Fan Fiction Readathon TBR

 Happy Thursday!

Today I have another readathon announcement! Jenn at the Book Refuge has created another readathon, this one for Fan Fiction! She has gotten Tiffany, Mel and Rachel to host with her. It will run November 1st through the 7th. There are some templates on their instagrams, but Jenn once again created a build your own bingo board. There is a 3x3 and 4x4 board available with two pages of prompts.

 

I decided to do 3x3 and my board is below! Now, I used to read a lot of fan fiction, but it's been a minute since I picked one up. I'm excited to get back to it and have quite a few picked out from several different fandoms. I decided to go easy and just pick off of Archive of Our Own (AO3) since they have an option to download a fic as an epub (and then email to your kindle)! Also, I picked the ones I was interested in first and then chose prompts off of what I picked to make things easiest on myself.

📺 Power Over Me by hufflepuff_ish - a Harry Potter oneshot between Helga Hufflpuff and Salazar Slytherin (I love the slytherpuff pairing)

📺 Green Shoots by Jetainia - Another Helga and Salazar oneshot

📺 The Footprints Left Behind by Willow9124 - A Spuffy (Spike and Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

📺 Needs Must by EllieRose101 - Another Spuffy Fic, 5 chapters this time

📺 Sensitive by sweetlikesalt - A 2 chapter SasuSake (Sakura and Sasuke from Naruto) fic

📺 In Times of Peace by SouthSideStory - A 15 chapter SasuSake fic

📺 Long Live the King by SeliniErastis - An 8 chapter fic of Betty and Ice King/Simon (Adventure Time)

📺 Songbird by wurm_food - An Ace (One Piece) oneshot

📺 Manacled by senlinyu - A massive (370k words) Dramoine (Draco and Hermoine) fic - please check any content warnings

A lot of the fics I chose were shorter and I wanted to try to go back to some of my favorites. I mainly used to read Buffy, One Piece and Naruto fan fics back in the day. I'm excited to try Adventure Time for the first time and I will want to at least start Manacled. It's a big one though so I'm not sure I'll get through it all during the week. Although, there is an audiobook available on Spotify via podcast that is through chapter 56 (there's 77 total). I'm excited to get back to some fanfiction. Depending on how long the fic is I might not do a full review for each separately but do a round up. We'll see what happens!

Are you participating in the Fan Fiction Readathon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Summer of Swoon Board 2 Wrap Up

 It has taken me a while to finally get to wrapping up the second board of Summer of Swoon, but better late than never right! Unfortunately with all the life things I had going on in August and despite a strong start, I wasn't able to finish the second board. In case you missed my previous posts about the reading challenge hosted by Shelby, check out my original tbr, wrap up of the 1st board and tbr for the 2nd. Below is the blank 2nd board.

Below is the my final board. As you can see I only managed to cover 17 of the prompts, but at least I got one bingo! I'll go over what I read starting with the top left corner and going row by row. Hopefully if you doing a future version of Summer of Swoon or any other reading challenge or readathon that has a corresponding prompt it'll help give an option for you to pick up! Let's get into it!

🌊 Vacation or Travel Romance - Walking in Fire by Cathryn Cade

🌊 Diverse Hero - Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau

🌊 Orange on the Cover - My Hallowe'en Heartbreak by Melanie Ting

🌊 No People on the Cover - The Lady Chosen by Stephanie Laurens

🌊 New to You Series - Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan

🌊 Yellow on the Cover - Her Unexpected Roommate by Jackie Lau

🌊 Rom-Com - How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton

🌊 Indie Romance - Gaslight Hades by Grace Draven

🌊 New to You Author - Raze by Tillie Cole

🌊 Tear Jerker Romance - Offside by Juliana Stone

🌊 Booksta Recommendation - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

🌊 Author with More than 5 Published Books - Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas

🌊 Set in Country or State You Don't Live In - A Captivating Touch by Elsa Winckler

🌊 Photo Cover - Whispers on the Wind by Donna Fletcher

🌊 Cover Model Has Short Hair - Lord of Vampires by Gena Showalter

🌊 New Adult Romance - Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein

🌊 Favorite Trope or Sub-Genre - The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

Honestly, I'm happy with how much I managed to complete with how much my reading has slowed down this year. I'm super excited to continue doing Shelby's reading challenges and we are about a month through her Fall in Love challenge. It's never too late to join if you're interested!

Did you participate in the Summer of Swoon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Fall in Love 2022 TBR

 Time for a new season! After finishing up Summer of Swoon, it's time for Shelby's fall reading challenge, Fall in Love! It will once again run from September 1st through November 30th. Shelby has a lot of recs and more information on her instagram, but the three bingo boards she created are below.

 

For this TBR I'm going to focus on the first bingo board. I already have made a list for myself with the books I planned to pick up this month (from my September TBR) and which prompts they can cover. For any of the prompts left over, I'll be focusing on ideas for those in particular. I also tried to pick a lot of books I already had ebook copies of or were available in Kindle Unlimited.

🍂 I've seen a lot recently about Kimberly Lemming's Mead Mishaps series. This would work to cover  at least diverse main character, 2021 release and new to you author

🍂 For fall cover I've been intrigued by Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter

🍂 Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen would be a great option for cinnamon roll hero and I've been trying to get to at least that book in her Brooklyn Bruisers series

🍂 Set in Fall is a little harder for me. I could pick up any Halloween set romance, but I'm leaning towards McKenzie's Turn to Fall by Harlow James

For the second board, once we hit October I'm hoping that I'll be able to read books that will work for both this and the Bang in the Night Bingo. It's always helpful when I can get books to work across all the different reading challenges I participate in. Then in November I can focusing on finishing the first board if need be and hopefully the second as well. We'll see what happens! If you are looking for more fall recommendations, definitely check out what I read last year as well!

Will you be participating in Fall in Love?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Bang in the Night: The Monster Smash TBR

 I can't believe we are almost at fall!

Since we are approaching spooky season, it's time for the 2nd round of Bang in the Night Bingo! This is once again hosted by the ladies that the But Does it Bang? book club, Jacque and Beth! They do have a discord, so reach out to either of them on instagram to join. Once again they are starting the time frame early on September 19th and will run through Halloween! For the 2nd round, they are sub-captioning this round as The Monster Smash. I love it! Below is the blank bingo board followed by some of the tbr ideas I have for this round! Just a note, they do allow you to use a book for up to three prompts, but once again I'm going to try to just use one book per prompt.

🦇 Midnight with the Devil by Emma Castle - perfect for deal with the devils since it has a deal in the book and devil is in the title

🦇 The Liar's Crown by Abigail Owen - new release of hers that has a skull on the cover and also features twins

🦇 Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series - The next book I have to read is No Rest for the Wicked - at the very least it would cover #squadgoals, bite me and full moon on cover

🦇 Serpent's Touch by Marina Simcoe - Monster romance with a male gorgon

🦇 To Date an Immortal by Stephanie Rowe - twins and magic

🦇 Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Has at least twins, vampire and published in October

🦇 Halloween Boo by Sarah Spade - A Hocus Pocus inspired novella with a ghost mc!

🦇 Moonbright, Maine series by Kate Angell - at the very least PSL vibes

🦇 The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling - magic, full moon on the cover and has a cat

🦇 The Vampire's Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter - A KU vampire romance

🦇 Molly Harper's Mystic Bayou series - a lot of shifters and common paranormal tropes

🦇 I can also finally read the last couple Ice Planet Barbarian books by Ruby Dixon - they have horns

So a lot of my ideas are fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi based since those fulfill the prompts a little easier. I am also hoping to get some fun Halloween and/or fall based contemporaries. Hopefully I'll be able to do quite a few that will cross with Shelby's Fall in Love reading challenge (TBR will be posted this Thursday). Last year they had a spot on the review template for a theme song and I went for only Taylor Swift songs. I haven't decided which artist I'll go for this year, but I'm hoping to use only one artist again. Check out my instagram once the reading challenge starts to see who I ended up choosing!

Will you be participating Bang in the Night?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo Wrap Up

 My 2022 Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo is officially complete!

I was hoping to get it done earlier this month, but things happened. I did manage to get it complete before the end of the month though! Hopefully if you need a couple more books to close it out this can offer an option(s)! If this is your first time hearing about this reading challenge, it's hosted by the Ripped Bodice, a romance only bookstore in California. They do also offer the chance to enter for prizes, so make sure to fill out your entries here. If you missed my tbr, here is the blank bingo board.

Below is my completed board! I'll list out what I read (with links to my reviews) starting with the upper-left corner and going row by row!

🍦 Second Chance: Walking in a Geeky Wonderland by Allie York

🍦 Bath (Endgland or Tub): Persuasion by Jane Austen

🍦 Amnesia: Lord of Vampires by Gene Showalter

🍦 Cover Has Food On It: Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau

🍦 Bicycle: A Captivating Touch by Elsa Winckler

🍦 Superpower: Overlord by Anna Hackett

🍦 Mistaken Identity: Space Junk by Sara L Hudson

🍦 Halloween: My Hallowe'en Heartbreak by Melanie Ting

🍦 Dance: Flawless by Elsie Silver

🍦 Takes Place in a Made Up Country: Master of Crows by Grace Draven

🍦 High Tea: The Lady Chosen by Stephanie Laurens

🍦 Protagonist Smells Like Laundry: Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen

🍦 HEA: Tall, Dork and Handsome by Allie York

🍦 Hawaii: Walking In Fire by Cathryn Cade

🍦 Mafia: Raze by Tillie Cole

🍦 Title Has a Number In It: Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood

🍦 College Dorm: Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein

🍦 Widow Protagonist: Dukes Do It Better by Bethany Bennett

🍦 Steampunk: Gaslight Hades by Grace Draven

🍦 Architect: A Daring Pursuit by Kate Bateman

🍦 Work Rivals: Always Practice Safe Hex by Juliette Cross

🍦 Property Inheritance: How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart by Vivienne Lorret

🍦 Animal Shelter: Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas

🍦 Graduation: Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

🍦 Ghost: Whispers on the Wind by Donna Fletcher

I had a lot of fun once again and love how some of the prompts they choose can get super specific. I feel like this reading challenge is the one that pushes me the most outside of my comfort zone. Sometimes it's a struggle to find a book, but when I magically stumble across one of the prompts (like smelling like laundry) it's super exciting. I can't wait to see what they do next year!

Did you participate in the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Summer of Swoon Board 2 TBR

Update: Wrap up is posted for the 2nd board! 

Even though we are almost done with the Summer of Swoon reading challenge, I figured I'd do a mini-tbr for the 2nd bingo board. If you want to see what I did for the first, check out my wrap up for that! Just to do a quick recap, it runs through August 31st and is hosted by Shelby Taggart on instagram! Below is the blank bingo board if you haven't seen it yet.

So, I have had to move quite a few books to the second board as I've been reading that didn't work for prompts on the first, so I have 12 books already completed for the board! Below is my updated board. I'll put a few options I have planned for the remaining prompts.

🌊 For summer 2022 release I have a couple options that I plan on picking up as soon as I can, Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews and Her Unexpected Roommate by Jackie Lau. Those could also at least work for yellow on cover, bright colors on cover or author with more than 5 published books.

🌊 Also I have quite a few books to read from Ali Hazelwood. Her new book Love on the Brain also comes out soon. I also need to read the other two books in her STEMinist Novellas series. These should also work to cover 2021 debut author, romcom, published in July and/or bright colors on the cover.

🌊 For set in summer I'm thinking of picking up Katie Rose's Boys of Summer series. It's a baseball sports romance series and want to at least try the first book.

🌊 Some other options are to pick up some historical romances. If it's set during the season, those would cover any set in summer prompts as well as work for a favorite sub-genre.

So I have a few readalong and book club books I'll need to get to by the end of the month, so other than those I'm really looking at only needing to pick up 7 other books, of which some of the options are above. As long as I don't get sucked into too much other things it should be doable. Or I might binge some last minute novellas. We'll see what I end up reading!

Are you participating in Summer of Swoon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Summer of Swoon Wrap Up

Update: TBR is posted for the second board!
Update: Wrap up is posted for the 2nd board! 

I have finally finished the first bingo board of Summer of Swoon, 2022!

It ended up taking longer than I expected, but I've been noticing that my reading this year has slowed down quite a bit on top of a lot of life things happening this summer. In case you missed my tbr post, check it out! This quarterly challenge was created by Shelby Taggart. She hosts this (and all her challenges) on instagram. Below is the blank bingo board.

Below is my completed board and I'll list out what book I used for which prompt starting, as usual, with the top left hand corner and going row by row. 

🌊 Vacation or Travel Romance: Pipe Dreams by Sarina Bowen

🌊 A Beachy Read: Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

🌊 White on the Cover: Walking in a Geeky Wonderland by Allie York

🌊 Male Only Cover: Space Junk by Sarah L Hudson

🌊 New to You Series: Overlord by Anna Hackett

🌊 Blue on the Cover: Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

🌊 Set in Summer: Love at First Fight by Carrie Aarons

🌊 2022 Debut Author: Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke [review to come]

🌊 Summer 2022 Release: Bright Like Wildfire by Juliette Cross

🌊 Grumpy x Sunshine: Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood

🌊 Published in June: Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas

🌊 Plant, Flower or Tree on the Cover: A Daring Pursuit by Kate Bateman

🌊 Indie Romance: Master of Crows by Grace Draven

🌊 New to You Author: Persuasion by Jane Austen

🌊 Romance Read by Shelby in the Past 2 Years: Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen

🌊 Friends to Lovers Romance: Let's Geek It On by Allie York

🌊 Author Recommendation: Flawless by Elsie Silver

🌊 Author with Less than 5 Published Books: Dukes Do It Better by Bethany Bennett

🌊 Bright Colors on the Cover: Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

🌊 Set Outside the USA: How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart by Vivienne Lorret

🌊 Illustrated Cover: Tall, Dork and Handsome by Allie York

🌊 Cover Model has Long Hair: Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

🌊 Spring 2022 Release: Her Favorite Rebound by Jackie Lau

🌊 Enemies to Lovers Romance: Always Practice Safe Hex by Juliette Cross

🌊 Trope or Sub-Genre Outside Comfort Zone: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

Of these 25 it's really hard to choose a favorite. I read a lot of really good books and this has ben a pretty good reading summer so far despite having a lower overall number. I am going to attempt to finish the second bingo board as well, so stay tuned for my mini tbr!

Are you participating in the Summer of Swoon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Romance Takeover Readathon - Light v. Dark Wrap Up

 Last week was the latest round of the Romance Takeover Readathon! Jenn went with the Light v. Dark theme this time. I go into more depth during my tbr, so if you missed that post definitely check it out for all the details. The readathon was hosted by Jenn, Crystal, Jessen, Rachel, Christi and Caitlin. Jenn, once again, did a build your own bingo board.

Above is the bingo board that I created. I went a little different this time in my creation and looked at books I wanted to pick up to finish the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo. Once I narrowed down those, I then looked at what prompts they matched from Jenn's list and built my bingo board based off of those. I did a pretty good job sticking to my stricter tbr this time and surpassed my goal of five books! Below is my final bingo board followed by the books I read in order read.

1. Walking in Fire by Cathryn Cade - covered paranormal and foodie

2. Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood - covered friends to lovers, forced proximity and romcom

3. Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein - covered virgin hero, plus sized, new adult and sports

4. Gaslight Hades by Grace Draven - covered 2nd chance and fantasy

5. Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau - covered celebrity

6. A Captivating Touch by Elsa Winckler (was previously published as Touched in the Heart) - covered billionaire

It's hard to choose a favorite, but I think it was either Gaslight Hades or Donut Fall in Love. I'm not too surprised by that though since they are two of my favorite authors in their respective sub-genres. I had a historical I could've picked up Sunday to black out the board, but I was ready to kind of go a different direction and do a little more mood-reading. I had a lot of fun and can't wait for the next round!

Did you participate in the Romance Takeover Readathon - Light v. Dark?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Romance Takeover Readathon Light v. Dark TBR

Update: My Wrap Up is posted!!

 Time for the next round of the Romance Takeover Readathon! This readathon is organized by Jenn at The Book Refuge. She is mashing it together with her older readathon that was Light vs Dark. There is a lot of pieces at play for this readathon, so the best bet would be to check out Jenn's announcement video for all the details for the different factions and way to build your bingo board. It will run August 1st through the 7th. The hosts are Jenn, Crystal, Jessen, Rachel, Christi and Caitlin.

Above is the bingo board I created. As we are reaching the beginning of August, it's time for me to really start finishing up my reading challenges. The one I'm hoping to mostly finish during this readathon is the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo. Since I have just a few prompts, I tried to focus on books that would help me finish out that and chose from the available light and gray prompts for this readathon. I put them on my bingo board at random. I am mostly a mood reader, so this is a stricter tbr than I usually do, but there's a lot going on in August so if I don't want to feel rushed at the end of the month I want to get through my reading challenge prompts as soon as possible. Below, the top few books are what I plan on picking up the rest are hopefuls.

💡 Walking in Fire by Cathryn Cade - should cover foodie, paranormal and possibly age gap

💡 The STEMinist Novellas series by Ali Hazelwood - should cover rom com, forced proximity, friends to lovers, 2nd chance and/or work place

💡 Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau - should cover celebrity and foodie

💡 Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein - should cover sports, plus-sized, new adult and virgin hero

💡 Touched to the Heart by Elsa Winckler - should cover sports and billionaire

💡 Gaslight Hades by Grace Draven - should cover fantasy and 2nd chance

💡 Whispers on the Wind by Donna Fletcher - should cover historical and possibly paranormal

Hopefully I'll get to the first couple books, I'm particularly excited excited for Walking in Fire. I could end up picking up other books, especially once other participants start posting their tbrs. I'm excited to participate though and am hoping to get at least one bingo!

Will you be participating in the Romance Takeover Readathon Light v. Dark?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Hockey Champions Readathon Wrap Up

 Happy Tuesday!

My first readathon that I've hosted is officially over. I had a lot of fun trying some new authors and even though you didn't have to read hockey romances for the readathon, they had some extra advantages. I did pick up a couple as well! In case you missed my tbr and what I was planning on reading, you can check it out here. Below is the bingo board I created.

I only used one book per prompt this time. Even though I didn't manage to get a blackout, I did at least get a couple bingos! Below is my completed board followed by the books I read. I'll start at the upper left-hand corner and go row by row.

🏒 GM - Joe Sakic - Character that pulls off something crazy: Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

🏒 Forward - Gabriel Landeskog - Character that's a leader: Persuasion by Jane Austen

🏒 Coach - Jared Bednar - Character that stays calm under pressure: Pipe Dreams by Sarina Bowen

🏒 Forward - Logan O'Connor - Fan-Favorite Author: Sapphire Dreams by Ilona Andrews

🏒 Cup - Book with an HEA: Offside by Juliana Stone

🏒 Defense - Devon Toews - Underrated Author: My Hallowe'en Heartbreak by Melanie Ting

I had a lot of fun and hope that more people participate the next time I host a readathon. If you participated, please let me know so I can check out what you read. I definitely had a lot of fun and it was nice to kind of get away from my scheduled tbr for a little bit!

Did you participate in the Hockey Champions Readathon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Hockey Champions Readathon Announcement & TBR

Update: My wrap up is posted! 

Happy Thursday!

I have a fun announcement today, I have created my own readathon! With my team, the Colorado Avalanche having just won the Stanley Cup, I wanted to celebrate. What better way to do that than with something I love to do, read! I have done an announcement video on YouTube as well as a TBR and recommendations video. I'll also touch on my TBR ideas down below.

The readathon will go from July 10th through the 17th. I plan on mostly hosting it on instagram, so check out my link in the side bar. I'll have all the information saved in my highlights as well as a normal post. I'm not going to go too much into it since I have the posts as well as my video, but I do want to touch base on what I have planned.

It's a build your own roster bingo board. As you can see above there are 9 prompts total. Three of the prompts are the same for everybody, the GM, Coach and Cup. Now is where you build your roster. You will need to select three Forwards, two Defensemen and one Goalie. I have posted the prompts list below. I do go over them all in my video linked above as well as going into why I chose certain prompts for certain players. Outside of those prompts, there are alternatives for each player (all options except for the cup). As you can see in the last photo below, you can also use the players' numbers to clear the square if it is in the publication date, total page number or number in the series. Also, I'm allowing for any hockey romance to clear a square. Technically if you are using a book to cover as many prompts as possible, you could read just one hockey romance and have a blackout!

  

 

Here is the the written version of what I have planned to read as well as who I've chosen for my bingo board:

🏒 I've been working my way through Sarina Bowen's Brooklyn Bruisers series. I plan to read at the very least Pipe Dreams, book 3. If I feel the need to binge, I'll also pick up book 4, Brooklynaire.

🏒 The Rake Appreciation Society is also hosting a bonus live show on July 14th for Jane Austen's Persuasion. I was able to get the audio and ebook versions free through Amazon's Prime Reads. I plan to read the audiobook during the readathon for the live show.

🏒 I also created a spinner wheel to finally pick up a new author that has hockey romances that I haven't picked up yet. Below is what I added:
- On the Surface by Kate Willoughby - In the Zone book 1
- Offside by Juliana Stone - Barker Triplets book 1
- Dirty Secret by Mira Lyn Kelly - Slayers Hockey book 1
- My Halloween Heartbreak by Melanie Ting - Holiday Hattrick book 2
- Change on the Fly by Maren Moore - Totally Pucked book 1

🏒 Also, I added Piper Rayne's Hockey Hotties series to the spinner wheel because I'd like to reread the first couple books before moving on to the newer releases.

There's a lot of options, but I'm hoping to read at least the three books. I am focusing on hockey romances, but like with my plans for Persausion, you don't have to read hockey romance. It's just easier to meet the prompts if you do! I hope you join me in the readathon! I'm nervous since it'll be my first time hosting, but I'm hoping at least a couple people will participate!

Will you be participating in the Hockey Champions Readathon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo TBR

Update: My Wrap Up is posted! 

It's back! Summer of 2022 means the 6th round of Summer Bingo hosted by the Ripped Bodice. I have participated they last few years and they always have tougher, more unique prompts. It's definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and/or my research skills to find books that work. If this is the first time you're hearing about this bingo, it runs from June 1st through August 31st. To learn more or find copies of the information, check out their website.

The Ripped Bodice also allows for you to enter to win prizes up to 5 times, 4 bingos and then the final for blackout. I've entered every year that I've participated, but still haven't won anything. Maybe this'll be the year I win! The link to the google form is also on their website linked above. Below is the bingo board followed by some of the ideas I have for the more unique prompts!

🍦 For Superhero I have a couple options already on my kindle - JA Huss's Anarchy Found and a recently found author Trish Heinrich and her Vigilante series

🍦 For Steampunk I have a lot of different series that could work, but I narrowed it down to the London Steampunk series by Bec McMaster or checking out one of Meljean Brook's series (also known as Milla Vane)

🍦 For Architect this took a little bit of research on my end. I checked some listopia lists and checked for what was already marked as want to read. I found Underneath It All by Kate Canterbary. I also discovered a new series called Hearts and Crafts by Nicole Michaels and book three has an architect.

🍦 Animal Rescue or Shelter was a little harder to find as well. I have quite a few veterinarian books, but not too many of them are set at a shelter or rescue. I did remember though that I still need to finish Jill Shalvis's Animal Magnetism, of which the next book I have to read is Rescue My Heart.

🍦 For Amnesia I went to my historical books and have a couple that I haven't read yet from top authors of mine - How to Forget a Duke by Vivienne Lorret and Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas.

🍦 Made-up Country - This was also a prompt I had to do some research into. I found that some of Emma Chase's Royally series takes place in a made-up country as well as Twisted Games by Ana Huang. If I want to be super easy though, I could also use pretty much any fantasy romance to work for this prompt. 

🍦 The final prompt I'm going to give some ideas for is Ghost. I have physical copies of Whispers of the Wind by Donna Fletcher and Shadow's Kiss by Joan Hohl. I also am intrigued by Cindy Miles's Ghosts series.

I'm super excited to see what books I end up choosing for some of these more unique prompts. Let me know if you have any ideas that I might have missed! Feel free to leave a comment below or reach out on instagram to let me know. Also feel free to check out what I've read before by looking at the rippedbodicebingo tag.

Will you be participating in the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Love Has Sprung Wrap Up 2

 Even though I didn't manage to finish or get a bingo on the second board of Love Has Sprung, I decided to do a mini-wrap up. Partly so you could see prompts that work for books I read that covered spots on this board if you're looking for recommendations in the future, and the other part because I was expecting to finish at least two of the boards so I added prompts to each book as it got shifted. Instead of removing that portion from all of their reviews, I decided to just do a mini wrap up!

In case you missed by tbr post, above is the blank bingo board. Below is where I ended up finishing on May 31st. I'll go ahead and list the books I read in order starting from the top left corner and moving row by row.

🌷 "Kiss" in the Title: A Kiss of Venom by Beena Khan

🌷 Tattooed Cover Model: Savage Hearts by JT Geissinger

🌷 Continue Series You Forgot About: White Hot by Ilona Andrews

🌷 One Person on the Cover: How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins

🌷 Published in 2021: The Devil and I by Kay Alastor

🌷 Building or House on Cover: Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews

🌷 Book With Punny Title: I Touch My Shelf by Allie York

🌷 Diverse Hero: Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Julia Quinn and Violet Charles

🌷 Book 2 in a Series: Talk Nerdy to Me by Allie York

🌷 Read a Romcom: Stumbling Into Him by Molly O'Hare

🌷 Book by an Author You Think is a Nice Person: A Court of  Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

And that's all! Hopefully I'll be able to get at least the first board done a lot sooner for Summer of Swoon, maybe even more, but we'll see what happens. So far I've started out strong, but things could change over the next three month. If you'd like more recommendation ideas, check out my wrap up for the 1st board as well!

Did you participate in Love Has Sprung?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Love Has Sprung Wrap Up

Update: My wrap up is posted for the 2nd board!

 I am finally done with the first bingo board of Love Has Sprung!

I know that my reading has gone down a bit this year compared to the last few years, but I wasn't expecting for it to slow down this much. Plus I did have quite a few books that I've had to shift over the the 2nd bingo board since they worked for prompts already covered on the first. If you missed by announcement/tbr, you can check out the original information here. Below is the blank board.

 Let's get to it! I'll list the books for each prompt (with links to my review) starting at the top left corner and going row by row.

🌷 The in the Title: The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate by Cate C Wells

🌷 Slow Burn: The Difference Between Us by Rachel Higginson

🌷 Shelby Favorite of 2021: Fool's Gold by Jenny Bunting

🌷 Couple on Cover: Hard Hitter by Sarina Bowen

🌷 New To You Author: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

🌷 Published in 2020: All Geek To Me by Allie York

🌷 Booksta Rec: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

🌷 Foodie Romance: The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson

🌷 Diverse Heroine: Learning Curves by Molly O'Hare

🌷 2-Word Title: The Proposal by Mary Balogh

🌷 Pink on the Cover: The Problem With Him by Rachel Higginson

🌷 First Book in a Series: Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews

🌷 Cover You Love: Written On His Skin by Simone Stark

🌷 Title Starts With R: Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley

🌷 Forbidden Romance: Untouchable by Sam Mariano

🌷 New Release: Parks and Provocation by Juliette Cross

🌷 Updated or Redone Cover: Burn by Suzanne Wright

🌷 Fake Dating: Wife by Wednesday by Catherine Bybee

🌷 Backlist Romance: The Something About Her by Rachel Higginson

🌷 Favorite Author: The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

🌷 Cover Model Wearing a Dress: Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

🌷 Shelby Favorite Author: A False Start by Elsie Silver

🌷 Diverse Author: Topaz by Beverly Jenkin

🌷 Office Romance: Hollywood Dreams by Molly O'Hare

🌷 Flowers on the Cover: The Marquess Makes His Move by Diana Quincy

Now, at this point there is no way I'm going to be able to finish the second board. I will keep applying whatever else I picked up the rest of the month to the 2nd board and do a mini wrap up. That should be posted sometime during the first week of June. I though I would do a mini one since I do these to help show what books I applied to certain prompts for those looking to fill prompts for any readathon/reading challenge. Hopefully I'll be better next season and am excited to start the new round of Summer of Swoon!

Did you participate in Love Has Sprung?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Summer of Swoon TBR

Update: Wrap up is posted!
Update: TBR is posted for the second board!
Update: Wrap up is posted for the 2nd board! 

 Happy Thursday!

As we're nearing the end of May, it's time for the next seasonal reading challenge announcement! Shelby has been a little quiet lately on Instagram, but she did post new boards for the next round of Summer of Swoon! She once again created 3 bingo boards. I did participate last year and a few of the prompts cross over, so if you are looking for more ideas check out the tag. I did manage to do some last minute binge reading last summer to finish all three boards! It will once again run from June 1st through August 31st. Below are all three bingo boards!

 

As you can see there are a lot of different kinds of  prompts across all three boards. I'm just going to focus on some ideas for the more specific prompts here, but as always things can change since doing these longer challenges allows me to mood read more. I mostly stuck with books that are set in summer time, occur in beach locations or are outdoorsy. Below are some of my top ideas

🌊 Don't Call Me Cupcake by Tara Sheet

🌊 I Married the Duke by Katharine Ashe

🌊 Jetty Beach series by Claire Kingsley

🌊 In Over Her Head by Judi Fennell

🌊 The Catch by Lauren Mae

🌊 Sunrise Cove by Jill Shalvis

🌊 Tents & Tights by Molly O'Hare

🌊 I can also continue my reread of the Lucky Harbor series by Jill Shalvis and pick back up the Barefoot William Beach series by Kate Angell

I'm super excited to participate in another of Shelby's Challenges and hopefully I'll do a little better than I did with Love Has Sprung! Please check out Shelby's instagram (linked above) for more templates and recommendations. I'll also update as I read on my stories and save them in the highlights.

Will you be participating in Summer of Swoon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Historical Romance Readathon Wrap Up

Happy Thursday!

Today we are wrapping up the latest round of the Historical Romance Readathon! It was once again hosted by the lovely Jessica, Lacey and Lisa. The readathon ran from Monday May 9th through the 15th. If you missed my tbr post, below is the bingo board they created.

So, coming into the readathon I was really excited and managed to finish my first book Tuesday night. Then I had a reading slump. I just was dealing with emotional and mental things and needed to spend my time being more actively engaged. I did manage to squeeze in one more book (that's actually a graphic novel) so I at least read two. I'm sad that I didn't read more, but only because I was so excited and as you could probably tell from my tbr had a lot of ideas of books I wanted to get too. Below is my finished bingo board the books I read.

🌺 How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins - Covered second chance romance, in a series, marriage of convenience, rake, highlander and enemies to lovers

🌺 Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Julia Quinn and Violet Charles - Covered single parent, standalone and clinch cover

Even though I only read two books, I was able to at least get a bingo. Usually I try not to set too high of standards for my readathons and only push my reading for what I want. I just really needed to do what felt right for my mental and emotional health. I usually pick up a few historical romances a month anyway, so I'm not too perturbed about needing to take a break. Hopefully when the next round happens I'll be good to go!

Did you participate in the Historical Romance Readathon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎