Tag: 2018

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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?

Categories
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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Wrap Up

May Wrap Up

So, I finished 7 books in May and am still working my way through a few I started.

Books Read in May

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas: 3 stars
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Keri Maniscalco: 4 stars
The Crowns of Croswald by D. E. Night: 4 stars
King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard (audiobook/reread): 4 stars
Rock-A-Bye Baby by L.R.W. Lee (ARC): 3.5 stars
Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Beck Albertalli (audiobook): 3 stars
Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawnson and KEvin Hearne (ARC): 2.5 stars

May Mini Reviews

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas: I struggled with rating this one. I knew going into the book it was a bridge book and I thought it was a great bridge book. However, some of it just didn’t work for me. I did like seeing more glimpses of the Illyrian camps and the Inner circle and can’t wait to see what else the series has instore.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Keri Maniscalco: I really enjoyed this book. I did figure out who “The Ripper” was extremely early, but Maniscalco had me hoping the other clues and misdirection were right (never have I wanted to be so wrong). I did get a bit lost in some of her descriptions, though I’m not sure if that’s on her or me since I studied abroad in London and kept trying to gain my bearings (and yes, I know somethings have changed). It is a great novel and I can’t wait to read more of the series.

The Crowns of Croswald by D. E. Night: Full Disclosure: I recieved a copy of this book from Stories Untold Press for an honest review (the full review can be found on my goodreads). This was such a fun story. I absolutely hate comparing things to Harry Potter (because it is done too often and for super tiny similarities), but this book held that same magic and I felt so nostalgic while reading it. That being said, this book is so unique and I absolutely loved the magic system. I want the next book NOW!

King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard (audiobook/reread): I really enjoy the Red Queen Series, and this reread reminded me of that. Yes it feels like it drags at times, and yes I do prefer some characters more than others. I actually liked Evangeline a lot more this time around and Erin Spencer is probably my favorite narrator of the series. When I originally read the book I didn’t know there was a fourth book so I just didn’t know what to do with the ending. Now though I’m absolutely terrified to read War Storm since “anyone can betray anyone” and I assume that means Aveyard too.

Rock-A-Bye Baby by L.R.W. Lee: Full Disclosure: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. This is actually a prequel to Lullaby; however, you should read it afterwords. I really enjoy the premise of the books and the world building, there are just somethings that I don’t like about it (stylistically). If you’re unfamiliar with The Sand Maiden Series, I’m planning on doing a full series review.

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Beck Albertalli: Oh goodness. I have heard nothing but good things about this book and I think that was the problem. I really didn’t know much about the book other than it was adorable, so the first scene of the book and the language just threw me for a loop. I don’t seem to enjoy contemporaries and I never liked high school drama so the odds were already stacked against it. I also figured out who “Blue” was way earlier than I think I should have so I kept getting frustrated with Simon. I really wanted to love this book, but for me it fell flat due to the predictability of the narrative.

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawnson and Kevin Hearne (ARC):One of my bookstagram buddies sent me a copy when she finished reading it. I still haven’t decided how to rate this book, but I’m leaning towards 2.5 stars. I have very mixed feelings about it. I will post my thoughts closer to it’s release date.

Summary

Book I enjoyed the most: This is a tie between Stalking Jack the Ripper and The Crowns of Croswald.

Book I enjoyed the least: Kill the Farm Boy. I had such high hopes for this novel.

 

Still Reading

I mentioned I was still reading some books I started in May, those are Nevernight, The Dire King, and Prey. So I thought I’d include my current thoughts.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff: I absolutely love this, and don’t want to go into too many details because I will be posting a full review at a later date.

The Dire King by William Ritter: I quite like the Jackaby series, but I started liking it less and less as the series progressed. The best way to put it was thinking you got on a small roller coaster, but after the ride has started realized you’re on a really big one. I do really like the characters; I’m just not sure how this series is going to tie up nicely, let alone this book.

Prey by Michael Crichton: Do NOT pick this as your first book by Crichton. I’m listening to the audiobook and I think the big problem is the narrator, but I haven’t found any of the characters likable (except maybe Ricky) and at times they are just too stupid to live and often really annoying. I’m only finishing it at this point because it’s a “buddy listen” with my dad.

 

How many books did you read in May? What were your most loved and most disappointing reads?