Found it: One MIA Book Reviewer with a growing #TBR pile!

It has been a reeeeally long summer, y’all. You already know I am a librarian, what you might not realize is that summer in a library is equivalent to Christmas Season in retail. I do more classes and “parties” (programs, if you are in the know) in the months of June and July than I do the other 10 months combined. My ABC class for preschoolers–which has 2-4 kids in it most of the year–had 10-12 squirming toddlers trying to understand why “C” says /k/ and /s/ and most weeks had brand new kids to try to learn the names of. One day I taught 22 kids how to paint funky art on a canvas with only 6 paint pallets.

And on top of it, I have been trying to hire multiple people, including a replacement for my work wife. Hiring people is so annoying, especially when you have green water paint on your shirt from a teen program earlier in the day.

It isn’t officially summer until I’ve ruined a shirt with paint.

Then, because apparently I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to turn my one cat household to two, bringing chaos into my home life, too.

“You can read any time, I’m only going to be this cute for a few months!!” #tuukkakitty #roanokegirls #whatamireading #catsofinstagram #bookstagram

A post shared by Angela Bennett (@angela_b12) on Jun 20, 2017 at 9:41pm PDT

Don’t let that face fool you, he is a constant ball of energy whose hobbies include jumping around like a fawn on the bed and biting knees with his needle teeth. But, ok, he is finally learning to snuggle without attacking your eyeball, which I guess is pretty cute.

And then, it just so happens to be summer in the real world, too, which means people actually want to be all social and every weekend is packed with barbecues and beach days and parties and mothers claiming they “haven’t seen you in forever, why can’t you meet me for Sunday brunch?” (because I learned my sleep habits from you, lady!).

Saying I’ve had no energy for more than opening a bottle of wine and re-watching Parks & Rec for the 6th time is an understatement.

^Source

This means that my already uncontrollable TBR pile is a clusterf@!#. So, instead of sharing what I have read this summer (the few books I have made it through worth noting can be found throughout current and upcoming #TNReads), I want to share with you the ones I stare at longingly at the bottom of my pile from this summer so you don’t miss out on them, too.

Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios

This one I had my eye one for the cover alone, but then a friend beat me to it and gave it a rare 5-star rating. In this heavy YA story about the cycle of abuse, Grace finds her out from her abusive home in too-good-to-be-true Gavin. I usually crave happy endings, but I could see this one ending badly and it makes me want to read it even more. Buy it.

After the Fall by Kate Hart

The same friend also highly suggested this one to me, with the warning to not read it too close to Bad Romance unless I want to spend the week depressed (she knows I am an overly empathetic reader). Goodreads says it has a love triangle with brothers, a tragedy, and the aftermath of an assault, and I just moved it up to “Next to Read.” Buy it.

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

I would say that The Wrath and The Dawn duology was one of the best things I’ve read in the last few years (and well loved on TN), and I was heartbroken when I was denied the ARC on Flame in the Mist. I didn’t even need to read the synopsis because I loved W&D so much, but for you, dear reader, I did: Mariko is on her way to her arranged wedding when her convoy is attacked, leaving her as the only survivor. She does the only thing a girl in Imperial Japan can do: dress as a boy and seek revenge. Queue Donny Osmond singing “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” Buy it.

Lost and Found Sisters by Jill Shalvis

Jill Shalvis is one of my happy-place authors that I can read in one sitting. This is the first book in a new series; a leaves-her-perfect-but-unfulfilling-life for a new adventure story where she discovers her recently deceased sister left her some secrets. I’m guessing a secret daughter. And how long until she falls in love? If you are a fan of Hallmark movies, but would like a little more–any–**whispers** s-e-x in them, you need to be reading Jill Shalvis. Buy it.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Another one being passed around at work. Technically speaking, it is another YA (sorry, not sorry) but it takes place in 1988, so anyone over 30 is going to enjoy it way more than anyone under 20 so I’m calling it adult. Two girls enter high school best friends. When one starts acting odd, the other comes up with the only possible explanation: demon possession. Obviously. Buy it.

Now that the kids are heading going back to school, I will soon be a real person again instead of a zombie, and I promise to get back to my good reading habits. In the meantime, if you all could just read these for me and tell me if they are as worth my time as I think they are, I would appreciate it.