Spring & Summer Reading Bucket List!

Hello friends! I hope that you had a great weekend! :)

I've been extra book crazy lately, and I wanted to make a little list of things I want to accomplish book-wise this spring and summer.

Finish Erin's 8.0! (April 30 deadline, 5 books left!)
Read historical fiction/classics for Audrey and I's decades collaboration (at least 1 per decade)
-1930s -1940s -1950s -1960s -1970s -1980s -1990s -2000s
Check off AT LEAST 3 Netgalley reads (old ones)
Read 'First Reads' Book by (May 4)
Re-Read Little Women before PBS Show is Released (May 13)
Read At Least 3 Neil Gaiman Books (he's coming to speak in November!)
Finish 2 Books on my "Currently Reading" Shelf
Pick back up the Throne of Glass series
Acquire and Read A Court of Frost and Starlight! (ACoTaR spinoff)
Read a travel memoir or travel-based novel
Read a romance novel
Read The Hate U Give 
Read a book about mermaids
Read Sing, Unburied Sing
Complete my library's Summer Reading Program
Read a fairy tale re-telling

What book goals do you have for spring and summer?

XO,

Alexandra

10 Books I Read in 2016 That Are Still On My Mind // Bookworm

Sometimes there are books that just stick with you. There are some that you are stuck in for a week after finishing, and then there are the ones that creep back in much later and make you smile or think. These are some that are still making me smile and think a year later. :)

No Baggage: A Minimalist Tale of Love and Wandering by Clara Bensen

5 Stars | Non-Fiction / Travel / Memoir | Stand Alone

Quarter-life crisis + 13 day, 8 country trip + no baggage + OK Cupid met sort-of-kind-of-boyfriend. What a premise right? That was enough to get me invested. I found this to be really relate-able and personal to read. It was quick, it was funny, it was a good mix of non-fiction and fiction-like writing. I really enjoyed this one.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden*

4.5 Stars | Historical Fiction / Magical Realism / Fantasy / YA| First in a Series but could read as stand-alone

Pagan pasts and religious tensions meet in Northern Russia. Vasya is wild like her mother was, she's a bit of a disgrace to her new mother, but she might be what can save her home. This one is pretty hard to describe, but I just LOVED it. I recommend reading it in the winter, and expecting it to read like historical fiction + a bit of magical realism for the most part. They are releasing a sequel in January, but I think you could read it as a stand alone if you wanted to.

THE PUBLISHER GAVE ME A HARDBACK OF THIS BOOK AND THE ARC OF THE SEQUEL! Squee! I feel so cool. x_x

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake 

4.5 Stars | Fantasy / Dystopian-ish / YA | First in a Series

Every generation triplets are born, each girl having a special ability. One is a poisoner, one is a naturalist, and the other is an elemental. They are split up to develop their gifts as young children, for when they are 16 they must battle to the death to determine the one true queen. This book is like The Hunger Games but with magic. Holy Toledo. The poisoner stuff is super awesome, and it ends in a crazy crazy twisty way. The sequel was just released and I've got it on hold at the library!

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (AKA JK Rowling)

4 Stars | Mystery | First in a Series but could read as stand-alone

A slow burn mystery with an intriguing detective that you can't help but feel for. It takes a while to get his backstory, but I'd rather read that slowly than not care about the lead character, you know? The mystery was detailed enough that I didn't know what would happen, and I wasn't bored.

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia*

4.5 Stars | Urban Fantasy /  Crime Drama / Dystopian / YA | Stand Alone

Don't write this one off because it has vampires. I'm serious. It's more about the dynamics between police/gangs/vampires in Mexico City. The world building is so crazy. It's a bit dystopian, and it's just fascinating! I loved that some of the characters had questionable motivation/alignment as well. Are they good? Are they bad? Are they doing the best they can in a tough situation?

Scarlet Trilogy by A.C. Gaughan

4.5 Star Series | Historical Fiction / Fairy Tale Retelling / YA | First in a Series

This series follows Robin Hood and his band of men, as they steal from the rich and give to the poor. However, one of his men is not a man at all. Scarlet disguises herself as Will Scarlet. When a thief catcher is hired from London, Scarlet knows just who he is, and just what it will mean for Nottingham. These read like action-packed historical fiction, and I loved the twist of Scarlet along with Rob's gang. This series does not falter, start to finish it is great to read. There isn't any magic in this one, it's just based on the original story.

Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin

4 Star Series | Psychological Thriller / Paranormal Elements / YA | Series

These books follow Mara Dyer. She wakes up in a mental hospital not knowing how she got there, or that she's the only one who survived a building's collapse. Her friends are dead, her family is scared, so they move to Florida to start a new life. However, this is just the beginning of Mara's journey. I thought this trilogy was very suspenseful and interesting. You never know what is going on, which is a lot of fun. Each book has a bit of a different feel to it. The last one was not quite as strong as the others. There was a weak patch, but overall I still enjoyed the series a lot. There is a spin-off series coming out soon, which I am interested in reading. Please give it to me Netgalley!! :)

Anna and the French Kiss Series by Stephanie Perkins

4 Star Series | Contemporary / YA / Romance | First in a series but could read as a standalone

Each book is about a different quirky high school girl, and the boy that catches her interest. These don't really hinge on one another, but there are some little overlaps within the books/characters. The last one was by far my favorite, but I think I just related to those characters more than the others. While I don't generally gravitate toward books that take place in high school, these felt different because they were more about their other experiences, and were also set in interesting settings like Paris and San Francisco. They were all really cute. I highly recommend if you enjoy contemporary YA, these are super feel-good.

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

5 Stars | Contemporary / YA | Might be a series someday...? Can read as standalone.

This book follows Willowdean, a "self-proclaimed fat girl," living in Texas with her former pageant queen mother. This book is a sweet coming of age novel, with body positivity to-boot. I can tell you that I am not overly interested in pageants, Texas, high school set books, etc. but this book was fantastic. It oozes charm, the characters are colorful, and it makes you root for everyone involved.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

4 Star Series | Sci-Fi / Dystopian / Fairy Tale Retelling | Series

This series is set in the future where the Earth and the moon (Luna) are inhabited. Androids live among humans, there is an epidemic sweeping the Earth, and tensions are high between Earth and Luna. These books follow 4 heroines as they fight for a better world. These are based upon the fairy tales Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White respectively. I have not read the companion short stories, etc. yet, but I really enjoyed the series. And that's saying something because I don't normally love Sci-Fi.

What are some books you read last year that have stuck with you? I'd love to know!

HOW DO YOU RATE #.5 STAR BOOKS?!?!?! Do you round them up?!

XO,

Alexandra

*This title was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. These reviews are my own opinion, and based on the edition of the book I was given at the time. Thank you Netgalley!

12 Witchy Reads for Halloween // Bookworm

Hi Friends!

I've been posting a ton about liking darker movies, music, etc. in the fall. Well, books are no exception, and this year I am getting really into books about witches.

From historical fiction and magical realism, to urban fantasy and YA, there are so many good options!

All of these are on my TBR or Read lists!

*all ratings and synopses are from goodreads*

1) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - 3.98 on goodreads

Synopsis: A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. 

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. 

For those who enjoy this book, this is the first book in a trilogy.

2) Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - of course! - 4.42 on goodreads

Synopsis: Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.

Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.

Also a series, but you knew that! My sister and a close friend recently started reading this series for the first time, eep! :)

3) Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz - 3.51 on goodreads

See my review, here.

Synopsis: The three Beauchamp women--Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid--live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret--they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

This book is a series, and a (so far, imho) even better TV show. 

4) The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare - 3.96 on goodreads

Synopsis: Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft!

5) Chocolat by Joanne Harris - 3.94 on goodreads

See my review, here.

Synopsis: Greeted as "an amazement of riches ... few readers will be able to resist" by The New York Times, Chocolat is an enchanting novel about a small French town turned upside down by the arrival of a bewitching chocolate confectioner, Vianne Rocher, and her spirited young daughter.

For those who enjoy this book, this is the first book in a series.

6) The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston - 3.53 on goodreads

Synopsis: My name is Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, and my age is three hundred and eighty-four years. Each new settlement asks for a new journal, and so this Book of Shadows begins.

In the spring of 1628, the Witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true Witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate at the hands of the panicked mob: the Warlock Gideon Masters, and his Book of Shadows. Secluded at his cottage in the woods, Gideon instructs Bess in the Craft, awakening formidable powers she didn't know she had and making her immortal. She couldn't have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life.

In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life for herself, tending her garden and selling herbs and oils at the local farmers' market. But her solitude abruptly ends when a teenage girl called Tegan starts hanging around. Against her better judgment, Elizabeth begins teaching Tegan the ways of the Hedge Witch, in the process awakening memories—and demons—long thought forgotten.

Part historical romance, part modern fantasy, The Witch’s Daughter is a fresh, compelling take on the magical, yet dangerous world of Witches. Readers will long remember the fiercely independent heroine who survives plagues, wars, and the heartbreak that comes with immortality to remain true to herself, and protect the protégé she comes to love.

For those who enjoy this book, this is the first book in a series.

7) Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia - 3.76 on goodreads

Synopsis: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

For those who enjoy this book, this is the first book in a series.

8) Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen - 4.06 on goodreads

Synopsis: The women of the Waverley family -- whether they like it or not -- are heirs to an unusual legacy, one that grows in a fenced plot behind their Queen Anne home on Pendland Street in Bascom, North Carolina. There, an apple tree bearing fruit of magical properties looms over a garden filled with herbs and edible flowers that possess the power to affect in curious ways anyone who eats them. 

For nearly a decade, 34-year-old Claire Waverley, at peace with her family inheritance, has lived in the house alone, embracing the spirit of the grandmother who raised her, ruing her mother's unfortunate destiny and seemingly unconcerned about the fate of her rebellious sister, Sydney, who freed herself long ago from their small town's constraints. Using her grandmother's mystical culinary traditions, Claire has built a successful catering business -- and a carefully controlled, utterly predictable life -- upon the family's peculiar gift for making life-altering delicacies: lilac jelly to engender humility, for instance, or rose geranium wine to call up fond memories. Garden Spells reveals what happens when Sydney returns to Bascom with her young daughter, turning Claire's routine existence upside down. With Sydney's homecoming, the magic that the quiet caterer has measured into recipes to shape the thoughts and moods of others begins to influence Claire's own emotions in terrifying and delightful ways. 

As the sisters reconnect and learn to support one another, each finds romance where she least expects it, while Sydney's child, Bay, discovers both the safe home she has longed for and her own surprising gifts. With the help of their elderly cousin Evanelle, endowed with her own uncanny skills, the Waverley women redeem the past, embrace the present, and take a joyful leap into the future. 

For those who enjoy this book, this is the first book in a series.

9) Witch Child by Celia Rees - 3.79 on goodreads

Synopsis: Enter the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary's startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared? 

For those who enjoy this book, this is the first book in a series.

10) The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho - 3.51 on goodreads

Synopsis: How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves—even if we are unsure of whom we are?

That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho's profound new work, The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well—or hardly at all.

11) The Keeper of the Crystal Spring by Naomi & Deborah Baltuck - 4.08 on goodreads

Synopsis: The year is 1086, twenty years after the Norman Conquest, and the new Norman lords are squeezing their Saxon subjects mercilessly. To survive, the townspeople of Enmore Green band together under the wise leadership of Father Edmund and Sirona, the local seeress who is teaching the healing arts to her foster daughter, Aldyth. Beautiful, sensitive, and feisty, Aldyth has decided not to marry but instead to dedicate her life to serving the Goddess of the Crystal Spring.Her decision is complicated, though, by her companion in the resistance movement -- a sexy Robin Hood figure who has vowed to win her. She also attracts the attention of Gandulf -- the son of the hated Norman lord -- a gentle handsome man who, despite his upbringing, has an affinity for his Saxon subjects. Their tempestuous love triangle is played out against the turbulence of Saxon and Norman life and is dramatically resolved when a mysterious stranger reveals to Gandulf a secret from his past that will change everyone's future.

12) Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - 3.95 on goodreads

Synopsis: In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

For those who enjoy this book, this is the first book in a (new!) series.


What are you reading this Halloween?

Have you read any of these books?

Let's be friends on goodreads!

XO,

Alexandra