Best Friend TBR Archives - Page 2 of 3

Ely Picks Romance Books For Me To Read

Feb 16, 2021

This post is a long time coming. This was supposed to go up last year – but life and a new job just got in the way, but I’m finally getting to it. I was in my moods of not knowing what to read, so I got my best friend Ely to pick 3 romances books to add to my tbr and read. I also picked 3 for her – so check that post out too.

But anyway today I share my thoughts on the books that she picked out for me. And like always these are in no order.

Heart of the Fae (The Otherworld #1) by Emma Hamm

Ely: This isn’t a weird romance book by any means—it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling mixed with Irish mythology. But I really want Angel to read it because I picked it up in December last year and was kind of conflicted by it. A lot of people love it, so I want to know whether it just completely missed the mark for me, or whether it’s worth another chance.

Angel: This is the book that I struggled most with, so much so that I couldn’t even get into it. I might try and give it a go this year, but at the time it was not for me. I really struggled with the world, I’m not 100 per cent sure as to why just nothing was jelling with me. And that made it hard for me to like the characters and the story. I hope I can get into it soon.

Lacy’s Legacy (Westward Home and Hearts Mail-Order Brides #1) by Elaine Manders

E: So this is a historical Western with some sort of mail-order bride deal? I don’t know if you’ve ever read a historical Western before, but I definitely haven’t. So as per usual, you’re being my guinea pig—if you end up enjoying this as much as we like Regency romance, then I’ll give this a go too. But this has a pretty good rating and people say it’s well-written, so I’m hoping it’s going to be at least okay.

A: I didn’t know what to expect when going into this one. I hadn’t heard of the author or the series before, but I was intrigued by the Western element of the book. I didn’t love this book, let’s start off with that. But it had nothing to do with the western element and all to do with the romance. It just wasn’t my type of romance at all. I didn’t hate the book, but it was just not for me at all. If you are looking for some mild romance with not so much sexy time – then this might be for you.

Ice Planet Barbarians (Ice Planet Barbarians #1) by Ruby Dixon

E: I remembered one of my Goodreads friends reading this a few years ago and her updates were hilarious, so I’m expecting live updates from you on this one. I think this is the lowest rated one on this list—people either seem to give this 2 or 5 stars, so I guess we’re about to find out where you sit.

A: If I say that I’m already on to book 3 of this series, I think that sums up how I feel about this book. I didn’t know what to expect when I starting reading the first book. It was totally out of my element, I barely read sci-fic and when I do, it’s normally humans that I liked to read about. Not blue aliens. The first few chapters of this were hard to get through. I didn’t know what to expect really and the author throws

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And those are the books that Ely picked for me this time! I hope that we can do it again this year as it was so much fun. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Let’s Chat!

Best Friend Picks My TBR 2021

Jan 24, 2021

Last year my best friend Ely and I picked 5 books for the other to read within the year. And it was so much fun. So we thought we would do it again. You can check out all my posts from last year now to see how it went.

Ely and I both give each other a list of our tbrs and books that we own and pick 5 books. We can either pick books that we’ve each read, or we want the other to read. You can check out what I’ve picked for Ely to read this year. But first, let’s see what Ely picked for me to read.

Am I Normal Yet? (The Spinster Club #1) by Holly Bourne

Ely: You know how much this book means to me so when I saw it on your list I knew I had to pick it for you. I’ll be interested to see what you think of this because it’s been a couple of years since I read it, but I think you’ll appreciate the friendships and the mental health representation in here.

Angel: I was waiting for you to pick this one the first time around and I was surprised when you didn’t. But I couldn’t get it passed you twice. This has been on my TBR got years now. It’s one that I was super excited to read, but just never picked it up. So now I have no excuse and I need to pick it up.

The Duke (Knight Miscellany #1) by Gaelen Foley

E: I mean, you were literally sitting beside me as I was reading this and freaking out so I couldn’t not choose this one. I know that you’re working through a few romance series as the moment, but I just know that you’ll love this one as much as I did.

A: I’m pretty sure we bought this one at the same time. You, however, got around to reading it before me. My plan for the end of last year was to finish all the historical romance series I started before I picked up a new one. And I only have 2 more books to go for this. So I’m ready for it.

Lovely War by Julie Berry

E: I know we were both extremely excited about this one being releasing, so naturally neither of us has actually read it. So as per usual, I’m using you as my guinea pig to see if this is actually one I should pick up or not. It is very much in the realm of things we both enjoy so hopefully it turns out to be a good one.

A: You have pretty much summed up my thoughts about going into this book. I knew that I wanted to read this one as soon as I read the synopsis. Historical fiction with a mix of fantasy – that is me all wrapped up. I have yet yo read anything from Julie Berry but I think this is the perfect one to start with.

Pestilence (The Four Horsemen #1) by Laura Thalassa

E: These next two are ones you don’t currently own, but I absolutely had to pick them out for you. I know it doesn’t help your TBR at all, but at least this one is on Kindle Unlimited. Since you picked this one out for me as part of our romance version of this post, I thought I’d return the favour and make you read it so we can gush about the series together.

A: Somehow I knew that this was going to be on my list. I just knew it. But I’m super excited about it. It’s rare that you read paranormal romance and you loved it. So I think this is going to be a fantastic rea for me.

Heartstopper, vol. 1 by Alice Oseman

E: Another one that I absolutely had to pick as soon as I realised you hadn’t read it. I swear sometimes I get confused with what I’ve read or bought and what you have. Anyway, I’ve told you multiple times about how much I love this so now I’m finally going to force you to read it. I know that it’ll make you happy and it’s also just a super quick read so you don’t have to stress about finding the time as much.

A: I’m not sure why I haven’t picked this one up either. I have all 3 volumes, mostly because my younger sister picked them up. So I could totally read them all when I want. And I will now for sure. I’ve heard such amazing things about this series and I loved reading Alice Oseman before

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And those are the books that Ely has picked for me to read in 2021. I can’t wait to get to them all. I think I’m going to have a fantastic time. Don’t forget to see what I’ve picked for Ely as well. Have your picked books for your best friend to read?

Best Friend Picks My TBR Wrap Up

Dec 27, 2020

So first I want to say, sorry about the lack of posts this month. I’ve just gone my first Christmas as a full-time bookseller and it’s been a little crazy. I’ve done 3 bookselling Christmas before, but this year was a lot different. But enough of that let’s get into this post.

At the start of the year, Ely my best friend and I picked 5 books for the other to read throughout the year. You can check out the post now to see my first thoughts on the books that she picked for me. And today it’s the final wrap up, you can check out what I picked for Ely and her thoughts too. So, let’s get into it.

The Diviners (The Diviners #1) by Libba Bray: This was the first book that Ely picked for me and the one I was most nervous about. I had tried reading this one before and I never got through it. And sadly I hit the same spot this year again. I tried picking this one up twice throughout the year and even tried it as an audiobook, but I was unable to get into it. Which really does frustrate me. I wanted to at least finish it, but alas.

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes: I knew that I was going to love this one when I picked it up. I adored Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes. It was an excellent novel that does focus on mental health. It’s not a love fixes all kind of novel but explores how those around can help you in a way that you never thought. Maguire and Jordy were adorable and I love them so much. If you are looking for a positive mental health novel that has a little bit of everything then this is for you. You can check out my full review for more.

One by Sarah Crossan: This is the other book that I sadly didn’t read this year. It’s still on my tbr and I hope to get to it soon. However, I knew I had to be in the right frame of mind to read this one and I just wasn’t. I cry a lot in books, even at the smallest of things. And I know that this one is going to wreck me. But I will get to it. Hopefully in 2021.

Prince Charming (Royals #1) by Rachel Hawkins: This is one of the first books that I read from this list and I had such a good time reading it. It was fun, entertaining and made me smile a lot. Daisy and Miles were adorable together, but I like I said I wished I was able to see more of them. I felt there was room to add a lot more. In saying that I do want to pick up the next book in the series for sure. It sounds like it’s going to be as fun reading as this one. You can check out my full review now.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare: This was the first book that I read from this tbr and I had such a good time reading it. I loved that we got to see a different side of the world, from different characters and their perspectives. It was this great combo that includes characters from all her series, along with different timelines. This kept the stories fresh and interesting. It was a great bridge for a lot of stories and filled in gaps between books.

And that it is for today’s post! I’m so glad that I am back. Posts might be here and there for the next few weeks, but once I get into my groove, I think we will be good.

Also look out for our 2021 TBR, where we are going to pick another 5 books for one another. We had such a blast this year and I cannot wait.