Reading Round Up (75)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week. There was a major gap of these, because my laptop wrecked itself and I couldn't commit to a regular update, but I'm back now to give you my thoughts on each book as I read it!!!

Books I read 20th April - 10th May:

 

11th May

So this week I'm reading Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike and Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway. I'm liking both, but the characters in Sleep No More are ANNOYING as hell. Today I read 32 pages of SNM and 25% of Emmy & Oliver, bringing me to 33%.

12th May

Focused on Sleep No More today, reading 109 pages. The more I read the more I want to dropkick every single character. Can't wait to be done with this book. I also read 11% of Emmy and Oliver, which I'm really liking.

13th May

Finished the last 30 or so pages of Sleep No More, which stayed true to itself and pissed me off right to the end. I also read 48% of Emmy and Oliver, which I REALLY love. So glad I took a chance on this. AND I read 49 pages of Pip Bartlett's Guide To Magical Creatures by Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce because I couldn't help myself (or wait!)

14th May

I flew through Pip Bartlett, reading 132 pages, and I also read the last 8% of Emmy and Oliver. I loved both, to be honest, and would recommend them a whole bunch!!

15th May

Today I started Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield (44 pages), a book on my physical TBR that I've been wanting to get to for some time. The book itself is shiny and pink and I'm aesthetically in love with it.

I also began reading The Girl At Midnight by Melissa Grey (16% read), which I was really reserved about because I read a slew of negative reviews, but I'm actually really enjoying it. If you could just remove Caius's parts, I'd love it.

16th May

Read neither of my current novels today, but I never read much on Saturdays. I finished Two Lines by Melissa Marr, though, (56%) and it was alright. Nothing fantastic.

17th May

Read 28% of The Girl At Midnight, which I really like. I'm still shocked that I liked it so much. I also read 51 pages of Chantress.

Books finished this week: 4
Books DNF'd this week: 0

For review:

Inherit The Stars | Tessa Elwood

Fire & Chasm | Chelsea M. Campbell 

A History of Glitter and Blood | Hannah Moskowitz

In The Air Tonight | Lori Handeland 
Heat Of The Moment | Lori Handeland 

Smoke On The Water | Lori Handeland 

LOOK AT THOSE COVERS! THEY ALL FLOW!!!!! HOW PRETTY? AND THE TITLES ARE SONGS! (I keep thinking of Supernatural, with Heat Of The Moment.) I'm really looking forward to this series!

Actually, it's Reviewed Since The Last Time I Updated, but that's a bit wordy :)

Omega City - 3 STARS

Crimson Bound - 5 STARS

A Magic Dark & Bright - 5 STARS

Cold Burn of Magic - 3.5 STARS

Ferals - 2.5 STARS

Nimona - 5 STARS

Dragons Are People, Too - 4.5 STARS

The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest (DNF)

Illusionarium - 4.5 STARS
Rat Queens, vol 1 & 2 -  5 STARS & 5 STARS
Sleep No More - 2.5 STARS
A School For Unusual Girls - 5 STARS

Reading round up (52)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week. I'm having an awful week so hopefully the books will be nice to me.

10th November

Read nothing because I felt shitty.

11th November

I started Blue Lily, Lily Blue (77 pages) and so far it's awful and awesome and confusing.

12th November

Currently Reading: Blue Lily, Lily Blue | Maggie Stiefvater
Current page/percent: page 196
Read today: 119 pages
Thoughts: Please let Pynch be canon.

13th November

Currently Reading: Blue Lily, Lily Blue | Maggie Stiefvater
Current page/percent: 389 pages
Read today: 193 pages
Thoughts: What?

14th November

Started A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas (16%) and I'm not sure about it right now. It's missing a lot of stuff I like. Namely: a threat, danger, a character with actual drive and a backbone. (Why is she going along with everything with barely a question???)

15th November

Currently Reading: A Wicked Thing | Rhiannon Thomas
Current page/percent: 71%
Read today: 55%
Thoughts: This book is so flat. Like the general mood of it is fine, and the characters are fine, and the plot is fine, but where's the excitement, the danger, the motivation to keep reading? Why introduce a romance at all if you're going to get rid of it? What is the point of Isabelle/a?

16th November

Skim read the end of A Wicked Thing. Meh. I also started Cress by Marissa Meyer (50 pages). I need all my OTPs to be canon in this book. Pls.

Books finished this week: 2

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

A Wicked Thing (scheduled for 18/02/15)

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Review)

The Raven Cycle: Blue Lily, Lily Blue | Maggie Stiefvater

Published by: Scholastic, October 21st 2014

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Pages: 389

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

The thing I love about these books is how different they are to anything else out there. The story is truly original, captivating, and packed full of real magic. The characters are genuine people, intricate and flawed, and the relationships are gritty and painful and wonderful. The plot of Blue Lily, Lily Blue was twisty and complex, subtle in parts and severe in others. I loved it, though I don't understand parts of it even now, having finished it. I need to read it at least a hundred more times.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Reading round up (39)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week. Clean blog, messy reading schedule.

11th August

Finished Cinder (102 pages read) and I LOVE IT. I also started Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater (65 pages). I missed these assholes so goddamned much. Still hating LA though.

12th August

Currently reading: Sinner | Maggie Stiefvater

Current page/percent: page 185

Read today: 120 pages

Thoughts: I don't know if I like this or not. If it weren't for Maggie's writing and being long invested in the characters, I'd have bailed by now.

13th August

Being dumb I left Sinner in my living room, so I started reading Sworn to Transfer by Terah Edun (21%). It has a dragon in it. It's pretty cool (despite the odd grammar/spelling errors)

14th August

Went on with Sinner and I really do love it but I also don't. Read 165 pages. I've finished it and I don't care about it at all? That ending was rushed and just ... ?????

15th August

Currently reading: Sworn To Transfer

Current page/percent: 39%

Read today: 18%

Thoughts: I'm finding this really hard to get into and read at my normal pace. So far not enjoying as much as book one.

16th August

Terrible day. Didn't wanna read that much so I read a quarter of The Girl Who Kissed A Lie by Skylar Dorset (30 pages). It's alright. I'm fed up.

17th August

I've totally lost all motivation. Started Heir of Fire to balance out Sworn to Transfer since I think it'll take a while to get through this. I'm in a bit of a slump after Sinner and Cinder. Read 6% and my shitty mood is slightly perking up.

Books finished this week: 3

(Ughhh.)

I lost control and spent all my money in one night.

Praefatio | Georgia McBride

Blackfin Sky | Kat Ellis

I can't even explain these. I'm not sure I'll like them. I was having a bad day - I'm a stress shopper. The girl on the cover of Praefatio looks like Emilie De Ravin.

Accession | Terah Edun

Branded | Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicki

I loved Terah's Sworn To Raise, and I've been meaning to read more of her books. This one is, I think, about modern day witches? Also people keep talking about Branded. It sounds bullshit but whatever.

Breath of Frost | Alyxandra Harvey

This is only the second of these I think I'll like. And it was on sale so... Also the cover reminds me of Caroline Forbes for come reason. Precious vampire sweet. That's mostly why I bought it.

I also got a tonne of free iBooks including Dangerous Girls (Finally caved to peer pressure) and Grave Mercy (hella) but I'm too lazy to post them all here.

I'm still bugging you to donate to the campaign for printing and shipping of The Wandering. To persuade you, there are REWARDS! Donate a pound for your name in the acknowledgements. Donate £3 or more for extra cool stuff, bracelets, bookmarks, rare paperbacks etc. Help me give people more free books!!

Sinner (Review)

Wolves of Mercy Falls: Sinner | Maggie Stiefvater

Published by: Scholastic, July 3rd 2014

Genre: YA, Romance

Pages: 368

Format: Hardback

Source: Purchased

A standalone companion book to the internationally bestselling Shiver Trilogy. 

Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole's story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole's darkest secret -- his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel's life. Can this sinner be saved?

I didn't enjoy this book by anyone's stretch of imagination. I'd built Sinner up to be an amazing fix for the gaping hole of not knowing what happened to Cole and Isabel, and in a way it was but it also wasn't. It gave me the closure I craved, and I'm happy to know the end of their stories, but this was far from a Wolves of Mercy Falls novel - because it had no wolves in it.

I think the massive hiccup with this is that it was marketed, obviously, as a spin off of WOMF, but it's absolutely not. Sure it follows two of the Shiver characters, but it's not paranormal romance. It's straight up contemporary romance. Which, I'm sure you know, is not my deal. The first line, if cool and hooky, is a complete lie. Cole isn't a werewolf in LA, he's a guy with issues and problems and addictions in LA. If this book hadn't been written in Maggie's wondrous way I wouldn't have finished it, I'm sure. But it was, and it was real and raw and aching and I did love the love story ... but it felt severely lacking.

I kept waiting and waiting for the wolf part to become fully integrated in the story ... but it never was. There were a couple scenes where Cole became wolf but the emphasis was still on the realistic, the real life issues. And I didn't like it. I love Cole because he's damaged and needy for love, and I love Isabel because she's frosty and needy for love ... but I didn't love their story, not in Sinner, because of the gaping lack of wolf.

I'm kind of disappointed by Sinner, not gonna lie. I expected fireworks but I got a shitty handheld sprinkler. Not to say this book is shitty - it isn't. It made me cry so many times, and it broke and healed my heart ... but I didn't enjoy it. And I'm not sure fans of Shiver will enjoy it either. I loved it in parts, don't get me wrong, but I just ... meh.

I'm happy to have read it but I wouldn't read it again. Recommended for fans of realistic fiction and contemporary romance.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★☆☆☆

Writing Style ★★★★☆

---

(from published copy:)

I am a werewolf in LA.