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

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

1) Do you know why this book is listed as YA?

Not a clue.

2) How do you feel about retellings?

I love retellings. Mostly I want retellings that update a story to be more inclusive or to have a better message.

2b Any favorite retellings?

I do love a Cinderella retelling. Cinder is terrific fyi.

2c Any books (or stories in general) you love so much you'll read anything? Any that you are "I just can't with another...."

I'll probably give Cinderella and Greek myths a try. The Song of Achilles was amazing.

I don't like beauty and the beast but somehow I keep reading things that are a retelling. Mostly I'd rather be sold on a book by it's story and then find out it's a retelling.

I can't think of any retellings that I want.

Canadian-Muslim Author

Title: Accidentally Engaged

Author: Farah Heron

Would you recommend this book?
Yes. This was an enjoyable rom-com set in Toronto. This follows the fake fiancé trope to appease family pressure and adds a reality cooking show for couples into the mix. There's a couple recipes at the end that I have yet to try.

I added this to the tbr last year because 'the first book you see in a bookstore' was a prompt for me to accomplish and this was the first book I saw in Chapters. I ended up using a different book.
This was randomly picked this year for a different book challenge for me plus BOTM here. I've decided to give it a shot. I've already accomplished the Canadian-Muslim author challenge by reading Accidentally Engaged.

poshpenny wrote: "Erica wrote: "Fugitive Telemetry ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2017 non human perspective)
This is my favourite of all the murderbots! "

I agree!

Although, heads up everyone, I was unaware it takes place BEFORE [book..."

Wow I feel silly that I missed that fact. 🤦‍♀️ This is what happens when you don't reread a series before the newest book. ;)

Happy check-in.

@Lynn so glad to hear all went well with your husband's surgery.

A good reading week for me and I started the Shadow & Bone series on Netflix. I'm half done and it's fantastic, they've improved upon a great book series. (Anyone else learn that they were pronouncing Grisha wrong?)

Finished Reading:

She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 BLM reading list)
The resiliency of this woman is amazing. This is short and to the point so it was enjoyable to read in that sense.

Warrior Witch ⭐⭐⭐
Series ender that wasn't predictable. Trolls and witches and ya.

The Flatshare ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2017 Author from a country I've never visited before U.K.)
Why read something on my tbr when I can start something random from the library. This was a surprise and I nearly dnfed it at the beginning. Then the two main character start talking to each other through post-it notes and it became really funny.

Spinning Silver ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2017 reread that make me smile)
I love this book and it was nice to reread it.

A Court of Wings and Ruin ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Another great reread that I think I enjoyed more this time round.

Fugitive Telemetry ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2017 non human perspective)
This is my favourite of all the murderbots! Heads up that the short story, that poshpenny linked to in last weeks check in, is minorly helpful to read before this.

Descender, Vol. 4: Orbital Mechanics ⭐⭐⭐(2017 published in 2017)
Descender, Vol. 5: Rise of the Robots ⭐⭐(2021 shortest on the tbr)
Descender, Vol. 6: The Machine War ⭐⭐
Well these were due back at the library so I read them quickly. This series started with a cool idea, became depressing and then suddenly threw in magic to a sci-fi robot story, which I did not like. I'm glad it's over.

PS 2021 24/50
PS 2017 25/52
Goodreads 91/200

QOTW:
So I've set rules for myself about which books I can use for PS. I'm not using any ya or rereads. So the only 1 star reads this year have been ya.
A Vow So Bold and Deadly The first book in this series is great, the sequels were a waste of my time.
Tales From the Hinterland This is the fairy tales the author created and the ending up all being samey.
However I think I'm going to let myself use Across the Green Grass Fields for magical realism just because this prompt makes me angry and everything that gets suggested is unappealing.

Nadine wrote: "poshpenny wrote: "Happy Murderbot Day! Do you have Fugitive Telemetry yet? I got the audio but since I happened to start a comfort re-read the other day, now I feel I need to comple..."

I was shocked as well when I saw that it's back to novella length. The story and characters done right is what matters so oh well.

poshpenny wrote: "Happy Murderbot Day! Do you have Fugitive Telemetry yet? I got the audio but since I happened to start a comfort re-read the other day, now I feel I need to complete that before I s..."

Right back at you. Yep and I've started it too.

Brandy wrote: "Lynn wrote:"I love Rowell's writing but have yet to read Carry On!"

I was super hesitant about Carry On as well. In Fangirl Carry On just didn't seem to appeal to me at all. And I ..."

That's helpful. I've read and loved Fangirl and Fangirl the manga but I've been on the fence about Carry On.

poshpenny wrote: "For everyone who didn't pre-order the Murderbot novel for the free story last year, it's now available for everyone!

Click below to read Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory at T..."

Thanks for posting this link.

For those looking for something quick and funny.

I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf it's a comic/graphic novel.

Just spotted this for all the Cerulean Sea fans.

T.J. Klune has a new book Under the Whispering Door out in Sept.

Happy check-in!

Finished Reading:

Grave Visions ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Re-read of a favourite series.

Romancing Mr Bridgerton ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 character name in title)
Well this series pushed me to create a craptacular shelf.

A Court of Mist and Fury ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Re-reading this series. This is my favourite of the series and I was a little worried that it wouldn't be as good re-reading. There was no reason to worry.

PS 2020 22/50
PS 2017 21/52
Goodreads 82/200

Currently Reading:

Spinning Silver
A Court of Wings and Ruin
Warrior Witch

QOTW:
So these are the ones I've already read.
Blood Heir 5 stars
A ​Court of Silver Flames 5 stars
Rule of Wolves 5 stars

Still waiting on these:
Fugitive Telemetry (MURDERBOT)
Shadowed Steel
Cursed Luck
The Soulmate Equation
Gods & Monsters
The Heart Principle
The Hawthorne Legacy
The Last Graduate
Fangirl, Vol. 2: The Manga
A Twist of Fate
Untitled Novella SJM novella

There's more but these are the ones I'm pretty sure I will read as soon as I get a copy from the library.

@Lynn
No I didn't yell at the main character/book. Things moved along quickly enough she went back to being smart.

Also I recommend Akata Witch even if fantasy is not your genre. This book should be enjoyable for any bibliophile.

Natasha wrote: "Kendra wrote: "Happy Thursday. Well winter has returned here. The snow is light and fluffy and picture perfect which would be wonderful if it wasn't April.... I want the sunshine back!!

Books I f..."

S.A. Chakraborty has some short stories on her website that take place throughout the trilogy.

Cornerofmadness wrote: "I've had another surgery on my leg and I'm not doing so well pain wise. Only did a little reading.

For the prompt A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t [book:Widdershins..."

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that you're having health setbacks ugh. I hope that you can get your pain under control and hopefully distract yourself with books.

Happy check-in. We're still in lockdown so I got a lot of reading done this week.

I am also getting very frustrated with the notifications not working correctly for me or not showing up at all.

Finished Reading:

I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 cat on the cover)
So this was a little disappointing especially because it took months for this to show up from the library. There is one page that fits the title the rest was about books but more so about being a writer.

Rule of Wolves ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 prettiest cover TBR)
This was awesome. All the surviving characters from Six of Crows got page time setting up for the third book.

Heartstopper: Volume Two ⭐⭐⭐
Mostly I find this series boring and I'm supposed to find the characters adorable.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was the BOTM for my bookclub and I'm so glad it pushed me to read this. It was hard to put down and would have been 5 stars except for a couple chapters where I wanted to yell at the mc for stupidity.

The Lemon Sisters ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 family-member term in the title)
An enjoyable romance my favourite of the series is still The Summer Deal.

To Drink Coffee with a Ghost ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2017 about a difficult topic)
So I put this question out in the magical realism thread: do Amanda Lovelace's books count as magical realism? Anyway this focuses on the author's struggle with grief at losing her mother to cancer.

Akata Witch ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2017 main character is a different ethnicity from you)
This took a little bit to get into and know the characters but then it was amazing. It is a middle grade fantasy set in Nigeria. I'm all set to read the next one.

PS 2021 21/50
PS 2017 20/52
Goodreads 78/200

Currently Reading:
Soap and Water and Common Sense: The Definitive Guide to Viruses, Bacteria, Parasites, and Disease
Grave Visions
Warrior Witch
A Court of Mist and Fury

QOTW:
Ooh so The Song of Achilles for women's prize for fiction was perfect and I would probably have avoided reading this because Circe was disappointing.
Also The Echo Wife was such a good genre hybrid, sci-fi thriller.

Anyone else noticing issues with their notifications?

Do you think that Amanda Lovelace's poetry collections would be considered magical realism?

Nadine wrote: "Julia Quinn posted a screenshot of this week's best-seller list, on Facebook, and holy cow what decade is this???? Other than her books (which take up an amazing EIGHT slots thanks to the Bridgerto..."

So do you think that people are going back to comfort reads and/or comfort authors or are publishers not bringing new voices to the table because of covid. I'm definitely a part of the reading Bridgerton crowd because of Netflix.

Teri-lynn wrote: "Wow...week 14 and I am behind by 5 books...sigh...I have been so busy at work...however, I did just quit smoking so I have been using those moments when I would go for a cigarette to pick up my boo..."

That is a brilliant idea to combat cravings.