Happy Book Day! 📚 Linking up with Steph & Jana for Show Us Your Books!
I actually finished a few this month. Yay! Let’s get to it 😊
The Lost World by Michael Crichton
★★★★★/5; Science Fiction 
I FINALLY FINISHED. My slow reading had nothing to do with the book and everything to do with my slump. I really enjoyed the second installment on dinosaurs island, lol. Man, the bad guys were SO hateable- including the raptors, lol. For being 400+ pages (and taking me five months to read), the plot moved quickly. I loved how strong and badass Sarah Harding was. And even the kids were helpful- not annoying like the ones in the first book. These stories definitely have a science-y feel to them, but it’s only a few paragraphs or pages and I actually found it very interesting. Of course, it’s all fiction, but I know my heart was racing during the chase scenes and high stakes moments. I haven’t seen these films, but I really love the books.
Read it? If you’re ok with the sci-fi aspect, yes.
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
★★★/5; Contemporary Romance 
First of all: Holy 🔥, Batman. This was a very steamy romance (and my first Tessa Bailey). I know I’m in the minority with my low rating but… I don’t know. They seemed hot for each other 24/7 and, call me cold, that seems unrealistic. Lol. I know K loves me but I know he doesn’t want to jump my bones every minute of every day. Haha. (Too far?) Anyway, that and the animalistic dirty talk from Travis was kind of… odd to me. Ha. The drama toward the end didn’t bother me and I think it fit in with everyone’s on going issues- and I loved how the 3 siblings issues kind of came together in the end- but the very end was a cheese fest to me. Again, maybe I’m just coldhearted. Ha. I wanted more from Rosie and Dom but I just saw there’s a new book featuring them out in January 2020! I will definitely read that; this wasn’t my last Tessa Bailey novel.
Read it? If you like steamy romance, then yes.
Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson, etc.
★★★/5; Young Adult, Graphic Novel 
This book has the ingredients for a badass female masterpiece. Lots of girl power and friendship (to the max!) and adventures… but it didn’t suck me in. I enjoyed the characters but the writing and story seemed ALL over the place. You’re dropped right into the middle of a wild adventure and I think it takes time for the reader to get a handle on what’s going on and who everyone is and what the heck is happening at the camp. (And honestly, you still never really find out- it’s a series, after all.) I put the next two volumes on hold at the library so I’m obviously interested enough to keep reading… plus it takes about 30 minutes to get through a book so it’s worth it.
Read it? Only if you love (very) young adult graphic novels… Otherwise it’s safe to skip.
Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
★★★/5; Historical Fiction, Mystery 
Ho-hum. I really wanted to fall in love with this story and this series. Kristen warned me a long long time ago that book-Phryne and TV-Phryne were two different people with different story lines, so that didn’t bother me much. I think I was just a *little* bored and it took some time for me to get into the story and the language was a little tough for me. (It’s an Australian story & author.) As of right now, I won’t be continuing with the series. Maybe if I’d have read the books before seeing the TV show I’d feel a little differently. It pains me to say this… but even if you skip the book you MUST watch the TV series. I love it!
Read it? Meh, maybe not. But watch the TV show. (My fingers burn just typing that!)
Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand
DNF
My failure to finish had little to do with the quality of the book. This just isn’t my favorite genre and I’m already in a slump so I walked away before the guilt set in. Most people I’ve talked to about this book loved it!
An update on Erin’s 11.0 Challenge:
| 5 points| Freebie: Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
| 10 points | Starts with “F”: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
| 10 points | With rain(s), thunder, lightning, or monsoon in the title: The Lightening Thiefby Rick Riordan
| 15 points | With a picture of a building: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
| 20 points | The author uses an initial in name: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
| 20 points | An article of clothing/accessory in the title: The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie
| 25 points | A book set in India: The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling
| 30 points | Has won/been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
| 30 points | About a human with superpowers/supernatural powers: Archenemies by Marissa Meyer
| 35 points | Has the same title as a book of a different genre: Soulless by Gail Carriger
15 points is better than 0, I guess. I’m currently reading Soulless.
I’m also reading Bringing Up Bébé. It’s the only parenting book I’ve read so far. Lol
What did you read this month?
Life as Louise 
Yay for finally finishing The Lost World! I’m glad it was good after all that.
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Right?? Haha. It was very good. I’m glad I stuck it out.
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I didn’t love Summer of 69. It was cute but I totally get not finishing it!
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It felt too contemporary for my taste, even with it being set in the 60s. I don’t read hardly any contemporary. And the 60s/70s isn’t my favorite time period to read about. It just didn’t have a fair shot to begin with for me. Lol
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Fix Her Up was my first Tessa Bailey too and I had a similar reaction.
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Hahaha- I think I just prefer subtle banter and the sexy eye contact thing. Less of the blunt dirty talk. LOL
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I am on round two of the challenge and Im supposed to read fix her up for it. Your review made me chuckle out loud lol
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It was certainly entertaining and not a bad read by any means! Just not my cup of romance tea. I’m not giving up on the author yet, though. I still got through it in just a few sittings 🙂
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I’m in a reading slump myself! I haven’t really gotten into a good book in awhile. But, I have 2 downloaded from the library, so I need to jump on it.
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I feel ya. I have such rollercoaster reading habits. I think it helps that I read multiple books at once because I can “change the channel” when one doesn’t sound good to me that day. Still, I stall out often. Lol
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lol @ fix her up. i think the cutesy covers are great except when it comes to books like those, tessa bailey books are known for being crazy ridiculously steamy/unrealistic… i do love her books though and did love that one, but i really wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless they read predominately romance. but that’s just me 🙂 i’m glad you didn’t hate it at least.
i don’t remember if i read the first, or the first three, of the phryne books, which goes to show you how unremarkable they were if i don’t know if i read 1 or 3 lol. they just are nowhere near as good as the tv show! which i need to rewatch soon lol
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I didn’t mind the cover (and I’d heard plenty of steam warnings, lol) but I will say that’s not how I imagined those two characters. LOL. I think I’m just less of a dirt talk person… ha. I know Bailey is known for that, though. I’m excited to read the Dom and Rosie book. Maybe I just wasn’t into these two. Lol.
Ugh. The TV show is sooooooo good. I’m glad I read the book just so I could say I did, but the show is waaaaay better 😉
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Summer of ’69…I can see walking away from it. I liked it, but I get that.
Love the lumberjanes cover and concept sorry the delivery was not there.
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I think I just couldn’t relate to Summer of ’69. I didn’t love any of the characters and the writing wasn’t my cup of tea. *shrug*
I’m hoping maybe volume 2 & 3 of the lumberjanes suck me in…
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I’m impressed you got through The Lost World even with a slump! That’s a challenge!!
Fix Her Up… be sure to read this one where you dont mind blushing, huh? 🙂 LOL
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Hahaha- it really WAS a great story. I just picked it up at a bad time. I’m glad I pushed through, though 🙂
Oh man… you will for sure blush (and maybe laugh out loud) at some of the talk in Fix Her Up. Haha!
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YAY! I’m so glad you loved The Lost World because I loved it too! So very, very much. Much more than Jurassic Park. Now the movies … Jurassic Park is fine. Lost World is TERRIBLE. It’s nothing like the book AT ALL. VERY VERY BAD. Sorry that I keep YELLING but I’m still ANGRY at how bad the movie was. But the book – so freaking good. And yes, I love how badass Sarah Harding is. I don’t mind steamy when it’s done well. Sometimes it unintentionally makes you laugh because well, nobody (hopefully) acts that way.
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I didn’t think I’d end up liking it more than JP but I really did. The bad guys were more despicable, the kids were way more helpful, Sarah was amazing. Honestly, I will probably never watch the movies. I want to, but I’m just too afraid of dinosaurs. (I have no idea why I can read it and be fine. Lol.)
Some of the dirty talk was just absurd. Like… I’d smack K in the face for saying those things. Or laugh him out of the room. HAHAHA.
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I love seeing what other people are reading and getting ideas for my next read! Dinosaur islanding sounds like something Aiden would love but idk if I could get into that! Was it hard with the first book?
I just started anotherrrr Liane Moriarty book because I’m boring and predictable haha.
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Both Jurassic Park and The Lost World are loooooong books. Each over 400 pages. They also have some theories and science that would likely go over a young kid’s head. By the time they’re 10 or 12, though, if they’re still into dinos and science, I’d say they might like these. I can’t remember how much adult content was in the books… I know there was some cursing and dinosaurs definitely ate people… Lol. I loved both books, though! The second one was probably my favorite but you needed to read the first one to enjoy it fully, I think.
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I think I had Fix Her Up on my list, but now I’m not sure if I care to read it lol.
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It definitely wasn’t a bad book… It was just super steamy (which is cool with me) with some moments of extra dirty talk (which is meh to me). I think it just wasn’t my romantic cup of tea. I wouldn’t write it off, though 😉
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I really enjoyed Fix Her Up. I wanted to be friends with them, ha!
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I would definitely have joined their club! haha!
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I have not read any of these. I finished Erin’s book challenge this month!
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Way to go!! I’m definitely not going to finish, but I’m not beating myself up over it. Lol
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Fix Her Up sounds….interesting lol. Lost World- need to add that to my list. I didn’t read much, but just picked up some new ones from the library and am excited to get started!
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Fix Her Up wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t for me. lol
I loved The Lost World. It was a sequel to Jurassic Park (which I also enjoyed). I’m surprised how much I liked those two books but they really sucked me in!
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Sorry you didn’t LOVE more of your reads. I’m curious about Lumberjanes, but hopefully it gets a bit better for you!
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
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I think my next two Lumberjanes are in at the library so I’m crossing my fingers that the more issues I read the more I’ll love them. It’s a fun read! It just didn’t grab me 🙂
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I’ve never read a Hildebrand book and while a historical-ish one might be for me, I haven’t come across it yet.
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Yeah… I had a Hilderbrand novel on my bookshelves for a long time and I never cracked the spine. I actually ended up regifting it. I don’t think she’s for me. Many of my friends love her books, though.
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I’ve yet to read any Elin Hilderbrand… none of the storylines have really drawn me in. I’ve never heard of Cocaine Blues or Miss Fisher’s Mysteries Series, but definitely going to check out the show!
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I love that Hilderbrand’s books are set on Nantucket. I’ve been there twice and really love the island. But that’s never been enough to hook me and make me pick one up. Regardless of if you read the book (I can’t believe I said that), you MUST watch the show! I think it’s on Netflix. Three seasons.
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I love Michael Crichton books circa 90s; the lost world was one of my favourites of his.
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It’s so easy to get swept up in his stories. I’ve only every read JP and The Lost World but I have another one of his sitting on my shelf to read soon. I think it’s about pirates.
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I’m glad you finally finished The Lost World! I enjoyed Fix Her Up, but it is A LOT. I kinda hated all the “you’re my best friend’s little sister stuff..” LOL I am so excited for the next one I just got it from Netgalley. Woot. Bigger publishers finally started saying yes to me sometimes. I’m not sure i want to read miss fisher, I love the show too much and struggle with reading mysteries. 🙂 LOL XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
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I’m glad I finished The Lost World, too. I’m really glad I read those books- they were great. I’d love to read the next one… once we get away from the little sister/baby girl stuff I enjoyed the characters. Haha! Yay for big publishers noticing you!! You deserve it!
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