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Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021

Posted November 29, 2021 by Kaity in Bookish Memes, Wrap Up / 12 Comments

Happy Monday and welcome to my Monthly Wrap Up post! I link these posts up with The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimberly over at Caffeinated Reviewer; The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at ReaderBuzz; The Best of the Bunch hosted by Jessica at A Cocoon of Books; Monthly Wrap Up Round Up hosted by Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction; It’s Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date and a children’s/middle grade version hosted by Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers; Mailbox Monday, hosted by Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and Martha of Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf; and Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality. For my Monthly Wrap Ups, I’ll recap what I posted, read, and watched this month, plus I’ll let you know about any current giveaways I have up. I’ll also tell you about recent updates on my TBR and new books I received and/or bought. Okay, time to see what happened this month!

Hi! I’ve been absent from my wrap ups for a while. Here’s what happened since my last update…

On the Blog

Here are the links for everything that was published this month on Kait Plus Books:

Off the Blog

  • I had a wonderful thanksgiving with my family! my brother came home and we had the perfect meal (thanks mom!), then we all relaxed for a bit!
  • my winter theme is up! I’m calling it Velvet Sparkle, because the rich colors would be beautiful as velvet, and I have lots of glittery graphics to make it sparkle!
  • my hair is no longer purple, pink, and blue, but I do finally have some pictures of what it looked like!
  • if all you want is the photos of my hair, scroll down.
  • if you want my updates on how I’ve been feeling (and why I haven’t been posting as much), read the spoiler!
  • tl;dr: I tried a new endo medicine, and it did not go well.
  • View Spoiler »
the back of my head!
here’s what I looked like with my fun hair!

Currently Reading: I’m reading You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen McManus for an upcoming blog tour!

Currently Listening To: I’m listening to Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston! I listened to the Once Upon a Con books earlier this year and absolutely loved them, so I’m hoping I’ll love this one just as much!

Just Finished Reading: I finished Bell, Book, and Key by Rysa Walker and it was AMAZING!!!!

Just Finished Listening to: I finished listening to We Didn’t Ask for This by Adi Alsaid a few days ago and that was SUPER AWESOME!

Books: Next up is One For All by Lillie Lainoff! I was going to start reading it earlier, but almost as soon as I typed the words ‘no upcoming review tours’, I signed up for two review tours. oops.

Audiobooks: I’m going to start Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao next, and then I’ll listen to Shattered Midnight by Dhonielle Clayton for a… (n) upcoming review tour!

One new library book this week, plus I added a few books to my #tbr and I have #bookmail to share! Here’s some of what I stacked my shelves with lately:

library haul

Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021Marvel Rising by Devin Grayson, Ryan North, Helen Chen, G. Willow Wilson, Marco Failla, Gurihiru, Georges Duarte
Published on November 6, 2018 by Marvel
Genres: Graphic Novels, Superheroes, YA
Pages: 168
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SQUIRREL GIRL meets MS. MARVEL - for the very first time! When Doreen Green (also known as the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) volunteers as head counselor for an extracurricular computer programming class, little does she know that junior counselor Kamala Khan moonlights as crime fighting super hero Ms. Marvel! But this coding configuration is more than just ones and zeros when a mysterious new super villain shows her face! Will our heroes be able to save the day without blowing their secret identities? Join Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl (with some special guest appearances) as they learn what it truly takes to become the next generation of Marvel heroes! Collects Marvel Rising #0, Marvel Rising: Alpha, Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl/Ms. Marvel, Marvel Rising: Ms. Marvel/Squirrel Girl And Marvel Rising: Omega.

new to the queue

Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar
Published on January 25, 2022 by HQ
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Retellings
Pages: 384
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There’s nothing Marietta Stelle loves more than ballet, but after Christmas, her dreams will be over as she is obligated to take her place in Edwardian society. While she is chafing against such suffocating traditions, a mysterious man purchases the neighbouring townhouse. Dr Drosselmeier is a charming but calculating figure who wins over the rest of the Stelle family with his enchanting toys and wondrous mechanisms.
When Drosselmeier constructs an elaborate set for Marietta’s final ballet performance, she discovers it carries a magic all of its own. On the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, she is transported to a snowy forest, where she encounters danger at every turn: ice giants, shadow goblins and the shrieking mist all lurk amidst the firs and frozen waterfalls and ice cliffs. After being rescued by the butterscotch-eyed captain of the king’s guard, she is escorted to the frozen sugar palace. At once, Marietta is enchanted by this glittering world of glamorous gowns, gingerbread houses, miniature reindeer and the most delicious confectionary.
But all is not as it seems and Marietta is soon trapped in the sumptuous palace by the sadistic King Gelum, who claims her as his own. She is confined to a gilded prison with his other pets; Dellara, whose words are as sharp as her teeth, and Pirlipata, a princess from another land. Marietta must forge an alliance with the two women to carve a way free from this sugar-coated but treacherous world and back home to follow her dreams. Yet in a hedonistic world brimming with rebellion and a forbidden romance that risks everything, such a path will never be easy.

Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
Published on June 28, 2022 by Flatiron Books
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, New Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 352
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The suburbs, right now . . . Seventeen-year-old Ivy’s summer break kicks off with an accident, a punishment, and a mystery: a stranger whose appearance in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, heralds a string of increasingly unsettling events. As the days pass, Ivy grapples with eerie offerings, corroded memories, and a secret she’s always known—that there's more to her mother than meets the eye.
The city, back then . . . Dana has always been perceptive. And the summer she turns sixteen, with the help of her best friend and an ambitious older girl, her gifts bloom into a heady fling with the supernatural. As the trio’s aspirations darken, they find themselves speeding toward a violent breaking point.
Years after it began, Ivy and Dana's shared story will come down to a reckoning among a daughter, a mother, and the dark forces they never should’ve messed with.

Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Series: The Atlas #1
Published on March 1, 2022 by Tor Books
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, New Adult, Thriller
Pages: 470
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The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few...
- Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.- Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.- Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.- Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.- Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.
When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.

#bookmail

Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg
Published on March 1, 2022 by Flatiron Books
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 400
Add to Goodreads
Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram

The Winslow family lives by five principles:
1. No one can know your real name.
2. Don’t stay in one place too long.
3. If you sense anything is wrong, go immediately to the meeting spot.
4. Keeping our family together is everything.
5. We wish we could tell you who we are, but we can’t. Please—do not ask.
Poppy doesn’t know why her family has been running her whole life, but she does know that there are dire consequences if they’re ever caught. Still, her curiosity grows each year, as does her desire for real friends and the chance to build on something, instead of leaving behind school projects, teams, and crushes at a moment’s notice.
When a move to California exposes a crack in her parents’ airtight planning, Poppy realizes how fragile her world is. Determined to find out the truth, she mails in a home DNA test. Just as she starts to settle into her new life and even begins opening up to a boy in her math class, the forgotten test results bring her crashing back to reality.
Unraveling the shocking truth of her parents’ real identities, Poppy realizes that the DNA test has undone decades of careful work to keep her family anonymous—and the past is dangerously close to catching up to them. Determined to protect her family but desperate for more, Poppy must ask: How much of herself does she owe her family? And is it a betrayal to find her own place in the world?

Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021Bell, Book, and Key by Rysa Walker
Series: CHRONOS Origins #3
Also in this series: Now, Then, and Everywhen
Published on November 16, 2021 by 47North
Genres: New Adult, Alternate History, Multiverse, Science Fiction, Thriller, Time Travel
Pages: 560
Add to Goodreads
Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube

With a madman in control of the timeline, one wrong move could be the last for time travelers intent on stopping him in this mind-bending novel by the bestselling author of the CHRONOS series.
CHRONOS historians Madi, Tyson, and Katherine and their cohorts are on the enemy’s trail, fixing the mess that sociopath Saul Rand has made of history—and of the Temporal Dilemma rules. Another time shift is on the horizon, and this time, it’s one that reflects Saul’s twisted vision.
When the shift hits, it plunges the United States into a modern dark age where superstition trumps science and seventeenth-century witch hunts are no longer a thing of the past. But Saul has added a new hurdle to this insane reality: he’s hunting the Sisters of Prudence.
Clones of Katherine’s daughter, the Sisters are pawns to be sacrificed on Saul’s time chessboard—unless the team can track him down at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and erase him first. Saul is calling the shots, so he’s ahead of them every step of the way. With the clock ticking, this could be the endgame for CHRONOS and, if they fail, for reality itself.

Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021The One True Me and You by Remi K. England
Published on March 1, 2022 by Wednesday Books
Genres: Contemporary, YA, Queer, Romance
Pages: 272
Add to Goodreads
Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Tumblr, TikTok

One small fandom convention. One teen beauty pageant. One meet cute waiting to happen.
Up and coming fanfic author Kaylee Beaumont is internally screaming at the chance to finally meet her fandom friends in real life and spend a weekend at GreatCon. She also has a side quest for the weekend:
•Try out they/them pronouns to see how it feels
•Wear more masculine-presenting cosplay
•Kiss a girl for the first time
It’s… a lot, and Kay mostly wants to lie face down on the hotel floor. Especially when her hometown bully, Miss North Carolina, shows up in the very same hotel. But there’s this con-sponsored publishing contest, and the chance to meet her fandom idols… and then, there’s Teagan.
Pageant queen Teagan Miller (Miss Virginia) has her eye on the much-needed prize: the $25,000 scholarship awarded to the winner of the Miss Cosmic Teen USA pageant. She also has secrets:
•She loves the dresses but hates the tiaras
•She’s a giant nerd for everything GreatCon
•She’s gay af
If Teagan can just keep herself wrapped up tight for one more weekend, she can claim the scholarship and go off to college out and proud. If she’s caught, she could lose everything she’s worked for. If her rival, Miss North Carolina, has anything to do with it, that’s exactly how it’ll go down.
When Teagan and Kay bump into one another the first night, sparks fly. Their connection is intense—as is their shared enemy. If they’re spotted, the safe space of the con will be shattered, and all their secrets will follow them home. The risks are great… but could the reward of embracing their true selves be worth it?

I’m back on #bookstagram (sometimes, at least)! Here’s what I posted recently:

I’m all caught up on Big Sky, just in time for it to not be on for a few weeks. While I was sick, I started watching Dynasty (2017) on Netflix. That’s certainly an interesting show. I’ve also started watching Hawkeye! I’m still on the first episode though. And… I think that’s it! So tell me, what have you been watching lately?

The giveaways widget is always the most current and accurate way to tell what giveaways you can find on my blog, but since you’re here…

So that’s everything! What have you been up to this month? Anything important happen? Did you have any posts that didn’t get a lot of attention? I’d love to check them out! Leave your links in the comments below and don’t forget to have a splendiferous month!

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12 responses to “Monthly Wrap Up | November 2021

  1. Kathy Martin

    I enjoyed You’ll Be the Death of Me. You have lots of books that look interesting here. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

  2. I hope you get your meds figured out soon. I understand the nightmare it can be trying to find the perfect meds for you. It sucks, but when it works, it’s amazing!

    As for me, what’s new this month? Well, I started working again after being laid off over 15 months ago. It’s a new job in a new field with a completely new shift! So lots of adjusting for the family and me. But I did manage to read 2 ARCs, which I’m proud of. Now to write the reviews!
    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create! recently posted…Fun Foodie Holidays in DecemberMy Profile

  3. I’m so sorry your new medication left you feeling so awful, Kait—I’m glad you’re feeling better now! Your new blog theme is so cute—as is the pink/purple/blue hair you were rocking recently! All of these books look wonderful, especially This Golden State and The One True Me and You! And wow—your #bookstagram posts look beautiful! Thanks so much for the wonderful post—it’s great to have you back!
    Completely Full Bookshelf recently posted…MMGM and #IMWAYR: This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us, edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole MellebyMy Profile

  4. Has your doctor suggested having a laparoscopy done? I have endo as well and I got a lap done last year and have been pain-free since the procedure! I was balled up on the bathroom floor every period prior to the procedure. Your hair, what fun!!

  5. Danielle Hammelef

    I love your fun hair! I enjoy your posts very much and am sorry you’ve been in so much pain and that the new med didn’t work well for you. I hope you are having a great December and happy holidays!

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