Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes — The Summer Storm Setlist / A Book Playlist

August 27, 2018September 26, 2020 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi readers! Last Friday I published my review of Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes where I talked about how much I love this book. The book came into my life at the perfect moment and really had everything I love about a great romance novel. That is how this book playlist came to be. I also like to call this playlist the Sounds Like Summer — Summer Storm setlist. It mixes all those great summer, beach, music, and a full moon by the ocean vibes. Lux and Micah spend the perfect weekend together at the Summer Storm music festival with lots of live acts playing outside by the beach and I tried to incorporate all of the vibes of that into the playlist.

Book Review of Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes

August 24, 2018September 13, 2020 Olivia Chanel1 Comment

Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes

Publication Date: March 26, 2017.

Publisher: Independently published.

Genres: Romance, Mental Health, New Adult, and Contemporary Romance.

Recommendation: I highly recommend this book.

Purchase here: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice

Synopsis: It’s not just a weekend for Lux Castelo. She has a plan, of course.

Phase One: Escape to the beach for a music festival.
Phase Two: Deal with what she can’t control.
Phase Three: Return to reality whole and ready.

Nowhere in that plan is Micah Jacinto, self-proclaimed adventurer and the kind of boy with his head stuck in the clouds and the moon inked on his arm—everything her rational sense tells her to stay away from. And yet Lux finds herself welcoming the distraction. As they spend the entire weekend together, Micah leads her to rediscover the lost pieces of herself amidst the excitement and the confusion of a raving mosh pit.

But all weekends come to an end and Lux needs to return to the dreaded reality she’s running away from. Does being brave enough to leave summer behind mean being brave enough to ask Micah to stay?

Content warning: this book deals with depression, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm. Some of this will also be discussed in my review.

What makes Sounds Like Summer a must-read romance novel is the fact that it mixes the best parts of what makes a typical summer romance novel amazing with heavy hitting topics such as what it’s like to live with depression. This book is about Lux Castelo and Micah Jacinto and the weekend they spend at Summer Storm — a weekend-long festival filled with live music acts, parties, and time spent at the beach by the ocean. However, this book is about more than just the romance; this weekend is about Lux escaping her life for a weekend to process what she has been through because of her depression and to, for a moment, forget. After Lux and Micah spend this weekend together, they find out that what happens at a summer festival does not have to stay there and sometimes the smallest of coincidences can lead to the greatest of adventures, no matter how small and scary they might be.

Songs To Make You Stay by Jay E. Tria / A Book Playlist

August 6, 2018September 26, 2020 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi, people out there in my book galaxy! How are you doing? I’m here with a new blog post for you all and it’s another Galactic Book Playlist. Fun, am I right? I’ve honestly made more playlists this summer than I ever have before and it’s just the most exciting and fun experience; creating these playlists is almost like reading these books again. These playlists give me a chance to both find new music and relive the feelings I had when I first read the books. It’s the best combination. Expect a lot more of these playlists to come in the future.

This playlist is for the book Songs To Make You Stay by Jay E. Tria. It’s the last book in the Playlist series and it’s the novel that finishes the story of Shinta and Jill. I have also made a book playlist for the second book in the series, Songs To Get Over You, and you should definitely check that one out as well, which you can do here.

ARC Review of The Queen’s Game by Carla de Guzman

August 1, 2017September 7, 2020 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

The Queen’s Game by Carla de Guzman

Publication Date: August 1, 2017.

Publisher: Independently published.

Genres: Romance.

Rating:

Purchase here: Amazon

Synopsis: There are only two reasons why Nina would come back home to Cincamarre–one, if Auntie Delia promises to stop butting into her business, two, if her father died and she was made to ascend the throne to be queen.

Unfortunately for her, it was the second thing that brought her home.

As a princess who’s sunk a yacht and been caught kissing popstars, it’s easy for her aunt, the regent, to think she’s ill prepared for the throne. But Nina doesn’t think that having to fake date Felipe, the handsome, squeaky clean Prince of Concordia was the best solution for that.

Nina’s ready to learn the ropes of her new role and make it hers, and reconnecting with Felipe only makes her want to be a better queen. But is the monarchy ready for Queen Nina?

Thank you, Carla de Guzman, for my advanced review copy of The Queen’s Game. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review; this does not affect my opinion. Any quotes mentioned below are taken from the ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

I am in love with The Queen’s Game and this contemporary romance story featuring Filipino main characters. As soon as I saw the blurb I knew I had to read it. I have a weak spot for contemporary royalty and mix that with #romanceclass and you know it’s a winner. This story features a princess, Nina, and a prince, Felipe, who grew up side by side because of their neighboring nations, Cincamarre and Concordia. Later on, in life, they reunite when Nina returns after several years of travel to attend her father’s, the king’s, funeral. What then begins is a story of a fake relationship that turns into something real. This book has royalty, fake dating and childhood friends; this book has it all.

What To Read Summer of 2017 {Diverse Books Releasing In June, July & August 2017}

June 1, 2017April 3, 2018 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hey there, bookish people! Can you feel the summer vibes in the air? I certainly can. June is unofficially the beginning of summer here in Sweden and you know what’s just the best part about that? All of the free time, lovely weather and the big stack of amazing books you can *finally* devour. To celebrate all of this I thought I would write a blog post with all of the diverse books releasing this summer, in other words, all of the books releasing in June, July and August. There are so many of them and a lot of them are very anticipated reads for me. Do you have a book you’re dying to read this summer?

I’ve tried putting all of the diverse books I could find in this post, however, if I missed one please let me know so I can add it. The plan is to continuously update this post with any releases I might have missed. This summer is long and filled with so many diverse book releases. I can’t wait to read them all. In this list diverse books includes books with marginalized characters and books by marginalized authors, some who may not have diverse characters in their books.

April Book Haul – My Latest Purchases & Acquired ARCs

April 30, 2017July 12, 2018 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hi everyone in the galaxy! April is ending and I thought it’d be a fun idea to show you guys which books I got this month. At first, I was unsure about whether to make this post or not, but I figured it doubles pretty well as a book recommendations post (cheap books am I right) so why not. Lots of these books have been anticipated reads for me so I’m really excited to finally own them in one way or another. If I got any books you’ve already read, let me know what you thought of them. Let’s look at the books I got in April.

Ebooks & eARCs I Got in April

Zodiac Recommendations #11 Sagittarius Books

April 13, 2017March 20, 2017 Olivia Chanel1 Comment

Hi everyone, and welcome to my eleventh week of Zodiac Book Recommendations. Every week I’m recommending books for one of the zodiac signs, starting with Aquarius and ending with Capricorn, after chronological order. This week I have three book recommendations for Sagittarius.

zodiacsagittarius1

This week we are embracing fire, the element of the Sagittarius, the one that they carry inside of them. Like every other zodiac sign, the Sagittarius have their strengths and weaknesses, and with these qualities in mind, I have tried to find suitable book recommendations. I hope that whoever you are, whether you are a Sagittarius yourself or someone who knows a Sagittarius, you’ll enjoy these book recommendations.

For Sagittarius, I’m recommending the books below,

Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan. Buy here or here.
Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee. Buy here or here.
The Melody of You and Me by Maria Hollis. Buy here.

The books I’ve chosen are ones that I think celebrate Sagittarius qualities in one way or another. I hope you’ll love these books, and maybe even find a new favorite. Check out my book recommendations for the other zodiac signs too. Next week I’m doing Capricorn, see previous recommendations here.

signature9

Infini by Krista & Becca Ritchie Book Playlist

March 25, 2017September 26, 2020 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi everyone, I have a lovely book playlist I want to share with you guys today. If you saw my review for Infini earlier this year then you know the book totally blew me away. Krista & Becca write the most magical books, and I always love them so much. Infini is about forbidden second chance love and will gut and build you up at the same time. This book has a Jamaican-American heroine and a Russian-American hero that you will just fall in love with (I know I did). I seriously recommend you guys check it out if you haven’t read it yet. You can add it on Goodreads or buy it on Amazon.

Zodiac Recommendations #6 Cancer Books

March 2, 2017February 8, 2017 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi everyone, and welcome to my sixth week of Zodiac Book Recommendations. Every week I’m recommending books for one of the zodiac signs, starting with Aquarius and ending with Capricorn, after chronological order. This week I have three book recommendations for Cancer.

zodiaccancer1

We are talking about Cancer this week, the zodiac sign that embraces the element water. The Cancer have their strengths and weaknesses, which can be read about in the graphics, and with these qualities in mind I have tried to find suitable book recommendations. I hope that whoever you are, whether you are a Cancer yourself or someone who knows a Cancer, you’ll enjoy these book recommendations.

zodiaccancer3

For Cancer, the books I’m recommending are the following,

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Buy here or here.
Far From You by Tess Sharpe. Buy here or here.
That Thing Between Eli & Gwen by J.J. McAvoy. Buy here or here.

The books I’ve chosen are ones that I think celebrate Cancer qualities in one way or another. I hope you’ll love these books, and maybe even find a new favorite. Check out my book recommendations for the other zodiac signs too. Next week I’m doing Leo, see previous recommendations here.

zodiaccancer2

signature9

Five Days of Romance: Day 5 – Anticipated Romance Reads

February 15, 2017February 15, 2017 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Hi everyone and welcome to the last day of Five Days of Romance. Even though Valentine’s Day is over doesn’t mean the romance has to be. Personally I love romance the most, and have a bunch of books I own I’ll be reading when I get more time away from some of my ARCs. I thought I’d share some of the romance books I’m truly anticipating to read at the moment.

These are 14 Romance novels that I own and am dying to read, but haven’t gotten around to just yet. They all come highly recommended by friends and loved ones, and I’d take their recommendations over anyone’s so I know these books will be great. Hence, why I’m excited to read them. The books I’m anticipating to read are,

Act Like It by Lucy Parker.
Dare to Love by C.P. Santi.
Ash by Malinda Lo.
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo.
Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler.
More Than Distance by Elizabeth Briggs.
Trade Me by Courtney Milan.
Keeping the Distance by Clarisse David.
Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee.
Something in Between by Melissa De La Cruz.
Love On My Mind by Tracey Livesay.
That Thing Between Eli & Gwen by J.J. McAvoy.
Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler.
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.

This was Day 5 of Five Days of Romance, and the end of this blog series. However, the romance lives on, and we can always find it in a book whenever we desire. To check out my earlier posts for Five Days of Romance, go here.