April in the books

I had another month of great books including several that have been sitting on my TBR list for awhile. The genres ranged from romance, literary fiction, and suspense to fantasy, historical fiction, and science fiction.

25) Wild at Heart by K.A. Tucker – 5/5 stars

I’m always a little nervous to read sequels because there’s a chance it won’t live up to the first book. But I absolutely loved Wild at Heart. Calla and Jonah were less annoying in this book and I say that lovingly. The characters had a lot of personal growth and it was fun to see Roy and Calla work together as Calla found her place in Alaska.

26) The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory – 4/5 stars

I love this universe of characters. This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for too long. It was a quick, fun, cute, and steamy read. I highly suggest The Wedding Date, The Proposal, and now The Wedding Party!

27) Beach Read by Emily Henry – 5/5 stars

I loved this book and it was my April Book of the Month pick. First of all, it’s a book about books. January and Gus are “rivals” from college creative writing classes. It made me giggle because I minored in creative writing and remember the people from workshops who were so good, but so arrogant, Fast forward several years and they are living next to each other. Enter in family loss, heartbreak, trying to find a new normal, and a writing competition and it’s just so fun and heartfelt.

28) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling – 5/5 stars

It’s so fun to reread the Harry Potter Books. This is my first reread of the Chamber of Secrets since it was published in 1999. I don’t remember loving the second book as much as the others in the series but I actually really enjoyed it. There’s so much I forgot about: Dobby, the flying car, the giant spiders, and the phoenix. All of it was *chefs kiss* perfect.

29) Oona out of Order by Margarita Montimore – 4.5/5 stars

My head is still spinning. My quick take is that this was a fun, modern, pop-cultured filled, emotional read. It’s a book about time travel, and at 19 years old Oona begins to experience her life out of order. Each year on New Year’s Eve when the clock strikes midnight, Oona travels forward or backward and could be in her 50s, 40s, 30s, or 20s. She is quite literally experiencing life out of order. I wish the book went into detail about why it happened or how she was able to warn herself, but alas, I still enjoyed it.

30) Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory – 4/5 stars

Another good one by Jasmine Guillory. This book was fun! I loved the royal aspect and the London setting. I also loved that it focused on Vivian, Maddie’s mom. I am looking forward to Party of Two, which will be out in July.

31) Long Bright River by Liz Moore – 4/5 stars

I probably would not have added this to my TBR list if I knew more about it. BUT, that being said, I’m so glad I read it. I went in blind when I saw it available as a skip-the-line copy on the Libby app. It’s a book about addiction and it’s hard to read at times. It also deals with murder and the bond of sisters. It’s not an easy read at 400+ pages of devastating material but I’m glad I read it.

32) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – 4.5/5 stars

I really liked the writing style of the book. The interview with Evelyn, how everything unfolded with Monique and then the snippets from gossip magazines – it was so good. It was a fast read and the characters were complex. I didn’t rush to this book because I wasn’t a big fan of Daisy Jones and the Six, another book by this author. But, I liked Evelyn Hugo so much more.

33) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling – 5/5 stars

I’m so glad I’m rereading this series. So far, Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite. J.K. Rowling has a talent for having a tiny detail that ends up playing a big part of the plot as a whole and I absolutely love that. I’m looking forward to rereading the Goblet of Fire because I remember it being my favorite of the series all those years ago.

34) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – 4/5 stars

I didn’t think I was going to like this book. It was slow moving for the first quarter of it and I really didn’t like Feyre. But the more the story went on I started to care about the characters and really liked reading about this world the author created. I will be reading the rest of the books in the series.

What are you reading this month?

May 2020 bullet journal layout

It’s May 1st, the sun is shining, I’m blasting some music and enjoying a day off from work.

As always, setting up my bullet journal for the month was cathartic. I decided to leave out weekly spreads because my events and to do lists are pretty small these days. So instead I added some extra space for writing in the monthly spread.

For my title page I drew some potted plants and added in some color. I decided to add a calendar page but didn’t add a task page. I also had fun filling out the “currently” sticker I found at Jo-Ann Fabrics to show what I’m currently reading, watching, doing, etc.

Next I added another mood tracker, habit tracker, and highlight section. I’ve been having fun writing down the highlight of my day for the past two months. Especially when it seems a little like every day is the same. It’s a good reminder that there is something good about every day. I’ve also enjoyed tracking my mood. I’ve realized that even if I have an off day here and there, most days have been good.

I’m trying to stay active during the time spent at home. I’m joining the summer Tone It Up program by Katrina and Karena and added that into my May section. The program kicks off May 11. For the last page, I added a space to journal about things during this time. The first thing I’ve added is that I’ve learned I’m a sore loser at board games 😉 My husband and I have been playing sequence and banagrams and I don’t like losing.

So, that’s it for May! I might add weekly spreads back in at some point, but for now this is what I’m going with.