Lili Lost in a Book: January 2022

Monday, January 31, 2022

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #252: Games and Heists

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

Sunday Post #285: Scream!

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!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #251: Sci-Fi, UF, and Horror

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

Sunday Post #284: It's Time for a Rewatch

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!

Finish the Series #18: A Good Start to the Year!

I started 2021 with 75 unfinished series 😨 This year though, thanks to my unhaul and just removing series I was never going to read, I am starting the year off with 51 unfinished series/series I need to catch up on!

I mean, it's still a lot, but it's better than 75 😅 And like last year, I am hoping to finish at least 9 series in 2022. I finished 9 in 2021, so this should be pretty attainable this year too. We'll see though. Lol.

Review: The Lodge (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #15) by J.L. Bryan

Title: The Lodge

Series: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #15

Previous books in this series: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper (#1) | Cold Shadows (#2) | The Crawling Darkness (#3) | Terminal (#4) | House of Whispers #5 | Maze of Souls #6 | Lullaby (#7) | The Keeper (#8) | The Tower (#9) | The Monster Museum (#10) | Fire Devil (#11) | The Necromancer's Library (#12) | The Trailwalker (#13) | Midnight Movie (#14)

Author: J.L. Bryan

Genre: Adult, paranormal, horror

Publication date: August 2021

Published by: J.L. Bryan

Source: Review copy from author

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon

Synopsis: More than a century ago, the Sea Islands of Georgia's coastline were the playground of the ultra-wealthy. Carnegies, Morgans, Rockefellers and other aristocrats of the Industrial Age built luxurious southern beach retreats on islands like Cumberland and Jekyll to escape the icy winters of New York. In time, though, the grand mansions were abandoned and fell into disrepair, abandoned to the weather and the wilderness.

A secretive client hires Ellie Jordan to investigate one such island, home to a sprawling estate modeled after a royal hunting lodge. Weapons and artifacts from around the world adorn its grand hall. Finely furnished rooms devoted to leisure and games display the original owner's vast collection of hunting trophies, the preserved bodies of exotic predators from around the world, beasts with bared fangs and unblinking glass eyes.

Someone is trying to bring the neglected island back to life, but the dark shadows of its gilded past remain strong here, stalking the galleries and winding corridors. The mysterious grand lodge is more than it seems, and its restoration has unearthed horrific and unexpected evils. Ellie and Stacey must face the lodge's dark past and drive its paranormal inhabitants back into the world of the dead, before they can do more harm to the living.

My rating: ★★★★★

Right off the bat, this case was super sketchy. Ellie and Stacy are given very little detail... They didn't even know who hired them! So weird! But off they go to meet their client on a deserted island. This island was very... Off. There was a wall around it that was very reminiscent of Attack on Titan, so you know things can't possibly be good here. Lol. There's a very impressive mansion there, and a couple of other smaller buildings and cottages that were meant for "the help" back in the day, and spooky things are just happening everywhere. Hence why Ellie and Stacey were called in.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #250: It's Time, I Swear!

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

Sunday Post #283: More Books, More Nail Polish... What Else is New?

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!

Decluttering My TBR!

I started 2022 by decluttering my tbr... again. Lol. I removed a bunch of books off my Want to Read shelf on Goodreads back in 2019, but this time I focused on books I own that just didn't capture my attention anymore. And here is how things went:

Review - Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me by Carrie Ann DiRisio & Linnea Gear

Title: Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me

Author: Carrie Ann DiRisio

Genre: YA, fantasy

Illustrator: Linnea Gear

Publication date: October 2017

Published by: Skypony Press

Source: eARC from publishers via Edelweiss

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books

Synopsis: Have you ever wished you could receive a little guidance from your favorite book boyfriend? Ever dreamed of being the Chosen One in a YA novel? Want to know all the secrets of surviving the dreaded plot twist?

Or maybe you're just really confused about what "opal-tinted, luminous cerulean orbs" actually are?

Well, popular Twitter personality @broodingYAhero is here to help as he tackles the final frontier in his media dominance: writing a book. Join Broody McHottiepants as he attempts to pen Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me, a "self-help" guide (with activities—you always need activities) that lovingly pokes fun at the YA tropes that we roll our eyes at, but secretly love.

As his nefarious ex, Blondie DeMeani, attempts to thwart him at every turn, Broody overcomes to detail, among other topics, how to choose your genre, how to keep your love interest engaged (while maintaining lead character status), his secret formula for guaranteed love triangle success, and how to make sure you secure that sequel, all while keeping his hair perfectly coiffed and never breaking a sweat.

My rating: ★★★★★

I loved this book as soon as I started it. It's a book about writing disguised as a fun, meta world full of self-awareness and all the tropes you could ever imagine. It was great!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #249: So much Space

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

Sunday Post #282: Snowmageddon

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!

Looking Back at Books I Wish I’d read in 2020 & Anticipated Books of 2021

Today I want to take a look at the books in my Top Books I Wish I’d Read in 2020 list AND the Top Anticipated Books of 2021 and see if I actually read any of those books throughout 2021. It's always really interesting to see because these are all books I am REALLY wanting to read, but sometimes I just never make it around to them. Let's if my mood cooperated this year (probably not though lol).