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Quarantine Wrap Up

Like most of you, I have been spending my days at home. I have been out of work since March 17, with no return date as of now. Surprisingly, I have been in a reading mood and have been able to read 19 books since I have been home, which is the most I have ever read in a 2 month span.

Now, I am not going to talk about every book I have read but I do want to highlight some of my favorites and then the few that just missed the mark for me.

Let’s get the not so great books out of the way first.

Disappointing Reads

Thankfully, I do not have many of these. Honestly there was only one book I gave under 3 stars and I can say I hate read.

Never Let You Go – – Chevy Stevens

I did a complete review of this book which you can find HERE. Without a doubt, I did not like this book at all. There is no “maybe”. I did not like the characters in this book, really, I did not enjoy anything about this one. I listened to the audiobook, which I do not recommend. I have heard better narrators in my life. Overall, this was not a good book and I can not wait to unhaul this. I gave this one 2 stars.

TW: Domestic Abuse

I did have 2 reads that I had high expectations for but were a bit of a disappointment. They were not bad books by any means. I was just expecting more from them.

Imaginary Friends – – Stephen Chbosky

Ok, so I have never read Perks to Being A Wallflower, but when I heard about this one, I knew I wanted to read it. I normally do not purchase brand new books, I utilize my library for those. But I did pick this one up at Target when it came out.

It started out strong and I was enjoying it. I think it was about halfway through, maybe a little less, when I felt like the reveal happened and it could have ended. But I still had a few hundred pages to go. Despite the length and despite it feeling like it could have been like 200 pages shorter, I read it very quickly. I don’t think it was as scary as I was hoping and as scary as I wanted at that time. My biggest disappointment came at the end, when it took a weird turn. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all and I wasn’t into it.

Overall, I gave this 3.5 stars but it is probably closer to 3 stars.

The Deep – – Alma Katsu

I LOVED The Hunger so when I heard about this and that it was taking place on the Titanic, I had to have this. And when I got it, I had to read it right away.

First, it took me awhile to get into this. I thought it was a little slow going. And to be honest, I don’t think it every really picked up. I did enjoy the two different timelines, but again, I was hoping for something that was scarier. I was completely weirded out by The Hunger, and was expecting more from this. It never really got there. And the ending was just mediocre in my opinion. I think there was so much potential. The atmosphere was there, the location of being on the Titanic and knowing how that plays out, set this up to be so much more than it was. And the cover is stunning. It just fell flat for me.

I gave this 3.5 stars but again it is more like a 3 star.

Standout Reads

The last two months I have been binge reading The Grant County Series by Karin Slaughter. I love the audiobooks of these so I just did one right after the other. I was able to read the first 4 books; Blindsighted, Kisscut, A Faint Cold Fear and Indelible. If you have never read Karin Slaughter and you can handle tough, sometimes gory and gruesome subject matters, I highly recommend her books. When people ask me about them, I compare her books to Law and Order: SVU but a little more in depth. They are so fast paced and keep your attention the whole time.

I would advise to read these in order, the same with the Will Trent series. Each crime is finished within the book, but Slaughter develops her characters a little more with each book that it just makes sense to read them in order to get the full effect. And I would recommend reading the Grant County Series before the Will Trent Series as they do merge at some point and can be spoiled.

Overall this is a fantastic series and I can’t wait to finish the last two books this month.

4 Stars

All the other books I read during my time home were average reads. I enjoyed them but I don’t have much to day about them. If you would like to keep up on my reading, check me out on Goodreads or on my Instagram. I would love to be friends on both platforms!

How has your reading been while spending some time at home?

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December Wrap Up Part 2

Since I got a little long winded in my last post, I decided to split up my wrap up. This post contains the last 4 books I read in December.

Daisy Jones & The Six

After I listened to The Night Circus, I picked this one up. I wasn’t planning to read this, but I guess I forgot that I put it on hold through my library. I got an email saying it was available. I very much enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so I was expecting to enjoy this.

The audiobook was fantastic. I loved the full cast and I can honestly say this is one of my favorite audiobooks I have ever listened to. The story was okay. I use to enjoy watching “Behind the Music” on VH1 and this reminded me of that. I did not think it was as good as Evelyn Hugo. I think it got a lot of hype, which I am not saying it doesn’t deserve, but I think there are better books out there.

Daisy Jones & The Six follows two separate artists and there lives as separate musicians and then how they came together and then their journey as one band. I enjoyed listening to this, but it didn’t get me excited like Evelyn Hugo did. I will however read more from this author.

3 Stars

Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones – – Seanan McGuire

In anticipation of Come Tumbling Down, the fifth book in the Wayward Children series, I decided to reread the series. The first 3 books are on Hoopla as audiobooks, so that’s how decided to read them this go around.

If you are unfamiliar with this series, it is a portal fantasy series. All the books are novella length, clocking in under 220 pages each book. It involves children who find doors that take them to a world that would better suit them.

In Every Heart a Doorway, we get introduced to a lot of the kids that we will follow in preceding books. We also get introduced to the school these kids go to when they come back from their portal world.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones is my absolute favorite in the series so far. We follow Jack and Jill, twin sisters we first met in Every Heart a Doorway. In the second in the series we get a glimpse into the girls life before they found their door and then after, while they are living in the moors. I love the atmosphere of this, the darkness of it. Not every doorway leads to color and candy, and I love that about this series.

The first time I read these, I wasn’t sure I was going to like the series. I thought I was not a big fantasy reader, but it turns out, I just need to read the right fantasy. I thought this series was enough “pretend” and enough “real world” to not confuse me. And the writing is just great. I have read reviews that say they are too short. But I think they are just enough. The purpose it not a full on story, but just to have a glimpse. And I like that as the series goes on, we are revisiting some of the past characters.

4 and 5 stars respectfully

Dreamland – – Nancy Bilyeau

In December, I was able to read the one ARC I have for January. I am not going to go into full detail, as I will have a full review go up on release day, but I will say that I enjoyed this. It was not what I thought it was going to be, but I was pleasantly surprised.

We have finally reached the end of my December wrap up. Thanks for reading!

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December 2019 Wrap Up Part 1

I am going to be honest. I did not expect to get much reading done in December. I was feeling a little slumpy and burnt out. On top of that, December is my busiest month at work and I was working 10-11 hour days as well as extra days a week. I was planning to take this month off of reading to get ready for the new year; to feel refreshed and renewed. Now, I didn’t take a complete break from reading, but imagine my surprise when I checked my Goodreads and saw that I finished 8 books this month. 8! Some of these books I absolutely remember reading, but I really thought I read them in November. That’s how much November and December blend together for me. Either way, I read more than I ever thought I would this month. Let’s wrap this up.

Tampa – – Alissa Nutting

This was my first read of the month. I have been wanting to get to this for years, after hearing about it on one of the Book Riot podcasts. I have had it saved in my favorites on Hoopla ever since then. I was just a little hesitant and couldn’t decide if I wanted to listen to it via audiobook or read it physically, given the tough subject matter. I finally just decided to take the plunge and listen to it. And I am so glad I did. Do not get me wrong, this is not an easy read, but it is so well done. Nutting does not hold back and commits to this completely.

If you are not familiar with this book, it follows a twenty-something year old woman who finds her self sexually attracted to adolescent boys. To add to it, she is a an 8th grade teacher. This is a book on her acting on those feelings.

I have a full review, which you can find HERE. I could not put this book down. I found it so well done, but be warned. It is not an easy read.

4 Stars

The Invited – – Jennifer McMahon

I decided to read The Invited next, considering I have had it on hold with the library for what seems like forever. I was seeing it a little more on Booktube and thought it was about time.

This book follows a couple who decide to move to Vermont, buy a plot of land and build their dream house with the money the wife’s late father left them. What they do not know, but later find out, the land is haunted by a woman who lived there decades before. Helen, who is history teacher, becomes obsessed with this and purposely seeks out material that will guarantee the house be haunted.

What I have encountered quite often, especially in the thriller/horror/mystery genre, the beginning is strong. As the story progresses, it starts to lose its intrigue. That’s what started to happen here. At first, I was really into this. It started to shape up as a great ghost story. I was wanting that. I haven’t read a really good ghost story in a while. But towards the middle it started to lose me. By the end, I determined it was a good book, but not a great one that I was expecting.

Where it started to lose me was when fantasy elements started to come into play. I wanted just a paranormal story. That’s it. I didn’t get it. Another thing I am learning that I don’t like in books, (and will come into play later with another book I read) is when people who have no business playing detective and solving a crime or a mystery, become a detective and end up masterfully solving a crime or a mystery. It just isn’t realistic to me. Not that a ghost story is realistic, depending on how you see things. But in certain stories, that detective aspect doesn’t belong. And that didn’t belong here.

With that said, I did like this book. I enjoyed where the author was going with this, even if some parts of it were just meh. I liked the writing enough to want to read more from her. I have already saved a few on my Libby app and I think I am going to read Winter People next

3.5 Stars

The Twisted Ones – – T. Kingfisher

Keeping on trend, I decided to read another horror book. I originally heard about this one on “All the Books” a weekly Book Riot podcast that highlights that weeks new releases.

This story follows Mouse, who is asked by her father if she could go clean out her deceased grandmother’s house. What she finds is a hoarding situation. What she also finds is a journal, belonging to her late step-grandfather. He describes some terrifying things, which she thinks is nonsensical. Until she starts experiencing those things.

I can’t lie. There were parts of this that genuinely terrified me. Actually, most of this terrified me. The author created this atmosphere that just made me feel uncomfortable and I started thinking, well what if I was in this situation. And I got more uncomfortable.

Where it lost me was when we hit what was suppose to be the turning point, the action part of the story. We were introduced to a character that, in my opinion, did not fit the vibe of the story. All this creepiness that we were getting was completely destroyed when this character came into play. What was suppose to be the height of the scare, was a big let down. From there on out, I was taken out of the story and no longer had that uncomfortable feeling that comes with great storytelling.

This was on track to be a 4/4.5 star read, but sadly, I could not get back into it after that big let down.

3 stars

The Night Circus – – Erin Morgenstern

It has been a few years since I last visited The Night Circus. I was dues for a reread. I decided to pick this one up, and I could not be any more delighted. The audiobook was wonderful. This book was as magical and beautiful as I remember it being the first time I read it.

I am admittedly not a big romance fan, but this romance could have not been done any better. And the circus! I am a sucker for anything set in a circus. Throw in the historical aspect and I am 100% on board.

If you have not read this yet, I can’t recommend it enough. When I read it the first time, I had no idea what it was about and I have to say I bought it based off the cover. I was so surprised how much I loved this. I still love this years later. It gives me so many feels, and I am ready to reread it a third time.

Not surprisingly,

5 Stars.

To save you from review overload, I think I am going to end this here and have the rest of my wrap up for you in another post. It looks like me secret goal of better reviews is happening!

There you have part 1 of my December wrap up. Have you read any of these? Have you added any of them to your ever growing TBR? Let’s chat in the comments!

Coming tomorrow, part 2 of the wrap up.

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October 2019 Wrap Up

It seems like every October, I start losing steam and have a hard time reading. This October was no different. It was just slow going. I didn’t even finish a book until the very end of the second week in October. SpookAthon helped me add some books to the finished pile and I at least ended the month on a strong note with a 5 star read.

I’m thinking I want to make this wrap up a little more organized, especially going in to the new year, so let’s start off with some stats.

Monthly Stats

Books Read – – 7

Pages Read – – 2,240 or 72 pages per day

Star Ratings

5 Stars – – 3

4 Stars – – 2

3 Stars – – 1

2 Stars – – 1

1 Star – – 0

DNF – – 2

Format

Physical – – 3

Audio – – 4

Genre

Mystery/Thriller – – 3

Middle Grade Fantasy – – 2

YA Horror – – 1

Contemporary – – 1

What I Read

Let’s start off with what I read for SpookAthon, since I already have a wrap up HERE. You can read my more in depth thoughts there.

But for the quick review:

I listened to, via Hoopla Undone by Karin Slaughter. This is the 3rd installment in the Will Trent series, and as with the other two, I gave it 5 stars. This series is excellent and I am so sad I cannot find the 4th book on audio. But no fear, I have a physical copy. (But the audiobooks are so so good.)

I also listened to Tunnel of Bones by VIctoria Schwab, also through Hoopla. This was okay for me. A decent middle grade novel. Fast, east and rather entertaining. I thought this was slightly better than the first in the series and I gave it 3 stars. I will continue on when the next one is released.

Lastly, I grabbed a copy of Small Spaces by Katherine Arden from my local Library. I adored this middle grade novel. I will actually be picking up a copy for myself and nephew. I thought this was written a little better than Tunnel of Bones and I liked the story a little more. This got 5 stars from me.

The first book I finished in the month of October was If We Were Villains by M.L Rio. I grabbed the audiobook of this from Hoopla (Hoopla was my best friend this month). I tried to read this physically, but was not into it, so I figured why not try the audio before officially DNFing it. I am glad I did. I liked the characters in this as well as the mystery. The Shakespeare references and quotes I struggled with, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story. I won’t give my star rating as this was part of my 5 star predictions post and I will follow up with a more in deoth post when I finish reading all of them.

I also read Deceptions by Judith Michael. This book was loaned to me by a client who thought I would enjoy it. And I very much did. This was not a book I would probably have picked up on my own so sometimes I need someone putting it into my hands telling me to read it.

This is about twin sisters who, when reaching college age, went very different paths from each other. When on a trip to China, they twins decide to go home to the others lives, just for a week. To live the life the other sister has. But something unexpected happens, something no one could have saw coming, and nothing will be the same again.

I really did enjoy this. It is an older title, but it is like nothing I have read before. I feel like today, stories are continuously recycled. Even though this is a very backlist title, it felt new and refreshing. Each character had a distinct personality, even the very minor characters. No one got lost in the shuffle. The writing was very good. Nothing felt unbelievable, even though it could be argued that the plot itself was a little unbelievable. I felt the characters were very true to real life. This book did take me quite awhile to get through. Not because I wasn’t enjoying it, but because it was very dense. A lot is packed into this book. The ending was a little open ended, however there is a sequel to it, which I plan on reading by the end of the year. I ended up giving this 4 stars.

To finish off my audiobooks borrowed from Hoopla, I read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. This was for the Facebook group The Page Turners monthly buddy read. I did not enjoy this one at all. I found myself half listening to it, just so I could finish. To be fair, I think it was because of the audiobook and not the actual content of the book. The narrator, in my opinion, was not good at all. The character voices were terrible and it took me right out the story. The one thing I will say about it is that I very much disliked this romance. It was just a little strange to me and I could not get behind it. I ended up giving this 2 stars. Initially, I thought I might go back and physically read it, because I have seen this recommended so much. Plus, I have really been enjoying this authors other work with Three Dark Crowns. But after some thought, I think I am going to let this one go and skip the rest of it.

To end my month, my hold for The Whisper Man by Alex North FINALLY came in from the library. I feel like I was on hold forever. This book had a lot of hype around it. I was a little hesitate to read it, and didn’t initially plan to read it. Mostly because I have not had good luck with new release thrillers. However, this book absolutely lived up to the hype. I loved the heck out of this book. I was hooked after about 30 pages. It was so creepy. And it has what I love in thrillers, short chapters. Chapters that always ended on a cliffhanger, where I found myself going “just one more chapter” over and over again. The subject matter of the book does involve children, so if harm to children is a trigger for you, I would skip this. However, that does not bother me and I found this to be something I could not put down. 5 Stars for this one.

I did end up DNFing two books. American Predator by Maureen Callahan was an audiobook I picked up on Scribd. I was really feeling it so I decided I was just going to be done. I also DNFed The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. This may be another case of a bad audiobook. I may try to physically read this in the future. But I did not want to risk another reading slump so I put this aside for the time being.

If you are still with me, and read my lengthy wrap up THANK YOU! I have been a little absent on here, but my goal is to be more consistent.

Have you read any of these? Let’s chat in the comments!

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