Gabriella M Reads

Tucson Festival of Books 2019 This year I went to the Tucson Festival of Books yet again and I did it mostly solo. My friend Gwen joined me for part of day one, but like I said mostly a solo adventure. I met lots of great authors and was able to get most, if not all, of books signed. I think one of the greatest memories is of Gwen and I having Scott Magoon draw us a shark fighting a velociraptor. Gwen and I also got to meet the incredibly kind and funny Jonathan Stutzman. We joked around and talked about work before finally taking a picture together with Tiny the T-rex. I need to get myself a copy of his new book, Llama Destroys the World. The days were long and I got a bit of a sunburn, but I also had the pleasure of attending half of a Star Wars panel. I say half because I was that poor girl coughing up a storm in the front row and I kindly excused myself so that everyone else could enjoy the discussion. It was fun all the same and I got to see all of the authors ...

Summer Reading Being that I haven't really been able to finish a book since January, I'm planning on keeping my upcoming TBRs very light. Or I at least won't get my hopes up/pressure myself to complete it. That being said, I've been working on reading The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas. I' about 100 pages in, but I have been for a while now. I also recently purchased The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn and started reading it too. I believe I have managed to get somewhere around 50 pages in. With any luck I will be able to finish both of the books mentioned above. However, I have a copy of Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith headed my way and I'm dying to dive in. The Chase by Elle Kennedy also have my attention. I absolutely loved her Off-Campus series so I have high hopes for this Briar U spin-off series. Fingers crossed that it does not disappoint. I don't think I will necessarily get to all of these books or if other books will grab my attention, ...

About the Book Seventeen-year-old Raychel is sleeping with two boys: her overachieving best friend Matt…and his slacker brother, Andrew. Raychel sneaks into Matt’s bed after nightmares, but nothing ever happens. He doesn’t even seem to realize she’s a girl, except when he decides she needs rescuing. But Raychel doesn't want to be his girl anyway. She just needs his support as she deals with the classmate who assaulted her, the constant threat of her family’s eviction, and the dream of college slipping quickly out of reach. Matt tries to help, but he doesn’t really get it… and he’d never understand why she’s fallen into a secret relationship with his brother. The friendships are a precarious balance, and when tragedy strikes, everything falls apart. Raychel has to decide which pieces she can pick up – and which ones are worth putting back together. Add it on Goodreads ! Order now from: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Book Depository | Book Outlet The In...

So, I'm back! So if you follow me on any social media then you know the beginning of 2019 was rough for me. The day after Christmas my beloved pup was diagnosed with lymphoma. I spent the majority of my time by his side after I found out. He made it to his 9th birthday in February before we finally had to say goodbye at the end of March. It destroyed me. During all of that time I was actually able to read only one book and I finished said book in January. My heart hurt so much that I couldn't enjoy things that I loved. I'm happy to say that my heart is healing and I'm ready to start trying to blog again. A little guy came into my life by complete surprise and I truly believe my Mañana sent him my way when I needed him most. His name is Vader James and he's a handful, but he gives me such love. So here I am. I'm taking baby steps and trying to blog once again. I might do a brief post about the Tucson Festival of Books from March, a summer reading li...

2018 came and went faster than I thought possible. I read a decent amount. I grew as a person and I began to prepare myself for the loss I will face in 2019 (my dog has lymphoma). While I wish I could pause time for us, I'm ready for 2019. I'm cherishing our moments and charging ahead. Enough sad, let's talk about books. As always a thank you to  Jamie  from  The Perpetual Page-Turner  for putting this together. 2018 Reading Stats Number Of Books You Read:  67 Number of Re-Reads:  4 Genre You Read The Most From:  I think I kept it mixed up this year, maybe. 1. Best Book You Read In 2018?  (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2018 release vs. backlist) I would have to say You by Caroline Kepnes. I read a lot of great books, but this one put me in a massive book hangover. I can't believe it took me so long to buy a copy and read it. Just wow. 2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You W...

The Fall Tag A huge thank you to Daniella from The Little Book Spy for tagging me and to Ell from Ellduclos for creating this tag. 1. What is one candle you MUST light every fall? My favorite fall scent is actually the Autumn Harvest soy candle from Target. 2. When you think of fall, what does it remind you of? Honestly fall makes me think of Halloween and witches. Arizona doesn't really have fall in my mind. It goes from a hot Summer to a cold-ish Winter. 3. What is your all time favorite fall/Halloween movie? Practical Magic is by far my favorite Halloween movie. I watch it year round, but something about Spooky season makes it even better. 4. What Halloween costume do you have in mind? I actually already bought my costume and wore it to the Fall Festival at the preschool. I dressed up as Neil from Koo Koo Kanga Roo . It was a hit and I'm probably wearing it to work again on Wednesday. 5. What is your favorite fall trend? Flannels. I LOVE a good flannel. 6....

Adrift by Tami Oldham Ashcraft 5 Stars Y'all should know by now how much I tend to struggle reading non-fiction work, but something about this one pulled me in. Maybe it was because the movie trailer was so intense. I just needed to know all of the facts behind the story. So, I went out on a limb and bought the book. It took me around 3 months to read Adrift, but it was worth every second. Tami is so strong and I suppose you don't know your strength until it's tested the way hers was. It was incredible to read about everything that went through her head while adrift at sea while also seeing her memories of her life with Richard. These memories were woven in so perfectly throughout. I cried a lot during the time I was reading Adrift. I just couldn't help it. Even though it took me a very long time to read this book, I would do it all over again. I'm just in awe. If you are even a little bit interested in Tami's story I recommend picking this up. ...