2018 Reading Wrap-Up

December 2018 Reading Wrap-Up

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
(Grisha Trilogy, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  November 29 – December 2
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  Alina’s power
Least Favorite Thing:  They killed the poor stag…

It’s so weird because I’ve got a record of having read this book before, and now I’ve read it a second time through and I still can barely remember anything about it… Whatever, it was enjoyable to read regardless.

My Posts About Shadow and Bone

Opal by Maggie Stiefvater
(The Raven Cycle, book 4.5)
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it
Review:  No
Format:  eBook
Reading Dates:  December 8 – 9
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  The way Opal describes things.
Least Favorite Thing:  Sad Ronan 😦

I’m so glad my library finally got this novella, it was even better than I expected it to be. I love the names Opal gives to all the things and people she encounters.

My Posts About Opal

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
(The Raven Cycle, book 2)
Rating:  ★★★★★ – loved it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  October 27 – December 9
Read Count:  3
Favorite Thing:  Maura/Mr. Gray. They were so adorable.
Least Favorite Thing:  I can’t think of anything.

I actually decided to up my rating from 4-stars to 5 because I love this series so much and I don’t know why I was holding back on rating it 5 stars.

My Posts About The Dream Thieves

The Girl of Fire and Thorns Stories by Rae Carson
(The Girl of Fire and Thorns, book 0.5 – 0.7)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  December 2 – 14
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Alodia’s point of view. I’d read a whole companion series from her perspective.
Least Favorite Thing:  Lord Solvaño didn’t suffer enough.

I’m really glad I finally got around to reading these stories, even if it’s been years since I read the novels. But actually this has made me want to reread the novels so maybe that will happen soon.

My Posts About The Girl of Fire and Thorns Stories

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
(Girls of Paper and Fire, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  December 6 – 24
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Gaaayyyyyy
Least Favorite Thing:  She had to come back at us with that final page? Rude.

This book was so chock-full of good representation it was like a breath of fresh air. I recommend it to anyone looking for diverse fantasy.

My Posts About Girls of Paper and Fire

You by Caroline Kepnes
(You, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  December 15 – 26
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Well written.
Least Favorite Thing:  Made me need 10 showers.

This is one that I felt a little weird rating. It’s not a feel-good novel. It will definitely make you feel a little dirty being inside Joe’s mind.

My Posts About You

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  December 26 – 29
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  The little touches of history woven throughout the story.
Least Favorite Thing:  People kept kicking the poor dogs!

I first read this back in elementary school with my class, and I remembered loving it. It’s been sitting on my shelves for a bit and the nostalgia just kept calling to me; I had to reread it. I’m so glad I did.

My Posts About Catherine, Called Birdy

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
Rating:  ★★★★★ – it was amazing
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  December 30
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Descriptions of fairies.
Least Favorite Thing:  Forgetting.

One of my all time favorite stories is Peter Pan, but I had always been afraid to read the book in case that soured my enjoyment somehow. This was profoundly stupid. The book only increased my love.

My Posts About Peter Pan

In Progress

 

Mid-Year Reading Recap

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Now that June’s about to end it’s time to look upon our reading progress so far this year and share some book opinions!

Oh man I forgot I got tagged in this, I suck! Thank you for the tag, Scarlet @flamingmirrorbookish!

1. Best book you read so far this year
I’m tempted to mention one of my favorite books again, but I won’t, I’ll choose one that was new to me this year: White Oleander by Janet Fitch. The prose is absolutely beautiful and I loved the way the main character, Astrid, looked at things.

2. Worst book you read so far this year
Guys obviously it was the Twilight books. The worst of all of them was the partial from Edward’s POV, Midnight Sun.

3. Completed any series?
Oh sure. Most of the books I read are part of a series anyway. As for complete series I read this year, they are all rereads:

  • Tales of the Kingdom // Cynthia Voigt
    My favorite all time book series. These are loosely-connected, non-magical fantasy. I recommend it to everyone, always.
  • Twilight Saga // Stephenie Meyer
    My least favorite series, which I recommend to literally nobody. Love yourselves.
  • The Darkest Minds // Alexandra Bracken

4. Anticipated read for the second half of the year

Oh! Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor! I have it pre-ordered and I am so eager to have it!

5.A book that disappointed you
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I loved the film, but the book just didn’t click with me even a little. I don’t even know if I’ll read the one about the aunts now…

6. How many books have you read so far this year?
I’m glad to say I managed to reach half my goal for the year this month, by just a hair. I have read 38/75 books this year! 🙂

7. A book that made you laugh
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I know technically it’s called a children’s book, but really any age group can enjoy this book and I recommend it to all.

8. Estimated read count for the year?
I think I’ll definitely meet my goal of 75 if I can keep this up!

Alrighty I tagged some people on tumblr, but I actually want to tag all my WordPress readers. Give me the deets on how your 2018 goals are going at this halfway point in the year! Either comment or make your own post and drop me a link.

April 2018 Reading Wrap-Up

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Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
(Twilight Saga, book 3)
Rating:  ★☆☆☆☆ – did not like it
Review:  No
Format:  E-book
Reading Dates:  April 1 – 2
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  It could have been longer, but it wasn’t and I’m grateful.
Least Favorite Thing:  Bella’s doormat impersonations…

Lordy this book was obnoxious. There were a lot of parts I hated, but all of them in some way tie-in to the whole “Bella as a doormat” crap so… Like seriously I kept wanting to climb into the novel and shake her like “just stick to your guns about literally anything, just stand up for yourself, just stop letting these idiots run right over all your boundaries!” and then scream for an hour.

My Posts About Eclipse

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
(Twilight Saga, book 4)
Rating:  ★☆☆☆☆ – did not like it
Review:  No
Format:  E-book
Reading Dates:  April 2
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  Bella is slightly more tolerable as a vampire.
Least Favorite Thing:  Nessie. Both the name and the concept.

I read all of the Twilight books and my head didn’t even explode it’s a miracle! Never again.

My Posts About Breaking Dawn

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
(Throne of Glass, book 5)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  March 8 – April 4
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Lorcan being like “I hate Elide, but if anyone ever even thought about hurting her, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.”
Least Favorite Thing:  Up until the very end of the novel, it was like “everything that can go wrong, will go wrong” and that made me tired.

My least favorite thing is actually why I rated this book only 3 stars. It was good, interesting, and there were a lot of parts I enjoyed, but it felt like for every good thing there were two bad things and it just starts to wear on me after a while and make me tired so it limits my enjoyment of the novel.

Also can I just say, why are they like “oh obviously someone has to die to forge the lock” when they have two heirs of Brannon? It takes all the power of one heir of Brannon to forge the lock, they have two heirs of Brannon. Halfsies, bro. Everybody lives.

My Posts About Empire of Storms

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
(Books of Bayern, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it *
Review:  Yes **
Format:  Full-Cast Audiobook
Reading Dates:  April 5 – 7
Read Count:  5-ish
Favorite Thing:  Vicious Attack Geese!
Least Favorite Thing:  Um literally all of Selia’s guard friends. Too skeevy, blech.

* Please note that this rating is for the novel as a whole, not the Full Cast Audio version.
** This review is for the Full Cast Audio version, not the novel as a whole.

My Posts About The Goose Girl

Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer
(Twilight Saga, book 1.75)
Rating:  ★☆☆☆☆ – did not like it
Review:  Yes
Format:  E-book
Reading Dates:  April 10 – 13
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  The alternate ending.
Least Favorite Thing:  So boring.

Please tell me she’s done beating the dead horse that is the Twilight Saga???

My Posts About Life and Death

White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Rating:  ★★★★★ – it was amazing
Review:  No
Format:  E-book
Reading Dates:  April 5 – 15
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  The amazing prose.
Least Favorite Thing:  Literally every male past puberty that ever came in contact with Astrid….

This was recommended to me as part of the Buddy Reads activity in an online Book Club I am a part of. My “buddy” recommended this to me because I wanted to try more books outside of the YA genre this year. I am so incredibly glad I signed up for this activity because I got an excellent recommendation here. A recommendation which I happily pass along:  Read this book!

My Posts About White Oleander

Once and for All by Sarah Dessen
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it (real rating: 3.5)
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  April 15 -17
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Snarky wedding planner comments.
Least Favorite Thing:  Ambrose’s habit of writing everything off as being somebody else’s fault. Fucking obnoxious…

I read this book for my book club’s April Challenge (Read a book with a pastel cover.) and also because I’ve never yet met a Dessen novel I didn’t like. I wish I could give half-star ratings on Goodreads though.

My Posts About Once and for All

What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang
(Hybrid Chronicles, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  April 20 – 28
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Sisterly bond? Is that an accurate term for the bond between two souls sharing the same body?? Whatever. That’s what I’m calling it.
Least Favorite Thing:  Slow? Kind of slow… Not slow enough to DNF, but still slow.

April Challenge #2 complete with the finishing of this novel! Yay! (I don’t know how quickly I’ll move to the sequel though.)

My Posts About What’s Left of Me

Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  April 29 – 30
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  I took sick pleasure in angry, vengeful Cath.
Least Favorite Thing:  Peter Peter.  Actually that’s not even the thing I hated most, but the real thing is a big spoiler.

It took me a minute to get into it, but once I did I couldn’t put it down! And April Challenge #3 successful by the skin of my teeth!

My Posts About Heartless

In Progress

March 2018 Reading Wrap-Up

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Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
(Throne of Glass, book 4)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  March 3 – 7
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  GHOST LEOPARD!!!!
Least Favorite Thing:  Chaol’s shit-ass attitude for the first 2/3rds of the book drove me crazy. I mean I think it’s good writing for a character to have flaws and not always be likable, but his change in attitude just seemed so damn sudden and jarring…

This was the last one that was a reread, the rest of the books will be entirely new to me!

My Posts About Queen of Shadows

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
(The Darkest Minds, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  March 20 – 21
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  IT’S OBVIOUSLY ZU. ANYONE WHO CLAIMS OTHERWISE IS A BIG FAT LIAR!
Least Favorite Thing:  You-Know-Who with his creepy mind twisty creeps!

I randomly decided to reread this after seeing something about the film version coming out this August and being unable to get the story out of my head. I’m glad I did, I actually enjoyed it more this time around and raised my rating from 3 to 4 stars.

My Posts About The Darkest Minds

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
(The Darkest Minds, book 2)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  March 21 – 23
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  Rrrredssss! (I’m a fan of anything that just sets shit on fire lol)
Least Favorite Thing:  I CAN’T SAY IT BECAUSE IT’S A BIG SPOILER, BUT I’M STILL TEARY-EYED ABOUT IT!!!

I’m so happy because I didn’t really get Second Book Syndrome from this one like I did the first time I read the series.

My Posts About Never Fade

In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
(The Darkest Minds, book 3)
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  March 24
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  SU-ZU-MEEEEEEEE
Least Favorite Thing:  The fact that no one just put Clancy out of everyone’s misery…

Oh wow! So I just looked back at my old rating of this book and it was apparently 2 stars??? What??? This series is clearly one that improved with time. I’m really glad I reread it. Hope the films do them justice!

My Posts About In the Afterlight

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  March 28
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  She is so funny and surprisingly verbose. (I’d never seen her in anything where she was being herself and not acting, so I had no idea her vocabulary was so enjoyably vast. I even learned a new word or two.)
Least Favorite Thing:  Um, it ended too soon.

I actually listened to the audiobook version of this book (though I had the physical copy with me to mark quotes and cool words). I am not usually a fan of audiobooks just because they don’t hold my attention all that well, but Anna reading her book was very engaging and I never once lost my concentration even though I was doing other things the whole time. I definitely recommend everyone try the audiobook whether or not they intend to read the physical copy. This is officially one of my top 3 favorite autobiographies so far.

My Posts About Scrappy Little Nobody

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
(Twilight Saga, book 1)
Rating:  ★☆☆☆☆ – did not like it
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  March 30 – 31
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  It ended.
Least Favorite Thing:  Gosh it’s so hard to pick just one… Possibly that fact that she’s like “I should be freaked out that he literally stalks me and breaks into my home on the reg, but I think it’s adoooorable”?

Well considering I set out to reread this specifically as a way of torturing myself into wanting to read better books again… It was exactly as painful as expected and pretty damn effective.

My Posts About Twilight

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
(Twilight Saga, book 1.5)
Rating:  ★☆☆☆☆ – did not like it
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  March 31
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Emmett overacting when he and Edward scheme to get Ben and Angela together. I swear I thought I was reading fanfiction for a minute there, but it was hilarious.
Least Favorite Thing:  Eddie-boy is a self-obsessed, uppity lil bitch. Every thought he has is like “oh this human did a thing, but not as well as I do it” and “oh that human had a feeling, but of course it is nowhere as strong as MY emotions”

Welp… What can I say… I kept having to stop and scream into a pillow or rant at my husband so that probably tells you what you need to know right?

My Posts About Midnight Sun

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
(Twilight Saga, book 2)
Rating:  ★☆☆☆☆ – did not like it
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  March 31 – April 1 (Putting it here, because it was barely after midnight on April 1 that I finished.)
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  Edward wasn’t in a good chunk of it. That was nice.
Least Favorite Thing:  She still monologued about him the whole time. That was less nice.

I spent a solid 30 minutes just trying to figure out what she could have said to a therapist that would have allowed her to talk openly about the vampire crap without an involuntary psych hold…

My Posts About New Moon

In Progress

February 2018 Reading Wrap-Up

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Elske by Cynthia Voigt
(Tales of the Kingdom, book 4)
Rating:  ★★★★★
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  January 30 – Feb 5
Read Count:  4
Favorite Thing:  Elske just defying everyone’s expectations over and over.
Least Favorite Thing:  Beriel’s friendship skills need work.

So now that I’ve finished rereading the Tales of the Kingdom is it too early to start rereading them all over again?

Note:  Also published as The Tale of Elske, which is the version I read since I don’t have access to my own copy right now.

My Posts About Elske

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
(Throne of Glass, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  February 6 – 11
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  When Celaena won the sparring match without even drawing a weapon!
Least Favorite Thing:  Only one named black character (and the only unnamed ones were that character’s body guards that get mentioned in passing a few times…).

I decided to reread Throne of Glass so I can read the parts of the series I hadn’t gotten to yet.

My Posts About Throne of Glass

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
(Throne of Glass, book 2)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  February 14 – 21
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  Celaena rescuing Chaol and fucking up a whole room full of dudes.
Least Favorite Thing:  Just talk to each other!!! Everyone in these books gets all offended when their friends keep secrets from them, but then they keep secrets from those same people! Just communicate!

It’s a good thing I reread this one because I didn’t remember many of the finer details.

My Posts About Crown of Midnight

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
(Throne of Glass, book 3)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  February 27 – 28
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  Abraxos!
Least Favorite Thing:  Maeve a lil bish…

Hahahaha I remembered almost nothing of Aelin’s story or anyone from Adarlan. I only remembered Manon and her witches! Good thing I reread it!

My Posts About Heir of Fire

January 2018 Reading Wrap-Up

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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  January 6
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Sneaky sneaky sneaky!
Least Favorite Thing:  Ooooh Nick is such a douche!

I’m so grateful to Kelsie @ BilboBookins for putting Gillian Flynn back on my radar and making me really consider reading her books and Marina @ The Review Marina for her review which put to rest my worries about whether having liked the movie, I could enjoy the book too. If it hadn’t been for these two I probably wouldn’t have picked up this amazing book at all and I’d have really missed out!

My Posts About Gone Girl

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham
Rating:  ★★☆☆☆
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  January 7 – 10
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  The diet secrets “monologue”.
Least Favorite Thing:  Boredom.

For something with “Gilmore Girls” all over the cover, it had surprisingly little Gilmore Girls in it. (This is neither a good nor bad thing, just an observation.)

My Posts About Talking as Fast as I Can

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  December 27 – January 11
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  The way Beatriz thinks.
Least Favorite Thing:  Waiting for something to Happen in the beginning of the novel.

As I mentioned in my rating post, my complaint about this book was just that it was hard to get into, but I really think it’s worth it.

My Posts About All the Crooked Saints

Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt
(Tales of the Kingdom, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★★★
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  January 11 – 12
Read Count: 4-ish?
Favorite Thing:  Burrrrl!
Least Favorite Thing:  Cam is so much more annoying than he was when I first read this in middle school lol

This is my favorite series, and this is one of my favorite stories from the series. It makes me so sad that no one seems to know about these books anymore (admittedly they are a bit old, but they are so good)!

My Posts About Jackaroo

On Fortune’s Wheel by Cynthia Voigt
(Tales of the Kingdom, book 2)
Rating:  ★★★★★
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  January 12 -15
Read Count:  4-ish?
Favorite Thing:  Birle at the end, with Nan.
Least Favorite Thing:  The part at the slave market where that nasty fucker shoves his fingers in Birle’s mouth while he’s deciding if he wants to buy her. I literally had to stop reading and go brush my teeth, the passage evoked that visceral a response from me. (Actually I may need to again now just remembering…)

This one always gives me a little trouble during Part 1, because it moves slowly, but once I get past that, Parts 2 & 3 speed by so fast because this book is amazing.

Note:  Also published as The Tale of Birle, which is the copy I actually read this time, since I don’t have access to my own copy right now.

My Posts About On Fortune’s Wheel

Live Through This by Mindi Scott
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  January 17
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  That life goes on as normal even with the bad things that are happening.
Least Favorite Thing:  I wish we got to know what came next. I mean I get it, but I still wish.

Trigger Warning:  Sexual Assault

Despite the harsh subject matter, I really liked this book.

My Posts About Live Through This

Counterfeit Son by Elaine Marie Alphin
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  January 20
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  The sailing.
Least Favorite Thing:  The mom at the end. Spoiler: [start] I just hate that the book ended without her even acknowledging that he was really her son or anything other than standing there… [end]

I’m not sure what made me think of this book all of a sudden, but once I did I suddenly also wanted to reread it.

My Posts About Counterfeit Son

Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  January 25 – 26
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Piecing together all the little tidbits that didn’t get direct explanations.
Least Favorite Thing:  The usage of the g*psy slur & negative stereotyping of Romani people. (It was a part of the characterization of the antagonists, but it was still left a bad taste in my brain.)

I decided to go on a Lois Duncan reading kick, and Gallows Hill was the first one I grabbed.

My Posts About Gallows Hill

The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt
(Tales of the Kingdom, book 3)
Rating:  ★★★★★
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  January 21 – 29
Read Count:  4-ish?
Favorite Thing:  Oriel & Griff’s friendship.
Least Favorite Thing:  Merlis…

Don’t talk to me. Don’t look at me. The Thing literally gets harder every time I reread this even knowing it’s coming!

Note:  Also published as The Tale of Oriel, which is the copy I actually read this time, since I don’t have access to my own copy right now.

My Posts About The Wings of a Falcon

The Third Eye by Lois Duncan
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  January 30
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  I liked the mechanics of Karen’s gift. Especially the heightened sense of smell. That was interesting.
Least Favorite Thing:  Did we really need such a detailed description of a dead dog?

This was the second book on my Lois Duncan kick. I liked it better than the first one I think.

My Posts About The Third Eye