July Wrap Up (trying to survive the heat, my disappointing reading accomplishments, school, and more)

Hey it that time a month again when the months coming to a close and we all reflect on our reading accomplishments (including me signing dramatically at how I never seem to get enough reading done)


My month in a nutshell:

• July was a pretty consistent and uneventful month. I did some reading, I watched a few new TV shows (the bachelorette anybody?), and most importantly laid around like a bum and did nothing with a fan and a tub of ice just trying to survive the summer heat. (I’m literally sweating just thinking about it)
• I did manage to read a couple of pretty good books... lovers of Holly Black anywhere? L.J. Shen? 
• But I am in a bit of a reading funk and let me tell you it is not fun my friends. I feel like I don't even know who I am as a reader anymore! *dramatic sigh* all I want is a magical dragon to show me the ways of reading once more so I can’t stop lying around watching netflix and actually remember how to pick up a book and FINISH IT! 
• Theres all the little fun fact that I only have less than ONE MONTH before school starts up again *yikes* 

Books I read this month: 

• I read a whopping 5 books this month (you can see how motivated I was... go me?) 
• I also got really sucked into reading a bunch of irrelevant (but highly addicting) smut this month.. hence the loads of shirtless books covers (you know you love them even if their obnoxious and make you embarrassed to be seen reading in public *glances around to see if anyone notices book covers* *hastily checks them out* *mission accomplished*)

    

 

• White Cat by Holly Black- I was really surprised by how unique this book was! I don't read a lot of YA that only has a male narrator and this book was all kinds of amazing (cons, cats, other trips stuff that will literally glue your butt to the couch until you finish this book)

• Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas- This series is all kinds of amazing (still they don’t top ACOTAR for me but there entertaining nevertheless) Since this book is like a textbook (600 pages or something crazy like that) I feel like I should get extra credit and it should be worth completing two books instead of one.. hey I’m just sayin. 

• Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas- this book was my fav so far in the series... mainly because of Lorcan and Elide!! Hells to the ya! Again this book should be a one for two in reading credits because it was damn long!

• Rough Ride by Gillian Archer- Cute biker smut what else is there to say?

• Jock Row by Sara Ney- LOVED this anyone who needs a feel good smutty book I highly recommend! 

On the blog: 

• I changed up my blog design!! Let me know what you all think in the comments below!! (also hit me up if theres anything I should change to make my blog experience more accessible/ aesthetic)
• Completed a fun little tag called the Relationshipper Tag.. super fun because I got to rant about all my favorite ships! Check it out here
• Also I got up my first ever PHYSICAL ARC review so I’m super pumped about that! A huge thanks to St.Martins Press for sending me a copy *sends rainbows and love*  
• I also wrote a post about some new indie publishers I discovered and that was really great and fun! I always love to discover new publishers especially when I’m looking for unique books to blog about (my TBR can survive a few more book without killing me in my sleep right?)
• #Mail Monday was a super fun new post I tagged along in in which I discussed my book haul for the week! I’m hoping to make it more of a regular thing but... were just gonna have to see where the wind blows me bc I’m not much of a planner (trying to work on that rn)
• Also due to my obsessive TV watching (and my baby reading slump) I decided to mix it up here on the blog and do a new post I like to call TV Thursday in which I give a quick summary about the shows I’m currently watching! LMK what y’all think about that. 
• Overall I’m pretty happy with how much I was able to post this month (summer is good for these sorts of things) I’m hoping to post more and more consistently but with the start of school around the corner were just going to have to see how things go!

Posts I loved from around the blogosphere: 

• Princess of pages did a really fun post that I did awhile back called The Sunshine Blogger Award she’s also new to the blogging world and highly recommend you stop by and check out her blog!
• Books and Co did a lovely book review for a book I didn’t even know existed so super grateful I stumbled upon that (Its called All These Beautiful Strangers in case you were wondering :)
• The Book Cover girl discusses what makes a book good? and how she picks her 5 star reads. I always love her discussion posts and highly recommend checking them out!
• Aimmee @Aimme Always did a great post about blogging organization and I LOVED her spreadsheet for ARCS! Her post are always amazing and I highly recommend checking this one out!

Congrats on another month down my lovely readers! What about you all? Reach your reading goals for the month? Read any books that became instant favorites? Or any books you instantly hated? Let me know in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks

TV Thursdays: Vampire Diares & The Originals

 Okay so time to try something new here on the blog! I’ve been watching a lot of new shows lately (in other words procrastinating from my reading in a way that is very twenty first century of me) which means that I’ve been shipping relationships on a whole new level here (as a constant shipper of relationships and all things in books this talent never the less has lead me to need to vent).

Hence the creation of this post! TV Thursdays is here and will hopefully last and by last I mean become a weekly feature here on the blog... but alas my consistency is not 100% perfectionado and thats mostly due to me being a pesky Mood Blogger, but hey a girl can dream right?

If you like these posts and would like more content like this please let me know! (It may help me with my mood blogging thing)

Currently Watching

 So I don’t know how many of you out there have watched The Vampire Diaries before (and if so please do yourself a favor and get on that because this show is more addictive than powder sugar covered gas station donuts)



Soo if you didn’t already know about Vampire Diaries being a TV Show (fun fact it started off as a book series just in case you didn’t know ;) it follows two brothers, Damon and Stephan Salvatore and how both of there lives take a turn when they met Elena Gilbert.

 Also there is the amazing Damon Salvatore and for all those girls out there who love a good tortured bad boy (I’m looking at you fans of Cardan, Kaz, and Rhysand) you will completely become obsessed with Damon even if the exert of your obsession is just loving to hate him.

I love him so much his snarky comments... perfection 

 Another personal favorite of mine is Caroline Forbes she is easily the most relatable character for me and I love how she doesn’t put up with anybody or take BS from anybody either. I also love how OCD and girly she can be because it makes it even more satisfying when she can kick butt but still be feminine.

#blondesquad

 And for the sake of the plot lets throw in some info about Elena- long story short both bros have feelings for her in a tangled up messy little love triangle (pretty sure we can guess who I was rooting for here..) I like her for the most part but unfortunately she is not a fav.

 
                                                             


I am currently on season 7 after a couple of months whizzing by filled with vampire bloodlust that is almost more blatant than the relationships that mingle between the characters.

But wait theres more: 

Also can we take a moment to recognize the beautiful and amazing sister series to TVD: The Originals!

 I am completely bumming out that this is the last season of this AMAZING show because seriously this show has made my heart feel so full and ahhh I just love everyone in this show with my whole heart and I DO NOT want it to break my precious little heart!!

I mean let me just list a few reasons why I love this show:

1) KLAUS MICHEALSON



2) KHOL MICHEALSON

3)Elijah



4) Haley



5) Hope

6) Lets face it I love all of the characters immensely

 It might even be safe to say that I like the Originals better... (did I really just admit that) I mean they do have Klaus after all.

Wow I went a little GIF crazy there but I think it got my point across for all those who love a good vampire show with shippable relationships as well as an addictive (if a bit out there) plot line than highly recommend these shows!

What about you guys? Do you procrastinate from reading by watching TV? If thats the case what shows are you into? Have you watched Vampire Diaries/The Originals? Let chat!

-BubblyBooks

Mini Reviews: Rough Ride by Gillian Archer and Jock Row by Sara Ney

Rough Ride (True Brothers MC #4)

By Gillian Archer

Published: July 24th 2018

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Summary: Hang on tight. When it comes to love, this loyal soldier plays rough.

Amber: 
Two years ago I would’ve made a play for a guy like “Bam” in a heartbeat. That was before my father died in a puddle of blood in the middle of a parking lot, before I swore off his fellow bikers and their stupid “business.” But I still need answers about what happened to my dad, which is why I’m poking around at a nightclub owned by the Russian mafia. And that’s where I run into Bam, who carries me out of the club in his ridiculously strong arms like I was True Brothers property.

Bam: 
Motorcycle club princess Amber Bennett is the last person I’d expect to see at a club like Howl. She’s flirting with some dangerous people, and it’s my duty to step in and protect her before she gets in over her head. Like I don’t have enough on my mind without cleaning up Amber’s drama. Besides, she’s the definition of off-limits. If only she weren’t so f***ing hot. And determined to take care of everything herself. And oddly vulnerable. Because when we cross the line, I’m forced to choose between my true family — or my true feelings.

Look for all of Gillian Archer’s smoldering True Brothers MC romances:
RUTHLESS | REBELLIOUS | RESILIENT | ROUGH RIDE

In a glance:

Steaminess: 3/5

Tension: 3.5/5

Romance:  3/5

Characters: 4/5

Plot: 4.5/5

Okay so this book was pretty good. I have to say that overall I enjoyed it. It had all the bad boy lust that I could desire and I am complete and utter trash for a good biker romance... 

 I must say though there was a couple of things about this book that just did not go over well for me. First of all there was way too much talking and not enough sizzle when it came to the two main characters- Amber and Bam. It seemed like every time there was sexual tension between the two it seemed to skip over those parts and zoom in with razor focus on every conversation the two of them seemed to have! This is fine for those who like focusing on those types of interactions but personally for me I just wanted them to shut up and smooch already!!

 The plot was very well thought out and I loved following every stressful and tender moment. I thought that Amber was a very likable MC and I loved that despite her beauty there was more to her such as her sweetness and her ability to be sassy and strong when it came to the biker club. I also very much enjoyed the weird love triangle like vibes between Ryslan the Russian mafia king and how he was thrown into the mix along with Amber and Bam. 

 Overall this book was a good read that I would recommend to fans of Sons of Anarchoy (this book reminded me SO much of this show- Especially Bam whose description is a dead ringer for Jax) 

**A huge thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group- Loveswpet for an advanced copy of this book! This does not affect my opinion in any way**

Jock Row 

By Sarah Ney

Rating: 4/5 stars

  Summary: Book One in the JOCK HARD Series

Scarlett is always the sensible one: The sober driver. The planner. The one holding your hair back while you're worshiping the porcelain gods. 

Week-after-week, she visits Jock Row with her friends—the university's hottest party scene and breeding ground for student athletes. And if keeping her friends out of trouble, and guys out of their pants, was a sport, she'd be the star athlete.

Being a well known jock-blocker gets her noticed for all the wrong reasons; just like that, she's banned from Jock Row. NO GUY WANTS A GIRL AROUND WHO KEEPS THEIR JOCK FRIENDS FROM GETTING LAID.

"Rowdy" Wade is the hot shot short-stop for the university's baseball team—and the unlucky bastard who drew the short straw: keep little Miss Goody Two-Shoes out of the Baseball House. 

But week-after-week Scarlett returns, determined to get inside.

In a glance:

Steaminess: 4/5

Tension: 4/5

Romance: 4/5 

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 3.5/5

Ahhh this book was SO much fun and I did not know I needed this in my life!! 

 The banter and the sexual tension WERE LITERALLY SO YAAS in this book I don’t know any better way to describe it. 

  First of all Scarlett is a totally normal college girl who is completly savage one night (unknowingly of cousre) when a couple of baseball guys lie and make some lame pick up lines towards her friends. Scarlett too smart for her own good quickly shuts down the two guys seeing through their BS in seconds which then leads to Scarelt meeting Rowdy- who was chosen to escort Scarlett out of the fratt house- alone on the front porch and thats when things take a turn for the interesting. 

 The books than continues on from there each chapter highlting the Friday and the Friday after that and how their relationship progresses and its filled with so much melty flirting and made my heart melt with the lust of a newborn flirtation!!

 The Sexual tension was also for real in this book. Rowdy is a complete dreamy baseball player and is actually quite funny which I find endlessly attractive so of course my attention was hooked!

I highly recommend this book to readers that enjoy witty banter, cute MC’s, as well as funny sports guys and a realistic yet super addictive relationship that will have you hooked after the first chapter!

What about you guys read any good romance lately? Are you a sucker for a good biker story? What about a guys who plays sports? Let me know in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks

#Mail Monday (my book haul for the week)

MAIL MONDAY!

Hey everybody happy Monday! Another week means more books!

 I was lucky enough to haul in more books than I was prepared for and most likely will not read all of them due to my very unproductive mood reading habits but hey a girls got to try and get motivated to read and the only way to do that is to literally fill your house with books until you can think of nothing else except reading (and how I need to ACTUALLY read instead of procrastinate)

 Confession time: I haven’t really been reading all that much lately and I think its because I dont know what I’m in the mood for?!? What is this indecisiveness and where the heck did and come from?? and where can I send it back because I don’t need that kind of mojo in my life

 However I think that may be why I grabbed more books than I could possibly read... Its a reverse way of thinking. If I can get myself to buy and borrow as many books as possible I’m bound to read a few of them right? and then bam I might even like a few because miracles do exist in this lovely world (hello we have books so theres got to be a higher power out here working with me)

Any who enough of my rambling and onto the books:

Library Haul:

The Origin (The lux series #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Bully (fall away #1) by Penelope Douglas

As you can tell by the cheesy (and slightly embarrassing) covers I was totally in a romance mood when I got these. (No regrets I need my shirtless covers every now and then)

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

total impulse grab- hopefully will not disappoint *crosses fingers*

Physical Books Haul (aka why my bank account is near negatives)

180 Seconds by Jessica Park

This looks rather intriguing... I’m supposedly reading this right now according to GoodReads but eh that not really happening at the moment oops 

ARC Haul:

Rough Ride (True Brothers MC #4) by Gillian Archer

This actually is published in a couple of days so I need to hurry up and post my review (wow when did I become so organized with my reading life. I need to get things together already!)

Anyways whats going on with you guys? Grab any new books lately? If so did you buy it or is it an ARC/ Library copy? Let me know in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks

Review: White Cat (Curseworkers #1) by Holly Black

White Cat (Curseworkers #1)

 By: Holly Black

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Cassel comes from a family of curse workers: people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn't got magic, so he's an outsider; the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail - he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to outcon the conmen. 

 OMG WHY HAVE I NOT HEARD OF THIS BOOK UNTIL NOW?!??! Like seriously? It came out it 2010 and I am just now getting my hands on it? I could have had this book 8 years ago and been revealing in its amazingness but it seems it just stumbled upon my hands a few days ago?!? What is this sorcery. 

First of all this is one of the most unique story lines I have ever read before in my life and that is saying something. Second of all Cassel was the most interesting, lovable, wicked character my sweet little mind has come across in quite some time, this wickedness can only be accredited to the amazing Holly Black because she is the QUEEN OF DARKNESS! 

“We are, largely, who we remember ourselves to be. That's why habits are so hard to break. If we know ourselves to be liars, we expect not to tell the truth. If we think of ourselves as honest, we try harder.”

Okay this book was weird. I’m talking like what the... what the heck is going on here weird. But it was also awesome for that reason?!? I mean Cassel is having dreams of a white cat while sleepwalking? Also the cat thing is not a one time werido moment. Nope there is more creepy kitty moments throughout multiple pages of this book and I must say I didn’t hate it? In fact I kind of liked it. Every moment where I thought is this too weird? Is this crossing a line? I imediently doubled back and was like nope. Bring on the weirdness I have never read anything like this and I LOVE it with all my heart!!

“She says that what you did was a cry for help."

"It was," I say. "That's why I was yelling 'Heeeelp!' I don't really go in for subtlety.” 

Cassel is the fruitiest of the fruit loops and I love him SO much! He is the youngest of his brothers and is the only “non worker” aka he doesn’t have the ability to curse people. Cassel is wicked smart and is able to see through peoples games and cons while planning a con of his own. While that may seem like it makes him hardcore and lonerish Cassel is really a lot more likable than all that. He wants to do the right thing, even if that means doing a few wrong things is a bit unassumingly. 

“I don't lie," I lied.” 

 I also really love the friends Cassel makes- Sam and Deanna. Sam is the typical high school student who does theater and has a knack for special effects and Deanna’s mom is an activist for getting workers to become legal again and so on but Deanna is actually pretty smart and also see’s through all the crap. 

“Once someone's hurt you, it's harder to relax around them, harder to think of them as safe to love. But it doesn't stop you from wanting them.”

 The two brothers Barron and Philip however.... I had very mixed feelings when it came to these two. A part of me wanted to believe the best because of family and loyalty and all that but some of the things they did were just flat out very unbrotherly of them (and very uncool) but I still have a small sliver of hope for them in book two (lets hope they don’t mess it up). I did like Granddad however.  

“Clever as the Devil and twice as pretty.”

 The best part of this book though is that I never knew what was coming. The whole thing was so unpredictable and there was a lot of shocked looks and my mouth forming the shape of an “o” while reading this. Seriuosly the ending was like waiting for the other shoe to drop and boy to I NEED the next book imediently! 

What about you guys? Have you read this book? If not please do so imediently (you can thank me later). Also hit me up with some book recommendations! (ooh and if you have read some of Holly Black’s other books I’d love to hear your thoughts!) 

-BubblyBooks

5 Indie Publishers you Need to Know About (Plus the amazing books their publishing!)

Hey guys hows it going? So I’ve been doing some thinking lately especially when searching for ARC’s on Netgalley or just skimming through upcoming releases on Goodreads and its got me thinking that a lot of new book coming out our being published by lesser known publishers otherwise known as Indie Publishers!

 And it was then that I realized as part of the blogging community just how important it is to promote and discover new publishers as well as new authors! So I got to searching around and discovered some amazing indie publishers that are behind some of my most anticipated new releases:



Hot Key Books

http://hotkeybooks.com  

Anticipated releases: 

     

• My Heart Goes Bang by Keris Stainton (June 28th) I realize this has already been published but it just looks so cute and melty and I just HAD to include it *heart eyes* 
• Toxic by Nicci Cloke (July 26th) LOVE the cover of this one- it looks quite good
• Big Bones by Laura Dockrill (March 8th 2018) This looks super entertaining and heartwarming and even though it came out a few months ago I have yet to hear about it and thought to mention it again here!

Amberjack Publishing

https://www.amberjackpublishing.com 

Anticipated releases: 

     

• Perfect Harmony by Emily Albright (September 18th) this looks like an adorable love story involving two musicians competing against one another and ughhh so much swooning over here!!
• Flip the Silver Switch by Jackie Yeager (July 10th) Teams facing a technological challenge.. hmm I’m intrigued.. 
• The Art of Escaping by Erin Callahan (June 19th 2018) I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book.. so I’m thinking it must be good?!?

Harlequin Teen

www.harlequinteen.com

Anticipated releases: 

   

• Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter (September 4th) this books been on my TBR for awhile now super excited for its release!!
• Nightingale by Amy Lukavics (October 1st)
• Toil and Trouble by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe (August 28th)- a collection of multiple witchcraft filled stories??? Yes please!!

Chronicle Books

www.chroniclebooks.com

Anticipated releases: 

    

• Salt by Hannah Moskowitz (October 30th) omg SOOO looking forward to this PIRATE- like filled goodness!! As a devoted fan of all the Pirate of the Caribean movies this book is at the top of my TBR (especially since I just got approved for this on Netgalley *yay!*) 
• Art Boss by Kayla Cagan (2018) The cover *its so beautiful* *gazes adoringly* 

Little Brown Young Readers

www.lbyr.com

Anticipated releases: 

   

• Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart (July 31st) I have been seeing this book literally everywhere and I am all about SISTER POWER! 
• Rule by Ellen Goodlett (September 11th) First off lets all take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous cover *oooh ahhh* Yep this book has pretty much all I love: 3 heirs one kingdom.. lies betrayal blackmail?!? Ya I’m into this
• The Summer of Us by Cecilia Vinesse (June 14th 2018) Cute. Fluffy. Travel. I NEED this in my life!!!

What about you? Any of these books on your TBR? If your lucky maybe you’ve read some of them (ARCS and all)? Let me know in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks

WWW Wednesday

Hey everybody hope your Wednesdays are going fabulously heres a little recap about whats going on with my reading at the moment:

What I recently finished:

This book was by far the best book in the series for me so far!! You can find more of my ranting about it HERE 

What I am currently reading:

So I’m only a couple of chapters in so I haven’t fully made up my mind about how I feel yet.. however it is Holly Black so I will probably end up loving it because DUH. (also this week was the first time in forever in which I actually cleared my currently reading shelf on Goodreads?!? Like who I am?!?)

What I plan on reading next:

So I putting this on here in hopes of upping my ARC game because I can never seem to do things in a timely matter (or at least as organized and quick as I want) but hopefully I won’t get distracted by the sixth TOG book Tower of Dawn and will actually read this because it sounds AMAZING!

What about you guys? What are you currently reading? Recently finished? Read any of the book above? Let me know in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks