Indulgence Insider is our version of Stacking the Shelves, Bought, Borrowed & Bagged and the Sunday Post, bringing you this week’s haul, bookish news and discussion posts from around the blogosphere!
So it HAS been pretty busy for all of us, thank you everyone for commenting and checking out our posts while we’ve been tied up! I really appreciate your ongoing support and comments. It’s been a pretty busy time for me and I’m only catching up on comments now.
Exciting news today – Jenna and Aila are going to meet! I’ll be hanging onto social media and hoping they use my newly created hashtag, #happyindulgencemeets. Aila got through her tough week of exams and Jenna is now in Florida at a conference as we speak! I’m also getting excited for Sydney TeenCon next week and organising to meet up with a few people there! It’s going to be lots of fun but pretty hectic as I’m only there for the weekend.
I have been hopelessly stalking BEA16 posts on Twitter as well! It’s always exciting seeing the latest bookish news, excitement over author signings and of course, the ARC piles!
Also had a great time on ABC radio at the start of the month. I think we’re getting more comfortable chatting to each other on the show. Here’s the link to the soundcloud recording if you missed it.
Our next OzYAY show will be on Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar – which I know some of you guys love, and A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty! It’d be held on 5 June, 7pm AEST in Australia on ABC Radio (listen online, via the app or on live radio).
BOOK HAUL
In the past few weeks, my mail box has been on fire!
Review Copies
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Star Struck by Jenny McLachlan
The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Unrivaled by Alyson Noel
This Monstrous Child by Francesca Simon
Ruined by Amy Tintera
The Bombs That Brought Us Together by Brian Conaghan
A Toaster on Mars by Darrell Pitt
Julius & the soulcatcher by Tim Hehir
Julius & the watchmaker by Tim Hehir
The Leaving by Tara Altebrando
The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson – finished copy
A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty – finished copy
Thanks to Bloomsbury, Text Publishing, Allen and Unwin, Pan Macmillan, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins for sending me these review copies!
Purchased
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Abdieh
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan (not pictured – borrowed by my nephew)
READING UPDATE
- I’ve just finished ACOMAF and I have to say I’m pretty pissed about it. After reading Queen of Shadows, it’s apparent that Sarah J Maas has a knack for completing writing off beloved characters and changing their personalities beyond redemption. I’m going to be another black sheep here and will probably have lots to say in a rant review.
- I have been binge reading the Colours of Madeline series which Jenna recommended to me. A Corner of White I read in one sitting and The Cracks in the Kingdom was magical!
BOOKSTAGRAM
I’m really loving my recent Instagram theme – trying out some more accessories and messy colours! Follow @happyindulgence for more book photos.
BOOKISH NEWS
- Jenny Han announced the 3rd Lara Jean book – Always and Forever, Lara Jean on a cake! It’s the 3rd book in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series.
- Instagram updated it’s platform with the ugliest rainbow icon ever. Thankfully the layout is now white, clean and minimalist which actually accentuates your photos.
- Nori is encouraging everyone to make their own book blogging features with the Book Blogger Creativity Project! Sign up here.
- Jennifer Niven also announced her 3rd book about a character struggling from weight and bullying. It’s called Holding Up the Universe!
- Veronica Roth has a next book coming out finally – it’s called Carve the Mark!
- Casting news is out for the These Broken Stars TV adaptation!
- Our favourite Aussie superstars Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman have announced their next project together – the Andromeda Cycle!
- Cas and Anna have been cast in the Anna Dressed in Blood movie!
- Cover reveal for Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken (Passenger #2)
DISCUSSION POSTS
Some posts I’ve enjoyed in the past weeks:
- Bec @ Readers in Wonderlands talks about meeting authors while having anxiety
- Aila @ One Way or an Author talks about why YA is important for young adults
- Aentee @ Read at Midnight designed absolutely STUNNING free phone wallpapers on The Star Touched Queen!
- Aentee @ Read at Midnight talks about the 7 things bloggers should never apologise fo
- Cait @ Paper Fury does a quiz on the types of series enders
YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…
- My April booktube video where I rave about Morning Star and talk about the books I read during the month.
- Reviews on two diverse reads – one about a blind protagonist, another about one with selective mutism.
- Jenna lamenting about how she loves sad books.
- Aila being disappointed with The Marked Girl because it seemed stockstandard.
How was your bookish week?
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Wow! These books are all stunning!
My name is Cait and I run a book blog called caitreads.com . I love your blog and I was disappointed to find it only today. Not only do I love the way you structure your reviews, I love the way that you write. I couldn't decide which blog post to comment on, but I am utterly jealous of all your ARC's. I am a little new to this world, and was wondering if you could tell me how you contact that publishers or if they contact you. I have gotten in touch with a few, like HarperTeen, but need a little in-depth help. I'll definitely be coming back. Maybe I'll see you over at my site, but if not, I just wanted to let you know that I love your posts!!
Cait 🙂 (caitreads.com)
My recent post Rebel Of The Sands – Review
Awesome haul, Jeann! I have The Unexpected Everything on my next book to buy. I really enjoy Morgan Matson's books. 🙂
My recent post LoveFest Tour: Thank You Letter to Krista & Becca Ritchie
Thanks Jess, I hope you enjoy TUE as well! Morgan Matson\’s books are life!
OMG YAY FOR JENNA AND AILA!!!
You always have the best mailboxes, Jeann! #jealous (I'm DYING to read Unrivaled, so I'll be lingering around for your review. I'm currently reading The Unexpected Everything and I'm getting Ruined soon as well! & I hear the hardcover of TSTQ is GORGEOUS!)
Always and Forever, Lara Jean literally reminds me of a perfume campaign. I had no idea that was the actual title for a minute. lollll. I'll definitely read it. I still need to get to the second book, though. I've been stalking BEA posts, too! HA!
My recent post Blog Tour: Me vs. Cake
Thanks Peach, I am so lucky to get so many fantastic books from publishers! I\’ve heard interesting things about Unrivaled, good and bad so I hope I enjoy it. I\’m excited that you\’re reading TUE, I absolutely LOVED it and I hope you\’re enjoying it too! Lol BEA posts are literally the best thing to live vicariously for! I\’ll probably read the 3rd Lara Jean book too, even though the 2nd one kind of annoyed me.
That's exciting Aila and jenna get to meet each other soon! I am sorry to hear you've been busy and I hope this week is a bit calmer. It was exciting to see all the BEA posts and also made me wish i could go there once as it looks so fun. I am sorry to hear you didn't enjoy A Court of Mist and Fur, I haven't read the series, but I do think it's annoying when characters personalities seem to change in the next book. You got some great books these past few weeks! I hope you''ll enjoy them all! I hope you'll all have a great week!
My recent post Review: Faerie Blood by Emma L Adams
Thanks Lola, it always seems to be busy with me, I guess it keeps me active! Sometimes I do crave a quiet weekend though, which is always rare. Yeah, their personalities changed radically which really annoyed me. Thanks Lola, I hope you have a lovely week ahead and read some good books!
Ah, I really want to make it to Teen Con one day! It looks like so much fun, so I know you will have a great time! 😀
SO MANY BOOKS, JEANN! I can't believe you got that many, ohmygosh XD Good luck with reading them all, and I hope they're all good ones!
I'm totally feeling you on ACoMaF. I'm 250 pages in, and almost everything is annoying me. Except Rhys. Who frankly deserves more than Feyre if I am being completely honest. Cannot wait for your review, lovely!
EEP. I am so glad you're enjoying The Colours of Madeleine! That is one of my favourite series ever <3
My recent post 2016 Reading Challenges Update (#4)
Thanks Chiara, I can\’t wait to head to TeenCon! I always have a great time meeting other bloggers, it\’s always the highlight. Oh man, Rhys is impossible to dislike because of how perfect he is, almost like he\’s on a pedestal. I was so frustrated with the book that by the ending I felt like throwing it out the window. Yesss I\’m glad I picked up the Colours of Madeleine as well! It\’s so charming, I\’ll be covering A Tangle of Gold for the next ozyay segment on radio!
I read The Unexpected Everything the day it was released, and I LOVED it. Morgan Matson is fabulous, and I hope you enjoy it, along with the rest of your new books. I read Corner of White a couple years ago, and I really didn't like it all that much, but I'm glad you like it more than I did. I'm so siked for Jenny Han's announcement. I could always use more Lara Jean and Peter K.! I hope you have a wonderful week!
My recent post Lefty's Lowdown: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
A shame about A Corner of White, I'm reading the 3rd now and really enjoying it. I loved The Unexpected Everything, I've read it already and it's glorious!
So fun they get to meet!! That is a lot book mail!! So many great ones too! Enjoy them all. Have a great week!!
Thank you Grace, it was definitely exciting seeing the updates from home!
Ugh. Another waste of money. I bought A Court of Mist and Fury last week. Oh well. Another book will be shelved under my Allegiant shelf on Goodreads.
My recent post Hoarders, Books Edition: Episode 180
You might still enjoy it Joy, even though it wasn't for me, lots of people love it!
My recent post Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire Review: It’s A Miracle I Actually Finished This One!
Thanks Lauren, book mail is definitely awesome! Oh yeah, I got so annoyed at certain parts that it kind of put me in a sour mood lol. I do think it was done a bit too blatantly tbh. I know, whenever I see it I'm like wtf is this? You too lovely!
I loved and adored The Smell Of Other People's Houses! The Monsterous Child has caught my eye and I will be checking it out on Goodreads. Have a fabulous week. 🙂
My recent post THE SUNDAY POST #60
I'm so glad you enjoyed that book! I've heard great things about it too. Happy reading!
Wow! That's a lot of awesome books you got! Here's my Sunday Post: http://rabbitearsbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/th…
My recent post Blog Ahead Mini (May 1st – May 15th, 2016) Wrap Up!
Wow, that's quite the haul! I love the cover of A Court of Mist and Fury. Sorry it was disappointing. 🙁
And thanks for the links- the Veronica Roth and Kristoff/ Kaufman news was new to me, I'll check those out.
My recent post Sunday Post #142
Thanks Greg, I was super disappointed because I was such a big fan of the first one!
I hope you have a great meet-up. I'm sure you'll have a lot of things to chat about.
I've been avoiding BEA stuff, I'll get sad and be jealous. I didn't have enough money to do BEA and Universal Studios this year so I decided to do the latter. For all those shiny arcs and fantastic authors and bloggers to meet, the call of Harry Potter et al is too powerful to ignore. lol
My recent post Steampunk Sundays: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
Thanks Braine, I know it\’d be a busy meetup but it will be lots of fun! LOL I know what you mean about BEA stuff, but I get excited seeing everyone\’s photos and hauls.
What a glorious book haul, I wish you many hours of happy reading! I've put off reading ACOMAF, honestly not sure I particularly want to! I adored Jaclyn Moriarty's previous Ashbury/Brookfield series though – it's one of my all-time favourites! Will definitely need to check out her newest stuff.
Thank you lovely! A shame about ACOMAF, when I read spoilers I didn't want to pick it up either. Great to hear you've enjoyed Jaclyn's previous books – this one is so charming!
Oooh I am totally jealous of your book mail! Hope you enjoy!
Bambi's StS and Recap
My recent post Stackin' the Shelves #33 and Weekly Recap
Thanks Bambi, so much book mail this week!
Awesome haul! I don't even want to read ACoMaF now, since I've read reviews. SJM needs to stop with that mess. I can't even read Queen of Shadows because I already know what happens, so I don't think I'll even try to finish that series. She has become an author that I don't like. She loves to switch up the romances in her books, and it's annoying. I hope you love all of these beauties!
My recent post Blog Tour: The Season of You & Me by Robin Constantine
Oh man, that's a shame you don't want to pick it up but I can definitely see your point! She definitely does switch up the romance, it's annoying because it just messes with your feelings. I mean why bother building up another romance if you're just going to switch it?
I see that you got some great books this week. I hope you love all of them.
Grace
Fantastic haul! I need to get The Star Touched Queen. I love that cover. Enjoy! STS
Thank you, I love the cover of it as well! Hopefully it's an awesome read.
ONE WEEK AND I GET TO SEE YOU, JEANN. So excited for books + book-lovers + food.
Ahhhh such a shame you didn't like ACOMAF. That's definitely how I felt about Queen of Shadows haha, so I know where you're coming from.
And omg, such gorgeous books. And book photos! Loving your Bookstagram 🙂
My recent post How do I Love Thee? Let me Count the Ways // 10 Reasons to Read ACOMAF
I'VE BEEN COUNTING DOWN EM! I can't wait for it! Yeah, I can definitely see a trend happening with her writing unfortunately, which I'm not a fan of. Thank you lovely! Book photos is the best <3
SO MANY LOVELY BOOKS!!!
CANNOT WAIT FOR YOUR ACOMAF REVIEW!!! That book was freaking fantastic!!!! Maas never ceases to amaze me!!! SO MANY PRETTY BOOKS!!! I have no idea how I'm going to read all my books. At least exams are over so I'll have more time but still….
OMG, I AM SO JEALOUS OF EVERYONE WHO GOT TO GO TO BEA. I NEED TO GO. Maybe in the future we should organise a group of Aussie bloggers to go. It's going to be expensive for me but I'm planning to go perhaps in 2018 when I'm graduated and FREEEEE!!!!
Love the recap!!!!!
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Thanks Faith, unfortunately I wasn't a fan of ACOMAF because of how characters had changed! I'm glad you enjoyed it though. I was stalking the BEA updates! That would be the most amazing outing omg!
Holy hell! So many books, Jeann! I'm so envious. They all look great. It sounds like you guys have been busy. So exciting to hear about the meet up and you going to Teencon! (can't wait for the posts/pictures!). Omg! You didn't enjoy ACOMAF? I can definitely see why people have issues with it (mostly the change in Tamlin) but I loved it otherwise. Can't wait to see your rant review 😀
My recent post Contemporary Duos – Amy Zhang and Emery Lord
ACOMAF really annoyed me because of how she changed certain characters in the book – it was pretty blatant as well. Lol it felt therapeutic writing up my rant!
Oooh so many amazing books! I can’t wait to read THE UNEXPECTED EVERYTHING and A TANGLE OF GOLD 🙂 Happy reading!
Thank you! I loved The Unexpected Everything, I hope you enjoy them!
So many awesome books! I recently just picked up a copy of the Rose and the Dagger and The Star Touched Queen myself. That cover for The Unexpected Everything is just so cute. And yay, Happy Indulgence meets! Man, I'm super bummed that you didn't like ACOMAF! As I kind of wanted these developments to happen both in ACOMAF and Queen of Shadows I'm pretty happy BUT can understand about loved characters changing drastically.
My recent post Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Yesss I can't wait to read The Star Touched Queen, I've read so many great reviews on it! Yeah, it just didn't make sense to change the characters so blatantly just for the purposes of making the ship happen. I would've liked it a lot more as a stand alone.
How exciting for Jenna and Aila! I hope they have a great time. Oohh your mailbox IS on fire. That's the kind of burning I like. lol.
My recent post Sunday Post #175 (5/15/16) – Alcohol Makes It All Better
Lol it was really exciting picking up the mail at the post office, that's for sure!
Lovely weekly recap! I'm kind of scared going into ACOMAF now. I know what SJM does with her characters, and though it didn't bother me in her Throne of Glass series, I feel like the character that is going to get the axe will be the only one I like >.<
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Thanks Jesse! So many people are raving about it so I think it's realistic to have a different side of the story you know. Yeah, It didn't bother me too much in QoS, but it's done super blatantly here unfortunately.
Cait! It looks like we're completely on the same page with SJM, she's my favourite author but after this one I was really hesitant! Knowing what you thought about QoS I knew this one wouldn't be for you. It made me rage lol. That's super exciting that your library bought heaps of new releases – mine too lol! Now I just gotta find some time to read them all. I'm so glad your week has been good Cait! That's what I've been thinking too, I've met Amie, and I'll meet Jay at Teencon, but I wish they would do more country wide events you know! AND Gemina ARCs yes please.