Romance Review: Practice Makes Perfect

* Book 2 in the Rome series *

Annie's the sweet sister - the good girl. And she's tired of that identity. She's tired of hiding her true feelings from her siblings. She has a gaping hole in her heart and she has decided to find a husband to fill that hole.

But the date she goes on is a disaster of epic proportions. The one saving grace is a friend who happens to be there. Will is Amelia's bodyguard, but he's also kind. Plus, he's been on so many dates. He reluctantly agrees to coach Annie in dating. 

But the whole town thinks that Will and Annie are dating. Annie starts to fall for Will. How can she escape this relationship without getting her heart broken?

My Thoughts: I really loved this book. I loved Annie - how she had layers and secrets she didn't share with her siblings. I loved her secret love of romance novels. I loved watching her become more confident and come into her own. Of course, the moments with the siblings and Amelia are always fun. I loved that baseball date. Lots of humor here, but don't let that fool you, there's plenty of feelings here to work through. I can't wait to see which sibling is up next, I have a feeling....

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your romance collection!

BookTok: You are a Unicorn

 

This new board book came into the library:

@yabooknerdlibrarian You are a Unicorn! Such a sweet board book with gorgeous illustrations! Be sure to read this one! #boardbook #booktok #unicorns #kidlit @Random House Children’s Books ♬ original sound - Jennifer @YA Book Nerd 📚📚📚

Picture Book Wednesday: Bunny Should Be Sleeping

Bunny should be sleeping but he's waiting for his father to check on him.  When his father doesn't come, bunny gathers up all the tools and goes to check on his father himself. His father is sleeping. Bunny goes through their bedtime rituals alone - until the final one where he needs his father's help.

A cute bedtime story about a bunny and his father and bedtime rituals. They need each other! The calm illustrations are soothing. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books up next

 This week's topic is the books up next in my TBR.

Here they are:

Have you read any of these? Which one should I read next?

Middle Grade Book Review: Something Like Home

 

Lauren goes to live with her aunt after her parents are required to enter rehab. They can't stop using drugs and neglecting Lauren. Lauren called the police and feels responsible for their time in rehab.

Lauren's aunt isn't the most welcoming. She just wants to go home, but that's not an option. Moving to her aunts means moving to a new school. It's not easy being the new girl in school. How is Lauren supposed to make friends when she's going to be back with her parents before too long?

When she finds a puppy who needs recusing, Lauren comes up with a plan. If she can train Sparrow to become a therapy dog, they can visit her parents. She misses them more than she can say. 

My Thoughts: A wonderful heart wrenching story about Lauren's family life. She feels heartbroken that she's responsible for splitting up her family. I love how she became a family with Sparrow. She trained him. Even though she rescues him, they saved each other. Because of Sparrow, Lauren makes a friend. Together, they train Sparrow to become a therapy dog. I wanted to wrap Lauren up in a hug. For me, the ending, was a little too good to be true, but it did wrap everything up nicely. 

Cover Thoughts: Adorable

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A great novel in verse for middle graders. 

* Nothing bad happens to the dog after it's rescued. 

Taylor Swift Pop-Up Party Recap

 At work, we've been missing the boat on celebrating Taylor Swift's new albums. But we decided to do a pop-up party (not advertised in our newsletter only on social media and in the library) 

We hosted one for teens and one for kids

Both made friendship bracelets. We had coloring sheets for everyone.

The teens had trivia questions:

What are the names of Taylor Swift's parents?

What was Taylor's job at the Christmas tree farm?

We read this book for the kids:

this is a super cute story with great illustrations! 

The kids had finish the lyrics like this one:

We handed out stickers and bookmarks

How it went:

It went really well - everyone seemed to have a great time. Everyone went home with goodies. We had a mix of people who knew all the trivia and lyrics and people who didn't know too many. I had such a good time. The only complaint was - next time make it longer!

TikTok: Taylor Merch

Happy Taylor Swift Day to all those who celebrate.

While everyone is listening to TTPD on repeat,

here is a video of some of my Taylor Merch 

@yabooknerdlibrarian Happy Taylor day! New music is finally here!!! I’m showcasing some merch here. #merch #ttpd #taylorswift #swiftie #booktok #bookbags #swag ♬ original sound - Jennifer @YA Book Nerd 📚📚📚

Review: Out Of Our League

 

If you're a sports reader - this one is for you!

There are 16 sports short stories - all different sports from YA lit. While they are all wildly different, some do connect with names from other stories. 

The one problem I have with short stories is that I want more; I want them to become books.

In addition to sports, there is romance, friendship, and family drama.

There truly is something for everyone in this book. 

Picture Book Wednesday: The Reflection in Me

A person chats with themselves in the mirror - and they are VERY complimentary. They like themselves.

It's never too early to start practicing self-care. There's so much negativity in the world, that it's important to remember to be kind to yourself. Starting off every day with what you like about yourself is a perfect way to start the day. And of course, the illustrations are from the marvelous Peter H. Reynolds. This is a great book to share with everyone! 

* F&G sent for review

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Characters

 This week's topic is book characters we'd like to go on vacation with. Of course, if the book is good, you always want to spend more time with these characters. 

Emily and Kieran - anywhere bookish

Noah's sisters would be a hoot on vacation

A ball with Sophia, Polly, and Tirzah

on a day hike with Jo

Laurel, Paris, and Cassie to a winery 

Middle Grade Book: Louder Than Hunger

Of course, as soon as I heard about this book, I wanted to read it.

First because of the author: John Schu.

Second: Novel in Verse

Third: Anorexia from a male perspective

@yabooknerdlibrarian Louder than Hunger is a must read book - its about struggles. It made me cry 😭 but it was so so good! @Candlewick Press #booktok #poetry #poetrytok #novelsinverse ♬ original sound - Jennifer @YA Book Nerd 📚📚📚

                                                           Happy National Poetry Month! 

Fresh Fiction Reviews (17)

 

"Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass"

"Clear your afternoon to devour this book"

An enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, forced proximity, Indiana Jones-inspired adventure romance!

"I didn't want this visit to Sunset Cove to end!"

a love letter to Swifties

New Paintings

 

I've had some time on my own and I filled lots of it with painting.

Do you have a favorite?

@yabooknerdlibrarian I had some free time on my hands lately - here are some paintings from this year. Most are paintings but some are bookmarks 🔖 #painttok #paintings #watercolors #landscapes #bookmarks #flowers ♬ Little Happiness - Oneul

5 Things: Proof of the Pudding

 

Book 17 in the Royal Spyness series!

This is a favorite cozy series of mine. Here are 5 things I loved about this book! 

Picture Book Wednesday: We Found a Seed

Two friends find a seed. At first, they are not sure how to make it grow, but eventually, they figure it out! 

A cute book about how to grow a seed and being patient. The flower grows and died, leaving behind more seeds. Bright illustrations accompany this story. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Fourth Wing

 This week's topic is a freebie. After hearing about this book for ages, I finally got my hands on Fourth Wing. And it lived up to the hype. I'm starting the next one this week, but for those of you who have finished both books, here are some book recommendations. 

For Adult Book Lovers:

For YA Book Lovers:

Have you read Fourth Wing? Did you enjoy it??

Middle Grade Book: Just Keep Walking

 

I read this book and was so impressed with Jo. 

She hiked and hiked and hiked.

While I'm an amateur hiker, this is nowhere on my level. 

Here are some previous posts about hiking.:

About Me

Bryce National Park and Zion National Park

Rocky Mountains

Grand Canyon

Acadia National Park

I loved how Jo talked about books (Little Women and Anne of Green Gables for the win!)

@yabooknerdlibrarian Are you a hiker? Jo and her mom start a massive hiking journey together- can they accomplish their goal? #hiking #middlegradebooks #survival #booktok @Scholastic ♬ original sound - Jennifer @YA Book Nerd 📚📚📚