Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Summer 2019 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!
I'm pretty notorious for not following TBRs I set for myself. However, I did read astronomically seven books from my spring TBR so maybe I can do a repeat of that and tackle most of these;

 

Mid Year Freak Out Tag

This tag is a tradition of mine, as I've done it every year since I started this blog.

I'm currently eight books ahead on my Goodreads challenge, which is set in 70 books, but I'm likely to raise that to 80 books if I manage to keep up the pace during summer. Just to give myself a bit of a challenge.

1. Best Book You've Read So Far in 2019

I've read some great books so far this year, but one series I just devoured. I flew through Renegades and continued Archenemies right after. Now I need the last book like no other.

2. Best Sequel You've Read so Far in 2019

Archenemies could easily count for this one, but I want to go with something else since I've read great sequels. Soulbound series is action packed and full of myths, and I just love it.

3. New Release You Haven't Read Yet but Want To

I got a proof copy of Boy Swallows Universe that I haven't read yet, but it's definitely high up on my TBR.

4. Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half of the Year

I got approved for The Demon World ARC yesterday and I couldn't be happier since I've been waiting for this ever since I finished with The Smoke Thieves.

5. Biggest Disappointment

I was so excited for Foreign to You and it ended up being one of the worst bury-your-gays books that I've read. Definitely not forgiving that.

6. Biggest Surprise

The Foxhole Court and especially The Raven King and The King's Men surprised me, because I didn't expect much. I ended up devouring book after book and become obsessed with the foxes. Neil Josten is a human scar museum who needs protection even though he can take care of himself.

7. Favorite New Author (Debut To You)

I've read a lot of new authors this year and I could have chosen others, but Caleb Roehrig dazzled me with his LGBT contemporary mysteries. There's secrets and murder, but also romance and yeah, I loved both of these books and can't wait for his next one.

8. Newest Fictional Crush

Logan Echolls probably doesn't count since I watched Veronica Mars TV show few years ago BUT I didn't read the books until this month so surely that counts?

9. Newest Favorite Character
Ilya Rozanov is arrogant and so full of himself but also charming and yep, Ilya gets this one.

10. Book That Made You Cry

Actually, nothing. I don't remember any book making me cry so far this year.

11. Book That Made You Happy

Finally, finally!, Taboo For You got a sequel so naturally Made For You made me super happy. It's also really uplifting book.

12. Favorite Book To Film Adaptation

Only adaptation I've both read the book and seen the film/TV show is You by Caroline Kepnes. I liked the book a lot better since they changed way too much in the show. Though actor choices were good.

13. Favorite Review You've Written This Year

I liked writing A Ferry of Bones & Gold by Hailey Turner.

14. Most Beautiful Book You've Bought This Year So Far

Alright, I'm being a bit cheeky here since all of these were proofs I got from work so technically it's the most beautiful books I've acquired this year.

15. What Book(s) Do You Need To Read by The End of The Year

My TBR is huge at the moment and there's so many I need to get as soon as possible, and here's a bunch of them.

 

Review: Mr Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas

Mr. Kiss and Tell (Veronica Mars, #2)
by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham
Published by Vintage
Mystery, contemporary

The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

I loved The Thousand Dollar Tan Line but felt like something was missing. Whatever it was, Mr. Kiss and Tell certainly had all the magic that Veronica Mars show and movie had. Veronica’s once again doing a lot of sleuthing and determined to find the truth beneath all the lies. The mystery was interesting and layered, and Veronica had to use a lot of her skills and tricks to keep up with the bad guys. The investigation of Sheriff Lamb’s corrupt department that started in the movie continued here and it was great to see that to develop and Keith do a bit investigation of his own.

There’s also a lot of familiar faces, from Eli Navarro to Leo D’Amato and anyone in between. It was entertaining to see how everyone was doing, from friend to foe. However, the best part was that Logan was back and he was more present and finally he opened up what happened to him between the last episode of third season and the movie. I just love Logan. His and Veronica’s banter has always been epic, and the relationship hasn’t changed that. They’re the ship for me and it better keep sailing.

5 of 5 stars

Add on Goodreads

ARC Review: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Heated Rivalry (Game Changers, #2)
by Rachel Reid
Published by Carina Press
LGBT, sports, contemporary, romance

Nothing interferes with Shane Hollander’s game – definitely not the sexy rival he loves to hate.

Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him – except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hook-ups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option.

Heated Rivalry surprised me. I went in expecting a sports romance with rivals to lovers – that’s the story, but it’s also so much more. For one, it spans over years, from Shane and Ilya meeting in the beginning of their respective NHL careers to present day. It’s captivating to follow their careers and relationships and to see them grow from young lads to adults in highly competitive and public platform.

What a chemistry they have! Rivals or lovers, Shane and Ilya are sizzling. Not only that, it’s easy to fall for each of them. Shane’s actually pretty shy and enjoys spending his time away from the spotlight. He’s talented on ice and has dedicated his life for hockey. He’s adorable cinnamon roll, alright, and so easy to root for. Ilya’s almost Shane’s opposite as he’s arrogant, smug and entertaining. He’s also complex and feels deeply and I just loved him. They’re great together and separately, and Reid certainly wields some sort of magic to pull all of that together. My only complain is that there could have been more hockey – or more specifically, more games played on page.

Ilya has an accent and especially after he gets drafted to NHL, he doesn’t speak English fluently. I loved how Reid included that and how it was easy to see Ilya get more fluent but still have that speech pattern that a native wouldn’t have. I haven’t seen a lot of books do this (unless it has been the bad guys who don’t speak English fluently) and it was great. I’m not a native English speaker and I was pretty fluent when I moved abroad, but I could still relate to Ilya’s struggles at times to find the right word. It made it much more realistic than just saying that Ilya had an accent.

Shortly, I truly enjoyed Heated Rivalry. It has all the elements of rivals to lovers I love, there’s hockey which is one of the only sports I somewhat follow. Incredible character chemistry and epic romance; I highly recommend this to everyone who wants a great rivals to lovers and brilliant storyline. Now, I just need a sequel because I need to know what happens next to Shane and Ilya.

5 of 5 stars

Add on Goodreads

(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!
Here's my most anticipated releases for the rest of the year; all but one are sequels for books I've loved. There are plenty of other books I'm waiting for, but they don't have expected release date other than tentative 2019, so I only included books that are likely to come out as expected publication dates have been confirmed.
Out in June - I'm excited for Christina Henry's next retelling!

 Out in July - two middle grade novels that I can't wait to read.

 Out in August - two fantasy series get sequels.

 Out in September - more fantasy, by two of my favourite authors none the less!

 Out in October - more fantasy, haha! Supernova is also my most anticipated from this list.