January/February Wrap Up|| Goals for the new year, life happenings, books, and more BOOKS!!

 Hey guys! So with the craziness of the new year I some how did not get around to a January wrap up post?!?! Which is why I’m taking the liberty of shoving the two months together in this one jumbo ULTIMATE wrap up post!

 I’m hoping I’ll have a long list of books I read during the duration of these two months but theres only so much a girl can read while juggling school work, friends, and all while trying to grab some zzz’s here and there (sooo not getting the min 8 hours required here people this is why college students become caffeine addicts)

 Any who on the months happenings:

   In January I completed a whopping 4 books amigos! (I’m actually quite proud of this considering two of the books were completed right after I got back to school)


 Books I Read in January: 

 

 

• I actually loved all of these immensely my fav obviously being The Wicked King by Holly Black (that ending my god waiting a year for the next book... ahaha you’ll just find me over here dying slowly) 
• I also discovered Kate McGarry’s books and love her writing! Totally forgot how much I LOVE a good classic YA romance (these ones had very balanced male and female characters I didn’t feel a power struggle or like one or the other was belittling each other in any way which I am just starting to realize is a bit rare in most of the YA romance books I’ve read?!?) That being said I liked Say You’ll Remember Me the best out of the two!!
• Also The Towering Sky is the final installment in the Thousandth Floor series by Katherine McGee is a GREAT series I feel enough people are not talking about so please please check it out!!

 January On the Blog:

•  Disney Princess Hair Tag  had so much fun doing this tag thanks again to Mandy @BookPrincessReviews for tagging me!!
• Book review for Au Pair by Emma Rous 
• Books I will sell my soul for the chance to read!! (AKA my most anticipated 2019 reads)
• Only A Breath Apart by Kate McGarry review
• TV Thursday: 5 shows you need to watch to start the new year off right
• 
  

  Overall I am very pleased with the amount of blogging I was able to squeeze in last month! I was able to complete five pretty solid posts (two of them even being reviews and ARC reviews on time *pats self on the back*) all while balancing school and life stuff. Hopefully this trend continues throughout the year but we shall see ;)

  Books I read in February: 

•  I really enjoyed these two! LJ Shen is AMAZING so of course she did not disappoint with the Kiss Thief! Even though it was very different from some of her other books it still had the dark and dirty MC that you cant help but route for as he finds his weakness *melts into puddle*

February on the Blog: 

• 2 Smutty Reads you do not want to miss this February!!

 Well this is quite sad y’all I have only managed one post his month?!? I guess all I can do is hope next month will be better?? *shakes head at self*

Goals for Bubbly Books in 2019!!:

• Post at least 3 times a month consistently
• Read at least 3 books a month
• Post more ARC reviews on time/ stay on top of ARC requests on NetGalley/ Eldewiess
• Reach 500 friends on Goodreads
• Reach 650 friends on Twitter 
• Comment more on other blog posts 
• Keep consistent with weekly memes (WWW, TV Thursdays, etc.) 

Life Happenings:

• welp college is fully in swing right now and currently kicking my butt ughh the stress is real!
• 
• Also I am quite addicted to chai lattes  (I am currently drinking one at the moment) and this is contributing to my caffeine addiction rn yay heathy college habits!
• 
• On top of classes, hw, and more HW I have also managed a heathy TV addiction and literally am obsessed with The Bachelor and Deadly Class (which you all should watch RIGHT NOW!!)
• Also the STRESS is so real right now I honestly do not know how I am juggling everything in my life. I am quite sleep deprived but somehow hanging in there?!? I have also discovered the power of NAPPING (aka naps=good class = bad) I also have not been reading or posting as much as I would like lately and hope this trend does no continue *stares longingly at book* *stares a planner w a million HW related things* queue heavy sigh. 

So how was y’alls month? Get any reading done? (probs more than me lol) Any reading goals for the new year? or for simply next month? Let me know in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks

2 Smutty Reads you do not Want to Miss this February!!

Cash: A Power Players Novel

By: Cassia Leo

Rating: 3.5 stars


Summary: N/A

Review: This book was a cute fast paced read about a playboy billionaire named Cash who mets a financially struggling blackjack dealer, Kara.

 Kara is the typical heart throb you cant help but route for. Due to Kara struggling to take care of her dad on top of trying to make ends meet due to piling financial debts you already want to help this girl out (hence the entering of bad boy billionaire Cash... *wink wink*). Being that she only has a high school diploma Kara reverts to the only thing she’s really good at: dealing blackjack. Quickly after she obtains the new job she mets Cash.

Queue the body boy billionaire magic amigos...

 Cash is instantly attracted to Kara and thats when the plot really starts to kick off! Cash is desperate to impress the board that he is, in fact, mature enough to continue his fathers company, causing Cash to go off on the hunt for a fake fiancé in an effort to prove he’s finally ready to settle down.

  Cash and Karas chemistry is immediate and of course I am naturally intrigued to see what comes next. The romance is steamy, and the jokes are lighthearted yet extremely witty! Overall I found this to be a fast, read in one sitting book, that anyone with a soft spot for the fake fiancé trope would instantly fall in love with!

 The ending has a bit of a surprise plot twist that spices things up and I never found myself bored with this one it had me from the beginning all the way to the end!

 **A huge thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own**

The Kiss Thief 

 by: L.J. Shen

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary: They say your first kiss should be earned. 

Mine was stolen by a devil in a masquerade mask under the black Chicago sky. 

They say the vows you take on your wedding day are sacred. 

Mine were broken before we left church. 

They say your heart only beats for one man. 

Mine split and bled for two rivals who fought for it until the bitter end. 

I was promised to Angelo Bandini, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Chicago Outfit. 

Then taken by Senator Wolfe Keaton, who held my father’s sins over his head to force me into marriage. 

They say that all great love stories have a happy ending. 

I, Francesca Rossi, found myself erasing and rewriting mine until the very last chapter. 

One kiss. 
Two men. 
Three lives. 
Entwined together. 

And somewhere between these two men, I had to find my forever.

Review: oh my. LJ Shen fans are in for a treat with this one. Ahh this book was... this book was very very good. It is like LJ Shen looked into my mind and created the perfect twisted, complicated, bleeding heart monster of a man of my dreams!!

 I mean the intensity of every interaction. The verbal foreplay. The way their minds bounced around one anothers thoughts like they were intwined in a deadly tango was just ughh... SO. DAMN. GOOD. 

“No love is fully requited. No love is equal. No love is fair. There is always one side that loves more. And you better not be that side—because it suffers.” 

 Warning this book does have a bit of the love triangle thing going on... and I say this as a person who does NOT do love triangles: I didn’t find it to be a big problem in this book. Like I didn’t find it deterring from the plot or making it like the reader had to jump through too many hoops while waiting for their OTP to finally get together. In some instances I even felt it was necessary for the plot developments and character growth that most definitely was a slap in the face at times but very much what made this book great. 

“With Angelo, I felt warm and fuzzy. Under a rich blanket of security. With Wolfe, I felt as if I was on fire. As though he could end me at any given moment, and all I could do was hope for his mercy. I felt safe, but not secure. Desired, but unwanted. Admired, but unloved.”

 This book was different than most LJ Shen’s books in the sense that it was not really centered around a berating a**hole who had really witty and dark humor hidden by some sort of intriguing secrets and/or qualities that still made him lovable AF who just had sex every second or at least thought about it. Instead it rather was a much slower burning romance. While I am usually annoyed when my smut comes with a side of lets wait forever for the two to get it on I thought the way this book was structured in a genius way and I wasn’t bored once! I even appreciated the waiting because I feel like it made this book an even more precious little gem.

“We fell in love fast and slow. Hard and soft. With everything we had in us, yet we both refused to give anything away.”

 In fact this book almost reminded me a tad of the beauty and the beast in the sense that Francesca is just this innocent nineteen year old girl who finds herself in the clutches of this older man who she cant help but be fascinated with yet fear at the same time. But the attraction is just so intense and beyond words and I loved dissecting their feelings for one another that they didn’t even admit to being aware of yet their action were practically SCREAMING it! 

“A Story of a Nemesis and a Villain with no chance at a happy ending. Where the prince doesn't save the princess. He tortures her. And the beauty doesn't sleep. She's stuck. In a nightmare” 

 Ughh just literally so aching, heartbreaking, and tender yet strong at the same time. This was easily one of my favorite LJ Shen books of all time and make me even more excited for her next release! 

 Two great smutty reads that I hope y’all get the chance to read before the month is up! What do you guys think? Adding any of these to your TBR? Have any other great romance recs? LMK in the comments below!

-BubblyBooks