Author: Alyssa Cohen

Non-Fiction November Haul

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Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

If you are American, I hope you had a lovely, thought provoking and reflective Thanksgiving with your immediate family! I have never been one to typically celebrate Thanksgiving (especially since it’s not as popular in Canada), but I certainly understand the purpose of it, especially during the exhaustive year we have all had. Additionally, I apologize for my disappearance on both my blog and Instagram. School has been really hectic lately, but I only have a week and a half to go until I’m finished this semester, so expect a lot more posting from then until the beginning of January!

In the month of November, I have pretty much been only able to read books I am required to complete for school. However, I have been dabbling into a few of my previously purchased non-fiction books, which inspired me to pick up a few more! All of the books I purchased this month were non-fiction, and all but Barack Obama’s memoir were purchased from A Different Booklist, which is an independent black-owned bookstore located in Toronto. I purchased from them a few months ago (see that haul here), and wanted to support them again as Toronto is going through their second lock down since COVID-19 began. If you can afford to, I highly recommend shopping at independent local bookstores for this upcoming holiday season, as they need all of our support now more than ever!

The first book I picked up was Disfigured by Amanda Leduc. This book has been on my to-buy list since I first heard about it during this past spring. I am a huge fairy tale lover (and am even completing a course on fairy tales in university this year), and I think this book will be so interesting!

The second book I picked up from A Different Booklist was So You Want To Talk About Race by Iljeoma Oluo. I have heard some exceptional things about this novel, and am going to read it to advance my read list of anti-racist literature.

The final book I picked up from A Different Booklist was Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall. Similarly to the last two books, I have heard some fantastic things about the information presented in this book, and I hope it is a very insiteful and informative read!

The final non-fiction book I picked up this month came from a pre-order from Indigo, and it was A Promised Land by Barack Obama. This is the first of two political memoirs that Obama is writing, and while I am only six chapters in thus far (hence the bookmark), I’m loving it! There is a 1% chance that I will be able to finish this book by the end of 2020, but I still hope to read it as much as possible over the next month!

Those are all of the non-fiction books I picked up this November! Did you read or pick up any new non-fiction books this month?

Good Night Book Owls!

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann | A Reading, Reading, Reading Review

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Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

While I have not been reading as much as I usually do, when I received this ARC in the mail I knew I needed to start it right away! As I shared in my most recent monthly wrap-up, this novel was originally written and published in Germany. After receiving a lot of hype there, it was translated into English and published just a few weeks ago in North America!

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

In a windowless shack in the woods, Lena’s life and that of her two children follows the rules set by their captor, the father: Meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He protects his family from the dangers lurking in the outside world and makes sure that his children will always have a mother to look after them.
One day Lena manages to flee–but the nightmare continues. It seems as if her tormentor wants to get back what belongs to him. And then there is the question whether she really is the woman called “Lena,” who disappeared without a trace 14 years ago. The police and Lena’s family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle which doesn’t quite seem to fit.

This was one wild thriller! While the ending was a tad over used in thrillers that begin with people being kidnapped by literal psychopaths, I really enjoyed all of the events that lead up to the ending. The overall plot line was very suspenseful, and I managed to read this book in just a few days. There were a lot of interesting clues that were snuck into the middle of this novel, which I did not predict when they were finally revealed!

One aspect of this novel that I particularly enjoyed was the unreliable narrator present in this novel. This book is written mostly in the perspective of three characters, the woman who got kidnapped, her daughter, and her Father (whom she hasn’t seen in over 16-years). Throughout the novel, I regularly thought that at least one of the narrators was unreliable, untrustworthy, or just flat out crazy. While they all have some mental issues (rightfully so), I enjoyed the confusion that I had when reading this book, and I think that element of it made it even more suspenseful to read.

I also enjoyed the fact-paced and suspenseful writing style. As I mentioned previously, this book was a translated work, and while I never read the original writing, I believe that all of the story was perfectly translated and made perfect since in English. Some translated works of fiction lose their “magic” after they have been translated, sometimes it is because of the writing choices or style that the translator uses, and I thought that this translator did an excellent job in translating this book in English to a predominantly North American and European readership.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and gave it 4.25/5-stars. Thanks again to Raincoast Books for sending me an ARC!

Good Night Book Owls!

November & December 2020 TBR

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Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

I cannot believe I am sharing my final TBR of the year! I decided to combine my November and December TBR into one post, as I am not sure how much I will be able to read during the end of this month, as I will have exams and essays to take care of before doing any reading. However, I have the majority of December off, so I hope to be able to complete all of these unfinished books during those few weeks! Of course, I have some books on pre-order that I am ecstatic to read (*cough* Barack Obama’s memoir *cough*), but these are all of the books I already own that I hope to read before 2021!

The first book I hope to complete is BAD FEMINIST by Roxane Gay. As you can see by the book mark barely sticking out of my copy, I have already started this book and am about 60-pages through. November is well-known in the book community as “Non-Fiction November”, and while I have a few other non-fiction books that I have on order from A Different Booklist that I hope to read, I am definitely excited to finally read this one and see if it lives up to all of the hype!

The second book I hope to complete before the new year is GOODNIGHT BEAUTIFUL by Aimee Molloy. I have been interested in this novel since I heard about it at the beginning of the year, and have been hearing very mixed thoughts about it. Needless to say, I hope I love it!

The third book I hope to read is SUCH A FUN AGE by Kiley Reid. This book has been on my monthly TBRs since the summertime, but I have yet to actually pick it up and read it! I am hoping to complete this novel very, very soon!

I then hope to read BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman. Believe it or not, I have still not watched the Netflix adaptation of this novel, as I wanted to read the novel before I watched the movie. Luckily, it was available on Book Outlet, and is actually much shorter than I had originally anticipated!

From there, I hope to read YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN by Leah Johnson. I cannot remember the last time I read a YA contemporary novel, and I plan on picking this one up as I have heard nothing but great things about it!

Next, I hope to read THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Goldin. A lot of people I follow on Instagram have named this book as there #1 thriller of the year, so I hope to love it as much as they did!

Heading into December, I hope to read ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman. I purchased this book on it’s release day, as I was so excited to read it! Unfortunately, due to the lack of reading time I have had recently, I have not been able to read this one yet. I have heard some negative reviews about this one lately, but am hoping to love it in spite of those reviews.

From there, I hope to read IN A HOLIDAZE by Christina Lauren. I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster Canada in September, but am saving it for December to read and review since it is a book surrounding the holiday of Christmas! Luckily, I have read some fantastic reviews about this book, and hope it becomes my #1 Christina Lauren book thus far!

Continuing with recently published ARCs, I hope to complete EVEN IF WE BREAK by Marieke Nijkamp. I have read one Nijkamp book before, and I believe it was her 2014 or 2015 release! I remember enjoying it quite a bit, and hope to enjoy this one as well.

The second-last book I hope to complete before 2021 is THE WOMAN OUTSIDE MY DOOR by Rachel Ryan. This one intrigued me so much when I first heard of it, and am so thankful to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with an ARC!

The final book I hope to read is RAPTURE by Nick Nurse. Nick Nurse, the head coach of the 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors, is a huge book lover, and I figured that after the championship, he would get around to writing a memoir! I am so thankful to HBG Canada for sending me a finished copy of this memoir, and I cannot wait to get to it!

Those are the final 11 books I hope to read before 2021! What are you hoping to read over the last two months of 2020?

Good Night Book Owls!

September & October 2020 Wrap-Up

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Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

I am so sorry for the lack of posting on my blog recently! I have been SO busy with school work, and since I am only in my first year, I have still been adjusting from high school to the stress-level that is University (LOL… but really…). I did not post a reading wrap-up for last month, as I only read three books. However, I have managed to read a bit more this month, and am really happy with my reading progress for my first two months of university! Plus, I am only three books away from my Goodreads goal!

The first book I completed in September was TEAMMATE by David Ross. I started this memoir right at the end of August, and completed it during the first week of September. As you may know, I am a huge baseball fan, and was a huge fan of David Ross during the 2016 World Series. I thought that this was a great memoir, and I really enjoyed all of the stories that were shared in this book. If you’re a baseball lover, I would highly recommend picking this one up (and take a look at this)!

The second book I read in September was DON’T LOOK FOR ME by Wendy Walker. I had never read a Walker book prior to this novel, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect before I started reading this book. Little did I know, this book greatly surprised me! You can read my full review for it here!

The third and final book I read in September was THE MOTHERS by Brit Bennett. Words cannot describe how much I adored this novel, and as of right now I believe it is my #1 book of 2020! Everything about this story moved me to tears, including the beautifully developed characters and very interesting storyline. Of course, I rated it 5/5 stars.

The first book I read in October was OTHELLO by Shakespeare. A lot of the books I have been reading for school have been short stories or specific segments of different novels. Therefore, in my wrap-ups, I am only going to be sharing the books I read completely from front to back. Believe it or not, this is the first time I had to read a Shakespeare play completely on my own. Since I am doing school completely virtually this year, I had very little guidance when reading this novel, however, I absolutely loved it! This was the best reading experience I have ever had when reading a Shakespeare play, and am really looking forward to reading Hamlet in November! Overall, I rated it 5/5 stars!

The second book I read in October was THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett. Similarly to THE MOTHERS, I loved this novel, even though I enjoyed that one a tad more. This story is not typically something I would have picked up, as I am not a huge fan of following a family over several generations. However, Bennett’s writing is possibly my favourite writing style out of any author… ever?! So, it was not surprising that I loved this novel as much as I did! Of course, I gave it 5/5 stars.

The third book I read this month was THE END OF HER by Shari Lapena. I had read two of Lapena’s previously novels before this one, but this newest novels was by far my favourite one of hers thus far. I read this novel in under 24-hours, which was especially significant, as I have been reading at quite a slow pace recently. This thriller was really, really great, and I really enjoyed every second of it. I would highly recommend it if you enjoy domestic thrillers! You can read my full review for this book here!

The fourth book I read this month was HARLEM DUET by Djanet Sears. This was another play I read for school, and it was actually an interesting adaptation of OTHELLO. I loved the first-half of the novel, but the second half was way too strange for me. Overall, I gave it 2.25/5 stars.

The second last novel I read was MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite. I had heard a lot of great things about this novel, and similarly to them, I really enjoyed it! This novel is quite short, and reads very quickly because of the format. The characters were very well-developed, and very memorable. Overall, I gave it 4/5 stars.

The final book I read this month was DEAR CHILD by Romy Hausmann. I received this ARC from Raincoast Books, and since it sounded so intriguing, I decided to read it right away! This novel was originally written in German, and was translated to English and published in North America just a few weeks ago! My review will be coming out in just a few days, so keep a look out for that review!

Those are all of the books I read over the past two months! It may not be as many books as I have been reading per month recently, but I am really proud of how much I was able to read while starting University! What was the best book you read this month?

Good Night Book Owls!

The End of Her by Shari Lapena | A Reading, Reading, Reading Review

Alyssa Cohen2 Comments

Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

One of my favourite things to do in fall is catch up on my mystery/thriller TBR pile! With fall weather comes a chill in the air, which – in my opinion – calls for some spooky and intense novels! Shari Lapena is one of the most popular Canadian thriller writers out there, and while I haven’t loved the past few novels I have read from her, I was very excited to read her newest novel, The End Of Her!

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

It starts with a shocking accusation…
Stephanie and Patrick are recently married, with new-born twins. While Stephanie struggles with the disorienting effects of sleep deprivation, there’s one thing she knows for certain – she has everything she ever wanted.
Then a woman from his past arrives and makes a shocking accusation about his first wife. He always claimed her death was an accident – but she says it was murder.
He insists he’s innocent, that this is nothing but a blackmail attempt. But is Patrick telling the truth? Or has Stephanie made a terrible mistake?
How will it end?

This book combined two of my favourite thriller tropes, domestic and blackmail! I have read several domestic thrillers over the past few years, but if memory serves me correctly, I have only ever read one thriller that’s main thrilling plot line centred around blackmailing the main characters. While I had only assumed the main couple in the story would be getting blackmailed, eventually several other characters get blackmailed by the blackmailer herself. The entire idea of blackmail scares the crap out of me, so whenever it is featured in thrillers, I read them so quickly.

The story itself was so immersive and suspenseful. I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately, so the fact that I read this entire novel in 24-hours says a lot about how fast paced the novel reads. So many different sections of this story had me sitting at the edge of my seat, and by the end of the story, I was so eager to find out how the story was going to include.

The characters in this novel were very strong and well-written. At the beginning of the story, readers are introduced to practically every single character in a span of 50-pages. Initially, all of the characters were jumbled in my mind, but as the story progressed, it became easier to differentiate the characters from one another. Stephanie, one of the main characters, went through a lot of changes from the start to the end of the novel, and I really appreciated how developed she was throughout the story.

The one thing I didn’t love about the book was the writing. Of course, Lapena creates and develops her stories so well, but I didn’t love the actual writing style in this book. I feel like short first-person POV chapters would have been so much better than little third-person POVs that occur during each chapter.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and gave it 4.25/5 stars! I highly recommend this novel if you are new to thrillers, or love domestic or blackmail thrillers!

Good Night Book Owls!

Spooky Mystery/Thriller Book Recommendations!

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Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

October is one of my favourite times of the year as it gives me an excuse to binge watch Halloween Town and The Haunted Mansion, plus I am justified when reading all of the spooky books on my shelves! As a mystery/thriller book connoisseur, I have read some fantastic spooky books over the past several years that I highly recommend checking out this month!

What mystery/thriller book recommendations list does not feature GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn?! Like thousands of other readers, Gone Girl introduced me to the mystery/thriller genre. Surprisingly, I read this book for a Grade 10 reading group selection in my english class, and I am forever grateful to my teacher for choosing this book for us! To this day, Gone Girl is one of my all-time favourite books, and I highly recommend it if you are new to the mystery/thriller genre!

The second book I have to recommend is THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides. This book is arguably one of the most hyped books of the past couple of years, and I believe the hype is definitely justified! I had this book on my shelf for almost eight months before reading it, but was so glad to have finally read it after completing it! This book is one of the best books I have ever read, especially when it comes to writing style and plot twists! So incredibly brilliant!

The third book I recommend is THE STARTER WIFE by Nina Laurin. Out of all of the books on this list, this one is definitely the least known and under-read, but arguably it is my second favourite out of the bunch! In fact, it was my top book of 2019! Truth be told, I do not remember a lot about this book presently, but hope to re-read it very soon. If you are a fan or would like to begin reading domestic thrillers, I think this one is a great starting point!

The next book I have to recommend is THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley. Out of all of the books featured, this one is the newest, as it came out this past Spring. While I would not say this is my favourite mystery/thriller book ever, I think it is a fantastic one to pick up if you are just starting to delve into this genre. It is filled with an abundance of popular mystery and thriller tropes, features an interesting cast of characters, and has a great final twist!

I do not think this list would be proper without including a Riley Sager novel! Sager is turning into one of the most popular thriller authors of this generation, and while I have only read one of his books, I am definitely interested in reading more of them! LOCK EVERY DOOR is a haunted house like story, but with some major creepy vibes and twists! I read this one last year, and I would give it the award “Most Wild Plot-Twist I’ve Ever Read”!

If you are looking for a thrilling and horrific story, I would recommend MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing. The cover depicts exactly what this book is about, so if a story about a couple that murders people for fun interests you, I’d check this one out immediately! I would This book was so eery and wild, and I loved every single page of it! Downing has just released her second novel, which I have yet to pick up, but plan on doing so very soon!

The second last book I will forever be recommending is WHAT LIES BETWEEN US by John Marrs. Marrs has quickly become one of my favourite authors of all time, as every book I have read of his has been 5-stars thus far! If you are starting with Marrs, some might encourage you to try out THE ONE, but I’d recommend this one first and save The One to read next! This book features a wild mother-daughter relationship, with a lot of drama, mystery, and suspense!

The final mystery/thriller book I would recommend to every single person on the planet is BEHIND HER EYES by Sarah Pinborough! To this day, I claim that this is my #1 favourite book of all time, and very few books come close to this one! This is the most enthralling and shocking book I have ever read, and if you have yet to try out this book, please do so immediately! I will admit that the ending is very “out there” and is very polarizing, but I would still recommend picking it up regardless!

Out of all of the mystery/thriller novels I have read in recent years, these are the very best of the best in my opinion! Have you read any of these fantastic books yet? What spooky books are you planning on reading in October?

Good Night Book Owls!

A Thrilling October 2020 TBR!

Alyssa Cohen2 Comments

Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

October is my second favourite month of the year, as I absolutely love watching old Disney halloween movies, enjoying the crisp autumn weather, and of course, reading all of the spooky thrillers my heart desires! As you may have noticed, I did not post a September wrap-up, because I only read three books over the past month. However, hopefully by jumping back into my favourite genre, I will be able to read all of the books on this months’ TBR!

The first book I plan on reading this month is THE SHINING by Stephen King! One of my pre-established reading goals for 2021 will be to start reading more horror novels, and what better way to test that goal out a few months early than to pick up a classic Stephen King novel?! I have never read any books written by King, but since Indigo chose him as their “Author Of The Month” – meaning all Stephen King novels are 25% off until October 31 – I decided to pick up both this novel and MISERY in hopes of loving his novels. If so, I plan on building a little King collection with some of his more well-known books in order to read them in 2021!

The second book I plan on reading this month is MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This book has been getting so much buzz recently, and since I typically love scary thrillers, I think I will really love this one! Plus, this cover is stunning!

The third book I plan on reading this month is THE WOMAN OUTSIDE MY DOOR by Rachel Ryan. This is a dark thriller scheduled to be released in November. Ryan is a debut author, so the fact that this book has already been getting some buzz must mean that it is fantastic! Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me this ARC, I cannot wait to get to it!

The fourth book I hope to read this month is THE END OF HER by Shari Lapena. I have read one Lapena novel in the past and enjoyed it, but I hope to like this one even better. My favourite sub-genre within thrillers is domestic thrillers, which I believe is the category that this book fits into, so hopefully that means I will love it!

The final book I hope to read this month is THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Goldin. This is Goldin’s second novel, however, I have yet to read her first one solely because it does not interest me too much. However, this book peaked my interest quite a while ago, so I hope to enjoy it very much!

Those are all of the books I hope to read for the month of October! Compared to past TBRs, this one is definitely a lot shorter, but hopefully that means I will have a chance to get to each and every one of these novels! What are you planning on reading this month?

Good Night Book Owls!

5-Star Predictions: Fall 2020

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Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

SO many new books are coming out over the next few months, and I have loads of them pre-ordered from Indigo already! However, there are a select few books that I believe will be 5-star reads, and luckily for me, I already have them in my possession!

The first book I predict will receive a 5-star rating from me is IN A HOLIDAZE by Christina Lauren. I have an interesting history with Christina Lauren’s books, as I have loved two and not loved two others. However, I hope this one is as great as it sounds! Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me an ARC!

The second book I predict will receive a 5-star rating from me is ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman. Believe it or not, I have yet to read a Backman novel, but since I am on a huge literary fiction kick, I picked this one up in hopes of reading (and loving) it very soon!

My third 5-star prediction is HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney. Like Backman, I have never read a Feeney thriller before. However, this one sounds super intriguing to me, and I hope to read it right before Halloween!

My fourth 5-star prediction is THE WOMAN OUTSIDE MY DOOR by Rachel Ryan. When I had first heard of this book, I was so intrigued by it, and I actually pre-ordered myself a copy to arrive on it’s release date. Fortunately for me, Simon and Schuster Canada so kindly sent me an ARC to read and review, and I can’t wait to start reading it!

The final book I predict I will give a 5-star rating to is SUCH A FUN AGE by Kiley Reid. This book has been everywhere ever since it was chosen for Reese’s Book Club, and I hope it lives up to my incredibly high expectations!

Those are the five books I predict I will rate 5-stars! Have you read any of these books yet?

Good Night Book Owls!

It’s Finally Fall Book Tag

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Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

My reading and posting have been slowing down drastically ever since I started university, but I hope that as I get more settled and more comfortable with my schedule/routine, I will be able to begin reading avidly once again – just as I was able to do in the summer! I stumbled upon this book tag on Krista’s BookTube channel, and thought that I had to jump on it, as I love the fall season and have not participated in a book tag in so long!

In fall, the air is crisp and clear: name a book with a vivid setting!

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng has one of the most well-written small town settings I have ever encountered while reading a book! Although this one did not live up to the hype for me, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys books that are set in tight-knit towns.

Nature is beautiful… but also dying: name a book that is beautifully written, but also deals with a heavy topic like loss or grief.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is one of the best books I have read all year, both for it’s fantastic writing and ability to capture so many emotions in a heartbreaking story.

Fall is back to school season: share a non-fiction book that taught you something new.

I have not read many non-fiction books this year, but I am slowly but surely making my way through Stamped From The Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi, which I am learning an immeasurable amount of information from.

In order to keep warm, it’s good to spend some time with the people we love: name a fictional family/household/friend-group that you’d like to be a part of.

The Switch by Beth O’leary is one of my favourite books of 2020 thus far, and what made it so great were the amazing characters that O’leary created in this novel!

The colourful leaves are piling up on the ground: show us a pile of fall-colored spines!

Ta-da!

Fall is the perfect time for some storytelling by the fireside: share a book wherein somebody is telling a story.

The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer is one of my all-time favourite book series, that essentially are all based on the power of storytelling and the adaptation of fairy tales we all know and love!

The nights are getting darker: share a dark, creepy read.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager genuinely scared me at times, and I highly recommend it for the upcoming spooky season!

The days are getting colder: name a short, heartwarming read that could warm up somebody’s cold and rainy day.

The Flatshare by Beth O’leary may not be so short, but it is one of my favourite contemporary romance’s of all time!

Fall returns every year: name an old favourite that you’d like to return to soon.

I have been wanting to re-read The Fault In Our Stars by John Green for ages, and since the movie adaptation is going onto Disney+ later this week, I definitely hope to re-read it sometime in October!

Fall is the perfect time for cozy reading nights: share your favourite cozy reading “accessories”!

Currently, my favourite reading accessory has been my Kindle Paperwhite! Ever since I purchased it, I have been reading one physical book and one e-book at the same time, and while I never used to enjoy reading two books at the same time, I have been loving it ever since I purchased my Kindle!

I hope you enjoyed my answers to the It’s Finally Fall Book Tag! Feel free to share your answers to this tag, and share the link to your post in the comments!

Good Night Book Owls!

In My Mailbox #14: Exciting Fall 2020 Releases!

Alyssa Cohen5 Comments

Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

It is very hard to believe that I have not written an In My Mailbox post since January! Crazy to think that at the time of me writing the 13th edition of this series of posts, we had no idea how insane the year would become. As a result of COVID-19, publishing houses have been sending out a very limited number of physical ARCs (luckily, I bought a Kindle Paperwhite, so I have been loving reading eARCs lately!), especially since most ARCs are printed and distributed from US warehouses, while I live in Canada. However, I have received quite a few incredibly exciting ARCs in the mail over the past three weeks, which I will be featuring right here, right now!

The first book I received in the mail was Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life by Christie Date. This book was sent to me from Simon & Schuster Canada, and is set to release on October 27, 2020. This year, I have been loving non-fiction, specifically memoirs, so I was very intrigued when this showed up in my mailbox at the beginning of August! The concept of therapy is really interesting to me, and I hope to learn more about it though this book!

The second book I received was Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp. This book was sent to me from Raincoast Canada, and released on September 15, 2020. I read one of Nijkamp’s former publications, This Is Where It Ends, several years ago, and remember enjoying it, so I hope I enjoy this one just as much!

I then received In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren (insert screaming here)! This book was sent to me from Simon and Schuster Canada, and is set to release on October 6, 2020. Words cannot describe how shocked I was to find this inside of the package! I have only ever read Christina Lauren novels as either eARCs or library books, so I am thrilled to finally have one to add to my physical library! Here’s hoping that I enjoy this one just as much as I loved The Unhoneymooners!

The fourth book I received in my mailbox was Undrafted by Nick Kypreos. This book was sent to me from Simon and Schuster Canada, and is set to release on October 20, 2020. Kypreos is a former hockey player and current hockey analyst on Sportsnet (a Canadian sports network). He is one of my favourite hockey analysts, and I am very excited to read his memoir!

The final book I received from Simon and Schuster Canada was The Woman Outside My Door by Rachel Ryan, which is set to be released on November 24, 2020. This is one of my most anticipated reads of Fall 2020, and I even had it pre-ordered from Indigo! I am so thankful to S&S for sending me this ARC (among all of the others!), and I can’t wait to read and review it!

The second last book I received was Beautiful Wild by Anna Godbersen. This book was sent to me from HarperCollins Canada/HCC Frenzy, and is set to release on November 3, 2020. If you were a member of the online book community around 2012, you have probably heard of The Luxe Series, as it was an incredibly popular series during the “old-days” of BookTube and the book-blog-osphere! While I never read any of them, I really looking forward to Godbersen’s newest release!

The final book I received in my mailbox recently was Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson! This book was sent to me from HCC Frenzy, and was released on September 15, 2020. I have had this book on my radar ever since it was first announced, and I am so thankful to have it in my hands! I can’t wait to read and review it!

Those are all of the books I have received in my mailbox recently! Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada, Raincoast Canada, and HCC Frenzy for sending me these beautiful ARCs! I am looking forward to reading and reviewing all of them in the near future!

Good Night Book Owls!