Author: thebookishcurmudgeon

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It’s 2020…

…and I’m still wondering were 2019 went…and the last part of 2018, but hey it’s a new decade, and this year has got to be better than the last few.

*sigh*

I kept procrastinating this post because I didn’t know what to say. Do I do a 2019 wrap up post? Is it too late for that? Probably and 2019 was a bit of a mess.  Most of my reading was rereading and I didn’t really keep up with what I was reading on GoodReads so that’s out. GoodReads isn’t even sure how many books I read last year? If you’d like to see my wrap up of 34 or 35 books out of my goal for the year of 52 it’s here. And yes most of those reads were audiobooks (because audiobooks are books).

So that brings us to now…it’s almost the end of February and I haven’t read a single book yet. (And Duolingo might be taunting me?) Yikes. I haven’t even set a GoodReads goal for the year yet. Double yikes.

The good news is I’ve made my peace with it. The fact I haven’t picked up a book yet, other than to pack it up, isn’t stressing me out too much anymore. I’ve been working on my other goals that have been pushed aside the last couple of years, so it hasn’t been all bad.

One of my big goals for this year was moving the blog to a self-hosted site and I’m excited to announce that that should be happening soon. Hopefully by the end of the week. Fingers crossed I don’t mess it up. I will post on thebookishcurmudgeon.wordpress.com when the move has been complete in case something goes wrong (but hopefully it won’t).

So how is your reading going? What reading goal did you set for yourself this year? Or have you fallen down the rabbit hole that is Netflix because you just can’t seem to pick up a book?

And how do you feel about the new block editor?

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The future home of thebookishcurmudgeon.wordpress.com.

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Reviews

Review: Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows

I received a copy of Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergman from Book Publicity services in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Magic is real, Thomas. No matter what happens, always remember that magic is real.

Seven years have passed, and Thomas hasn’t forgotten. He hasn’t forgotten the blue of his dad’s eyes either, or the tickle of beard on his cheek as they hugged goodbye. Last moments with a parent are memorable, even if you don’t know that’s what you’re having at the time.

Now, with his 13th birthday rapidly approaching, Thomas’s search for magic is about to take a radical and unexpected turn. At an out-of-the-way shop filled with dusty leather books, a strange little man with gold-flecked eyes offers him an ancient text called The Book of Sorrows. The price is high and the rules are strict, but there’s no way Thomas can resist the chance to look inside.

With the mysterious book guiding the way, a strange new world is revealed – a world in which Thomas has a name and destiny far more extraordinary than he ever imagined. But time is short. As Thomas uncovers his secret family history, enemies emerge, threatening to end his rise to power and destroy everything he holds dear.

I was very grateful to receive a review copy of this book as I really liked the premise. Magic, a mysterious book, and the promise of adventure are things I absolutely love in the books I read. Not to mention I’ve been trying to read more middle grade books. Unfortunately I don’t think I was the right reader for this book.

One of the risks of reading Middle Grade as an adult is sometimes you are just “too old” to enjoy and immerse yourself in the story. That being said I am not sure that younger me wouldn’t have had some of the same issues I did with the story.

There were lots of slice of life moments that just didn’t feel necessary.  The book starts off so slow and there were places that just dragged causing me to want to put the book down and not pick it up multiple times.   It took me months to read this. This book had everything and I’m not sure it helped the story as some characters and situations felt predictable and stereotypical. And the final confrontation was a bit too “comic book villain” for my taste.

That being said. Thomas is a good kid. He has a good relationship with his mom as well as several other adults. The story of The Book of Sorrows and its history was really interesting and I would have loved to read more, though switching between what was written in the book to summaries was a bit jarring for me. I wish it had been one or the other.

While I’m interested to see how the story resolves I don’t plan on continuing the series.

I had a really hard time rating this one, but ultimately went with two stars.

This middle grade fantasy may be a good fit for younger readers (8-12), especially those who have an interest in science, and it is recommended for fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.

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Reviews

Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

So, earlier this year Dutton granted every wish for a copy of Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door on Net Galley and I was able to receive an e-ARC of the book.

I enjoyed Sager’s Final Girls so I jumped at the chance to read Lock Every Door.

I am embarrassed to say that I somehow managed not to publish my review anywhere other than Net Galley and only realized this error today. So, we’re doing a #flashbackfridaybookreview while I try to figure out where my mind went.

If you’re looking for a spooky thriller for October Lock Every Door may be the book for you!

If you enjoy thrillers then you NEED to pick up this book.

I really enjoyed Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. After a few chapters I didn’t want to put it down. About a quarter of the way through it wasn’t an option.

Jules is a likable protagonist who you want to root for. The cast of characters is intriguing. The fact Jules isn’t really supposed to interact with them led me to want to know more about them. And the Bartholomew’s creepy history was interesting and I was always hoping to hear more.

There are little clues through out the book, but even if you see them for what they are there’s enough going on that keeps you guessing. You won’t feel cheated if you solve the mystery before it reaches its conclusion.

This is one of those novels where you can’t help but wonder who you can trust and won’t be able to put down.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lock Every Door: 4 stars

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TBR

October TBR

*awkwardly waves*

So, it’s been a while. I never actually put the blog on hiatus…we’ll call that wishful thinking. Despite how long this year has felt I’m not sure where the time has gone.

This year has been crazy, it’s been stressful, and there has been a lot of change as well as a lot of things that have come up personally. That being said I’m not offering excuses, but an apology for the lack of content.

Now…

Onto happier and bookish things!

I’ve actually been able to read some. Not just eBooks, but a physical book. I’m amazed. Pretty much all my reading this year was done via audiobook. (Yes that’s reading!) So actually being able to read a physical book is a big deal for me. Have I been reading it (Sorcery of Thorns) for months? Yes, but the point is I’m reading again. So yay!

October TBR

ParaNorman by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (finish)

 

Are you reading anything spooky this October? Do you already have any favorite reads of the month?

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Beat the Backlist Challenge 2019 TBR

2019 Beat the Backlist Challenge

There are so many great books coming out in 2019 that I want to read. However, there are so many books already out I want to read that have been sitting on my TBR or were sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.

So many books, so little time, and so many shiny new books to distract from the massive backlist I’ve accumulated.

So this year I decided to make those series and books I’ve put off or abandoned a priority and will be taking part in the Beat the Backlist Challenge hosted by NovelKnight. If you’d like to learn more check out this post.

So here is my Beat the Backlist Challenge TBR:

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series by Michael Scott
The Alchemyst (reread)
The Magician (reread)
The Sorceress (reread)
The Necromancer (partial reread)
The Warlock
The Enchantress

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
City of Glass (reread)
City of Fallen Angels
City of Lost Souls
City of Heavenly Fire

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Angel
Clockwork Prince
Clockwork Princess

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages

Cradle by Will Wight
Unsouled (reread)
Soulsmith (reread)
Blackflame
Skysworn
Ghostwater

The Dark Tower by Stephen King
Wizard and Glass
Wolves of Calla
Song of Susannah
The Dark Tower

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

The Monsters of Verity series by Victoria Schwab
This Savage Song
Our Dark Duet

Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Darkness
Beautiful Chaos
Beautiful Redemption

 

This is in no way an exhaustive list of the backlist books I plan to read for 2019, but they are the books I want to make sure I do read.

Are you participating in the Beat the Backlist Challenge? What books on your backlist do you need to stop putting off?

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mini reviews TBR Wrap Up

December Recap

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday season!

I can’t believe December is over! I mean where did 2018 go?

I met my reading goal for the year of 50 books a few months ago so I knew I didn’t have to stress over it, but there were so many books I still wanted to read and finish.

December is my catch-all month so I tried finishing as many books as I could that I started and abandoned earlier in the year. I also tried to sneak in a few holiday/festive reads.

December TBR

Books to Read:
The Afterlife of Holly Chase* by Cynthia Hand
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories* edited by Stephanie Perkins
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
Books to Finish Before Year’s End:
A Court of Wings and Ruin (audiobook) by Sarah J Maas
The Hobbit (audiobook reread)*  by J.R.R. Tolkien
City of Bones (audiobook reread) by Cassandra Clare
Mistborn (audiobook) by Brandon Sanderson
Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
Kingdom of Ruins (kindle)* by D.C. Marino
Ready Player One (audiobook)* by Ernest Cline

*These books were priority reads

December Wrap Up

December definitely didn’t go as I planned, but not a lot of things have the last few months. I didn’t get all of those books finished, not even the priority reads, but I did at least get some reading done.

Books Read in December:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (audiobook reread): 2.5 stars
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (audiobook reread): 3 stars
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (audiobook): 3 stars
Gravity Falls: Lost Legends by Alex Hirsch: 4 stars
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand: 4 stars
The Hobbit (audiobook reread): 2 stars

Mini Reviews

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: Oh boy…I didn’t like this one this time around. I really enjoyed the series when I first read it, but this time…I mean just yeah…I didn’t enjoy the writing style and disliked most of the main characters.

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare: I didn’t struggle as much with this one, maybe it was the narrator, maybe it was the Clave drama, I’m not sure, but I still wasn’t a big fan of the characters, and I mean it’s kind of hard to enjoy this series when you don’t like Clary or Jace, and I really don’t like Jace. I could tolerate him my first read through, but this time I found his character to be quite problematic.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: I finally finished!!! First of all, Will Wheaton deserves 5 stars (okay all the stars) for his performance. He did an amazing job and really brought the story to life. I had a really hard time rating this one since his narration had a lot of impact on my motivation to keep listening. I got bored with the plot a little before the halfway point, but then couldn’t pick it back up because I saw the movie with my family—which was quite different in places. So I needed some time to separate the two. I did like the story, but I wouldn’t have had a problem with putting this one on my DNF list. I think overall the read was worth it, but at some point the 80’s references became too much and the plot just got boring for me.

Gravity Falls: Lost Legends by Alex Hirsch: I absolutely love Gravity Falls. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a cartoon show that was aired on Disney and Disney XD. At times it would be too silly and immature for me, but overall I enjoy it immensely (and just don’t rewatch those episodes). So, after it ended I had to get this book. If you’ve seen the show this book is basically the episodes “Bottomless Pit!” and “Little Gift Shop of Horrors” in comic form. It was such a fun return to Gravity Falls and truly captured the heart and soul of the show.

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand: I really enjoyed this one. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go because Holly’s not exactly likable at first, but it was such a great read. Were some things predictable? Yes, but there was a great cast of characters and once the plot got moving I didn’t want to put it down.  If you’re thinking about a holiday read for next year I definitely recommend it.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: I have a confession. I’ve tried to read this book about seven times in the last five years never finishing it. I read it once back in middle school (“for fun”) and even then didn’t really enjoy it…though now, having just finished it, I’m not 100% sure I actually did finish it back then. I didn’t enjoy it. I just didn’t connect with the characters, and it didn’t hold my attention. Honestly, I’m really bummed. I mean it’s a book that’s so loved and it just wasn’t for me. I’m glad I did finish it though and can knock it off my bucket list. I am still going to give The Lord of the Rings trilogy a try.

 

Summary

So December was pretty much a month of unpopular opinions for me. I didn’t exactly end the year on high note in terms of ratings either, but that’s okay. There are so many awesome reads to look forward to in 2019!

What was your favorite read of December?

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mini reviews TBR Wrap Up

November Recap

I may not have finished NaNoWriMo, but I actually successfully completed my November TBR!!!

November Wrap Up

I set my sights low in November because of all the post hurricane things we were dealing with and my lack of focus when it came to reading.

I also pretty much abandoned any book I was reading from the previous months except for the Throne of Glass series.

November TBR

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd
Obsido by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

Now Kingdom of Ash was going to be tricky because I still hadn’t finished Empire of Storms and Tower of  Dawn, but I did it! Audiobooks are life savers when you can’t sit down and bring yourself to read a physical book.

 

November Wrap Up

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas (audiobook reread): 4 stars
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas (audiobook reread): 5 stars
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas (audiobook): 3.5 stars
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (finished audiobook reread) 4.5 stars
Gemina  by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (audiobook reread): 4.5 stars
Obsido by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (audiobook and book): 4.5 stars
Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd: 3 stars

Mini Reviews

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas (audiobook reread)*

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas (audiobook reread)*

*I actually read/listened to Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas together switching between the two and it was such a cool experience. I think it actually made it better and I didn’t have to remember as much while reading Tower of Dawn. Though I wouldn’t recommend doing this your first time through.

I enjoyed these two more this time around. They set up Kingdom of Ash well.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas (audiobook): Oh I have thoughts on this book. First of all I have to say that this was a solid conclusion to a series. I liked it, but I do however have issues with it .

Obsido by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (audiobook and book): I already have said how much I enjoyed Illuminae and Gemina so I didn’t see the need to give them their own little reviews again. Obsidio was such a great conclusion to the series and it was so good! If you haven’t read it yet you need to. (I highly suggest reading the books and listening to the audiobooks simultaneously.)

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd: I’m not really sure how I feel about this one. I really liked the magic system and the world building, but overall it was just okay for me. I wasn’t a big fan of Anouk and didn’t find some of the resolutions or reactions to be realistic, but that might have just been me. I am curious as to what happens next so I will be reading Midnight Beauties.

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mini reviews Reviews Wrap Up

October Wrap Up

So wow…it’s been over two months since I last posted.

October my friends was quite the month.

If you watched the news at all in October you probably heard at least a mention of Hurricane Michael. We’re still dealing with the aftermath. (We also just got internet back December 10.)

You are here for books though. I do mention it because I obviously wasn’t up for a lot of reading (and I’m still not).  I only finished two books, well a book and an enovella via audio and that was before it hit.

Books Read in October

This Body’s Not Big Enough For Both Of Us by Edgar Cantero: 2 stars
The Lost Sisters by Holly Black (audiobook): 5 stars

Mini Reviews

This Body’s Not Big Enough For Both Of Us by Edgar Cantero: I didn’t really like this book. The entire time I wanted to put it down because it just wasn’t for me, but I couldn’t because I had to know what happened next and how the story would end.  The story though is quite face paced and unpredictable, and not just because of well hidden clues; things seem quite random at times. All in all it’s one crazy ride.

The Lost Sisters by Holly Black (audiobook): The audio for this is absolutely amazing. I didn’t really know what to expect based on the premise of the book, but I found it quite captivating. I had planned to do some household tasks and take bookstagram photos while listening, but ended up just sitting, completely absorbed in the story. I thought it helped explain some things in The Cruel Prince as well as give more insight into a a few of the characters.

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TBR

October TBR

This month I’m doing something a bit different. I grabbed a bunch of spooky/autumn/Halloween books that I’d like to read. There’s no way I’m going to get through them all, but they are all books I really want to read. We’ll see what happens.

Continued from September:

Endsinger by Jay Kristoff
Kingdom of Ruins by D.C. Marino  (kindle)
Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas (audiobook reread)*
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas (audiobook reread)*
*I’m listening to these simultaneously

OCTOBER TBR

OCTOBER MUST READS

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (buddy read)
This Body’s Not Big Enough for Both of Us by Edgar Cantero
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
The Leaf Reader by Emily Arsenault
Nightbooks by J.A. White
Vampire Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager (buddy read #frightnightathon)
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas (releases October 23rd)

OCTOBER TBR CONTINUED…

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw 
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Lies She Told by Cate Holahan
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (reread)
Lolly Willows by Sylvia Townsend Warner
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

So whatever I don’t get to this month will either be saved for next October or just be pushed over to November.

How many do you think I’ll actually be able to read?

Are you reading anything spooky this month? What are you most excited to read this month?

I can’t wait to read The Near Witch and Meddling Kids. I’ve been wanting to read both for a while so I’m excited to dive in.