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6/29/2019

Killing Kate by Alex Lake

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My phone bricked up and I lost all my pictures because somehow I didn't set them on any backup plan...so that was fun. Luckily I have a new phone now (and a backup schedule) but yeah, that sucked. 

So this book is actually set in the UK and noting that the blurb is down my alley (murder-mystery)...I honestly picked it up because of the cover. Isn't is eye-catching? That yellow and blue/gray combo is perfection and I'm seeing it in other covers now. 

I bought it at Target because I have a Target problem. I'm working on it. 
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6/29/2019

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett

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This is a cute YA contemporary romance, set in California. This is my second Jenn Bennett book (the first being Alex, Approximately) and I enjoyed it. I received it in an Uppercase subscription box (April 2018). I gave this a four star rating. ​
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6/29/2019

Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent

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I picked up some computer glasses at Target yesterday because I've had a spat of migraines...maybe because of the weather but maybe because I've been working on the computer a lot (?). They're not prescription, they're the "blue light filtering glare reducing" lenses. Meant for digital screens at least. So we shall see how that turns out. It's this exact pair as an aside.

I bought this book from my local indie last year but sat down and read it over the holiday break. I honestly picked it up because Liz Nugent is Irish and her bio on the flap looked impressive. Plus the cover (American, hardback edition at least) was creepy. Insta-buy! ​
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6/29/2019

Where No Shadows Fall (#5 Grace Macallan Series)

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I received this from the publisher through NetGalley. I requested specifically because of the setting. Not only is it set in Scotland but features Glasgow! I love Scotland and Glasgow is such a fun place. Tons of history and really cool people, it's the perfect setting for a book.
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6/29/2019

The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale

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I bought this on a whim. It's a nonfiction, historical, murder mystery. It's my jam! The copy I bought was an older library version (from Philly!). It's my first Kate Summerscale book but I have another one of her books on my bookshelf and the television series on my list. I'll get around to it eventually. ​
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6/29/2019

The Book of Three (Prydain #1) by Lloyd Alexander

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This is more nostalgic for me than any other book I bought recently. I ordered the complete Prydain pentalogy for a re-read. I actually first read them when I was younger (like elementary school) and I swear they were my Harry Potter before Harry Potter became a thing. They're much shorter than the Potter series, and meant for younger readers mostly. It's a children's high fantasy that's inspired by Welsh mythology, especially the Mabinogion. It's listed for ages 8-12. I think its better than the Potter series but that's just me. 

Even reading as an adult, I still loved them. I actually own a worn version of this book (the fourth, Taran Wanderer, was the only book I didn't own. The covers are different, with different art work and gilded Celtic motifs. ​
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6/29/2019

The White City by grace hitchcock

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The White City was a requested book from NetGalley and I believe it's part of a multi-author historical fiction series called True Colors. 

With NetGalley, you can request books from publishers...and they may or may not let you read the book. I actually joined because there are these book blurbs that NetGalley creates (I think it's Net Galley) about upcoming books by genre. They're free and since I've joined I've always read them. I requested a bunch of books and got turned down a bunch (which I expected because I'm not a professional book seller, etc.) but I did get some of the books I requested, which I did appreciate. ​
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6/28/2019

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne

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​I bought this on a whim at the bookstore because of the blurb on the front of the book ("Once. A pun. A time.") and I started reading it after a week full of crappy migraines. I can't even begin to explain how much I loved this book, I've seen people say it's like Terry Pratchett or The Princess Bride and I have to agree. I kept sending pictures to my friends because parts were too funny not to share. 
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6/28/2019

The Murder of the Century by Paul Collins

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I picked this book up because of my muted knowledge from history class about the "tabloid wars" and "yellow journalism." I wanted to know more and I like narrative history books.  I bought this book used off Amazon. ​
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6/28/2019

My Life As A Goddess by Guy Branum

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I picked this book up from one of my local indie bookshops because I had seen Guy Branum on Conan's late night talk show promoting his book. Guy was funny and he looked so familiar to me, plus I wanted something funny to read.

I was delightfully surprised by how much I loved this book, Guy, and his brain.  Guy is witty, poignant and snarky when talking about events in his life. While this book is a memoir, it's told in an essay-collection format. I think that helps sort it in your mind, while it does run consecutively, Guy takes little side roads to explain moments in a deeper way. ​
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6/28/2019

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

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This is my first Anne Tyler book, I don’t know how that happened. Tyler is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Breathing Lessons and has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Vinegar Girl is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare collection and is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare. This is one of my favorite works simply because I loved the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. Which is probably an odd way of picking favorites, but I see Julia Styles and Heath Ledger as the Shakespeare characters and I can’t help but love it. I’ve been revisiting Shakespeare and other classics through other medias (YouTube, graphic novels, etc.) and I think a retelling fit this as well.

I received this as a Christmas gift, so I'm not sure where it was bought. 

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6/28/2019

Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan

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I bought this book in my local bookstore under the misapprehension that this was more of a murder-mystery type book but it's not (not a complaint). It's a more suspenseful novel about friendships and romantic relationships. ​
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6/28/2019

Evergreen Falls by Kimberley Freeman

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I received this book in a subscription box in June 2016. It was one of the better boxes for me because it was “Roaring 20's Mystery” theme. I ended up canceling this subscription because the extra goodies weren’t making up the value for me and many of the books were remainders.

This book is also a remainder, but the author was new to me and the setting was Australia. My mind went to Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, which is coming out with a movie as an aside. I love Miss Fisher's. 
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6/28/2019

Starflight by Melissa Landers

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I received this book in an Uppercase box (I think February 2016...) which just shows how behind I am at with my Young Adult books. There's a pile of them...and they've moved onto my jewelry shelf space.

The cover for this book alone sold me. I love it. The spaceships trail is a gold foil in real life and it really pops against the galaxy background. ​
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6/28/2019

The Killing Forest (Dødesporet) by Sara Blaedel

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So this book is part of a series, which I didn't know. I bought this book on a whim from either Target or Barnes and Nobles. That being said, while I'm not familiar with the series you can read this book as a standalone but I think it would have  been better having read the whole series. This book is listed as number eight in the series, as a fyi.
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6/28/2019

Down the Darkest Road by Tami Hoag

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Down the Darkest Road is a murder mystery by Tami Hoag, who writes a good murder-mystery read. I read this a few months ago without looking up the synopsis as Hoag is pretty much an auto-buy for me. I got this at a bookstore, but I can't remember which one now. It was either Barnes and Noble or Borders (RIP). 
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6/28/2019

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

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The goal this year is to clear out some books. My TBR (to be read) pile is huge. It's ridiculous. I can't be trusted in any bookstore, book sale or free book giveaway. 

That's just physical books...my e-reading is legit hoarding levels. 

I normally keep almost any book I read. I also used to never give up--I'd read the book to the end. Last year I decided it was okay to mark a book as a "did not finish" or DNF. It's truly freeing. This year I decided to start clearing out my bookshelf. It's a bit of a Kon-mari thing. It's not quite the system she has set up because I konmaried my clothes, stationary supplies, shoes, skincare, makeup but hit a HARD wall when it came to books. You can pry my beloved books from my cold, dead hands. 
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6/28/2019

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

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So Emma Mills book, Now and Then, was actually the first book I received in my Uppercase box subscription. This is the second Mills book I've gotten from them, but the first I've read. I received it in the December 2017 Uppercase box. I know this book also came in an Owlcrate box, with a slightly different colored cover. Mills has written three books, with the third being titled This Adventure Ends. ​
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6/27/2019

The Cater Street Hangman (Charlotte and Thomas Pitt #1) Review

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This series has 32 books, spanning over twenty years all set in the Victorian era (1881 in fact). I'm a bit conflicted about this series. I'm on book six, and I can't decide if I like it or not. I rated the first book as a four (3.5 tbh), and the rest as three. I just don't know if I want to continue on for twenty seven more books. Perry has won the Edgar Award, which is usually a good indication for me. I tend to love Edgar Award winners. 

Anne Perry has a different path to authorship than most. I was unaware of her story before reading (she was involved in a murder as a child) and I'm not sure it made a bit of difference to be honest in how I view the work. 
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