March TBR and Wrap-Up

My Jane Austen book for the months of March and April is Northanger Abbey. I did not finish reading Mansfield Park, so I'm still going to be tackling that book. But out of all of her books that's the book that least intrigues me and I hit a reading slump during the second half of the month because I read so many books back to back in such a short period of time - mind you, most of the books were novellas, but still.

My prompt for the month is to read a book that starts with a K, so I picked Sarah Dessen's Keeping the Moon. Like the above challenge. I failed my challenge prompt for the month of February, so I will also be trying to finish that, but since I am moving out of February, I am no longer going to make sure that it is also a romance novel.

I didn't really read any of the books that I thought I would pick up. Although, I did complete two books that I went into February that I had already started. There will be a handful of books that I will be going into March already started, but I honestly don't know whether I will end up picking those ones up to complete or not, except for one: Night is Watching because I'm already 75% done with the book. Two nonfiction books that I would love to read this month are From Broken Glass (Holocaust prompt challenge book) and Unbelievable. I really want to finish Come Tumbling Down so that I can get to Across the Green Grass Fields, which is one of my anticipated releases. Like I am unofficially trying to tackle all of April Henry's books, I am also doing the same for Natalie D. Richards books this year. There are also a couple of audiobooks I have to listen to so I'm hoping to at least get to two of them: 

During the month of February I completed a total of 15 books. I had initially planned to conquer some Contemporary Romance novels, but the first week of February, I ended up picking up a paranormal romance book, Wolf Signs, and then quickly completed the remainder of that series. Still in the mood for some shifter romance, I picked up a short story and novel by Christine Warren. My mood for this particular paranormal romance faded.

And I wanted to read some paranormal romance that was on the ghostly side with romantic suspense. Presenting Tonya Kappes's Ghostly Southern Mystery series and Heather Graham to fulfill this reading mood.

Which then led me to reading romantic suspense, without that paranormal touch. I am really enjoying this series by Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh - my initial goal had been to finish the entire collection and it just didn't happen.

I also finally finished the prompt challenge book from the month of January.

Taking a Peek Inside the Box: Winter Wishes Box from Owlcrate

Since the book is mentioned in the title card of this box because this was a limited edition box, I'm going to mention it first in this "Taking a Peek" post. The book of the box is Universe of Wishes, which is a YA Anthology that is a collection of short stories. The image on the left is the cover of the edition included in this box, and the cover on the right is the original. Personally, I am a huge fan of the edition in the box, and think the white background makes the imagery on the cover stand out more.

So I believe this box was released before Christmas originally, and included in the box was two gift bags, shown above. They have a cute winter appearance with snowflakes, books, and quills. The bags were created by Janine Lecour. You can check out her instagram at this link: @janinelecour.

If you've gotten an Owlcrate subscription box before, you would be familiar with Riddle's Tea Shoppe. I have had some of tea created by them before and I really liked it. The loose leaf tea that was made exclusively for this box was Waking from a Thaw, which has peppermnit, chocolate, and decaf tea. Sadly, I am not that excited for this tea because I am not a huge fan of peppermint. Along with the tea, there is a Stainless Steel Coffee/Tea Spoon, which doubles as a bag clip.

To enjoy the tea that was included in this box, we have a ceramic mug that was desinged by Lady Chubb Letters, and inspired by Spinning Silver. I really love the color of the mug, and I really like mugs with book quotes. The quote on this mug is as follows: "One day the wind would blow, & the temperature would drop, & in the middle of the night, a frost would creep over my threshold".

The next thing included in this box was a Vanilla Buttercream candle. This is probably one of my favorite things in this box because i love Vanilla scented anything. It was made by NaturalAnnie Essentials, and is inspired by Girls Made of Snow and Glass. This smells absolutely delicious and I cannot wait to burn it.

A bookish item that I really love getting is enamel pins. I have a banner (from Owlcrate) where I display them all, and I love it. This pin was designed by Icey Designs and complements the exclusive cover for this book.

The last thing in this box is a gel eye mask. I have a couple of sleep masks from book boxes, but this is the first gel eye mask I have received. I can't wait to test this out, but if you chill it before use, it helps to reduce the appearance of puffiness and dark circles which I need because I work late hours and then come home and have trouble falling asleep. It was created by Studio Kyra, and features a quote from the book, Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: "She has counted time in seconds, and in seasons, in cold snaps and in thaws, in uprisings and in aftermaths".

These pictures were not the most exciting, but it was a kind of last minute decision to do this themed post on my blog, and I wanted to get it up sooner rather than later because, technically, I'm already late and I also got it during February so I wanted to post it in February.

Taking a Peek Inside the Box

 So I'm going to start something new on my blog, which is going to be a "Taking a Peek Inside the Box", which essentially is going to take place of a Unboxing, which I can't do on my blog for obvious reasons, but I still want to share with those who follow my blog some of the boxes I get. I'm currently not subscribed to any box, and most of the boxes I do open are usually previous months boxes just because I have really decided to commit to one subscription box yet, and can't afford to subscribe to all of the boxes that I do get. Occasionally, I can get multiple, but it all depends monthly.

I am going to link below some of my favorite subscription boxes for you to check out if you don't already know them.

Owlcrate

Once Upon a Book Box

Beacon Book Box

If I do buy any boxes during the month, they will be posted on the last Saturday of the month.

Waiting on Wednesday: 2021 March Scheduled Releases

March does not have a lot of books that I am planning on reading this year. It just doesn't seem to be the month where anything I want to read is coming out, except for the one listed below.

=

I will say there are a few other books that I am interested in reading, but the biggest problem is that they were sequels to books that I want to read but haven't yet - so they aren't really anticipated novels for me. There were a few others that I was kinda like, maybe I might read that, but sadly March is not the month for me - but that might give me time to catch up on any outstanding January and February books.

Tag Tuesday: Romance Book Tag

 Romance Book Tag

I saw this tag on Bookables channel on youtube, although she is not the original creator. I don't know who the original creator is.

1. What is the first romance you remember reading? The first romance  that I can remember reading is between The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I read both of these books my 8th grade year. Twilight was really popular around that time at my school - everyone was reading it, and the Nicholas Sparks book I read for an English assignment. These were probably not the first - I probably had read some YA contemporary romances prior to these, but these ones really stand out to me.

2. What is the last romance you read? The last romance I read is three of the four books in the Rogue River series: On Her Father's Grave, Gone to Her Grave, and Her Grave Secrets. This novella series is written by Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh. And I'm so glad I stumbled upon this series because I absolutely love it, and hope to be done with the entire Solitude, Oregon collection before this month is over.

3. What is the romance you are most likely to recommend to a newbie? I would probably recommend a contemporary romance even though personally they aren't my favorite to read, but they tend to be cute and fluffy. One of my all time favorite contemporary romance authors is Kasie West, so I would most likely recommend one of her novels.

4. What is the romance you are most likely to recommend to another romance reader? For this I would probably recommend one of my favorite paranormal romance authors and that is Heather Graham. I really enjoy the Krewe of Hunters series, but there are other series she has written that I enjoy and some standalones.

5. What is an underrated romance you wish more people would read? I'm going to give two books for this answer, both under 4000 reviews per Goodreads. They are Falling for Autumn by Heather Topham Wood and Perfect Opposite by Zoya Tessi. I was completely hooked by both of these books, and I even stayed up all night to finish Falling for Autumn. I also never hear anything about them on Booktube or any other place that I go for recommendations or reviews.

6. What is an overrated romance you wish people would stop talking about? So this might be a little bit of a biased response because I haven't completed any of her books (only started), but I have a friend who has read all of her books multiple times - and then I see it everywhere I look, and that is Colleen Hoover books. But this is really the only answer I have because I don't tend to read a lot of popular romances or at least not any that I really see talked about on Booktube or elsewhere. Not because I'm avoiding them, but I feel like the majority of really popular romance books are contemporary romance, which I tend to typically avoid because that is my least favorite genre. Although, there are some exceptions as shown above.

7. Who is an auto-buy author? Anna Lee Huber. Tricia Levenseller. Kerri Maniscalco.

8. Who is an author you used to love that you've since abandoned? Nicholas Sparks. He's the only author I can think of that I loved his books, and now I just really have no desire to read anymore. I might try to give his books another try and catch up on all the ones that I haven't read.

9. What is your favorite trope? Enemies to Lovers. Fake Relationships. Marriage of Convenience. Forbidden Love.

I love romances that bloom unexpectedly or romances that "shouldn't" be happening. For whatever reason, I don't tend to like seeing Marriage of Convenience in contemporary novels, but I love it in historical fiction or fantasy. It just doesn't sit well for me when reading modern day novels.

10. What is the best book with your favorite trope? One of my favorite books with the enemies to lovers trope is Shelby Mahurin's Serpent and Dove, a favorite fake relationship book is Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West, a Marriage of Convenience occurs in Shadow Music by Julie Garwood (which is the only book I have surprisingly read by her considering how much I enjoyed this novel), and finally, a forbidden love novel would be Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Although I will say, Serpent and Dove hit all of my favorite tropes except for the fake relationship trope - maybe that's why I absolutely loved it!

11. What is a book you didn't like even though it has your favorite trope? So the only trope that is a favorite of mine that I have read books that I didn't like is the forbidden love trope. Two books that I don't like that fall under this trope are Ronit & Jamil by Pamela L. Laskin and Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry.

12. What is your most hated trope? Love Triangles. Accidental Pregnancy. Widower.

I can't stand love triangles, most often I feel like they serve no purpose for the advancement of the plot, and personally feel like they take away from time that could be devoted to the development of the characters, the plot, or the romance between two characters. I don't mind pregnancy in novels, but I'm not the hugest fan of the pregnancy being the reason for the romance. This might make me sound horrible, but I don't tend to like romances between a widower and someone, especially if there are children.

13. What is a book you liked even though it has the trope you hate? So a series with a love triangle that I love is C. C. Hunter's Shadow Falls series, and a book with an accidental pregnancy and a modern marriage of convenience from said pregnancy is Blue Skies by Catherine Anderson. One that I recently read and loved that fits the Widower trope would be Baby, I'm Howling for You by Christine Warren.

14. What is your problematic favorite? So I feel that this answer could be considered problematic by some readers out there - and I do want to preface this by saying that I feel there is a right way and a wrong way to handle this. But a problematic favorite concept in romance books that I actually like is overprotective guys - not possessive or controlling guys (and I am aware that overprotective could be borderline possessive - which is why there are reasons that I don't mind this concept and there are reasons that I do mind it). Usually in situations where there is danger. I do want to say that I'm NOT for the idea that women are damsels in distress and need rescuing, but I also don't mind someone who wants to keep their loved one safe even if it's a little overprotective. I'm all for a guy wanting to be a hero as long as he's aware that the women doesn't NEED him to rescue her.

I do want to give an example to situations where I don't mind it, but it's pretty restrictive to this. I also had a discussion with another reader who argued that this could be considered protective, and not overprotective, which might be the case, but I think it's goes a little above protective. 

My example is going to be from Baby, I'm Howling for You, so VAGUE MAYBE SPOILERS if you haven't already read the book. Although, I will try to keep it as vague as possible.

Renny, our heroine, is being stalked by a group of men and her life is in constant danger throughout the novel. Mick, our hero, wants to protect her, so he wants her by his side at all times or under protection from the police. He doesn't like when she puts herself in danger, but he doesn't prevent her from living, or going out and doing things. To me, this is overprotection, but I don't mind this overprotection when its driven by the desire to protect and by love, instead of domineering and controlling.

15. What is a book everyone else loved that has you scratching your head? I have a few books I'm going to mention for various reasons to why I'm putting them here. The first because the overall average rating on Goodreads is over 4, which is honestly really surprising to me; and that is Embrace by Jessica Shirvington (but I wouldn't really consider it exceptionally popular). The next two books because they aren't rated super high, more average on Goodreads, but I've heard a lot of people raving about them or talking highly on Booktube; and those are the anthology, Meet Cute, and Daniel Handler's Why We Broke Up. The last book is a classic play, called Romeo and Juliet, and if you might already be aware of how much I hate this story.

16. Who is your favorite romancelandia person to follow on twitter? I don't have an answer for this question. I'm not really on twitter that often.

17. What is a place or who is a person you go for recommendations or reviews? Booktube or Goodreads. I also will give my sister's recommendations a try, but our tastes tend to differ slightly. Sadly, after one of my best friends moved away, I don't really have someone in my life that I can get recommendations from.

18. What is a book that has a character that reminds you of yourself? I'm going to go with Erin Blake from To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough. Not only is her personality a lot like mine, but her interests in forensics is very relatable to me because that is something that fascinates me, and is a potential career interest of mine. Audrey Rose from Stalking Jack the Ripper also reminds me of myself.

19. What is a romance cover you love? I'm going to go with a styles here, rather than one specific cover that I love. My all time favorite style of romance cover is the illustrated covers, and example would be Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce. Another style that I really love is the imagery or symbol covers like Tricia Levenseller's Warrior of the Wild and Kerri Maniscalco's Kingdom of the Wicked.

20. What is a book you've reread more than twice? I don't reread books - I will reread my favorite parts of books, but I never reread the entire book. The only exception to this would be the Illuninae Files because I read the physical copy of the book, and heard the audiobook was really great so I am going through that book a second time, but I don't reread.

21. What is the best romance audiobook? So I'm really glad I get to mention this series. I recently, somehow, stumbled upon a series by Tonya Kappes, and that series is Ghostly Southern Mysteries. I have been wanting to dive into cozy mysteries, and finally I did, and I am so glad that this was the series I picked up. It's not heavy on romance, but it has the most romance out of the audiobooks I've read. I also really enjoyed There's Someone Inside Your House, which has some romance in it also. If you want a touch of romance in your books, these two I would highly recommend. Although, they are very different - like I mentioned Ghostly Southern Mysteries is a cozy mystery series that has a southern edge to it, while There's Someone Inside Your House is a slasher-thriller (soon to be adapted to Netflix - can't wait!).

22. What is the best romance/romcom movie? Like with books, I tend not to gravitate toward romance-centric movies, but a few that I absolutely love would be Emma adaptations (I've seen a few), Northanger Abbey, and Leap Year.

23. Who is your favorite heroine? So many of the books listed above have favorite heroine's of mine, but to give you a different answer than repeating a book listed above. A favorite heroine of mine would be Natalia from Playing with Fire by April Henry. I find her strength to be encouraging as she overcomes a lot throughout the novel.

24. Who is your favorite hero? As with the last question, there are many heros from the above books that I could put down, but I'm going to go with one that I haven't mentioned who was probably one of my first favorite heros, and that is Tarver from These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.

25. What is your all time favorite romance? My all time favorite romance series would be the Lady Darby Mystery series by Anna Lee Huber, but my all time favorite romance standalone would be Julie Berry's WWI novel, Lovely War. This book tore me up, and I recommend it every chance I get because of how amazing it was written, between the way the story unfolds and is told, and the characters you connect with throughout the novel.