of course, I now haven't read a thing since lol

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  10. Yay for getting lots of books read in May! That's awesome. I have ARCs of The Fell of Dark and Conventionally Yours, so I appreciate your thoughts. :)

    -lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  11. All these books look so good here, and I am especially intrigued by the Jill Shalvis one. I hear fabulous things about it. Glad to see that you are getting back into reading. Its a great feeling.

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    1. I used to read her ALL the time but somehow got away from her but her books are very comforting.

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  12. My reading is going really slow, even my Harry Potter re-read! I'm just so tired each night that I'm only doing a few chapters at a time where I used to read for hours most nights. Frustrating but I'm still getting through a few books-but slowly!

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    1. You've had so much going on - it's understandable.

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  14. You have been able to read so much this month and I am happy you've been loving it and so many books! I don't typically read author anthologies anymore but I am glad you could enjoy that one. And yay for loving Stamped, I so want to read that one. Fell of the Dark sounds like it has sooo much in it. And then I will be waiting for your Maureen Goo book!

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  15. Glad to see you've been able to get back into reading. I've seen a few people talking about Conventionally Yours and it sounds like you mostly enjoyed it. And Stamped sounds like a very relevant read right now. I saw the book was being done for a younger audience as well and I definitely feel like I want to check that out.

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  16. 15 books for May is awesome! I got 14 but only because I read a load of kids books. Reading has taken a massive hit for me lately. I'm reading but not quickly. It's frustrating.

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  17. Such a massive reading month Karen! I think I may have read half that but found a few new favourites. If that actually book fifty in a series? Bloody hell and I thought Cassandra Clare had overdone it with her Shadowhunters 😂

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  18. Holy 💩! I only read five books in May. 😯

    I will be hopefully be reading Stamped soon. 👍✨

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