Monthly Wrap-Up: August ’20

I was determined to come back to blogging on a more regular basis in August and I only kind of succeeded. I am currently working on all my posts for Latinx Heritage Month and might end up taking another break afterwards. This month I participated in #ARCAugust and did better than I thought I would. I still have a couple I need to get to over the next couple of weeks, but I am feeling confident. In total I read nine books this month which I have not done in forever. Several of these were rereads for the #MeteorShowerReadathon and can I just say how soothing it was to pick up so many rereads? On a very personal note, I might not reply to comments for the next couple of days. Today marks one year since my brother passed and I might need a couple days away. Thank you for your understanding.

Keep yourself up to date with what is happening worldwide, check out the carrd here.

(Book covers below are linked to my reviews, unless otherwise specified.) 

Favorite Book This Month:

Y’all, this book. Y’all, this book was everything. I am so in love with Aiden Thomas’s Cemetery Boys. You ever start a book and just know right away it’s going to end up being a favorite? I loved the characters in this one, the setting, and the magical system. Click on the cover to read my review. Buy it. Check it out from your library. You won’t regret it.

Least Favorite Book This Month:

No book received lower than three stars from me.

Reviews Posted This Month:

Read, Review Coming Soon:

(covers linked to Goodreads)

Also, I am giving away an ARC of Furia on Twitter. Today is the last day to enter. If you are interested, you can find my tweet here. US only.

Notable Blog Posts This Month + Looking Ahead:

ARC August 2020: The TBR – I got through about half of the books on my list which I am going to count as a win considering I was also doing a lot of rereading this month.

Talk Chisme to Me: August Releases by Latinx Authors – I have been doing these monthly recaps of what books are being released by Latinx authors. This will be my last for the year as I will be doing a new and upcoming releases post for Latinx Heritage Month which will highlight books coming out through the end of 2020 and through 2021.

Book Lists: Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2020 – Take a look at the releases for the second half I am excited for.

Book Club/Readathon News:

Meteor Shower Readathon – I am continuing with this readathon. This week we are reading Anna-Marie McLemore’s latest novel, Dark and Deepest Red, and then we will be tackling Tehlor Kay Mejia’s novels. Check out our Twitter account here for all the details.

Latinx Book Club – The Latinx Book Club will be reading By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery for the upcoming Latinx Heritage Month. Get your hands on a copy so you can join us on the 15th! Find us on Twitter here and on Goodreads here.

What I Watched/Am Watching:

Lovecraft Country – I am an episode behind on this but I am absolutely loving this new series. It’s weird and eerie and is exactly what I am craving right now.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay – I finally finished The King: Eternal Monarch and have moved on to It’s Okay Not to Be Okay. I am only like two episodes in but oh my gosh, I can already tell it’s going to be so addicting.

September Releases I’m Excited For:

Are you excited for Latinx Heritage Month? What’s your most anticipated release for the second half of 2020? Let me hear from you in the comments and feel free to leave me a link to your own wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to visit!

Monthly Wrap-Up: July ’20

July, where did you go? I took a hiatus in June and remained on a semi-hiatus in July, hoping to feel renewed come August. Friends, I am still feeling a little run down, so please be patient with me this month as I try to come back to blogging. This month I read six books which is what I am averaging these days. I’m focusing on looking ahead because September promises to be extremely busy for me and therefore, I’m going to spend August preparing myself for all the events coming up.

Keep yourself up to date with what is happening worldwide, check out the carrd here.

(Book covers below are linked to my reviews, unless otherwise specified.) 

Favorite Book This Month:

My favorite read in July was Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land. I spent most my time reading crying my eyes out, but it was incredibly moving and a story that will stay with me for a very long time. Review coming soon. Cover linked to Goodreads.

Least Favorite Book This Month:

Oh, Wilder Girls, I wanted to like you, I really did, but your plot just fell really flat for me.

Reviews Posted This Month:

Read, Review Coming Soon:

Notable Blog Posts This Month + Looking Ahead:

2020 Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag – Take a look at some of my favorite books so far this year.

2020 Second Quarter Book Haul: My Library Was Closed, You See… – I might have bought a little too much this quarter.

Book Club/Readathon News:

Meteor Shower Readathon – I have the pleasure of being one of the hosts for the Meteor Shower Readathon, dedicated to reading the collected works of Anna-Marie McLemore and Tehlor Kay Mejia. We will be concluding the readathon with Miss Meteor. This readathon starts today and runs through the very beginning of October. Check out our Twitter account here for all the details.

What I Watched/Am Watching:

The Baby-Sitters Club: – I am still trying to finish up various series, but I did watch the new adaptation of The Baby-Sitters Club. I really enjoyed it and even cried a couple of times. I love how they’ve updated the series and am in dire need of a second season. Claudia was always my favorite as a kid, but I always knew I was a Mary Ann at heart. This time around, I think Dawn is my favorite.

August Releases I’m Excited For:

What readathons have you been participating in this summer? What’s your most highly anticipated August release? Let me hear from you in the comments and feel free to leave me a link to your own wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to visit!

Monthly Wrap-Up: June ’20

June ended with me taking a much needed break from blogging. In truth, I am still not ready to come back and after thinking on it, I’ve decided that for the rest of July I’m going to only make the occasional post. I have a couple of ARC reviews that need to go up including a blog tour I am participating in. I might put together a book haul post, but other than that, I don’t have any solid posting plans for the month. Come August, I hope that I feel refreshed and ready to jump back into blogging on a more regular schedule.

Links you should check out:

Black Lives Matter carrd

What’s Happening in the Philippines

Help Palestine carrd

(Book covers below are linked to my reviews, unless otherwise specified.) 

Favorite Book This Month:

I had several four-star reads in June, but my favorite of which was Claire Kann’s If It Makes You Happy. Kann writes such wonderful MCs. I have such a special place in my heart for Alice from her debut Let’s Talk About Love, but Winnie from this one has also dug her way into my heart. Cover linked to Goodreads.

Least Favorite Book This Month:

No read received less than three stars.

Reviews Posted This Month:

Mexican Gothic is a New York Times Bestseller!!!!! Sorry, had to add this because Silvia Moreno-Garcia deserves this and I am so happy for her.

Read, Review Coming Soon:

Notable Blog Posts This Month + Looking Ahead:

Talk Chisme to Me: Upcoming June Releases by Latinx Authors – Check out my list of books by Latinx authors that were released last month. Also, my July list is also up which you can read here.

Cover Reveal: Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria – I hosted my first ever cover reveal last month! I feel so humbled to have been able to do this. I am such a fan of Destiny Soria’s books and am so stoked for her third novel about dragons!!!

Top Ten Tuesday: 2020 Summer Releases I’m Excited For – Take a look at fifteen books that releases this summer that I am stoked for.

Book Club News:

Latinx Book Club – We are taking a break for the rest of the summer, but are planning to come back just in time for Latinx Heritage Month. Find us online: Twitter/Goodreads.

What I Watched/Am Watching:

The King: Eternal Monarch: – K-Dramas are still my happy place. I am currently in the middle of this one and am really enjoying it. There are a couple of twists I did not see coming, so I am eager to find out how this one ends.

Pitch – I am rewatching Pitch and crying once again over the fact that we never got a second season. And how dare Kylie Bunbury and Mark-Paul Gosselaar tease us like that with that promo for the show. It’s already making me hope that maybe, just maybe, we can revive this show.

The Lovebirds – This was a really fun movie and I am so glad that it ended up on Netflix because it’s the kind of movie that is perfect to reach for during this time. Also can I just say how awesome it was to see an interracial couple who were both people of color?

July Releases I’m Excited For:

How has your reading life been going this summer? Let me hear from you in the comments and feel free to leave me a link to your own wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to visit!

Monthly Wrap-Up: May ’20

March crawled, April sprinted, and May was just kind of there. Early in the month it was my birthday which you might have guessed was a quiet affair. I wanted to read more as I limited myself to what I consumed in other forms of entertainment, but my focus wasn’t always there. I read Summer is just around the corner and I have a ton of ARC that I feel really blessed to have but am also feeling a little stressed about getting through them all while also trying to balance picking up books I want to read. My library is still closed which is starting to feel really inconvenient, especially when I want to read so much and I now have gift cards burning in my pocket. I have a couple of book club reads this month that I am very excited for and am hoping to schedule a little hiatus sometime soon. It is way overdue, but it’s hard to justify a break when you have certain posts coming up, so we will see.

Special note: If you are able, please consider donating to bail funds. Here is a link to a Twitter thread listing many around the country that you can contribute to. I want to make it abundantly clear that if you are not supporting the protests happening right now in this country, if you are pearl-clutching over “riots” and aren’t angry over what’s happening in this country to Black Americans, or your support is contingent on only “acceptable” forms of protest, we are not friends. I do not want to be your friend. Do not come to my blog and talk to me like we are friends.

(Book covers below are linked to my reviews, unless otherwise specified.) 

Favorite Book This Month:

I have been reading some incredible, chunky novels lately. Currently kicking myself for putting off Fonda Lee’s Jade City for so long. I am loving all the adult fantasy books I’ve been picking up this year and this one blew me away. I love the sibling dynamics and the fantasy elements. Will definitely be diving into the sequel soon. Review for this one coming soonish. Cover linked to Goodreads.

Least Favorite Book This Month:

No read received less than three stars.

Reviews Posted This Month:

Notable Blog Posts This Month + Looking Ahead:

Talk Chisme to Me: May Releases By Latinx Authors – Check out what books came out this month by Latinx authors!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown– I am so so so so excited for this release and can’t wait to read it.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want For My Birthday – We all can dream about getting all the books on our wishlists for our birthdays right?

Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons Why I Love Rereading Books – Yes, I love rereading books. Do you?

Book Club News:

Latinx Book Club’s June Pick – The Latinx Book Club will be reading Gabby Rivera’s Juliet Takes a Breath for Pride Month. We hope you can join us! Find us online: Twitter/Goodreads.

Accidentally In Love Book Club – Paola @ Guerrerawr on Twitter is starting a new book club this summer dedicated to reading romance books by authors of color. June’s pick will be Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai. Be sure to check out the book club’s Twitter account here and Paola’s YouTube channel here where she will be having live show at the end of the month.

What I Watched/Am Watching:

Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Goblin) – I limited my K-Drama watching to one series in May because I watched way too many in April. I liked this one but had a few hangups like the age gap between the leads. I liked the fantasy elements and really enjoyed the dynamics between the Goblin and Grim Reaper. If this had been a romance between these two, it would have been such a powerful hate to love to enemies to lovers story.

Avatar: The Last Airbender – Can you believe I have never watched this show? I am still on the first season, but am really enjoying this found family adventure.

What We Do in the Shadows: Season 2 – I love this show so much. Every episode has me in stitches. I am a couple of episodes behind season 2 but I am loving Guillermo’s arc. He is my absolute favorite.

June Releases I’m Excited For:

 

What have you been watching lately? Which June release are you most looking forward to? Let me hear from you in the comments and feel free to leave me a link to your own wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to visit!