Three reasons why I absolutely refuse to read A Song of Ice and Fire

Listen, you guys, I love Game of Thrones! It's one of my absolute favorite shows and I'm as devastated as the next person that season nine isn't coming out this year. That being said, I absolutely will not read A Song of Ice and Fire. So you may be asking, "Tracy, if you love the story so much, why won't you read the series? The source material is always better!" Usually I would wholeheartedly agree! While I actually don't think the book is always better (see: The Lord of the Rings fight me), I do usually prefer to read the source material when I plan to watch, or have already watched, a movie or show based on a book or series. I actually...

Top Ten Tuesday #172: Books I can't believe I liked

Today's Topic:  Ten Five Books I Can’t  Believe I Read (and Liked) Okay, so... I had no idea where to go with this week's topic. I decided to pick out some books I can't believe I read and liked because they were quite far outside of my reading comfort zone. Looking for books to list actually made me realize just how little I do read outside of my comfort zone! No shame, though. I know what I like.  Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber Room by Emma Donoghue The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan Top Ten Tuesday is...

ARC Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Title: The Belles (The Belles #1)Author: Dhonielle Clayton Publication Date: February 6, 2018 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Pages: 448Add to Goodreads //I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review// Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful. But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen...

Weekly Recap: 1/21 - 1/27

TRACY'S HAPPENINGS OFF THE BLOG Happy Sunday! I am happy to report that this week was much more laid back than last week was. We started the week by taking a day trip to Epcot where we got to experience the Festival of the Arts and eat some amazing food! It was awesome, as Disney always is. I've been slowly making my way through Outlander season 3 this month and I'm hoping to finish the last two episodes tonight before our free month runs out! We've also been making it a point to get to the gym as often as possible, so hurray for being productive and healthy! Lastly, I'd like to take a minute for a shameless plug. As you probably...

Saturday Screen Time #9: Magic and Sharks

Hi, everyone! This was a slow week with another not great film picked by my husband and a Netflix shark movie. I didn't hate everything, so yay for that! Before we get into the movies, I'd like to say a couple words about my favorite movie websites.  I used to be an avid IMDB user until they decided to do away with the message boards. I was irritated by the decision along with a lot of other long time users and started looking elsewhere. If you ever click the links I provide, you'll notice that I link directly to Letterboxd. I have no idea how long this website has been around but I LOVE it! Although there's no discussion, there...

Series I loved, but randomly stopped reading

I love a good series! In fact, I read WAY more series than standalone books. I just love the vast worlds and story arcs that come with a three or four book series and often feel let down when a story only lasts 300 pages total. But sometimes when I browse my shelves I find books that I'd kind of forgotten were there... Books I just pass right over when I'm looking for something to read. I'm not talking about series that had unenjoyable first installments! Today I'm talking about those series (and we all have them!) that you just put on the back burner and completely forget about. Here are five series I started reading, really enjoyed, and randomly...

Audiobook Review: None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Title: None of the Above Author: I.W. Gregorio Publication Date: April 7, 2015Publisher: Balzer + BrayPages: 328Add to Goodreads A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex... and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between. What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant? When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion...

Top Ten Tuesday #171: Books I love but don't remember

Today's Topic:  Ten Books I Really Liked but  Can’t Remember Anything About This week's topic was so much fun! I got to go back through my Goodreads account and find so many books I'd forgotten about! For today I picked ten books that I know I read and rated 4 or 5 stars on Goodreads, but don't remember anything about.  The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory Children in the Night by Harold Myra The Crown of Eden by Thomas Williams The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan Deception Point by Dan Brown Enclave by Ann Aguirre Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn Od...

ARC Review: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Title: The Hazel Wood Author: Melissa Albert Publication Date: January 30, 2018Publisher: Flatiron BooksPages: 368Add to Goodreads Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message...

Weekly Recap: 1/14 - 1/20

TRACY'S HAPPENINGS OFF THE BLOG Happy Sunday, everyone! This week was... a lot. Monday started exciting because my husband and I were getting ready to celebrate our 5th anniversary at Disney World for three nights! We don't get to go away very often because we have three dogs, but we'd been planning this trip forever and had hired a dog sitter. Unfortunately, we had some serious communication issues with our sitter and ended up coming home Tuesday night instead of Thursday morning. It was extremely stressful and caused probably the worst anxiety attack of my life, but we were able to make the most of it and head back Wednesday evening...

Saturday Screen Time #8: Remakes all around

Happy Saturday, everyone! This week I got roped into watching two remakes by my husband. One I ended up really liking and the other was even worse than I expected it to be! THIS WEEK IN FILM Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - This Jumanji remake/sequel had me a little scared to buy a ticket for a couple reasons: I loved the original and I wasn't positive how the video game aspects would work out. But my husband dragged me to see it and I'm happy to report that I did enjoy it a lot! I hadn't realized this wasn't a straight remake. Instead, it picked up right where the original Jumanji left off and there were little nods to the original...

ARC Review: The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye

Title: The Crown's Fate (The Crown's Game #2) Author: Evelyn Skye Publication Date: May 16, 2017Publisher: Balzer + BrayPages: 415 Add to Goodreads Review for book 1 Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected. Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position...

Top Ten Tuesday #170: Bookish goals

Today's Topic:  Top Ten Bookish Resolutions/Goals Here we are a few weeks into 2018 and we're talking about bookish resolutions! I already kind of did this a couple weeks ago, but why not do it again, I guess? Like I've mentioned before, 2017 was a rough reading year, so some of my goals just center around actually reading.  Read 75 books Complete the three challenges I've signed up for Actually take time to read every day Finish and review all the ARCs that are sent to me Force myself to read House of Leaves Complete my incomplete Harry Potter collections Find some awesome new graphic novels Donate/give away the ARCs...

Audiobook Review: And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

Title: And the Trees Crept In Author: Dawn Kurtagich Publication Date: September 6, 2016Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young ReadersPages: 352Add to Goodreads Stay away from the woods… When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt’s home, it’s immediately clear that the manor is cursed. The endless creaking of the house at night and the eerie stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too—questions that Silla can’t ignore: Why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer? Who is the beautiful boy who’s appeared from the woods? And who is the tall man with...

Weekly Recap: 1/7 - 1/13

TRACY'S HAPPENINGS OFF THE BLOG Hi, everyone! I hope everyone's had a fantastic week! Mine has been a bit busy, but luckily I've actually had a bit of time to read! Not much has happened around the blog, but I feel good about the year so far. This week I got a couple new books from a friend who was going to be donating and was nice enough to let me have first pick. I also made a couple trades and FINALLY got my hands on an ARC of Waking Gods for my collection!! NEW BOOKS THIS WEEK    THIS WEEK I READ   MC'S HAPPENINGS OFF THE BLOG Hi, everyone! This week was incredibly uneventful and pretty...