June Recap

Let's take a gander at my month, shall we? 

It's mostly just been a very relaxing, lazy month for me. I've done a little bit of working (I just fill in for people at a restaurant if someone calls off), but not too much. I've hung out with friends, lounged by the pool, and did some reading! 

So, I'm pretty sure this has been my best blogging month since I've started this blog, and that makes me so happy. I've had the time that I've always wanted to dedicate to my blog lately. 

Reviews: 

Top Ten Tuesdays: Top Ten (5) Reasons I Love Book Blogging Top Ten (3) 2016 Releases So Far Top Ten Series With The Prettiest Covers
Features:  Flashback Friday #5 (and giveaway): Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen Just Write #3
Discussions & Misc posts: My Biggest Distractions From Reading and Blogging Twenty One Pilots Book Tag Lessons I've Learned from Bookstagram Goodreads as Social Media

Followers: 

Bloglovin - 58 (gained 24)

GFC - 14 (gained 6) 

Twitter - 121 (gained 51)

Instagram - 41 (gained 27)

Facebook - 3 like (gained 2)

YouTube - 31 (gained 31)

Total pageviews - 7252

Books read: 6

3 paperbacks | 2 eARCs | 1 audiobook

Book with the most pages: And I Darken by Kiersten White (498 pages) 

Books with the least pages: We Own the Night by Ashley Poston (250 pages)

Books reviewed: 6

1 star reviews: 0

1.5: 1

2 star reviews: 0

3 star reviews: 1

3.5: 1

3.75: 1

4 star reviews: 0

5 star reviews: 2

Average rating: 3.63

Most popular review:

by pageviews -

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

by comments - 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Last month's TBR:

I read 3/5 books that I planned to read in June, which I'm fairly proud of. 

This month's TBR: 

Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally | Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies by Laura Stampler | Psi Another Day by D.R. Rosensteel | Live and Let Psi by D.R. Rosensteel

BookTube: 

Here is my most popular video this month! I'll be (ideally) posting twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. Make sure to subscribe to me if you want to stay updated on when and what I post! If you have a YouTube channel, send me your link because I wanna see whatchya got!

Music: 

HOLY COW GUYS!!! Twenty One Pilots released their new single for the Suicide Squad movie. It;s called Heathens and it is INCREDIBLE. 

TV:  Surprisingly, I've laid off the TV a lot lately. I've been focusing more on reading, my blog, and youtube channel. However, I did watch the new season of Orange is the New Black and WOAH.  I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything, but what an emotional journey. I cannot wait until next season!!!

What has your month looked like?

Sunday Post #16

• Hey there bookish friends! It has been a really good blogging and reading week for me, though I didn't do much else. 
• I hung out by the pool by myself, soaking up some sun and reading. It's so incredible. It really makes it feel like summer. 
• I listened to my first audiobook ever (Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell). I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about audiobooks, but I actually plan on making a YouTube video in which I discuss my mixed feelings.  
• Also, I finally got my laptop back. I spilled water on it a few months ago, and the keyboard became really messed up. My dad brought it in to Rent-A-Center, where we bought it, to see if there was anything they could do. They had it for WEEKS and they didn't even touch it. Finally, they said they were going to send it into their repair shop place but gave it back to me for the night so I could save all my files. Well, turns out it magically fixed itself. I could not be happier! I've been using a desktop computer, but nothing makes me happier than lying in bed with my laptop to write or blog. 

Reviews: 
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt

Features:
Just Write #3

Memes:
Top Ten (3) 2016 Releases So Far

Misc:
Lessons I've Learned From Bookstagram

Reviews: 
We Own the Night by Ashley Poston
And I Darken by Kiersten White
Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally

Memes: 
Top Ten Tuesday: Series With The Prettiest Book Covers
Sunday Post #17

Misc:
Discussion - Goodreads As A Social Media Site
June Recap

 I've added 9 (I think it's 9) new books to my shelves this week. If you want to know what they are, you'll have to watch my book haul video next week!

Jessica at The Book Bratz has posted two note-worthy things this week. Firstly, she gives tips on how to balance blogging with a busy life. She also posted the lineup for the Summer Blogger Promo Tour, which is something I'm a part of, and super excited about. Such a great way to get to know other bloggers and to give them some love on your own blog.

Beth at The Quiet People shared her strategy for planning a month's worth of blogging. If planning ahead is something you're struggling with, I highly suggest this post. It might help you or give you inspiration!

Sierra from The Nerd Girl Review stopped by Temecka's blog, Library of Tomes, to talk about animosity in the LGBT+ community. This was a really emotional and thought-provoking post, and I recommend everyone give it a read!

I'll be (ideally) posting twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.Make sure to subscribe to me if you want to stay updated on when and what I post! If you have a YouTube channel, send me your link because I wanna see whatchya got! Here are my videos from this week!

Lefty's Lowdown: Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt

Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt
(standalone)
Published: August 10, 2010 by Ember
Source: Purchased

Summary from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old high school senior Shannon Card needs money. And lots of it. She's been admitted to Wellesley, but her dad just lost his job, and somehow she has to come up with a year of tuition herself. But Shannon's dream of making big bucks waitressing at the local casino, the Collosio, disappears faster than a gambler's lucky streak. Her boss is a tyrant, her coworker is nuts, and her chances of balancing a tray full of drinks while wearing high-heeled shoes are slim to none. Worse, time is running out, and Shannon hasn't made even half the money she'd hoped.

When Shannon receives a mysterious invitation to join Aces Up, a secret network of highly talented college poker players, at first she thinks No way. She has enough to worry about: keeping her job, winning the coveted math scholarship at school, and tutoring her secret crush, Max. But when Shannon musters up the nerve to kiss Max and he doesn't react at all, the allure of Aces Up and its sexy eighteen-year-old leader, Cole, is suddenly too powerful to ignore.

Soon Shannon's caught up in a web of lies and deceit that makes worrying about tuition money or a high school crush seem like kid stuff. Still, when the money's this good, is the fear of getting caught reason enough to fold?

This fun, sexy, recession-proof story is a bubbly summer read with surprising depth—great for fans of Sarah Mlynowski.

I picked this book up because I had just finished Me Before You and I wanted something short and sweet to get me through all my emotions. Well, it was short, so there's that. I typically love almost-in-college books, so I was intrigued. Plus, SECRET POKER SOCIETY HOW COOL AMIRITE?

I wasn't right. The premise is the only thing this book has going for it. The execution was miserable. I'm not trying to be one of those people who get super bash-y in my negative reviews, but I'm not sure how to put it nicely: this is the most annoying book I've ever read in my life. 

I thought the narrator was judgmental, irritating, stupid, and selfish. She treated people like crap for no reason. By the end, she learns her lesson or whatever, but I didn't care. I literally started banging my head against this book several times because I got so freaking annoyed by all of it. Maybe I should take into consideration that this was written 6 years ago, but I found the writing to be forced and try-hard (with the use of the word "obvi" and "probs" and several instances of "BFF" it sounded like a middle-aged mom trying to be "hip"). 

Aside from the protagonist, I thought the rest of the characters were flat. We literally don't know anything about them. The only character I even liked a little bit was Robyn, the protagonist's sister. Max, the love interest, had potential, but again SO FLAT. 

I didn't care about anything that happened, but, like I said, it's a short book, so I forced myself to push through, but if it had been any longer I would have DNFed it. About 20 pages in, I started tabbing all the parts of the novel I found especially irritating, but once I started tabbing multiple spots on one page, I gave up on that. 

A few years ago I read another book by Barnholdt and, at least back then, I enjoyed it. I'll most likely try one more book by her (mostly because I own one more of her books), but if that one doesn't work for me, I'll probably never re-visit this author. I initially gave the book 2 stars, but I am lowering the rating half a star. 

ACTUALLY 1.5/5