2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
2025 Personal Challenge: 51-75
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Keri's Shrink-The-TBR-Shelf (60+)
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I dropped it from four to three stars. Well-written, not particularly dark, and the ending was "convenient". I didn't like Kerensa, and for some reason I didn't like Mellyora at the end either.
Nicely written, decent enough characters, should have been an intriguing plot/storyline, but nothing came together enough for me to enjoy it.
Two stars.
Not as good as the second book in my opinion, but most would probably find this one better written as the story flowed more naturally. I did enjoy this and definitely liked learning more about Morlock and his family and his past, which was little covered in book two, being as it is, the second in the series and who likes too much rehash?
Four stars
Three stars for the first four stories. Four stars for the last two. "Baldy" is my favorite character out of all the stories. He was a riot and I loved every scene he was in. Agatha Christie can write such great characters.
A lot of action in this one. But what do you expect from a thrilling Click!?
I can't help but feel sorry for Gaspode.
Three stars
Okay, that's it. I have got to stay away from academia YA. I am long past those days and have no desire to immerse myself in the (typical) emotional behavior of these kinds of stories.
Two stars
....
But not because of bad writing. And the characters were fine too. And it was a pretty creative world and story. I was just bored.
Hi Keri! Looks like you're making really good progress on your goal of reducing your TBR! I hope that you've been enjoying your 2025 reads so far! Happy reading!
JennH wrote: "Hi Keri! Looks like you're making really good progress on your goal of reducing your TBR! I hope that you've been enjoying your 2025 reads so far! Happy reading!"I am! Thank you! I was supposed to take it easy this yeae but I always stress myself out about my goal and end up over achieving. Not that I'm not enjoying the books I read.
This was just as much fun and adventuresome as book one. I really have so little to complain about so I won't bother. I did enjoy book one a wee bit more but I think that was more because of how exciting it was learning about the characters. Wendell and Emily are old friends to me now so this lacked the exciting newness but were just as much fun.
Five stars
A clever rendition of ... Well... The prelude to Snow White. I didn't realize it was this when I got it and was actually disliking it for the dark, selfish ways of the main character. It was about three-quarters of the way through I realized what I was reading and that the MC is NOT a herione.
I didn't particularly love/like the story but I feel it is worth four stars for solid writing, great story-telling, and a clever way of telling Snow White without it being Snow White.
Keri wrote: "JennH wrote: "Hi Keri! Looks like you're making really good progress on your goal of reducing your TBR! I hope that you've been enjoying your 2025 reads so far! Happy reading!"I am! Thank you! I ..."
I can totally relate. I start to get anxious if I see that my number of books ahead gets smaller. 😳 But obviously what matters most is that we're enjoying what we're reading.
This was not as heart warming as I was expecting. I think I was thinking of a different book when I picked this one up, because the premise wasn't at all what I thought it was.
It was still a cute story. It was a "cozy" type of heart warming so it doesn't get very deep or moving, but it was good in its own simple way.
Three stars
It bugs me when I can't figure out who the killer is before the reveal. I don't think I ever have with the few murders I have read of Christie's. I really like her writing, and this book was a very interesting, fast read.
Five stars
What a dark and morbid story. Two stars because I don't like books where there is no sense of right and wrong and all characters are no different from each other in actions and behavior in such a way that there is no... Well hero. They're all villains, just fighting each other for different causes and their causes are no different from each other either. I like having someone to root for, even if I don't know who that someone is until late in the book.
Very well written and very good at maintaining interest throughout the whole story. The "event" that sparked the interest in writing this novel is horribly tragic. History has such dark pages.
Four stars
Vol 1-2 summary:
Volume one took a bit to get going and wasn't particularly clear in some areas, but maintained enought for me to try book two. The second volume didn't move along much further story-wise but was a lot more entertaining. I gave volume one a three star rating and volume four a four star rating.
The characters were a lot of fun. I really liked Rahma's personality. She was funny and witty and made the story amusing.
Three stars
Not my favorite of Dickens, but it had its entertaining moments. I wish that blasted "law" office would have gotten some crap hitting them, but I guess that would have made it too good of an ending.
Three stars
This is a fun, adventurous, well-written novel. I had a few minor complaints with the seemingly unnecessary anger fits Safi displayed, and I never did fully grasp what all the types of witches could do (nor really why a Truthwitch is so coveted... Other witch types seemed far more useful), but the characters were a lot of fun and I liked the tension between Safi and.... Wow, I forgot his name already.... The prince... The second prince....
Anyway, four stars
Constantly irritating MC, easy to figure out plot, well-written and interesting enough to finish.
Three stars
And thus this delightful series has come to a satisfactory conclusion. I was totally okay with Ves ending the series being a super-powered Merlin, but that didn't happen and I was a bit sad about that. It made sense though.
Five stars
This was very predictable. The characters were exactly the type ofcharacters one would expect in this kind of story. I wasn't particulalry impressed with the plot either. The writing was decent.
Two stars
I am reminded of book one of this series and how much I loved it. I now own book three and four so I can take my time reading those, in the sense I don't have to worry about the library no longer having it for me to borrow.
I kind of don't know why I liked this book so much. It really feels like not a lot happened even though stuff did happen. I also really like Cefwyn and Tristan and some of the other characters so that really helps.
Four stars
The art could be super gorgeous, but sometimes was a bit odd looking too. Mr. Knightly looked like a gaunt 90 year old which was super upsetting. I didn't much like the representation of the characters. They came across as super spoiled and always fighting. I like the original work way better.
Two stars
Ugh, I was not impressed. The author did a poor job winning me over to any of her causes, even ones I am already for. Also, I really need to read synopsis more. This was nothing of what I thought it would be.
One star
Four stars for great writing, intrigue of plot, and a diverse cast of characters to hate or like. Not recommended for anyone who prefers a cleaner or less morbid novels.
Yay! Another 4 star read! This was also on the horror morbid side of "fantasy" but was very captivating and fun. I liked all of the four main characters and would have liked to have known if Bonn had ever been caught by his mother. Mix was a delight and I would have liked to have known more of her story as well.
Sad ending but was pretty much foreseen and necessary. I'm glad Tillinghast and Wulliam made amends.
This was just the sort of cute and cozy read I was in the mood for. I love "Mew" and how adorable... He? She? Is. What I did find rather 2D and annoying was the cruelity and overall disgust the ENTIRE city has for the witch.
I seriously hope the author delves more deeply into the broken part of Hero's and Jeanne's relationship. I want to know what happened exactly. And why. And I hope it's not some quick, oh he was just a jerk really, kind of excuse.
Four stars and definitely reading the next two volumes.
Not as riveting as his Evelyn Hardcastle book, but the mystery and world-building was very engaging. I like his writing and stories and will be continuing his books.
Four stars
Easy to read, well-written book. I enjoyed the diverse cast, well-crsfted world, and the nothing-spectacular but still interesting magic system. I really have found little fault with it, not to say I didn't get super annoyed with certain characters or how the events played out.
I give it a solid four stars.
This is a novella which I did not realize until I placed it on hold at my library, not that I'm complaining. It was a pleasant, short read that maintained my interest for its entirety. I'm not sure I liked it enough to continue the series, although I may look into her other books.
Three stars
Ha! Excellent book! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good ole' hero against evil story that's light-hearted AND somber and grim.
Five stars
60/60 library reads completed!!! I am done with my 2025 goal!! I'll still be reading obviously but am no longer updating this thread as I have completed my task 😁😁
Keri, congratulations on reaching your goal with library reads! Woohoo! Glad you'll still be reading even though you've completed your challenge. The thread will still be here in case you change your mind about posting... 😉
JennH wrote: "Keri, congratulations on reaching your goal with library reads! Woohoo! Glad you'll still be reading even though you've completed your challenge. The thread will still be here in case you change ..."
Thank you!! I finished sooner than I thought but the books I borrowed all came in faster than I thought they would.
Hehehe, thanks! I figured I would concentrate on doing more monthly/quarterly challenges for a change now that I completed my yearly goal.
Keri wrote: "JennH wrote: "Keri, congratulations on reaching your goal with library reads! Woohoo! Glad you'll still be reading even though you've completed your challenge. The thread will still be here in ca..."
It's always a pleasant surprise when holds come in sooner than expected! Well, unless they come in all at once. Then it's like what do I read first!?!
Have fun with the monthly and quarterly challenges!
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Lake House (other topics)I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons (other topics)
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons (other topics)
Small Gods (other topics)
Penric’s Demon (other topics)
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This is so far one of my favorites of Backman's novels. I liked his Man Called Ove well enough, but I connected with this one. I just understood Britt-Marie so much better where I couldn't always relate to Ove. The writing for Britt-Marie felt so much more engaging and emotional. I could clearly understand all parties involved. This is such a good book.
Four stars