T10T: Book Titles The Feature Numbers

 

Welcome back to Top 10 Tuesday, following the list from That Artsy Reader Girl! I have to slightly bend the prompt, as I have listed every book I read featuring an ordinal number and that was only 4 books lol

This week's prompt is..... book titles that feature numbers

These are in no particular order

1. The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop
2. The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera
3. The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
4. The Second Wave by Krista Street
5. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
6. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
7. Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg
8. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
9. The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
10. Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood

Clearly I nee to prioritize more books with specifically ordinal numbers. I feel like they may be more common in the genres I do not read much of? I feel like I need to read a lot more books so I have more to talk about.

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic as always

I am happy to take suggestions for any books you know of that fit this category. At least I had 10 books with numbers. See you next week where I hope I'll struggle less!

February 2026 Reads

 

 February 2026 Reads 

This month I read 16 books 

I DNFed 1 book

These books were 63% fiction

They were 19% physical, 13% digital, and 69% audio

The most popular genres were LGBTQ+, romance, and contemporary

My average rating was 4.18 stars

My longest reading day was the 23rd

The Books

➽ The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

➽ Growing Up Urkel by Jaleel White

➽ Stolen Moments by A.B. Jackson

➽ Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

➽ All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

➽ Cubby Season by Bindi Kennedy

➽ Tough Guy by Rachel Reid

➽ This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us by (too many authors to list here)

➽ The House of My Mother by Shari Franke

➽ Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

➽ Hurt Me Not by Davidson King

➽ Attention Seeker by Darcy Michael

➽ It Seemed Like a Good Idea by Lauren Blakely

➽ Delusions by Cazzie David

➽ Let Me Count the Ways by Laurel Osterkamp

➽ Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

FFAF: Romance Reader Book Tag

  

Intro

As Valentine's Day is tomorrow, it is definitely the perfect time to talk all about romance books. It is my favorite genre after all! I got the prompts from Alli the Book Giraffe whose list can be found here. Let's dive into it!

The Prompts and My Picks

What age did you start reading romance novels? I do not exactly remember, but I think I read a romance or two in middle school. Since then, my consumption of the genre has skyrocketed.

If you could pick one hero to meet from your favorite romance novels who would it be and why? Oh gosh, this is a tough one. Maybe Mark from Something Lost by Erin Fitzgerald. I feel like he has a pretty similar personality and mannerisms to my fiancée, so I feel like we would get along well. 

Who is your favorite romance authors and why? I enjoy Erin FitzGerald, Dani Galliaro, Maren Moore, and Harriet Ashford because they write incredible indie romance stories that feel like home.

What is a favorite romance novel to re-read? Soooooo, I don't actually reread almost at all. So uh, the only romance I have considered rereading is Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood so I can annotate it.

What book would you recommend to a non romance reader? I would recommend any books in the Colson Creek series by Erin FitzGerald because they are fantastic stories with such loveable characters. But more importantly, all of the books also have strong suspense storylines which adds a bit beyond the romance to get a good start.

Which is your favorite, contemporary, suspense, or historical and why? In the past, I would wholeheartedly say contemporary because that is what most of my favorite authors write. As of late, it is honestly romantic suspense. It makes me wanna keep reading endlessly. I will always kinda hate historical because all I can focus on is how it is inaccurate. 

Outro

I feel like this was the perfect tag to celebrate Valentine's Day. Are you a fellow romance lover? I would love to hear your recs!

 Free For All Friday: My Picks for the Goodreads Choice Awards Round 1

Intro

Am I sharing a Friday post on a Tuesday? Yes, yes I am. I wanted to post this last Friday but honestly needed more time to brew my thoughts so here it is now.

It is once again that time of year for book awards. The one where I can actually have a say in is the Goodreads choice awards! While I am not a huge fan of the ethics and morals of Goodreads, it is a must for supporting indie authors. I'll share my deeper thoughts at the end. Let's dive into my picks!

The Categories

• Fiction
• Historical fiction
• Mystery & thriller
• Romance
• Romantasy
• Fantasy
• Science fiction
• Horror
• Debut novel
• Audiobook
• Young adult fantasy and sci-fi
• Young adult fiction
• Nonfiction
• Memoir
• History & biography

My Picks and Explanations

Fiction: The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley

I have not read any of the books in this category yet but multiple are on my TBR. I decided to pick the book that included representation I found important. In the time of unhealthy beauty standards, a cover with a "chubby" girl on it says and lot and says what I want to see more of.

Historical Fiction: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Another category where I have not yet picked any up. I decided to pick the book I have seen the most of my fellow bookish friends enjoy. When this one came out, I saw a ton of praise for it. 

Mystery & Thriller: Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

I read this one and had a good time with it. Sutanto writes a comedic mystery better than most. Every book of his I have picked up I enjoyed. This one was no exception. You can find my complete review of it here.

Romance: Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn

Unsurprisingly, this is the category I struggled the most with picking a book for. I love many of these authors and their stories. I ended up picking a 5-star read of mine which is a contender for my top of the year! I highly recommend it and you can see my review here.

Romantasy: Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Admittedly, this is a genre I flat out do not read. I do not like fantasy and do not have opinions on it. That said, there are multiple authors here who are awful human beings that deserve way less popularity. As such, I decided to choose Ali Hazelwood's book as I do like other books she has written (her STEM romances specifically).

Fantasy: King Sorrow by Joe Hill

This one is written by Stephen King's son. While King is not a great person, from what I know his son is okay. I do not read fantasy at all so again no strong opinions. That said, I actually did just received this book so that is why I picked it. If you like incredibly chunky books, this may be for you.

Science Fiction: Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove

You may not have guessed this, but I also do not really read sci-fi. (I promise I read a variety of genres, just not these last few). The only one of these books I am familiar with is by an author I have learned has said hateful rhetoric so I will not be supporting that. As such, I truly just picked a book with an interesting cover. I also just discovered it is published by a creator I enjoy which makes this even more exciting!

Horror: Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

I am only now dipping my toes into horror. I do not like scary things and am a total scaredy cat, so be patient with me for any horror reviews. I picked the book by the only author I have read from before. I enjoyed Bury Your Gays by him, at least as much as I will ever enjoy true horror. You can find my review for that here. 

Debut Novel: The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O'Neill

Somehow I have not heard of a single book in this entire category. Not once... There have been so many fantastic debut releases this year, but nope, these feel truly random. As such, I closed my eyes and picked one. Let me know if there are any good books in this category that I should give my love to!

Audiobook: Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver

I had a couple of potentials for this category but decided to go for the author whom I loved the most books for. I loved her Ruinous Love trilogy. You can find my review for the second of these here.

Young Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

I haven't read any of the books in this category. I picked the book that a few of my best friends quite enjoyed. As they don't use bookish social media, I feel like this vote is for them. 

Young Adult Fiction: Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This one was a super easy choice to make. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is my favorite author ever. My only auto-buy author as someone who spends almost nothing on books. Anything I can do to support her, I gladly will. 

Nonfiction: Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

I have not picked up any of the books in this category yet, but I have heard fantastic things from loved ones about this and have it on my TBR. I used to read his fiction books when I was younger. 

Memoir: 107 Days by Kamala Harris

I've been reading more memoirs this year, of people I find fascinating. I like to audiobook them while being productive. As a proud Kamala voter, you know I had to pick this one up. (If you are Trumpie, get the actual fuck off my blog, there is no space for your disgusting views here). 

History & Biography: Sisters in Science by Olivia Campbell

I am not much of a history reader, that is my father's thing really. I picked the one that sounded the most fascinating that is also clearly feminist-coded. 

The Problems

Goodreads is an Amazon created platform. As such, it is incredibly capitalist-coded and is the most mainstream book review platform. The authors and books nominated are very clearly based on who Amazon wants to promote.

I wish there were way more POC, queer, and disabled nominees. It's very white-washed and cishet unfortunately. The diversity of the world and books released in 2025 is not at all reflected well in these nominations. I am genuinely outraged by it, but simultaneously not at all surprised given Goodreads' history. 

Outro

We made it! There were a lot of categories that I was going in blind for. If you have any recs for those categories, I am happy to vote for them in the coming rounds! Are any of our picks the same? How do you feel about the lack of diversity in this opening round?

 Top 5 Tuesday: Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time 

Welcome back to Top 5 Tuesday, now following the list from That Artsy Reader Girl! As always, I do a top 5 instead of a top 10 because I tend to struggle to find 10 books for prompts.

This week's prompt is..... books I wish I could read again for the first time

These are in no particular order

1. The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
2. How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis
3. Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
4. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
5. You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell

All of these books are my 5-star reads that have left an impact on me to this day. I would love to get the magical feeling from them again. What is somethin you would love to read again for the first time?

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic 😁

Look at me here again for another week! Go me! I liked how easy this prompt was honestly. It was nice to recall all of these wonderful stories again and consider a reread. See you tomorrow!

Can't Wait Wednesday: Problematic Summer Romance

 

 Can't Wait Wednesday

This week's book is.... Problematic Summer Romance

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: May 27th

Series: Not in Love

Blurb:

Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life.

Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him.

It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life.

But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.

When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.

Explanation:

I have enjoyed all of Ali Hazelwood's releases to date, excluding Bride (I will not be reading that one because I know it is not at all for me). I am so incredibly ready for a summery romance story, and I know this one will fill that craving. I am also super excited to go back to the characters of Not in Love. It should be a fantastic read for me!

What new release are you hyped for?

April 2025 Reads

  April 2025 Reads 

This month, I read 18 books 

These books were 89% fiction

They were 6% physical, 22% digital, and 72% audio

The most popular genres were romance, contemporary, and LGBTQ+

My average rating was 4.17 stars

My longest reading day was May 1st

The Books

➽ Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter

➽ The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (reread)

➽ Punt in the Dark by Ariana St. Claire

➽ Three Tainted Teas by Lynn Cahoon

➽ The Girlfriend Zone by Lauren Blakely

➽ Beneath the Hood by Emily McIntire

➽ Outdrawn by Deanna Grey

➽ Bridesmaid by Chance by Meghan Quinn

➽ When Ivy Met Adam by Jennifer J. Coldwater

➽ Heartbreak Beach by Bailey Thomas

➽ Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

➽ We Did Nothing Wrong by Hannah Jayne

➽ How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

➽ All Signs Point to Malibu by Jennifer Snow

➽ However You Want Me by Amelia Wilde and Willow Winters

➽ Family Face-Off by Devon Glenn

➽ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

➽ Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams

This month, as part of the Magical Readathon by Book Roast, I had to read a few books outside of my comfort zone. As such, my average rating decreased a little bit as I didn't love the books I read. See you next month with hopefully even more great reads!

Top 5 Tuesday: Books I Want to Reread Someday

 

 Top 5 Tuesday: Books Want to Reread Someday

Welcome back to Top 5 Tuesday. Everyone be proud, I'm here two weeks in a row. Even if it is pretty late, I got y'all

This week's prompt is..... books I want to reread someday

Some books are just so obvious that it will be a great time again in the future. My hope with all rereads is that I would gain something new by rereading it.

Let's break down the why for each of these...

#1 is the only thriller I thought could be cool to reread. I feel like it would be a very different but worthwhile experience to read it again a while down the line while having the context of what everyone in the story actually did. 

#2 is the start of a series that is written by possibly one of my favorite humans ever. That is one big reason I wanna go back to the beginning someday and experience the magic once again. I also find the MMC to be very similar to my partner in some ways so it would be fun to read it with that in mind.

#3 is chock full of helpful advice that is gonna be relevant throughout my life. I think it would be good to circle back whenever my life circumstances change a good bit to prioritize the advice that will help me at the time. 

With #4 I just really want to annotate it because I didn't the first time and kinda regret that.

#5 on the list is actually a book I would be reading for the 4th time because it is just that impactful for me. It was the series that got me back into reading for fun so I gotta give it some love every few years.

1. The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
2. Something Lost by Erin FitzGerald
3. How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis
4. Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
5. The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic 😁

See you all next Tuesday for another top 5!

May 2024 Reads

  May 2024 Reads 

This month I read 13 books 

These books were 92% fiction

The most popular genres were romance, children's, and contemporary

My average rating was 4.17 stars

The Books

➽ I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

➽ Playing for Keeps by Jennifer Dugan

➽ You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell

➽ The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

➽ Fake Dating and Matchmaking 101 by Evie Sterling

➽ Puck Money by Dani Galliaro

➽ Falling for My Fake Kisser Neighbor by Lila Marlow

➽ The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

➽ Geronimo Stilton 15 & 16 audio

➽ Geronimo Stilton 4-6 audio

➽ So Not My Boss Crush by Evie Sterling

➽ Smudges by Lauren Emerson

➽ Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.75/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Fake dating

➮ Professor x student (not in a class)

➮ STEM romance

➮ Grumpy x sunshine

➮ BIPOC FMC

Synopsis

Olive doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. Like any biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor. Olive is floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep a secret and be her fake boyfriend. When a science conference goes haywire, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding abs. Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Best Quote From the Book

“I'm starting to wonder if this is what being in love is. Being okay with ripping yourself to shreds, so the other person can stay whole."

LGBTQ+ Representation

5/5 🌈

Two notable side characters end up in a gay relationship. Said relationship is totally accepted and even celebrated. While minor, their representation is very positive. In addition, Olive considers herself demisexual. This part of her identity is explored within the story and shapes her view on romance. 

My Thoughts

This is my first dive into Ali Hazelwood's books and I can say with passion that I was not disappointed. This book wonderfully balances comedy, science, and romance in such a way that kept me entranced from beginning to end. 

Hazelwood does an excellent job of covering the challenges involved with being a BIPOC woman in science. Olive struggles to be taken seriously and constantly has to prove herself worthy of being in the field with many white older men. This book provides the depth of day-to-day challenges that help make the representation worthwhile and rewarding. This book is excellent at the concept of being a mirror for some and a window for others. (If you have not heard of this concept let me know and I will gladly explain it in more detail).

The tension Hazelwood is able to create feels palpable. I truly adored the moments when Olive and Adam were forced together. Their passion and chemistry (pun intended) worked so well. By the end, they became a functioning couple with communication and all. Seeing the moments where Anh encourages them to act lovey-dovey was incredibly hilarious. Particularly the sunscreen scene (I seriously almost listened to that one twice). 

Every character in this book was fantastically written. From best friends to the antagonist, they all contributed to the plot and entertainment value of the story. I wish I could've seen even more of them and how their presence and meddling impacted things for the fake couple.  

The one area I thought was lacking was more of Adam's feelings. At first, he was not particularly expressive so it was hard to get a read on how he felt. There is a lot of getting to know Adam with everything except for how he feels about things. 

This book had way more actual plot than I was expecting. As I was listening to the audiobook I kept assuming I must be near the end because so much had already happened but no. There was more! I love that Olive and Adam had to really go through some trials and tribulations to get to the point where they knew they needed to address everything.  

One of my favorite parts was the great roasting of Tom by all of the characters. I found myself quite literally laughing and fist-pumping because all of it was so well-deserved. I won't dive into why he is so unlikeable but trust me, he absolutely is!

This book does contain open-door spice. That said, it can be skipped without missing anything particularly important to the plot. 

Overall, this is one of the top romances in my eyes. While not quite at the level of giving me that 5-star feeling, I highly highly recommend it. All of the characters are fantastic and there is so much plot for readers to immerse themselves in. It is also genuinely funny a lot of the time which adds to the appeal!