Tag: book nerd

The Thanksgiving Book Tag- Part Two

Lauren6 Comments

Happy Turkey Day everyone! I hope all is well with you and you aren’t running around like a turkey with its head cut off trying to prepare for the day. Remember to take time and relax, drink plenty of water, and actually spend time with your loved ones today. It’s not just about the food on the table.

But on to the second of my Thanksgiving tags. I found this one on The Sassy Book Geek’s blog and it originated with Erin and Becca at Fangirlscity on YouTube.

Bread- What book is purely fluff, and has no real plot line?

Anita Blake Series by Laurell K. Hamilton

So I can’t remember which book exactly it is in this series where it went from “hey, this book has a plot” to “hey, where did the plot go?” but it happened. These books used to be good, but somewhere along the way, it became about how much smut the author could squeeze in. So yeah. This whole series.

Turkey- What book made you want to fall asleep?

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I don’t know what it is about this series, but I just…yeah. It wasn’t very great. It just bored me. To the point where I didn’t really care how it ended. At all. Ever. I think I only watched the movie one day because I was bored. Le sigh. I know. You probably love this series. I just…don’t.

Gravy- What book makes the whole series worth reading?

Magic’s Price by Mercedes Lackey

Have y’all gotten tired of me talking about these books already? No? Good. In all seriousness, this is the rare third book where the payoff is absolutely worth it. It will inspire you to read every book in the Valdemar world.

Stuffing- What book is stuffed full of action scenes?

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

While this book does have its slower moments, its action scenes are superb. It’s a grimdark book, to be sure. But it is excellent.

Mashed Potatoes- What book looked good, and then wasn’t?

The Power by Naomi Alderman

This book sounded like it would be great. It had everything going for it. All the things I like in a book, and yet here we are, putting it in the dislike/disappoint pile. I don’t feel too bad though, my book club didn’t like it either.

Cranberries- What book has the sweetest romance?

The Ex Hex by Erin Starling

I don’t really read books for the romances, so this was the first one I thought of. Probably because it was my most recent romance read. It was good. Rhys and Vivienne were cute together and the book left me wanting to know more about them in the “I want a sequel way”.

Corn- What’s the corniest book you’ve ever read?

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

This has one of my favorite genre tropes, the time loop. And though the main character didn’t spend a lot of time in it, the book did still have the cheese factor I expect from that trope. It was still a cute book. But totally corny.

Green beans- What book is too long and needs to be shortened?

Dune by Frank Herbert

There is a lot of unnecessary exposition in this book. It could be because I don’t like this “epic masterpiece” but it doesn’t need to be that long. Did enjoy the recent movie release though. What? I’m weird.

Pumpkin Pie- What book do you read to get out of a reading slump?

Naked in Death by JD Robb

It’s not just this book, it’s the whole series. I can also get out of a reading slump with the Heralds of Valdemar series. Both work equally well. Besides, there’s something nice (and possibly daunting) about knowing you have 53 books to get to know your characters.

Dog/Cat- What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food that you would steal from the table?

Pumpkin Pie

It’s my absolute favorite thing on the Thanksgiving table. Well, that and dressing and gravy. Oh, and mashed potatoes with lots of butter. But yes, pumpkin pie!

What would your answers be? I tag you to do this! You know, if you have time.

WWW Wednesday- November 24th

Lauren3 Comments

Hello fellow humans! I hope you are ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow and don’t have to go out into the throngs of people today. If you do, I wish you luck and will pray for your safe return to your domicile.

Despite the chaos of the day, today is WWW Wednesday! WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words but was previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. WWW Wednesday asks three simple questions: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso

This poor book has been staring at me from my TBR cart for the last year. And I finally picked it up. I just started it last night, so I haven’t been able to form an opinion yet, but what I have read I am really enjoying. So I guess I have formed an opinion. I will say this book, which is the final book in the Swords and Fire series, has a lot to live up to. Good luck book!

What did you recently finish reading?

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

I basically hit a wall in my reading this month so I decided to pick up a book I know I would enjoy to help me get out of the slump. I really enjoy the Mercy Thompson series, if you haven’t guessed from my previous posts where I wax poetically about the books. It’s only a problem if you admit it. This, by the way, is book number six in the series.

Out Of The Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

It was quite a surprise when I learned that C.S. Lewis, who brought us The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, also wrote a sci-fi novel. Naturally, I grabbed it as soon as I saw it. It’s a short book, so it’s perfect to try and read during the next couple of crazy days.

Good luck today with your Thanksgiving prep. And I promise you, your house is clean enough.

TTT-Characters I’d Love An Update On

Lauren3 Comments

Well hello everyone! And how are we doing today? Did your bank account survive Cyber Monday? I hope so. I will say I put a sizeable dent in mine buying things I “need” for the holiday season. Like Christmas t-shirts. I need so many of those.

I’m kind of addicted to Christmas t-shirts.

It’s a problem.

Speaking of problems…today is Top Ten Tuesday! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and originally created by The Broke and the Bookish. It’s a fun meme of Top Ten lists that are put out every week. I love doing it. This week’s theme is Characters I’d Love An Update On. Last week I had a hard time coming up with ten things to the point where I only came up with six…things. Let’s see where this week takes us, shall we?

Pol From the Dragon Star Series by Melanie Rawn

This trilogy is the sequel to my beloved Dragon Prince series. I love this series just as much, but strangely never talk about it. I should fix that. This series follows Pol, Rohan and Sioned’s son, and a terrible war that rages across the land. I want to see what happens to the characters once the book is over. Pol in particular is really well written and has a lot of internal conflicts, not just the ones caused by the war.

Addie LaRue from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The ending of this book was terribly wonderful and I want to know what happens to Addie next. I won’t give anything away, but it was such a good book, and that ending was amazing. To catch a glimpse into Addie’s life after what happened would be divine. Everything I’ve seen points to this being a standalone book, so we probably won’t get any more in her world. But…ugh. I would love more.

Merlin From The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

This book is set in 1980’s London, but a fantasy London, with magic. And I loved the characters in this book Merlin in particular was my favorite. They were clearly influenced by the androgyny of David Bowie in the ’70s and of all the fashionable stars, and starlets, of the times. He’s fabulous and I want to know more about him. The author has said he has more material for another book but has been vague about whether or not he will write more.

That One Character From Project Hail Mary by Andy Wier

I’m being vague on purpose, because if you haven’t read the book then you don’t know. But if you had, I want to know more! I know, there is an epilogue in the back of the book but that’s not enough! I need more! And yes, you must read this book to know who I’m talking about. It’s worth it, I promise.

Gallowglass from the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

He featured pretty heavily in Shadow of Night and was in The Book of Life as well, but he needs a more fleshed-out back story and a life of his own. He’s such a fascinating character and I would absolutely love to see how he’s doing in future books. And Deborah Harkness has said she is writing more in the All Souls universe.

Ariadne From To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

This book had a very interesting ending that I loved, but it left me wanting to know more about every single character in this book, not just Ariadne. But it just, yeah. I need to know. If you have read this book you know this ending and this character just…tell me more!

Yadriel From Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Yadriel was such a great character to read. He was wonderfully complex and not just a one-dimensional stereotype. I want to see more of him coming into his own after the end of the book. And as far as I can tell, this is a standalone story. Which makes me sad.

Barry From Recursion by Blake Crouch

Barry was intensely complex. Let’s be honest, this whole book was intensely complex. But Barry, he broke my heart a few times with his poor family and the constant reset of time. I would love to know more about how things went for him after the end of this book.

Harry From the First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

While this wasn’t my favorite book (I only gave it three stars) I found the characters fascinating. Harry relives his life over and over again, I love a good time loop, but this takes it to the next level, where the people can affect the world around them. And Harry did that. Now, how will he do it going forward once the book has ended. I must know!

Buttercup and Westley in The Princess Bride by William Goldman

So William Goldman teases a sequel, that doesn’t exist, in this book. And I want it! I want to know what happens to Westley and Buttercup after they flee Prince Humperdink. No, I don’t just want it, I need it. I need it like I need more Christmas t-shirts!

Hey, look at that! I had ten! I know that I didn’t go too in-depth into the actual characters here, but I was afraid I would give too much away if I did that. I do try to keep things here as spoiler-free as possible.

Anything on this list that you agree with? Or would you have picked different characters from these books?

Update: wow, I really paid attention to when this went up, as it posted before Cyber Monday. I’m gonna see myself out now.

The Thanksgiving Book Tag-Part One

Lauren3 Comments

Hello beautiful humans! Welcome to Thanksgiving Week! Why is it a week, you may ask? Because this is one of the biggest travel weeks in America. And it’s anticipated to be extremely busy this year. Go us. There is also Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of the biggest shopping days of the year. It’s a week of craziness!

To celebrate, I decided to do two Thanksgiving Book Tags. The first one you will find here!

The rules to this Thanksgiving tag are as follows:

Thank The Person Who Nominated You (um…no one nominated me, I found this on the interwebs)
Give Credit To The Creator (Annasbooknook)
Answer The Prompts
Tag Others If You Desire! 

Friends and Family: A Book With Characters That Feel Like Family

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

This group of put-together people is a found family if I ever read one, and you feel like you belong. This could be unfortunate, as this house holds a doorway to the afterlife and the proprietor is the ferryman that guides you there. I really enjoyed the family aspect of this group. Even the dog has a purpose in this book, and it’s just absolutely heartwarming…and heartbreaking.

Fallen Leaves: A Book That Fell Flat (Didn’t Meet Your Expectations)

Child of Light by Terry Brooks

This book, about a young woman who escapes a prison camp only to wind up in the hands of the fae only to find out she may be one of them, did not live up to my expectations of it. I had high hopes going in because it’s by Terry Brooks, but this book fell very short of those. I ended up DNF’ing it.

Thanksgiving Dinner: A Book You Want to Read Every Year During This Season

A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness

This book is right up there as one of my favorites of all time. It’s amazing. I know I just read it earlier this year, but the final season of the TV show comes out in January and I am currently thinking of re-reading the series again…this year! I’m not saying I have a problem, but I probably have a problem. And who doesn’t want to read a complicated love story between a witch and a vampire that isn’t a love triangle?

Turkey: A Book With A Bird In It

Dragon and Phoenix by Joanne Bertin

Does a mythological bird count? I’m counting it. The Dragonlord series is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we only have three books set in this world, and the third book is more of a prequel than a sequel so we don’t get all of the characters we know and love from the previous two books. I still enjoy reading this series though. Especially because it deals with humans who can turn into dragons! Huzzah!

Ham: A Book That Made Your Eyes Glaze Over (Boring)

Outlawed by Anna North

Apparently, I just don’t like westerns because this one just…le sigh. I DNF’d it.

Dinner Rolls: A Book That Melted Your Heart and Made You Feel Warm

How Y’all Doing? by Leslie Jordan

I loved this audiobook. Something about Leslie Jordan makes you feel glad and happy to be here. His life wasn’t always easy, but his delivery of said life made you smile. Check him out on Instagram if you want a taste. He’s a hoot.

Mashed Potatoes: A Book With a White Cover

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

This grim-dark book series features white covers for all its books. At least for the hardcovers anyway. It’s a really good series if you’re looking for something dark to read.

Gravy: A Book You’re Not Totally Sure Why You Love, But You Do

Naked in Death by JD Robb

I have never been able to explain why I love this series so much. I have never been a big fan of this kind of mystery, or of romance, but I enjoy the heck out of these books! I’d say they are a guilty pleasure, but I feel no guilt reading them!

Pumpkin Pie: A Dessert Book That You Love

The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn

I guess I will always hype this book up as one of the sweetest books I have ever read. It’s so cute I bought both sequels, even though one seems absurd. Really absurd. I still bought it!

Bonus: Black Friday: The Top 5 Books On Your “I Want To Buy Them” List

In no particular order we have The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta, Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man by Emmanuel Echo, What Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell, The Guinivere Deception by Keirsten White, and The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox. I just bought a whole bunch of books back in October, so it’s going to be a while before I can actually add these to my TBR pile. I might pick up the Holiday Swap in December…maybe.

So where does that leave me? Oh yeah, tagging people. Consider yourself tagged! Have fun with this tag. I know I did!

The next Thanksgiving Tag will be up on Thursday!

First Lines Friday- November 19th

Lauren1 Comment

Hello beautiful humans! And how is everyone doing today? This post is up a little late today because yesterday was crazy and I didn’t have time to write it and this morning got completely away from me. Unfortunately, life happens.

But I did have a book picked out for First Lines Friday!

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author, or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

The Lines:

“The palace still shook occasionally as the earth rumbled in memory, grumbled as it would deny what had happened. Bars of sunlight cast through rents in the walls made motes of dust glitter where they yet hung in the air. Scorch-marks marred the walls, the floors, the ceilings. Broad black smears crossed the blistered paints and gilt of once-bright murals, soot overlaying crumbling friezes of men and animals which seemed to have attempted to walk before the madness grew quiet.”

Intrigued?

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

This book has been on my TBR forever. It frustrates me to no end that I can’t seem to finish it. I think the problem is that I am listening to it. The audiobook is great. I just put it down, so to speak, and can’t seem to pick it back up. I will finish it eventually! It will happen.

Also, the show just so happens to have been released today, so how could I not do this book! Me and probably everybody else is doing this book.

Have fun watching Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime!

Bookish Gift Ideas

Lauren1 Comment

Is it almost Christmas already?

I have so much to do! I make lists every year of all the things I have to do for the holidays and it’s never a short one. I have many younglings to buy for!

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up, I thought I would share with you some great bookish gifts you can either request or give to another fellow book lover in your life. Or, you know, just buy for yourself.

No one says you have to share.

T-Shirt From Tee Turtle

This t-shirt is adorable and a reader’s truth. I may have already gifted it to a few people. Maybe.

Corner Bookmark

This cute leather bookmark sits in the corner of the pages. Plus, it’s customizable! The picture shown has the steps from the Marauders Map but you can design your own option! How cute!

Book Bean

This little pillow is so cute! I saw it being used on TikTok and had to hunt it down for you. You can use it to prop your neck up, help hold your book on your lap more comfortably, or whatever else you feel you may want to use a bean-shaped pillow for.

Lord of the Rings Illustrated Edition, words and art by J.R.R. Tolkien

Know a Lord of the Rings fan? This book features the entire trilogy with art drawn by Tolkien himself. It’s a gorgeous hardcover edition worthy of anyone’s collection.

Kindle Case

This Kindle case is spectacular! This shop has several options, including cases for iPads, so you aren’t limited to just Kindles.

The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn

I’ve only mentioned this story about the history of Santa a few times on the blog. Just a few. You can find a copy of this book on Bookshop.org. This would be a great book to read as a family, as it has twenty-five chapters and you can read a chapter every day until Christmas.

Book Embosser

Know someone who likes to write their name in their books? Get them this great book-themed Book Embosser to try instead. It has several options to choose from and each is based on a popular book.

Book Club Journal

Know someone in a book club who also likes to journal? This is a meeting of the minds here. A great way to record what your book club reads each month. It has places for favorite quotes and characters! I found this on Bookshop.org!

All of these are great gifts to give or receive. I wouldn’t mind getting a few of them myself!

WWW Wednesday-November 17th

Lauren2 Comments

Well hello everyone! And how are we doing today? I treated myself to a movie yesterday and went and saw Tick Tick Boom!. The movie musical based on Jonathan Larson’s (the guy who wrote Rent) life, and directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. If you don’t know, Larson’s life was tragically cut short and he died the night before Rent began previews on Broadway. He wrote Tick Tick Boom! before he wrote Rent, and it just so happens to be an autobiographical musical. If you like musicals, and you like Rent, I encourage you to see it.

As for my Mental Health this week, it’s doing pretty good. My life has been consumed by Animal Crossing though, so I have been slacking on my reading. That’s filling me with dread. Oh well. The month’s only halfway done. I have time.

Today is WWW Wednesday! WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words but was previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. WWW Wednesday asks three simple questions: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen

I started this one last night and only got a few pages in before I realized how late it was. I will be continuing this as the first few pages seem really good. Plus it’s on my TBR for the month, and I’ve been wanting to read it for a while.

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

I know, I was reading this two weeks ago, but in my defense, I really didn’t like the way the one character was voiced on the audiobook. So yeah, I stopped listening to it for a week. I just picked up the Kindle version the other day and have been reading that since.

What did you recently finish reading?

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I finished this just last night and I still don’t know how I feel about this book. Was it an interesting read? To be sure. But was it a good read? Eh. I felt it fell more middle-ground for me. This is a book that commands your presence but it leaves you wanting more, and not in a good way. So yeah. I gave it three stars Goodreads.

The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso

This has been on my TBR pile for a year! A year! To be fair, I’ve had lots of books on my TBR for that long. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and will be happy to see how it concludes.

What are you reading right now?

TTT-Books to Read If You Love/Loved X

Lauren4 Comments

Well hello, beautiful humans! I am currently sitting here with my cup of tea listening to YouTube videos trying to figure out how to write this topic. Why? Because I’m terrible at book recs. Friends ask for recs and I give the same five recommendations every time.

It’s probably five.

I’m so gonna fail at the “Ten” part of “Top Ten Tuesday” this week.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and originally created by The Broke and the Bookish.

If You Love Sherlock Holmes You May Like The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

This one is kind of cheating, but I feel that not enough people talk about this glorious tome. This book is directly inspired by Sherlock Holmes. In fact, the main character is Sherlock Holmes if Sherlock Holmes was a woman…and a sorceress. It was so good. And it has queer rep in it! It really is a fabulous book.

If You Love Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson You May Like X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Omnibus

And if you like Mistborn you may like AOA. Both deal with what happens when the world is ruled by an all-powerful seemingly immortal tyrant and the rag-tag group of rebels that try and overthrow him. Age of Apocalypse came out 26 years ago, and I picked up every single issue of that series. I absolutely loved it. Keep in mind, AOA is a comic book epic that sprawled at least 5 different titles, so it does take a while to read, but it’s worth it. Mistborn is a wonderful fantasy epic that has three books…that I haven’t finished yet. But I will for sure finish reading it…eventually.

If You Love The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead You May Like The Perilous Order of Camelot by A.A. Attanasio

Both of these Arthurian retellings are amazing. If you have read one and not the other, I highly suggest you pick up the one you haven’t read. The Perilous Order of Camelot is a little darker than The Pendragon Cycle, but it is so good. I mean, it starts with the creation of the universe! What a crazy and amazing way to start a story about King Arthur!

If You Love The Gilmore Girls You May Like Payback’s A Witch by Lana Harper

So I had to think real hard about this one because it was a toss-up between Payback’s a Witch and The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling, and Payback won out. The reason it won is that I could just see Emmy being like Rory and being pulled into all the town events, even against her will. Which, let’s be honest, does kind of happen to both of them. But both have that “small-town girl with big city dreams” vibes. The biggest difference is that Payback’s a Witch has positive queer rep, which we love to see. Oh, and witches.

If You Love A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin You May Like Crown of Stars by Kate Elliot

These two book series started coming out right around the same time, but only one of them is finished. That’s a not-so-subtle dig there. The Crown of Stars series is a sprawling epic where, just like in A Song of Ice and Fire, no one is safe.

If You Love Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris You May Like Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs

Okay, so hear me out. I know both of these heroines are very different. Sookie likes to think of herself as a southern lady and Mercy, well, isn’t. But both involve some pretty decent (and multiple) love interests, supernatural creatures, unknown family history, and both have resolved (eventually) those love interests. Also, both of them have quite a few books in their respective series, so you’ll have plenty to read.

And here is where I lost, well, me. My brain short-circuited at about this point and I never could get the recommending mojo back. I was worried that would happen.

So did I fail this week’s Top Ten Tuesday. Yes, absolutely. But was I going to miss the chance to talk about some of my favorite books? Absolutely not.

You Feel It Just Below The Ribs- A Book Review

Lauren2 Comments

My copy of You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson, was provided by NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks. In return, I will provide them with an honest review. The publication date is November 16, 2021.

Now that we have the particulars out of the way, you’re probably wondering what I’m thinking about this book. Warning, this is going to be a short review.

To be upfront, I realized something as I was reading this book. See, I wasn’t liking this one and I couldn’t narrow down why. I started to think about it and it hit me. It’s dystopian. Apparently, this is not my genre of storytelling. It does nothing for me.

So, as you can surmise, I didn’t enjoy my reading experience. In fact, I DNF’d it. I will say this though, the writing style was great, the faux memoir concept was fantastic, and I liked the pacing. A big plus in its favor, you couldn’t tell where one author started writing and the other ended, they flowed together so well. I just couldn’t get past the whole dystopian thing, which is a shame.

I know there is an audience out there for this book. And I know people who would enjoy it, but it just wasn’t for me.

First Lines Friday-November 12th

Lauren1 Comment

Hello beautiful humans! How are y’all doing today? Me, I’m doing great. A little behind on my reading, unfortunately. My currently reading stack sits at four and my completed reads stack sits at zero. This is bad because it’s the 12th and I feel like I’ve barely gotten started on the month.

I blame Animal Crossing and TikTok.

I’ll do better, I think.

On to First Lines Friday!

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author, or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

The Lines:

“Sarah Huff needed a gun. A gun of her own. She wouldn’t tell her mom about it. She wouldn’t tell Anna about it. If they knew she had a gun, they would just freak out and make the whole situation worse. She went to a strung-out 22-year-old named Bryce, who loitered around the same abandoned corner in the free zones of Rockville every day, selling black market shit to anyone who needed it.”

Intruiged?

Point B by Drew Magary

When the corporate monolith PortSys brought porting to the masses, CEO Emilia Kirsch and her son Jason accomplished what every other startup company had failed to deliver. They really did change the world. They reversed climate change. They created a multitrillion-dollar industry out of thin air, curing economic woes across the globe. They made it so that anyone could be anywhere simply by touching a screen…

…including the man who murdered Sarah Huff.

Now Sarah’s 17–year-old sister, Anna, is determined to hunt the bastard down. But there are a few problems. She doesn’t know who the killer is, or where in the world he may be at any given moment. Also, she’s stuck at prestigious Druskin Academy, where PortPhones are banned and any student who attempts to port off-campus is immediately expelled.

It gets stickier. Anna’s also fallen in love with her dazzling new roommate, who just so happens to be Emilia Kirsch’s daughter, Lara. The dean of students wants Anna dead, perhaps literally. And she has only two friends to confide in: one a reckless alcoholic and the other a bizarre fussbudget. Oh, and now she also needs to find Lara, who has mysteriously disappeared from campus.

I read The Postmortal by this author and gave it 4 stars. But I also read The Hike and DNF’d it. So this book sits kinda middle ground on my TBR pile, which is terrible, because it means I don’t want to get to it anytime soon, but I still want to read it. The burdens we bear as book readers. Do you have a book you’re worried that will disappoint you?