Blame BEA for this post being a week late...!!!♥
Sorry for the slight delay in bringing this to you! As you know, I was away in NYC last week to attend the Book Expo of America, and since I knew a lot of other people were away attending BookCon, I figured I'd wait a week to post this!
Sometimes, I feel like I'm STILL recovering from BEA...and I got home a week ago today!!! I've only posted two of my promised vlogs so far, I know, I know. (Adult Buzz Panel/Blogbound, Day One) We had THREE blog tour stops this week, so I didn't have time to squeeze them in without giving you multiple posts. Look forward to them this week, okay?
But the event was AWESOME. I got to meet so many amazing publicists, authors, bloggers, librarians, booksellers, etc. My highlights were meeting Neil Patrick Harris (Which I'll talk about more this week because !!!!!!!!), Kristin Cashore (Who wrote my favorite YA fantasy GRACELING), and Brendan Wenzel (Who wrote my favorite picture book of last year, THEY ALL SAW A CAT, and his new book LIFE is SO GORGEOUS and I can't wait to show it to you!).
The Tony Awards are tonight! *cue flailing*
I don't really watch awards shows. I don't watch the Oscars. I don't watch the Grammys. I can't participate in water cooler discussions about these award shows because it's all just SO BORING!!!
But the Tony Awards? Those awards nobody talks about at the water cooler? Those are the awards I can get behind. (Although, let's face it, my co-workers are AWESOME and quite a few of us are watching the Tonys, which is awesome!!!! I know how rare that is!) I love watching all the performances by nominated and currently-playing Broadway shows. It helps me decide what shows I might want to see! (For example, I had never paid attention to A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder a couple of years ago until that stellar, hilarious performance!)
This year, thanks in large part to a Broadway-obsessed manager at work, I've been lucky enough to see THREE of the four shows nominated for Best New Musical.
THREE!!!!!
I've never seen that many at once before!!!
The only show I would have seen irregardless is Dear Evan Hansen, but because of her, I also saw Come From Away and ...The Great Comet.
This year's Tony Awards are also unique in the sense that the decision for best musical of the year is going to be CLOSE. And some of the other categories are very close as well. There are going to be some big upsets, I think!
And having seen three of the nominated shows? (Four if you count Anastasia, but that show only has two nominations, and not in the biggest category for Best Musical) It's going to make the Tonys so much more fun because I can actually take part in "judging" what should go where because I've SEEN the show, you know??
So yeah, to say I'm excited about tonight is an understatement! (Heck, I had a countdown to two weeks ago when I could set up my DVR to record this, even though I'll be home watching it!--and #sorrynotsorry--if you're on Twitter tonight, you might get annoyed with all my Broadway tweets!)
If you plan to see The Great Comet, Dear Evan Hansen, and/or Come From Away, be forewarned: TGC and DEH are NEXT TO EACH OTHER on a crowded street, and CFA is RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET. And next to another theater. And they're on the same road as Disney's The Lion King. (And the Hello Dolly line from the next street over wraps into CFA a bit, as does Anastasia...) So the street is a mess. But the company it keeps? Brilliant!!!
#OTSPSecretSister
I was SO excited by what my OTSPSecretSister sent me this month!! I've been wanting to read DANCING ON KNIVES by Kate Forsyth for SO LONG, but it's so hard to get it because it only released in Australia and it's crazy-expensive to import. I don't know how my Sister found it, but I'm so glad. Plus, the summer is the PERFECT time for a Little Mermaid retelling, right!?
Everything else was super cute, too! I brought the gummy bears to BEA with me because they arrived the day before I left, so it was a fun treat! Also, I especially love the animal book flags! So cute!!!!!
Thank you again for everything, Sis!
NAIL POLISH!
The only FUN design I did was to celebrate the release of THE NAMES THEY GAVE US by Emery Lord because she was signing locally and I FINALLY got to meet her!!! Other than that, I kept it simple because I've been trying to grow my nails out for BEA..........
ANYWAY!
I tried to make my nails match the book with a gradient, but they were so short that the darker blue cut off and they weren't as close as I would have liked.
This is the final result:
First, I grabbed all the colors I thought MIGHT work, plus the tools I needed such as latex body paint and facial sponges:
Next, I narrowed down the colors agains the image I pulled up on my iPad--I wouldn't be getting the book until I went to the signing!
Finally, I painted my nails white and let them dry, then painted silicone body paint onto the skin around my nails so that when I did the gradient (using a facial makeup sponge) and got the paint everywhere, it would lift easily off my skin when I took tweezers to the dried paint! Much more efficient than the scotch tape method, imo!
MAY BOOK HAUL!
Here are all the books I brought into my life in May!
WARNING. It's CRAZY.
Still don't know how I'll get to them all!
I purchased all of these:
I was sent all of this for review:
Oh, and I snagged these six books my first day in NYC before the BEA exhibit halls even opened!
One was from BlogBoundCon and the other five were from the BEA Adult Buzz Panel!
PHOTOS OF THE MONTH
Here are some of the photos I've taken and shared this month!
MUSIC 🎶
It's all Broadway, of course! I've had music from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 and Dear Evan Hansen stuck in my head since seeing the shows in April/May. (And of course, now in June, I can add Come From Away and Anastasia to that list of what I know I'll be listening to a lot this month!!! I don't like listening to shows until I've seen them because it ruins all the surprises, you know?)
And I've had "Evermore" from the live-action Beauty and the Beast stuck in my head lately!!! Along with some other songs from the movie, but mostly that one!
MOVIES AND TV
We're stilly slowly catching up on Agents of SHIELD, and we caught the finale of Once Upon a Time. What did you guys think? It felt like a series ender to me, TBH. I don't know what I think about the way the series is coming back this fall!
Here's a look at everything that happened this past month!
Sorry for the slight delay in bringing this to you! As you know, I was away in NYC last week to attend the Book Expo of America, and since I knew a lot of other people were away attending BookCon, I figured I'd wait a week to post this!
Sometimes, I feel like I'm STILL recovering from BEA...and I got home a week ago today!!! I've only posted two of my promised vlogs so far, I know, I know. (Adult Buzz Panel/Blogbound, Day One) We had THREE blog tour stops this week, so I didn't have time to squeeze them in without giving you multiple posts. Look forward to them this week, okay?
But the event was AWESOME. I got to meet so many amazing publicists, authors, bloggers, librarians, booksellers, etc. My highlights were meeting Neil Patrick Harris (Which I'll talk about more this week because !!!!!!!!), Kristin Cashore (Who wrote my favorite YA fantasy GRACELING), and Brendan Wenzel (Who wrote my favorite picture book of last year, THEY ALL SAW A CAT, and his new book LIFE is SO GORGEOUS and I can't wait to show it to you!).
The Tony Awards are tonight! *cue flailing*
I don't really watch awards shows. I don't watch the Oscars. I don't watch the Grammys. I can't participate in water cooler discussions about these award shows because it's all just SO BORING!!!
But the Tony Awards? Those awards nobody talks about at the water cooler? Those are the awards I can get behind. (Although, let's face it, my co-workers are AWESOME and quite a few of us are watching the Tonys, which is awesome!!!! I know how rare that is!) I love watching all the performances by nominated and currently-playing Broadway shows. It helps me decide what shows I might want to see! (For example, I had never paid attention to A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder a couple of years ago until that stellar, hilarious performance!)
This year, thanks in large part to a Broadway-obsessed manager at work, I've been lucky enough to see THREE of the four shows nominated for Best New Musical.
THREE!!!!!
I've never seen that many at once before!!!
The only show I would have seen irregardless is Dear Evan Hansen, but because of her, I also saw Come From Away and ...The Great Comet.
This year's Tony Awards are also unique in the sense that the decision for best musical of the year is going to be CLOSE. And some of the other categories are very close as well. There are going to be some big upsets, I think!
And having seen three of the nominated shows? (Four if you count Anastasia, but that show only has two nominations, and not in the biggest category for Best Musical) It's going to make the Tonys so much more fun because I can actually take part in "judging" what should go where because I've SEEN the show, you know??
So yeah, to say I'm excited about tonight is an understatement! (Heck, I had a countdown to two weeks ago when I could set up my DVR to record this, even though I'll be home watching it!--and #sorrynotsorry--if you're on Twitter tonight, you might get annoyed with all my Broadway tweets!)
ALSO???? COOL FACT!!!
If you plan to see The Great Comet, Dear Evan Hansen, and/or Come From Away, be forewarned: TGC and DEH are NEXT TO EACH OTHER on a crowded street, and CFA is RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET. And next to another theater. And they're on the same road as Disney's The Lion King. (And the Hello Dolly line from the next street over wraps into CFA a bit, as does Anastasia...) So the street is a mess. But the company it keeps? Brilliant!!!
 |
| (Left: Dear Evan Hansen; Right: Come From Away) |
#OTSPSecretSister
I was SO excited by what my OTSPSecretSister sent me this month!! I've been wanting to read DANCING ON KNIVES by Kate Forsyth for SO LONG, but it's so hard to get it because it only released in Australia and it's crazy-expensive to import. I don't know how my Sister found it, but I'm so glad. Plus, the summer is the PERFECT time for a Little Mermaid retelling, right!?
Everything else was super cute, too! I brought the gummy bears to BEA with me because they arrived the day before I left, so it was a fun treat! Also, I especially love the animal book flags! So cute!!!!!
Thank you again for everything, Sis!
NAIL POLISH!
The only FUN design I did was to celebrate the release of THE NAMES THEY GAVE US by Emery Lord because she was signing locally and I FINALLY got to meet her!!! Other than that, I kept it simple because I've been trying to grow my nails out for BEA..........
ANYWAY!
I tried to make my nails match the book with a gradient, but they were so short that the darker blue cut off and they weren't as close as I would have liked.
This is the final result:
First, I grabbed all the colors I thought MIGHT work, plus the tools I needed such as latex body paint and facial sponges:
Next, I narrowed down the colors agains the image I pulled up on my iPad--I wouldn't be getting the book until I went to the signing!
Finally, I painted my nails white and let them dry, then painted silicone body paint onto the skin around my nails so that when I did the gradient (using a facial makeup sponge) and got the paint everywhere, it would lift easily off my skin when I took tweezers to the dried paint! Much more efficient than the scotch tape method, imo!
MAY BOOK HAUL!
Here are all the books I brought into my life in May!
WARNING. It's CRAZY.
Still don't know how I'll get to them all!
I purchased all of these:
 |
| You can't beat when B&N puts their leather-bound classics on sale!!! I've been eyeing up Les Mis for a while! And of course, I had to have all these hot new releases!!! |
I was sent all of this for review:
 |
| I feel so lucky and blessed to have so many finished copies for review this month! It's staggering, really! I want to read them all right away, but it's so hard!!! |
 |
| These are all the advance copies I received this month in ARC form. I won FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS on Twitter from author Julie Dao and I'm so excited to dive in! |
 |
| This is a box of ARCs sent from Macmillan for their upcoming fall season!!! Here's a video if you want to watch me unbox them! |
 |
| These are some middle-grade novels for review that went straight to Mandy! ^.~ |
 |
| All the books I downloaded for review!!! |
Oh, and I snagged these six books my first day in NYC before the BEA exhibit halls even opened!
One was from BlogBoundCon and the other five were from the BEA Adult Buzz Panel!
 |
| (In case you wondered, NOT NOW, NOT EVER is from BlogBound and the others are from the panel!) I'm especially excited to read MY ABSOLUTE DARLING and THE IMMORTALISTS! Here's a video if you want some more info about them! |
PHOTOS OF THE MONTH
Here are some of the photos I've taken and shared this month!
 |
| I went to buy FLAME IN THE MIST and was told my necklace matched. (And, I suppose, my black top, too....) Totally a coincidence!!! |
 |
| Donating three bags of ARCs and books I just won't read/read again to a local high school librarian to get into the hands of teens? #Priceless |
 |
| Finally seeing Dear Evan Hansen after waiting for a year!!!! |
 |
| All my Great Comet merch together to celebrate the CD coming out! |
 |
| Don't you love taking the jacket off a book and being surprised by what's underneath!? |
 |
| My ALEX AND ELIZA by Melissa de la Cruz pre-order swag arrived.... |
 |
| ...and was immediately put onto my work lanyard with my Hamilton pin! |
 |
| Sourcebooks put together the BEST package to promote MASK OF SHADOWS! Loved going through it all!! |
 |
I kind of feel like I stole from BN today walking out with $300 worth of product for less than $6!!!
(But love $2 Clearance!  ) |
 |
| Mmm, Chick-Fil-A is the BEST breakfast to have on the way to NYC for BEA!!! |
 |
| And coming home from a day trip to NYC? I had to try Wasabi, a Japanese place recced to me that was near Dear Evan Hansen. I've been missing Japan A LOT lately, so this was really nice!!! |
MUSIC 🎶
It's all Broadway, of course! I've had music from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 and Dear Evan Hansen stuck in my head since seeing the shows in April/May. (And of course, now in June, I can add Come From Away and Anastasia to that list of what I know I'll be listening to a lot this month!!! I don't like listening to shows until I've seen them because it ruins all the surprises, you know?)
And I've had "Evermore" from the live-action Beauty and the Beast stuck in my head lately!!! Along with some other songs from the movie, but mostly that one!
MOVIES AND TV
We're stilly slowly catching up on Agents of SHIELD, and we caught the finale of Once Upon a Time. What did you guys think? It felt like a series ender to me, TBH. I don't know what I think about the way the series is coming back this fall!
That was my May.
How was yours???
Here's a look at everything that happened this past month!
ONGOING GIVEAWAYS:
*THE FROG PRINCESS RETURNS by E.D. Baker and THE DRAGON WITH A CHOCOLATE HEART by Stephanie Burgis (ENDS TONIGHT!!!!)
*BEACH PARTY SURF MONKEY by Chris Grabenstein (6/15)
*BREAKWATER by Catherine Jones Payne (6/18)
Check out the June Blog Tour Schedule for more upcoming giveaways!
*THE FROG PRINCESS RETURNS by E.D. Baker and THE DRAGON WITH A CHOCOLATE HEART by Stephanie Burgis (ENDS TONIGHT!!!!)
*BEACH PARTY SURF MONKEY by Chris Grabenstein (6/15)
*BREAKWATER by Catherine Jones Payne (6/18)
Check out the June Blog Tour Schedule for more upcoming giveaways!
JUNE BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE
(Most blog tour stops feature giveaways as well!)
*BREAKWATER by Catherine Jones Payne {6/7 interview}
*THE FROG PRINCESS RETURNS by E.D. Baker {6/8 guest post}
*BEACH PARTY SURF MONKEY by Chris Grabenstein {6/9 review}
*OBSIDIAN AND STARS by Julie Eshbaugh {6/12 review}
*INTERNET FAMOUS by Danika Stone {6/16 excerpt}
*THE GOLDEN COMPASS by Philip Pullman {6/26 review}
(Most blog tour stops feature giveaways as well!)
*BREAKWATER by Catherine Jones Payne {6/7 interview}
*THE FROG PRINCESS RETURNS by E.D. Baker {6/8 guest post}
*BEACH PARTY SURF MONKEY by Chris Grabenstein {6/9 review}
*OBSIDIAN AND STARS by Julie Eshbaugh {6/12 review}
*INTERNET FAMOUS by Danika Stone {6/16 excerpt}
*THE GOLDEN COMPASS by Philip Pullman {6/26 review}
READING NOW:
{All links to Goodreads!}
*SOVEREIGN by April Daniels
PLANNING TO READ IN JUNE:
*THE GOLDEN COMPASS by Philip Pullman
*THE SUBTLE KNIFE by Philip Pullman
*THE AMBER SPYGLASS by Philip Pullman
*THE SEAFARER'S KISS by Julia Ember
*WANT by Cindy Pon
*ROYAL BASTARDS by Andrew Shvarts
*WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI by Sandy Menon
*SOLERI by Michael Johnston
*THE RELUCTANT QUEEN by Sarah Beth Durst
*THE GIRL WITH THE GHOST MACHINE by Lauren DeStefano
*THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden
*RISE OF FIRE by Sophie Jordan
*THE SHIP BEYOND TIME by Heidi Heilig
*A FACE LIKE GLASS by Frances Hardinge
*LIKE A RIVER GLORIOUS by Rae Carson
*Re-readA DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V.E. Schwab so I can move onto A GATHERING OF SHADOWS and A CONJURING OF LIGHT...
{All links to Goodreads!}
*SOVEREIGN by April Daniels
PLANNING TO READ IN JUNE:
*THE GOLDEN COMPASS by Philip Pullman
*THE SUBTLE KNIFE by Philip Pullman
*THE AMBER SPYGLASS by Philip Pullman
*THE SEAFARER'S KISS by Julia Ember
*WANT by Cindy Pon
*ROYAL BASTARDS by Andrew Shvarts
*WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI by Sandy Menon
*SOLERI by Michael Johnston
*THE RELUCTANT QUEEN by Sarah Beth Durst
*THE GIRL WITH THE GHOST MACHINE by Lauren DeStefano
*THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden
*RISE OF FIRE by Sophie Jordan
*THE SHIP BEYOND TIME by Heidi Heilig
*A FACE LIKE GLASS by Frances Hardinge
*LIKE A RIVER GLORIOUS by Rae Carson
*Re-readA DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V.E. Schwab so I can move onto A GATHERING OF SHADOWS and A CONJURING OF LIGHT...
[link to my GoodReads account so you can see my blurb feed as I read]
READ IN MAY:
{All links to Goodreads!}
TOTAL: 10 novels, 1 picture book
*A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN by Sarah J. Maas {Upper YA}
*CINNAMON by Neil Gaiman {Picture Book}
*FAMOUS IN LOVE by Rebecca Serle {YA}
*TRULY MADLY FAMOUSLY by Rebecca Serle {YA}
*THE NAMES THEY GAVE US by Emery Lord {YA}
*NOTEWORTHY by Riley Reigate {YA}
*THE SCATTERING by Kimberly McCreight {YA}
*THE FLAME IN THE MIST by Reneé Ahdieh {YA}
*SPILL ZONE by Scott Westerfeld {Graphic Novel}
*BREAKWATER by Catherine Jones Payne {YA}
*LUCKY IN LOVE by Kasie West {YA}
{All links to Goodreads!}
TOTAL: 10 novels, 1 picture book
*A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN by Sarah J. Maas {Upper YA}
*CINNAMON by Neil Gaiman {Picture Book}
*FAMOUS IN LOVE by Rebecca Serle {YA}
*TRULY MADLY FAMOUSLY by Rebecca Serle {YA}
*THE NAMES THEY GAVE US by Emery Lord {YA}
*NOTEWORTHY by Riley Reigate {YA}
*THE SCATTERING by Kimberly McCreight {YA}
*THE FLAME IN THE MIST by Reneé Ahdieh {YA}
*SPILL ZONE by Scott Westerfeld {Graphic Novel}
*BREAKWATER by Catherine Jones Payne {YA}
*LUCKY IN LOVE by Kasie West {YA}
REVIEWED IN MAY:
{All link to our reviews!}
*AIR AND ASH by Alex Lidell {YA}
*TRULY MADLY FAMOUSLY by Rebecca Serle {YA}
*THE FLAME IN THE MIST by Renée Ahdieh
*WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart {YA} [Spotlight]
*VIOLET GRENADE by Victoria Scott {YA}
*DC Superhero Girls Series by Lisa Yee {MG}
*THE IMAGINARY VOYAGES OF EDGAR ALLAN POE by Dwight MacPherson {Graphic Novel} [Guest Review]
*TRULY MADLY FAMOUSLY by Rebecca Serle {YA}
*THE FLAME IN THE MIST by Renée Ahdieh
*WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart {YA} [Spotlight]
*VIOLET GRENADE by Victoria Scott {YA}
*DC Superhero Girls Series by Lisa Yee {MG}
*THE IMAGINARY VOYAGES OF EDGAR ALLAN POE by Dwight MacPherson {Graphic Novel} [Guest Review]
REVIEWED AT BROADWAY WORLD...so you may have missed it!
*Check out everything I reviewed at Broadway World this past month in Saturday's wrap-up!
FEATURES IN MAY:
*{Month in Review/Monthly Preview} My recent trip to Broadway, all the blind unboxing, and excitement for BEA!
*Unboxing Funko Disney Treasures, April 2017 Box!
*{Cover Reveal} THE DRAGONS OF NOVA by Elise Kova
*Unboxing the Macmillan Fierce Reads "Amethyst" Package...find out about some great Fall 2017 titles!!!
*Kids!! Enter ROALD DAHL'S IMAGINORMOUS CHALLENGE by May 31st, 2017! You could win books for your classroom or a trip to Broadway!!!
*{Interview} Alex Lidell, author of AIR AND ASH
*Talking about the Fairy Tales in WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart
*{Cover Design Analysis} WALKAWAY by Cory Doctorow
*Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For The Second Half Of 2017
*{Guest Post} Sara B. Larson discusses the differences between the kingdoms of Éadrolan & Dorjhalon, plus how the magic system works in her new novel DARK BREAKS THE DAWN!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking the time to stop and comment! I appreciate it more than I can say. I try to respond to each one!