Books | My NetGalley TBR

September 8, 2022September 8, 2022by Hazel VeeLeave a Comment

I have fallen off the NetGalley wagon hardcore this year. Okay to be honest, the last few years. I’ve been sitting at 34% feedback rate for way too long and I really need to fix that! I’m hoping to bring that up in the next two months.

Here are 6 titles I’m hoping to get through before the end of October;

There’s been a lot of hype around Belladonna and The Book Eaters. I’m super excited to get into both of these titles the most. I do hear that The Book Eaters is a bit more than just… creatures eating books though. I haven’t heard too much about We Made it All Up but I seem to be drawn to titles with similar themes.

I’ll confess, I haven’t read Harry Potter. It came out when I wasn’t really into fantasy titles, so I always just skipped over it. I do like the movies and I hope to some day read the books. I’m really curious about The Psychology of Harry Potter since there’s so much that goes around about the books. I frequently go down rabbit holes when it comes to casually looking up The Hamilton’s so of course The Scandalous Hamiltons kind of caught my attention! I’m a sucker for all things Peter Pan. I have to many retellings though that made my DNF list. I think the only one I actually finished was Tiger Lily and that was years ago. Hooked looks interesting. It’s always a wonder what these villains did or what their lives could had been like.

I know 6 titles isn’t going to boost my feedback rate by much but hey, it’s a start!

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Halloween Reading Challenge

October 2, 2021October 2, 2021by Hazel Vee2 Comments

I’m super happy with how this graphic turned out. I guess I’m getting better at Procreate!

It’s that time of year again, where I attempt to do my favorite annual reading challenge. I set certain books for just this challenge. I’ve discovered so many of my favorite series with this challenge!

NETGALLEY

Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi
What Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell
Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone
The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin
Foretold by Violet Lumani
How Witchcraft Saved My Life by Vincent Higginbotham

SCRIBD

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters
Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly
The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
Goosebumps #16: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight by RL Stine
The Night Garden by Polly Horvath
Cinders & Sparrows by Stefan Bachmann
The Queen Underneath by Stacey Filak

TBR

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
The Toy Makers by Robert Dinsdale
Curses by Lish McBride
Gold Spun by Brandil June
Curse of the Wolf King by Tessonia Odette
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd Jones
Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool
All The Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

I’m obviously not going to finish this entire list, especially considering how busy my October already is with my shop, doing blogtober, doing drawing prompts and with my trip coming up later this month! But I do want to get through as many as I can and I’m even hoping to find time on my trip to read in the parks like I use to! This is basically a list to remind me of what books I need to get to lol. I took such a long break from reading that I feel super behind; but it’s hard to find time to read when you’re watching a toddler. I can barely find time to sleep (it’s 340am right now and I’m trying to finish this post).

I thought of finishing The House of Salt and Sorrow but it got really creepy, so I shut it and didn’t pick it back up after that lol. Not sure if I’ll ever finish it, but I really want to!

What are some of the reads you’re hoping to get to this spooky szn?

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It’s Monday, what are you reading?

April 5, 2021April 5, 2021by Hazel Vee4 Comments

I have a trip to pack and prep for so I thought I’d pop a reading post up today instead. I’m super excited for various reasons but one of the biggest reasons is I finally get to see my BFF! I haven’t seen her since 2008; we both tend to chase too many dreams and despite what state I’m in or what country she’s in, we’ve always tried our best to check in with each other. So when people say “distance” is why “X has happened” I think it’s crap. But maybe it’s just me.

This is also the first time she’s meeting Tums (who’s her goddaughter) and the first time Tums is meeting someone from my life that she might remember (she met my friend Eric when she was like 7mo’s, so). Yes, she’s 2 and hasn’t met anyone from my life. I know, it bothers me too.

Currently Reading;

I just realized I never finished this blog post rfom this morning. Omg.

Yes, I’m still listening to Bridge of Souls but I only have like an hour or so left in the audiobook. Annnd I’m not really sure how I feel about it in comparison to the previous two in the series.

I also started The Archive but it’s super confusing I guess because “Da” is probably her grandfather? I thought it was her dad so I got super confused. The concept of this book has always intrigued me and it’s definitely been on my TBR for way too long. Since I’m nearing the end of the MG series I figured I’d pick this one up.

I read a review of The Stolen Kingdom that really bumped this up on my TBR. I’m not regretting any of it. Plus it’s a NetGalley title and we all know how it is with those lol.

Hoping to Read;

Down Comes The Night: Magic? Darkness? I’m there.

I read a sampler of Lost in The Never Woods before it came out. And while I’m not exactly sure where it was going, it is a Peter Pan retelling… I’m starting to think that just because I LOVEEE PETER PAN doesn’t mean I love Peter Pan retellings? Like, idk. I just haven’t found one that I really vibed with.

Ya’ll House of Salt and Sorrow has been “currently reading” since freakin last Sept. I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS TITLE. It’s not even that I don’t like the book, I do. But goodness it’s so dark and creeps.

I started Go The Distance awhile ago, but I put it down for some reason. I really want to get this read and reviewed before it’s released as it was one of the titles in this series I was MOST excited about!

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Middle Grade March TBR

March 16, 2021March 19, 2021by Hazel Vee3 Comments

It’s that time of the year again when I do Middle Grade March.

I thought I got that idea from an Owlcrate thing they did a few years ago but I could be wrong? I just searched there videos and I didn’t find anything for it this year. But this is a month I gather up ~~all~~ most of the middle grade books I didn’t get into last year… or DNF’d like 4 years ago. You know what, there are no rules to this, ok? lol a few are from my Owlcrate JR boxes and a few are books I’ve had sitting on my Kindle TBR and one series I fell in love with this year. So, I’m pretty excited.

My anxiety has been unreal the last few days and it’s not only draining but it’s also making me angry, which hasn’t happened in a long long while. I mean I’m more likely to speak my mind, if that’s the case but also, anger drains me. So I’m looking forward to picking up a few of these that are whimsical and full of adventure and fantasy.

Physical Books TBR;

All but one title is from Owlcrate Jr. And most have paranormal or fantasy themes to them. I love middle grade titles, I wish young adult could have an entire series with absolutely no love interest!

I’m super excited to get into The Midnight Hour as well as Cinders & Sparrows the most!

Continue reading →

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Hello March

March 1, 2021March 1, 2021by Hazel VeeLeave a Comment

Anyone else feel like Feb was just the longest Feb this year? I feel like it took forever for this month to end. But so much happened, I guess that’s why it feels that way.

There’s a lot of things that are suppose to be going on this month, so I’m hoping they actually happen. Tums birthday is this month, Easter is at the beginning of April, then my birthday. Thank goodness it’s NOT on Easter this year at least! There are a few book releases I’m excited about as well!

I discovered cozy gaming and looked more into ways to self improve in Feb, so I’m really excited about the things I’m planning in March — or at least as excited as a person who has to do shadow work can get (ain’t nothing exciting about shadow work).

March Goals;

〉 Work on getting my mic to work so I can stream Animal Crossing

〉 Fully plan Tums bday early

〉 Work on eating better and

〉Work on… well work

〉Fix iPad

〉Re-evaluate finances

〉Prep for Easter early

〉Middle GRADE March

〉Rebrand hazearella & gamearella

〉Gain 200 more blog followers

I’m trying not to overwhelm myself, esp since the next two months are generally really busy for me to begin with. But there are a few key things I do want to try and get done.

March Book Releases I’m Excited About;

There are so many new releases coming out in March! I know I forgot a few… I definitely forgot to include the one by Christina Lauren! But these are the YA reads I’m super excited about!

I’ll be doing Middle Grade March again this year. I’ll somehow find a way to squeeze some of these books in this month if not next. I know adding these to my already huge middle grade TBR is ambitious.

Here’s to hoping March will be productive!

What are some things you want to accomplish this month?

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It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

January 4, 2021January 4, 2021by Hazel VeeLeave a Comment

I don’t know how I feel about this graphic lol. I feel like it’s too… empty?

First Monday of 2021 and I’m not doing a Manifestation post; probably because I have a million “Hello 2021” posts to post lol. If that isn’t throwing things into the universe then I don’t know what is! Besides it’s only the 4th day of 2021 and I’ve already read 3 books (at the time of writing this post), I’d say that’s a pretty awesome start right?!

Books I Read;

I’m so sad I ever put down City of Ghosts, it’s such an interesting read/concept! And it probably just kick started my historical fiction needs. I didn’t find this book creepy at all, just super interesting the whole way through! Jacob was the best part of this book. Wish I knew what the cat was about on the cover.

Maybe it’s my fault I waited seven years to finally finish The Lynburn series and read Unmade. I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these characters. However, I am glad I finished it and I can honestly say this was my least fav book of the entire series. The whole time I was wondering wtf was even happening and can Rob just like, idk. Disappear? The whole thing was just WEIRD to me. Like how can a whole city just let this happen? It sort of gave me Bella-in-Breaking-Dawn vibes. If you know what I mean.

I don’t even want to talk about The Prince and the Troll. This series has such captivating covers but this book was just… bad. I was literally confused the whole time waiting for some big huge reveal only to get… even more confused?? I don’t even know honestly.

Books I Plan on Reading;

These are books I’ve already started.

The Archive has been on my TBR FOREVER. I keep passing it up because I love the idea so much and I’m scared I’ll hate it. But after reading City of Ghosts I now see why everyone loves this author’s work. Her writing is hypnotic. No joke.

I’m doing the audio for Among The Beasts & Briars and while it sounds super interesting the narrator isn’t doing it for me. I may just stick with it cause currently it’s convenient but I do eventually want to start reading it myself. Too bad there isn’t a book copy on Scribd.

And one NetGalley book for review. I mean I have 2 so I might read them both but I haven’t started the other one yet. I’ve been staying away from NetGalley until I can get my ratio back up. And since I really have a lot of books to read as it is… I don’t need to go and request a bunch of others I probably won’t get to in time. I’m trying to be more realistic this time around.

What books have you finished or are planning to read next?

Books

Winter 2020 TBR

December 3, 2020December 3, 2020by Hazel VeeLeave a Comment

As I mentioned before I’m aiming to read at least half of the 9 NetGalley books I have to review as well as a few fun reads on my TBR I’ve been putting off. I know I won’t get through all of these (hell I might not even get through the half for NetGalley) but ya girl is a dreamer so we’re gonna see how well we do at the end of the month!

NetGalley TBR

I have the other 2 books in The Conjurer series but I heard you don’t have to read these in order.

I previously reviewed the sampler for Lore and ended up being approved for the full copy; I had mixed feelings by the end of the sampler so we’ll see how this goes!

I’m currently reading The Poppy and the Rose and The Last Tiara is one I really want to get to even though it doesn’t release until Feb. I’ve just in the mood for duel time frames lately.

Scribd TBR

I LOVE Scribd. Like it’s insane how much I love Scribd. But it’s such a great resource esp when buying new titles start to add up. Most new releases are audiobooks but there’s no wait list or hold time or anything which is nice!

This is a mix of holiday reads and some titles I’ve wanted to read that I feel like still fit the theme of “holidays”. For some reason I think of the Grim Reaper during Christmas? I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. I’ve always had a Gregory Maguire on my TBR but haven’t gotten around to reading one of his titles yet, this one sounds perfect for the holiday season.

Kindle TBR

I thought I had more on my Kindle TBR but thankfully I only have 2 lol. The Haunting of Beatrix Greene is a lay over from Halloween, I tend to read most of what Rachel Hawkins writes. I loved Hex Hall so much so I’m down for anything supernatural she writes! I just love Sophie Kinsella (honestly who doesn’t)! Love Your Life has been on my radar for the last half of 2020, for sure.

I’m sweating from how ambitious this looks already. I can barely sleep and I really think I’m going to read all these books?! Well yeah, duh. Don’t I always? Ya’ll, send me good thoughts this month lol.

What are you looking forward to reading this December?

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Blogtober 2019 ↠ Annual October TBR Challenge!

October 10, 2019February 10, 2020by Hazel Vee1 Comment

I have a book blog but I’ve switched them so many times that referring back to an archive of this challenge is well… challenging! Unless I link it back to my first book blog but let’s not.

Every October for 10 years now I create a list of paranormal/creepy books I’ve been putting off (this originally started to force myself to read those creepy books I got for review and had put aside.

Continue reading “Blogtober 2019 ↠ Annual October TBR Challenge!” →

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Backlog TBR 2019

January 4, 2019January 4, 2019by Hazel Vee5 Comments

I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to reading including still getting around to these titles that I actually didn’t get around to last year — I don’t know why reading has just gotten so hard for me lately but it’s definitely been a struggle lately.

This is my TBR for 2019 that consists of books I already own and need to finish/didn’t get around to.

I, along with almost everyone else — developed a super soft spot for Rhysand last year. I’ve been working my way very very slowly through ACOWAR because ahhh the intensity! But I really need to finish this series and move on (and not hold on to it for 6 years like I have been with Unspoken)!

There are a couple of retellings I want to get around to — including the Twisted Tales series, Roseblood (I also need to finish the Splintered series) and Sea Witch. I do love retellings that focus on the villains the most!

I got this one at the end of the year in my Owlcrate and it’s one I thought sounded super interesting; this is definitely on my TBR along with a few other Owlcrate reads that I want to give a try!

These are the sequels to books I started last year and I still haven’t gotten around to. I wasn’t a huge fan of Warcross but that ending was a bit mind blowing!

Caraval was one that I wasn’t crazy about as soon as I had finished but after having some time to think about it, I kind of enjoyed it! Weird how that works, right?!

I’ve picked up and put down Red Queen so many times already and I don’t really know why. Same with The Cruel Prince. I just need to focus and stick through it! It’s not boring or anything but I don’t know, I think I’m a bit of a mood reader.

Strange The Dreamer is one that I’ve been meaning to pick up for awhile now. The size of it is just a bit intimidating. But I’ve heard so many good things about this title!

I know I’m missing some titles but I’m trying to make this as general as I can so I don’t go back like oh! I forgot to mention ___!

To follow my reading adventures add me on { GOODREADS } and I do most of my book blogging on READARELLA!

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Holiday TBR

December 6, 2018December 6, 2018by Hazel Vee4 Comments

December — when I was a full time book blogger — was usually dystopia month but the last few years it’s been my favorite holiday re-reads and a TBR that’ll give me all those cozy holiday feels.

Unfortunately taking the photo for this blog post has made me realize how many books I don’t physically own.

Also while taking photos I caught a tiny little Sophie tongue as she was trying to get some attention too.

R E R E A D S

→ Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
→ Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan

T B R

→ The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill
→ Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin
→ Winterspell by Claire Legrand
→ Fantasy of Frost by Kelly St. Clare
→ The Lost Frost Girl by Amy Wilson
→ Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh
→ The Midnight Dance Nikki Katz
→ Clara’s Solider by Brittany Fichter
→ Nutcracked by Susan Adrian
→ The Nutcracker and the Four Realms by Walt Disney Company
→ The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris (which I actually do have and forgot to add to this photo, dammit)

Do you have any books you’re hoping to read this month?