clearing My ENTIRE TBR... with Bingo! 📚 🏁 TBR200 ep16

Hello, my name is Megan and I have 286 books on my physical TBR and here's the thing, slump nation, population me, guys it's been bad out here. It's been the worst week of my life actually. Oh I'm so sorry. Life has been very stressful for the last couple weeks and my routine has been out of whack, my reading has been out of whack, I haven't had the brain space. Some people when they're stressed love reading, I can't. Life is ----. I can't read and I have started and then postponed multiple reading vlogs which I never do but like I was working on a really really big TBR 200 episode where I would be reading really like momentous books on TBR and it was proving the pressure was too much. The pressure was too much. And so I was on reading sprints lately with my patrons. I was trying to think of another vlog to do because nothing was working, the books I was reading, it wasn't the right moment for them. And I remembered that one of my lovely patrons, Emma, every year makes me a bingo board to read books on my TBR and I knew that Emma had made one and I hadn't sorted it in. I was like oh perfect, perfect. So I said maybe it's time, maybe it's time to let a bingo board pick what I read. Here is the bingo board for this year and let me cut to actually me on reading sprints with my patrons figuring out what line or column of this I wanted to read the books from. This is the bingo board so I would do like a line of one of these. Is there a line of these that sounds not terrible to me? What would I want to read? Can't spell trees without tea is very light-hearted so I am leaning towards... is that the first one? Okay and you know what? A naked and deaf Nora Roberts I think would be quite readable. I'm feeling this line and I could maybe start... do you know what? I think I'd probably start the J.D. Robb, the Nora Roberts. Middle of the Night by Riley Sager is easy to read. This is easy, it's gonna be easy to read. And then that's Frances Harding. I've not read Middle of the Night yet, no. Let's do this video. Let's do the bingo board video. Yay! Okay guys, I feel better about that. I feel like I'm gonna start with naked and deaf because I know it will be like formulaic. Nora Roberts, like that feels safe to me right now. I need something formulaic. So yeah, that is the line that we are gonna be trying to read. It's all the books that I feel like I can do. I can do. They are all in the kind of a brain space that I have available to me right now. So shall we just dive into it? I'm gonna hit bingo. It's gonna decide what I read. I'm just desperate to get back into reading. I really, like I have a deep desire to read, it's just not happening. So let's see how it goes. Also bear with me, I haven't been vlogging for weeks so like I gotta remember how to do that. But anyways, shall we get into it and let a bingo board pick what I read? Hello everyone. Let me tell you what's been happening very, very briefly. If you don't care, skip ahead because the culprit, the culprit is right here. Say hello scurly. Yeah, I'm talking about you. She really likes kissing me. Her and Dieter are kissers. Basically, long story short, skip ahead if you're not interested, she was really ill. Both her and her brothers, who I don't know if I've told you guys this on the video, but my mum and dad actually adopted her two brothers, her litter mates as well. So we've all got these kittens and it's actually helpful because we can both have been able to see that the same thing is happening. So they had their second vaccinations, which I just want to say everyone, I am not anti-vax, I am the least anti-vax person that you'll ever meet, but they had their vaccinations and they all got really ill. So they all had the same symptoms of like vomiting, diarrhea, losing a lot of weight, temperature, all of that. And I was really worried about her. I went to the vets a lot, basically was living at the vets. Also her and Dieter's progress together, initially before she was ill, got set back a bit, but after the vaccination, so she started like, you know, not reacting as well to Dieter. And so they actually haven't been in contact for like two weeks now. And we're going to start reintroducing them today. But, so fingers crossed that goes well, but yeah, she was just really ill and they all had this same cycle where they were going up and down, up and down. And like, we were trying loads of different things and I was sobbing in that vets office many times. So it's just been a bit stressful. And like all of my life has been like her and trying to get her well again, but touch wood, she seems good now. Touch, touch wood. She's not eating as much today. And I'm like, holy ----. But I think she, after she got better, she's been eating loads and I think she's been trying to bulk up. Like she's gained a lot of weight all of a sudden. So she's doing well. Anyways, I, in that time I've been away, did read for the first book for the bingo, Naked in Death by J.D. Robb. Here's the thing. This is simultaneously, it was perfect for me. Like it was what I needed to be reading. I did not want to be reading it. She's hitting herself in the face with her back legs. It was simultaneously everything that I needed to be reading right now. And I also did not really like it. I hate to say that, but it's true. So if you don't know, this is the In Death series by J.D. Robb, which is Nora Roberts. Okay, this is our girl Nora. And this is her crime, romance, long series. There are 60 books plus in this series. Needless to say, I ain't continuing. There's 60 plus books in the series. We're following Detective Eve Dallas. It's set in the near future. So I think this is set in like 2050, 2060. And we're following Eve, who is a cop, and in this book, she's investigating a series of murders against prostitutes. And we also get introduced to who I assume, I don't know if she'll have multiple love interests, but I assume that he is going to be her love interest for the series. And I hated how this was written. I did not. You may not hold the space for me, and that's okay. But that's a hill I'm going to ******* die on. I think this is poorly written. And like, who the **** am I to say? I feel like I'm really close, but I'm on a beanbag. Let me just scoot my ass back. I think it's really badly written. No, but I think there is something of the conventions of a genre, as real subgenre, that perhaps I don't understand. Because this really reminds me of the Stephanie Plum series I read. It also reminds me of some aspects I don't like about Finley Donovan. These kind of crime romance books, and how it balances the two of those, I don't enjoy. And I think often feels cheap, and lazy, and subpar. But again, I feel the same way of, maybe I just, no, hang on, I'm having an internal conflict. Because I was like, I feel the same way about romanticy, right? Like, I love fantasy books. I love romance books. I don't like romanticy, because I feel like it doesn't add anything. Well, I was gonna say maybe I don't like a mix of genres, but I love like, historical, fantastical mysteries. That's like my perfect cross-section. If you give me a fantastical historical mystery, you know, I love that. So I don't know what's going on here. And I don't think it's just like, adding romance to these genres that I don't like, because I like romance in other permutations. But there's just something about this specific, like, woman solving crime with these love interests that I think has a certain tone, and a certain cadence to it, in terms of the convention of the genre, that I don't enjoy. And like, who am I to say, it's Nora ******* Roberts, do you know what I mean? Who am I to say it's poorly written? But I do think it is. I was not invested in the characters. I was not invested in the relationship. I mean, this is written in 1995, guys. This is written in 1995. There are dynamics in the relationship that I do not enjoy. He is... I don't think it'll be written like that today. Let me just say, like, he... he is... she sets a boundary, and he walks over that boundary again, and again, and again. And it's always framed as like, he knew what was best for her. Like, he knew the right thing to do for her, and he knew that, like, pushing that boundary would actually be the best thing for her. Excuse me. She says, I have trauma. I don't want you breaking into my apartment anymore. And guess what? He keeps breaking into her apartment. Man. So, I mean, I'm giving it 2.5, because I can say all that, and also say, like, hi, Dunham. Yeah. And also say, I didn't hate my reading experience, because it was what I needed in the moment. I needed No Thoughts Head Empty. I needed Easy, Breezy, Beautiful Girl. And I think this is in many ways... I mean, it's, you know, trigger warning. It's talking about some horrible things. It's talking about child abuse. And it talks about these things in a way that I think is done without a level of care that you would see today. It feels very 1990s way of talking about prostitution, sexual abuse, child abuse, rather than how it'd be spoken about modern day. A part of me does feel like I'm insane, because I know Mara, who from Books Like Fire, who loves Nora Roberts, does enjoy this series. And I think some of my problems with it come from the time period in which it was written. And I wonder if I would feel differently if I read one of the newer editions. Because I know sometimes she says, like, oh, you could read this one as a standalone. You could read this one as a standalone. I mean, there's like two a year. What up? You know, maybe I could read and enjoy one of the newer ones. But am I... am I inclined to do that? Not really. I mean, I really enjoyed Obsession by Nora Roberts, which I read on Mara's recommendation. I think I gave it like a four, which is another kind of crime. Less detective, more like cold case small town mystery with a romance. And Renovation. She loves Renovation content, doesn't Nora? Apparently. I really enjoyed that one. So I'm not like anti Nora Roberts in the future. But this just did not work for me. It didn't work for me. I think I'm going to start next. I think I want to start Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. Maybe I'll just work my way along with the bingo board in order, because I think that was next. So yeah, I think I'm going to pick up Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, which so many of my patrons, because I just had a week long... I haven't been vlogging, but I have been doing a week long readathon over on my Patreon. Loads of them said that they loved it. So I've been yapping. Shut her up. Oh my god, we need to vlog more because you know what? I have some books to haul. We may have just got one off the TBR. We may be adding more than one. So let's... let's go have a look. Okay, I have some books. Technically, I mean, I guess I've bought one of these, but it's a subscription. Excuse me, I didn't cancel my book subscription. But I didn't actively go out my way and purchase something. But let's start with, I believe it's from Esty, one of my lovely patrons has sent me something. So let's look at that first. And then we will look and see mine aside as well. But what has Esty gifted to me? Oh my god, this is so exciting. Is there a note? Esty, there's no note, but I know it's from you. We have got The Book Witch by Meg Schaefer. This was one of my most anticipated releases, thanks to Esty. So I believe this is about a book witch who can hop between books, very Pages and Code, Tilly and the Book Wanderers, whoever that is, but like an adult version. I feel like Esty told me that she goes to Nancy Drew. I feel like we go to a Nancy Drew book and I was like, give it to me. Esty really highly recommended this. We go to Golden Age Detective, we go to fantasy books, we go to romance books. It's a magical love letter to adventure book boyfriends and the joys of reading from the best single from the Wishing Game. I am so, so excited for this. So Esty, thank you so much. It sounds so good. It sounds so good. I love the idea of like, you know, paying homage to stories and to reading and to, oh my God, Esty, thank you so, so much. I will have to thank Esty for that straight away. And then I am intrigued to see what is this month's Mind Sight book. So if you don't know, this is a LumaCrate mystery thriller, dark academia book box. Our first month, this is the second one. The first one was The Ending Rites Itself by Evelyn Clarke. There we go. I got there again. And I don't know what it is this time. I knew from the clues last time that it was The Ending Rites Itself. I don't know what it is this time. It's probably gonna be a book I've never heard of because the clues did not give it away to me. As always, I will be rating what I think of the edition, you know, how much I like all of the designs and all of that. Let's see what it is. Oh, oh, okay, okay, okay. Fellow Creatures by Emma Lauza. Don't know anything about this book. I don't know. I assume this isn't what the normal cover is. Good madame, let me see your face. If my life can ever be of any use, you come and take it. What is this book about? We're at one of London's most elite drama schools and our girl Shannon meets Victoria. She becomes part of Victoria's exclusive set of promising young things. Interesting. Okay, here are the sprayed edges for you to see. Let's look at the end pages. Oh, interesting art style. Interesting. Interesting. Oh, that is pretty. That is pretty. Like a puppet on a string. Okay. Oh, and this is like glossy. Oh, I like the glossiness. Okay. It's easier for me to compare what they did with the ending rights itself because I knew what the actual cover was for that, and I knew what the story was about, so I knew what some of the nods and the winks and the choices were. But like, I'm kind of vibing with this. This feels more like, like an autumn book to me though. I don't know if this is the summer release, but it seems to be, you know, a story of codependency, of, you know, like obsession gone wrong. So I'm intrigued. I have literally not heard anything about this book, Fellow Creatures. Let me know if any of you have, because it's now on my TBR, but I have not heard a single thing about it. So intrigued to see what I think of that. I would give, I think I gave the ending rights itself a 7 out of 10. I think I'd probably give this a 7 out of 10 also in terms of like the design choices. Like, it's all nice. I don't know if there's anything here that I'm like, oh, like obsessed with, you know, but it's nice. I'm going to go start, here it is. I'm going to start Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. I'll let you know my thoughts on a little bit of the ways through, but I'm hoping for just a nice, cozy, fantastical time. Hello everyone. How are we all doing? I have started Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, but I'm only like 80 pages in, so I want to read a little bit more before I check in with you, hopefully today. My gamers have probably finished that today, so hopefully I'll be seeing a lot of you today. But I want to take a moment to shout out a book to you guys that I am very excited about. This is not adding to TBR, this was on the TBR at the start of the video, but the book is The Heirs by Farida Ibike Emede. Guys, this is one of my most anticipated releases this year, because let me tell you, the synopses of Farida Ibike Emede's books are always like the best sounding thing you've ever heard. Shout out, thank you to Usborne YA for sponsoring this video. But this book guys, oh my god it sounds incredible. Oh my god it sounds like everything I've ever wanted. So the setup of this is there are five prodigies, five genius children, who over the years have been adopted by this billionaire. He's been like collecting really clever children and adopting them, I think to like, you know, carry on his legacy perhaps, or whatever. And there's an being held, their father's annual ball, and he is murdered. He's murdered at the ball, love to see it. We love a murder at a ball. And it turns out basically everyone at this ball had a reason to want this man dead. Secrets come out, you know, truths are revealed. Their father had many many enemies and perhaps, is it one of them as well? Could one of them have murdered their father? It sounds so good, it sounds so intriguing. Being in this mansion with all these secrets and these betrayals and everything, it just sounds so good. It sounds so good, I can't wait to pick it up. I love the like, also just the vibes that the cover gives. I'm just like eating this up. Look at it, oh my god it looks so good. Early reviews have been really good. There's also it seems some mixed media elements, like we open up with like a magazine article and we're moving about in time a little bit. I wouldn't call it split timeline, but we're kind of like jumping around in time throughout. It sounds so good. So I will leave a link down below for you guys to go check this out, but I think this could be like one of the big YA murder mysteries of the season, of the summer, of the year perhaps. I'm so excited to read it and see what I think of it. It's just like, every part of this book sounds so incredibly good to me and I think like we're going to be going back. Secrets of Layne Dormant for decades could be revealed. So super excited to see what I think of it. Leave a link down below for you guys to check it out. I'm going to go prep some lunch. I'm not going to film it because you've seen me make this lunch loads. It's like this orzo, chicken feta orzo that I make. I'm going to go make that and then hopefully I'll read a lot more. So hopefully I'll see you halfway through Can't Spell Treason Without Tea before the end of the day. That is the goal. Hello everyone. I've just realized every clip I've filmed so far on this vlog has been in this room. I promise I go other places in my house. But how are we doing? I'm on reading sprints with my patrons now. So that's why I'm on this camera and that's why we've got to sit here because I've got seven minutes left of the sprint. I am halfway through Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. Let me give you my thoughts on this one. So this is a cosy fantasy where we're following a couple, a lesbian, a sapphic couple, who are like already together. And one of them is a mage and one of them is a queen's guard. They both have these very important jobs. They are girlies who are doing work but they kind of like had enough and they want to be together and so they decide to run away together and open up a bookshop slash tea shop basically. That's it. It's very Legends and Lattes coded if I do say so myself. It's a conspiracy theory that I'm actually interested in. It might have a little bit. It might have a little bit of a plot of Legends and Lattes going on about that's a coffee shop, this is a bookshop and a tea shop. Here's the thing. I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying it. I'm having a nice time reading it. I like the characters. I like all the cosy- like listen, listen, listen, listen. I love Legends and Lattes. I love the spell shop which is like a jam spell shop thing. I love anything. I love comedy fantasy where there is a hint of like mundanity or like the logistics of running a shop. Like they're making the teas, they're sourcing the books, they're hiring this like little street urchin off the street who they like rescue. I love all that. I love all that. However, there is something about the writing itself, the writing style that I'm not connecting to in the way I did with like something like Legends and Lattes and the spell shop. When I have equivalents in the genre, in the plot that I adore, it's hard to not compare them and there's something about the writing in this that I'm just not as connected to. I was just saying on stream like every cozy fantasy is gonna have a little bit of like trying to show the beauty of life and like isn't life wonderful and we get to love and like all of that ---- and I love it in other books but in this one it just hasn't quite landed right for me sometimes and it's felt a bit inauthentic and it's felt a little bit like this is what we say in cozy fantasy books so I have to say it. I think some people if they're like not in love in love with the writing style they can still love a book but for me that is I always say writing style is the number one most important thing for like I either vibe with your writing or I do not and there is something there's moments with the writing that I vibe with however however I recognize I'm the problem I'm the problem I'm the problem it's me oh she's such a pain in the ass oh my god she's such a drama queen stay home dude because I am slumpy right I am not live laugh loving when it comes to reading I just didn't like naked in death and I thought I was gonna laugh because Mara loves it so I recognize part of it is me part of this is me I am finding it not as easy to read as I sometimes do my mind is a bit scrambled I don't have as much routine because I am like trying to split myself between two cats still and make sure they get enough love and attention and are happy I just want my cats to be happy anyways have we spoken about that I can't remember what I've spoken to you about they're still separate Scully's up here she's happy can you see her you can maybe see a paw but there's moments this I'm really enjoying and I feel like it's becoming more and more moments that I'm really enjoying it's also interesting following a couple who are already together part of me is like I love that we don't have enough of that right like stories of couple who are already in love and like living their life but part of me does love the fool you know there's someone who's already ever planning on having one of them in her life because she's freaking ended up basically married to the guy she fell in love with at 16 I like to live vicariously through other people and the moment you fall is so special so part of me feels like that is a little bit missing I don't know I don't know I'm enjoying it it's just not going to be a five star I'm having a lot of fun reading it I'm enjoying it I'm reading it with my eyeballs guys which considering I'm in the slump is crazy that's crazy of me to be doing so I want to get close to finishing this tonight I need to if I want to get this vlog out when I want to get this vlog out I would like to like it enough to want to continue the sequel let's go see Scully shall we gonna go see baby Scully hi baby do you have something to say I hope that's made everyone's day I hope that sounds as good as I imagined it sounded all righty I'm gonna read some more I'm gonna go make some spag bo actually and then I'll read some more this evening and I'll love my I love you you're up too high to kiss we like to kiss anyways I'll see you guys in a bit I've just pulled out the camera and Scully has come running over sorry I know I said I was gonna film somewhere other than this room last time we spoke but my camera's here there's loads of stuff in the oh my fan's on there's uh there's loads of cat stuff downstairs that I need to sort out like cat tents cat tattles everything cat you can imagine but here's the thing we need to talk because I have finished can't spell treason without tea and I'm gonna give this a three star I'm sorry I really didn't love this there were moments I did enjoy it but they were moments there were moments it's an interesting one because I feel like I agree with the reviews when I read both the four star reviews and the two star reviews and that's an interesting place to be you may be thinking Megan you gave it a three so I'm gonna fix this camera that's better you know you gave it a three that makes sense but like to agree with people who really really enjoy the book and people who probably really dislike the book is an interesting place to be I was at times invested in the plot and the storyline I love being in a bookshop a tea shop and the quaintness of that there were moments I'd be reading it and I'd think to myself huh I'm really enjoying this now I'm having a good time but then it would just become boring again like it would kind of like I'd work up to the enjoyment and then I'd stop reading for the day and then I'd pick the book up and I'd be bored again I'd have to like work my enjoyment level up Scully wants to fight my laptop okay she's running away one of my biggest problems right this is we're following a couple who were like already together before the book so you don't follow the fall which I think I mentioned last time you know maybe that has something to that oh I didn't have a problem like the kind of not following the fall of the romance and falling for each other but my problem with this dynamic this relationship was the way they spoke to each other the way they communicated felt too perfect too perfect one of them would say to another tell me how you're feeling my love and the other one would like communicate a problem that they're having in a way that didn't upset the other one that was like perfectly like rooted in sense and in like grounded which you don't necessarily feel when you're feeling emotions right you may say something rash or whatever and they'd always resolve it it was like perfect it's not realistic it's just not realistic and it had just none of the messiness of real human communication to me like there was all like they'd be like they would have an argument and one of them was like this has devolved into an argument too quickly like calling it stopping the argument and it's tracks and that doesn't happen if you're having an argument you're having an argument I mean listen I'm not one to be like oh this is too woke or like I don't know but it felt very therapy speak it just felt too perfect it felt too perfect the way they were speaking was like perfectly written to not upset the other one or if they did give them miscommunication they would resolve that miscommunication straight away like oh I didn't mean that you know and it just took me out of it I was like come on make each other a bit mad you know what I mean there needs to be some I don't know I don't necessarily need conflict but it felt like we kept like going up to a conflict right like stuff would happen that they didn't agree with the way each other was acting or the decisions the other one was making it wasn't like it was like sunshine and rainbows things were happening that were a conflict in their shared life and it's like we kept like almost getting there or like going there in a roundabout way in a way that felt very uh yeah unsatisfying to me I mean yeah I I enjoyed it in moments but overall it was not for me so I think guys and this is pretty major let me get it behind me I don't think I'm gonna read the sequel that I have I have an arc of this that I requested not saying I don't think I'm gonna I don't think I'm gonna continue in the series and so we've gotten two books off of the tbr here not one but two with only reading one book I just think I have a lot of books on tbr and I don't need to read this one so I think I'm gonna start middle of the night next I think a Riley thriller could be actually I'm just making my way along the bingo line so I'm gonna start middle of the night next we'll see what I think might check in halfway might just read the whole thing depending on how like quick easy peasy beautiful cover girl it is depending on how many thoughts I have for a Riley thriller hello hello everyone how are we doing we are at the beach we just popped down to the beach this was not on my evening plans but Tom got home from work I was feeling pretty rough today I'm like I just realized a little bit I got hormonal issues going on they're not fun and I was planning on getting in bed as early as possible but Tom was like why don't we go to the beach you can read and then we'll go for dinner at one of our um favorite places and I was like you know what hell yeah so we just walked down to the beach to have a read I am hang on I'm holding the mic so I can't hold it up I haven't got the dust jacket on it anyway but I am I'm just under halfway through middle of the night well a little bit under halfway I'm 120 pages in but I feel I feel equipped to talk to you about this book um I'm enjoying this quite a bit here's the thing okay synopsis we're following Riley Sager's first male main character it's really a brave bold step for Mr Riley to take you deserve an Oscar you actually deserve an award when he was a kid he was camping in his back garden with his friend in a tent he woke up the tent had been cut from the outside and his friend was missing and he's now moved back into his family home you know 30 years later and strange things start occurring the presence of his friend he feels around him he feels his ghost perhaps it's a little bit of a haunted story perhaps I feel like we've just whoa can you guys see the birdies yeah I don't know if I caught that a whole load of birdies just flew up in the air here's the thing I have been slumped nation as we know I've actually since I read Can't Smell Trees Without Tea I read another book for a future vlog because I had to wait for my book club that I gave two stars like it's been it's been like it's been so horrible I haven't been enjoying my reading this book it's just a Mr Riley classic you know I mean like I've read every Riley Sager this is the only one I haven't read I think that's out it feels like coming back to a friend right this is an author I've read many times before it's an author who I trust it's an author who's writing I enjoy and so there's that ease to it but also I haven't read many thrillers this year I was looking back on it I was on reading sprints my patrons this morning and I thought hang on what was the last thriller I read and I've read some like I read Dissection of a Murder which I really enjoyed but that's very like court setting court case like lawyers it's so court heavy I haven't really read this year your classic American thriller I've read some like UK kind of based stuff but there is something about like small town Americana this one whoa there's a motorbike going past I don't know if you can hear that this one it's very pronounced like the it's set in a cul-de-sac like suburbia the American dream you know what I mean like that aspect of it's very pronounced and I I do love occasionally like your kind of stereotypical American thriller small town cold case true crime detectives like you know I do enjoy a bit of that and I haven't really read you know who I really want to read that I've never read I really want to read a Mary Kubica I'm hoping that her release this year I think it's called It's Not Her I'm hoping that that's in the Goodreads Choice Awards this year because I'm interested I mean I could read it anyway but like will I get around to it I'm barely reading at the moment we're just trying to focus on the TBR so I'm hoping that I'll have an excuse to read it but yeah I'm just I'm having a nice time at the moment it feels like a very strong fall you know that's where I'm at I'm really enjoying it I find yeah they're set up interesting I find the character voice enjoyable to read from I think it's laying a lot of little tiny mysteries and questions very well about all of these different characters there's like a little something here and a little something here a little bit what's the truth there and what's happening there and suggesting an event or something that happened to us in the past because we're reading most in the present but we do have flashbacks to the past like when his friend went missing whoa birdies ah I don't know if I got them again trying to show the birdies off that I think is making me really intrigued to read on you know like those little little questions or hints that like hmm that's a little strange you know like there's something going on with his mom or there's something going on with like what him and his friend did earlier the day before or there's like these little little hints of stuff so um yeah I'm having a great time I'm hoping to read as much of it today as I can we'll see how much I get around to because we're going to dinner and then I want to like probably have a bath tonight then I want to spend some time with my cats and make them happy so yeah we'll see but I'm I'm having a really great time reading it so yeah we're gonna go for dinner tonight maybe I'll film a little bit of that it's pretty good I feel like I remember hearing mixed things about it but I feel like this is really this is it just it's meeting me at a good time it's meeting me at the right time for this book you know anyways let's go into a version of beyond crystal castle in a blue sky maybe vision maybe dream I imagine you hello hello how are you all doing we are in my office again I'm about to take a thumbnail hence I will film somewhere else in the house in this video I promise I finished middle of the night by Riley Sager and I'm giving this four stars I really enjoyed it I had a good time here's the thing with this one though is it one of the Riley's where he's doing something like really imaginative really different like house across the lake for example or I feel like survive the night has aspects even though I didn't love that one no it is not one of those is it on the other hand one of his thrillers where he does like the basic thriller to a really really really high standard that I feel like is acceptable to everyone and like everyone can enjoy it like the only one left or the last time I lied which is probably my favorite Riley no I don't think it's perfect I don't think it's doing anything new anything different like some of his other books do but I had a nice time now I wouldn't recommend this as your first Riley right but if you're a Riley completionist I think you'll enjoy it listen it was seemingly what I needed to get me out of a slump it seemingly is the first book in a while that I've not disliked to some degree and I've like really enjoyed my reading experience and wanted to pick up and found easy to read and for that I say thank you Riley and I do think the first half is stronger than the second half but I think it had some interesting twists I do think the ending is pretty satisfying and there's some themes that he's obviously running throughout the book to do with like parenthood and stuff like that that I think has a satisfying end it's getting but I honestly don't have many thoughts on it I just it was just really nice to read a book and enjoy the reading experience a bit and I think perhaps because of that I didn't think too critically about it I didn't think too in deep about it I just read it and had a nice time and that's what I know not the most insightful review I think it's interesting characters I really enjoy the setting of the cul-de-sac it feels very claustrophobic it allows us to kind of like meet all these different characters and different families in a really natural way but a really interesting way now onto something ridiculously exciting are we ready I'm not ready I'm gonna cry as many of you know the Unicorn Hunters by Katherine motherfucking Arlen it's one of my most anticipated releases for this year and I'm also on a book buying ban this summer I have yet to buy a book and we are like halfway through July June July August I was on a book buying ban I'm doing okay so far but many of you said to me when I said I was going to book buying ban we'll allow it if you break the ban to buy Unicorn Hunters and I was thinking about it I was probably going to do that but then one of my lovely patrons Barbara who I've been lucky enough to get to know a bit reached out and said she accidentally got a second copy of the fairy edition of Unicorn Hunters and would I like it and I said yes so it's arrived I'm not ready to look at this oh my god oh my god I'm so excited for this pack oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god okay I see it I see it I see it let me in I have seen pictures of this uh of this special edition oh my goodness okay so the dust jacket beautiful beautiful love the dust jacket love the sprayers but if I'm not mistaken the true standout of this is the hardback there's something oh my god oh my god there's something about this design that feels so nostalgic to me like ever I just wanted oh this is like art like I love it like there's something about this I don't know oh I love it oh my god I cannot wait I cannot wait to read this and this is a very unique edition and it's gonna be interesting to review this because I think this edition the fairy one in particular has 20 000 extra words than the usual one and I just think that's such an interesting idea and it's not like it's not shown which ones are the extra words but am I like gagging to get 20 000 more words from Katherine Arden yes I will read anything that one writes and so to have more of it it's just so exciting oh my god I'm so happy I love it so much it's so beautiful oh my god oh my god I'm so excited guys when am I gonna read Unicorn Hunters I'm gonna have to read it soon it's gonna be five stars it's gonna be maybe my favorite book of the year it's gonna be maybe my favorite book of the year let's be honest with ourselves okay I today I'm gonna try and get a lot of reading done and I'm gonna start Pomona Afton can so solve a murder which is next on the bingo line we're almost there well no we still got two books to read but it feels like we're almost there so I'll see you when I have some hello everyone one of my neighbors has just started playing music really loudly so hopefully you can't hear it too badly I ended up finishing Pomona Afton console sober murder I have right hall okay this one's gonna be tricky to talk about a little bit tricky I'm giving this 3.5 which is a good rating I enjoyed this but it is can you fit in there I'm not sure even she thinks that she can fit in no she's moving on up I it was fine it was fine the premise of this is we're following Pomona Afton who is a hotel heiress so she lives in the hotel rent-free she's a trust fund baby she never had to work for anything in her life her grandmother's murdered she discovers her grandmother's body there's a clause on her grandmother's will that says if I die of unnatural causes my whole family gets cut off from everything because I think she was afraid that someone was gonna murder her which did happen and so yeah she is suddenly having to make it on her own and she decides to try and solve the murder um in order to get her life back she also there is a bit of a romance on this which we'll get on to with the guy that she moves in with and it was fine listen I enjoy Tinsley Mortimer trying to solve a murder Tinsley was the it girl the it girl it girl she was the it girl the premise of this hotel heiress is rich kind of stuck up oblivious to real life girly trying to solve a murder is fun and I I enjoyed the reading experience of this but I am not going to remember this book in two years I'm sorry I think it's a fun time I think if you're like looking for something you can just kind of put on as an audiobook whilst you're doing stuff maybe that's the level of enjoyment it is it's not gonna stick with me it's not gonna be a book that I recommend loads and I think I have a problem with mystery x romance this is our second one in the video the second one in video where it's a mystery and a romance and I don't feel like it's doing either of them satisfactorily isn't that what is that why do I not like that why do I not like it when romance combined with other genres that's what it's breaking down to I like a romance book I don't like a fantasy romance book I don't like a mystery romance but yeah obviously I didn't love the Nora Roberts and I didn't love it in this one I didn't I didn't give a anything about the romance I didn't feel particularly connected to the romance as someone who reads a lot of mystery I think maybe this is a gateway into a mystery if you if you read more romance maybe this is a good kind of first mystery but there wasn't many twists and turns there wasn't many clues we kind of like made a list near the start the book of everyone that we thought it could be thought we could have motive for the murder and we went down the list crossing them off one by one like interviewing them and being like oh okay it wasn't you and then moving on to the next one you know it just wasn't a satisfying mystery either but I do think it's a fun book I think it's a fun time I think it's an enjoyable time I love a good bit of Tinsley solving solving a murder but yeah it's it's not gonna stick with me and this is a series I don't think I won't let me say I won't be continuing the series it felt a bit debut-y to me and I don't think this is technically a debut because she this author writes non-mystery rom-coms just just romance books under a different name and so yeah that it felt it felt like a debut and it's not a debut that's not necessarily and what do we mean by that we all say that don't we we all say oh it's debut-y to me or whatever what does that really mean I think we all know what it means I think it's a shorthand for some things but uh anyways it felt like a debut and it's not a debut so I don't know I honestly I don't really have many thoughts like is it fun yes is it warm is it kind of cozy in a certain way yes is the character prone after the fun one to follow her journey throughout the book yes these are all positives but it's just not already it's like one of the more forgettable books I've read this year sadly it's now time to get on to our final book of the vlog The Lie Tree which I am very excited about I'm really looking forward to reading another Frances Harding so yeah I'll check in with you once I've read a little bit of that uh okay everyone we have a bit of an issue and I come here begging forgiveness here's the thing I am 68 pages into The Lie Tree by Frances Harding and I don't want to read it I don't want to read it but I don't want to unhaul it I'm softy and effing this book listen I'm bored however I love Frances Harding's writing A Skin Full of Shadows by Frances Harding is like five star plus there is something about this right now that I am not resonating with it feels whoa scummy hey baby it feels like it is dragging I feel like I am wading through treacle with the pacing of these first like 70 pages trying to read it it ain't working for me but I do think it could work for me one day I just think what this is is not gonna work for me right now I'm still in a very sensitive place with my reading just coming out of a slump I feel like and I feel like reading this would put me right back into the depths of a slump that threw me right back into the throes of PTSD so I'm gonna softy and eff it I softy and eff books maybe like two or three times a year where I say now's not the right time for me to read this I'm gonna put it down I'm gonna read something else and I have never regretted doing that when I re-pick that book up I've always enjoyed that book more when I re-pick it back up so I feel like it is the right decision for me I mean what do I tell about this we're following I don't know if this is YA technically or a children's book we're following this young girl who's like super into science it is historical and you know she lives like a very rigid life and she wants like adventure outside of it but yeah not a lot has happened in those first 70 pages so I feel fine with my decision to softy and eff however that does I mean with the bingo I'm not gonna read four more books on this vlog but it's been going on for like a month I kid you not because of my slump this vlog has been happening for like a month I'm not gonna read four more books trying to make bingo so I guess we're counting this as bingo if I was DNFing it for good and getting off the TBR I'd feel no qualms about that because we're getting something off of the TBR I am not in this instance I am not getting something off of my TBR I am just putting it down for now so sorry that that I mean I'm really sorry that's not a very satisfying end to the video I wish that we were not ending on this because I feel like my decision would have been the same if I'd read this earlier in the video because there is something that tells me I could love this but right now I am pulling teeth trying to read this book I'm so sorry it's just not it's just not working for me thus far but yeah that means we kind of have bingo I don't know if we should really count it but like I guess we have bingo thank you for like you know forgiving me just preemptively anticipating please have please can I have your forgiveness in this instance I'm not one of those people that forgive and forget I'm one of those people that ******* take score that does leave us on 284 books on the TBR I would really like in my next vlog to get that below the 280s to get into the 270s because then it feels like we're really cooking I mean there was remember there was a time when we kept hovering around that 300 mark we're gone from that baby we're never going back up to 300 again I really believe it now so 284 I mean again this is the lowest my TBR has been in so long I don't know when the last time it was it was this live but yeah anyways sorry that it is like a really really unsatisfying end to this video I promise my next video is gonna be a really fun one my next vlog I should say it's gonna be a really fun one because I don't know how long it's gonna take it's gonna be the start of like a new mini series I'm doing within TBR 200 uh where Scully's just started eating I can't stop reading until I find a five star within specific parameters and so who knows but we're gonna get a five star I'm by by hook or by crook I'm gonna get 10 more stars it's not 10 uh seven more five stars this year so I can have 10 five stars anyways I will let you go thank you so much for watching and I'll see you very soon another one bye