Author: Celeste

Monthly Book Blog Wrap-Up: February 2022

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Hi and bye, February! I don’t know how I found the time, but I feel like I was as productive as ever in February. February was the month of the blog tour for me. I also managed to squeeze in a few pleasure reads for myself. (That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the blog tour books, which I did.) Here’s what I accomplished in February.

Book Reviews

For a short month, I surprised myself by posting six book reviews. I’ll happily take a pat on the back for that. From earliest to latest, here are my recent book reviews.

Book Memes and Other Posts

I posted four book memes.

Though not a book meme in the traditional sense, I also participated in the Support Book Bloggers Challenge. I chose the 10 new-to-me book bloggers prompt. Check it out for some potentially new-to-you book bloggers to follow.

I also posted a list of recommended and TBR books for Black history month.

And I can’t forget about my January monthly wrap-up.

Statistics

I’m now a smidge over half way to my goal of 100 blog followers by the end of 2022. A big thank you to my new blog followers!

Since posting more frequently over the past several months, I’ve noticed an increase in monthly views and unique visitors. The numbers will be small to some, but it’s a steady trend upward nonetheless. Amazingly, more unique visitors checked out my blog in February than in January, which surprised me because February is a shorter month. February also had the highest number of views and unique visitors compared to previous months. This increasing trend makes me happy because it means (I hope) my reviews and my love of books are reaching more people. I think this is mainly a result of signing up from so many blog tours in February. That’s not sustainable for me, though, so I don’t anticipate hitting these numbers every month.

In February, my top five posts were:

  1. 2022 Support Book Bloggers Challenge: 10 Book Bloggers
  2. Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
  3. Blood of the Lost Kingdom by Kristin Ward
  4. The Broken Heart of Arelium by Alex Robins
  5. Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian

#BeatTheBacklog

Lisa at Owl Be Sat Reading started the hashtag #BeatTheBacklog to rally those who want to make a dent in their TBR list. I only read one book in my backlog in February, The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick, which was in my NetGalley queue. I definitely want to make more progress, but one book is certainly better than none! You can find my progress list here of all of my #BeatTheBacklog reads.

Other Book-ish Progress

I made a little progress on my NetGalley queue (The North Wind), though not as much as in January. As I mentioned earlier, most of my attention was on blog tours this month. I also read A Dance with the Fae Prince by Elise Kova, which was not a NG read.

In March, though, I plan on making more progress on my NG approvals. I was pleasantly surprised that publishers approved me for A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland; The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah; The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh; and Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel. I’m quite behind, but I’ll read everything eventually!

I also won a couple of book giveaways. Thanks to Jill at Myth and Magic Book Club for a copy of House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. And thanks to Nick at Out of This World SFF for a copy of Rise of the Mages by Scott Drakeford.

Last, but certainly not least, I created a bookstagram. Please feel free to follow me on Instagram at alitescape!

Trope-ical Readathon March 2022

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Well, I originally intended to spend March reading my NetGalley approvals. Then I stumbled across Trope-ical Readathon, which you can read about here. This readathon includes 13 “Common Challenges” whose prompts contain common tropes (or their alternatives); 2 team-specific challenges; and 1 team book challenge (out of 2 choices). There are 6 teams and completion of a challenge earns your team points.

I decided to sign up because the prompts still provide me the option to read some of my backlog on NetGalley. If you want to join, you can still sign up through March 6. I signed up for Team Fantasy.

Here are the “Common Challenges” for all Trope-ical Readathon participants and the books I chose to fulfill them. No, I definitely don’t think I’ll read every single book listed here. Usually I’m lucky if I can read 6 books in a month. But I’ll do my best to support my team!

Continue reading “Trope-ical Readathon March 2022” →

BBNYA Blog Tour: Beneath Cruel Fathoms by Anela Deen

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Author: Anela Deen
Publisher: Fine Fable Press
Publish Date: May 17, 2019
Print Length: 365
Links: Amazon* and Goodreads*
BBNYA 2021: 6th place

*This is not an affiliate link and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using this link.

Today I’m happy to spotlight Beneath Cruel Fathoms by Anela Deen! I signed up for a lot of other blog tours in February, so I opted for a spotlight on this tour to avoid over commitment. However, I’ve already seen a lot of great reviews and can’t wait to read it! Meanwhile, check out the official synopsis below to learn more about this book.

Continue reading “BBNYA Blog Tour: Beneath Cruel Fathoms by Anela Deen” →

Book Review: Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith

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Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: March 5, 2019
Print Length: 271

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of Field Notes on Love on Bookshop.org!*

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

Official Synopsis

Two teens are thrown together on a cross-country train trip that will teach them about love, each other, and the futures they can build for themselves in this meet-cute romance from the bestselling author of Windfall and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.

It’s the perfect idea for a romantic week together: traveling across America by train.

But then Hugo’s girlfriend dumps him. Her parting gift: the tickets for their long-planned last-hurrah-before-college trip. Only, it’s been booked under her name. Nontransferable, no exceptions.

Mae is still reeling from being rejected from USC’s film school. When she stumbles across Hugo’s ad for a replacement Margaret Campbell (her full name!), she’s certain it’s exactly the adventure she needs to shake off her disappointment and jump-start her next film.

A cross-country train trip with a complete stranger might not seem like the best idea. But to Mae and Hugo, both eager to escape their regular lives, it makes perfect sense. What starts as a convenient arrangement soon turns into something more. But when life outside the train catches up to them, can they find a way to keep their feelings for each other from getting derailed?

My Review

I kept seeing The Love Hypothesis floating around. As a woman in STEM, I’m curious about the hype, but know I probably won’t have access to it from my library for a while. Then this book magically crossed my timeline and I thought, “I’m up for a genre change. The cover looks cute. The title sounds science-y. Let’s go for it!” Admittedly I don’t think I’ve ever, at least not that I can remember, read a non-fantasy romance. So I stepped out of my comfort zone here, and I’m glad I did.

This book is actually pretty cute. But, more than that, it’s about searching for your passion, if you don’t know what it is. It’s also about letting go, taking risks, and trusting that love is all that it’s cracked up to be. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the science field, but that’s ok; field notes apply to many subject matters, namely film studies in this book.

Another theme of this book is finding your identity outside of your family’s expectations and opening lines of communication. If you don’t communicate how you feel, how can your family’s well-meaning expectations ever shift? How can you know that there’s more than one way to approach a crux in life?

Jennifer E. Smith’s writing style is light and effortless. Yet, it also conveys the complexities of emotions faced by 18-year-olds, whether they’re related to college, adventure away from family, or love of all sorts. Though homophobia and racism are not themes that span the entire book, Mae and Hugo each reflect on their encounters with these unappreciated behaviors.

Overall, I’m glad I tried out a different genre than I normally read. I admit I teared up near the end of the book after a particular event. I’m not sold on the whole non-fantasy romance genre yet, but I’m game to read some more.

Rating: 3.5/5
Content warnings: mention of family member death, mention of racism, mention of homophobia
Reading format: Library hardback

Blog Tour: Blood of the Lost Kingdom by Kristin Ward

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Today’s review is about BLOOD OF THE LOST KINGDOM by Kristin Ward. It’s the second book in the Daughter of Erabel series. As such, this review contains some spoilers for THE GIRL OF DORCHA WOOD.

Author: Kristin Ward
Series: Daughter of Erabel Book 2
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Self-Published
Publish Date: August 3, 2021
Print Length: 282
Links: Amazon* and Goodreads*

*This is not an affiliate link and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using this link.

Continue reading “Blog Tour: Blood of the Lost Kingdom by Kristin Ward” →