Audrey Books

What I Read…

Every time I show up here I make excuses for why I’ve been absent, but I don’t have any excuse today. Sometimes I’m here and sometimes I’m not… I appreciate that when I show up you guys usually do, too.

Enough jibber jabber. On to the books.

Finally linking up with Steph and Jana today for Show Us Your Books! It’s my first one this year!

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore | Historical Romance | ★★/5
I know I’m in the minority, but I didn’t love this one. I thought the duke was aggressive and fickle and unpleasant. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE a grumpy suitor, but this guy had an air of superiority that took him way too long to get over. And Annabelle was super uncreative when it came to escaping or fixing her circumstances. These two dingbats killed it for me.

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton | Historical Fiction | ★★★/5
I wasn’t head over heels for this one like I thought I’d be, but dammit I love the way Crichton writes. He effortlessly makes you root for the bad guys. (And in Jurassic Park he made me HATE the bad guys, lol.) This was a little boring and not what I was expecting. It was like a period drama you’d turn on, watch 2 or 3 episodes, and forget about for another week or so until you had some down time. (Aka, not binge-worthy.)

Book Challenge by Erin 14.0

| 5 p | Freebie: The Unhoneymooners (Christina Lauren)
| 10 p | You’ve been meaning to re-read: HP & the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
| 10 p | The first book of a series you’ve never read: A Court of Thorns and Roses (Maas)
| 15 p | Mostly green and/or pink cover art: The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals (Mahnke)
| 20 p | A male relationship word in the title: The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers (Mullen)
| 20 p | Set in a place on your bucket list: Bringing Down the Duke (Dunmore)
| 25 p | Reminds you of 2020: A Vow So Bold & Deadly (Kemmerer) – dark, I know.
| 30 p | Written by an LGBTQIA+ author: Red, White & Royal Blue (McQuiston)
| 30 p | The name of a bird in the title: The Maltese Falcon (Hammett)
| 35 p | Protagonist has a questionable profession: The Great Train Robbery (Crichton)

55 points total

What did you read this month?

Audrey Books

What I Read… 2020 Recap

I don’t have a lot to show for this year… Reading wasn’t a top priority this year & that’s ok. I averaged about 1 book per month- ending the year with 13 reads. I usually strive for three books a month so needless to say I did not meet my GR goals 😂

I’m linking up with Jana and Steph today for the Show Us Your Books yearend recap. I am so grateful for these ladies and this community of book lovers that they have built! It’s one of my favorite parts of my blog world.

**2020 Reading Stats**

Number of Books Read: 13
Number of Rereads: 0
Most Read Genre: Mystery

best-YA-books-2014

Best Book You Read In 2020?

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love But Didn’t?

Frogkisser by Garth Nix

 Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

The Seven and A Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

 Favorite new author you discovered in 2020?

Lucy Foley

 Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2020?

I just love the way this one looks… A little ominous, a little festive, a little haunting. Yet so simple.

Most memorable character of 2020?

Zikora (from Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2020?

75 pages (The Mermaids Melt at Dawn by Grendolyn Peach Soleil) and 505 pages (Hardcastle)

OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Lia Mara & Grey from A Heart So Fierce and Broken.

Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Emily’s (I *think* that’s her name) relationship with the girls from Gloss in The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

Favorite Book You Read in 2020 From An Author You’ve Read Previously?

A Dangerous Engagement by Ashley Weaver

Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2020?

Not new- still in love with Grey (A Heart So…)

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

The Marriage Bureau: The True Story of How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in Wartime London by Penrose Halson

looking-ahead-books-2015

One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2020 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2021?

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2021 (non-debut)?

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2021?

Hoping to read more than 13 books this coming year, lol.

Survey borrowed & altered from Jamie @ The Perpetual Page-Turner.

Now for my charts…

Not my best year for reading, but I also know it’s not my absolute worst.

What did you read this year?

Life According to Steph

Audrey Books

What I Read…

Hello all you cool cats. Happy Book Day! Linking up with Steph & Jana for Show Us Your Books but also sharing my choices for Erin’s 14.0 Book Challenge (starting Jan. 1, 2021).

Mmk. Let’s get to the ONE (short) story I finished this month. Woof.

Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | ★★★★★/5 | Fiction; Short Story
Man… I love Adichie’s writing style. It sucks you in, it’s easy to comprehend, and she’s an incredible storyteller. I need to read some of her longer books. This one is 35 pages and it’s such a raw, true account of becoming a (single) mother. Plus the element of a fragile mother-daughter relationship. I read this at the perfect time- right before M turned one. It brought back all those emotions from the first few weeks.

If you’ve been around, you know. Or as the cool kids say, IYKYK. (The cool kids say that, right?)

Anyway, here are my picks for Erin’s Book Challenge. (Rules can be found here!)

| 5 p | Freebie: The Unhoneymooners (Christina Lauren)
| 10 p | You’ve been meaning to re-read: HP & the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
| 10 p | The first book of a series you’ve never read: A Court of Thorns and Roses (Maas)
| 15 p | Mostly green and/or pink cover art: The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals (Mahnke)
| 20 p | A male relationship word in the title: The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers (Mullen)
| 20 p | Set in a place on your bucket list: Bringing Down the Duke (Dunmore)
| 25 p | Reminds you of 2020: A Vow So Bold & Deadly (Kemmerer) – dark, I know.
| 30 p | Written by an LGBTQIA+ author: Red, White & Royal Blue (McQuiston)
| 30 p | The name of a bird in the title: The Maltese Falcon (Hammett)
| 35 p | Protagonist has a questionable profession: The Great Train Robbery (Crichton)

And there you have it. Likely another challenge I will attempt & fail, but that’s all part of the fun.

Have you read any of these? Did I list any favorites?
(I can’t believe I haven’t read ACOTAR yet. Fail on my part.)

Audrey Books

What I Read…

Happy Book Day, book friends! (& HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, AUB!! ❤️ )

I really miss being in this space and my heart has been…. changed recently. I feel better and more passionate about investing in what I love and living authentically and setting new goals. I’m not trying to be vague and I’m not alluding to anything- I just want to pour a little more of me into here.

But back to books for now…

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley | ★★★★/5 | Mystery
Steph inspired me to finally check this one off my tbr list. It’s a 3.5 star book but I round up. As I’ve mentioned, locked room mysteries are my jam. I feel like it should’ve bothered me that 75% into the book I still didn’t know who’d been murdered and who may have done it… but it didn’t. There was one subplot twist that I figured out pretty early on, but everything else was a surprise. There was a lot going on- I read it fast because I didn’t want to get confused or forget. But I also read it fast because I could hardly put it down. I hated characters and loved characters. Perfect for an intriguing who-dun-it.
Read it? Yeah.

The Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson | ★★★/5 | Nonfiction
I first heard of this book somewhere in blogland, but it was a long time ago. I’ve had it on my Kindle for a while and I finally decided now was the time. It took me a while to get through it, but that’s typical for me & nonfiction. It was really really interesting! It followed the story of a British marriage bureau- the first of its kind- that popped up between the world wars. I loved hearing about the founders and the clients. It operated like a manual Tinder, haha. The little details and tidbits about war-torn London were fascinating, too. Sometimes it moved rather slowly and sometimes it jumped around a bit… thus the lower star rating. But it was SO interesting and I’m really glad I read it!
Read it? Yes.

And now for some…

Moo Reads!

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (Clement Hurd illustrator)
This is a weird book. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve read it. Someone was trippin’ when they wrote it… BUT M likes the rhyming and likes counting the kittens/mittens/bears. *shrug*
*The GR reviews are equally entertaining/trippy.

Fisher-Price Little People: Halloween is Here! by Matt Mitter
Super cute. Lots of flaps. Little “challenges” on each page for toddlers.

Trick or Treat on Animal Street by Maggie Fischer (Gina Lorena Maldonado illustrator)
Seriously so damn cute and great for a baby/young toddler.

What did you read this month? Have any favorite Christmas kid books?

Linking up with Steph & Jana for Show Us Your Books!

Audrey Books

What I Read…

Happy Book Day 📚 And happy sixth anniversary to Jana and Steph! Thank you both for hosting this awesome link-up month after month. Our community of readers wouldn’t exist without you two and I definitely wouldn’t have read some of the amazing books I have without you guys!

WordPress changed their layout and, as it turns out, I am not good at learning new things. Especially when I’m only blogging once or twice a month… Grrrr.

Enough whining. On to the books I’ve read.

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
★★★★★/5; Contemporary Romance
There was something cute and relatable about this story. I haven’t read many romances about married couples- especially married couples with children. While it was sweet and playful, there were also some deep moments when characters reflected on childhood trauma, loss of one’s identity, and unresolved anger or fear. Nothing was super depressing or uncomfortably deep, but I found the characters more relatable and likable because of their flaws, imperfections, and histories. The twins were adorable, the sister was frustrating but sisterly, and the groups of friends were such a solid support systems for both Gavin & Thea. I love that the book club addressed chivalry vs. chauvinism… your wife/girlfriend/partner isn’t helpless but she wants to feel wanted. It’s a fun concept- men reading romance novels. Lol. I’m sure some do, but I think most would be as uncomfortable as Gavin- at least at first.
Read It? Yep.

That’s it. That’s all she wrote. I’m in the middle of four books right now and I have some Moo reads to share, but I’m already running late with this post soooooo… I’m wrapping it up.

Go read some other reader blogs that have their act more together than me 😉