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What are you reading 2021
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Didn't overly enjoy Eyre Affair but otherwise its been good reading!
Finished 2 books recently:
- a very good romance with strong family theme and Greece. Summery, yellow, hot and bright. I loved it!
- started the series and though the 1st book was so-so, I'm going to continue with the series as it has a potential.Currently reading:
- it's an interesting thriller and the twists work great! For now I guessed wrong 2 times! Which happens pretty rare :)
- I'm having so much fun with this one! It is exactly what I wanted to read - all the politics, assassins, royals, even romance!
Time for another weekly recap and it's been another busy week. 
-3 StarThis was an odd one. It was definitely a Redwall novel as it had all the usual elements. Cryptic riddles, anthropomorphic animals, etc and it wasn't bad but it didn't connect like Mattimeo did. I think it comes down to pacing. Mattimeo had a looming threat that felt like it needed to be addressed right now. This book had a much more slow kind of pace. For instance in the first part of the book there were 3-4 different story lines and after a while I was starting to wonder when the stories would merge together. Even the ending of the book had this meandering pace. Our heroes got there and helped defeat the bad guys but honestly the ending of the book could have just as easily happened without them there. The bad guy was spiraling out of control as it was and it was only a matter of time before he just imploded and self-destructed. Maybe it's just my personal ideas of what pacing an action adventure story should have. Overall this story wasn't bad but it didn't blow me out of the water either.
-5 StarFinally returning to the reread of this series and my appreciation for this series continues to grow. This was the book that initially sold me on the series and now that I've reread it I appreciate it even more. The ending still hits like a hammer even though I know what's coming. The mystery itself is pretty good and we get to see the roots of a really great relationship. I'm looking forward to the next book.
-3 StarA challenge book and an example of middle grade absurdist humor. It helped tick off a task for a challenge and it was alright. Not much more to say then that.
-3 StarI finally return to this series after a long hiatus due to Covid and the rarity of this book in the library system. This series is a pure nostalgia read for me and this book in particular is one of the few that I actually remember reading when I was a lot younger. Not a lot of the details but the title and the cover are things I remember. This was a basic teenage boy mystery story and it was a fun read.
-3 StarAnother long running series that I'm reading through the library. This book was a lot more action orientated that some of the previous titles in the series but at the same time pretty much what one would expect from this series. Just a fun little popcorn read.
Not sure what I'm reading next as I've got a team challenge that is time based that I'm working on for the next couple of months. Filling tasks for more points is kind of dictating a lot what I'm reading right now.
I recently finished The Hunting Party and The Guest List, both by Lucy Foley. I read The Guest List first, so when I started reading The Hunting Party, I was like, "This is so close to TGL! What the hell?!" But I kept reading since I liked TGL so much and realized it wasn't really THAT close... And I guess with that type of book, you're going to get similarities....especially because I had also just read One by One by Ruth Ware. Same concept as the Lucy Foley books, but just as amazing. I would definitely recommend all 3! In between, I also read The Midwife Murders by James Patterson, which I liked a lot and When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole, who I believe is/was a debut author. (Please correct me if I'm wrong!) :)
I am currently reading Final Jeopardy by Linda Fairstein. This is the first book in her Sex Crimes Unit series, starring detective Alexandra Cooper. I have been wanting to read this series since I heard about it, since I love Law and Order: SVU so much, but have just now gotten around to it. :) It's a slow start so far, but I've waited so long to read this, I'll stick to it and see how it goes.
I am currently reading Final Jeopardy by Linda Fairstein. This is the first book in her Sex Crimes Unit series, starring detective Alexandra Cooper. I have been wanting to read this series since I heard about it, since I love Law and Order: SVU so much, but have just now gotten around to it. :) It's a slow start so far, but I've waited so long to read this, I'll stick to it and see how it goes.
Last week I ended up with a concussion so I'm actually not allowed to read but I have nothing else to do so here I am reading books.It took me a while but I finished
and I'm halfway in
@Gwen why aren't you allowed to read? :) And I love the books you're reading.
Finished:
I don't know why precisely the title is Little Secrets but It's a nice solid thriller mystery. Enjoyed the story but the characters were so-so (that's why 3.5 stars)Currently reading:
- I'm about 80% into the book and now I'm sure I love it :D
- Starter this one recently, I didn't read the description and actually didn't think it's going to be about fae. Fae is great but the story doesn't speak to me :( I thought it's more interesting. I still have the hope the 2nd half will be better.
- almost finished this one, do much joy!
- I've read first few chapters and decided to put it aside for now. The story is good but a little bit overwhelming for now.
- oh my! I've been reading it for a month already and every time I want to continue some new book just pops up! I love this series but the mood is not always right for it :) Slowly I'm going to finish it!
@Elena with a concussion you have to be careful not to overstimulate your brain because that can cause a painful headache so I have to make sure I don't use any screens for too long, no music, no reading, studying,... but I'm extremely bored so oops 😅How's the Throne of Glass series? I got the first book as a birthday present a few years ago but I heard a lot of mixed opinions and since I love acotar so much I'm a bit hesitant to read it.
@Gwen Get well soon! As for ToG... it's been a roller-coaster for me. The first books have some Mary Sue issues (like being too beautiful, too skilful, too everything, even too wise, which is quite unreal for a teenage girl), there were also some issues with MCs actions (like she is wise but sometimes acting so stupid). But gradually the writing stile becomes better and all those issues are almost gone from the book 5. But I'm glad I'm reading the series. Though I haven't read the ACOTAR yet so can't tell if it's at least the same quality or not.
Mod
Gwen that sounds terrible! I totally get why you would be bored! But take care! I hope you start to feel better soon!
Mod
As for ToG I loved most of it, I do agree with what Elena said and it did have its issues but overall its a well done series. It and ACOTAR follow a few of the same tropes which I didn't love and really took away from the first book of ACOTAR for me. That being said I really enjoyed both series.
Elena I didnt get the hype over Cruel Prince, and only thought the series was okay. So many people love it though.
Glad you love Grave Mercy. Can't believe you still havent finished Percy!
Happy reading everyone
Gwen, hope you start feeling better soon! I can only imagine the boredom that comes with that! I definitely agree with the others on ToG - I loved the series but do feel they got so much better as the series went on!Elena, I adored Tower of Dawn - so glad you're enjoying it! I was one of those who absolutely loved Cruel Prince. Hope you find more enjoyment in the second half!
Currently listening to
... this one has not been what I was expecting going into it. I wanted more sci-fi world building and it just feels a little lacking. I enjoy it well enough while listening but when I'm not, I'm not in any rush to get back to it.Also reading
and appreciate how quickly CoHo books read for me.
Mod
not my fave of the series but still so good. Love this world
Finished several books this time :)
- oh it was good! I enjoyed reading it and going to read the next one in June.
- the expectations were too hight as I've heard many good things of this book. But it was so-so. Compared to Grave Mercy it's just too childish and I didn't like the main characters. (view spoiler).And I've started reading one interesting book :)
- finally started this one and love it! It's definitely better than the first books of the Throne of Glass.
Mod
I agree with your feelings of Cruel Prince
I loved some things about ACOTAR but it had its issues for me partly brought on by knowing too much about where the story had to end up from things people had said. It has a lot of good though and the rest were better for me.
@Brittany I know nothing at all about ACOTAR so let's see how different my experience will be :D
Mod
-3 StarsI had a lot of IRL stuff happening this week and not just work stuff. As a result I had a hard time getting into books and I think this book right here was a great example of that. This book should have been something that I would have immediately loved but as it stands it got only 3.5 stars. This book has elements of The Mummy (the Brendan Fraser one), Indiana Jones, and weird westerns all mixed together. That sentence alone should have meant I loved it but with everything else going on in my life at the time I just didn't click with it. That being said this was not a bad book. Basically you have a young Egyptologist hired by a rich guy to find him a mummy. From there you get whirlwind story that starts in the desert of Egypt and ends in the sands of Arizona/Mexico. Most of the paranormal in the book is of course Egyptian based but it pulls from several other places as well including the appearance of some Jiangshi (Chinese hopping vampire/zombies). Because I started this right in the middle of the IRL stuff I never got a chance for the beginning of the book to make that connection with me which just made the rest of the book a bit of a challenge to get through. I might be tempted to check out the second book in this series in the future after things in my life calm down a bit.
-3 StarsA collection of horror short stories that I got a Kindle freebie and read for a challenge. Like any other collection of short stories some were good and some were just meh. Some of these stories felt kind of unique and some just felt like retreads of the same old horror cliches. Overall it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either.
-3 StarsThis was the book that I was reading right in the middle of the IRL stuff and I feel like it's the other book that is going to get it a bit rough this week. Again this wasn't a bad book but it felt like something I've read so many times before. A retelling of the "Disney" princess stories (Cinderall/Snow White/Rapunzel etc) where it's the world after the story. You have a spunky young MC, a magic school, friendship, secrets, and our young MC saves the day for everyone. It's not a bad premise and something I don't normally mind reading. This week though I just wasn't in the mood for it and the book just felt boring to me. None of the surprises were surprises, none of the exciting moments were overly exciting, it was just alright.
-3 StarsThis book would have been four stars but there was one massive thing I couldn't stand about it, the MC. The MC was a complete little turd who I wanted to slap more than a few times. Here is where it gets complicated though. The MC kind of has reasons for being the way that he is and it was part of the whole character growth thing. I get what the author was trying to do but I feel that he went a bit to heavy in making the MC unlikable. As a result I never really felt sympathy for the kid. It was more or a celebration when the bad thing happened to him because now you you get to see him humbled by life. Overall not a bad read.
-3 StarsA challenge book that hails back to my childhood. This was one of the genres that I read a lot in my early/mid teens and this series was right in the middle of it. Heck this publisher in general was right in the middle of my interest in the action adventure genre. This was a stereotypical book in the Mack Bolan series. Bad guys get shot, a lot of bad guys get shot, all in the name of "justice". A nice popcorn book to take my mind of things.
-2 StarsThis should have been another slam dunk but what I got was a hot mess of a book. Another Kindle horror book that I snagged for free at some point. This is a weird western or horror western which is generally about the only way I like my westerns now a days. The first problem this book had was world building. This book was super short and yet was trying to build it's own world at the same time. The simple fact is that world building takes time aka pages to accomplish. This book tried taking our world and making it's own spin on things. Instead of Native Americans it was X, instead of Irish it was Y, etc, etc, etc. As a result you spend a lot of time sitting there trying to remember what real world thing the book is trying to reference without actually saying it. For a book this short just keep it simple. Set it shortly after the American civil war, have your diverse cast of characters, and then spend that little amount of world building time establishing the supernatural aspect of things. The second problem is that the writing was just a hot mess. This book just felt super repetitious with lines of lines of dialogue just repeated over and over again. Especially in regards to our MC's mommy/daddy issues. Nothing really felt established so you would have some tonal shifts that felt like they came out of left field. For such a short book this felt like it took forever to get through. I would not recommend this to any one.
As for what is next I have some manga I want to read today. I also want to read a couple shorter books
Later this week I think I'm going to tackle
Mod
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. It was a good book, little uncomfortable at times but good. The series is just so huge its daunting.
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and I have so many thoughts!
I finished 2 books recently:
- I wish I enjoyed it more but it was just average :(
- and this one is great! I'm happy I finally got into this series.
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@Brittany I decided to finish all of my current reads first. After that I'm going to continue with ACOTAR and the next book after Grave Mercy :)
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. The only one I really loved was Being Jamie Baker (and the short story Kissing Jamie Baker)... it was so cute and fun! The rest were pretty meh, unfortunately. Up next I'm gonna be starting
.
Back with another weekly update and I've been chewing through books for the challenge I've been working on. Fair warning most of what I've been reading is for this challenge so it's a bit random.
-4 StarsI really love this book and it could have been a slam dunk five stars if there weren't a couple of issues with the book. Overall though I love the premise of the story, the humor, the characters. It all just makes for a fun read. Now for the issues. The biggest criticism of this book that I have is that it felt messy. I kind of guessed what the antagonizing force in this book was early on just from logical deduction but it's not really even hinted at until about a 100 pages in. Even then this force is almost back ground noise amongst everything else that is going on. There were plot points that just got dropped for new ones to pop in. Looking at you holovids. Then there is just the usual difficulties with time traveling story lines that you just don't really want to think about. The other issue I have, and this is more of a nitpick, is related to the above messiness. If you're writing a large cast of character please stick to one or two names that characters go by. For example in this book we have the main male romantic character. He goes by Chief, The Chief, Farrel, and randomly Leon. There are a few characters like that in this book and it gets a little confusing when there are so many characters popping in and out of the story. Overall though I really enjoyed the book and want to read more.
-3 StarsThis was a book about various "lost" treasures of America told in a urban legends kind of way. Just enough facts to tell the story but no where near enough facts for it be a textbook. There were no sources for the stories and, honestly, I feel some of these treasures are not really lost as they were probably found years ago and kept quiet. It was an alright book but nothing to really cheer for either.
-4 StarsThe other non-fiction book that I read and this one was a fascinating read. It's about the authors two years training to be a Medical Examiner while in New York. This book is definitely not for the squeamish at all as the author dives into the various autopsies she performed while doing her training. She goes into how the autopsies are done, how organs are removed, what they are looking for, what they test, etc. Some of the cases that she recounts are just fascinating. The office she was working at was in Manhattan and she was there during 9/11 so there is a chapter dedicated to that as well. It's sobering to say the least.
-5 StarsA reread for a challenge. I love this series even though it isn't the greatest writing in the world. I love the premise, I love the world, and I enjoy the execution of the book. This was a fun reread for me.
-3 StarsAnother Hardy Boys book. They really hammed up Joe being a chauvinistic jock in this one and it kind of grated against me a bit. Definitely a product of its time.
-3 StarThis was a swashbuckling adventure story with none of those pesky story elements like character development, world building, plot, etc. This was pure action from beginning to end. It's a story about going out to find long lost treasure and all the adventures along the way. Honestly it was a good popcorn read.
A typical shojo kind of manga that was kind of cute. I'll read a couple more volumes as the library has them available.
I simply cannot get enough of this series. I love the world, the characters, the story and can't wait to get to the next one.
This week I've got another week packed full of books to read. On the docket are:
and more Sleepy Princess
Mod
I haven't read the series. I snagged the novella for a challenge because it was short and there is sand on the cover. I'll see how it goes though. The Medical Examiner one was a fascinating read. It also struck that balance between speaking to a normal person like me and being technical. It's part of the reason why I don't read more non-fiction books. I find them boring because they read like a text book instead of like a normal book.
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Right, I get that. No one wants to read textbooks for fun. I'm glad this one was intriguing without being boring. I may have to check it out!
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Lili, too bad they weren't all better reads but at least you've gotten some reading done :)
Gord, I just grabbed Working Stiff from the library. I'm just too curious about it not to check it out.
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it was amazing like expected starting
and then I'll be all caught up in the Guild Codex world! These books are addictive and worth every minute.
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YA Addicted Book Club
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@Brittany The Hating Game is great and definitely worth waiting.
@Liliana I'm glad you're enjoying your reads!