TBR | June 2023

Hello friends!

Can you believe we are almost in June? This year is flying by and I’m seriously having a hard time keeping up! But do you know what I keep up with? My reading! So as usual, I’m bringing you my TBR list for the month of June – what a segue, I know.

May was a great month full of great books – and you’ll read all about it in the upcoming Wrap Up post -, so I can only hope June is going to be as good!

For this month, my TBR is going to consist of 2 audiobooks and 3 paperbacks. Two paperbacks are standalones (one is contemporary and the other one is fantasy), and the other paperback is the first book of a fantasy trilogy. Regarding the audiobooks: one is a standalone fantasy book and the other is the first book of a contemporary series! So as you can see, no non-fiction books this month! To be honest, I’ve been loving fiction right now, so that’s what I’m going for this month.

But see the books for yourself! Here are the books I’m planning on reading this next month:

  1. Beartown (Beartown #1) by Fredrik Backman
    Starting strong with one of the audiobooks I want to read this month. This is a very popular series and I’ve been wanting to read this for a very long time. So this month I’m going to start this series and see how it goes. I’ve heard this is a hard one to go through, but I feel like I’m ready!
  2. Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber
    Another series I’ve been wanting to start for a very long time is “Caraval”! So this month I want to start this by picking up the first book in the series in a paperback format. I have the entire trilogy waiting for me on my shelf, so I have no reason to postpone this any more. I have high hopes for this one!
  3. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
    This was a fairly recent purchase, but I decided to add this to my TBR this month and forget about my older books on my shelf because I’m so excited to read this! So this is one of the physical copies I want to read this month. You have probably seen or heard about this book before, but it’s essentially a standalone fantasy book, more specifically a mythological retelling. Very excited for this one!
  4. Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater
    This is the fantasy standalone that I want to listen to this month! I’m sure you recognize her name: this is the author who wrote the iconic “Raven Cycle” series and “Shiver” series! Apparently this is a “Brave” retelling, and the story is picked up a few years after the original story ends. I thought this would be a really cool read, and I’m excited to see what it is like! Maybe I should watch the movie one more time before I start this?
  5. Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
    Last but not least, I have my last contemporary fiction book to be read in a paperback format! It’s impossible you have never heard about this book so I’m not going to bore you with details. What I’ll say is that I’ve heard this is an amazing and impactful book, and I can’t wait to see what the hype is all about! Also, I’ll have tissues near me because I already know I’m going to cry.

Aaaand there you have it friends, my TBR list for June! As usual, I hope you liked this post! Let me know if you read any of these or if you have any recommendations for me. You know I’m always grateful for those!

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

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TBR | May 2023

Hello friends!

I hope you’re doing well and you’re reading a lot! As usual, I’m bringing you my TBR list for the month of May. April was an amazing reading month, full of fun and romantic reads – you’ll read all about it in the upcoming Wrap Up post!

For this month, my TBR is going to consist of 2 audiobooks and 3 paperbacks. Two of the paperbacks form a duology, and the other paperback is a YA stand alone – but they’re all contemporary fiction. But not the audiobooks! One of the audiobooks is fantasy and the other is non-fiction. 

See them for yourself! Here are the books I’m planning on reading this next month:

  1. Lore by Alexandra Bracken
    We are starting strong with my first audiobook pick of my TBR. This is the fantasy book I was talking about! This was very popular a while ago, but I never had a chance to pick it up. Well, that ends in May! I don’t know a lot about the story itself – by my choice -, but this has been on my TBR for a very long time and now it’s time to finally listen to it!
  2. Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
    For this month I decided to pick up a book that has been on my shelf for a very long time! I’m talking about “Am I Normal Yet?” by Holly Bourne. I believe this is a YA romance book with a coming of age story, following a girl with OCD. I don’t gravitate towards YA books like this anymore because I feel like I’ve outgrown these coming of age stories, but I still want to read it since I bought it. We’ll see, fingers crossed!
  3. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
    Another book I don’t know much about – the only thing I know is the fact that this is a non-fiction book about Nature! I’m very excited about this one! I’m hoping to learn some things soon.
  4. Tudo o Que Nunca Fomos / Todo Lo Que Nunca Fuimos (Deja Que Ocurra #1) by Alice Kellen
    This is the first book of the contemporary romance duology I just told you about. It is a book written by a Spanish author, and as far as I know, this wasn’t translated to English. I bought it a while ago, because it was translated to Portuguese! I’ve had this for so long on my shelves, and I’m excited to finally read it!
  5. Tudo o Que Somos Juntos / Todo Lo Que Somos Juntos (Deja Que Ocurra #2) by Alice Kellen
    This is the second book of the duology I mentioned above! Hopefully I will be able to finish the entire duology in May.

Aaaand there you have it friends, my TBR list for May! As usual, I hope you liked this post! Let me know if you read any of these or if you have any recommendations for me. You know I’m always grateful for those!

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

TBR | April 2023

Hello friends!

First of all, happy Spring y’all! I’m feeling so incredibly happy lately with the warmer days and all the pretty flowers blooming that I wanted to pass that feeling to you! I want to send you all love, and I truly hope you are all happy and feeling well.

Well, going back to today’s post: you know what’s coming – well, you read the title. Today I’m bringing you my TBR list for April! I admit March was an okay reading month, but not the way I planned. I read a few books, but I wasn’t able to finish all the books I wanted! My Wrap Up is coming soon and I’ll tell you all about it.

But since it wasn’t a month like I planned, I’m trying something different for April.

As you know, every month I create a 5 book TBR list monthly, which will include: 2 printed copies, 2 audiobooks and 1 ebook. The thing is, my physical copies are piling up because I wasn’t able to finish them all yet! So since I still have a few physical books to finish, my TBR for this month is going to be mostly audiobooks – with a single physical copy in the mix! I hope with this decision I will be able to balance things a little and catch up with my physical reads!

So, without further ado, here are the books I’m planning on reading this next month:

  1. Why We Sleep by Mathew Walker, PhD
    We are starting strong with my first audiobook pick of my TBR: “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker. I’ve always liked to pick up random non-fiction books about random topics because I always learn a lot! I’ve heard great things about this book and I’m looking forward to learning a few new things about sleep. I’ll let you know if it’s worth it!
  2. As Filhas da Floresta (El Bosque Sabe Tu Nombre) by Alaitz Leceaga
    This is the physical copy of the month! Unfortunately this book doesn’t have an English version available – it is only available in Portuguese (my copy’s language) and Spanish (the original version). I have had this book on my shelf for soooo long and now it’s time to give it a go. I admit I don’t know a lot about it, except that it’s a fantasy book about two twin sisters. I’m excited to see what it’s all about!
  3. Me by Elton John
    I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know much about Sir Elton John. So I thought this would be a great opportunity to learn more about him and his life! So there you go – this is my second audiobook pick for April!
  4. Blade of Secrets (Bladesmith #1) by Tricia Levenseller
    Tricia Levenseller is an amazing writer, and I truly love her young adult fantasy books. This the first book in a (fairly) new duology and I’m very excited to pick it up! I love to read book series, but I often don’t pick them up because I get bored easily if the series is huge. So duologies are perfect for me! I’ll let you know what I think of this one.
  5. Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho
    My fourth audiobook of the list is a book I tried to read before but never finished: it’s the book “Once Upon a K-Prom” by Kat Cho. I’m a huge K-Pop fan, so I’ve had this book in my TBR for a while now. I believe this is about two teens that were best friends since they were kids, and they promised each other they would go to prom together when they grow up. The boy grew up and became a big k-pop star and he comes back to his hometown and asks the girl out! I’m very excited for this one, I believe this is going to be a fun read.

Aaaand there you have it friends, my TBR list for April! As usual, I hope you liked this post! Let me know if you read any of these or if you have any recommendations for me. You know I’m always grateful for those!

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

TBR | March 2023

Hello everyone!

It’s that time of the month: today I’m bringing you my TBR list for March! When 2023 began, I was a little skeptical about writing monthly TBRs again, but right now this method is working very well, so I’m excited to keep up doing these!

February was a better reading month than January, and I feel like I’m starting to gain momentum again! Still, I have to admit I’m having a harder time picking up my printed copies more frequently… but we’ll deal with a struggle at a time!

Like I said in my previous TBR posts, my plan for now is to create a 5 book TBR list monthly, which will include: 2 printed copies, 2 audiobooks and 1 ebook. 

So, without further ado, here are the books I’m planning on reading in March!

  1. The Fever Code (The Maze Runner #0.5) by James Dashner
    In February I was able to reread not only “The Death Cure”, but also the first prequel of the series, “The Kill Order”. For this month, the challenge is to continue the series by reading “The Fever Code”! If I remember correctly, this is the book of the time right before the trials started! I don’t remember a lot from this book other than a few flashbacks, so I’m excited to revisit it! This will be listening to this one as an audiobook!
  2. Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom #1) by Sue Lynn Tan
    One of my physical copies that I want to read in March is the first book in this duology! It has been on my shelf for a few months and I think it’s time to give it some time to shine. I’m excited to see what it’s all about!
  3. The Thief Who Sang Storms by Sophie Anderson
    My second physical copy of the month is the latest release from Sophie Anderson. She is my favorite middle grade book writer of all time because she always creates the most beautiful, endearing stories. I don’t know anything about this one, not even if it’s related to her other stories, but I’m very excited to find out.
  4. A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass
    My ebook for the month is the most recent release from Kiera Cass. This author holds a very special place in my heart, since “The Selection” series was one of my favorite series I read when I started reading more. I’ve read other books from Kiera Cass hoping I’ll find another Selection, but it never happened. Still, my hopeful heart is always waiting to give her a new opportunity, so that is why I decided to add this to my March TBR!
  5. Spare by Prince Harry
    Friends, I have to be super honest with you: with everything I’ve heard from this book… I’m scared to pick it up. I’ve heard it’s a cringe fest and that it’s a very controversial book, but I’m still very curious about it! So, why not? I will also be listening to this as an audiobook.

Great books, right? There you have it friends, my TBR list for March. I hope you liked this post! Let me know if you read any of these or if you have any recommendations for me. You know I’m always grateful for those!

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

TBR | February 2023

Hello everyone!

Today I’m bringing you my TBR list for February. January didn’t go as planned and I ended up not reading all the books I wanted, but it was a very busy month for me and I definitely wasn’t counting on that. I still was able to read a little, so that’s good!

I’m keeping my plan on doing a 5 book TBR list monthly, which includes 2 printed copies, 2 audiobooks and 1 ebook. So, without further ado, here are the books I’m planning on reading in February:

  1. The Death Cure (The Maze Runner #3) by James Dashner
    I was maybe too hopeful I would reread the third book and the first prequel for the Maze Runner series in January, but I just finished the second one! Right now I’m focused on picking up The Death Cure next. I’m very happy I decided to pick up this series once again – I’m having so much fun revisiting this story!
  2. The Freshman (College Years #1) by Monica Murphy
    For my monthly ebook, I decided to go with an easy read so I’m going to pick up The Freshman by Monica Murphy. This is a 4-book romance series and I think I’ll read this quickly since I devour books like this super fast. I hope it’s good!
  3. How To Be Perfect by Michael Schur
    This is a book that captivated me by the title and by the cover. I think this is the perfect opportunity to listen to this as an audiobook. I have high hopes for this one!
  4. The Club by Ellery Lloyd
    This was on my January TBR and I started to read it but I’m still far from finishing it. So one of my reading goals for February is to finish this one!
  5. The Roadtrip by Beth O’Leary
    This has been on my TBR for a while, and now it’s time to read it! I read the synopsis and I thought the story looked interesting for a romance! Also, I have a printed copy in Portuguese, so it’s another opportunity for me to read a book from physical TBR.

And there you have it friends, my TBR list for February. I hope you liked this post! Let me know if you read any of these or if you have any recommendations.

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

TBR | January 2023

Hello everyone!

This year I decided to bring my TBR Lists again, so today I’m bringing you my TBR List for January! I’m very excited to bring these TBR Lists again because it helps a lot with giving some structure to my reading and reading goals for the year.

So, without further ado, here are the books I’m planning on reading in January:

  1. The Death Cure (The Maze Runner #3) by James Dashner
    Recently I’ve started rereading “The Mazer Runner” series again and right now (the time I’m writing this TBR List), I’m almost done with the second book, “The Scorch Trials”! I’m very excited to read this series again, and I’m planning on listening to the audiobook for the third book this month.
  2. The Kill Order (The Maze Runner #0.4) by James Dashner
    So I’m not only planning on reading the third book, but the first prequel as well! I’m listening this as an audiobook as well.
  3. The Club by Ellery Lloyd
    I recently bought this book because it became popular here in Portugal! I’m excited to read this one and see what it’s all about. It has been a while since I have read a thriller, so this will be the first one I’ve picked up in a while. Hopefully I’ll get to read another book from my physical TBR!
  4. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
    Another book I bought that has been on my physical TBR for a few months now. It’s a fairly small book, so I think this will be great motivation for me to start the year!
  5. #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso
    I started reading this book last year, and I’m planning on finishing in January. This will be my ebook of the month! We’ll see how that goes.

And there you have it friends, my TBR list for January. I hope you liked this post! Let me know if you read any of these or if you have any recommendations.

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

TBR | February 2022

Hello everyone!

Today I’m bringing you my TBR list for February! To be completely honest with you guys, I haven’t read a lot lately. I only read 4 books in January (which is way lower than my usual months and I’ll be talking about it on my Wrap Up post coming soon), so I hope in February I’ll pick up more books!

This month I’ll be spinning my TBR Wheel again, and I’m going to pick 5 books to read in the month of February. Here’s the wheel:

All the prompts are pretty basic, but they make sense to me and my reading habits. In case you’re wondering, I’m using the “Spin the Wheel” application for Android. Also, if you have any suggestions for prompts, let me know in the comments!

I’m going to spin the wheel now! Here are the results from the 5 spins:

ROUND #1: YA Book A book within the YA genre;
ROUND #2: Thriller – A book within the thriller genre;
ROUND #3: Standalone – A single book / a book that is not part of a series;
ROUND #4: Fantasy – A book within the fantasy genre;
ROUND #5: Old on TBR – A book that has been on my TBR for a long time.

Overall, I’m happy with this month’s prompts! The “Standalone“, “Fantasy” and “Old on TBR” are definitely going to be good ones. So here are the books I came up for all the prompts:

  1. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley (“Thriller” prompt)
    This was an easy prompt because I have a lot of thrillers to read! I only read one book from Lucy Foley before, so I kind of know what to expect. Hope this is good!
  2. House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A. Craig (“Old on TBR” prompt)
    This has been on my shelf for a while, and I hope I’ll get to it this month. I’m really enjoying sea/pirate/fantasy books, so I hope this hits the spot for me!
  3. Sapphique (Incarceron #2) by Catherine Fisher (“YA Book” prompt)
    I NEED to finish this duology! I was actually enjoying this, but I never picked it up again… hopefully I’ll finish it in February.
  4. Disclaimer by Renée Knight (“Standalone” prompt)
    I don’t know a lot about this book, but I heard it’s really good! It was borrowed by a friend, and I hope it’s just as good as everyone says.
  5. Heir of Blood and Secrets by Linda Xia (“Fantasy” prompt)
    This book was offered to me by the author – so thank you so much Linda Xia! I’m very grateful and I’m excited to read it… so let’s see what it’s all about!

And there you have it: my TBR list for February. Let me know if you read any of these or if you have any TBR Games you play! Also, if you have more ideas for prompts, let me know 🙂

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

TBR | January 2022 (feat. the New TBR Wheel!)

Hello everyone!

We’re almost in 2022, so today I’m bringing you my TBR list for January! I’m not going to lie, A LOT happened in December, so my reading slowed down a bit. I planned on reading six books in December, but I only read 1 of the planned (plus a few more unplanned). With that said, I want to start fresh! I’m a big fan of TBR games and I follow some of them on Youtube, so I decided to make my own game.

So today I’m not only bringing my TBR, but I’m also introducing my new TBR wheel! I’ll be picking my books based on the prompts from this wheel – I’ll probably add/change some of the prompts with time, but I came up with a few already! So here you have the (very cool) TBR wheel:

Yes, all the prompts are pretty basic, but I wanted to add prompts that made sense to me and my reading habits. I think there’s a good balance between easy and challenging prompts, so I won’t be unmotivated – also, if you have any suggestions for prompts, let me know in the comments! In case you’re wondering, I’m using the “Spin the Wheel” application for Android.

I’m going to pick 5 books based on the prompts, so I’m going to spin the wheel now! Here are the results from the 5 spins:

ROUND #1: Young Adult Book – A book within the genre “Young Adult”;
ROUND #2: Friend Pick – A book picked/recommended by a friend;
ROUND #3: Reread – A book I already read and want to reread;
ROUND #4: Intimidating – A book I’m intimidated by (because of its size, genre, etc.);
ROUND #5: Continue Series – A book from a series I haven’t finished yet.

Overall, I’m happy with this month’s prompts! I admit I’m a little scared about the intimidating book I will have to pick, but since all the other prompts are good, I’m happy to have one challenging prompt this month. Here are the books I came up for all the prompts:

  1. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (“Young Adult Book” prompt)
    I was very happy when this prompt came out because I have a lot of YA books to read! I’m a huge Sarah Dessen fan, but I still have some of her books to read. So for this prompt, I picked the book “Lock and Key” for January. I just know I’m going to love it!
  2. Mooncakes by Suzzane Walker and Wendy Xu (“Friend Pick” prompt)
    For the “Friend Pick” prompt, I have the graphic novel “Mooncakes“! This book was recommended to me by a friend on Instagram, so I’m picking it up in January. I’m curious about it because some readers liked it, but a lot of people didn’t… we’ll see how it goes!
  3. Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful Disaster #1) by Jamie McGuire (“Reread” prompt)
    This prompt is the perfect opportunity to reread one of my favorite romances of all time (and also one of the first good romances I read). “Beautiful Disaster” is one of those books that really influenced my reading in a positive way, so I’m very happy to revisit this story. Also, this is a great opportunity to finally read the second book that came out afterwards! I never picked it up because I wanted to reread the original book.
  4. Night Over Water by Ken Follett (“Intimidating” prompt)
    For the “Intimidating” prompt, I came up with the book “Night Over Water” by Ken Follett! A friend lent me this book, but since it’s not exactly the kind of book I usually pick up, I’m a bit apprehensive. I’ll do my best to read this and I’ll let you know my experience!
  5. Liar Liar (Helen Grace #4) by M.J. Arlidge (“Continue Series” prompt)
    Another perfect prompt for my TBR list for January. I have a (small) commitment issue when it comes to long series – I know, I know… it’s something I’m working on! -, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to continue the “Helen Grace” series by M.J. Arlidge! I’ll be reading the 4th book in January 🙂

And there you have it: my TBR list for January. Let me know if you read any of these or if you have any TBR Games you play! Also, if you have more ideas for prompts, let me know 🙂

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

TBR | December 2021

Hello everyone!

Today I’m bringing you my TBR list for December! In the last few months I didn’t plan what I was going to read, so this is me trying to get back to a monthly routine. I picked six books for the month of December – which I thought was a very reasonable number. So here are the books I want to read this next month:

  1. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
    I’ve been wanting to read Malala’s memoir for a very long time. I love memoirs and biographies, and this one in particular has been recommended to me many times. I have it on my shelf waiting for me, and it’s time to finally pick it up!
  2. Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
    This book is a recent addition to my physical TBR and I think it would be perfect to read at this time of the year. Also, it’s a small book to pick up if things start to get busy again.
  3. Heartstopper: Volume 1 (Heartstopper #1) by Alice Oseman
    This was another series I wanted to read for a very long time! Also, I haven’t picked a graphic novel in a while now, so is there a better time to get into this series? 🙂
  4. Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland
    I don’t know a lot about this book as well, but it’s also a recent addition to my physical TBR! I bought this because it was recommended to me a lot on Bookstagram. Apparently it became very popular here in Portugal in the last year, so I wanted to hop on the trend! Instagram did it again ahah
  5. L’anomalie by Hervé Le Tellier
    This is a book that has been very popular in Portugal as well, and even though this doesn’t look like the type of book I usually pick up, I’m very curious to see what it’s all about! Looking forward to read this one.
  6. All the Tides of Fate (All the Stars and Teeth #2) by Adalyn Grace
    I have the bad habit of losing interest in series, so duologies are perfect for me. This duology in particular is being tricky because I already lost some interest in the first book, but I want to keep going and finish the second book! I’m a bit apprehensive with this one so… fingers crossed!

And that’s it, these are the ones I’ll be reading next month! Tell me about you! What are you planning to read in December? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

xoxo,

Why I’ve Been Away

Hello friends!

So… I’ve been away for a few months now. You probably didn’t notice because I kept posting book reviews two times a week – but the truth is that they were all scheduled posts. I haven’t posted a TBR list or even Wraps Ups since August. l wasn’t absent just here on the blog, but also on most social media platforms and I started reading less too.

But before you worry, don’t! Nothing bad happened – my health is good and nothing tragic happened in my life. Au contraire mes ami! I just started a new project that took a lot of my free time. I had to figure out a lot of things (and I still do), and unfortunately that left almost zero time for my other hobbies and activities. So here is what I’ve been doing for the last few months… Can I get a drumroll please? *drum roll*

I started my very own subscription book box!

I know, it sounds crazy and completely out of the blue, but I’m having the best time doing it! It’s been a few months since I started it and I’m still very excited about it. I have always loved artsy projects and reading so… why not combine the two to create something special? 🙂

Here’s my logo!

It’s called Sprayed Edges Book Box and it’s a monthly book box with a book (thriller or romance, readers choose what they want), snacks, tea and reading goodies! I also make seasonal special boxes with books in English for fantasy lovers! Let me share with you some pictures of some of the previous boxes:

The first box is the November edition of the Bad Blood box (the monthly thriller box), the middle one is the Themed Box and the entire concept of the box revolves around the book “To Kill a Kingdom”, and the last box is the November edition of the Lovey Dovey box (the monthly romance box).

It’s been an amazing experience! I’m learning a lot, I met so many new people who share the same love for books I have and I found a new outlet for my creativity! All kinds of good things came out from this experience and I’m very grateful to everyone who’s supporting me. This is just the beginning! 🙂

And that’s it! That’s the reason I’ve been disconnected in the past few months. I’m currently working on a few new posts for the blog, such as the Wrap Up for the last three months and my TBR for December, so we will talk very soon! Thank you for staying tuned, I appreciate your support as always!

Thank you for reading, have a great weekend!

xoxo,