This week I am giving a shoutout to Etaf Rum 🙌🙌 Etaf Rum is a Palestinian-American New York Times Bestselling author. Her debut novel, “A Woman Is Man,” garnered attention as a Today Show Read with Jenna Pick, marking the beginning of her literary acclaim. With her latest novel, “Evil Eye,” recognized as an NPR Best Book of the Year, Etaf Rum solidifies her position as a leading voice in literary fiction that transcends continents and histories. HER BOOKS INCLUDE: ♡ A Woman Is No Man  ♡ Evil Eye ♡ Mother Country  Have you read any of Etaf's work?

📖💜 BOOK TITLE: FOUR EIDS AND A FUNERAL  📖💜AUTHORS:  FARIDAH ÀBÍKÉ-ÍYÍMÍDÉ  ||  ADIBA JAIGIRDAR  📖💜THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #EightyFourthBookOf2024 LET'S GET ONE THING STRAIGHT, THIS IS A LOVE STORY As a non-Muslim, I loved the perspective of this book, and I loved what the authors did to the book. I resonated with Tiwa a lot; she had a lot going on, but even with the constant wearing of dark clothes, she's still a ray of sunshine. And can we take some time to appreciate the cover designer because the cover of this book is simply amazing! The first time I saw it, I was star-struck. This is my first rom-com this month, and it was good despite all the melancholy. There's no guide to friendships or even love. To Said and Tiwa 🥂🥂. 📖💜RATINGS: 4 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📖 BOOK TITLE: HOW TO STOP TIME 📖AUTHOR: MATT HAIG  📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #EightyThirdBookOf2024  Whoa, this is amazing, and I adore it. How to Stop Time is incredibly lovely, and Matt's writing style is so distinct that it feels like he is writing the story just for you 😍. Tom's tale is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Granted, there are a lot of perks to being 439 years old, but it also comes with a lot of burden  The world is moving, evolving, and changing, but you're not. You get to travel around the world, but it is not exciting because you are hiding from people, the world, and yourself🥺. Tom seems to have found his happily ever after and rediscovered himself again, which makes me very happy🥺 📖RATINGS: 4 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 📖QUOTES: ♤ History isn’t something you need to bring to life. History already is alive. We are history. History isn’t politicians or kings and queens. History is everyone. It is everything. Check out other books by Matt Haig: ...

📖BOOK TITLE: THE MEMO 📖AUTHOR: RACHEL DODES ||  LAUREN MECHLING 📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #EightySecondBookOf2024 This is the first time reading a book authored by two people, and I was kind of expecting much from this book, but I was disappointed. I cannot believe what Jenny went through with the consortium—that society seems like a cult or something. Using humans as experimental guinea pigs to try out their fucked up theory and to think that the memo is an app that gives you life prompts as in things you must do to attain success😂 (in my words). I lost my cool when Geeta's life memo was to die, like seriously🙄. This book is giving off crazy vibes. 📖RATINGS: 2 STARS⭐⭐

📖 BOOK TITLE: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MIDNIGHT  📖AUTHOR: K.L WALTHER 📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #EightyFirstBookOf2024 I breezed through this book, and I can definitely relate to being a 'Fac Brat'—how you have to have good grades and be on your best behavior both at home and in school, but Lily handled it really well. It's the end of senior year, and it's time for the famous prank by the 'Jester', and Lily had to be among the jester fools (which I think was a little bit reckless). Forgetting the prank and the whole mystery behind it, this was more of a second chance for Taggart and Lily; the prank brought them together and even closer. While everything that happened to put the prank together, it didn't give Daniel so much work to do, I guess the story wasn't about him. The entire story was focused on Tag and Lily, and every other person and event felt like a backdrop. 📖RATINGS: 3 STARS ⭐⭐⭐

📖 BOOK TITLE: IT'S ELEMENTARY  📖AUTHOR: ELISE BRYANT  📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #EightiethBookOf2024 You'll be surprised at what happens in an elementary school, and while the book made me believe a murder happened, I didn't quite expect any of the things that happened at Knoll.  As a single mom, there was a whole lot going on with Mavis, and witnessing a "crime" was definitely not on her list. In between taking care of Pearl, working her ass at a job she doesn't like, navigating a full blown crush at her daughter's school, and being the head of the DEI chair, Mavis is tired, but she put on one more hat 'detective' to solve the missing principal's case.  I don't know and can't explain how things got crazy fast with a friend. I always found C suspicious, but I am glad things worked out fine in the end, even with the crush 😉😉. 📖RATINGS: 3 STARS ⭐⭐⭐

Acquisitions Editor. Published Novelist. Hope Bolinger is a Managing & Acquisitions Editor at End Game Press and the Founder of Generation Hope Books.   More than 1600 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids to HOOKED to Crosswalk.com.  She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of 300+ authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams.  Twenty-nine of her books are under contract or out now with traditional publishers, and she hopes more of her stories will find a home soon. She has also contributed to eighteen other books. She has won awards for her essays, poetry, children's books, novels, and plays. ​ Her favorite way to procrastinate is by connecting with readers on Instagram and Twitter @hopebolinger SOME OF HER WORKS INCLUDE: 1. Virtually In Love  2. Angels Wept Tonight  3. Den (...

📖 BOOK TITLE: BEGIN AGAIN  📖AUTHOR: HELLY ACTON 📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #SeventyNinthBookOf2024 What happens when you have a rather embarrassing death on your birthday and your life is so full of what-ifs and had-it-beens at thirty-six? You 'Begin Again'—that's what happens; it is never truly late to start again, just like Frankie McKenzie. This is a reminder to all, especially me, that there is no point in thinking too far into the future (it's not bad to be a planner), but  make choices and stop panicking over every minute detail. Life is not about filling time, but fulfilling it! What's your 'BeginAgain' moment? 📖RATINGS: 4 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 📖QUOTES: ♤ Life isn’t about filling time, it’s about fulfilling it. ♤ You’ve got to stop fixating on what others are doing, and start fixating on what you’re doing. ♤ All you can be is yourself, right? If it’s not good enough, it’s not your problem.’

📖 BOOK TITLE: VERY BAD COMPANY  📖AUTHOR: EMMA ROSENBLUM 📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #SeventyEighthBookOf2024 The beginning of this book is really intriguing, though the characters are a lot, so have the characters list in a place where you can always see them. And why is John the name of every quirky, narcissistic boss 😂😫? I love that we get to see what is going on in each of the workers' lives (and what is wandering in their minds). I can't wait to see what happens on this retreat. So I've gone on the retreat, and I must say Bez is such a good planner 😈. P.S. This is not a mystery or thriller. Aurora is a very bad company, but when you cover something really well with lies, it basically becomes the truth, right, John? You said it yourself that you almost believed the lie, and I believed it too. I can't believe the number of lies and secrets in this book! Almost everyone had something shady going on🤯. Caitlin Caitlin Caitlin: What happens in Miami s...

📖 BOOK TITLE: EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION, SOMEONE DIES 📖AUTHOR: CATHERINE MACK 📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #SeventyseventhBookOf2024 It is extremely nice to see the behind-the-scenes of a book in the making. So before I go even further, lose the footnotes 😂😂. Eleanor is such a character, dropping lots of clues here and there, but I still didn't figure it out 😂. At least one of the characters I suspected turned out to be one of the guilty ones. Though I still suspect Oliver, I can't shake this feeling that he has something to do with the murder(s). All in all, it was a very easy read and a book that kept me thinking. And again about the footnotes (Eleanor did tell me to lose the footnotes), but I still forge ahead anyway. So for one booklover to another, please lose the footnotes, because there are ALOT! Unto Book Two in the Vacation Mystery Series! 📖RATINGS: 4 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📖BOOK TITLE: OPPOSITE OF ALWAYS  📖AUTHOR: JUSTIN A. REYNOLDS  📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #SeventySixthBookOf2024 You know that saying “Time is undefeated”? This is a story about the time that Time lost. I loved the whole premise of this book. Jake is an awesome friend, a great son, and an amazing boyfriend, but it all goes south when he finds out that his stunning girlfriend Kate has sickle cell anemia. When he gets the news that Kate is dead, it leads him into a time loop, but to save whom? How I wish I got to know Kate some more so I can really understand the particular reason why Jack was star struck, or, in my own words, 'obsessed' with her, but nothing was said about her or even his supposed best friend Jillian. Another thing that bothered me was the way the Edwards were portrayed; they appeared very relaxed about their daughter's condition, to the extent that they let an eighteen-year-old run the show for them! I was even more confused at the end of...

📖 BOOK TITLE: NOSY NEIGHBORS  📖AUTHOR: FREYA SAMPSON  📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #SeventyFifthBookOf2024 #LetterN Of My Alphabet Challenge So I saw this book on Goodreads, and it was classified as a cozy mystery. After reading this book, I'm not sure the term 'cozy mystery' applies to it. I expected more from this book in terms of the mystery part, but I was disappointed. The story was told from the point of view of Kat and Ms. Dorothy, and while the book blurb promised us mystery, there was no death or anything in that aspect, just secrets and maybe gossip. The character I resonated with the most was Ms. Dorothy, who has been through a lot—her child died, her husband divorced her, and worst of all, she blames herself for all of it, and I am so happy she got a second chance to be happy again. This book is just a reminder that people, even our douchy, angry, overbearing, pushy, or even touchy neighbors, and all neighbors in general, are all fighting unseen...

📖 BOOK TITLE:   WOMEN OF GOOD FORTUNE  📖AUTHOR:  SOPHIE WAN 📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #SeventyfourthBookOf2024 This book has been on my TBR for quite some time, and I finally decided to read it. For one, I'm not a fan of long chapters, and this book has fifty chapters plus an epilogue, but I decided to still push through. Honestly, it took a long time for me to write this review because I really did not know how to fully describe what I felt after reading this book, and till now, I don't still have the words to describe what I've read. I must say that for the execution of the heist, I really loved how the girls planned it; every detail was covered. But in the end, it wasn't about the heist; it was really about character growth. Lulu's character growth was amazing 👌. 📖RATINGS: 3 STARS ⭐⭐⭐ 📖QUOTES: ♧ We let people around us inflate our views of something that might be objectively worthless. ♧ Purpose is something you choose. You can’t rely...

📖BOOK TITLE: COOL GIRL SUMMER  📖AUTHOR: AMBER EVE  📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #SeventythirdBookOf2024 #Arc Thank you to Booksirens and the author for this ARC. I received this ARC voluntarily. The cover of this book is so nice😍, but I didn't quite connect to the story and characters as much as I would have loved to. Summer got on my nerves from the beginning of the story until the end. It felt like a coming-of- age story, but Summer is thirty-one and half, so it can't be a coming-of- age story. I get that summer lost a bit of direction, but damn girl!  All in all, the story wasn't just for me. Thanks again to the author for this ARC. 📖RATINGS: 2 STARS ⭐⭐

📖BOOK TITLE: WEATHER GIRL  📖AUTHOR: RACHEL LYNN SOLOMON  📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:  #SeventysecondBookOf2024 Like the weather, Ari has experienced both highs and lows, and most times the lows can get pretty dark! I would have loved to read this story from Russ's POV because there was a lot going on for Russ. I just want to say that being a father at the age of seventeen and being a good father at that is no mean feat, so take your flowers, Russell 💐💐 During the course of matchmaking with their bosses (Torrance and Seth), Russell and Ari begin to fall in love, but will love be enough to hold them together? I loved how Russ accepted Ari even when he knew she wasn't just sunshine 🌤🌤. Even more, I loved how the author incorporated very important themes in this rom-com, such as depression, teenage pregnancy, single fatherhood, co-parenting, and mental health.  📖RATINGS: 4 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 📖QUOTES: ♡  Not that something being right makes it easy, bu...