Erica’s Comments (group member since Apr 05, 2019)

Erica’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

Title: A Spindle Splintered
Author: Alix E. Harrow

I would recommend this to anyone who likes fairy tales. The author plays with the Sleeping Beauty story in a clever way. I loved this novella.

Title: Rainy Day Friends (never rained in the book)
Author: Jill Shalvis
Recommend: If this is your genre sure but otherwise no. I thought it was the weakest from the 7 book series of Wildstone.

The Paper Girls comic series by Brian K Vaughn (saga) is becoming a tv show this year.

The afterword to Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron is really lovely. I had seen that her sister and dad died but her brother in law also passed away months after due to his injuries which I found out reading this book.

Happy check-in! Last week I completely jinxed myself by saying we had a covid scare because I tested positive yesterday.🤦‍♀️ I'm feeling better today so that's good. I'm also very happy my grandmother was okay thanks to vaccines.

Finished Reading:

Heroic Hearts ⭐⭐⭐
This is a collection of short stories by various fantasy authors. I like to read these collections to find new authors while enjoying old favourites but the only stories I really enjoyed out of this were from author's I had already read. The Patricia Briggs at the end was the best of the lot. The dedication was for Rachel Caine.

Flowers for Algernon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overdrive had list of popular on Booktok and I went through it and surprisingly this was on it. If you liked the writing in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time I think this would be up your alley. A good sci-fi classic that holds up with some outdated language. The Flowers For Algernon short story won the Hugo so you could stretch the novel for that prompt.

The Roughest Draft ⭐⭐⭐
I saw this on my feed with good reviews from friends and the synopsis made think it would be comparable to Book Lovers, but this was more romance and less comedy so I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped.

The Deepest of Secrets ⭐⭐⭐ (2015 a book you did not finisht)
I finally was able to push through and finish this.

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron ⭐⭐⭐
This was a very silly graphic novel. Julia Quinn came up with the idea and her sister made this happen but didn't get to live to see it published.

Bingo Love ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 set in the future)
This was an adorable sapphic love story in comic/graphic novel form.

The Friendship Pact ⭐⭐⭐
I keep reading her because they are rather easy reads great for picking them up beore falling asleep.

PS 2022 45/50
PS 2015 41/50
Goodreads 158/250

Currently Reading:

A Mirror Mended

QOTW:
Well Kelley Armstrong comes to mind. I have loved multiple series from her but the last few years all of her series have taken effort to read, including a stand-alone that I dnfed. I actually pushed through and finished the latest of hers after borrowing and returning it to the library multiple times.
JKR fits the bill too. I read Cuckoo's Calling and watched the tv series of the books, which was awesome, but I haven't been able to pick up her books since her anti trans stuff came to light.

Bingo Love a quick graphic novel.

Just read Bingo Love by Tee Franklin and others. A very cute graphic novel. A five star read that I would recommend. It fits the sapphic prompt perfectly.

Quote: I couldn’t think of anyone when I originally posted and since then I’ve seen a bunch of commercials with Alicia Keys doing voice over. She has such a nice speaking voice so I’ll pick her.

Happy check-in! Managed to find a few books at the library sale so the collection grew this week. :) Had some covid scares this week mainly because my grandmother caught it. She seems to be doing okay so there's that.
@Lynn hopefully your friend's memory will improve when they're less tired and some of the drugs are out of their system.

Finished Reading:

Gender Queer ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 gender identity)
This was a good non-fiction/memoir graphic novel. I liked the artwork and I learned something so that's always good.

For I Have Sinned ⭐⭐
A short story from the Charlie Davidson series. It was interesting to read from a ghosts perspective for once but it was kind of boring.

The Love Hypothesis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just felt like a re-read, and it's still enjoyable.

The Gilded Cage ⭐ The Blood Traitor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This ya fantasy series was fun and I got too invested. I got very mad at the 75% mark in book two hence the one star rating. It'll be bumped up later.

Goldilocks: Wanted Dead or Alive ⭐⭐⭐
An origin story about Goldilocks from Colfer's middle grade book series I think. A random pick from the library with good artwork but the story wasn't anything special to me.

PS 2022 45/50
PS 2015 39/50
Goodreads 151/250

Currently Reading:
Glass Beads short stories about four characters through their lives
Heroic Hearts fantasy short stories

QOTW:
Hmm no idea.

Just read Gender Queer and I agree that it fits the ace spectrum prompt I’m using it for the Gender Identity prompt though.

Happy check-in! It's been mostly rainy here lately but tomorrow the heat is supposed to start. I guess I'll have no excuse but to mow the lawn this weekend. Football is back up here and I'm so glad, so far my team is doing good. ;) Happy Father's Day to those applicable.

Finished Reading:

Stuck with You ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 Twin city New York)
This is the second of Ali Hazelwood's steminist novellas. This novella followed the stuck in an elevator trope which lent itself to a short length better than the first book, that I found to be rushed. Also the humour is good and I mostly got the soccer references.

Something Wilder ⭐⭐ (2022 book about a secret)
This took effort to finish. I don't like westerns/desert settings. It picked up at the end but mostly this was boring.

The Prison Healer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 author you've never read before)
This was awesome, and I had trouble putting it down. Ya fantasy.

Clap When You Land ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 onomatopoeia in the title)
Loved this. It's my second favourite of her books. Inspired by a real plane crash that happened shortly after 9/11 and the stories/secrets that came out after.

The Wedding Crasher ⭐⭐
I always want to like her books more than I do because she's a funny writer. I think I was half-way through this before I realized it is a sequel to The Worst Best Man and these charcters weren't completely new.

PS 2022 44/50
PS 2015 39/50
Goodreads 145/250

Currently Reading:

The Gilded Cage This was so good until the 75% mark where the characters suddenly became stupid/weak to further make room for book three. I'm stalled. :(

QOTW:
I too cannot reduce the list to one. Here's who I need to read their new books asap.
Ilona Andrews
Holly Black
Elizabeth Acevedo
Christina Lauren
Ali Hazelwood
Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Amanda Gorman
Garth Nix
J.K. Rowling
Jane Austen
Chloe Neill
I'll stop there.
Looking through the list I pretty much do like the first book I read by them the most. Although I do like series and usually the first book is best.

Title: Obit
Author: Victoria Chang
Would you recommend this book?
Not really. The initial concept of how Chang used obits was a great idea but nothing was in any understandable order, at least to me. I also did not like that the poetry form completely switched in the middle.

Anyone want a manga option? Spy x Family, Vol. 1 was listed in the top 10 on booktok according to chapters.

Happy check-in! It's been lovely weather here too even though it's rainy today.

Finished Reading:

The Mortal Instruments: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really enjoy that all these graphic novels are done by the same artist for continuity. Now all I have to do is reread the third book so I can finish the series.

That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story ⭐⭐⭐
This wasn't as funny as her other book I read but it still was interesting.

Six Crimson Cranes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 colour in the title)
This was amazing. With a bunch of you guys reading Daughter of the Forest I was feeling like rereading that and I ended up reading this without realizing it was very similar. The mc is a princess who is cursed and can't speak while her brothers are turned into cranes. This is much cheerier and easier to read than Daughter.

The Family You Make ⭐⭐
This was a dud. I loved Shalvis' wildstone series but this book felt like cut and paste from previous books.

Spy x Family, Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Love this found family.

Death Wins a Goldfish: Reflections from a Grim Reaper's Yearlong Sabbatical ⭐⭐
Another disappointment. I thought this would be funny but the author's introduction just killed it and then the artwork looked like something I would draw and that's not a compliment.

Magic Binds ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Three more to go in this series reread.

PS 2022 41/50
PS 2015 38/50
Goodreads 140/250

Currently Reading:

Something Wilder I mostly do not like westerns, treasure hunts and desert settings.

QOTW:
I have a bunch of the prompts I was dreading done now but the duology one is still left. Also the twin city, I haven't read a book set in New York yet despite lots of characters living in New York.

Happy check-in! It's a beautiful start to June here. Just finished mowing the lawn and it doesn't look too bad except for the weeds that won't die. :)

So I decided that to lower my tbr piles I would not add to them in the month of May. 🤦‍♀️ Bad idea because I read several things that weren't already on the list and I just became frustrated that I couldn't add shiny new books to my lists. Particularly all the interesting recommendations by you guys. So yesterday I added between 10 and 20 new books. :)

Finished Reading:

Book Lovers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 set in favourite season summer)
This was great and my favourite of Henry's. The main character goes on vacation to small town America and plays hallmark movie bingo with her sister. (minus all the Christmas and wintery stuff)

Magic Shifts ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Keeping the reread of this series going.

Second First Impressions ⭐
So I hated this and was hoping it would get better until I had read too much to not finish it. There were quotation marks but I struggled with who was talking and the banter jokes/snark didn't make sense a lot. I found mistakes so it's never a good sign when I see these because it means I'm not in the story. This was like obnoxious ya aimed at tweens except they are all adults.

Grass ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 nonfiction)
I read a graphic novel by the same author last week and found this when returning the library book. The Waiting combined many people's stories about Koreans being separated from family due to the various wars and occupations. Where as Grass was about one woman's horrific experience when Japan occupied Korea and tried to conquer China. The subject matter is upsetting but the author avoided depicting the violence.

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This series is great for found family. A spy, an assassin and a telepath become a family. It's entertaining silly.

Dark One ⭐⭐
This was boring.

Love at First Spite ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 a book you can finish in a day)
This was a bit silly but entertaining none the less. A great first chapter for sure.

PS 41/50
PS 37/50
Goodreads 132/250

Currently Reading:

Six Crimson Cranes
Sweep of the Heart

QOTW:
If I give something 5 stars it's a sure bet I think others should read it. Really it's just whatever I read recently that was good.

Chandie wrote: "Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne. Contemporary romance. I hated this book. I can't tell you why I did not DNF it. The mains were annoying especially the hero was a grown man but didn't what size sheets to get for his bad and it was played as "ha, ha, I'm so incompetent, isn't that cute". No, no it's not. Also, he had family issues were decades deep and resolved in 2 paragraphs. ..."

I read this, this past week too and I completely agree.

Happy check-in! Bit of a weird week of snow and warm sunny days here. Can't complain though family down east got through a destructive storm okay. The news has been heartbreaking this week for sure.

Finished Reading:

Book of Night ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 author you read in 2021)
This was a bit disappointing just because I had big expectations. A good concept and urban fantasy by a fave author was great but the plot was slow moving.

The Cellist of Sarajevo ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 set in a different country)
Fantastic historical fiction. I had to search for a quote to add to my favourites.

The Waiting ⭐⭐⭐
Thanks to the person who mentioned this in check-ins weeks back. An interesting graphic novel on the Korean war(s).

BRZRKR, Volume 1 ⭐
Did not enjoy this, it was gory without a plot. Opening Fire is so much better with a similar concept.

Breaking Badger ⭐⭐ (2022 tiger on the cover)
This was a disappointment. It's book four in a series, and it lost what I liked about the first three books. This series is on my craptactular shelf for a reason.

PS 2022 40/50
PS 2015 35/50
Goodreads 126/250

Currently Reading:

Magic Shifts

QOTW:
Well I'm 40/50 on 2022's and 35/50 on 2015's. I got stressed by the end of the year, last year so I've purposely marked off prompts when I complete them as opposed to waiting for a specific book for each prompt.

K.L. wrote: "Lynn wrote: "While I admire your persistence, my immediate response is "Why do you look?" LOL Actually, I love to review my TBR from time to time and just imagine all those great books waiting for ..."

You could give yourself a rule to read two or three books for every single book you buy too. I set myself the goal to not add to the tbr this month and somehow I've read two things that weren't on there to begin with...

Milena wrote: "Hi everyone. I haven't checked in in a few months. My husband was in the hospital for a long time, and he ended up having a heart transplant. He is home now, and things are much better. Also, work ..."

Wow that's a lot to deal with. It's great to hear that he got the transplant and is on the mend.

Happy check-in! I had a good week seeing lots of family. I'm still a little sad from my hockey team being out of playoffs, but that's how it goes.

Finished Reading:

Some Things I Still Can't Tell You: Poems ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks to my sister for pointing this out. One of the actors from Supernatural wrote a collection of poetry. Misha Collins worked for NPR before becoming an actor and he does a lot of activism.

Borders ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A ya graphic novel/memoir about trying to visit the author's older sister in Salt Lake City as a kid.

Rainy Day Friends ⭐⭐⭐ (2022 misleading title)
This was the last of the series for me to finish off, excluding a novella that I've requested my library buy. This was the weakest book of the series for me. I still couldn't put it down. It fits the prompt because it never rains during the book.

I Wish I Had a Wookiee: And Other Poems for Our Galaxy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was adorable. If you like star wars you should be able to enjoy this.

Magic Breaks ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Continuing the rereads.

Alex + Ada, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐
Mostly I just found this boring. The artwork is nice but there's not much plot.

PS 2022 38/50
PS 2015 34/50
Goodreads 121/250

Currently Reading:

Book of Night
The Cellist of Sarajevo

QOTW:
This happens all of the time. Even when it's food I don't like a book can still make me hungry. I don't watch cooking shows after supper for a reason.