teatimelit

Book Recs: Books to Read Based on Your Favorite Musicals

Happy World Theatre Day my friends! Today is one of my favorite days because, and I truly am not exaggerating here, theatre is my life. I was in my first musical when I was 15, and since then I have been in over 15 shows, and worked on over 30 shows (including directing and stage managing) and my day job is running the education department at a theatre company. I really do live and breathe theatre.


As I will take any opportunity I can to combine theatre and reading — two of my favorite things(if you read that to the tune of My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music, bonus points to you!) — I thought it would be fun to do a book recs post based on some of my favorite musicals!

Read more

ARC Review: I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny.

But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes.

On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad boy neighbor with a crush. The three have nothing in common except Shara and the annoyingly cryptic notes she left behind, but together they must untangle Shara’s trail of clues and find her. It’ll be worth it, if Chloe can drag Shara back before graduation to beat her fair-and-square.

Thrown into an unlikely alliance, chasing a ghost through parties, break-ins, puzzles, and secrets revealed on monogrammed stationery, Chloe starts to suspect there might be more to this small town than she thought. And maybe—probably not, but maybe—more to Shara, too.

Read more

Interview with Emma Lord, author of When You Get the Chance

Hello tea party attendees! I’m so excited to announce that Emma Lord, author of Tweet Cute, You Have a Match and When You Get the Chance is joining our tea party today! Emma is one of my favorite authors, and well loved here at teatimelit! Her stories are fun, creative, heartfelt and filled with characters you can’t help but love! 

An effervescent, endearing, joyful contemporary romance of one young woman searching for her birth mother one summer, by New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord.

Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?

Joyous, heartfelt, and brimming with emotion, WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE is a novel about falling in love, making a mess, and learning to let go that will have you happy-sobbing and cheering all the way to the end.

Links for When You Get the Chance: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound

Read more

TeaTimeReads April Pick: Fresh by Margot Wood

Happy Spring, everyone! We hope that you’re enjoying OPHELIA AFTER ALL – we can’t wait to start discussion questions! We’re super excited to announce that our April book club pick will be Margot Wood’s FRESH!

Here is the full summary for Fresh:

A hilarious and vulnerable coming-of-age story about the thrilling new experiences––and missteps––of a girl’s freshman year of college

Some students enter their freshman year of college knowing exactly what they want to do with their lives. Elliot McHugh is not one of those people. But picking a major is the last thing on Elliot’s mind when she’s too busy experiencing all that college has to offer—from dancing all night at off-campus parties, to testing her RA Rose’s patience, to making new friends, to having the best sex one can have on a twin-sized dorm room bed. But she may not be ready for the fallout when reality hits. When the sex she’s having isn’t that great. When finals creep up and smack her right in the face. Or when her roommate’s boyfriend turns out to be the biggest a-hole. Elliot may make epic mistakes, but if she’s honest with herself (and with you, dear reader), she may just find the person she wants to be. And maybe even fall in love in the process . . . Well, maybe. 

Links for Fresh: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound

Content Warnings for Fresh: drinking, drug use, profanity, sex, and one scene with sexual assault

This month we’ve decided to try some new things that we’re all really excited about! We decided that this month we would try a loose reading schedule, which you can see in the image below. We also thought that since Fresh is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, it would be fun to stream some Emma adaptations (2020 Emma, Emma Approved, Clueless, etc.) as well as some new and fun ways to interact with each other through social media! More information about that will be coming soon, most of which will be detailed in the Discord. 

We’re super excited to read this fun and hilarious retelling! See you in April!

Spotlight: The Undead Truth of Us by Britney S. Lewis

Hi, hello friends! This week, I have decided to spotlight The Undead Truth of Us by Britney S. Lewis because let me tell you: when Cossette sent me this book on TikTok I knew I had to feature it. While I’m not the biggest fan of zombies, in fact they scare me to high heaven, this book sounds too good not to instantly preorder. This book is releasing on August 9th, and I am anxiously waiting for this to load onto my kindle so I can jump into this thrilling debut by Britney S. Lewis. Here’s the synopsis:

Death was everywhere. They all stared at me, bumping into one another and slowly coming forward.

Sixteen-year-old Zharie Young is absolutely certain her mother morphed into a zombie before her untimely death, but she can’t seem to figure out why. Why her mother died, why her aunt doesn’t want her around, why all her dreams seem suddenly, hopelessly out of reach. And why, ever since that day, she’s been seeing zombies everywhere.

Then Bo moves into her apartment building―tall, skateboard in hand, freckles like stars, and an undeniable charm. Z wants nothing to do with him, but when he transforms into a half zombie right before her eyes, something feels different. He contradicts everything she thought she knew about monsters, and she can’t help but wonder if getting to know him might unlock the answers to her mother’s death.

As Zharie sifts through what’s real and what’s magic, she discovers a new truth about the world: Love can literally change you―for good or for dead.

In this surrealist journey of grief, fear, and hope, Britney S. Lewis’s debut novel explores love, zombies, and everything in between in an intoxicating amalgam of the real and the fantastic.

I cannot wait to get my hands on this book, and if you feel like it’s something you’d enjoy too, there’s links below for where you can preorder! 


Links for The Undead Truth of Us: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | Indiebound

ARC Review: Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Meddy Chan has been to countless weddings, but she never imagined how her own would turn out. Now the day has arrived, and she can’t wait to marry her college sweetheart, Nathan. Instead of having Ma and the aunts cater to her wedding, Meddy wants them to enjoy the day as guests. As a compromise, they find the perfect wedding vendors: a Chinese-Indonesian family-run company just like theirs. Meddy is hesitant at first, but she hits it off right away with the wedding photographer, Staphanie, who reminds Meddy of herself, down to the unfortunately misspelled name.

Meddy realizes that is where their similarities end, however, when she overhears Staphanie talking about taking out a target. Horrified, Meddy can’t believe Staphanie and her family aren’t just like her own, they are The Family–actual mafia, and they’re using Meddy’s wedding as a chance to conduct shady business. Her aunties and mother won’t let Meddy’s wedding ceremony become a murder scene–over their dead bodies–and will do whatever it takes to save her special day, even if it means taking on the mafia.

Read more

Mini Reviews: The Heartbreak Bakery, The Haunting of Hill House, Fake It Till You Bake It, & How We Fall Apart

Hello friends! We’re halfway through March, which is just plain crazy! How’re you doing with your reading goals? Things have been going well for me so far! As of this post, I’ve read 10 books this month and I just hit 50 books read this year, which was my goal for the end of the month so I’m feeling pretty confident right now!

I’m in the middle of 3 books right now and hoping to finish all 3 and start more by the end of the weekend. Last weekend was pretty busy, so I didn’t have as much time to read as I would’ve liked. That being said, I thought that it would be fun to post some mini reviews this week!

Read more

Spotlight: The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman

Hi, hello friends! This week I thought it would be fun to tell you all about my next read! The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman was the additional book in the January Illumicrate, and I have been so excited to read it ever since I received it. Unfortunately I haven’t really been in the mood for a fantasy until now, but I am itching to pick it up and get reading – I have a sneaky feeling it’s a book I’m going to love! Here’s the synopsis for The Ivory Key: 

Magic, a prized resource, is the only thing between peace and war. When magic runs out, four estranged royal siblings must find a new source before their country is swallowed by invading forces. The first in an Indian-inspired duology.

Vira is desperate to get out of her mother’s shadow and establish her legacy as a revered queen of Ashoka. But with the country’s only quarry running out of magic–a precious resource that has kept Ashoka safe from conflict–she can barely protect her citizens from the looming threat of war. And if her enemies discover this, they’ll stop at nothing to seize the last of the magic.

Vira’s only hope is to find a mysterious object of legend: the Ivory Key, rumored to unlock a new source of magic. But in order to infiltrate enemy territory and retrieve it, she must reunite with her siblings, torn apart by the different paths their lives have taken. Each of them has something to gain from finding the Ivory Key–and even more to lose if they fail. Ronak plans to sell it to the highest bidder in exchange for escape from his impending political marriage. Kaleb, falsely accused of assassinating the former maharani needs it to clear his name. And Riya, a runaway who cut all family ties, wants the Key to prove her loyalty to the rebels who want to strip the nobility of its power.

They must work together to survive the treacherous journey. But with each sibling harboring secrets and their own agendas, the very thing that brought them together could tear apart their family–and their world–for good. 

Doesn’t it sound fantastic? I can’t wait to read and review this book for everyone, so keep your eyes peeled for when that gets posted! 

Links for The Ivory Key: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound 

Features: Allison Saft, A Far Wilder Magic, and Animal Crossing!

Hello hello, friends! Happy Friday! I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe! Grab a cup of tea, or another warm beverage of your choice, and get cozy. We’ve got a guest here today at tea time lit, and it’s a post that I’ve wanted to do for a really long time! 

As you may know, I’m a huge Animal Crossing fan. Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved playing Animal Crossing — in fact, I named my childhood dog after KK Slider himself. So you can only imagine my excitement when Allison Saft was down to visit tea time lit again for A Far Wilder Magic’s release, and to decorate her island as the world of A Far Wilder Magic for a post! 

When Margaret Welty spots the legendary hala, the last living mythical creature, she knows the Halfmoon Hunt will soon follow. Whoever is able to kill the hala will earn fame and riches, and unlock an ancient magical secret. If Margaret wins the hunt, it may finally bring her mother home. While Margaret is the best sharpshooter in town, only teams of two can register, and she needs an alchemist.

Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist–yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he’s landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her.

Although they make an unlikely team, Wes is in awe of the girl who has endured alone on the outskirts of a town that doesn’t want her, in this creaking house of ghosts and sorrow. And even though Wes disrupts every aspect of her life, Margaret is drawn to him. He, too, knows what it’s like to be an outsider. As the hunt looms closer and tensions rise, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt – if they survive that long. 

Links for A Far Wilder Magic: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound

Read more

Let’s Talk: Rereading Childhood Favorites – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Hi friends! Welcome to the first installment of my Rereading Childhood Favorites series – you can check out my initial blog post for more info! I’m a firm believer that books we read as children shape us into the adults that we become, and that’s part of why I am so excited about this series.

With my birthday coming up this week (the 12th) I thought that it would be fitting to start this series by discussing the book that I think influenced me the most in my adolescence: Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

Read more