Book Blogger Hop - 12 August 2022

Book Blogger Hop

 About the Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer's permission, Billy @ Ramblings or a Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop's purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

August 12 - 18, 2022

In no particular order, here are 6 of my favorites:

1. Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

2. The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

3. Play by Kylie Scott

4. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

5. The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

6 Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison

🔱🔱🔱

What about you? What are some of your favorite books? Let me know in the comments or drop me a link to your post!

Meet the Book Blogger

Hey Bookdragons! It’s my 30th birthday! Since I was away from blogging for a while and I’ve interacted with a lot of new people since being back, I thought I’d do a “meet the book blogger” post so you could get to know me or get reacquainted with me! 

1. Where are you from? 

I’m currently living in Clintonville, Wisconsin, about 30 miles north and west of Appleton. 

2. When did you start your blog? 

I posted my first book review that started my blog in July 2016. 

3. Would you rather be an author or a publisher? 

Being an indie author, I’m a little bit of both. I definitely like the writing end of being an indie author over the promotion and business end of publishing. 

4. Do you prefer standalone’s or a series? 

Definitely standalone’s. When I was younger I could binge long series, now I just don’t have the attention span for them. 

5. What author is your biggest inspiration? 

Horror Genre - Dawn Kurtagich 

Fantasy Author - Danielle L. Jensen 

Indie Author - Stacey Rourke 

6. Cats or Dogs? 

Cats, definitely! 

7. Whats your favourite movie? 

Elvis & Anabelle 

8. If you got stuck on a island, which three books would you want to be stuck with? 

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich, Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie, and a book on safe plants to eat on tropical islands 

9. Did you always plan your blog to be a book blog? 

No, originally it was going to solely be an author blog but I found I enjoyed talking about other people’s books more than blogging about writer’s block and publishing woes 😆 

10. Whats your dream job? 

I’d love to own a small bookstore. 

11. Which authors, dead or alive, would you like to meet? 

Edgar Allan Poe, Dawn Kurtagich, and all of my amazing writer friends! 

12. Favourite Adaption? 

The Great Gatsby (with Leonardo DiCaprio) 

13. Happy Place, Food, Song? 

Place - Charleston, South Carolina 

Food - Reuben Egg Rolls 

Song - Do Not Disturb by Halestorm 

14. Perfect Night In? 

A stack of horror movies, a glass of Numbskül and lemonade, and maybe Chinese takeout. 

15. Something no one knows about you? 

I really love smutty books 😆 

16. Something you hate? 

Winter 

17. Something you love? 

Halloween, fall, horror movies, traveling 

18. My self care routine: 

Days off binging horror movies and favorite tv shows. Listening to loud rock or metal music when I’m feeling upset. 

19. Go to genre? 

Thrillers 

20. Best book from this year? 

I’ll do a best book from what I read in July - Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan 

LAST ONE 

21. Dog ear or bookmark? 

Bookmarks, receipts, anything flat I can shove in the book 😆

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books Set In a Place I’d Love to Visit

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish and currently hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set In a Place I’d Love to Visit

This week’s TTT is all about books set in places I'd love to visit. I'm really into traveling and one of my weird quirks is looking to see if there are any books set in the places I want to go. Here are 9 books set in places I'd love to visit or have visited and 2 books set in a place I wouldn't want to go after reading tons of horror and thrillers set there...

1. A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams (Charleston, South Carolina)

I went to Charleston last year and fell in love with it. I read this book when I was back home and missing Charleston and it felt like I was right back there. 

2. Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan (Savannah, Georgia)

The 1838 timeline of this book primarily takes place on the steamboat Pulaski, but throughout the book you definitely get a feel for Savannah!

3. My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (Deadwood, South Dakota)

My mom and I went to Deadwood in June and I believe either all or part of this book is set in Deadwood, so it would be interesting to see The Lady Janies's take on 1876 Deadwood!

4. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco (Bran Castle, Romania)

It's actually the picture of Bran Castle in the book that I fell in love with and put it on my someday travel-to list.

5. Reawakened by Colleen Houck (Egypt)

Egypt has always been on my to-visit-someday list but this book is so much fun!

6. RoseBlood by A.G. Howard (Paris, France)

7. Curse of the Bruel Coven by Sabrina Ramoth (New Orleans, Louisiana)

8. Dark Witch by Nora Roberts (Ireland)

9. The Hollow by Jessica Verday (Sleepy Hollow, New York)

and 1 Place I would Not Like to Visit After Reading Multiple Books Set There...

Maine

***

What books are set in places you'd like to go? What fictional places would you like to visit?

Let me know in the comments or drop a link to your TTT!

Happy Reading Bookdragons!

-Taylor

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books From My Past Seasonal TBR Posts I STILL Haven’t Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish and currently hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books From My Past Seasonal TBR Posts I STILL Haven’t Read

This week’s TTT is all about books from our previous seasonal TBR posts that we still haven't read. I'm a good example of people who get excited about upcoming releases for a season, even preorder some, then never get around to reading them. Here are a few I still haven't read yet...

Fall 2021

1. Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey (October 29, 2021)

2. The Rhythm Method by Kylie Scott (November 9, 2021)

3. You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao (November 9, 2021)

Winter 2021-2022

4. To Die For by Amy Plum (December 13, 2021)

5. A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (January 11, 2022)

6. In Every Generation by Kendare Blake (January 4, 2022)

7. House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas (February 15, 2022)

Spring 2022

8. The Club by Ellery Lloyd (March 1, 2022)

9. Famous in a Small Town by Kylie Scott (April 7, 2022)

10. Fate Touched by Becky Moynihan (May 31, 2022)

***

What books were on your previous seasonal TBRs that you just haven't gotten around to reading yet? Is there any reason you're hesitating?

Let me know in the comments or drop a link to your TTT!

Happy Reading Bookdragons!

-Taylor

{Release Day Blitz} Chaos & Carnage by Stacey Rourke

Gallows humor and haunting delights meet in the continuation of the Death Diggers Saga! 

Chaos & Carnage by Stacey Rourke

About the Book:

Author: Stacey Rourke

Series: Death Diggers Handbook #5

Release Date: July 21, 2022

Format: eBook, Paperback

Pages: 127

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Blurb:

Sorrow haunts the Crane's Roost Inn,

Threatening all who step within.

An entity born of anguish and pain

seeks to expand its torturous reign.

Fueled by hunger that can never be sated,

with shifts in its form its victims are baited.

Malaria must find the host... much is at stake.

Lest a path of chaos and carnage lie in its wake.

Yet as her fragmented memories begin to return,

Horrific truths she soon will learn.

Will she flee to Carnage Crossing to escape the dark thrall?

Or join the lost souls wandering the hotel hall?

Buy the Book:

Amazon

I Can't Wait for... Lightlark!

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.

I read about this one a couple weeks ago (yes, late to the game, as usual) and it sounds fantastic. 

Lightlark

Lightlark, Book 1

by Alex Aster
eBook, Hardcover, 416 Pages
August 23, 2022 by Amulet Books

Blurb:

Welcome to the Centennial.

Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.

Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wildling—a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised, and are counting on Isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the Centennial.

To survive, Isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything. 

Add to Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop.org

Why I Want To Read Lightlark:

I'm loving the trope of deadly games lately. Not to mention that Isla sounds like a character I'll absolutely love. Just everything about the blurb, and the cover, sounds so good!

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Will you be checking this book out? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Most Anticipated Books Releasing In the Second Half of 2022

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish and currently hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2022

This week’s TTT is a freebie but I’ve been away from book blogging since last September so to dive back in I’m going to do the prompt from July 5: my 10 most anticipated books releasing in the second half of 2022! 

1. Lightlark by Alex Aster (August 23, 2022)

2. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (August 30, 2022)

3. Their Vicious Darling by Nikki St. Crowe (September 1, 2022)

4. Green Monsters by Nicky Shearsby (September 6, 2022)

5. Ledge by Stacey McEwan (September 13, 2022)

6. The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber (September 13, 2022)

7. The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling (September 20, 2022)

8. Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston (November 1, 2022)

9. Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger (November 8, 2022)

10. To Free the Rising Storm by C.N. Maxwell (November 22, 2022)

***

What books did you pick for your most anticipated for the rest of the year? Were any of these on your list? What freebie topic did you use this week?

Let me know in the comments or drop a link to your TTT!

Happy Reading Bookdragons!

-Taylor

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? - 18 July 2022

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Hey Bookdragons! After 10 months away from book blogging I'm slowly getting back into things. July has been a stressful month for me so far so I'm not reading as much as I'd like but here are a few books I've read this month, what I'm currently reading, and what I'd like to read next. 

What I Read Last Week: 

Never Coming Home by Kate Williams

Mini Review:

I will forever read any retelling of “And Then There Were None!” This one was one of my favorite takes on it and impossible to put down. Ten influencers are lured to an island, which really connects the story to today’s world. I found myself rooting for certain characters although I knew they had done awful things. Others I was happy to see go 😆 I will definitely reread this one in the future.  

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Boogeyman Booty Call by Harpie Alexa

This book was recommended to me on KU based on other books I have read. And I'm left wondering what, oh what, did I read that I deserved to plod through this book. It was 117 pages, a fast-read for sure, but a lot weirder than what I usually go for in smut reads. 

Currently Reading:

City of Dusk by Tara Sim

I started reading this one before I went on vacation last month and set it aside because I didn't want to drag this massive doorstopper all the way to Deadwood with me. I'm about 100 pages in and I have to get back into it one of these days. 

Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan

My library loan for this one finally came in. I've been wanting to read Surviving Savannah for a couple months now. So far the storytelling is fantastic. It follows dual timelines with Lilly Forsyth, a passenger aboard the steamboat Pulaski  in 1838 and Everly Winthrop in 2018 Savannah as she curates an exhibit of the Pulaski not long after the wreckage was found. I'm loving it so far, but I'm also kind of savoring the story and reading slow. 

Next Read

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

I was going to start My Killer Vacation last weekend but then my hold on Surviving Savannah came in so this one is just sitting on my bedside table until I finish Surviving Savannah. I'm hoping to start it soon. 

*** 

 What are you reading this week? Have you read any of my recent reads?