The TBR Tag

I saw this over on Morgan's blog last month and thought it would be a lot of fun to share the details of my ever-growing TBR pile. (If you didn't know, TBR stands for "to be read!") This tag was created by Rachel from A Perfection Called Books and Dana from Dana Square.

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?
I organize everything through Goodreads. I have a shelf for all the physical books I own but haven't read yet, yearly releases (2014 through 2019) that I eventually want to get to, the books I must get to this year, series to start, and series to continue. There is no way I could remember all of these without Goodreads!

Is your TBR mostly print or ebook?
Aside from the one or two ebooks I received for free, it's all print! (I just checked and I actually have five: The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows, Voice of Gods by Eleanor Herman, Ignite by Lily Paradis, This Night So Dark by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, and Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I will probably only read two of these, lol.) If I really want to read a book from my TBR that I don't own, I usually try and borrow the ebook from Overdrive.

How do you determine which book to read from your TBR next?
Oh man, where do I even start? I have a document of all the 2018 releases I want to read, and ideally I try and read an author's backlist (if they have one) before their newest book is published. I rarely stick to this though, because I will read whatever my heart desires 😂Usually, I'll also try and read a book before the movie/TV show adaptation comes out. But more recently, I've been focusing on new releases!

What book has been on your TBR the longest?
Legend by Marie Lu. I added it on July 6, 2013 🙈

What is the last book you added to your TBR?
I added four books to Goodreads on June 4, 2018: Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman, and The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill. (The Tea Dragon Society is the only one that has been published.) For my physical TBR, I purchased I See You by Clare Macintosh yesterday at Half Price Books!

What book is on your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover?
No book makes it on my TBR if 1) the story doesn't sound good *or* 2) it doesn't have good reviews. But if I must choose, I have to mention The Tea Dragon Society again. I don't know what it's about, but Alexa from Alexa Loves Books has spoken many good things and the art is *so* lovely.

What is a book on your TBR that you never plan on actually reading?
I have an exclusive shelf on Goodreads titled "on my radar," which includes all the books I'm on the fence about but could still possibly end up reading. I added Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde to my list in 2013 but now that I think about it, I'll probably never get around to picking it up. I don't want to remove it though :x

What is an unpublished book on your TBR that you're excited for?
The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord, 100%!!! The Start of Me and You is one of my all-time favorite books!

What is a book on your TBR that basically everyone has read except you?
I will easily name four: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

What is a book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you?
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo immediately popped into my head. But it's not a recommendation from anyone in particular, just one that has been mentioned over and over again in the bookish community!

What is a book on your TBR that you're dying to read?
Aside from The Map from Here to There, a published book I really want to read is Warcross by Marie Lu!

How many books are on your Goodreads TBR shelf?
Number of books I've added to my Goodreads "want to read" and "on my radar" shelves = 598
Physical books I haven't read = 207

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How do you determine which book from your TBR you'd like to read next?
Feel free to get as detailed as you'd like 😂

Book Review: 9 Days and 9 Nights by Katie Cotugno

9 days and 9 nights by katie cotugno

Book 2 in the 99 Days duology

Young Adult + Fiction // Categories: Contemporary, Romance

Release Date: May 1, 2018

Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)

Format: Hardcover // 263 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Links: Purchase from The Book Depository or Amazon • Add to Goodreads

what 9 days and 9 nights is about
9 Days and 9 Nights follows Molly a year after the events that happened in 99 Days. She has since escaped the person she used to be when she lived in Star Lake and re-invented herself now that she's in college, away from home. But while on vacation in Europe with Ian, her boyfriend, she runs into an old flame. And she has unfinished business with him ...

things i liked (but probably am in the minority)
The heart of 9 Days and 9 Nights = Molly's internal struggle with who she is.

While Europe is the backdrop of this story, we really don't get to experience a lot of it. Molly and Ian may be in Ireland, but we only see them at a friend's house or at a hardware store. That's pretty much it! And I think if you go into this book hoping to experience London or Ireland, you may be a little disappointed. (We do, however, get to explore Paris! Which I loved.)

We see how Molly struggles to accept her past self in the present and how that affects her relationships now—with her best friend, Ian, her old flame, and even a new friend. She hides parts of herself to protect her reputation, but who does she really want to be?

molly's relationship with ian
We get a lot of flashbacks to the beginning of Molly and Ian's relationship—how they met, events that happened to progress their relationship, etc. but it's all things from the PAST. We don't really get to know how they are right now. (But reading this book made me realize that there aren't a lot of YA books following relationships after the "honeymoon" phase. We love the build-up and the anticipation, but what's the reality of after?)

Molly and Ian are on this vacation together, but there isn't a lot of interaction between the two of them. They're at a bar together in Ireland with some friends, but they spend the entire evening apart (aside from the time Ian buys her a drink when they first get there.) I think I'm just being really picky—I wanted to know more about the Ian she loves *now* and not just the Ian from when they first met. He just felt like a character written to emphasize Molly's development.

last thoughts
I loved 99 Days back when I read it in 2015. It had all the ingredients a Cotugno book promises—messy relationships + extremely flawed but real characters—and I can say the same for 9 Days and 9 Nights! I mean that all in a good way, because Cotugno writes the best "complicated" stories.

I'm glad I didn't re-read 99 Days before I started 9 Days and 9 Nights, even though I wanted to. I forgot about the details in 99 Days, but it didn't affect how much I liked this one. I still want to re-read 99 Days so that's a good thing, right? To sum it all up: if you liked 99 Days, I think you'll appreciate 9 Days and 9 Nights.

Other books by Katie Cotugno: How to Love, 99 Days, Fireworks, Top Ten

Sci-Fi Space Recommendations

If a book's blurb/description mentions even a word related to space, it goes on my TBR no questions asked. But the sad thing is, I haven't read too many books in that realm *headdesk* I know, I'm a sad lover of space. I only have two favorites (as mentioned below) but I really want to expand this list so please share yours too!

favorite space books 🌌

I love the history, time-travel, and sci-fi elements that Ryan Graudin wove into Invictus. And the cast of characters à la Guardians of the Galaxy made it all the more enjoyable! It's also a standalone, which means no cliffhangers and no waiting for the sequel. You *know* you're going to get an ending. Invictus in a short sentence = a mind-warping chase through time and space to save the future's past.

I can confidently say that Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman is my favorite space book thus far. The drama, the intensity, I LOVED IT ALL. The entire story is so messed up in the best way possible. And you would think that I'd be saying the same about the entire series, but I haven't read onward yet ... I know, I'm the worst 🙈 I wanted to re-read Illuminae before Gemina came out, but you can see how that turned out. (It didn't.)

I may not love These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner with the same undying love as Invictus and Illuminae, but it's definitely a book I would recommend. The best way I can describe this book is Titanic meets The 100.

hoping to get to these soon!

• Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray // I've been seeing a bunch of mixed reviews for this one but I will read anything about AIs no matter what anyone says!
• Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner // "In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race ..."
• Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre // Petty criminal main character + sentient alien ships.
• Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston // ANASTASIA IN SPACE? SOLD.
• Contagion by Erin Bowman // This one doesn't come out until the end of July, but IT SOUNDS SO GOOD. I love the mystery/thriller element, which is something that seems to make space books even more enticing to me. (Again, the best example in this case is Illuminae. What can I say, I love the creepy parts!)

should i read these? 🤔

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe • Starflight • Red Rising • The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

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Okay friends, tell me your favorite space books!