The Loyal Book

Ashley’s Most Surprising of 2018

02.05.2019 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

I read this one because the movie was coming out and I thought that I ought to read the book before the movie came out. I wasn’t expecting much because I was in this place where I wasn’t feeling YA contemporary, but this one just blew me out of the water. I was obsessed with the story and read it really quickly. I loved, loved, loved it. It was sooo cute and Lara Jean was a fantastic protagonist. It made me really rethink me thoughts on YA Contemporary, and made me open my mind a bit more!

Ashley’s February TBR

02.02.2019 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

I’m trying to keep my TBRs pretty simple this year. I want to read a Shakespearean play, a book from my TBR jar, and one or two that I want to read. This month I have compiled a TBR of a few of these. So, without further ado, let’s jump into it!

Ashley’s January Wrap Up

02.01.2019 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

I had a pretty good reading month to start off 2019, because in January I read 19 books. That was completely unintentional but seemed appropriate in hindsight. I really, really enjoyed almost all of the books I read this month. None of them were super disappointing. Additionally, I did really well on my TBR for the month of January. I read all of the things that I put on it, with several extras that weren’t on it. I even read a couple of brand new releases that I had been anticipating, which is always super fun. Most of the books I read were audiobooks this month, but I had several physical books along with one eBook and one graphic novel. Below is the list of books I read, and I’ll give you my rating, the format in which I read it, and a quick review. So without further ado… Here we go!

Ashley’s Worst of 2018

01.29.2019 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

I really enjoy To Kill a Mockingbird, and I know there are some issues with it and that it’s by no means perfect, but I really do enjoy this novel. I think it’s an important read, but to keep your critical thinking hat on as you do. So, after teaching it for the first time, I decided to read Go Set a Watchman, and boy oh boy, I did not enjoy it. I know it’s not truly a sequel and that certain parts of it are word for word from TKAM, but I really, really didn’t like the plot of Go Set a Watchman. I didn’t like the choices that were made with certain characters, and I just genuinely think it was a poor choice to publish it. (Again, I know there was some controversy when it came to publishing it at all.)

Ashley’s Best of 2018

01.22.2019 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

I read this on a whim after a recommendation of the librarian at my school last school year. I thought it would be a nice quick read, and it definitely was, but I didn’t expect it to really blow me away like it did. I find that modern poetry can be quite hit or miss with me, but I have also discovered that I really, really love modern poetry when it’s telling me a story. This was one of those ones. I absolutely loved the story, and it was deeply moving. I likes the way that Reynolds put a pause on the story, telling the basics of a trip down the elevator but drawing it out to teach his character a lesson he needed to learn. I always recommend this book to students now.

Review | You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn

12.31.2018 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn through NetGalley for review purposes. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this opportunity.

You’d Be Mine is the story of Annie Mathers and Clay Coolidge. Clay is the quintessential country rockstar. He sings songs about beer, babes, and trucks; he’s a superstar. Annie, on the other hand, is an up and coming country star whose deceased parents are country royalty. Clay, who has a bit of a bad boy reputation, is charged with recruiting Annie, and her band, to play on his summer tour so that he can put himself back in his label’s good books. She reluctantly agrees and they end up touring the United States together. But while touring, country music isn’t the only thing that’s brewing. Could there be a bit of love in the air?

Ashley’s 2018 Reading Wrap Up

12.31.2018 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

This year was a crazy year for me with reading! I grew my bookstagram to over 1600 followers, I started a book blog with Kari, and I read a whopping 231 books! It’s been an excellent year and I’m so thankful for all I’ve achieved.

I was trying to think of some way to wrap up my reading year, and trying to wrack my brain for ideas. I saw a friend who did a one sentence review for every book she read this year, but I didn’t want to do that because I didn’t think anyone would want to read it! 231 is a lot of reviews! I decided, instead, that I would just go through my 2018 Reading Resolutions and let you know how I did on each one of them!

Misc Monday | 27 Books to Read in my 27th Year

12.03.2018 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

Today I turn 27! It is both exciting and terrifying because I feel like now I’m fully into my late 20s and that’s scary. It doesn’t help that I feel like I haven’t achieved a lot in my life, though people who know me will give me a pep talk and tell me that teaching isn’t nothing. And that’s very true, it isn’t nothing. I am very proud of my teaching and love my job very much. That doesn’t make 27 any less scary and that doesn’t stop me from making comparisons to other people in my life.

Review | Slayer by Kiersten White

11.28.2018 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

***Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of Slayer by Kiersten White from NetGalley and the publishers for review purposes. Thank you to them!

I was late to the Buffy-verse. I never watched the show when I was growing up, and I still haven’t seen the movie. I started watching the show in university thanks to a friend who had all of the seasons on DVD and got through several seasons which inspired me to go out and seek the rest of the show myself. I still haven’t seen all of Angel, and I haven’t ready any of the comics, and I’ve only watched through the show once, but I loved it. I fell in love with the characters and the stories that they were telling, so when I heard that Kiersten White was writing a novel set in the Buffy-verse, I was super excited. When I saw it on NetGalley, requested it, and actually received an eARC, I was so excited.

Review | The Curses by Laure Eve

11.10.2018 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

***Disclaimer: I received a free, early advanced reader copy of The Curses from the publishers and NetGalley for review purposes.

This is going to be a different kind of review. The Curses by Laure Eve is the second novel in a series; it follows the events of The Graces, though it takes on a different point of view. This is not a review for The Graces, but as the The Curses is a sequel, and I don’t want to spoil any of the events of first novel if you haven’t read it, so I won’t be doing a synopsis like I usually do and I will try to be vague about textual details. I will admit that I was really excited to read this one. I finished The Graces in the summer and I was super impressed, so I wanted to read the sequel immediately. Imagine my disappointment when I saw that it wasn’t coming out until December 31st. However, imagine my excitement when I realized that I had been given permission to read the eARC. I was super happy.