I know I did a wrap up for 2020, which included all of the books I read in December, but this wrap up is a little more in-depth, so I’m doing it anyways! I actually love doing wrap up posts because it reminds me of the books I read and how I felt about them. It’s a nice stroll down memory lane!
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe 2021 is in THREE WEEKS. That is way too soon for comfort! I can’t believe the disaster that was 2020 is almost over and while I’m so excited for it to not be 2020 anymore, I’m also terrified of what’s to come.
So, what better way to distract myself from the chaos of the New Year than with a mid-month update!
I haven’t done a haul post in a while (excluding my B&N haul I did a couple weeks ago) so here is what I received in the month of November! This includes birthday gifts, books I bought, blog tour/giveaway books, and books I requested on NetGalley. And well, it’s a lot of books. So sorry!
Another month, another wrap up post!
Okay, so I did horribly this month with reading. Better than I expected, but still horrible. Thankfully, I have a lot more free time in December, so hopefully next month’s wrap up will be a lot more fun! But for today, here’s what I read in November.
It’s that time of the month! Here is my mid-month update with all the books I read, the books I’m reading, and the books I plan to read for the month of November!
The beginning of this month I was doing so well! But after the middle of the month, I only managed to read TWO books. Ugh. Out of ten books total, I’m a bit disappointed with myself, but oh well. There’s nothing I can do about it now.
Anyways! Here’s my October 2020 Wrap Up!
It’s time for another mid-month update! This month has been absolutely wild and I’m shocked I was able to read as much as I have. I still have a long way to go, especially since October TBR is trying to kill me, but I’m proud of myself!
I didn’t read nearly as much this month as I did the previous months. And that’s okay. But you know what’s not okay? The fact that I can’t format this post like the rest of my posts because, for whatever reason, WordPress is messing up the formatting no matter what I do! So this post is going to look different and I’m sorry about that. I hate it too.
Anyways, here’s what I read in the month of September!
This month is full of books I need to read for blog tours and for review before publication. It’s kind of stressful, but I’m also really enjoying the books I’ve read, so it’s not a chore for me. Here’s some of the books I read this month, the books I’m currently reading, and the books I plan to read next!
Alright! Another month done, another list of books I read this month!
I did really well reading wise. Not only did I complete all the books on my TBR, but then I read a couple extra as well! I’m really impressed with myself – I didn’t think I was going to be able to read all of these titles in the span of 31 days, but I guess I shouldn’t doubt myself!
Check out all of the books I read in August! I have tagged reviews for most, if not, all of them for you to check out!
I love doing mid-month updates because it allows me to not only see my progress, but think back on the books I read that month. I still can’t believe I’ve read as much as I have and I think I might actually finish my TBR this month! I keep surprising myself every time I set a high TBR, thinking I couldn’t possibly finish all those books.
August and September are my crazy months due to all of the ARCs I received from publishers, giveaways, and what I just currently had. I’m hoping things calm down quickly so I can read books that I have been dying to read (like Kingdom of Copper!) but just don’t have the time right now. Anyways, here’s what I’ve read, what I’m currently reading, and what I plan to read next!
Every time I do these wrap up posts, I feel like I barely read anything, but then I compile it together and I shock myself. This month I read 11 books, which is about the same as last month, although two of them were graphic novels so they weren’t as time consuming as the other longer or more wordy novels. I have linked all reviews for these books in the title, so if you’d like to see my thoughts, feel free to click the link and check them out!
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Genre: YA Fantasy
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars
Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
North and South by Gene Luen Yang, etc
Genre: YA Fantasy (Graphic Novels)
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Imbalance by Faith Erin Hicks, etc
Genre: YA Fantasy (Graphic Novels)
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
A Wicked Magic by Sasha Laurens
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Ignite the Sun by Hanna Howard
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars
Steel Tide by Natalie C. Parker
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
I’m hoping to have a good reading month for August, especially since I have to focus on a lot of ARCs I received through NetGalley. While I wasn’t intentionally trying to do the ARC August Readathon (hosted by Octavia and Shelly @ Read. Sleep. Repeat.) I basically have only ARCs on my TBR that I need to read and review, so I guess I’m participating!
If you want to see what my August TBR is, check out my TBR post here.
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I feel myself slowing down this month. I can’t seem to finish books as quickly as I usually would and I’m stressed. Especially since I have to read two books by next week for a blog tour. After that though, I can read what I want – so hopefully once the stress is gone I can read what I feel like and get back into the swing of things . . . hopefully.
Reviews for these should be up or coming up soon, but I liked all of them so far! Especially Crave by Tracy Wolff and Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco. I’m on such a fantasy kick right now I can’t seem to branch off!
I’m about 25% into A Wicked Magic by Sasha Laurens and just starting The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty and Spinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy. I’m doing a tour for Splinters of Scarlet and was supposed to do a tour for A Wicked Magic, but that fell through. Nonetheless, I’m obviously still going to review A Wicked Magic on the day I said I would, which will be Monday! I hope to finish these two soon, so fingers crossed I can get my two review books done in time!
Some of these are a mix of review books, like Ignite the Sun by Hanna C. Howard, Hush by Dylan Farrow, and To Sleep In A Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini – while the others are just for fun! I’m trying to mix it up during the month so I get a good balance of requested/required reads and for fun reads each month. Not to say that I don’t want to read my review books (I wouldn’t have asked for them if I didn’t), I just like to add some other books that are more flexible. So if I end up not in the mood or mindset to read them, I can push them aside guilt free!
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Going into this month, I honestly didn’t expect to get through any books. With moving, and work, and other stuff going on I expected to maybe read one or two books, but I went way beyond that.
I loved a lot of the books I read this month and I’m really excited for what I’m reading next month too! I ended up reading 2 of the books I planned to read in July (oops) so I guess I’m on track.
Here’s everything I’ve read in the month of June.
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power
Genre: YA Fiction/Thriller/Horror
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Greythorne by Crystal Smith
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
The Deck of Omens by Christine Lynn Herman
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Heir of Ashes by Jina S. Bazzar
Genre: Adult Fantasy/Urban Fantasy
Rating: N/A
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Mayhem by Estelle Laure
Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars
They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman
Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Avatar: The Promise by Gene Luen Yang . . .
Genre: YA Fantasy/Graphic Novels
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Avatar: The Search by Gene Luen Yang . . .
Genre: YA Fantasy/Graphic Novels
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Avatar: The Rift by Gene Luen Yang . . .
Genre: YA Fantasy/Graphic Novels
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Avatar: Smoke and Shadow by Gene Luen Yang . . .
Genre: YA Fantasy/Graphic Novels
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
It was so nice to be able to FINALLY read the Avatar comics. I love Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, so to be able to read the comics at last, it makes me so happy. Only two more books before they’re done, but my heart is full. After my rewatch of Korra, I’ll probably end up reading those comics too!
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So far, I’m pretty happy with how much I’ve read this month! Some of these books I started at the end of May and finished in the beginning of June, but I’m counting them! My goal is to read eight books this month and so far, I’ve done really well and I’ll definitely going to meet that goal. Let’s just hope I continue reading such amazing stories for the rest of this month.
I’m surprised I am able to read so much this month. Before moving in I thought I would have no time to read and would be lucky to get through 2 books a week. But it looks like I’m getting through a book about every other day or so, which is awesome! I hope to continue to have as much reading time going forward and hopefully, you’ll be seeing reviews of these books soon!
What books are you currently reading? Are you close to your goal for this month?
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This month, I wanted to do my part to help indie bookstores so I ordered a couple of books from my somewhat local indie store, One More Page Books. I’m not sure I’ll be able to order physical books for the future, but I will probably keep my eye out for any good kindle book deals (so pass them along if you have them!).
For May, I not only ordered books, but I also received some! I happened to win a Twitter giveaway (which NEVER happens for me) so I have FIVE books currently on the way! I did include them in this post because I won them in May, but I don’t know if they’ll actually arrive before the end of the month.
Okay, moving on! Here’s what I purchased and received in May 2020!
The Bone Charmer by Breeana Shields
Format: Hardcover
Bought from: One More Page Books
The Bone Thief by Breeana Shields
Format: Hardcover
Bought from: One More Page Books
The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
Format: Hardcover
Bought from: One More Page Books
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Format: Hardcover (Collector’s Edition)
Bought from: One More Page Books
The Fever King by Victoria Lee
Format: e-book
Bought from: Kindle (free)
Ignite the Sun by Hanna C. Howard
Format: e-book
Received from: NetGalley
The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty
Format: ARC
Received from: Goodreads giveaway
Mayhem by Estelle Laure
Format: ARC
Received from: Nostalgia Hour Giveaway
The Mall by Megan McCafferty
Format: ARC
Received from: Nostalgia Hour Giveaway
Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee
Format: ARC
Received from: Publisher
Heir of Ashes by Jina S. Bazzar
Format: e-book
Received from: Author for review
All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban
Format: ARC
Received from: Twitter Giveaway
The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson
Format: ARC
Received from: Twitter Giveaway
Crave by Tracy Wolff
Format: ARC
Received from: Twitter Giveaway
Girls Save the World in This One by Ash Parsons
Format: ARC
Received from: Twitter Giveaway
Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova
Format: ARC
Received from: Twitter Giveaway
Divine Blood by Beck Michaels
Format: eARC
Received from: Author
Warmaidens by Kelly Coon
Format: eARC
Received from: NetGalley
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Just like last month, this month has been a flurry of reading and receiving books.
For May, I surpassed my goal of 10 books by a lot. Unfortunately, I am going to reduce my goal next month since I’ll probably have a more limited reading time. But I did get to read a lot of awesome books this month and I’m way ahead on my reading goal!
Because I read and received so many books this month, I’m splitting up my posts. It was like 30+ books in one post which is just too much. So for today, here is my wrap up from May 2020 with all of the books I read!
The Bone Charmer by Breeana Shields
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
The Bone Thief by Breeana Shields
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
The Beholder by Anna Bright
Genre: YA Fiction/Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ??? // 5 stars
The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Thorn by Intisar Khanani
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
The Boundless by Anna Bright
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Tunnels of Bones by Victoria Schwab
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Divine Blood by Beck Michaels
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3 // 5 stars
Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
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May has been a very good month so far for my TBR! I’ve currently read 7/10 books I wanted to read this month, which is insane for me. Because I’ve been reading so much I decided to add some extra books to my TBR. We’ll see if I can actually get through all of them this month, but I have hope I’ll get through most!
I also wanted to provide an update – because I have been reading more and have more content, I am going to try posting five times a week, Monday through Friday. This is a change from my normal blogging timeline, but I wanted to give it a try. If it doesn’t work, I’m going to go back to my typical posting schedule, but if I can maintain it, then we’re heading towards five days a week!
For the books I’ve read, I blew through some of them it wasn’t even funny. I’ve read two duologies, The Bone Charmer/The Bone Thief by Breeana Shields and The Storm Crow/The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson so far and will have finished another duology by the end of the month! Reviews will be up for all of these books at some point in the coming days. After reading Forest of Souls (the eARC), I realized I probably should have waited to read and review it. I received a physical ARC of the book this past Saturday and I think I’m going to do a reread of the physical book to make sure my thoughts are in order. I find that sometimes I’ll rate a book differently based on format (especially for ARCs) and I really want to give this book a fair chance, especially since it has huge Wicked Saints vibes and there were moments I was freaking out about. So, review for that may be delayed. But for the most part, I adored all of these books and I can’t wait for you to read my thoughts on them!
I’m currently almost finished with Thorn by Intisar Khanani and it is so good! I’m buddy reading this book with my friend Grace and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a Goose Girl retelling, which I’ve never read, but I like it! Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst is a bit of a struggle. It’s not a bad book, but I am definitely not in the mood to read it right now – maybe I’ll have to stick it back on the TBR pile for a while. I started reading The Boundless and I am almost 50% through. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to read for the blog tour and have my post ready for June. So far, I’m really liking the sequel and can’t wait to see what happens next. I know that this is a duology, so I’m wondering who Selah is going to end up with, if she ends up with anyone, and if she’s going to be able to get home to her father soon. There are so many unanswered questions!
I’ve added five books to my TBR (not including the two I added and I am currently reading) since I’m getting through books very quickly. I haven’t read this much since January 2019 when I read almost twenty books in the month. It was awesome! I’m really happy I get to read books that have been on my TBR for forever, as well as new books for review or for fun. I managed to win a copy of Empire of Gold (City of Brass #3) from Goodreads too and now I have to read the other two books. Why did I enter the giveaway when I hadn’t read the other two books? – because I never win giveaways so I didn’t think it would happen.
But here we are! And now I have motivation to read the first book, The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. I actually have a signed copy that I received for free at BookCon 2018 as part of the VIP package. I got City of Brass and The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang – which I haven’t read either yet, though I’ve heard they are AMAZING!
So here is my mid-month update! I’ve currently read 7 seven books, I am reading 3 books, and I want to read 7 books. I’m sure I won’t get to all of them, but it’s good to have strong goals, right?
How is your TBR reading going? Any books that surprised you?
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To preface this post, I wanted to let you all know that it took my two hours to do this. Partly my fault since I read so much this month, but it’s formatted a little differently from last month because there was so much and I’m lazy. As a disclaimer, some of the books I read have not been released yet, so I’m sorry if you wanted to pick them up immediately. If a review has been written, it will be tagged in the title, so feel free to check it out! Reviews for the other books I read will be up, probably sometime in May or June. Okay, moving on: I hope you enjoy what I read and what I bought/received this month!
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5//5 stars
The Raven and the Dove by Kaitlyn Davis
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4//5 stars
Shielded by Kaylynn Flanders
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4//5 stars
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 2//5 stars
Goddess in the Machine by Lora Beth Johnson
Genre: YA Science Fiction and Fantasy
Rating: 3.5//5
The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
Genre: YA Science Fiction and Fantasy
Rating: 4//5 stars
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4//5 stars
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5//5 stars
Hunting November (Killing November #2) by Adriana Mather
Genre: YA Thriller
Rating: 3.75//5 stars
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5//5 stars
Ruthless Gods (Wicked Saints #2) by Emily A. Duncan
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5//5 stars
Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5//5 stars
The Deck of Omens by Christine Lynn Herman
Format: ARC
Received from: Trade with a friend
Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
Format: ARC
Received from: Trade with a friend
Publication Date: July 7th, 2020
The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson
Format: eARC
Received from: Edelweiss
Publication Date: July 7th, 2020
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
Format: ARC and eARC
Received from: ApollyCon and NetGalley
Publication Date: July 7th, 2020
A Curse of Gold by Annie Sullivan
Format: eARC
Received from: NetGalley
Publication Date: Sometime 2020
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
Format: eARC and maybe physical?
Received from: Tor Publishing
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
Format: eARC
Received from: Harper Collins
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
The Boundless by Anna Bright
Format: eARC
Received: Blog Tour
Publication Date: June 9th, 2020
Crave by Tracy Wolff
Format: Physical Book
Bought from: Amazon
Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan
Format: Physical Book
Bought from: OwlCrate
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Format: Physical Book
Bought from: Illumicrate
Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
Format: Physical Book
Bought from: Illumicrate
March was crazy and April is following closely behind for me. This month I have focused on the books currently sitting in my NetGalley queue and other giveaway books I’ve won. I’ve also allowed my self to read some TBR books this month to keep it fresh and motivate me, as well as some buddy reading! Here is my mid month update on what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and what I plan to read for April!
What I’ve read:
What I’m reading:
What I plan to read:
I’m currently buddy reading The Kingdom of Back and Goddess in the Machine with some friends, which is why it’s taking so long for me to read them. If you follow me on Goodreads, then you’d see I’m reading about 50 pages a day for each of them. I am also almost done with Where Dreams Descend and plan to start The Vanishing Deep next!
I’m hopeful that I can read the rest of these books by the end of the month, but it might change depending on how I’m feeling. Most likely, one or two of these will need to be pushed into May but again, I’m hopeful that I can get through them all. Now one of these books is HUGE (cough cough, SJM, cough cough)! I’m excited to dive into two of my favorite authors, especially since most of my friends have read their books already and are waiting on me to finish. I love Astrid’s debut novel Four Dead Queens and I’ve been hearing great things about The Vanishing Deep!
As I set up my May TBR, what are some titles you’re looking to read? I have a few ARCs, some new releases, and old TBR books I’m hoping to get through. I also want to push myself to read more books this month and next month so I can get ahead for my reading goal.
Don’t forget, I am currently co-hosting a giveaway with Writing the Universe! You can enter through the Rafflecopter we have set up (entries will only count if you enter through there!). I will link the post to our giveaway – please feel free to check it out and enter!
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This month has been strange to put it plainly. With my position being moved remotely and me now working from home, I have more free time to do things like read. This month I’ve read more than I have in recent months. I’m quite happy with how much I’ve read, and it’s not a lot, but it’s more than in the past. These books have mostly been from NetGalley, but I hope to read more from my TBR in April. Here are all the books I’ve read and acquired in March.
Books I’ve Read:
Night Spinner by Jennifer Gruenke
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 
//5
Night Spinner by Addie Thorley
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: //5
Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Rating: //5
Books I’ve Bought/Received:
Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee
Format: e-ARC
Received from: NetGalley
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2020
Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power
Format: e-ARC
Received from: NetGalley
Publication Date: July 7th, 2020
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
Format: e-ARC
Received from: NetGalley
Publication Date: June 2nd, 2020
The Bone Thief by Breeana Shields
Format: eARC
Received from: NetGalley
Publication Date: May 26th, 2020
House of Blood and Earth by Sarah J Maas
Format: Hardcover
Purchased: Barnes & Noble
Publication Date: March 3rd, 2020
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
Format: Hardcover
Purchased: Barnes & Noble
Publication Date: March 3rd, 2020
The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky by Mackenzi Lee
Format: Hardcover
Purchased: One More Page Bookstore
Publication Date: November 26th, 2019
What are some books you’ve read/purchased recently? Let me know in the comments!
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Well, the first month of the new decade has passed and I haven’t read shit.
Who said being an adult is fun? I would like my money back please (and my free time).
So far, the only thing I’ve managed to read was Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin and half of Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan and Lobizona by Romina Garber. So all in all, not a great reading month. But! I have consistently been posting on my blog (yay!) and – I GOT A NEW JOB!!!
So overall, bad reading month, great month otherwise.
To make this post actually worth reading, here’s my NetGalley waitlist update!
So far, I have been approved for these titles:
Declined on these titles:
And still waiting to know about these titles:
So, super excited to start reading those and fingers crossed for the other six!
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Wow, who can believe that 2019 is coming to an end and we are about to emerge into the 20’s!? I can’t.
2019 was the year of new beginnings for me:
This year was awesome and new, yet very hard. There were 3 unfortunate deaths in my family, people I loved were going through some rough transitions, but in the end, we have all ended the year on a strong foot and I’m excited for 2020 – if not also terrified.
To wrap up this year, let’s look back at all the amazing books I read and are set to finish by the end of the year:
My goal for 2019 was 100 books, but with working two jobs and other things getting in the way, that did not happen. I’ll be lucky to get to 50 at this point, but that’s okay, because most of these reads have been well worth it!
Here is my year in review:
Favorite Book:
This was one of my favorite reads of this year. There seems to be a dichotomy over this book, with some people not liking it, but I loved it. The story was new and interesting, the characters had a wonderful relationship, and the world sucked me right in. I could not put this story down!
Least Favorite Book:
This was unfortunate, but this was my least favorite read of the year. While I liked the plot of the story it was the main character that I couldn’t connect with. I had some issues with pacing as well, but overall I couldn’t connect with her story or her personality and that made it almost impossible to get through. This story is amazing and unique, and you should definitely give it a try, but just wasn’t for me.
Most Surprising Read:
I was so excited for this trilogy to end – until I actually read the ending. I was not impressed with the ending and felt like it could have been much better. My biggest thing was the personality change in Jude and the big dynamic change between two characters. Overall, I still enjoyed the ending but I didn’t love it.
Most Anticipated Read of 2020:
There are so many amazing books coming out in 2020 and I’ve had the pleasure to have already read some of them. One of the early 2020 books I’m super excited about is called Diamond City and it is AMAZING! It’s like Throne of Glass met Six of Crows and it is so good. If this book isn’t on your radar, it needs to be!
Overall, this year has been filled with amazing books, events, and people – not a bad year to end the decade with!
If you’re interested in ending the year off right, check out my end of the year giveaway! This is as a thank you for reading 100 blog followers and it includes a 2019 ARC, 2020 ARC, a finished copy, and a bunch of swag! You can click here to enter!
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So as you can tell, I haven’t posted in a while. There is a completely valid reason for that but I still feel like I have to explain myself so here goes: life got really busy. I hit a hardcore reading slump in September/October that I couldn’t get over – hence why it took me two months to read Gideon the Ninth. On top of that I started a new job at the end of October in addition to my current full time job. So yeah, it’s been hectic.
First off, yay for new jobs! I recently accepted a part time position at Barnes and Noble which is where I now work in addition to my other full time job. Unfortunately, my full time job cut my hours (yayyy) and so in order to make up that loss, I got another job! And thankfully it’s at a place I’ve wanted to work at for forever.
Getting a second job isn’t always fun or easy but my coworkers have made the experience amazing. I’ve met other writers there who are working on AMAZING manuscripts that I can’t wait to read. Heard some funny and not so funny stories and found a group of people who love books as much as I do. Overall, it’s been an awesome place to work and I’m excited to help people find amazing gifts for their loved ones.
Plus that employee discount 😉
Besides that, I just recently got over a reading slump. I FINALLY finished Gideon the Ninth (FINALLY!!!) and read Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan in 24 hours. (Let me know if you want me to write a review for that – I feel like it’s been discussed a lot so I don’t want to be too repetitive). And I’m currently reading Sensational by Jodie Lynn Zdrok at the moment, which comes out in February 2020. I’m hoping that another slump won’t hit for a few months because if it does, I will scream. Not sure what I’m going to read next, probably Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan (aka, Wicked Saints 2) because I received it at YALLFest and hello, I have to read it after the mess that was Wicked Saints. After that, I have a lot of new releases and ARCs to read so hopefully I have plenty of reading material before the next major slump hits!
Along with a reading slump, I was also hit with a writing slump. Now that I work two jobs, I doubt I will get much writing done this month but I’m going to try. I bought a new calendar which will hopefully help me manage my time better but we all know there are no guarantees with that. And I’m excited for the Holiday season!
What are some major updates in your life? Any amazing news you want to share? Comment below so we can celebrate together!
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This month has been HORRIBLE for reading. With my schedule changing at work to an awful reading slump, September was Septem-NOPE.
Here’s what I managed to finish though:
//5 stars for me. Not because the book was bad, but it just was not for me. It gives off CoBaB vibes in the beginning, but takes a unique, magical twist later on. The biggest thing for me was that it felt impossible to get through. Each time I picked it up, I immediately wanted to put it back down, even thought I was genuinely enjoyed the story. It was frustrating, but still a beautiful story and I think a lot of people will enjoy it more than me, especially those who are own voices.
//5 stars was for, I absolutely ADORED this story! The marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers trope, witches, and strong willed women had me SOLD. Everything about this book was wonderful and I loved the sass, the plot, and all of the characters. The only thing I disliked was that the ending came way too soon and I need book #2 RIGHT NOW. Shelby, can we make this happen?I know, pretty pathetic, but this was all I could get through unfortunately. I was in the process of reading Gideon the Ninth and Crier’s War but with limited free time, I barely made it past 100 pages for both. Hopefully I can get through more books in October and can actually give some substance to these wrap ups!
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Please check out these books, links included for their respective Goodreads pages for synopsis and purchasing details! Let me know if you’ve read these new releases and what you thought!
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April was a big month for new releases and spending money on new books! I had a lot of trades and purchases that occurred this month (much more than last month) as well as several preorders! Some of these I have more than one copy that I got, so I will include how many I actually received.
Some of the ARCs I received this month are:
Some of the Finished Copies I bought this month are:
After looking over how many books I’ve received this month, I have a feeling I’m going to have to sit down and stop spending money. Yikes!
If you have purchased, read, or are interested in any of these books, let me know! I’d also love to know what books you purchased for April – let’s share the love!
I decided to wait until the end of February to write my February Wrap Up, which is why this is getting published on March 1st!
This month I read less than January and purchased/traded less books than I normally do. Typically I read between 10-15 books a month but in February I only read 5. Some of these books I’ve already reviewed or will be reviewing, so I won’t go in depth – but I will go into whether or not I would recommend it! I will also be discussing some of the March releases I’m most excited for!
To start, this month I read:
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
The Cerulean by Amy Ewing
The Book is Not Yet Rated by Peter Bognanni
The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees
Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
Honestly, I loved every book I read, except one, which is not bad! Out of all of these titles, the only one I would not recommend is The Cerulean by Amy Ewing because of certain issues with the book, which I discuss in my review. While this is significantly less than what I read in January, with all of the craziness that life handed me I’m happy that I reached 5 books this month and I hope to double it in March!
Now for my purchases; I mostly did trades with people and got some titles I’m excited to read! Some of these include Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan, Enchantée by Gita Trelease, and The Fever King by Victoria Lee! Recently I’ve been into trading with people for ARC’s (advanced reader copies) which is not something that I did in the past. In fact, I didn’t really know about ARCs until this past summer when I went to BookCon and saw people reading titles like The Wicked King and Priory of the Orange Tree early.
Of the books I did purchase, I finally got a UK first edition of Caraval with the hidden clock! It took me so long to find this book and while the book is in okay condition, I’m glad I didn’t spend the $50+ that most people charge for the book. Besides that, I also got the February OwlCrate and February Fairyloot box (which I’m still waiting on). I did preorder Courting Darkness, Bloodwitch, Four Dead Queens, and Priory of the Orange Tree – although I’m still waiting on the last two to arrive to my house!
Some of the new releases I’m most excited for that release in March are:
And of course so many other titles that I have not had the chance to read about/know about yet that are coming out in the month of March too! Let me know in the comments what your favorite book from February was and your most anticipated March release!
