YA Addicted Book Club discussion
Archive
>
What are you reading in 2023?
message 101:
by
Brittany
(new)
Feb 12, 2023 08:22PM
Mod
reply
|
flag
It's been a while since my last update, I guess I was a bit lazy and didn't want to wrap it up. I still have to review some book though. So probably will update in chunks :D
- 2 stars. The second book is boring compared to the first one. I didn’t like it much. Honestly, I almost DNFed it at some point.
- 3 stars. A nice cute romantic story to offload after a busy day at work. I’m not a fan of him, but I have a feeling that Shakespeare becomes a trend nowadays. It’s not too hyped yet and adds a nice colour to the story.
- 3 stars. You don’t even realise when the book becomes insane until you are actually fully and uncontrollably drown into the plot. At some point the whole story is turned upside down, I had to re-read several chapters to check if I haven’t lost my mind, and the book really took that turn!
- 3 stars. I've started a new cozy mystery series. Not the best one, but will do for now. Also it features camping, which I love.
- 3 stars. That was an interesting development of the Holmes story. Of cause he had a family, but we didn’t know much about them from the original story.
- 2 stars. The most frustrating book so far. The strangest thing about this book is that it didn’t stir any feelings, no negative, no hate, no love, pure nothing. I'm oddly in a state of not caring at all. And that’s truly surprising, the first time I’ve ever felt that way about a book.
- 4 stars. Oh my god! Breathe, breathe, let it calm down. The book is hilarious! I couldn’t stop laughing, crying, screaming ‘Nooo, again?’.
- 4 stars. An amazing experience with a main character with adorable name Shiori. That’s a totally new perspective on a well-known tale. I recall crying during the whole story when I was little. Though I didn’t cry while reading the book, it was also very emotional.
- 5 stars. That was, well, legendary indeed. I kinda expected it to end somewhat like that, but even the fact that it was predictable, didn’t spoil the book a bit. Loved, enjoyed, want more :D
- 3 stars. That was a gulp of Christmas festiveness in the middle of the winter season. Always nice to run into a light festive romantic book like that when you are a bit tired of winter and wait for spring to come.
- 4 stars. After I read the book I had to take a break and collect my thoughts first before wrapping them into a review. Even after a few days I’m not totally sure how I feel about the book. It's definitely interesting and captivating though.
- 4 stars. That was a very random pick to hit a prompt on one of the bookish challenges and to be honest I didn’t even like the description. But how surprised I was when a random book turned into a solid 4-star romance.
- 5 stars. I didn’t want to start a new series and yet here I am, reading book one in the totally new series. I just couldn’t resist after hearing lots of good reviews. And indeed the book worth the hype, it was even better than I expected.
- 3 stars. It’s been a while since I’ve read the first book and it was nice to return into that magical world of witches, angels, demons, soul-eaters and powerful artefacts.
- 4 stars. After reading a very hyped but frustrating book with African setting I was a little afraid starting this one. And I was so glad when the book turned out to be great, unique and unputdownable.
- 3 stars. Though I’m not so much into the series, I decided to continue reading to satisfy my craving for something dark and spooky.
- 3 stars. I do understand why it’s so hyped, but it wasn’t for me.
- 3 stars. Reminded me of Sailor Moon, magical, sweet and naive. So nostalgic!
- 4 stars. For a long time I didn't want to read anything with vampires but this manga is good and I found myself developing some interest in vampires again, maybe I even read some books too.
Mod
So glad you enjoyed Legendary Elena, that was my favourite book of that series. I also really enjoyed Children of Blood and Bone, though the sequel wasn't as good for me. I think the final book of the trilogy is meant to be out this year?
Kayleigh {K-Books} wrote: "So glad you liked Children of Blood and Bone. I really enjoyed that one too."Yeah, that was surprisingly good indeed.
Jo wrote: "So glad you enjoyed Legendary Elena, that was my favourite book of that series. I also really enjoyed Children of Blood and Bone, though the sequel wasn't as good for me. I think the final book of ..."I actually enjoyed the whole series, it was so festive! As for Children of Blood and Bone I haven't read the 2nd book yet and know nothing about the plans for the 3rd, but it would be nice to read them too at some point.
Elena wrote: "Jo wrote: "So glad you enjoyed Legendary Elena, that was my favourite book of that series. I also really enjoyed Children of Blood and Bone, though the sequel wasn't as good for me. I think the fin..."Oh I enjoyed all the Caraval books too (the third was the weakest for me) but Legendary was just the one I enjoyed the most.
Mod
Kayleigh {K-Books} wrote: "I love Caraval. I agree the third was the weakest, but I still really enjoyed it. I just love her world and her writing."Oh I definitely still enjoyed it, just didn't think it was as good as the first two. I do as well, I really need to get to Broken Heart this year!
Mod
Looks like an impressive selection of books Elena
Outside of a rough start to the week, I'll get to that, this has actually been a good week of reading for me. Apologies in advance, this update got a bit long. 
-DNFYou saw that correct. A DNF book from me. If you have read my updates or know anything about me you know I can push through a lot when it comes to bad books. So the fact that I couldn't finish this one I think speaks volumes. I'll be honest I already wasn't in the mood for this book when I started but I had to get it back to the library. Just being in the mood doesn't make the book bad by default either. I've read plenty of good books that I initially wasn't in the mood for. That being said that mood only grew worse and I was struggling to read this book by chapter three and chapter one was only two pages long. This book is, to quote the page here on Goodreads, "a bold feminist reimagining of the Arthurian myth". Now I'm rather middle of the road when it comes to Arthurian stuff. I don't hate it but I'm not going out my way to partake in it either. The main character is Elaine who is an Oracle and the first three chapters the book just randomly shifts from the future to the present and to the past. This continues on for as long as I read the book and it made it super hard to get invested in the story. Something is happening in current time... time for a flashback. After reading 28% of the book I didn't care about the characters, I had no idea what was going on, and I was just bored/frustrated. I threw in the towel when there was this section that was discussing what color of dress they were going to have to wear and what was allowed for the time of day. Why does it matter, outside of petty court politics that is? I also couldn't shake this feeling that I just wasn't in the loop on what was going on for the entirety of what I read. My knowledge of the Arthurian myths is limited to pop culture osmosis really and I had this feeling that I was missing a lot in this book because I didn't have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything Arthurian.
Then there was one little itsy bitsy, teeny weenie (yellow polka dot bikini) thing that just drove me insane. I know that there are several spellings of the word "fae" and have seen a few different ones over the years. The most common one is, in my opinion, the spelling "fae". This book decided to take a bold approach and use multiple spellings of the word. You had fae, fay, fey, and Fay. The book would just randomly change the spelling of the word. One paragraph it would be rolling with fay. Next paragraph it would suddenly be fey. Why? Who knows. Maybe there was something in the Arthurian myths that my simple tastes just doesn't know about but there was nothing in the book to indicate that the spelling differences were used to indicate anything different. It just seemed like the editor was dealing with a broken spellchecker and was just picking a spelling at random. This little thing just got under my skin and drove me bonkers.
-5 StarsAlright, enough ranting about the bad book, lets get to something good. I needed a book from the New Adult genre for a monthly challenge and I had no idea where to start. It's not a genre that I normally read and my last foray into the genre left me with more than a few scars. This book came recommended and several people I follow on here seemed to enjoy it. Combine that with the fact that my library had it available on audiobook right now and I decided to give it a shot. I didn't have the highest expectations, I mean look at that cover, and the opening chapters were setting off warnings in my head. The initial romance was... not to my taste, the voice used for the wrong number guy had my douche canoe radar pinging. Then something odd happened. I was listening to this while out for a walk and I found myself grinning uncontrollably. Over the few days as I was listening to this while walking I found this grinning thing to be happening more and more. There were even bursts of out loud laughter. I really loved this book by the end. This was a silly, nerdy, and cute romance and it just worked for me. The two main characters had great chemistry together and I loved the romance aspect of it. There was no overly angsty drama, there was no destiny forcing them together, there was no instalove. It was two strangers who started chatting, became friends, and then more. Their banter back and forth was hilarious to listen to. There was of course the inevitable sexy time scene and dare I say it was a bit spicy. Maybe because it wasn't just the usual guy with an elephant trunk in his pants, greatest sex of all time, cookie cutter sex scene that you see in ever other romance novel. There as a level of tenderness and care towards each other. One other thing of note there was a stereotypical third act miscommunication scene that felt rather cliched. As the reader it was very obvious what was going on but I will cut the scene some slack. The event was bad and I can kind of understand the reaction of those involved but it was still rather cliche. Overall this was just a cute read and a great counter to the bad book above.
-4 StarsMore Murderbot and it was good. Much like the first book my only real complaint was that by the end of the book I was just left wanting more. This book picks up shortly after the first one with Murderbot looking for answers to what happened in his past. The event that The Company had purged from this memory. On his way to where the site was supposed to be we get introduced to ART (A****** Research Transport) and the banter between these two was awesome. It felt like two nerds sitting there arguing about things. I swear I could picture ART pushing up taped together glasses while saying "actually" and he is a ship. This book really started diving into the psyche of Murderbot and lets be honest here, they have been through a lot. Bots and constructs in general are not treated well by humans in this world it seems. I wish we had gotten more info about the incident in the mining pit though. It was built up in the first book and a good chunk of this book and it just kind of feels glossed over at the end. Don't get me wrong we find out that it did happen, we find out what happened , and we find out why but it just left me wondering if there was more. I think part of that comes from the fact that it was more down played. Instead of a "Dun Dun Dun" big reveal it was a simple "this is what happened and moving on". I still love the series though and definitely can't wait for the next one.
-4 StarsThis was the physical book I picked up after the bad book mentioned above and it was a perfect recovery book.
This was of the anime that was released last season and I really enjoyed the show. Now I've heard of the series long before then but kind of just dismissed it as another one of those gimmick light novels. The anime helped show me that there is a lot more to this show and I wanted to check out the source material. Luckily my library has this series and I gave it a go. Overall it matched the show well. There was a lot less monster murdering in the show and discussion of leveling and where to put points but that make sense. The main character is actually the sword in the above GIF and we spend the first part of the novel with him as he murders his way through an entire ecosystem of monsters leveling up and gaining new skills. Yes, the sword by himself is doing all the murder. Through the use of telekinesis and other skills he has become quite powerful. While exploring though he finds himself in a situation where is unable to use his skills and becomes stuck. Enter our second main character, and the other half of the gif, Fran. She is part of a slave caravan, as a slave, who is escaping a monster. Just when all hope seems lost she stumbles across the sword and saves herself from the monster. They then murder the slaver and make their escape. This duo has great chemistry together, I've used that term a lot today it seems, and either is strong enough to be a main character on their own. In this book we see them take their first steps together as adventurers, or adventurer and sword, and they quickly make waves in the adventuring world. I really can't wait to read more in this series.
5/3 StarsI finally got back to this series and volume 17 was an amazing read. We see Komi talking more than at any point in the series and it's all centered around her feelings for Tadano, Manbagi, and her feelings for Tadano. This felt like some serious growth for the characters and for the series. Then we get to volume 18. It opened with Yamai, my least favorite character, being the usual creepy psychopath that she is. Overall volume 18 just felt like filler. It was short stories from the culture festival from different characters POV's. It was alright but after volume 17 it just felt kind of lacking.
-3 StarsMore Hunter Hunter. These volumes conclude the Hunter exams and start the next arc where we are introduced to the magic system of the world. This is a good series but it has some flaws. The art can be a little bare at times and there are some massive explanation dumps. Where you will get a full panel full of basically nothing but really fine text explaining something for the world. It's not horrible but it can change the flow of the story. I fully plan to read on for this series.
-4 StarsMore cute cat manga. Not really much more to say then that
As for what is next. On audiobook I'm listening to
so I can finally finish off a particularly old and big challenge. For non audiobooks I have
which I am stoked for. After that I have a giant stack of manga I need to get done and back to the library. Sakamoto Days, Beauty and the Feast, Love of Kill, etc. At that point I'll be nearly caught up on all my library stuff finally.
Mod
... This is all I've read since my last update 😅 I'm in this really weird mood where I want to read, but I don't really know WHAT I'm in the mood for, so I just go back and re-read another Elemental Assassin book. Lol.I've read a bit of
and I also just started
, but I still want to start something else. Idk man. Lol.
Mod
Mod
Mod
Currently reading:
Audio:
Ebook:
Physical:
I usually try for more variety in my reads than this!
Mod
I like it! It's literally as the title suggests--just additional questions. Lol. It's still very fun and informative.
Gord wrote: "Outside of a rough start to the week, I'll get to that, this has actually been a good week of reading for me. Apologies in advance, this update got a bit long."I love the manga selection and the whole update seems like a good one? Except the book you DNFed.
Liliana wrote: "... This is all I've read since my last update 😅 I'm in this really weird mood where I want to read, ..."Watching you raving about Elemental Assassin again and again makes me wonder, how good is it? :D
Brittany wrote: "Um.. I have made a mistake... again. I somehow find myself reading 3 UF/fantasy books at onceCurrently reading:
Audio:
Ebook:
..."
How do you like them? Which one is your favourite?
Mod
Mod
Time for that weekly wrap up and yes it's a lot of manga, again. Between stuff I've been working on and the library finally delivering some stuff I've had on hold for a while I've had a lot of manga on my reading list. In some ways it kind of works with my busier schedule as of late. 
-DNFLet's just get this out of the way so I can get to the stuff I actually finished. Yes, I did DNF another book and only a week after I DNF'd another one. This is a cozy mystery set in Edinburgh and I just did not like it. I got to about the 30% mark before throwing in the towel. First, this really didn't feel like much of a cozy mystery or even a mystery in general. By the time I tossed in the towel outside of the MC witnessing the death at the beginning the "case" rarely came up and when it did it was more of a mention of a news story then an actual mystery. The book spent it's time talking about philosophy, art, wine, men, anything but the mystery really. Then we get to the thing that just made me quit. I didn't like the MC at all. This isn't one of those things where it was a poorly written MC or a MC who is to stupid to live or anything like that. I just felt constantly judged and looked down upon by the MC and the close group of "cozy mystery friends". That group of people who helps the MC solve the mystery and are always there in the books. This was a rather new experience for me honestly at least when it comes to books any way. Let me try to explain myself here. There were several instances where the MC just felt condescending. In the opening scene she was incredibly harsh on an orchestra simply because she did like the selection of music that they played. There were a couple of instances where it just really irked me. Our MC is talking to her housekeeper and the housekeeper is mentioning how a friends husband is going through a midlife crisis. He has started dressing in younger clothes and listening to "rock music" and how rock music is so immature. Actually, now that I think of it the housekeeper is just as bad as the MC. She also made a statement about how the whole downfall of proper moral standards was all the fault of Nixon and how his "lying" made it's way across the pond. Can't say I agree with that. The one that the MC said that was my tipping point was during a discussion with a man she met an art exhibit. They were talking about all the problems of society. The man mentions that there are even serial killers who write books. She then comments how only the stupid or deranged would read them. She just struck me as this women who would judge me to be an uneducated peasant because I didn't read the classics or I read manga/comics. That I would dare to wear sweats outside in public and probably a thousand and one other lesser things that my simple peasant ways did. This was also one of those times were the narrator was a problem. The narrator wasn't bad but the accent and voice she used really just leaned into this feeling of judgement for me. Any way, my uncultured ways has other things to read and I don't need to be judged for reading them.
-4 StarsI finally got my copy from the library and oh man was I so glad to continue with this series. Our MC is now so strong that the dungeons he has access to at his low level no longer give him any experience. He also needs better equipment and the only way he can do that is by accessing the markets for high end items which he can't do at his low levels. This means it's finally time to get reassessed and reveal a bit of his secrets. He is now an S rank hunter, the highest rank out there and his powers seem to be off the scale. This then gets into something I would never of thought to be as interesting as it was. How do you negotiate with someone like that? Guilds want stronger members so they can pull in higher paying jobs. There is an economy unto itself when it comes to hunters and guilds. A guild can benefit greatly from the right hunter and a hunter can benefit greatly from the right guild. How do you negotiate with a S rank hunter though? They are beyond rare, they are beyond powerful, and they are very much aware of what they bring to the table. You can't strong arm them, it's not advisable to lie to them, you can't physically force them to do anything but if you can land a contract with them you are set for life. What do you do to try to land that contract? We also get a more of that broader world building outside of our MC and his story which I am enjoying. I think the next book is where we are going to start getting some payoff for that buildup.
-3 StarsA challenge book that I snagged for that U at the start of the title. This was an alright book that had some pretty big issues. Dystopian world where librarians deliver a secret gay agenda to those that need the message. I like the idea of librarians being these secret badass defenders of books and whatnot. There isn't much world building here at all. It's somehow this wild west setting with covered wagons and all that but set in the future with things like drones, tanks, latex gloves, etc. None of this is explained at all. The US is divided in to four quadrants with a "central corridor" saved for the military. The US is also at war but again it's never explained with who or why. It just felt you were dropped in this little narrow corridor and you shouldn't look to closely at the surrounding scenery. There was an instant love story as well which kind of felt weird as our MC had just witnessed her girlfriend getting hung by her father and she had some serious hangups about being gay. I just wasn't the biggest fan of the MC in general. Nothing like the MC from the first book in this post but not a person that I enjoyed being with either.
Now for the manga
-3 StarsI went into this expecting something like Mr. and Mrs. Smith and got something else. I'm legit not to sure what I feel about the story as it's a bit of a slow burn with some rather stoic characters. On one side you have Ryang-Ha Song an assassin with ties to the Triad and on the other side you have Chateau Dankworth a bounty hunter/assassin working for an agency. He takes a shine to her and starts helping her with her targets. This leads to a quasi relationship which I'm not sure what to think of. He is the one pushing it but she doesn't seem to be opposed to it. It's super hard to get a read on her as she is stoic as hell. There is also a ton of questions about both their backstories. I'm intrigued by what is being set up here and want to read more once I get caught up on things.
-4 StarsMore wacky assassin shenanigans from this world. I'm liking this series and what I'm getting from it.
-4 StarsThis is a really weird series. On one hand it's a historical drama piece with samurai, feudal lords, etc. On the other hand there are these weird random bouts of insanity sprinkled in. For instance we were introduced to an antagonist today who is a stereotypical surfer dude with a surf board, flipping the hang ten gesture, and everything. Keep in mind that this is medieval Japan. Oh and his surfboard is actually his carrying case/sheath for his oversized sword. There is truly some weird randomness mixed into this series and I'm here for it. Oh and there was a running gag for a few chapters of the most innocent looking psychopath. Not going to explain that one either.
-4 StarsI'm really enjoying this series but there is some seriously mixed messaging going on here. On the surface it's a cute innocent food story about a neighbor, a 28 year old widow, cooking food for her neighbor, a 16 year old baseball student living on his own. Within the story itself there is some awkwardness as the story goes along and the story kind of addresses it but it didn't feel resolved. She is naive to a certain degree and didn't think of the perception of the situation. She thinks of the young boy as a friend or maybe a son. Now he is sort of attracted to her but it's more young boy hormones then anything and he feels ashamed for thinking that of her. Where the real confusion comes from is everything surrounding the story. The splash pages seem to tease/suggest something more and one of the bonus stories also suggests more that isn't part of the main story. It just adds to the weird confusing feeling about the relationship between these two. Overall, I'm enjoying the innocent food based story and can't wait for more.
Currently I'm listening to
on audiobook. I'm about 40% into the story and I have words for this book. I'm not hating the book but I feel like the MC needs a slap upside the head. Also the difference in French between the two narrators is hilarious. To my untrained ear one sounds like they are doing their best to sound out the words or using a computer translator to help with pronouncing things. The other one sounds like French is a native tongue for them. For non audiobooks I have more manga. I've got
and probably
Mod
As always I enjoy your updates :)
Mod
Let's start with the DNF's.
Now the one's I finished...
- Re-read on Audio. 5 Stars
- Re-read on Paperback. 5 Stars
- Audiobook. Loved this so much. I am so excited to watch the adaptation. 5 Stars.
- Physical. 4.5 stars. This was such a cute book to get over my slump.
Mod
Brittany wrote: "Elena they are all good. But October Daye is my favourite series of the 3."I've been also wondering about the series for a while. I don't like the author's other series, but might give this one a try.
@Gord Wonderful update as always, I love the manga selection, added almost every book to my shelves. Especially interested in the Solo Leveling manhwa and novel.
Kayleigh {K-Books} wrote: "February Update from me:Let's start with the DNF's.
Now the one's I finished...
- Re-read on..."Wow, 2 DNFs - so painful! Was Daisy Jones & The Six too emotional? Or sad? I want to read it at some point, but if it's very emotional or sad, not now.
It's been a bit of a slower week but here is what I've completed this week.
-3 StarsOh man this book was stupid and I mean extremely stupid. This was the longest feeling 8 hour audiobook I think I've ever listened to. How do I even sum up this massive train wreck. A young woman heads to Paris with her friends and classmates for spring break. She finds out that she is descendant of french royalty that was part of this secret organization that had ties with Marie Antoinette. While there, quite conveniently, something has awakened Marie's ghost and she is going around killing the descendants of this secret organization. Oh and because it's a YA book set in Paris we need a little romance mixed in as well. The above book I described actually sounds rather interesting but something went horribly wrong somewhere and we ended up with this really dumb train wreck. Lets start with the MC since we spend the most time with her. She ricochets between dumb, TSTL, and poor writing faster than a coked up squirrel. A perfect example of this, at the beginning of the book the MC talks about how excited she is for this trip to Paris and how she has memorized the itinerary for the entire trip. Once she gets to Paris though it seems like she forgot everything because for the rest of the book it's "what are we doing today/tomorrow?". There is another point after she has started seeing the ghost where she comes to the dumbest conclusion. She is in a dark alley and hears footsteps and her first though is ghost. Then there is the day where the class is heading to the catacombs. Now our MC has claustrophobia so you can already see how this could be a rough day for her. No, she has no idea what the catacombs are nor does her friend. How? Just how? You memorized your itinerary for the trip and never once looked into where you were going? In general, how the hell do you not know what the famous catacombs of Paris are? Even if it's just a sterotypical image of what they are. Just, just, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Alright, enough MC, lets get into the supporting characters and other stuff. There is the school teacher/escort who has no problem with a 16 year girl going off into the city with the 20 year old sexy tour guide by themselves. There are the two friends of the MC who are somehow valley girls from Toledo, Ohio. Maybe that was just the narrator but "yas gurl" is not something I want to hear in my headphones very often. One friend is the passive hanger on and the other girl is every mean girl trope rammed into one character. I was secretly cheering for her to die first but that never happened. Oh and our MC has to keep a massive secret from her friends lest she get kicked from the cool girl club. Her parents are divorced and she is now poor. Her mom has to work at the mall to make ends meet. Mean girl would use that against her and ban her from being her friend. Why does the MC hang around this moron? What else? The only history of Paris is of course the stuff surrounding Marie Antoinette because nothing else of any importance every happened in Paris ever. There is just so many things to talk about with this book. It's a mean girl school drama, it's a historical murder mystery, there are horror elements, there is a romance subplot. Why did I keep at this book when I was starting to set a trend of DNFing books? It's hard to explain but it's liking watching a bad B movie. You know the movie is hot garbage but you keep watching just to see what happens next.
One final thing, the narration. This book had two different narrators and it just added to the train wreck vibe of the book. Now take what I say here with a grain of salt. As I've already stated many times I'm no expert when it comes down to accents. Throughout the book there are short scenes where we, the readers/listeners, get to see people getting murdered by the ghost. These sections had there own narrator and for my ears it sound like how French should sound like. Then there was a narrator for the rest of the book. This is the narrator for the "yas gurl" parts. The narrator was perfectly fine but lets just say her French didn't feel as natural. It felt like a very Americanized attempt at French. Which makes sense for some characters. But we would get this horrible French for the native speakers as well. Including the ghost from the other sections and it was just jarring.
-4 StarsIt's a Junji Ito book. That statement either makes all the sense in the world to you or it means nothing. Junji Ito has a unique art style and writing style. A lot of his stories don't really explain anything. You are just dumped into a horror scene where weird things are happening and then the story is over. There isn't a happy ending where everyone lives and the "evil" is defeated either. It just kind of ends and it makes for a unique style of horror. There is of course the iconic Junji Ito art style that really twists human features to the extreme and there are just panels that burn themselves into your brain.
-4 StarsStill enjoying this series. The characters are now actively trying to save their building. It also has this weird love knot with different people interested in other people. It's much more than a love triangle and for right now I am down for it. I can't wait for the next volume.
-3 StarsMore muscle bound guys punching other muscle bound guys until they explode. I'm not hating the series and I can appreciate the cultural impact of the story but I also don't think it's the greatest thing ever.
I've already started my next books but here is what I am currently working on.
On audiobook I'm listening to
. It's not what Goodreads promised me but at the same time I'm kind of vibing with it. I'm about 50% of the way into the book and I'm at a point where I'm hoping things start picking up soon. I also reading
which has immediately pulled me in. After that I need to finish
and
this week as well.
Mod
Oh it was a stinker for sure. There is a lot of potential there for an interesting story but it felt like it was just trying to do to much.
It's been a while since my last update, but I managed to read lots of interesting books.
- 4-5 stars. Adorable cute manga, long time ago I watched the anime series, but I love manga more.
- 5 stars. That manga... it's so emotional and addictive. I cried, a lot!
- 3 stars. A nice conclusion to the series, but nothing really special. I would say, it's weak compared to the other two books. To be honest, I loved the first book, it had so much potential if only the author either concentrated more on romance or handled the whole political/strategical aspect better.
- 4 stars. Oh that one is good! I’ve never read the original tale, but the retelling made me wonder and I looked for an original too, now eager to read and compare. The book has it all: darkness, a little bit of light, and love.
- 5 stars. It's a re-read. Those book were first published in 1990, when I couldn’t even read. I recall first time reading it when I was a teenager, travelling with my friend to Cyprus. I’ve packed 3 books in the series, at that time we had no nice e-readers and had to pack the paper books. Though it sounds charming, it was inconvenient and heavy. And I totally spoiled the holidays for my friend :D I was so eager to read and basically spent every spare minute with the book, on the beach, at a restaurant, in the evenings, when my friend went to a club and I just stayed in a hotel room to read. (Yeah, I've always been a nerd). And now I’m still reading the series and decided to re-read first books to freshen up my memories and oh how nostalgic it was!
- 5 stars. It’s been a huge time gap for me between the first book and the second, so I had to re-read some parts to recall the events that led to the state where the second book begins. I think I loved the sequel even more, the space setting is more distinctive, the atmosphere is fantastic and futuristic, the descriptive language is improved drastically and there is lots of romance too alongside with the epic quest.
- 3 stars. It was a nice change of the scenery in between all the space operas and high fantasies I’ve been into recently. Though the book is pretty long for a contemporary romance, it wasn’t boring. The romance happens really fast to the point when you miss the slowness.
- 4 stars. The book reminded me of a game I once played, which was set in space, based on Star Wars universe, so atmospheric and captivating it was. I’m glad I didn’t wait long before I continued reading the series. While the impression is still strong and you didn’t loose the context. And yep, it is good, the series is great!
- 2 stars. I'm still reading cozy mysteries, but not as much as I used to. I guess I'm just a bit tired of them. That particular one has a nice camp setting, but the narration is poor ;(
- 5 stars. The book and the whole series was like a sweet popcorn covered with a huge layer of caramel with a distinctive divine smell, eaten outside in one of those circus markets. I will miss the fantastic, festive, and magical atmosphere.
- 3 stars. A proper conclusion to an average series about ghosts and all the spooky things. The impression is definitely spoiled because I’ve read several author’s other books and series for adults and they were so good! In comparison the Cassidy Blake series is mediocre.
- 3 stars. The first book was fresh and fun, but the second was too much. Probably that’s the case when a stand-alone works better.
- 3 stars. Yet another view on the all-time-classical legend of King Arthur. I lost the count of how many retellings I’ve read, but I still think that the original story is the best. That particular retelling reminded me of For the Wolf, also gruesome and dark, even a little bit gothic.
- 4 stars. I enjoyed this very cute, lovely romantic story with lots of cooking, friends, England and love. Nice distraction from all the heavy reading I've done for the past couple of weeks.
- 5 stars. Wow! That is epic! I was a bit disappointed when I read the first book, but the second and the third books are so good! My favourite is the second one. The whole series also reminded me of Brandon Sanderson, lots of similarities in the writing style, but at the same time very distinctive not to mess up with him.
- 3 stars. Nothing wrong with the books, but I think I’m just getting a little bit tired of mythology settings and mature teenage heroes, who always need to save the world.
Elena wrote: "It's been a while since my last update, but I managed to read lots of interesting books.[bookcover:Fruits Basket, ..."Glad you enjoyed the other two books in the Shades of Magic trilogy better Elena! My favourite is always a toss up between the first and the third one, weirdly the second was actually the weakest for me, but it was still a solid 4 star, so that's really not saying much, I loved the whole series. I honestly can never decide if I love the first or the third book more as the first introduced me to VE Schwab and made me fall in love with that world but I had such a major book hangover after the third because it was so good.....ugh, I don't know I love them all!
I also felt the same about The Trials of Apollo, I kind of gave up after the third book, I do have the fourth one but I've never had the impetus to read it.
Mod
Looks like your week otherwise was good though
Mod
We have similar feelings to the Cursebreakers series. The first book was so good!
Love how much you like Drizzt, one day I'll read more of it... maybe :) Also enjoyed your Cyprus story!
Are you going to read the Caraval spin off series now?
Glad to hear you liked the other two Shades of Magic books more! Gives me hope I will too :)
Great update!
Brittany wrote: "Gord why would you still give Marie Antoinette 3 stars?! It sounds like there was potential but I am so glad I never ended up picking it up.Looks like your week otherwise was good though"
A lot of my ratings are based on gut feelings instead of some practical check list of criteria. This book was definitely getting close to a two star book at times but it just never fully crossed the line for me. That fine line between entertained and not entertained. At the end of the day there was a part of me that still wanted to keep reading to see what happened. With a two star book I just don't care about the entertainment factor anymore and something is actively irritating me. Something like a character, the writing, the book in general, etc. It's weird, the book was definitely bad but not as bad as other things I've read.
Mod
Let's start with the DNF's.
Now the one's I finished...
[bookcover:..."
I didn't find it overly emotional or sad. It's a little emotional towards the end but it's so so good.
Mod
[bookcover:Fruits Basket, ..."The ending of Aurora Burning though!! I still remember being left reeling. Worst cliffhanger ever
I finished
which it does feel like I've been reading for ages, but it took me a while to really get into it! I'm a little disappointed to be honest, I was hoping it would be one I'd really love, but it was so slow going and all the main action of the book only really happened at the very end. I did like the characters though.Anyway, I'm going to be moving on to
next (which Kay, Brittany and I are buddy reading if anyone wants to join!) and I'm quite excited to dive back into some fantasy again, it's been about a year since I last read a full length fantasy novel, and I'm definitely feeling that itch again!
Mod
Looks like your week otherwise was good..."
Totally fair! :)
Jo wrote: "Glad you enjoyed the other two books in the Shades of Magic trilogy better Elena! My favourite is always a toss up between the first and the third one, weirdly the second was actually the weakest for me, but it was still a solid 4 star..."Oh yeah, I know the feeling, when you finish a great series, you miss it so much and think you'll never find something as good as it was.
In addition to my review: I also enjoyed the Percy Jackson series more, Apollo seems a bit boring and long.
Brittany wrote: "Elena I love Fruits Basket! Have you watched the recent adaptation of it to anime? So much better than the original."I haven't watched it, but I'll definitely try. If it's better, I might like it too, thanks for the rec.
Brittany wrote: "Love how much you like Drizzt, one day I'll read more of it... maybe :) Also enjoyed your Cyprus story!"
I mean... that's not the best series for many fantasy lovers, but for me it's very special, hope you'll like it too.
Brittany wrote: "Are you going to read the Caraval spin off series now?"
Maybe at some point I will, but not now. I already so into a new series. Thought the first 2 books were mediocre, I do enjoy the third so much (Brisingr).
Brittany wrote: "Glad to hear you liked the other two Shades of Magic books more! Gives me hope I will too :)"
Definitely give it a try!
Kayleigh {K-Books} wrote: "I didn't find it overly emotional or sad. It's a little emotional towards the end but it's so so good."Seems like it's good to try, I'll try it when the hold comes, thanks for letting me know :)
Jo wrote: "I finished which it does feel like I've been reading for ages, but it took me a while to really get into it! I'm a little disappointed to be honest, I was hopi..."So sad you didn't enjoy Bloomsbury Girls much, the concept looks really interesting. And yay for the fantasy!
Elena wrote: "Jo wrote: "Glad you enjoyed the other two books in the Shades of Magic trilogy better Elena! My favourite is always a toss up between the first and the third one, weirdly the second was actually th..."Exactly!
I think for me the issue with Apollo wasn't so much that I found it boring, it was more that it just feels very young for me now in my twenties than the PJO or HOO series did because I read them when I was still in my teens, I'm just way past the target age range for Rick Riordan's books now and I don't find them as engaging-and that's okay! I will def try the new Percy Jackson adventure he has coming out in September though because I would love to see those characters again!
Elena wrote: "Jo wrote: "I finished which it does feel like I've been reading for ages, but it took me a while to really get into it! I'm a little disappointed to be honest,..."Yeah it sounded really good, just didn't quite live up to the expectations for me!
Jo wrote: "Elena wrote: "I think for me the issue with Apollo wasn't so much that I found it boring, it was more that it just feels very young for me now in my twenties than the PJO or HOO series did because I read them when I was still in my teens, I'm just way past the target age range for Rick Riordan's books now and I don't find them as engaging-and that's okay! I will def try the new Percy Jackson adventure he has coming out in September though because I would love to see those characters again!"Oh yeah, that's also true. I'm too way older than the target age, though I still enjoy his books.
Elena wrote: "Jo wrote: "Elena wrote: "I think for me the issue with Apollo wasn't so much that I found it boring, it was more that it just feels very young for me now in my twenties than the PJO or HOO series d..."I mean honestly I'm not entirely sure if I really do feel like I've grown out of them or if I just didn't like Apollo because I dropped Apollo around Book 3 but I really enjoyed the Magnus Chase series which was coming out at around the same time, so maybe it's less me feeling like I've grown out of Rick Riordan as an author and more just that I wasn't engaged with Apollo in particular. I don't know!
Jo wrote: "I mean honestly I'm not entirely sure if I really do feel like I've grown out of them or if I just didn't like Apollo because I dropped Apollo around Book 3 but I really enjoyed the Magnus Chase series which was coming out at around the same time, so maybe it's less me feeling like I've grown out of Rick Riordan as an author and more just that I wasn't engaged with Apollo in particular. I don't know!"That's totally understandable, sometimes I also love one series by the author and don't like their other works much. I haven't tried MC series yet and want to give it a try too.
Elena wrote: "Jo wrote: "I mean honestly I'm not entirely sure if I really do feel like I've grown out of them or if I just didn't like Apollo because I dropped Apollo around Book 3 but I really enjoyed the Magn..."It's really fun, I definitely recommend it. It was nice to read something by Rick Riordan that wasn't in the Percy Jackson world for a change, though Magnus is Annabeth's cousin, so there is a link and a couple of cameos in the series!
YA Addicted Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
V.E. Schwab's ExtraOrdinary #0 (other topics)V.E. Schwab's ExtraOrdinary #1 (other topics)
The Rebel Army #4 (other topics)
The Rebel Army #3 (other topics)
V. E. Schwab's ExtraOrdinary #2 (other topics)
More...
