Booked with Abby

June has come to an end and so has quarantine (finally). With all this time to stay home and read, I've reduced my TBR by so much! Book Reviews: The Merchant of Venice by Willaim Shakespeare Rating: 4.5 stars The Merchant of Venice is the first Shakespeare book I've read and I will definitely be counting with his work! My Review Love & Gelato  by Jenna Evans Welch Rating: 5 stars I loved this book so much! It was amazing and exciting at every turn. My Review Stone Keeper  by Kazu Kibushi Rating: 3 stars I didn't really like this book and it was bit disappointing. I know a lot of people like it but I proabbly won't be finishing this series. My Review Loot  by Jude Watson Rating: 5 stars I loved this middle-grade mystery. It was so suspenseful. My Review The Other Boylen Girl  by Phillipa Gregory Rating: 5 stars This review was written by my friend Avery so you should definitely check it out. My Review...

Today, I have a quiz inspired by Love & Gelato  by Jenna Evans Welch. So, where should you travel to?

The summer of '91 is turning out to be the worst yet. After getting over Mono, Cassie is dumped by her boyfriend, fired from her job, and her parents are getting a divorce. She has a few months to spare before she runs off to Barnard College and starts the future she's always planned for- except she no longer has the plan  which went away with her ex. Cassie gets hired at Bellarosa Boutique and things start to look up. Soon she and her friend Drea are on the hunt of the summer for a mysterious treasure.         The synopsis of the book said nothing about the treasure hut which was really the main focus of the book. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this contemporary turned into a bit of a mystery. I think the book would have attracted me more from the start if it mentioned the treasure in the synopsis.         I liked The Mall  a lot but there's one thing that annoyed me so much. Whenever Cassie talked about relationships, she wo...

I'm back with another playlist! Since I already did one for Love & Gelato , I though the sequel deserved one too. So here are seven songs that go along with Love & Luck  by Jenna Evans Welch. Bad Blood- Taylor Swift Confident- Demi Lovato High Hopes- Panic! At the Disco Just One Yesterday- Fall Out Boy ft. Foxes Sorry Not Sorry- Demi Lavato Galway Girl- Ed Sheeran Cool For The Summer- Demi Lovato About Love & Luck Addie is visiting Ireland over the summer for her aunt's huge wedding. She's hoping for a distraction form her recent heartbreak but her brother Ian won't let her forget. The two went from being close siblings to mortal enemies. After finding a guide book called Ireland for the Heartbroken , things start to look up. Addie's holding onto the hope that she'll get to go to Italy to visit Lina. But plans change and she's stuck on a road trip across Ireland with her brother and he's c...

Today I'm starting a new series on my blog called Top 5 Tuesday. Every other Tuesday I'll pick a different topic and talk about my five favorite books on that topic. So here are my five favorite books of 2020 so far! 5. The Year After You Number five is The Year After You  by Nina de Pass. This book was so emotional and I loved it! It was a moving story and I balled my eyes out more times than I could count. My Review 4. Dorothy Must Die The next book on the list is Dorothy Must Die  by Danielle Paige. I recently read this book and it was amazing! Dorothy Must Die  is the first book in the series and I'm definitely going to read the rest of the series. 3. The Beholder The third book on this list is The Beholder by Anna Bright. I couldn't put this book down the whole time I was reading it. The sequel, The Boundless , recently came out and I can't wait to read it.  My Review 2. The Betrothed I was so excited to read Kiera Cass's new book. The Be...

I loved Love & Gelato so much! Since it was so great, I thought I would create a playlist to go along with the book. Just like The Betrothed , I found seven songs to go along with Love & Gelato . I also have a playlist for Love & Luck coming soon. Last Friday Night- Katy Perry American Boy- Chris Colfer and Darren Chris Lola- Iggy Azela ft Alice Carter Crying in the Club- Camila Cabello Nightmare- Halsey Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time- Panic! at the Disco Heart Attack- Demi Lovato About Love & Gelato Lina is spending the summer in Italy but she would rather be back home with her best friend Addie. Lina's only traveling halfway across the world because it was her mother's dying wish that she met her father. But what kind of father isn't around for 16 years? That's what Lina is trying to figure out. Lina then finds a journal her mom kept when she was in Italy. With her new friend Ren, Lina will uncover ...

Addie is visiting Ireland for the summer for her aunt's huge TV wedding. She's hoping for a distraction from her recent heartbreak. But her brother, Ian, won't give her a break. He's pressuring her to tell their mom but Addie is against that at all costs. The two have gone from having a close bond to bickering every few seconds. After finding a guidebook called Ireland for the Heartbroken , maybe she'll be okay. Addie just can't wait to visit her friend in Italy when this is all over. But then plans change and she meets Rowan, a dashing Irish boy.         Warning: this book will destroy your soul. I loved Love & Luck  SO MUCH! I can't express how amazing this book was. Jenna's writing was great! She made me feel like I was in the Emerald Isle right alongside Addie. I loved the sarcastic and quirky narration too.         To sum up the first 100 pages of Love & Luck : secrets, lies, and black eyes. Addie kept this big secret for most ...

Today, I'll be doing the Mid Year Freak Out Book Tag.  Best book you've read so far in 2020 My favorite book so far this year would either be  Love & Gelato   by Jenna Evans Welch or The Beholder by Anna Bright. Both of these books were amazing and I loved them so much. Best sequel you've read so far in 2020 Love & War  has been my favorite sequal so far this year. Love & War  is the sequal to Alex & Eliza   which I also read this year. New release you haven't read but want to The Boundless  just came out reccently and I can't wait to get my hands on it.    I loved the first book, The Beholder,  so much   and I can't wait to read The Boundless .  Most anticipated release for the second half of the year There are two releases that I am so excited for. The first one is A Tale of Witchcraft  by Chris Colfer which comes out in October. In November, Love & Olvies by Jenna Evans Welch come...

This month's musical-themed post is Six. Six is a competition between the six wives of King Henry the eight. Cathrine of Aragon, Anne Boyle, Jane Seymore, Anna of Cleves, Kathrine Howard, and Cathrine Parr battle it out to see who was the best queen. It was obviously Kathrine Howard. This post was inspired by  The Other Boyle Girl  by Philippa Gregory. Ex-wives The musical starts out with a rivalry between the queens. In the end, they will all love each other. Alex and Eliza  start out with a rivalry between Hamilton and Eliza even though by the end they will be  madly in love. Review No Way No Way is Cathrine of Aargons main song. In this song, she sings about how H enry will never find anyone like her. Cathrine's personality reminds me of a lot of Cassie's form The Mall .  Don't Lose Ur Head Anne Boyle has a rebel kinda feel to her. She lives her life how she wants and doesn't apologize for anything. Her song reminded me of Pride by Ibi Zoboi. ...

Mary Boylen comes to court at the age of 14. She catches the eye of Henry VIII. Mary falls in love with the most powerful man in England. She becomes the enemy to Queen Cathrine who she has to sever at the court since she came. Soon Mary will find out she is nothing but a pawn in her family's plot as she steps aside for her sister Anne. Anne is full of ambition and Mary realizes that she must defy her family and the king to save herself, the man she loves, and her children.         I absolutely loved this book! It was filled with plot twists and secrets. The plot was easy to follow even though there were so many events in the story. Any of my friends can tell you I hate books with any form of romance... Editor Abby: Yeah I can back up that claim. She won't even finish The Selection  which people who follow my blog know is one of my favorite books. Okay, back to Avery.         This book made me love the relationships that take place in t...

Yet another book tag! Today I'll be doing the Hercules Book Tag. This tag was created by Book Princess Reviews . I've been doing so many tags recently and I'm going to keep doing more. Zero To Hero Name a character you didn't think much of at first but ended up a favorite Alex and Conner Bailey from The Land of Stories  by Chris Colfer. At first, I thought these two were so boring but the more I read of the book, the more I grew to love them. The Muses Name some characters/books/authors that inspire you I was definitely inspired by the characters in The Magic Misfits. After reading the second book, I was inspired to pick up a hobby in tarot. Megara Name a character who has done morally complex things to save themselves/others/world I can't really think of any for this one but if I had to chose I guess I would pick Katniss from The Hunger Games . The whole baby/dating Peta thing was a bit morally complex. Hercules A character that goes throu...

Aplhie McQuinn's dying words were to "find jewels." But what his son March finds is a twin sister named Jules. Both of them are cursed to die before their 13th birthday. The only was to break the curse is to gather 7 moonstones by the night of the blue moon. Jules and March recruit their new friends Izzy and Darius to help them. If they're going to survive, they're going to need to pull a heist. And their loot is worth seven million dollars.        I listened to the audiobook which was narrated amazingly. The music at the behinning and end made the story all the more real. It was kind of like a James Bond theme.         Loot tells the story of a band of teenage thieves as they track down seven cursed jewels It has everything I love! Double crossings, a good mystery, and a curse.  Loot  has quickly becomr one of my favorite middle grade novels and I'm sure I'll go reread it in the furture.        I loved Loot ...

Hello! Today I just have a few updates. First I want to talk about how I started a Bookstagram. If you don't know what a Bookstagram is, its an Instagram solely for books. I started it on June 1 so there are already a few posts up. I've been posting once or twice a day on there. So you can find me on Instagram @bookedwithabby You may have noticed that I haven't been posting any book hauls lately. Most book stores have been closed and if we're being realistic here, the selection at Walmart and Target sucks. Since R.J. Julia opened back up on Monday, I think I'll have a new book haul coming next month. I've gotten only three new books since quarantine started. Those three being The One and Only Bob, Drums, Girls, + Dangerous Pies, and The Secret Life of Bees.  Another thing, I'll be starting a new post series. Every other Tuesday, I'll be doing a Top 5 Tuesday. So I'll pick a theme and pick five books to go along with it. Like always, I'...

Emily's father died two years ago. Now she, her brother, and her mother are moving into the old home of her great grandfather. It isn't very long before strange things start to happen. First Emily stumbles across an amulet. Then strange creatures stalk their basement. After Emily's mother is taken, she and Navin journey into an unknown world to bring her back. What they find is that Emily is the stone keeper.          Stone Keeper is the first book in the Amulet series. There are nine books in total, the last one being published this year.         The book had a very fast pace. So fast that the plot felt rushed. Although rushed, the story also felt under-whelming. I was expecting a bit more based on the reviews I had read. Most people had rated it five stars on Goodreads but I didn't end up liking the book that much.          The art wasn't my favorite too. The shapes of the characters head was a bit we...

I'm back with another book tag! I first saw the TBR Book Challange on  I'm All Booked Up  so I decided it would be fun to do it too. 1. Name the TBR book with the highest Goodreads rating Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has the highest rating. Honestly, I was expecting a Harry Potter book to fill this prompt so I'm not surprised. 2. Name the TBR book with the lowest Goodreads rating I was a little surprised by this one because the plot of Autonomous  is so intriguing. 3. Which book on your TBR are you most excited to read? I am really excited about Romanov  by Nadine Brandes. 4. Which TBR has the coolest cover? I think the coolest cover is The Maze Runner . 5. Which TBR has the most buzz? Definitely  Harry Potter . Everyone seems obsessed but I just don't get the hype. Besides that The Cruel Prince  has the most buzz. 6. Pick a TBR book form an author you've read before Mother Knows Best  would be my pick...

The wicked sea witch was known for taking advantage of an innocent mermaid. But her tale is so much more than that. Ever since Ursula was a child she's been trying to balance out her normal life from the dark one arising inside of her. All it took to throw her off the deep end were the three odd sisters.         Poor Unfortunate Soul tells Ursula's side of the story, The Little Mermaid . This is an amazing take on the fairytale I grew up loving.         I loved Disney movies when I was younger and Ariel was probably my favorite out of all the princesses. As time moved on I started liking the villains better and this series probably had something to do with it.         I love this series so much and each book is a different adventure. Page Count: 196 pages Published: July 26, 2016 My Rating: 4 stars Genre: fantasy Series: Villains  book 3 Buy this book ~~~ Other books by Serena Valentino: Fairest of All Th...

Lina is spending the summer in Italy. But she would give anything to be back at home with her best friend Addie. Lina's only there because it's her mother's dying wish that she got to meet her father. But what kind of father isn't around for sixteen years? That's what Lina is trying to figure out. But then she is given a journal that her mother kept when she was in Italy. Lina is counting the days until she can return to the states. Then she meets Ren who helps her unearth her mother's secret. A secret that will change the way she thought of her mother, father, and even herself.         OH MY FREAKING GOD! I LOVED THIS BOOK! This is my favorite book no doubt about it. I loved this book so much. This book gave me such a craving for gelato. The day I finished it, I went straight to Sweet Mia's to go and get some stracciatella gelato. Stracciatella is a vanilla flavor with chocolate but Lina will explain in the book how heavenly it tastes.         ...

For this month's Book Talk post, I'll be talking about one of my favorite books, Love & Gelato . Of course like every Book Talk, there will be spoilers. Lina Of course, I loved Lina. She was super quirky and loveable. I was really surprised when Howerd ended up not being her father. (Mind-blowing). I fell in love with Linas story and character almost instantly. I also share her love of stracciatella gelato.  Ren In the beginning, I would have never considered Ren as the one Lina would fall in love with. He seemed more of a goofy best friend. In the end and after seeing them together, I wouldn't have it any other way. Ren was so loyal to Lina. He helped her find Matteo and stuck by her throughout the whole journey. But his girlfriend- excuse me EX-girlfriend was awful. From the very beginning, she hated Lina. Mimi was a classic mean-girl. Rich, pretty, blonde, and jealous. I thought it was so sweet when he broke up with Mimi to be with Lina. Ren was funny and cha...

Today I'll be doing the Bookish Prediction Tag. This tag was created by the Book Princess Reviews . All of these prompts are predictions for my next reads. Next Read: The next book that I'll probably read is The Maze Runner  by James Dashner. Next 5 Star Read: I have high hopes for  Dorthy Must Die by Danielle Paige so I'm hoping that's my next five-star book. Next 1 Star Read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will probably be the next 1 star read on my TBR. I think my rating will be more like 2 or three stars. I didn't really like the first Harry Potter book and I herd the  Chamber of Secrets  is the worst Harry Potter book. Next Love Intrest (or character that seems cool to you) I'll probably fall quickly in love with Jude and Carden from The Cruel Prince  by Holly Black. Next Book You'll Be Buying I've wanted to read The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Howard Pyle ever since I watched Once Upon A Time so I'll be buying ...

Antonio is a struggling merchant in Venice. He made a deal with a man named Shylock and now that deal is coming back to haunt Antonio. Meanwhile in Belmont, the wealthy heiress Portia is trying to choose a suitor. So far she hasn't had any luck. Until she meets Bassiono, Antonio's friend. The two quickly fall in love.         There was so much going on in this book. The play keeps going back and forth between Belmont and Venice. In Belmont, we have Portia who falls for Bassino. IN Venice, Shylock and Antonio are having a feud. Between those, there are many different subplots.           The Merchant of Venice  was a romantic comedy and the writing was absolutely beautiful. The characters were dynamic and not one dimensional ay all. After reading  The Merchant of Venice  I definitely want to read more Shakespeare. Page Count: 337 Published: 1600 Genre: Theatre My Rating: 4.5 stars Buy this book!

I only chose six books for my TBR but at the rate, I'm going, I'll probably end up reading much, much more. Anyway, I'm excited to read all of these books! Dorothy Must Die + The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige I'm going to group these two together because their part of the same series. I recently read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz so this is the perfect time to put it on my TBR.  Don't Tell the Nazis  by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch I've had this book for a while so it's finally time to read it. The One and Only Bob  by Kathrine Applegate I loved The One and Only Ivan  and I have even read it twice. When I found out about the sequel, I was overjoyed. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  by J.K. Rowling I'm told that this is the worse Harry Potter book. I don't have very high hopes for this one because the first was only okay for me.  Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse This book sounds so good and I can't wait to rea...