Well hello beautiful people! I don’t know about you, but I have been in my feels the last couple of days. Alas today I have chores to do, like looking for a place to buy flooring from. I see many visit from contractors in my future to get estimates.

But it’s Top 5 Tuesday! Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and it is now hosted at Meeghan Reads. You can find the list of topics for April thru June here! Today’s topic is the top five books of the year…so far.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

I’ve written about this book, a lot, and I’m probably not going to stop writing about this book. The story of a celebrity on a popular fantasy show who asks out a plus sized cosplayer on twitter only to discover she is his anonymous fanfiction writing friend. This romance is great and I loved it. Olivia Dade is an auto buy author for me now, and I’ve already pre-ordered the third book in this series.

So This Is Ever After by F. T. Lukens

This fantasy romance about a chosen one who takes up the crown after beheading the king, only to find out he has to get married by his eighteenth birthday or he dies was fantastic. I loved the way the miscommunication trope was played out here. It was a lot of fun to read and I bought a copy after borrowing it from the library originally.

Origin In Death by J.D. Robb

This is one of the best of the In Death series. It also has ramifications that are felt in future books, which doesn’t usually happen in this series. In this book Eve is called on to investigate the death of high profile plastic surgeon Wilfred B. Icove and what she discovers about him is…horrific.

Spear by Nicola Griffith

This queer retelling of King Arthur was quite excellent. For a novella, it packed quite a lot of character development into it, as well as giving us a great glimpse into the world in which the book takes place. If you like King Arthur stories, this one is for you.

Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

I loved the story of Chloe and Red. Chloe almost gets hits by a car and decides to strike out on her own. She also makes a list of everything she wants to do in order to have a life. Red just so happens to be the handyman who oversees the apartment building she moves into. I had a lot of fun listening to this story and the audiobook narrator was great.

What are your top five books?

Hello beautiful people! It’s a cloudy, dreary day here in my neck of the woods. So naturally, I have to do some grocery shopping. At least it’s not raining. It could be raining.

It’s Top 5 Tuesday! Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and it is now hosted at Meeghan Reads. You can find the list of topics for April thru June here!

Today’s topic is all about your favorite snacks to consume whilst you are reading!

Buc-ee’s Bagel Seasoning Cashews

This savory snack doesn’t last very long while it’s in the house as I usually eat the whole bag in one sitting. They are that good. If you have a Buc-ee’s near you, I highly recommend trying them.

Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips

These are the best. The pepper makes them slightly spicey and the crunch cannot be denied. These are purely for snacking with the e-book so you don’t get greasy fingers all over your pages.

Orange Cranberry Cookies from Costco

These sugary sweets are a recent discovery for me and I am so happy I found them. They are so, so good. The orange flavor is so sweet and they have dried cranberries in them! And you get a large amount of them because Costco! They last several days so I can snack for a while and not worry about running out.

Crunchy Cheetos

Forgive the orange fingers, but crunchy Cheetos are a guilty pleasure. I don’t actually eat these while I am actively reading. I take a small break to cover myself in Cheeto dust, clean my hands, and then restart my reading pursuits.

Oreos

Um…yeah. We always have Oreos in our house. I usually only eat two at a time and that keeps me happy. Huzzah!

Honorable mention to something that is not food…Tea. A good cup of tea. I’m always drinking tea while I read.

Do you snack while you read?

Hello beautiful people! I apologize for the late post. Today got away from me. Also, there are cookies on my desk and YouTube videos about the Galatic StarCruiser that needed watching. Basically, the ADHD was strong with me.

Today I am doing Top 5 Tuesday! Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and it is now hosted at Meeghan reads. You can find the list of topics for April thru June here!

This week it’s the most anticipated new reads of April through June of 2022!

Onward!

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow- April 5th

Summer 1995: Ten-year-old Joan, her mother, and her younger sister flee her father’s explosive temper and seek refuge at her mother’s ancestral home in Memphis. This is not the first time violence has altered the course of the family’s trajectory. Half a century earlier, Joan’s grandfather built this majestic house in the historic Black neighborhood of Douglass—only to be lynched days after becoming the first Black detective in the city. Joan tries to settle into her new life, but family secrets cast a longer shadow than any of them expected.

As she grows up, Joan finds relief in her artwork, painting portraits of the community in Memphis. One of her subjects is their enigmatic neighbor Miss Dawn, who claims to know something about curses, and whose stories about the past help Joan see how her passion, imagination, and relentless hope are, in fact, the continuation of a long matrilineal tradition. Joan begins to understand that her mother, her mother’s mother, and the mothers before them persevered, made impossible choices, and put their dreams on hold so that her life would not have to be defined by loss and anger—that the sole instrument she needs for healing is her paintbrush.

I may already have this one in my possession.

Kaikeyi: A Novel by Vaishnavi Patel- April 26th

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

So begins Kaikeyi’s story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on tales of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.

Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most favored queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.

But as the evil from her childhood stories threatens the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. And Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak—and what legacy she intends to leave behind.

I might be getting this from Book of the Month. Maybe.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill-May 3rd

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.
 
Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

I have seen some great reviews for this online, and I am really looking forward to it.

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah- May 17th

Neither here nor there, but long ago…

Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn.

With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.

I’m not gonna lie, this one sounds really good.

From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper- May 17th

Wild child Isidora Avramov is a thrill chaser, adept demon summoner, and—despite the whole sexy-evil-sorceress vibe—also a cuddly animal lover. When she’s not designing costumes and new storylines for the Arcane Emporium’s haunted house, Issa’s nursing a secret, conflicted dream of ditching her family’s witchy business to become an indie fashion designer in her own right. 

But when someone starts sabotaging the celebrations leading up to this year’s Beltane festival with dark, dangerous magic, a member of the rival Thorn family gets badly hurt—throwing immediate suspicion on the Avramovs. To clear the Avramov name and step up for her family when they need her the most, Issa agrees to serve as a co-investigator, helping none other than Rowan Thorn get to the bottom of things.

Rowan is the very definition of lawful good, so tragically noble and by-the-book he makes Issa’s teeth hurt. In accordance with their families’ complicated history, he and Issa have been archenemies for years and have grown to heartily loathe each other. But as the unlikely duo follow a perplexing trail of clues to a stunning conclusion, Issa and Rowan discover how little they really know each other… and stumble upon a maddening attraction that becomes harder to ignore by the day.

I loved Payback’s a Witch and I am really looking forward to the sequel!

These are not the only books I am looking forward to. I could make a much longer list. Seriously, a much, much longer list.

What would your list look like?

Well hello, beautiful people! It’s going to be a balmy 70 degrees here in Texas today. Quite a change from last week when we were preparing for icy weather. I both love and hate the south.

Today I am doing Top 5 Tuesday! Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and it is now hosted, at Meeghan reads. You can find the list of topics for January through March here!

Today’s topic is all about books with doorways in them. I haven’t read too many of them, so I’m going to go with books I want to read or re-read.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Yes, I picked the most obvious one. I haven’t read this since I was a child and I am curious to see how adult me will view the books. Kid me loved them.

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

I actually picked this one up last year. It has a great reputation and looks to be a quick read. Also that cover is cute.

Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

This book comes highly recommended by friends of mine, so I asked for it for a Christmas gift and that wish was granted! This story sounds so good though. Why haven’t I read it yet?

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Okay, but hear me out. The whole adventure starts with Bilbo deciding to walk out his front door! And yes, I know, the quote “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door…” comes from Lord of the Rings, but it’s because of his experience in the Hobbit that he says this!

Harry Potter and the…by You know who.

And there you have it, my list of doorways. Does yours look any different?

Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and it is now hosted, at Meeghan reads. You can find the list of topics for January through March here!

You might be saying to yourself, “Self, Lauren usually does Top Ten Tuesday”. You would be right. I don’t have the spoons to deal with ten books today, so I choose to go over to Top 5 Tuesday and give that a try! I might switch between the two here and there because I had fun going through my bookshelves, not my TBR area (it’s not a cart anymore) to find the books I haven’t read yet.

The topic for today’s post is all about books that have been on your TBR for a long time. A very long time.

Posion by Sarah Pinborough

Coming in at 208 pages, this is by far the shortest book on my TBR list. I have no idea why I haven’t read this yet, but I just remember being completely intrigued by this retelling when it first came out seven years ago.

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

I had my eye on this series for years before I picked the first four books up at a used book store five years ago. I knew absolutely nothing about them, except that they had dragons on the covers. I have since learned they are about the Napoleanic Wars, but with dragons.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

I picked this one up at the recommendation of a friend. I never did get around to reading it because thrillers aren’t my genre, but I’m going to try and get to this one this year!

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

I picked this up many, many years ago and I’m not quite sure why I never read it. But I have seen it all over the bookish corners of the internet recently. Kinda makes me want to pick it up. Apparently I am swayed by the internet!

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

This book series has been out for 30 years, and I’ve never read it! It’s been in my TBR for a long while now. I can’t believe I’ve never read it. I forgot I even had it!

Gotta love a a post that makes you go through your entire backlist and makes you feel shame! Not really. I’m sure I have a lot more books than this that have been on my TBR for a while than what is listed above, but yes, it is called Top 5 Tuesday, I must restrain myself.