"a bottle blonde" "her skin as hot as an oven range" "he laughs. beautifully" "she fights not to cry out in their bedroom, but she can't contain it"

Just so many cringey lines. And don't get me started on some of the dialogue 💀

The story is interesting enough to want to keep reading. But it's definitely no literary masterpiece haha

Don't know much about Blake Crouch but maybe this is one of his earlier novels? The writing is just pretty basic and clunky. It's EXTREMELY first person point of view, which is why I think the writing is like that, but just the overall prose is just a bit off to me.

I am gonna keep reading because I love a good mystery/thriller, and I think the prose is easy enough to overlook some of the awkwardness.

not crazy about the prose but story is great so far

So this year I’ve been getting into romance books (just normal romance, not romantasy or books with romantic subplots), and I’ve only read a few so far but I keep seeing something consistent pop up. A lot of the romance books have a # next to it like “#2 in series”, but the books all have different people and stories for the most part. I read an Abby Jimenez book and it seemed like its own story and then I noticed it was #3 in the series. I looked it up and for that one specifically it says they’re stand alones but in the same universe and that there’s just Easter eggs from the previous books. I thought it was just specific to Abby Jimenez but a lot of the time I look into a book I’m interested in it’ll have a #.

Is this a common thing? Like having a romance series but it’s all different stories with Easter eggs? Or are some of them legit like a trilogy of the same romance?

I’ve never read an Ali Hazelwood but she even has books with series #s. I just barely read my first Emily Henry and I liked that hers are all standalone it seems.

For some reason it makes me less likely to want to read a # romance book since I’d rather just read a standalone romance story (unless it’s like romantasy or something like that where the romance isn’t the main plot) than commit to a series.

For the Abby Jimenez one I did notice when they introduced some new people it seemed a bit random but apparently they were from the previous books in the series. But I didn’t fully love “Just for the Summer” so I had no desire to read the predecessors.

Do you guys read all the ones in a series for romance books? Or just read them as standalone?

Today I found myself at a local bookstore just looking around. I mainly listen to audiobooks and read on my Kindle so physical books are just trophies for me. I wondered if the employees thought I was crazy for just browsing around and not buying anything. It got me thinking…do you just browse at the bookstore? What is your favorite thing about going to the bookstore? What’s something no one knows about a bookstore?

First Emily Henry book. I understand why people love her books so much. She's got me kicking my feet, getting butterflies, and also feeling heavy emotions about how relatable this story is in terms of Daphne and Peter.

I’m doing it. I’m finally tackling this book. It’s a thick ol’ book so it’ll definitely take me longer but I’m excited to see what the fuzz is about! 😄 wish me luck! 🫶🏼

Something fun to do with zodiac signs and books!

Aries Sun: Favorite book protagonist Taurus Sun: A book that takes place in the wilderness Gemini Sun: A book/series with your favorite side character/supporting cast Cancer Sun: A favorite nonfiction Leo Sun: A guilty pleasure book Virgo Sun: Favorite book from when you were a kid Libra Sun: A coming of age book Scorpio Sun: A book others may not enjoy but you love Sagittarius Sun: A book on your TBR you can’t wait to read Capricorn Sun: Funniest book you’ve read Aquarius Sun: A book that hit you right in the feelings Pisces Sun: A book with a twist you did not see coming

Aries Moon: Favorite indie author Taurus Moon: A romance you can’t stop thinking about Gemini Moon: Favorite true crime/based on true events Cancer Moon: An author you will always buy Leo Moon: Favorite book with an adaptation Virgo Moon: A book with a protagonist over 30 Libra Moon: Favorite horror book Scorpio Moon: Favorite adventure book Sagittarius Moon: A palette cleanser book Capricorn Moon: Favorite science book Aquarius Moon: Favorite graphic novel Pisces Moon: Favorite book of poetry

Aries Rising: Favorite fairytale/mythology retelling Taurus Rising: A book by an author from another country Gemini Rising: A historical fiction book Cancer Rising: A must read Romance Leo Rising: Favorite sci-fi book Virgo Rising: A book that changed your views Libra Rising: Favorite cozy book Scorpio Rising: Longest book you’ve read (this year) Sagittarius Rising: Favorite speculative fiction Capricorn Rising: A book with your favorite MMC Aquarius Rising: Most unique world/magic system Pisces Rising: Favorite magical realism

I tried to vary genres as much as possible but I may have favored some of my go tos so feel free to tweak some!

I’ll go first! Gemini Sun (A book/series with your favorite side character/supporting cast): The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (I love everyone but ART maybe my favorite supporting character) Sagittarius Moon (A palette cleanser book): The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner Scorpio Rising (Longest book you’ve read): Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (1000+ pages/48hrs)