Category: Monthly Wrap-Up (Page 1 of 8)

Monthly Wrap-Up: November & December

January 6, 2022 / Jen / 14 Comments

During our Monthly Wrap-Up, we’ll take a look at what has happened around here in the last month. That’ll include what’s happened in my life, what we’ve read, any other posts we may have had, and our most popular Instagram posts..

*We linked this post to the December Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

Jen’s Life:

✮ These last two months our lives have been consumed with the two puppies my parents got. They have been such an amazing addition to the family and my husband, boys and myself have fallen in love with them too. We spend every free moment we can at my parents house lol. You can see pictures of them here, here and here.

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What We Read:

5 Stars:
✮ Everything He Isn’t by Lauren Stewart
✮ Aurora’s End (The Aurora Cycle #2) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
✮ How to Cowboy (Creedence Horse Rescue #3) by Jennie Marts
✮ A Scoundrel of Her Own (Sinful Wallflowers #3) by Stacy Reid

4.5 Stars:
✮ Christmas in Silverwood by Dorothy Dreyer
✮ Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart) by Stephanie Garber
✮ Holiday Hotel (Simona Island #1) by Poppy Minnix
✮ Iron (The Queen & The Assassin #1) by Lisette Marshall
✮ My Summer in Seoul by Rachel Van Dyken
✮ The Bachelor on the Shelf (Reindeer Falls #6) by Jana Aston
✮ The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward
✮ The Paid Bridesmaid by Sariah Wilson

4 Stars:
✮ Elves with Benefits (Reindeer Falls #4) by Jana Aston
✮ One Night with a Nutcracker (Reindeer Falls #5) by Jana Aston
✮ Scrooged by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

3 Stars:
✮ Wildflower Season (Carolina Girls #1) by Michelle Major

2 Stars:
✮ Eight Days of Christmas (Pineridge #1) by Starla DeKruyf
✮ Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

Jen’s Choice – A Scoundrel of Her Own by Stacy Reid & Everything He Isn’t by Lauren Stewart
I’m sorry but there’s no way I can decide between these two.
A Scoundrel of Her Own was a story of star-crossed lovers that was passionate, emotional and impossible to put down. This book had the most wonderful HEA and was another huge hit and instant favorite by Stacy Reid!
Everything He Isn’t consumed my every waking thought. With friendship, romance, banter, steam and tons of heart filling the pages, I loved this book with my whole heart!

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Arielle’s Choice – Aurora’s End (The Aurora Cycle #2) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
This series and these characters will live in my mind and in my heart for the rest of my life. I was reminded throughout this entire book, but especially at the end, that this series and these characters are so special because of their love for one another. They are each other’s CHOSEN and found family and not even centuries of time and zillions of lightyears is going to change that. Without going into any detail their love for one another saved each other and the entire galaxy and that is what is going to stick with me the most.

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Instagram:

Here were our most popular posts last month, from each of us ♥.

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So this was our November & December….did you read any of the same books that we did? Or share the same favorite book as us? If not, then what was your favorite book?

Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful November & December. And cheers to January being fabulous for all of us!

Monthly Wrap-Up: September & October

November 4, 2021 / Jen / 10 Comments

*We linked this post to the October Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

Jen’s Life:

✮ In September we went hiking with some friends. It was 6 miles in the mountains and all 5 of our boys did great! It was so nice finally being smoke free, from the fires, and being able to get out and run around. You can see some of my pictures from our hike here.
✮ My youngest made All Stars for Soccer! If you aren’t familiar with that, it’s where local areas pick the best player or two from each of the surrounding teams and then make an All Star Team with them. He was so honored to be chosen and his team has been working so hard getting read for their upcoming tournaments! They’ll be going up against other All Star Teams from California and Nevada. I’m so proud of how hard he’s worked and he’s only 8!
✮ I love Halloween! We celebrated at my parents house the day before with a party and then trick or treated with family and friends the day of for hours. You can see two pictures of our costumes here and here.

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What We Read:

5 Stars:
✮ Broken Skies by Theresa Kay
✮ The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
✮ Fireproof (Busy Bean #8) by Delancey Stewart
✮ Afterglow (Busy Bean #10) by Aria Wyatt
✮ A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
✮ Boyfriend (Moo U #0) by Sarina Bowen
✮ To Sir, with Love by Lauren Layne
✮ Office Hate by Rachel Van Dyken
✮ Cupcake by Cookie O’Gorman

4 Stars:
✮ Sidetracked (Busy Bean #7) by R.L. Kenderson
✮ Footnote (Busy Bean #9) by Alexa Gregory
✮ A Stormy and Sultry Sea (Witches of the Island #2) by Katie McGarry

3.5 Stars:
✮ Doubletalk (Busy Bean #6) by Teralyn Mitchell

3 Stars:
✮ A Christmas at Gingerbread Falls by Katie Mettner

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

Arielle’s Choice – Afterglow (Busy Bean #10) by Aria Wyatt
I’m just going to say it. This is my TOP, TOP favorite book in ALL of The World of True North series. I just really am going to need everyone to run and go read the entire series BUT ESPECIALLY this one. I could honestly gush all day. There is not a single part of this book that I didn’t like and you better believe that once there is an audio of this I will be SPRINTING to buy it so I can listen to Declan’s sexy Irish brogue in my ear holes. *shivers*

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Jen’s Choice – A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
A Shadow in the Ember slowly seeped into my heart and consumed my every waking thought. I couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling up at the most inappropriate times, the smile that kept appearing or the tears that kept falling down my face. This story became an instant favorite and is a must read for all fantasy lovers!

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Instagram:

Here were our most popular posts last month, from each of us ♥.

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So this was our September & October….did you read any of the same books that we did? Or share the same favorite book as us? If not, then what was your favorite book?

Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful September & October. And cheers to November being fabulous for all of us!

Monthly Wrap-Up: July & August

September 3, 2021 / Jen / 10 Comments

*We linked this post to the November Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

Jen’s Life:

✮ Last month we went to Southern California to visit family and spend our days at the beach. I was not ready to come back home to the smoke, it was such a wonderful reprieve! We got to surf, boogie board, kayak, look for ocean creatures in the tide-pools and hang out with family and friends. It was a blast and I’m counting down till we get to go back down there in October!
✮ My boys started 5th and 3rd grade and it’s just been a crazy school year. The majority of their recesses have been inside, because of the smoke from Caldor Fire, since it’s so very close to us. Our air quality constantly goes over 500, ash keeps falling and our skies are orange or red, but we’re still safe! Right now we’re hoping and praying that the firefighters can save as much of our area as they can and that everyone stays safe!

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What We Read:

5 Stars:
✮ Grace and Glory (The Harbinger #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
✮ The Perfect Play (Southern U O’Brien Brothers #2) by Cookie O’Gorman
✮ Waylaid (True North #8) by Sarina Bowen
✮ OUR VIOLENT ENDS (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong
✮ All of Us Villains (All of Us Villains #1) by Amanda Foody
✮ Starlight (Speakeasy Taproom #7) by Christine DePetrillo
✮ Stargazer (Speakeasy Taproom #8) by Wendy S. Marcus

4.5 Stars:
✮ Wildflower (Speakeasy Taproom #5) by Mae Wood
✮ Stronghold (Vino & Veritas #14) by Ana Ashley
✮ Forever Starts Now by Stefanie London
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4 Stars:
✮ Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #1) by Mia P. Manansala
✮ Showstopper (Vino & Veritas #17) by Regina Kyle
✮ Attraction (Hypothesis #1) by Penny Reid

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

Jen’s Choice – Grace and Glory by Jennifer L. Armentrout & The Perfect Play by Cookie O’Gorman
I’m sorry but I refuse to choose between a Paranormal and a Contemporary. I loved them both with my whole heart! Grace and Glory was a stunning conclusion to The Harbinger Series! With tears, laughter, friendship and love splashed across the pages, this book was such a huge win! If you’re a fan of Jennifer L Armentrout or paranormal stories then you definitely need this series in your life! And The Perfect Play was an instant favorite! Cookie’s books always make me laugh and smile, and again this one was such a huge hit! If you’re looking for a romance story that is swoon worthy and will make you fall in love, then look no further, this is your book!

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Arielle’s Choice – Waylaid (True North #8) by Sarina Bowen
I knew I needed a book about Rickie from the first time we laid eyes on him in Heartland. He was such an enigma to me and I knew that if we were to get a glimpse into what him, him that I would consume it in a day (I did).

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Chelsea’s Choice – OUR VIOLENT ENDS (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong
Gong restored my faith in books. She restored my faith in how I can be addicted and pine and hope for a certain path to be taken and for the author to write certain things, it not go my way (I am veryyyy picky with my romance and enemies to lovers and peril), and STILL love how it goes. Not one thing felt forced. Not one moment blemished by rushing and trying to fit everything in. It all felt real, it felt natural. That is the mark of a true author. THAT is how you create forever fans. THAT is how you CRUSH the YA world.

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Instagram:

We thought it would be fun to share our most popular posts for August. And they were….

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Star-Crossed Book Blog (@starcrossedbookblog)

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So this was our July & August….did you read any of the same books that we did? Or share the same favorite book as us? If not, then what was your favorite book? Or have you read any of the books I just added to my TBR?

Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful July & August. And cheers to September being fabulous for all of us!

Monthly Wrap-Up: April

May 7, 2021 / Jen / 14 Comments

*We linked this post to the April Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

Jen’s Life:

✮ I celebrated my 41st birthday last month. You guys, I do not feel that old lol! Since we didn’t get to celebrate my 40th with my family last year, this year my Aunt made me a unicorn cake and my Mom got me a unicorn pinata and balloons. It was the best day ever!
✮ We got our seeds to start our garden, yay! Since we live in snow country, by Lake Tahoe, we can’t plant them outside till the end of this month. But we already have some started inside our house! This year we’ll be growing tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, radishes, carrots, spinach, zucchini and yellow squash.

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What We Read:

5 Stars:
✮ Bombshells (Brooklyn #5) by Sarina Bowen
✮ The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
✮ When a Cowboy Loves a Woman (Creedence Horse Rescue #2) by Jennie Marts
✮ Code (International Sensory Assassin Network #4) by Mary Ting

4.5 Stars:
✮ The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

4 Stars:
✮ Chain of Iron (The Last Hours #2) by Cassandra Clare
✮ Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked #1) by Kerri Maniscalco
✮ The Seat Filler by Sariah Wilson
✮ Overtime (Moo U #5) by Kat Mizera
✮ Halftime (Moo U #6) by Kim Findlay
✮ Darkroom (Moo U #7) by Kate Willoughby
✮ Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang

2.5 Stars:
✮ Gametime (Moo U #4) by Jami Davenport

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

Jen’s Choice – The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout & Code (International Sensory Assassin Network #4) by Mary Ting
I’m sorry but again I can NOT choose between a fantasy and a dystopian. They’re so different and I loved both of them in very different ways. The Crown of Gilded Bones was an epic continuation of the From Blood and Ash Series! It gave me chills, caused tears to fall down my face, and made me to laugh out loud so much, sometimes at the most inappropriate times. CODE was a heart pounding addition to the ISAN series! With a gritty and rugged story-line, that held a lot of heart, this book was impossible to put down!

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Arielle’s Choice – Bombshells (Brooklyn #5) by Sarina Bowen
There are books that you read and something strikes you like a bolt of lightning while reading a certain line and you just…can’t breathe. I felt that way when I read the quote found above. “And I can’t fucking breathe.” Like who wouldn’t want someone to look at them and literally lose the ability to breathe because they are so stunned by what they are seeing in front of them. That line for me was the very moment that I knew Anton and Sylvie’s story was going to be something extraordinary.

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Instagram:

We thought it would be fun to share our most popular posts for April. And they were….

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Star-Crossed Book Blog (@starcrossedbookblog)

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Books Added To Jen’s Goodreads TBR This Month:

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So this was our April….did you read any of the same books that we did? Or share the same favorite book as us? If not, then what was your favorite book? Or have you read any of the books I just added to my TBR?

Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful April. And cheers to May being fabulous for all of us!

Monthly Wrap-Up: March

April 6, 2021 / Jen / 6 Comments

*We linked this post to the March Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

Jen’s Life:

✮ Our youngest turned 8 this last month. We took the day off from school (the advantages of homeschooling yay!), and celebrated the day with family, played games, had In N Out takeout and enjoyed the weather outside.
✮ I’ve been doing a step challenge on Garmin, with my sister-in-law, since last month. I decided to cut myself slack on the days I work out on the elliptical or the recumbent bike and watch The Vampire Diaries (soooooo good!!), so if I don’t hit 10k steps on those days then I’m fine with it. But like last night, I was 2k steps short EEKS! So there I am walking in place, next to our bed while reading a book, and my husband was staring at me like I’m crazy lol!
✮ Some of my favorite recipes I made this last month were Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina, Hamburger Noodle Casserole, Slower Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken & Triple Chocolate Cake.

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What We Read:

5 Stars:
✮ The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
✮ Wallflower by Cookie O’Gorman
✮ Heartscape (Vino & Veritas #2) by Garrett Leigh

4.5 Stars:
✮ The Secret Recipe for Moving On by Karen Bischer

4 Stars:
✮ The Marquess and I (Forever Yours #1) by Stacy Reid
✮ Headstrong (Vino & Veritas #3) by Eden Finley

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

Arielle’s Choice – Heartscape (Vino & Veritas #2) by Garrett Leigh
Heartscape resonated deep within my bones. Just thinking about how obvious their love for each other was just makes my heart so happy *cries* lol. Such a great book!

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Jen’s Choice – The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black & Wallflower by Cookie O’Gorman
I’m sorry but I can NOT pick a favorite between a fantasy and a contemporary lol. It is impossible! I LOVED both of these books with my whole heart and soul! If you’re a fan of YA fantasy or enemies to lovers, then definitely pickup The Cruel Prince! And if you’re a fan of young adult romance or fake dating then you gotta add Wallflower to your tbr!

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Instagram:

We thought it would be fun to share our most popular posts for March. And they were….

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Star-Crossed Book Blog (@starcrossedbookblog)

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Books Added To Jen’s Goodreads TBR This Month:

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So this was our March….did you read any of the same books that we did? Or share the same favorite book as us? If not, then what was your favorite book? Or have you read any of the books I just added to my TBR?

Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful March. And cheers to April being fabulous for all of us!