The beginning had me hooked but the middle to the finale was a slog. Such a cool premise that wasn‘t delivered well.

I didn‘t enjoy this quite as much as Way of Kings but it was still a great novel. I felt overwhelmed at times with the world building. Shallan also drove me insane during this book.

A fun but predictable read. This is a good book if you need something easy to break up a reading slump or you just crave something like Jurassic Park.

What a beast this one was!!! I really enjoyed Kaladin and Dalinar‘s chapters and I am excited to see where this series goes. I am hoping Shallan‘s story arc improves because her chapters often had me bored to tears.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It felt like a gothic take on The Secret Garden. However, I also feel like the plot and the origin story of the house could have been more fleshed out as the book ends leaving you with more questions than answers. Schwab fans will enjoy this one.

Hello Litsy! It‘s been awhile. I only have two reading goals this year, one of which is to finally read Brandon Sanderson‘s Stormlight series. I am currently about 650 pages through book 1! My second goal is to read 10 books-a much lower number than my usual but I plan to tackle a lot of very big books this year.

#stormlight

The story feels so raw and real that it was frustrating at times. The audio isn‘t easy to listen to because of how heavy and disturbing the subject matter is.

TW: sexual assault, victim shaming

This book was very addictive and the ending was so good! I do think the MC missed some obvious clues in her investigation but otherwise it was really enjoyable.

This was a fun and engaging murder mystery featuring a haunted motel.

I checked this book out from the library because it was in the “horror” audiobook section. I never found the story scary even if the creatures were creepy. It didn‘t feel any different from a regular, fantasy monster story. It was mostly predictable but still enjoyable enough to keep me interested. The ending was definitely sad and unexpected.

Another fun read! I‘m very much enjoying this series.

This is book is very much Charlie and the Chocolate Factory crossed with the magical school subgenre. This was a really fun read with an intriguing world and a great cast of characters. I can‘t wait to read the sequel.

This was absolute perfection. I laughed, I cried, and I loved every minute of it.

Newt Scamander meets Sherlock in this YA historical detective book. The main character of Jackaby was fun and quirky. The mystery storyline was fun but rather simplistic but it didn‘t take away from me enjoying the story.

This book was a beast. While I enjoyed the characters immensely, the pacing of this book was really off. It took me almost a month to finish!

Wow, this was such a fun read! It has great characters with wonderful chemistry, a fast-moving plot with short easy chapters, and some very fun fight scenes. I loved the Western feel to this book and I can't wait to pick up the rest of this series.

I‘m a woman, kid. You probably haven‘t met one before, coming as you do from this backward place, but it‘s like a man only smarter and with bigger balls.

Finally reading this series after finishing the original Riyria books a few years ago. As always, Sullivan‘s writing sucked me in and I was hooked from the beginning. This book definitely feels like an introductory novel but the ending teases you with the greatness to come.

4 ⭐️

#riyria

Unfortunately this book did not work for me. I did not find it scary or “gothic “. In fact the basic plot of this book was simply the same plot of the movie “Get Out”.

Much better than the movie but I didn‘t find it scary. I like that the hotel was its own character and the danger felt much more real in the book than in the movie. I would have liked to have seen more of the ghosts throughout the novel but I think King did a great job showing Jack‘s descent into madness.

3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed learning about the blue people of Kentucky and the librarians (book women) that traveled the hills to deliver books to the impoverished families in the hills. Parts of it were slow which caused me to rate it lower. It is also quite a sad book with a lot of death, racism, and mistreatment of women.

Heavily focused on the characters and their relationships. I don‘t think it was much of a “thriller”. It was entertaining enough and the ending was satisfying.

Very reminiscent of “And Then There Were None” and “Murder on the Orient Express” but nowhere near as good as either.

Back in the #Shadowhunter world. Part of me can‘t believe that I‘ve been reading this franchise for 10/11 years!

A book about two star-crossed lovers taking place in the time between the Original Trilogy and The Force Awakens. This book is easy to follow for people who are casual fans of the Star Wars franchise. The audiobook has a fun sound design that makes you feel like you were in the ships and battles. Overall, it was fun to listen to after enjoying the Mandalorian and jumping back into this universe again after not liking the Rise of Skywalker.

I am still not quite understanding all of the religious themes and the connection between “God” and the Family Spirits. It really feels like a hodgepodge of Philip Pullman‘s “His Dark Materials” and Diana Wynne Jones‘ “Howl‘s Moving Castle”.

My Red Rising game arrived today! 🎉
I can‘t wait to play it! 🐺

Have you joined Readerly? If so I‘d like to be friends there too! Let me know your username! 😁

Did I dislike this book? Yes. Did I still keep my preorder because my name is in the acknowledgments? Also yes.

4 ⭐️
This is a solid YA fantasy with interesting characters, a diverse cast ( LGBT and disability rep), and an intriguing magic system. It also features a lot of wearing. And I mean A LOT of swearing. There is so much swearing I am shocked that it was even able to be published as a YA. If the authors are planning a sequel I would definitely pick it up.

#audiobook

My Witchshadow preorder prints came in and of course my favorite one is Aeduan. #Baeduan 😏

#truthwitch

Thank you #Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, this book doesn‘t have the same charm as Aiden Thomas‘ first novel, Cemetery Boys. The characters of Peter and Wendy felt one dimensional and the pacing of the story was very slow. I think younger readers or people very fond of Peter Pan retellings would enjoy this. Unfortunately, it just didn‘t work for me.

4 ⭐️
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review from #Netgalley. This was a great start to a new fantasy series! It features a world inspired by Vikings and Norse mythology and has a fun cast of characters and interesting creatures. The magic system is very interesting; magic users are descendants of extinct gods. A majority of the warriors and leaders in this book are female which is awesome. The ending! Ah!!!! So gooooood!

3.5 stars

I liked learning about Lyra‘s origins but a majority of this book was slow. Some new reveals were thrown in that surprised me and also made me question the original series.

😍

#shadowhunters

Thank you #Netgalley and the publisher for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The third book in The Last Magician series was a big disappointment for me. It was bogged down by unnecessary side characters, a slow moving plot, and too much character in-fighting. The book was both too long and too short. A fourth book is unnecessary; the author should have stuck with the original plan to make this 900 pages and finished the story.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute and quirky middle-grade novel featuring charming characters, an imaginary world, and a light-hearted plot. It will be perfect for fans of How to Train Your Dragon and Pokémon. This is a strong start to a great new fantasy series!

#netgalley #arc

4 ⭐️

Another great book in this series! However, I do feel like this one was dragged on a little too long. I am hoping that there will be more books in the future. If you like reading books set in Ancient Rome and like a good murder mystery I highly recommend this series!

My current read. A friend got this for me because of my love of the Renaissance Faire. Hoping it proves to be as funny as the blurb sounds!

#currentlyreading

4⭐️
This book was full of whimsical charm and political intrigue. The world and characterizations really reminded me of Howl‘s Moving Castle. I love that it didn‘t follow the cookie cutter model of a majority of YA books. I couldn‘t quite give it five stars because parts of it were a bit confusing and the plot was relatively slow. I am eager to read the sequel.

I finished my first reading challenge of the year! I finally started and finished the Trials of Apollo series by reading all 5 books in January.
The Hidden Oracle - 5 ⭐️
The Dark Prophecy - 4 ⭐️
The Burning Maze - 5 ⭐️
The Tyrant‘s Tomb - 5 ⭐️
The Tower of Nero - 5 ⭐️

I got a little teary-eyed reading the final lines of this series. It was a really bittersweet ending to the Percy Jackson universe.

#percyjackson #pjo #camphalfblood

Netflix released teaser posters for the upcoming Grishaverse show and I have mixed feelings. I am excited to see The Dregs and the Six of Crows storyline but I absolutely hated how the Shadow and Bone series ended. I detested Mal by the end of that series and I don‘t know if I really want to torture myself by watching him on screen. 😂 Are any of you going to check out the show?

#grisha #grishaverse

Overall story rating 4/5 stars. I‘ve rounded up my final rating to 5 stars for the author‘s note on the importance of the book and what it means to him. While geared toward a younger audience, this book tackles important topics like Middle Eastern representation in books and media and Islamophobia. Also, reading a book about a plague while living in a current pandemic was interesting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun take on Lovecraftian horror. I wish the ending wasn‘t so open-ended but it makes it scarier for the characters.

I have been reading Rick Riordan‘s books for a long time now. I am both excited and sad to read the final series in his Percy Jackson Universe. My first book of the year is guaranteed to be a fun one! I was going to call this read through “Year with Riordan” but since there are only five books I think I‘m going to just call it #FarewellPercy

This year I read 71 books. Here are my favorite books of the year:
The Institute
The King of Crows
The Gentleman‘s Guide to Vice and Virtue
House of Salt and Sorrows
Six of Crows
Crooked Kingdom
The Rise of Kyoshi

How many books did you read this year and which ones were your favorites?

#2020review #2020books #2020reads

Overall, 2020 was a pretty subpar reading year for me. My official ratings average for the year according to GR is 3.4 stars. That is the lowest it has ever been. These three are my most disappointing reads of the year. Unfortunately, they were also the books I looked forward to the most.
1. Addie- suffered from pretentious and poor writing
2. Deadly Education - had a great premise but poor execution
3. Aurora Rising - Pure cringe

#2020review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An engaging but unnecessary sequel. I couldn‘t help but feel that this book was solely written so the movie version could have a sequel. There were some things that bothered me while reading this book but they can‘t be shared here due to spoilers. Overall I enjoyed it and it was very entertaining. I actually listened to the audiobook version and Wil Wheaton was once again an amazing narrator.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It was so nice to read a historical fiction book again. I enjoyed learning more about what life was like for Chinese immigrants in the southern United States during the “New South” years.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I feel like having Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and Simon join the trip really slowed the story down because they constantly had to be saved. Simon was ultimately useless throughout the entire book. Some things also seemed to happen randomly and the big reveal just kind of fizzled out at the end. The scenes with Alec and Magnus as a family were my favorite and the extra scene featuring Tessa and Jem was so cute.

#shadowhunters #magnusbane

I treated myself to these beauties as an early Christmas present. I adore these new covers!