2022 Book Bloggers Challenge: Comment on 10 Book Blogs

Published on March 24, 2022March 21, 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.

Here are my responses to the previous prompts:

January: Find 10 book bloggers you’ve enjoyed reading and give them a shoutout
February: Find 10 new-to-you book bloggers to follow

Without further ado, keep reading for my responses to the prompt I chose for March.

3. LEAVE COMMENTS ON 10 BOOK BLOGS

I left comments on the following book blog posts.

WWW Wednesday: March 16, 2022

Published on March 16, 2022June 11, 2022 by CelesteLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading: I’m currently reading The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. I’m about 75 pages in and intrigued, but also turned off by the cult-ish community the main character grew up in. Maybe I didn’t read the synopsis carefully enough, but I wasn’t expecting such religious intensity. This was a hot book last year, though, so I’m looking forward to seeing if it lives up to the hype.

Recently Finished: A couple days ago I finished The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton. Yesterday was its publish date and I recently participated in a blog blitz for it. It’s a historical fiction fantasy romance set in 19th century England. I absolutely loved it. It was witty, charming, spunky. It’s not something I would normally gravitate to, but I’m glad I took a chance. Now I want to read the first book in the series (but it reads as a standalone).

Reading Next: Next I’m going to read The Dragon Ring by Fil Reid. It was given to me for free as part of an upcoming blog tour that starts later this month. This is the first physical copy I’ve received from a publicist, so that in itself is special to me. Stay tuned for my review at the end of March! I need to swap this in for the Blast from the Past Tropeical Readathon General Challenge.

Book Blogger Hop: March 11-17

Published on March 15, 2022March 14, 2022 by Celeste2 Comments

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, 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.

The Book Blogger Hop post image was created by Coffee Addicted Writer.

This Week’s Question

Do you have a bookish pet peeve? If so, what is it? (Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

This will sound like such a negative blog post, but the question is about pet peeves, so here we go….

With respect to tropes, I’ve recently realized that I’m not a huge fan of miscommunication/withholding information as a plot device. More often than not, based on my recent reads, I feel that the miscommunication trope is an “easy” way to progress the story, particularly at the beginning. Perhaps some will view my opinion as “fighting words,” but I said what I said. Yes, miscommunication happens often on a daily basis, generally with more mundane things. I feel that the character who withholds information from another character who is in their late teens and older should give the latter the benefit of the doubt that they can process this new information.

I also dislike when authors 1) use the same handful of adjectives to describe something; or 2) continuously feel the need to re-describe something. A few times is ok to establish the setting or physical description of a character in the reader’s mind. But after that give the reader some credit that they’ll be able to remember the details.

Life’s A Beach Book Tag

Published on March 10, 2022June 11, 2022 by Celeste2 Comments

Tabitha at Behind the Pages tagged me in this book tag well over a month ago. Only now am I getting around to it, sheepishly. The Life’s a Beach book tag was created by Lefty on on Left Hand Book Lover, but I saw it on Tabitha’s blog. Check out Tabitha’s answers here. Make sure to mention that Lefty is the creator, and tag who tagged you, if you choose to participate!

I tag Mint at Mint Loves Books, Emma at Bookmarked Dreamscapes, and whoever else finds this fun!

The Sand
A book that stuck with you long after you finished reading

I mean, if you saw any of my posts during the Christmas 2021 season, then you can probably predict my answer. A Court of Mist and Fury stuck with me for a long time after I read it. Ultimately, this book pushed me to start a book review blog so I’d have others to chat to about books. I really want to reread it, but that will probably have to wait until the mid-year.

The Sun
A book that burned you

I think this means one I had hopes for, but then in the end didn’t pan out for me? If so, then that would be Immortal Souls. The cover drew me in on NetGalley, but ultimately the pacing was way too fast and nearly all of the characters were flat. Plus I felt like I was inadvertently “tricked” into reading a Christian fantasy novel (not my personal cup of tea), which wasn’t indicated in the official synopsis.

The Waves
A book that calms you down after a long day

I know this author no longer has a great reputation, but I can’t erase the fact that Harry Potter brought me a lot of joy in my high school years. It still brings me joy, I can’t lie about that. When I’m in a lull sometimes I go back and read where I left off in my very, very slow reread of the series. I think right now I’m somewhere in the middle of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The Bathing Suit
A book with a pretty, summer-y cover

I haven’t read this yet, but I did a spotlight for a BBNYA 2021 blog tour, hosted by The Write Reads. Beneath Cruel Fathoms has waves on its book cover, which is quintessential beach/summer in my mind. This is probably my perception, but I feel like most books with summer-y covers are contemporary fiction, which I don’t read much of. So at this point in time I don’t have many options from which to choose.

The Birds
A book that is everywhere

I choose A Court of Thorns and Roses. This is probably due to the algorithm’s knowledge of my love of fantasy books. Or, rather, fantasy romance books. But I see it pop up everywhere, particularly on Instagram since those are the hashtags and/or accounts I interact with.

The Company
A book with wonderful characters

I had a hard time choosing between The Bone Shard Daughter or The Bone Ships, but ultimately chose the former. Mephi in The Bone Shard Daughter won me over and is my favorite character in the book. He’s not the main character, but he’s pretty darn cute.

The Ice-Cold Drinks
A book you absolutely gulped down

An Enchantment of Ravens is a book I gulped down. Though it has one of my least favorite tropes (instalove), I otherwise enjoyed it. It was a nice escape from the demands of post house move.

The Fun Memories
A book you can’t wait to return to

Definitely the whole A Court of Thorns and Roses series, but also Half Sick of Shadows. I borrowed this from the library and ended up loving it so much I bought myself a used copy. There’s so much beautiful imagery and writing in this book. I can’t wait to read and savor it again.

WWW Wednesday: March 9, 2022

Published on March 9, 2022June 11, 2022 by CelesteLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading: I’m currently reading The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton. It’s technically an ARC from NetGalley. I’m only about 15% in, but I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s witty and well-written. It’s sort of haughty in a period English sort of way, but the story doesn’t take itself too seriously. I have no idea what to expect out of this story, but I’m excited for the ride.

Recently Finished: Late last week I finally finished The Cicada Tree by Robert Gwaltney. I’m not quite sure how to describe it. It’s sort of like a psychological thriller, but less thriller and more manipulation? It’s not a genre I usually read, but I decided to incorporate it into my Tropeical Readathon list. I started it several months ago, but got caught up with other goals. Long story short, I’m glad I finished it. Now I just need to write my review and post it on NetGalley.

Reading Next: I meant to start The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna next, but decided I didn’t want to travel with a thick hardback copy. So I’ll star this next after I get home from vacation.