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BLOG TOUR | Spellbound by F. T. Lukens

Edison Rooker ā€” Rook ā€” seems to be your normal average teenager looking for a job until the real reason why he singled out Antonia's shop is revealed. He doesn't have any magic, and the closest he's ever been to the magical community was when his grandmother was alive. After his grandmother's passing, he created the Spell Binder, a device for detecting magic, to be able to regain access to the magical world. The problem: technically, the device is illegal; and the fact he has it, a non-magical person, makes it worse.

On the other hand, Sun is magical through and through. We meet them as Fable's (Antonia's rival) apprentice on their way to deliver a box of cursed items to Antonia's shop to be "fixed". If Rook needs the help of the Spell Binder to see the ley lines, Sun's special ability allows him to see magic (in addition to being able to use / wield it).

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Virtually Me by Chad Morris and Shelly BrownĀ 

The story takes place after the pandemic hits, and one of the things I appreciated about it is attending VR school is not mandatory. Chad Morris and Shelly Brown made it clear that in-person school is still an option. These kids are in VR school for a reason, and though their reasons are different it all stems from one thing: their physical appearance.

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2023 Reading Goals

A little related update: I started a new job at a bookstore last June. This new job led me to have more physical books than usual because your girl has no "shelf-control", hahaha! The amount of books I have amassed in the last six months is the main contributor to the decision of having a TBR jar for 2023. Thanks to my 8-year-old's enthusiasm to help, I now have a Parmesan container as a TBR "jar".

It's early yet to say if I'll be able to stick to these goals given I didn't include any library books, or Netgalley books / ARC. However, I am hopeful. I am determined to read as much as I can of those I already own.

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An Advent Of Christmas Carols

It's never too early to think about Christmas shopping, and the Christmas traditions your family observes. I am a big fan of advent calendars and I have been fixing up my kids' calendars every November to make sure it's ready by December 1st. An Advent Carols Countdown is another great way to go about advent calendars this holiday season.

This book comes with 24 carols, some you might already be familiar with, each with a QR code and a history of why, and when the carol is written. The QR code links to a video of a performance of the carol it's attached to.

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On The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes is about Coriolanus Snow. Yes, the President Snow on his teenage years. It's been 10 years since the war ended, and the Hunger Games is in its 10th year. Also, the tributes in this year's games are mentored by a bunch of high school students (pretty much) one of which is Snow.

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Me making a peace sign in front of and A&W restaurant.
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Little Things Vol. 1

I haven't been updating this little space in a while and as much as I want to keep this blog going, I feel as if this space ended up with one blog tour post after another. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing them but I want to write about other things as well.

In the process of figuring out what this space is for me, I came across Evie Jayne's blog posts and I though, why not try her Little Things series. Maybe it'll help me slowly branch out from only blogging about books.

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BLOG TOUR | Slip by Marika McCoola, Illustrated by Aatmaja Pandya

Slip by Marika McCoola, Illustrated by Aatmaja Pandya
Publication Date: June 7, 2022

Jade is very excited to attend art camp until her best friend attempts to commit suicide. She's stuck between trying to focus on working on her skills, and understanding what could have caused her best friend, Phoebe, to hurt herself. There's also this feeling of guilt: does every good feeling ā€” making friends, doing well on her craft, possibly falling in love ā€” means she's abandoning her best friend?

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BLOG TOUR | Love Somebody by Rachel Roasek

TITLE: Love Somebody
AUTHOR: Rachel Roasek
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
RELEASE DATE: January 11th, 2022
GENRES: YOUNG ADULT FICTION---Contemporary, Romance
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I think I know why I gravitate toward romantic young adult novels: my inner 17-18 year old is living vicariously through their characters. I mentioned the same thing to my husband after watching the To All The Boys Iā€™ve Loved Before Trilogy, and I was told high school as portrayed through media doesnā€™t happen in real life.

Love Somebody is a love triangle of sorts. I donā€™t think there is enough comedy in it to be considered a romantic comedy (as the synopsis mentioned) but it has itā€™s funny moments. In Love Somebody, Sam and Christian are friends. When Christian falls for Ros, he asks Sam to help him get close to her. Sam hesitates at first, then changes her mind when she found out she lost to Ros to speak at their school assembly.

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BLOG TOUR | The Winning Ingredient by Kelly Swan Taylor

The Winning Ingredient by Kelly Swan Taylor
Published by Link Press
Release date: September 22, 2021
Genre: Contemporary

I throughly enjoyed reading The Winning Ingredient. Mostly because I love scenes of Mia in the kitchen constantly experimenting and baking, and then having her friends be her taste testers. I've imagined myself on both ends as I too love to bake, and I love receiving home baked goodies.

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