My Most Anticipated Releases of April, May & June!

Part 2 of my 2022 anticipated releases list is here! This time my list is comprised of only sequels or books by authors I’ve already read – and mostly it’s a mix of romance and middle grade, so I’m definitely more likely to read these.

Looking back at my first list of anticipated releases for January-March, I’m definitely less excited about a few of them, but I still think I’ll read most eventually. As for my progress, I’ve read 4 of 12 and still have arcs to read for another 2.

Reading Challenge: 22 Romance Novels to Read in 2022

One of the few reading challenges I set myself for this year was to read even more romance, by exploring certain tropes or discovering new authors. I took the typical “X books to read in 20XX” type of challenge and just modified it slightly to fit my needs and I’m actually really excited about doing this, though I hadn’t had the chance to share it until now.

ARC Review: You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

Goodreads // TWO FRIENDS
TEN SUMMER TRIPS
THEIR LAST CHANCE TO FALL IN LOVE

12 SUMMERS AGO: Poppy and Alex meet. They hate each other, and are pretty confident they’ll never speak again.

11 SUMMERS AGO: They’re forced to share a ride home from college and by the end of it a friendship is formed. And a pact: every year, one vacation together.

10 SUMMERS AGO: Alex discovers his fear of flying on the way to Vancouver.
Poppy holds his hand the whole way.

7 SUMMERS AGO: They get far too drunk and narrowly avoid getting matching tattoos in New Orleans.

2 SUMMERS AGO: It all goes wrong.

THIS SUMMER: Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. A trip that will determine the rest of their lives. You and Me on Vacation is a love story for fans of When Harry Met Sally and One Day. Get ready to travel the world, snort with laughter and – most of all – lose your heart to Poppy and Alex.

April Wrap Up !

We have come to the end of yet another month. April didn’t go as I expected at all, if I’m being honest but I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed or frustrated with myself for not meeting my goals. It was still a great month in many aspects and I felt better than I did in March, both emotionally and physically. 

First of all, I read:

1. The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry ( 4 stars
2. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch ( 4 stars )
3. Rebel of The Sands by Alwyn Hamilton ( 5 stars ) 

Rebel of The Sands was definitely my favorite of the month, though The Love That Split The World is close. Both of them surpassed my expectations by a long shot. They were unpredictable, funny, heartwarming, with strong, intelligent female characters. Rebel of The Sands was exciting and magical and so unpredictable. I loved the characters, the universe, the concepts and mythology…. I loved everything about it! (Full review to come soon!)

Secondly, in regards to my writing – I didn’t write nearly as much as I wanted, but the thing is I did write. I hadn’t done that in a really long time, and I think I hadn’t realized how much I missed it. The problem with writing isn’t really that I don’t know what to write, or that I don’t want to write, but starting is really hard for me. I’ve always been very self-conscious and insecure about it, I guess, and sometimes I need to give myself a little motivation to get over myself and just do what I love. (Silly, right?) 

Thirdly, relaxing and resting is very important to me. (Yes, I would say that I’m lazy but this isn’t about that.) I’ve never been one to pull an all-nighter to study – or for anything else. My mind doesn’t work the same way when I’m stressed or sleep-deprived and although I do manage to get a lot of writing done at night, I’m definitely a morning person who likes to sleep at least 8 hours a night. Easter Holiday was really good for me, as you can imagine, since I mostly slept more than that and I didn’t really have much to worry about as this wasn’t a month with a lot of school work. Also, I’ve been listening to EXO and BTS a lot and I’m loving them, and their rythms, and the music videos…

So, maybe I didn’t read or write a lot and I watched a lot of tv or took naps, but I still feel good about April. 

Review: The Love That Split The World

The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry

• stand-alone novel
• Read: April 3 – 5, 2017
• Rating: 4.5 stars 

[Goodreads]: 

Natalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves.

Natalie’s last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start… until she starts seeing the “wrong things.” They’re just momentary glimpses at first—her front door is red instead of its usual green, there’s a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn’t right.

That’s when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls “Grandmother,” who tells her: “You have three months to save him.” The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it’s as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau.

Book Order (Jan 24)

I know I said I was going to read the books I already own before buying new ones but my mom still hasn’t given me my Christmas books and she said she was going to order something for herself with paypal so she might as well buy my books now. So I just couldn’t let this opportunity go I guess. But this time I’m ordering books I don’t normally read and more stand-alone novels than series. (I’m really, really, really!! excited about all of these!)

 

The Wrath & The Dawn – Renée Ahdieh : Goodreads 

Rebel of The Sands – Alwyn Hamilton  : Goodreads 

More Happy Than Not – Adam Silvera   : Goodreads

 

The Love That Split The World – Emily Henry : Goodreads

Fangirl  – Rainbow Rowell : Goodreads

Eleanor & Park – Rainbow Rowell : Goodreads

Dark Matter – Blake Crouch : Goodreads

All of these books have different processing/shipping times but with an average of 3 days for processing, these books should arrive or should start arriving after the 6th of February (because the shipping time for Europe is 4 – 8 business days). The last time I predicted my book’s arrival I was spot on, so hopefully there won’t be any processing/shipping issues and every book will be here on time and in pristine condition. 

Ordering books from the Book Depository has always worked out for me but someone I know from tumblr had a bad experience the first time she ordered books through there. One of her books arrived and the other four just never came and she never found out what happened to them. She emailed BD and they gave her the money back but she just gave up on it. It kind of makes me sad because she’s missing out on the free shipping and all the great and constant discounts. My mom ordered a book once that never came and we emailed BD and they sent another copy so even though sometimes problems occur, BD is pretty good and reasonable at solving them. If you receive a copy in bad shape you can email them and they’ll sent you another one, by the way. (I wish I had known that when one of my books came in really bad conditions once). 

Book Depository and everyone that works there is amazing and it’s something I’d love to do some day, I think. (To work at a book store in general, not just BD specifically. Besides being surrounded by books I’d probably have employee discount!)