Mid-Year Bookish Report

Hi bibliovores! Happy Friday! Happy (almost) July! I love July. 

No review today, sadly. I've had a very busy week, and I had no time to read or review. I'm moving out of my apartment - today is my last day - and I've been busy packing, cleaning, hauling, etc. On top of that, I started my new job last week and I'm not used to my new sleep schedule yet. I need to go to bed earlier, given how much earlier I've been waking up!

Anyway! We've reached the mid-year point! So I'm going to do a reading check-in, like I did last year on July 1st. How have I been doing, in reading? In reviewing? What have I been reading?

Here we go!

Number of books read (so far):

79.  (As compared to last year at this point, which was 93, I've been doing poorly!)

Age level (so far):

28 Adult books.

3 New Adult books.

48 Young Adult books.

Average rating (so far):

3.65

Ratings (so far):

- Number of 1-star reviews: 2

- Number of 2-star reviews: 6

- Number of 3-star reviews: 14

- Number of 4-star reviews: 53

- Number of 5-star reviews: 4

Number of posts (so far):

Including this one, 218.

Favorite YA books (so far):

Favorite New Adult books (so far):

Favorite adult books (so far):

YA books publishing in the second half of the year that I can't wait to read:

(Some of these I have. But I've read none of these.)

Adult books publishing in the second half of the year that I can't wait to read:

(Some of these I have. But I've read none of these.)

Favorite book mail (so far):

Honestly I'm blessed to have a lot of great weeks in terms of book mail. I could list nearly every Saturday and describe exactly why I was so happy with the mail I received that week. But I think May 13th takes the cake - it's an amazing haul. Specifically, I was so excited to finally receive a copy of Fanfare that I had bought. Ahdieh collection = complete!

Favorite Swoon Thursday (so far):

    

This was hard because I've shared so many great swoons! YA books are getting swoonier and swoonier (yay)! So I chose three to feature. :D

Favorite Science in Fiction post (so far):

I loved writing about global climate change and its impacts. 

That's all I've got for today! What do you all think of my mid-year status so far? What are some of your favorite books so far? 

Swoon Thursday (#231): Wesley James Ruined My Life by Jennifer Honeybourn

- From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering

- Try to make the swoon excerpt 140 characters (or less), if you are going to tweet about it. Use the hashtag #YABOUND when tweeting

This week, my swoon is from Wesley James Ruined My Life by Jennifer Honeybourn!

(I'm giving you all most of the scene because I love it SO MUCH!)

Wesley brushes past me. He sets the letters on my desk and picks up the balloon, a strange expression crossing his features. "You saved it?" he says.

My face is on fire. Saving that balloon, well, it's basically a declaration of my feelings for him. And I'm pretty sure he knows it. "Oh, um. Yeah. I did."

Wesley's staring at me intently. The air between us is so charged, the hair on my arms is standing is up. "Why?" He asks softly.

I swallow. This is it. The moment. I can continue to run. Or I can go for it. But here's the thing: I'm tired of running. And really, I've got nothing left to lose. So I take a deep breath, and then I take the leap. 

"Because you made it for me," I say.

Wesley covers the length of the room in less than a second. He pulls me toward him and kisses me, and he's such a crazy, blow-my-socks-right-off amazingly good kisser that I practically melt into the floor. 

I can't even believe this is happening.

I am kissing Wesley James. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The balloon falls to the floor and my hands find their way to his shaggy blond hair, which is even softer than I imagined it would be. Wesley's hands are sliding up my back, bringing me closer, until there's no space between us left. We are all over each other and there is nothing "nice" about it, no wondering if this is right or if I like him. There is no thinking at all, just fireworks. 

Everything - everything - about this moment is perfect. And, like all the best things in life, absolutely worth waiting for.

- Pages 221-222

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Ivy Bookshop

I adored this book, and the hate-to-love friends-to-lovers romance! This was a Swoon Reads winner. You can check out my review HERE. =)

Promo and Giveaway: The Way It Hurts by Patty Blount

Welcome to the first look celebration for The Way It Hurts by Patty Blount! This is Patty's fifth YA book and it is sure to be amazing. I hope you'll check out the book!

TMI | Some Boys | Nothing Left to Burn

About the Book:

The Way It Hurts by Patty Blount

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: August 1, 2017

Official Summary:

There may be two sides to every story, but sometimes there's only one way to set things right...

Music is Elijah's life. His band plays loud and hard, and he'll do anything to get them a big break. He needs that success to help take care of his sister, who has special needs. So he'd rather be practicing when his friends drag him to a musical in the next town...until the lead starts to sing.

Kristen dreams of a career on stage like her grandmother's. She knows she needs an edge to get into a competitive theater program--and being the star in her high school musical isn't going to cut it. The applause and the attention only encourage her to work harder.

Elijah can't take his eyes off of Kristen's performance, and snaps a photo of her in costume that he posts online with a comment that everybody misunderstands. It goes viral. Suddenly, Elijah and Kristen are in a new spotlight as the online backlash spins out of control. And the consequences are bigger than they both could have ever imagined because these threats don't stay online...they follow them into real life.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

About the Author:

Native New Yorker Patty Blount is the award-winning author of several critically acclaimed internet issues novels for teens as well as a few adult contemporary romances. She is inspired to write by such greats as Judy Blume, JK Rowling, and Gayle Forman. In fact, Judy Blume is the reason Patty elected to write under her real name…so she’d appear on shelves next to her idol. Patty adores writing; she’s written everything from technical manuals to song lyrics (see THE WAY IT HURTS, coming August 2017). Patty wants you to know she loves chocolate…really, really loves chocolate.

When not crushing on actors Gilles Marini or Sam Heughan, Patty can be found sitting in traffic somewhere on the Long Island Expressway, listening to audio books or talking wildly to herself about plots and characters. Prone to falling madly in love with fictional characters, Patty suffers frequent broken hearts when they all invariably prefer the heroine to her… go figure. When she’s not writing, Patty loves to watch bad sci-fi movies and live tweet the hilarity, and scour Pinterest for ideas on awesome bookcases. Patty lives on Long Island with her family in a house that, sadly, lacks bookcases.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

The Excerpt:

I shifted in my broken seat, wondering how many more minutes of the hell that was Bear River High School North’s production of Cats I’d have to endure. My fingers itched for my guitar and notepad. Melodies played in my head, begging to be put down on paper, and there were a dozen other things we should have been doing to promote Ride Out so we could get the band some notice. 

The music rose. Beside me, Nick sucked in a breath. I didn’t know Leah. Nick met her at a concert a few months back, and they’d been hanging out whenever they could because, Nick claimed, Leah was the One. 

I hid half a laugh and shook my head. I didn’t get the whole concept of the One, but I’d help Nick get what he wanted. 

Leah raised her face. When she opened her mouth, I sat up a little straighter. Her voice... Jesus, it was astounding. Clear. Strong. Powerful but sweet. I watched and listened, the audience around me fading away. Her voice swelled, and she attacked the high notes without hesitating, making goose bumps jump out of my skin. What was the top note of her range? She glided across the stage; she never struggled or stumbled. The audience waited for the crescendo, and when she reached it, holy God, it was like a...a promise kept. She blew me away. The notes faded out, and the rest of the production was a blur. I had no idea Leah could sing like that and couldn’t take my eyes off— 

My best friend’s girl. Shit. 

The lights came up, and everybody got to their feet, applauding like mad. Nick held up this lame poster board sign he’d made. I used that time to get my hormones under control and put Leah and her amazing voice out of my head. The rest of the cast assembled on the stage for their curtain call, and I locked eyes with one of the actors— the White Cat. She was incredibly hot—a solid body with an impressive rack. Her solo dance was the best part of the show up until Leah’s song. She looked amazing in that white cat suit. So freakin’ hot. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, a moment please.” A teacher walked to the right of the stage and waved her hands. “Thank you all for attending our opening night performance! I am so proud of these kids. They made all their own costumes and designed the set themselves. And tonight, I want to share with you an amazing last-minute change-up to our program. Grizabella, played by Leah Russo, is ill and was unable to sing this evening. Her songs were actually sung by our White Cat, played by Kristen Cartwright.” 

The teacher’s hand swung to my favorite cat, and my jaw dropped. That awesome voice was hers? Whoa. I stuck two fingers in my mouth and let loose with a shrill whistle while the audience roared their approval. The white cat’s eyes met mine, and I started to picture her in different clothes...maybe some black leather, studded bands on her wrists, hair long and wild down her back, strutting across a stage while I shredded the hell out of the guitar. If she could sing Broadway songs without breaking a sweat, what could she do with a hard metal rock track? I wondered—again—what her range was. Could she get low with some Halestorm or full-on mean with a Slipknot metal scream? I should put her in Ride Out right now. I grinned like a maniac because I knew that would really twist BroadwayBaby17 into a knot. 

A brilliant idea struck. I pulled out my phone, snapped a photo of the white cat, and from the band’s Twitter account, posted this: 

Ride_Out: This cat’s HAWT! And damn, can she sing. 

It needed a hashtag. I tapped out “#CatCall.” Oh, this was awesome. My phone buzzed a minute later with a reply from a fan calling himself JJStix88. 

Sweet! Get her to meow. #CatCall

I tapped out another post. 

JJStix88: Make her arch that back! #CatCall 

Ride_Out: Wanna hear her scream! #CatCall 

Copyright © The Way It Hurts 2017 by Patty Blount

The Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday (#235): Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I'm featuring:

Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones

Book Two of the Wintersong series

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Publication Date: January 30, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads):

Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can’t forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her. 

When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King—who he was, who he is, and who he will be. What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world—or the ones Liesl loves—is in her hands?

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Ivy Bookshop

I've read Wintersong. I desperately wanted a sequel. But y'all, I'm mostly here for this book's COVER. Holy guacamole, it is gorgeous! We thought Wintersong's cover was breathtaking! *dead*