Instagram story viewer> @readswithleo> Posts

lauren • bookstagram

@readswithleo

21.2K

followers

975

following

introverted mood reader
📍california
💌 [email protected]

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

✨ 26 for 2026 ✨

it’s a new year which means there are so many new books to read 📚

while i read plenty in 2025, my overall year was not the best because i was reading a bunch of books on my physical tbr that didn’t excite me. and they were only on my physical tbr because i got sucked into the world of special editions and felt the need to have every book box subscription.

fortunately, i cancelled most of my subscriptions by summer last year, but the damage had already been done and i still feel like i owe it to past lauren to read the books she spent so much money on.

so while i’m still chipping away at my physical tbr, i wanted to curate a list of 26 books that i’m actually really excited to read. while i still love a good romance and fantasy story, i wanted to branch out with books that i feel like are more suited to my tastes as a reader today.

i think i’m genuinely going to love all of these books and i can’t wait to start tackling this list 🫶🏼

tuesdays with morrie is up first ✨

#anticipatedreads #tbr #readingchallenge #alwaysreading #bookstagrammer by @readswithleo

3

30

9 months ago

✨my favorite book of all time✨

i read the invisible life of addie larue in april last year and i’m still not over it. addie and henry live rent free in my head and i’m not convinced that anything could ever top them 🫶🏼

photos from pinterest. edits by me.

#theinvisiblelifeofaddielarue #addielarue #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #favoritebook #veschwab #fantasybooks #magicalrealism #irememberyou #booklover #booksbooksbooks #bookedit #reader #bookstagram #booksta #readswithleo by @readswithleo

3

30

a year ago

my 5 star fall book recs 🍁

ninth house: yale secret societies, occult activities, a motley crew of unlikely allies, a dose of the paranormal, a murder mystery and an unexplained disappearance. one of my favorite reads of 2024, this book has it all and then some.

the atlas six: six magically gifted individuals compete for five spots in a secret society. filled with flawed and interesting characters, i could not put this book down. i would highly recommend the audiobook as it has a full cast narration!

babel: four students study at oxford’s royal institute of translation and must determine if the pursuit of knowledge is worth the betrayal of their homelands. an emotional and thought provoking read, this story will stick with you long after you close its pages. i’d highly recommend the audiobook for this as well!

q: what’s your go to book rec for fall? by @readswithleo

3

19

a year ago

august & september recap 📖🏕️🚙🧳

long time no see friends! i’ve had the busiest couple of months between work and life and have had zero energy to post 🙈 but i hate that i missed out on recapping a month of reads so here we are recapping both august and september together ✨

august has been my worst reading month of the year so far. everything was less than 4 stars for me 😬 and while september was an improvement because i got to revisit one of my favorite series, it was the month with the fewest number of books read, reaching only a total of 6 🥲 while that’s not bad, it is quite low for me and a girl’s tbr is too big to be making such little progress (in my mind! i know it’s not really a race)

i wouldn’t have changed it for the world though because it was hands down one of the best months i’ve had all year 🥰 between vacation, camping, a publisher event, a book con, the release of dead beat, seeing @pitucareads and getting a new car, my heart is feeling pretty full 🥹

favorite reads (4⭐️ and up):

✨ the ninth house trilogy (no contest!) but if you’re really curious, this is my ranking for the series:
🥇ninth house
🥈hell bent
🥉dead beat (this was still my botm because i read the others a couple years ago)

and now that the hectic summer is officially over, i’m really looking forward to cozy season and slowing down these next few months 🍁 i see lots of quiet time spent at home, reading books in my near future and i wouldn’t have it any other way 😌

september recap • reader life • book lover • reader • book community • booksta • bookphotography • end of summer • cozy season • autumn • bookstagram

9 books read in august, 5 from the physical tbr
6 books read in september, 3 from the physical tbr

dead beat was my most anticipated read of the year and i loved being back at yale 🏛️📖🖤

so many new to me authors! but too little physical tbr progress 🙈

campsite of my dreams ✨ and there’s a huge mountain just hiding behind those clouds

the redwoods made me feel so tiny 🌳

love of my life @devonmathis_dp 🫶🏼

mt hood and hood river looking gorgeous 🏔️

camping buddy 🐿️

rented a film camera for our trip 🎞️

my happy place ✨ i see so much camping i by @readswithleo

3

17

5 days ago

Finding friendships as an adult is no easy task but Booktagram makes friendships possible.

I am definitely the energy to @readswithleo social battery so we had to join this trend 🤭. But if we’re being totally serious were more like a clover missing our third petal without @larslovelettertobooks 😭.

⁉️which friend are you?

#bookishreels #socialbattery #introvertextrovert #bestie #trendingreel taken in BOOKSTA by @readswithleo

94

22

12 days ago

Happy Dead Beat day everyone 🖤

The end is finally here and though we’ve waited so long, I’m not ready yet for this series to end 🥹 Luckily for me(?), I’m still trying to finish my Hell Bent reread, so I can extend the magic just a little bit longer ✨ While I’m envious of everyone else who’s jumping in today, I’m going to take my time joining Alex, Darlington and the crew on this last adventure.

Thank you again to @flatiron_books and @lbardugo for this incredible box of goodies from the launch event a couple weeks back! I laughed when I punched in the code to unlock it this morning because of course it was 666 😂 All of the artwork is incredible and now I’m just scheming for a way to get my greedy little hands on the alt Darlington card 😈 I guess we’ll find out which version was most appropriate for him very shortly!

#deadbeat #darkacademia #bookrelease #favoritereads #booklover by @readswithleo

3

24

25 days ago

A Night To Remember 🖤

We got to be part of an exclusive launch party for the Ninth House Trilogy Conclusion where Leigh literally just hung out and chatted with us 😱. Last night was one I will never forget! We got themed drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and a SECRET box 🗃️ with a SECRET item inside that will unlock with a future code 👀.

Thank you so much @lbardugo and @flatiron_books for a Magical Night 🥹. Cannot wait to read Dead Beat!!!

Special shoutout to my best friend for being lucky enough to get this invite @readswithleo AND asking me to be your plus one 🥰. You better believe I dropped everything and had to get to SoCal! (Husband driving us for the win)

It was also nice to meet a few girlies from this space and chat with them. @livyoftedahl @brekkerbybrekker @crowsandquill @kanej6_reads taken in Los Angeles, California by @readswithleo

89

61

a month ago

3

25

a month ago

just a little shelfie 📚

ft the book wall that i’m still obsessed with….though i think a slight change may be in order soon 🤎🤭

#shelfie #reader #booklover #aestheticbooks #bookstagrammer by @readswithleo

3

23

a month ago

peaches & honey book one 🍑🍯

i loved the premise of these immortal truths ✨ there is nothing more romantic to me then an “i’ll love you in any lifetime” trope. and while technically this story only covers one single lifetime for our main characters, they’ve lived for many centuries and navigated through all of them together 🥹

anna, our mortal fmc turned immortal, has faced so many hardships in her life. she’s been ostracized, condemned and hated for nothing more than the patterns on her skin and yet her compassion and empathy for mankind never fades. she’s resilient and hopeful and just an all around model human being.

khiran, our immortal mmc, has such a soft heart. despite the distance he keeps between him and the world, he never stops caring about the fate of humanity. though he’s lost faith, he never stops trying to better the world. his absolute devotion to anna is also one of his best qualities 🥹

while i enjoyed the author’s writing style and the inclusion of multiple countries and cultures across the globe throughout the centuries, the story did feel a bit repetitive even for being on the shorter side. we’re constantly jumping from one century and one disaster to the next and never lingering quite long enough to immerse ourselves into the lives of the characters. this left me feeling a bit emotionally detached from their story.

i did love the element of gods and magic included in this world however and am very excited to see how much more they’ll be integrated into book two - especially after that ending! the stakes feel like they’ve been set and i’m excited to see what happens next!

3.75⭐️

and thank you to @torbooks and @goodreads for my advanced copy! i still can’t believe that i managed to win this in a giveaway 🤩

#theseimmortaltruths #bookreview #bookstagram #bookcommunity #reader by @readswithleo

3

18

a month ago

the august lineup 📖

at the end of 2025, i loosely planned my tbr for 2026 by month to give me a guideline of what to read throughout the year. it was meant to encourage physical tbr progress and while it’s worked to an extent, recently i’ve found myself pulling away from it because crossing the books off the list feels like a chore 😬

i’m a mood reader at heart and being able to deviate and pickup whatever i want has kind of become non-negotiable for me 😅

to that end, i still like having a monthly tbr, i just can’t plan it months in advance. enter the tbr jar i made almost a year ago and never used 🙈

i love watching tbr jar booktube videos and since i had mine already ready and waiting for me, i thought this month would be the perfect time to finally put it to use!

5 prompts felt reasonable to start with as i don’t want to overload my monthly tbr. i still need a little flexibility just in case i want to pick up something else on a whim 🤭 but i already love this new system so much!

have you read any of the books that i selected for august? or do you have a fun prompt idea for me to add to the jar? please let me know! ✨

#augusttbr #monthlytbr #tbrjar #readerlife #bookstagram by @readswithleo

3

20

2 months ago

had the best time last night meeting @hm.wolfe on tour for daggermouth! 🖤

i read this book when it was first indie published in december last year and loved it so much that i’ve been patiently waiting to meet her ever since. i’m so thankful i got the opportunity!

if you’ve been living under a rock, daggermouth is a dystopian, enemies-to-lovers romance reminiscent of your favorite 2010s series like the hunger games and divergent. it’s multi pov and follows an incredible cast of characters (with mc’s who are in their 30s 🙌🏼). you will fall in love with them and then equally rage at the oppression and tyranny they face. it’s a story that’s politically relevant and you should absolutely be picking it up 👏🏼

daggermouth is officially out in the world now! congratulations @hm.wolfe! 🖤✨

and shoutout to my new friend @sarah_helmueller for helping to take photos last night 🥰 it was lovely to meet and hang out with you!! by @readswithleo

3

14

2 months ago