Celeste, Author at A Literary Escape

Monthly Book Blog Wrap-Up: September 2022

Published on October 4, 2022October 2, 2022 by Celeste6 Comments

Despite feeling super busy, I surprised myself by finishing six books in September in addition to my eight BBNYA 2022 extracts. I don’t know how I did it, but I’m very happy about that. I suppose it’s called avoiding-the-world-by-reading-all-the-time. 😉 It’s a great habit. I approve. Also, no plant injuries to report this time around, so another positive in my book.

I think the biggest life thing I’ll share is that our family vacation house in southwest Florida is still there! It’s on one of the barrier islands, so we had no idea what to expect after Hurricane Ian moved on. But we finally found aerial footage from NOAA that shows it didn’t wash away. We’re feeling very fortunate about that fact, though it will take a very long time to repair everything. The only way to access that part of Florida now is by boat or air, so that will definitely add to the restoration timeline. We don’t have any boots on the ground since those individuals are first and foremost tending to their own lives, as they should. We’ll learn more with time. Lots of good memories at that house.

Anyway, let’s see how September went on the blog!

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ARC Review: A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

Published on October 3, 2022June 8, 2024 by Celeste8 Comments

Today’s review is about A DOWRY OF BLOOD by S.T. Gibson. It’s a retelling of Dracula through the point of view of one of his wives. It’s incredibly atmospheric and provides a poignant look at the line between love and obsession.

Author: S.T. Gibson
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Redhook
Publish Date: October 4, 2022
Print Length: 304

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of A Dowry of Blood on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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October 2022 TBR List

Published on October 1, 2022October 2, 2022 by Celeste8 Comments

Hello, friends! I’m back yet again with another monthly TBR despite saying for years I hate them. This is my third one ever. There are more books in this list than I think I’ll be able to get to, but I can dream!

For October I decided to join Spooktastic Reads, a Wyrd and Wonder mini event. This event occurs over the 13 days leading up to Halloween (October 19-31) to celebrate all things dark in the fantasy genre. No sign up is necessary. Just have fun! For more information about the event, visit Ariana’s break down on The Book Nook.

Thankfully I have no ARCs due in October. (Okay, technically I have one, but I already read it.) Although I have my third round BBNYA assignment (full-length books), I more or less have free range for this month. I’ve never actually themed my reading list before, but I’m going to try to stick to Halloween-y vibes.

As usual the book covers link to the official synopses. I may be able to squeeze one or two more in here, but I have a lot going on in October, so I’ll keep the list to these five.

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First Lines Fridays: September 30, 2022

Published on September 30, 2022September 28, 2022 by Celeste2 Comments

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? The rules are as follows:

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!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

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Support Book Bloggers Challenge: Guest Post by Eye-Rolling Demigod

Published on September 29, 2022September 22, 2022 by Celeste2 Comments

In an effort to support and promote book bloggers further in 2022, Pages Unbound is hosting a (very casual) Support Book Bloggers Challenge. The idea is simple: we will work together to read blog posts, share them, comment on them, and boost book bloggers in other ways. To learn more about the challenge and the 12 prompts involved, visit the original post here. (The above banner was created by Pages Unbound.) If you decide to join in on the fun, the social media hashtag to use is #BookBloggerSupport22.

The prompt for September is to write a guest post for a blog or feature a guest post on your own blog. Earlier this month I encouraged bloggers to reach out if they wanted to be featured on my blog. Thankfully my outreach didn’t fall into the internet void! All guest posts are presented as given to me; I have not edited any of the content save for the formatting.

For my second featured guest post, please meet Dusty at Eye-Rolling Demigod! Keep reading to learn more about this fellow book blogger!

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