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ARC Review: The Getaway List by Emma Lord

The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: One, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer, where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List ― a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away ― will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self, and pave the road to a new future.

Riley isn’t sure what to expect from Tom, who has been distant since his famous mom’s scriptwriting career pulled him away. But when Riley arrives in the city, their reconnection is as effortless as it was when they were young―except with one, unexpected complication that will pull Riley’s feelings in a direction she didn’t know they could take. As she, Tom, and their newfound friends work their way through the delightfully chaotic items on The Getaway List, Riley learns that sometimes the biggest adventure is not one you take, but one you feel in your heart.

Inescapably romantic and brimming with Emma Lord’s signature cheer, The Getaway List is an uplifting and romantic read that will settle into your heart and never leave. 

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ARC Review: Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The regulars at Café Funiculi Funicula are well acquainted with the whimsical ability it grants them to take a trip into the past—as well as the strict rules involved, including that each traveler must return to the present in the time it takes for their coffee to get cold. In Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s previous novels, patrons have been reunited with old flames, made amends with estranged family and visited loved ones. Now readers will once again be introduced to a new set of visitors.

In Last Chance to Say Goodbye, which is translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot and features signature heartwarming characters and wistful storytelling, Kawaguchi once again invites the reader to ask themselves: What would you change if you could travel back in time?

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ARC Review: The Death I Gave Him by Em. X Liu

A lyrical, queer sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a locked-room thriller

A Twenty-First Century Hamlet.

Hayden Lichfield’s life is ripped apart when he finds his father murdered in their lab, and the camera logs erased. The killer can only have been after one thing: the Sisyphus Formula the two of them developed together, which might one day reverse death itself. Hoping to lure the killer into the open, Hayden steals the research. In the process, he uncovers a recording his father made in the days before his death, and a dying wish: Avenge me…

With the lab on lockdown, Hayden is trapped with four other people—his uncle Charles, lab technician Gabriel Rasmussen, research intern Felicia Xia and their head of security, Felicia’s father Paul—one of whom must be the killer. His only sure ally is the lab’s resident artificial intelligence, Horatio, who has been his dear friend and companion since its creation. With his world collapsing, Hayden must navigate the building’s secrets, uncover his father’s lies, and push the boundaries of sanity in the pursuit of revenge. 

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july & august 2023 wrap up // a letter from coco 💌

hi, hello, dear friends! it’s been a hot minute, and i’ve missed you quite terribly. i hope july and august have been treating you well, and that you’ve been having a wonderful summer, staying hydrated, and reading a lot of good books. 

in all honesty, i haven’t been reading much these last two months — july was simply a whirlwind of a month, and august slipped away in a moment of time, leaving me with very little time to sit down and properly read. i had a couple of family things going on in july (and in august), coupled with eras tour, friends visiting from out of town, going out of town myself for lollapalooza, and maisie peter’s concert in seattle, i just really didn’t have a lot of time to read. that being said, i did finally reach my goodreads goal, so a win is a win! 

in july, i read a total of 11 books, with the hobbit by j.r.r. tolkien being the ultimate standout! a lot of my friends (hi allison, hi jamie) love the hobbit and lord of the rings, so i decided to give the audiobook a go, and had the best time. and unfortunately for august, i read 11 books, but didn’t really enjoy any of the ones that weren’t rereads. 

here’s a full list of what i read in the last two months:

  • The Storm Of Echoes by Christelle Dabos (Audiobook; ★★★☆☆)
  • Will They Or Won’t They by Ava Wilder (★★★☆☆)
  • Fiona And Jane by Jean Chen Ho (Audiobook; ★★☆☆☆)
  • Business Or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon (★★★☆☆)
  • Teach The Torches To Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix by Caleb Roehrig (ARC; ★★★☆☆)
  • A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Audiobook; ★★★★☆)
  • Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan (Audiobook; ★☆☆☆☆)
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (Audiobook; ★★★★★)
  • The Year Of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (★★★★★)
  • Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Audiobook; ★★★☆☆)
  • Tis The Damn Season by Kimi Freeman (ARC; ★☆☆☆☆)
  • A Very Nice Girl by Imogen Crimp (Audiobook; ★★☆☆☆)
  • Bliss Montage by Ling Ma (Audiobook; ★★★☆☆)
  • The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (Reread; ★★★★★)
  • Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (Audiobook; ★★☆☆☆)
  • The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (Reread; ★★★★★)
  • I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Gifted; ★★☆☆☆)
  • Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (Reread; ★★★★★)
  • The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (Reread; ★★★★★)
  • Bellegarde by Jamie Lilac (Gifted; ★★★☆☆)
  • Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston (Reread; ★★★★★)
  • Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer (Gifted; ★★★☆☆)

i’m currently also making steady progress in my les miserables reread & annotations project; i’m 40% in, and on track to finish it in december! in september, i’m hoping to work on my gifted reads/arc bingo more, but also balance that out by reading some books that i’ve been meaning to read for ages, and also read some books for fun! i’ve also got a pretty busy september — honestly, the rest of the year is pretty busy for me, so we’ll see how that affects my reading. 

i recently finally watched the bear, which everyone has been on my case to watch, and i really loved it! i also watched the second season of the summer i turned pretty, and still need to watch the new season of heartstopper — just haven’t decided if i want to do a heartstopper reread before, or after it, which is why i haven’t gotten around to it yet! in terms of music i’ve been listening to, i’ve been listening to gretta ray’s new album, positive spin, and i haven’t been able to stop listening to taylor swift, maisie peters, holly humberstone, sabrina carpenter, and gracie abrams since i saw them live over the summer! 

coming up, i’ve got bumbershoot, which is a local arts + music festival, and then hockey season starts back up in september too! i’ve got tickets to the first preseason game, and am trying to figure out how many other games i can feasibly go to this season. there’s a couple music releases i’m excited for too, most notably, del water gap’s i miss you already + i haven’t left yet, which releases at the end of the month! 

here are some posts i’ve loved reading lately:

Caitlyn’s Monthly Wrap Up: August 2023

August sure has slipped away, hasn’t it? Alexa, play august by Taylor Swift, thank you.

Hi besties! You know what time it is, it’s wrap-up time! As I publish this I am sitting at the airport because I’m headed to the East Coast to visit my best friend Helena — yes, of Bubbling Up With Helena fame! And I figured as I sit here because of my… 5-hour layover (wouldn’t be surprised if I end up finishing another book while I’m here) I might as well share my August wrap up, so let’s get into it!

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Book Recommendations based off of your favorite song from The Good Witch

I’ve been listening to nothing but Maisie Peters’ The Good Witch as of late, and I figured it’d be a perfect opportunity to pair songs from The Good Witch to book recs! It’s truly the album of the summer, and I couldn’t  be more proud of Maisie for her sophomore album — especially for hitting number 1 on the charts! I also got the chance to see Maisie live in concert last night (and also at Lollapalooza, where I was earlier this month), and all I can say is: if you have the chance to go see her, please do! She’s incredible live, and her stage presence is unmatched. 

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ARC Review: Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror Delight edited by Shelly Page & Alex Brown

Night of the Living Queers is a YA horror anthology that explores a night when anything is possible exclusively featuring queer authors of color putting fresh spins on classic horror tropes and tales.

No matter its name or occasion, Halloween is more than a Hallmark holiday, it’s a symbol of transformation. NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS is a YA horror anthology that explores how Halloween can be more than just candies and frights, but a night where anything is possible. Each short story will be told through the lens of a different BIPOC teen and the Halloween night that changes their lives forever. Creative, creepy, and queer, this collection will bring fresh terror, heart, and humor to young adult literature.

Contributors include editors Alex Brown and Shelly Page, Kalynn Bayron, Ryan Douglass, Sara Farizan, Maya Gittelman, Kosoko Jackson, Em Liu, Vanessa Montalban, Ayida Shonibar, Tara Sim, Trang Thanh Tran, and Rebecca Kim Wells.

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Review: Bellegarde by Jamie Lilac

Evie Clement has perfected the art of avoiding attention as she works at her family’s bakery and dreams of a life where she can trade dusting flour for designing dresses. Her focus is on honing her sewing skills–she doesn’t need to be fawned over by some teenage boy.

Least of all Beau Bellegarde–the playboy of Paris, the second son of the ultra-wealthy Bellegarde family, the most popular guy in their prestigious high school. Others may swoon over his rakish charm and winning smile, but not Evie.

Unfortunately for Evie, Beau needs her. His conniving step-brother has roped him into an impossible bet: turn the biggest wallflower they know into the winning Bellegarde Bloom at the annual Court of Flowers Ball, or lose his entire fortune.

Evie can’t understand why Beau has taken an interest in her, but she can’t help but be intrigued…

Can love bloom in the most unexpected of places?

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Review: The Narrow by Kate Alice Marshall

A deliciously terrifying novel about a ghost who uncovers a teen girl’s best kept secrets while haunting her boarding school, perfect for fans of Lost in the Never Woods and The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Everyone has heard the story of the Narrow. The river that runs behind the Atwood School is only a few feet across and seemingly placid, but beneath the surface, the waters are deep and vicious. It’s said that no one who has fallen in has ever survived.

Eden White knows that isn’t true. Six years ago, she saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow—and live.

Delphine now lives in careful isolation, sealed off from the world. Even a single drop of unpurified water could be deadly to her, and no one but Eden has any idea why. Eden has never told anyone what she saw or spoken to Delphine since, but now, unable to cover her tuition, she has to make a her expenses will be paid in return for serving as a live-in companion to Delphine.

Eden finds herself drawn to the strange and mysterious girl, and the two of them begin to unravel each other’s secrets. Then Eden discovers what happened to the last girl who lived with she was found half-drowned on dry land. Suddenly Eden is waking up to wet footprints tracking to the end of her bed, the sound of rain on the windows when the skies are clear, and a ghostly silhouette in her doorway. Something is haunting Delphine—and now it’s coming for Eden, too.

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Let’s Talk: Exposing All the Gifted Reads, and Netgalley ARCs I’ve Yet to Read

Hi my little darlings! It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I’m so happy to be back. I’ll do a little catch up on my adventures at the end of the month with my wrap up, but today, I thought I’d expose myself for all the books I’ve been gifted and haven’t had the chance to read yet, and all the ARCs I haven’t read yet either! 

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