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What are you reading in 2022?
Ooh I'm going to listen to
next, so look forward to seeing what you think of it Kay!
Mod
next, so look forward to seeing what you think of it Kay!"I'm enjoying it so far. I have about 2 hours left.
Kayleigh {K-Books} wrote: "Jo wrote: "Ooh I'm going to listen to next, so look forward to seeing what you think of it Kay!"I'm enjoying it so far. I..."
That's good to hear! I think I'm going to start it either tomorrow or Sunday, I've only got about an hour and half of my current audiobook to go.
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and I loved it. Now I want to reread the series....
Alright, I've got a lot to talk about this week
-4 StarsI'm really enjoying this series and the characters involved. It's a middle book that is still moving the story forwards, slowly, while having character progression and everything else. It's hard to get into story details without giving away to much. Long story short they main characters are trying to hunt down foreign agents in the city who are there for unknown reasons. I"m hoping in the next book we start getting into who is behind these agents that have been sent.
-3This is a cozy mystery set in Wales that I read for a challenge and I have some very mixed feelings about this book. It revolves around around an Abbey in a small town in Northern Wales and the MC is a nun who runs the library at the Abbey. Let's start with the good. I really enjoyed that the MC, and the other nuns, were all very much older. If I remember correctly there is a point in the book where it is mentioned that the average age at the Abbey was 73. I also like the life that was portrayed at the Abbey. They were not all savvy with modern technology but it was present at the abbey. Things like smart phones, wifi, tablets, etc. I'll admit I know very little about what life is like for modern day nuns. It's just something I've ever looked into and I'm not saying that this is accurate but it is interesting. Now for the not so good. A lot of my grievances with this book all boil down to one common issue, there is just to much going on in this book. There are so many different plot points that are introduced that either didn't need to be there or just went no where really. A lot of these were introduced as potential suspects for the central mystery. I can respect what was attempted but it didn't feel good. You spend all this time homing in on one suspect, gathering clues, etc, etc, and then it's revealed that the person had nothing to do with the case. The plot line was then essentially dropped and relegated to the background. There was a moment where it was revealed that the young man who was murdered was in a same sex relationship. I was hinted that maybe this had something to do with the killing of the man and I was interested to see how this was handled considering the religious aspect of the book. This was basically shuffled to the side and devolved to basic relationship infidelity issues. It was an interesting enough book and for a debut novel it wasn't bad but I definitely had some issue with the book.
-5 StarsThere was a manga between this book and the one above. This manga put me into a bit of a funk and I wanted something comforting. I was going to read some In Death but it wasn't available so I read this instead. This was the rebound book that I needed. I'll admit that I had some reservations heading into this as the book was switching up the MC and the setting of the book but this book worked. I liked Maud, I like her daughter Helen, I liked learning more about the vampires and their world. This was a page turner where I just wanted to keep reading. I wanted to see what would happen next, to see what was revealed, etc. The ending also dropped a massive twist that I didn't expect and I'm curious what it all means.
-3 StarsThis was a middle grade mystery/action adventure kind of novel and overall it wasn't bad. I had a bit of a hard time getting into it at the start but that was mostly the remnants of the book funk I was still feeling. The more time I spent with the book the more I got into it. The MC is an orphan who gets taken into the Winterborne home. The Winterborne home is the home of a missing billionaire and there is a mystery about what happened to the family and then the eventual disappearance of the sole survivor of family. The characters were colorful and the mystery was interesting. There was even a nice twist at the end of the story that has me curious about the sequel.
-4 StarsMy biggest issue with this book was it was so short. This was a novella and I just wanted more by the end. The book revolved around a unique Innkeeper holiday and the guest that come to stay at the inn during that time. The creativity of the alien species in this series is fascinating. I just want more of this series.
Now for the manga
-4 StarsMore food based adventures in the Toriko world. This was the end of the casino arc and the set up for the next one.
-4 StarsMore muscle/magic shenanigans. This one set up the the next big opponents for the MC and now it has a Shonen feel. That is not a bad thing and I'm curious to see what comes next an how our MC will deal with this advanced magic with just his muscles.
-5 StarsI just love this series and this volume had some great stories. The story involving the hydrangeas, the story involving the older mom who Watanuki was visiting. They were simple stories that were just touching and I can't wait for the next volume.
-3 StarsThis wasn't a bad manga but I just couldn't get into the series. It revolves around a young man who can see yokai or Japanese spirits. His parents passed away when he was young and he was passed from family member to family member. Family members didn't want to keep him because of his odd habits and him being a burden. It's a typical Japanese trope. He somehow ends up inheriting his grandmothers stuff who could also see yokai. One of those things was Natsume's Book of Friends. His grandmother would bully yokai until they would write their true name in the book giving her control over them. Our MC is basically helping the yokai by returning their names to them. It's a very episodic in nature and it got kind of repetitive with every chapter reminding us who the MC was, who his grandma was, and what he is doing. Some of the stories were intriguing but it just never hooked me in.
-3 StarsThis was the manga that caused my book funk and kind of threw the whole week out the window. I'm not going to say that this manga was bad but I'm just kind of done with all the tropes that were at play in this manga. This manga opens up with a love triangle caused by miscommunication. That miscommunication would never be addressed which stretched things out and made them worse. Then sprinkle in all the usual trappings of a high school romance story. About the only good thing I saw in this was the books willingness to explore the MC potentially being bisexual. Other then that it was just all the expected tropes and it just made it so hard to get through. I'm not saying these tropes are bad but I'm just tired of them.
Now for what I am working on or will be working on
On the audiobook front I'm still listening to
and really enjoying this book. I can't wait to talk about this one when I'm done.On the manga front I plan to read a bunch of Delicious in Dungeon and more Toriko over the next couple of days.
As for novels I will be starting
which I've heard a lot of great things about.
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I finished Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus yesterday! Now I’m reading The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith.
Finished
, I enjoyed it, it was a bit of a slow starter but it got there in the end, I really liked the characters and the magic system and I'm looking forward to reading the next book when it comes out later in the year.Next audiobook is
which I just started. I'm really excited about this one because I love this world!
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. I absolutely loved it. 5 Stars!Also finished
which I also gave 5 stars.Currently reading
and listening to
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and now back to waiting for the next one!
Time for that weekly update before I start my next book.
-5 StarsThis was read for a challenge but it also came highly recommended by several people. Basically it's a western mystery/thriller in the same kind of vein as Longmire. Both are set in small towns in Wyoming, both involve a lot of outdoors related stuff, there is a murder that happens, etc. At the start I wasn't sure about this book. It felt like everyone except for the MC where in a contest to the biggest jerk. I don't know it happened but I suddenly found myself highly engaged in the novel and I couldn't stop reading. By the end of the book I was ready to crawl into the novel and start handing out some justice myself. For a first book it was a real good impression and I definitely plan to read more in this series.
-3 StarsThis was a book I snagged for a challenge. It was short and met the requirements of the task. I headed into this expecting the worst of the worst. I expected an absolutely trash smut novel set in space. What I got surprised me. First, no smut, no sexy times, nada. There was tension but that was about it. What it had though was lots of action as we deal with mercenaries invading our MC's planet and what not like that. Don't get me wrong this isn't the highest of high brow literature or anything but for a trashy quick read it wasn't half bad.
-3.5 StarsThis was a random book I snagged from the library. I think I saw it recommended on my Goodreads homepage and decided to give it a whirl. It's set in 1942 occupied France and our 12 year old MC has to flee the Nazis and lead a family out of France to safety. Overall it was a decent book. It really leaned into the message that you can't judge everyone by the actions of a few which feels rather relevant now a days. I had one major complaint about the book and that was the the letter left for the MC. The MC's father was part of the SOE and left a lot of codes for his daughter to work on as a game before he left for the war. At the beginning of the book she gets a letter from him containing a code. This letter basically became a plot device and I found it frustrating. At first she didn't have time to decode it because of events happening. After that she would decode a line here and there and it would change the direction of the book. Instead of going to Point A like originally instructed the MC would decide to go to Point B because of something she decoded. This became a running theme throughout the book. The author would need something to happen so our MC would suddenly decode another line or two of the letter. Just take some damn time and translate the letter all in one sitting and figure out you need to do all in one go. It would have saved so much time and headaches.
-5 StarsWould you look at that, more In Death, shocking, absolutely shocking I say. Joking aside I wasn't planning to read another one so soon but this helped me with a challenge I was stuck on and it didn't take a lot to twist my arm. This one revolved around essentially a cold case when several old bodies are found. You all know how I feel about the In Death series so I'm not going to gush again. That being said the ending of this one left me feeling pretty frustrated. It was still a good ending and totally believable that it could happen but I just did not feel like justice was served.
-4 StarsThis manga series lands in that spot between a solid dungeon crawling story and the wackiness of the food stuff in Toriko. Basically our MC has to enter the dungeon to save someone. They don't have time to get properly supplied so they end up eating the monsters in the dungeon to keep going. This is not my first time reading through these but it is my first time reading the official translations. My love of this is kind of hard to explain. On one hand you have a dungeon crawler which is something I enjoy. On the other hand this is a cooking/food style manga which is also something I enjoy. Combine the two together and it just works for me.
-3 StarsAnother random book I snagged from the library. I've sent a lot of time browsing new arrivals due to this new release challenge I've been participating in the year. This is basically a slice of life set in France, I think it's France, and it revolves around three girls and their cats. It's a cute book honestly. It's a little slow at times but that is a slice of life for you. The cats, and the girls, all have vastly different personalities making it interesting to read them. I'm not sure if I'd want to read the sequel or not though.
I'm still listening to
on audio and I should have that done next week.For novels I'm planning on tackling
nextAnd for manga I'm going to read some more Toriko and Berserk.
Mod
a couple days ago. Such a different book. Hard to explain or review or even rate. But it was unique and worth the read.
Wasn't feeling
so I'm moving on to
, so excited for this one!
Time for that weekly update. This will be my last heavy week of reading for the month as I return to five day work weeks starting next week. That being said lets get started.
-4 StarsI read this as part of a new release challenge I am participating in this year. I initially skipped over it but after seeing several glowing reviews I decided to give it a shot. This book had a slow start that kind of turned me off the book a bit. The first couple of chapters felt like massive exposition dumps instead of story telling. Then we hit chapters 7 and 8 where the story got super awkward to read. Not for anything super bad but it was just really awkward to read. Sometime after that though I found myself suddenly pulled into the novel and flying through the pages. Overall it was good novel but I have some criticisms of the book. It's labelled as a mystery but it doesn't feel like a mystery. Our MC isn't really trying to solve anything and is more of a witness to events. Then there is the ending. I won't spoil anything but it breaks some pretty big mystery rules but I wasn't upset by it because of the fact that it didn't feel like a mystery.
-5 StarsThis one took me a bit to get through but that was because I was listening to the audio book and since I only listen to them on the way to work I didn't have as much time with it. Where to start with this book? There was so much that happened, so many secrets revealed, so many plot points ended, so many new plot points started. The chemistry between Skulduggery and Valkyrie was on point and had me laughing out loud numerous times. Don't get to thinking though that this is a humorous book. There are several dark and heavy moments in this book with several characters dying. Our MC is not at her best and is not a model person to follow. That ending fight is intense and gut wrenching. Trying to give my thoughts here is not doing this book the justice it deserves. I'm just loving the story, the characters, and I want more.
-3 StarsA book of my TBR that helped fill a challenge. This was a perfect popcorn book. Nothing complicated and it kept me entertained. It's set in medieval Japan and a Kunoichi is a female ninja. Or MC is a young starving peasant girl who is bought by a noble lady to be trained as a "shrine maiden". She learns afterwards that she is actually being trained as a ninja. Like I said this isn't high art but it was entertaining.
-3 StarsAnother challenge book. I think that at any other time I would probably have enjoyed this book more but for whatever reason I just wasn't feeling this book. It wasn't bad or anything but it just wasn't doing anything for me either. It was a middle grade book with ghosts, witches, and the usual tropes you would expect. It helped me with a challenge that I was hung up on and I might be tempted to check out other stuff from the author later. I really don't have a lot more to say about it.
-3 StarsA random pick from the library and it was all right. A story of Chinese dragons, mythology, greed, etc with an alright art style. I didn't hate it but it didn't blow me away either.
More Toriko, more food, more power ups, more fun
-5 StarsThis story is bleak as hell, the MC is a monster that rivals the worst villains in any other series and I love every moment of this series.
Currently on audio book I'm listening to
. I'm liking the story so farNot sure what will be next as I feel a book funk coming on. I'll probably read
as it's my next library book.
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so I'm moving on to , so excited for this one!"Hope its a great one Jo!
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and loved it for the most part aside from something that comes up in the first chapter. Also I so wished I was wrong about what was going on in the book! Not sure what I will start next in hardcopy. I may continue in this world.
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I read the last two remaining novellas in the Space Janitor series! One was a fun holiday novella, and the other was a nonfiction book that was a behind-the-scenes look into the series. I really enjoyed them both! But now I'm all caught up on the series and I'm sad😫 I miss this world already. I do have other series by this author set in this same world, so I might start on those.
Next, I finally read Chain of Gold and I loved it! I love this world and I was very excited to meet the new characters! Not gonna lie, there are A LOT of characters, and in the beginning I had a particularly hard time keeping the Lightwoods straight just because there are so many of them 😆 But I ended up loving them all and just the book in general. I don't typically go for historical books, but if there's Shadowhunters involved, I'm in! Lol
And yesterday I finished Heartless, and it was also amazing! This one is about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland and just how she came to be the way she is. It was very interesting and cute and heartbreaking all at once. The end definitely made me cry, but I enjoyed it nonetheless!Up next I think I'm going to be starting
just because I'm still in the mood for retellings... especially if they're from Marissa Meyer. Lol. I also want to start
, but I heard somewhere that it was extra angsty, and Heartless already did a number on me, so I'm gonna hold off on that one for a little bit 😅
Brittany wrote: "Jo wrote: "Wasn't feeling so I'm moving on to , so excited for this one!"Hope its a great one Jo!"
I hope so too!
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