Author: Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

30ish mom, wife, nurse, avid reader, gamer, and Swiftie. Want to join my Taylor Swift Readathon? It's called Books Beside Your Bed and the link is in my linktree! https://linktr.ee/Enchanted.to.read.you
adult, mystery, Romance, thriller

📚 Down the TBR Bonus! 📚

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Hey guys! I am deep into The Queen’s Assassin and loving it so far. Today I decided to do a bonus TBR and hopefully I’ll have my The Queen’s Assassin review tomorrow!

Today we are going to clean out all the books added on July 11, 2015. My TBR is starting at 1860 and we’ll be looking at 16 books!

✔ What I Kept ✔

✔ Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl

I have book one on my tbr this month actually, so I’ll keep for now. If I don’t like book 1, I’ll come back and delete this.

✔ Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl

Same as above. It stays unless I don’t like book 1 or 2!

✔ Dark Lover by JR Ward

Oh, boy. Here we go. So I was on the fence about this one, but then I saw that a ton of my friends rated this 4-5 stars. This has 19 books in the series, and I have 10 on my list for today. So I’ll just add them all below this one, and they stay until I don’t like them 🙂

The Rest of the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series on my TBR:
✔ Lover Eternal
✔ Lover Revealed
✔ Lover Unbound
✔ Lover Enshrined
✔ Lover Avenged
✔ Lover Unleashed
✔ Lover at Last
✔ The King
✔ The Shadows

✘ What I Deleted ✘

✘ Wake by Amanda Hocking

I was really on the fence about this one, but after reading some reviews I decided to skip. My late teens/early 20s would have been the time to read this I think

✘ Lullaby by Amanda Hocking

Book 2 of the Watersong series, so it goes too.

✘ Tidal by Amanda Hocking

Tidal rounds out the Watersong trilogy.

✘ Forgotten Lyrics by Amanda Hocking

A novella for the Watersong trilogy. #0.5

Well, I honestly thought that would go differently. I only deleted 4, so my TBR is at 1856. I didn’t expect to keep 10 out of a 19 book series so that kind of sucks. But they sound good and my friends liked them so we will see!

Have you read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series? Was it worth keeping? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, blog tour, Humor, middle grade

📚 Don’t Check Out This Book! Blog Tour 📚

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

📚 Title: Don’t Check Out This Book!
📚 Author: Kate Klise, M. Sarah Klise
📚 Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
📚 Publish Date: March 10, 2020
📚 Book Form: E-ARC
📚 Pages: 160
📚 Genre: MG, Humor
📚 Dates Read: Mar 7
📚 Rating: 📚📚📚.5

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

In Don’t Check Out This Book!, Appleton Elementary School has a new librarian, Rita B Danjerous. Not everyone in Appleton likes her unconventional methods or her infamous Green Dot Collection, which allows students to borrow books discreetly, without actually checking them out. Under Rita’s influence, students like Reid Durr and Ben Thinken, and even the absent-minded principal, Noah Memree, are staying up way too late reading. While Rita inspires the students and faculty alike, the new school board president and impeccably mannered shop owner Ivana Beprawpa is busy working to shut down the library and force students into uniforms available only at Beprawpa Attire. But what’s behind Ivana’s school uniform policy? A team of fifth-grade sleuths is determined to get to the bottom of Appleton’s juiciest scandal ever. 

Author Kate Klise’s books are “fresh, funny, and a delight to read” (School Library Journal). Here she uses her skill and wit to introduce kids to serious topics, such as censorship and abuse of power. “I was really motivated to cook up a book-banning character who could embody all the pettiness and corruption we see in the world today,” Klise says. “I also wanted to create some book-loving characters who could prevail in the end.” Beneath Appleton’s mystery, there is a pure, unabashed celebration of words, and the rights of all readers to choose their own books. Hilarious, empowering, and exciting, Don’t Check Out This Book! is filled with clever winks to the audience, as if to say “You’re a reader. You get it.” And by the end, we do.

Big thanks to Algonquin Young Readers for inviting me to take part in this blog tour! This was a funny, yet touching MG about the power of books and standing up for what’s right.

This book was so funny! A lot of the names were puns – like Rita B. Danjerous, Etta Toryal, and Gladys Friday. It is also an epistolary format which is my favorite format to read!

In Don’t Check Out This Book, you get memos, emails, letter, and newspaper articles that document the school hiring a brand new librarian. She has a ‘green dot’ collection of books that you don’t need your library card to check out and this is just unacceptable to the superintendent of the school. She is very against books in general. She thinks children should follow the rules.

Rita, the librarian, is trying to teach the kids to question rules and who made them. Always do what you think is right and stand for what you believe in.

This novel is a laugh-out-loud story of the power of books and loud, mean people don’t win! I think it’s a great, important read for kids aged 8-12. Perfect for a classroom!

Kate Klise is the award-winning author of more than 30 books for young readers, many of which are illustrated by her sister, M. Sarah Klise. On her way to becoming an author, Kate Klise worked as a babysitter, waitress, ice-skating instructor, and rosebush pruner. She was also a journalist and spent 15 years reporting for People magazine. When she’s not working on a new book, she enjoys traveling around the country, sharing her best writing tips and tricks with aspiring authors of all ages.

M. Sarah Klise has always had a fondness for creating colorful book reports, which began in elementary school with yarn-bound volumes on states and countries. In college, she enjoyed writing heavily illustrated letters home to her mother. Years later, she still does variations of all that when she illustrates books for young readers. She also teaches art classes in Berkley, CA.

Is Don’t Check Out This Book on your radar? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, contemporary, Four Star Book, review, Romance, ya

💔 Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak ARC Review 💔

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

💔 Title: Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak
💔 Author: Adi Alsaid
💔 Publisher: Inkyard Press
💔 Publish Date: April 30, 2019
💔 Book Form: E-ARC
💔Pages: 384
💔Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
💔 Dates Read: Mar 3 – Mar 7
💔Rating: 💔💔💔💔

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The summer after senior year is not going as eighteen-year-old Lu Charles expected: after her longtime boyfriend unexpectedly breaks up with her, Lu can’t write a single word, despite the fact that her college scholarship is tied to her columnist job at hip online magazine Misnomer. Then, she meets Cal.

Cal’s ever-practical girlfriend Iris is looking ahead to her first year of college, and her plans do not include a long-distance boyfriend. When Lu learns that Cal and Iris have planned to end their relationship at the end of the summer, she becomes fascinated and decides to chronicle the last months the couple will spend together.

The closer she gets to the couple, the more she likes them, and the more she wants to write about them. The summer unfurls, and Lu discovers what it really means to be in love. On the page, or off it. The book is touching exploration of love and how it shapes us both during a relationship and after it has ended.

– Goodreads

This is the first book by Adi Alsaid, but I know it will not be my last. I was instantly pulled into Lu’s story and couldn’t wait to see what happened.

In the beginning, and throughout the whole book, really, I wanted this weird relationship with Lu and the couple she eavesdropped on – Cal and Iris. I wanted Lu and Iris to become bffs. They seemed to instantly click and they jsut had a nice flow to their friendship. However, Lu met Cal before she met Iris. He sat beside her on a bench where they talked in fake French accents and helped French tourists find their way. They seemed to have instant chemistry and I really wanted Cal to be the one to mend Lu’s heart.

For a while, this weird situation seemed to work. Lu started hanging out with Cal and Iris together, then separate. When she and Cal were together, it seemed like a romantic connection. When Lu and Iris were together, they seemed like they had been friends forever.
Lu had a best friend before all this went down – Pete. He might have been my favorite. He was asexual and Lu described him as her wise old uncle, which he thought was pretty fitting. He was funny and smart and gave the best advice.

Lu was eavesdropping on Cal and Iris because she writes a love column. Since her boyfriend broke up with her, she had writer’s block. She was listening to what she thought was their breakup for inspiration. This is really the central plot of the book – Lu working through her heartbreak so she can write again. Besides, her whole future lies in this column. She has to keep it to get her scholarship to go to NYU for journalism.

Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak was such a quick, fun read. It made me laugh out loud at times. It also took me back to my past days of high school romance when a break up was totally the end of the world.

I would recommend this book if you like YA romance contemporaries – but the ending will surprise you! I want to say more thoughts about the ending, but I’m scared it’s spoilery so I will refrain.

Have you read Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

fantasy, middle grade, Romance, ya

Down the TBR Part 14!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

So I added some books to my TBR this week… I’m up to 1863. Today I’ll be clearing the day of July 7, 2015 which is 13 books.

At first glance, I already see some I’ll keep. A lot of YA series in this one!

✔ What I Kept ✔

✔ Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

I love a good dystopian YA, and this still sounds amazing. I really need to work this in soon. I’ve almost bought it at the bookstore about 100 times!

✔ Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I’ve actually wanted to read this book for forever too! I love YA fantasies with kings and royals and forbidden romances.

✔ The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

My friend Stephanie has been trying to get me to read this! Like as of the last month or so. So, it’s staying and I’m reading it just for her.

✔ The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

I love a good ghost story around Halloween! I am going to save this one for my spooky tbr later this year!

✔ Fallen by Lauren Kate

So, I’m not sure about the synopsis, or if I’ll even like this book.

But look at that beautiful emo cover. I’ll be listening to Brand New and Taking Back Sunday while reading this.

✔ Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I’ve never read one of Maggie’s books. I’ve been looking at this one a lot recently. I really need to read some of her work!

✔ Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I’m usually not an alien fan. However, many people have told me this is a great series. I may try this one soon!

✘ What I Deleted ✘

✘ The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

This just isn’t sounding good to me anymore. I definitely would have liked it in my younger days, but two kids trying to keep the lights going in a dystopian world is just kind of eh to me.

✘ Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

This is another I would have loved in my younger days. I just need a little more substances to my vampires now that I’m older. I’m looking for more of an Eric than an Edward, if ya know what I mean.

✘ Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

This sounds a little young for me too. The MC is 12, which I’m not opposed to, however, this just isn’t striking my fancy. I should have read this long ago.

✘ The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I’m not a huge fan of gods, demigods, mythology.. all the books with that subject matter I end up giving low star ratings. I’m just going to save myself the pain and say nah fam.

✘ The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

I don’t know what it is, but this just does not seem appealing to me at all. Maybe its the cover? Maybe it sounds too juvenile? I don’t know but I’m going to pass.

✘ Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

This is another paranormal book I would have loved back in the day. I just need a little more oomph now.

Wow! I kept 7/13 – over half! I think that’s the most I’ve ever kept. This was also all YA, which is pretty amazing. I figured I’d keep more once I started getting into my YA backlist.

I wish I would have read all the books I deleted in the past. The synopses sounded just like something I would have liked in my younger days. I’m sad I didn’t get to them because I feel like I wouldn’t enjoy them now.

I’m officially ending my TBR today at 1857.

What did you think about what I kept and deleted? Did I make any mistakes? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, contemporary, fantasy, Historical Fiction, mystery, thriller, ya

🔥 Top 5 Anticipated Releases for March 2020 🔥

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

This is becoming one of my favorite monthly posts! And one of the posts that makes my tbr grow…

March is a huge month for releases and it was so hard to narrow them down! Here’s what I decided on:

🔥 Girls with Razor Hearts by Suzanne Young 🔥

Release Date: March 17

I fell in love with Suzanne during our author chat last year. Girls With Sharp Sticks was one of my top books of 2019 so I can’t wait to dive into this sequel!

I forgot to add this to my TBR, but I think I am going to replace We Didn’t Ask For This with this book. My blog tour for We Didn’t Ask For This is next month!

🔥 The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu 🔥

I’m trash for Marie Lu. She’s one of my favorites. I will read whatever she puts out. Warcross is one of my favorite series of all time.

This is so different from everything else she has written, but I can’t wait to see how it is! And that cover! Ugh, so gorge.

🔥 The June Boys by Courtney C Stevens 🔥

I love a good kidnapper tale. And what’s interesting about this one is all the boys are returned unharmed – until they aren’t. Why is the Gemini Thief taking the boys? What does he do with them? Why kill now?

I HAVE TO KNOW!

🔥 We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian 🔥

I am so into girl power and girls supporting girls.

“A toxic coach finds himself outplayed by the high school girls on his team in this deeply suspenseful novel, which unspools over twenty-four hours through six diverse perspectives.“

Like, COME ON! That sounds so amazing! Booo toxic masculinity! Burn the patriarchy!

🔥 All the Pretty Things by Emily Arsenault 🔥

I am super pumped for this thriller. First, the cover is creepy as hell. That’s one ride I do not want to get on.

When your best friend stops talking to you and you start discovering secrets involving her and the dead guy, you know it’s going to be a wild ride.

Well, these are my top 5 releases of March 2020! They’re all on my TBR except Kingdom of Back, which will be on April’s TBR!

What do you think of these? What is your most anticipated release? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, contemporary, ya

First Impression Friday

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

I wanted to read at least 3 books this week, but I’m just now starting my second. I feel like this will be a super quick read, though! I read the first chapter of Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid and loved it! I have two of his books on my TBR this month, so I hope they both live up to what I think they will!

“The summer after senior year is not going as eighteen-year-old Lu Charles expected: after her longtime boyfriend unexpectedly breaks up with her, Lu can’t write a single word, despite the fact that her college scholarship is tied to her columnist job at hip online magazine Misnomer. Then, she meets Cal.
Cal’s ever-practical girlfriend Iris is looking ahead to her first year of college, and her plans do not include a long-distance boyfriend. When Lu learns that Cal and Iris have planned to end their relationship at the end of the summer, she becomes fascinated and decides to chronicle the last months the couple will spend together.
The closer she gets to the couple, the more she likes them, and the more she wants to write about them. The summer unfurls, and Lu discovers what it really means to be in love. On the page, or off it. The book is touching exploration of love and how it shapes us both during a relationship and after it has ended.” – Goodreads

In the fist chapter, we meet Lu. Lu’s boyfriend just broke up with her. She’s hoping to meet him and try to get him back. While she’s waiting, a cute guy sits next to her and they have a lovely chat/flirt. After he leaves, she goes to the bookstore, where she sees a girl crying. She then realized girl is there to meet the guy Lu was just chatting with!

I was instantly pulled in. I wanted to know how this was going to play out. Even though Lu was still thinking about her ex, she was having fun with this new guy! I was hoping he would be the one to heal her heart, but I guess we’ll have to see!

I got through the first chapter, which was 4% of the book. My kindle tells me I have just over 4 hours left to read. I’m guessing this will be a solid 4 star book!

Have you read Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, contemporary, fantasy, review, two star book, ya

Lovestruck ARC Review

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

🏹 Title: Lovestruck
🏹 Author: Kate Watson
🏹 Publisher: Flux
🏹 Publish Date: April 2, 2019
🏹 Book Form: E-ARC
🏹 Pages: 350
🏹 Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Mythology
🏹 Dates Read: Feb 28 – Mar 3
🏹 Rating: 🏹🏹

Sixteen-year-old cupid-in-training Kali is in an Olympus-sized mountain of trouble. Rule number one in arrow-toting matchmaking: don’t stick yourself. But accidents happen, and Kali instantly falls hard for her indie rock, bass-playing target, Benicio.
The God of Love is going to kill her. Even if he is her dad.
Being the daughter of Eros isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For one thing, a girl can get jaded when her parents have the most beautiful and fatalistic love story in history. For another, immortality royally sucks when the Oracle condemns you to eternity in the wrong profession. Do the Gods care that Kali wants to ditch the love stuff and be a muse?
Nope.
To reclaim her heart and her destiny, Kali is left with no choice but to defy the Gods, tempt the Fates, date the mortal love-of-her-life, and hope she doesn’t lose her best friend, Hector, in the process.

– Goodreads

So many conflicting emotions about Lovestruck. I wanted to like this book. I loved the premise. It just fell really flat for me.

Kali is basically Cupid. She is tasked with making love matches. She has been studying her mark for weeks. The time has come. She about to shoot him, when suddenly she sticks herself with her arrow. Now she is matched with Ben. Since Kali is immortal, it cannot be reversed. Kali must now go on a quest with the help of her god and goddess friends to find a way to reverse what has happened.

Everyone in this novel was SO DANG DRAMATIC. Like, think of the most dramatic individual you know. Times it by 10 (yes, I promise) and those are the characters. Hector accidentally stuck himself while looking at Kali. Now he is matched with her. She dated him for a while, loved it, but then broke up with him. Yet, when she sees him with another girl, she flips out! You’re the one that left him, honey. You’re to blame.

Ben, Kali’s mark-turned-boyfriend, is emo. But not in the cute, early 2000s emo way. No. If she even mentions Hector, he starts brooding and turning super angsty. I couldn’t with him. He would be so mean to Kali, and she’d just write it off like it was nothing. She just loved that he called her his muse and she inspired his music. I wanted them both to jump off a cliff.

The only characters I liked were Tony and Artmetis. They actually seemed like the genuinely liked each other. I was rooting for them through the whole book.

I know, I’ve been ranting. So why did I give Lovestruck two stars (or arrows)? I love the premise. This story could have been wonderful had it been executed better. I would even be ok with the weird love triangle between Kali, Hec, and Ben had they not been so damn dramatic.

I don’t know that i can recommend this book. Maybe if you like mythology – there were TONS of gods and goddesses in this. But just be prepared for the worst teenage dramatics.

Have you read Lovestruck? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

contemporary, fantasy, Five Star Book, Romance, two star book, ya

The Prediction Book Tag

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Thank you so much to Love for Words for tagging me in this one! This is the first tag I’m participating in, but I hope to do more! Here’s how this one works –

💖 Ping back to the creator of the tag, @bookprincessreviews
💖 Tag the person who tagged you, @LoveForWords
💖 Find an answer to match each prompt.
💖 Have fun!

💖 All these prompts are predictions for your… 💖

💖 Next read💖

This has been on my ARC backlong for too long. I’m trying to catch up as quick as I can! I’m hoping to finish my current read and start this one today!

💖 Next 5 Star Read 💖

I received a beautiful ARC of this and I can’t wait to dive in! I think I may read it after A Brief Chronicle.

💖 Next 1 Star Read 💖

My current read. I don’t normally rate one stars, and this will probably get a two. It’s an ARC, so I will finish and review it, but I’m just not loving it.

💖 Next Love Interest (Or Character Who Seems Really Cool) 💖

A bastard aching to belong…

Reviled son of a dead king, Rafe would do anything for his beloved half-brother, Prince Lysander Taetanus, including posing as him in the upcoming courtship trials. When a dragon interrupts their secret exchange, he orders his studious sibling to run. After suffering a fatal blow, Rafe is saved by a beautiful dove who possesses forbidden magic, just like him.

– Goodreads

I mean, just look at that pic and read that synopsis of him. I’m already swooning.

💖 Next Book You’ll Be Buying 💖

This is one of the books that has been on my TBR the longest! I’ll have to buy it but I’m determined to work more of these books in!

💖 Next Book That Will Leave You With a Hangover 💖

I’m so into the girl power in this book! It’s one of my most anticipated this month!

💖 And now for tags! 💖

💖 Sarah at Bookish Bug Blog
💖 Destiny at Howling Libraries
💖 Lauren at Lala’s Book Reviews
💖 Kristin at Kristin Kraves Books
💖 Leslie at Books Are The New Black

I hope you all enjoyed this tag as much as I did! What is your next read? What are your thoughts on these? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

contemporary, Romance, three star book, ya

Lock and Key Review!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Ruby, where is your mother?
Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she’s been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.
That’s how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn’t seen in ten years, and Cora’s husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future; it’s a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?
Best-selling author Sarah Dessen explores the heart of a gutsy, complex girl dealing with unforeseen circumstances and learning to trust again.

– Goodreads

I remember reading Sarah Dessen as a high schooler and loving her. I wanted all her books. So when Lock and Key popped up on my TBR, I knew I would keep and give it another go. Unfortunately, I was pretty underwhelmed.

Lock and Key is almost like a day-to-day in the life of a high schooler. Sure, Ruby had some issues. Her mother left her, she lived alone for weeks, it’s hard for her to trust anyone. She’s been lied to more times than she can count. That’s the makings of a dark, interesting character. Ruby just didn’t live up to it. I was sorely disappointed in just… the lack of personality, I guess? I didn’t feel bad for her at all.

Nate was the love interest – if you can even call him that. Yes, there was flirting. Almost kisses. And Nate had some secrets of his own. However, there was so little romance I’m not sure it even should count as a romance book. I’m obviously not expecting smut, but they barely flirted. They were more like best friends.

My favorite characters were Jamie and Cora, Ruby’s brother in law and sister. They were fun to me and seemed like they really cared. They had the most personality of anyone.

Lock and Key is probably a great read for middle school to high school aged kids. I think I would have loved it back then, but there just wasn’t enough action for me now. If you have kids or siblings 13-18ish, I think they would love this book!

Have you read Lock and Key? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, ya

Down the TBR Blitz!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Since Sunday was the first of the month, I posted my March TBR instead of the typical Down the TBR post. That inspired me to do something a little different. I am going to go through the rest of the books that I added on June 27, 2015. I’m starting my TBR at 1905. Let’s do this!

What I kept:

What I deleted:

What I added:

Wow. That was A LOT. 34 kept, which was more than I was expecting and 54 deleted. A total of 87 books! I ended my TBR at 1854!!!

So. I deleted Nicholas Sparks. There were a lot of series that just didn’t sound great anymore. Apparently in 2015 I was super into zombies and that’s not really the case for me now, either.

I kept the book by Ann Rule – the OG true crime queen. Same with the mystery by Mary Higgins Clark. OG. I’ve loved her forever. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas – I’ve read it before. But it’s been a few years and I need to reread to finish the series! I was also excited to see some YA I wanted to keep!

Well, that was that. I feel so much better going through those 87 books!

Did you like this way better, or just doing 10 at a time? Did I make any mistakes? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…