Amanda BW

@amandabw425

(Extremely) apologetic fangirl. I might have lost on Jeopardy, but at least I made it there. She/her/hers

2216 Siguiendo738 Seguidores1627 Publicaciones

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Amanda BW@amandabw425· 12d

70. Anywhere With You by Ellie Palmer - Would have been nearly perfect except for the gut punch it was a closed door romance. Not a fault of the book at all, just not my usual preference. Loved the growth of the FMC and the dual timeline worked perfectly for this couple.

A cartoon drawing of a white camper van parked in a forest. In the rear of the van sit a white man with brown hair, wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, and brown shoes holding a guitar, and a white woman with dirty blonde hair facing him wearing a blue t-shirt, red shorts, and white tennis shoes

Amanda BW@amandabw425· 12d

69. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne - Mostly enjoyed this one. There was some top-tier banter between the couple, which is always nice. The level of miscommunication in this did get super grating after a while.

A cartoon drawing of a white man with brown hair and black eyes wearing a white shirt with yellow tie and a cartoon drawing of a white woman with brown hair pulled into an up-do black eyes wearing a yellow dress and white heels

Amanda BW@amandabw425· 18d

68. Passion Project by London Sperry - I love romance novels that are focused on picking up the pieces after a significant loss, and this hit all those buttons for me. Really moving story that made me sob. Definitely frustrated with the main character, but in realistic ways. Adored this.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· 19d

67. The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson & Nicole Galland - I love time travel hijinks. I love books about language. I loved the found document format. There was a two-page list of search terms that had me basically crying with laughter. It did drag just a bit, but loved it overall.

A book cover designed to look like a manila dossier - tan background with a black bow on the side and an illustrated picture of a bird in the lower left corner. The title appears like it has been stamped.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· 22d

148. Maddie's Secret (2026) - This was absolutely hilarious. The movie as a whole is so over-the-top, much like the Lifetime movies it is parodying. However, John Early's performance as Maddie stays so grounded and sincere that it elevates everything. I adored this one.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· 22d

147. Rose of Nevada (2026) - Good atmospheric science fiction thriller, but was a little too free-form for what my current mush of a brain can really handle. Thought George Mackay was fantastic, but I've yet to see the appeal to Callum Turner.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· 23d

66. The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava - There were so many things that I did really love about this book. The chemistry between the central couple was sizzling. I just got so frustrated by the constant lying and miscommunication from Ember. Danuwoa was a saint for giving her another shot.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· 26d

65. Always and Only You by Fiona Lucas - There were many red flags this wouldn't be for me. The dedication to BookTok. The fact it's 86 chapters and only 420 pages. The first person narrative. I persisted because I flagged it for reading challenges. I should have followed my instincts.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· 29d

64. I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn & Allison Raskin - Very quick and easy to read because it's all emails and IMs. However, both of the main characters were infuriating. There was essentially no plot for about 250 pages and then all the conflict is shoved into like 25 pages and then it ends.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 12

63. Sex, Lies & Sensibility by Nikki Payne - Did not work for me quite as well as Pride and Protest did, but that's mainly because the Bear story was just so heavy on the angst. I love angst, but I felt tortured by the end. Also felt a bit light on the sister relationship for a S&S retelling.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 11

62. Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan Greenwell - A really easy-to-read primer about how private equity was impacted retail, medical, journalism, and housing spaces. For a bummer of a topic, it did leave the reader on a hopeful note.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 6

61. Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention by Craig J. Bryan and M. David Rudd - Look, this is obviously not something I just picked up to read for fun. It's a textbook for class, but I declared this gets to count towards my reading goal. Stay tuned for fall when I read the DSM

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 6

60. How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley - This was a really delightful entry in one of my new favorite subgenres of "random people thrown together due to wacky happenstance." If you liked Fredrik Backmann's "Anxious People," this reminded me a lot of that. I want to be Daphne when I grow up.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 6

144. A Still Small Voice (2023) - Watched this as extra credit for class. A fascinating documentary focusing on a chaplain resident learning how to work in palliative care. As I want to go into this field albeit in social work, this was like watching the worst possible way my supervision could go.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 5

59. Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne - I am always going to be on board for an Austen adaptation, but this is one of the best Pride & Prejudice ones I have read in some time. I loved the way we got a lot more insight into the Darcy analog's head. I loved the family dynamics. I just loved it all.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 2

141. Prison State (2014) - Watched this Frontline documentary for one of my social work classes. Really solid doc that followed a few adults and teens in the prison system in Kentucky, It did infuriate me and make me want to scream at absolutely everyone in power.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 1

58. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir - I wanted to like this one a lot more than I actually did. I don't know if it was just too much world building or what, but I just never really found a foothold. Finished it because a friend highly recommended it, but don't think I'll continue the series.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jul 1

140. The Invite (2026) - The absolute best way to see this movie is in a theater full of people who have been with their partners for a decade. It is so uncomfortable, but in the all the best ways. By far Olivia Wilde's best directed film.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 30

139. Stolen Kingdom (2026) - I need you to understand that I do not think there has ever been a more punchable asshole than the central figure of the last third of this movie. Do you know how much of a dick you have to be for me to be rooting for the cops in a police interrogation scene?

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 25

57. If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon - Thoroughly enjoyable rom com. Loved the chemistry between the leads and the way the family was fleshed out. Things did resolve a little bit too neatly for me to fully love it, but I had a good time and would read the others in the series.

A Black man wearing a tuxedo and tipping a cowboy hat in a seductive way

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 22

56. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot - Needed to reread an old favorite for one reading challenge, so when Y2K was on the romance bingo board this year, decided to break this one back out. Yes, it barely counts as a romance in the first book, but who cares. Still so delightful to sink back in here.

A pink background with a diamond tiara and the title in a white script

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 20

55. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree - I needed an orc romance for Summer Romance Bingo and I barely consider this a romance in any way, but it's like the one orc book the library had and I refuse to buy one. This is fine if you like cozy fantasy. I don't particularly, but it was fine.

A short pink succubus woman with horns and brown chin-length hair wearing a gray sweater and apron holding a plate with a cake stands back to back with a tall green orc woman who is completely jacked and wearing a brown sleeveless top holding a coffee machine and cup of coffee. They are standing behind a table with a white tablecloth on it and various breads and pastries.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 20

137. Leviticus (2026) - Really appreciated the vibes of this one, even if the theme was a touch heavy-handed. I think I am just especially tired, so this didn't hit super hard the way it might have on a different day.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 19

54. Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken - A great and quick historical fiction centered on the first woman in Ireland condemned for being a witch. At its core, this is a story about a woman who was an expert at navigating the patriarchy and the men who were livid about how good she was at it.

An outline of a faceless woman's head with bright red hair flowing outwards and surrounded by green leaves

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 16

53. I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo - Fun and fluffy YA rom com, especially perfect for anyone who loves K-dramas. While that's not me, I do appreciate a good "perfectionist is forced to fail" story. The level of manipulation could only work in a YA storyline, though.

An Asian girl with long brown hair wearing a white blouse and a short black skirt with white flowers and pink dots standing next to a white person wearing a checkered shirt and jeans. Her back is to the foreground and she is looking over her right shoulder. The other person only has their right arm and shoulder visible.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 16

52. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz - This one has been so highly recommended for so long and I finally made the time for it. An absolute classic of modern YA. I fully understand why this was so foundational for so many out there.

A red truck parked on a grassy field in front of a dark blue night sky. Teh title is in a white script and surrounded by a series of doodles.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 14

51. The Seven-Year-Slip by Ashley Poston - Maybe I was just super emotionally fragile by the time I hit the end of this book, but it absolutely wrecked me. Romance novels that explore themes of grief and loss are especially resonant for me. I loved the time rift elements here. Just adored it all.

A yellow cover with the title of the book in white font with blue outlining. There are red branches with yellow leaves. The only illustrations are the orange outline of a woman sitting down on the letter "n," two pigeons atop a letter "r," and the outline of a man standing on the letter "s"

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 14

136. Stop! That! Train! (2026) - I haven't ever been a Drag Race watcher, but I will watch anything with Rachel Bloom in it. Fun broad comedy with a high joke ratio, but I did start to feel its length by the end.

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 14

135. Disclosure Day (2026) - For the first two-thirds of this, I was wholly invested and loving it. Then the tornado alerts went off for everyone's phone in the audience and I spent the last third wondering if I was about to die, so I have to rewatch. I have so many Kansas City quibbles, though.

A white woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing a sleeveless pink square-neck top standing in front of a weather map

Amanda BW@amandabw425· Jun 11

50. Seven Days in June by Tia Williams - This was an instance where I was pissed StoryGraph won't let me rate this over 5 stars. I loved this book with my entire soul. I adore Shane and Eva and their love story. It has a romance kid that isn't annoying. This book is sheer perfection.