Sunday Post #260: The Makeup Purge

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Monthly Wrap-Up: January 2021

I hope you guys had a good first month of 2021! My month was relatively uneventful, which I thank the gods for after the awful Fall I had last year. I did get my first covid vaccine this month, which is another thing I was thankful for. I had minor side effects for like two days and a sore arm, but nothing too bad (if you're curious about that, you can read more about my experience here!) I get my second dose the second week of February!
We had a trip scheduled for next month, but that has officially been cancelled. Not gonna lie, I'm glad it was. Even with the vaccine, I still wouldn't feel comfortable traveling.

Review: Karma Girl (Bigtime #1) by Jennifer Estep

Title: Karma Girl

Series: Bigtime #1

Author: Jennifer Estep

Genre: Adult, paranormal romance, superheroes

Publication date: January 2014 (First published in May 2007)

Published by: Jennifer Estep (1st edition by Berkley)

Source: Purchased ebook

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Synopsis: Investigative reporter Carmen Cole gets the surprise of her life on her wedding day when she discovers that her fiancé and best friend are sleeping together—and that the two of them are her town's resident superhero and ubervillain. Shocked and hurt, Carmen reveals their secret identities and then decides to devote her life to unmasking every superhero and ubervillain who crosses her path.

A series of successful unmaskings lands Carmen a job at The Exposé, one of the biggest newspapers in Bigtime, New York, a city that's full of superheroes and ubervillains. Carmen is in her element—until she gets kidnapped by the Terrible Triad, Bigtime’s most dangerous ubervillain team.

The Triad orders Carmen to uncover the secret identity of Striker, the leader of the Fearless Five, Bigtime's most popular superhero team—or else they’ll drop her in a vat of radioactive goo. With that threat hanging over her, Carmen sets out to unmask Striker, but what she doesn’t count on is falling for the sexy superhero. But with the Terrible Triad lurking around, this is one story that just might be the death of her...

My rating: ★★★☆☆
I love Jennifer Estep’s books! My first introduction to her work was Mythos Academy—I fell immediately in love with it! I read this series nearly 10 years ago, and to this day, it remains one of my favorites series of all time! Next I read Elemental Assassin and Black Blade, both of which I loved. Elemental Assassin is another of my all time favorite series—Gin Blanco is an absolutely incredible character! I even love Crown of Shards, which is saying something because I’m not super into epic fantasies. However, I love superhero stuff so I was very excited to read this, but I’m really sad to report that I didn’t love it as much as I did her other books 😞 I am just so surprised at myself!

Review: Hear, Fear, Here (Bleach #63) by Tite Kubo

Title: Hear, Fear, Here

Series: Bleach #63

Author: Tite Kubo

Genre: YA, manga, fantasy

Publication date: February 2015

Published by: VIZ Media

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: Mask De Masculine’s onslaught continues as he takes on multiple Soul Reaper captains at once. However, he may have met his match when Renji makes his appearance. Meanwhile, the secrets behind the Quincy king’s power may finally be revealed.

My rating: ★★★★★
This volume was absolutely amazing! It was actually very horrifying, very graphic, and quite brutal and violent... I was not expecting that, but I absolutely loved it!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #208: Can't Stop with the Assassin

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #259: Retail Therapy

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

OMG That Song Book Tag

I saw this fun tag over at Emily the Book Nerd. With books I tend to read what I like... books within a series or books by the same author. And in this tag you will discover that I am the same way with music 😅 I just listen to the same bands over and over 😂 Like I always say, I like what I like 🤷‍♀️😂

Review: Hit and Run (Point Horror #26) by R.L. Stine

Title: Hit and Run

Series: Point Horror #26

Author: R.L. Stine

Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller

Publication date: June 1992

Published by: Scholastic

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: Eddie, Scott, Winks, and Cassie. They went out for a drive one night. Just to practice, so Eddie would be sure and get his license.

Then Eddie had a little accident. Now four friends share a terrible secret.

Because Eddie hit someone and killed him.

Didn't he?

My rating: ★★☆☆☆
So four teenagers without their license go out to practice their driving so that they can pass their driving test... Please tell me how that makes sense 😑 Lol. And it all goes about as well as you can imagine... they kill someone. Lol. Kidding 😅 But they do kill someone 😬 After the accident, they start receiving creepy notes and one of them even gets hit with a car, and omg could it be the guy they killed?? 😲

Review: Heart of the Wolf (Bleach #62) by Tite Kubo

Title: Heart of the Wolf

Series: Bleach #62

Author: Tite Kubo

Genre: YA, manga, fantasy

Publication date: November 2014

Published by: VIZ Media

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: Unable to use their Bankai special abilities, the Soul Reaper captains are at a severe disadvantage against the invading Quincy army. Urahara has a plan to turn the tide of battle, but will it be enough as the Quincies continue their onslaught?!

My rating: ★★★★☆
With the Soul Reapers having lost their Bankai, Urahara has been working on a way to get them back. He actually found something really interesting regarding the Quincies and Hollows that might help them fight back against the Quincies. It actually makes sense, and this advantage is really shaking up the Quincies!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #207: More Assassin-y Things!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #258: Vaccines and WandaVision

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

My Life in Books Tag

I saw this tag over at a GREAT read, and it looked like a lot of fun!

Review: All-Night Party (Fear Street #43) by R.L. Stine

Title: All-Night Party

Series: Fear Street #43

Author: R.L. Stine

Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller

Publication date: March 1997

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: Planning an all-night birthday party for Cindy on Fear Island, Gretchen Davies anticipates dancing, love, and non-stop fun, until Cindy is murdered, and Gretchen realizes that one of her friends is the killer.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Three friends plan a surprise birthday party for Cindy. On Fear Island 😑 It’s such a bad idea! Nothing good ever happens there! And this time it turns out there’s an escaped prisoner/killer on the loose there. All the kids are freaking out cause one of them gets murdered, now they’re wondering who the murderer will kill next 😬

Review: The Last 9 Days (Bleach #61) by Tite Kubo

Title: The Last 9 Days

Series: Bleach #61

Author: Tite Kubo

Genre: YA, manga, fantasy

Publication date: August 2014

Published by: VIZ Media

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: With the true identity of his sword finally revealed, how will Ichigo take the next step forward? Will his new Zanpaku-to be enough to stop the invading Quincies? And just where does Uryu stand in all of this...?

My rating: ★★★★☆
Major spoiler alert for last volume! Proceed with caution 😉

The last volume was absolute insanity! But basically Zangetsu is not Zangetsu. He was actually Yhwach and he is the source of Ichigo’s power... his Quincy power. And apparently this somehow means that Ichigo is not a Soul Reaper, which I'm not sure how that works? But anyway, Yhwach sucks and I don’t like him. And speaking of Ichigo’s former Zanpakuto, his new one is pretty cool!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #206: Taking Comfort in Assassins

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #257: Animal Crossing and Hair Dilemmas

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Review: Whiteout (Red Eye #10) by Gabriel Dylan

Title: Whiteout

Series: Red Eye #10

Author: Gabriel Dylan

Genre: YA, horror

Publication date: January 2019

Published by: Stripes Publishing

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: Charlie hopes that the school ski trip will be the escape from his unhappy home life he so desperately needs. But there is something wrong with the remote ski village of Kaldgellan. Something is out there, something ancient and evil, among the pines and the deep untracked drifts, watching and waiting. And when the storms blow in, Charlie and his schoolmates wake to find the resort deserted. Cut off from the rest of the world far below, as night falls the few left alive on the snowbound mountain will wish they were somewhere, anywhere else. Only ski guide Hanna seems to know of Kaldgellan’s long-buried secrets, but whether Charlie can trust her is another question...

My rating: ★★★☆☆
I loved the premise of this book! There’s something lurking around the resort, stalking kids who have gone up there on a school ski trip, and then just slaughters them! It was pretty brutal, gory, but I liked that!

Finish the Series #11: Let's Finish Some More Series

This year we are starting off with 75 unfinished series 😅

The goal is to have less series on this shelf by the end of 2021 😂 How many less? I don't know... just less. Look, my goal is to finish at least 9 series this year, but let's be honest, I'm definitely gonna be adding more series to this shelf throughout the year 😂 So yeah, just less 🙈

Review: Everything But The Rain (Bleach #60) by Tite Kubo

Title: Everything But The Rain

Series: Bleach #60

Author: Tite Kubo

Genre: YA, manga, fantasy

Publication date: April 2014

Published by: VIZ Media

Source: Borrowed from Library

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Synopsis: As the rain falls in Karakura Town, Isshin faces off against a mysterious Black Hollow. But when a familiar face joins the fight, Isshin will need all the help he can get. Ichigo's dark past is revealed, but can he recover from the shock of finally learning the truth?!

My rating: ★★★★★
It’s been a hot minute since I last reviewed one of these volumes, so I think I should mention that since then, it has been announced that this last arc of Bleach IS being adapted into an anime! 🤗 I am so happy! It’s actually been some years since the last season was released, but I am glad that we will be able to watch this arc on TV because I really enjoyed it!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #205: New Year, New Goals

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #256: Hello 2021

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

2020 Reading Stats

I love doing this post every year and seeing how things change from one year to another. I also love numbers and books, so there's that 😉

My Year in Books: 2020

I always look forward to this feature on Goodreads at the end of the year. I love seeing an overview of what my reading year was like. I noticed that this year they changed up the design... it's more sleek. I like it.