Monthly Wrap-Up: October 2019

Good morning!! I hope you had a great weekend. It is already the second week of November, and I’m just posting my wrap-up for October, but I guess it’s better late than never!

October was a pretty good month, especially reading wise. I was lacking in the blogging department, but I managed to read a lot more, and I did write some posts, so I guess it was still somewhat a success.

Let’s take a deeper look!

Books:

Covers are from Goodreads

Guys. I read THIRTEEN books. In ONE month. *goes off to squeal proudly and excitedly* I feel like I deserve a medal for this accomplishment. This was the first month that I had a TBR, and I’ve actually read most of the books on it, except for a few. I’m definitely going to have another TBR for November. I’m now only 6 books behind on my GR challenge, and I have 20 books to read to reach my goal of 100 by the end of December, so wish me luck guys!

The titles lead to my unofficial reviews on Goodreads (a few include a good deal of crying and excitement and there is also a rant…)

BooksAuthorRatingBook Type
Palace of SpiesSarah Zettel ★★★☆☆ E-book
Dangerous DeceptionsSarah Zettel ★★★☆☆ E-book
Three Days MissingKimberly Belle ★★★★☆ E-book
Girls Like UsGail Giles ★★★★★E-book
The Victim of the SystemSteve Hadden ★★☆☆☆E-book (for review)
Before We Were StrangersBrenda Novak ★★★☆☆ E-book
The Wrath and the DawnRenée Ahdieh ★★★★☆ E-book
The Rose and the DaggerRenée Ahdieh ★★★★★E-book
Escaping From HoudiniKerri Maniscalco1.5 starsE-book
Throne of GlassSarah J. Maas ★★★☆☆ E-book
VengefulV. E. Schwab ★★★★★Hardcover
The Lovely and the LostJennifer Lynn Barnes ★★★☆☆Hardcover
Assassin’s MasqueSarah Zettel ★★★☆☆Hardcover

I also wrote a few official reviews (linked below), but I’m still behind on so many.

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee // Rating: ★★★★★ One sentence summary: An interesting historical fiction novel with amazing characters and diverse topics.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman // Rating: ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A heartbreaking, yet funny book with beautiful characters.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim // Rating: ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: A great fantasy with awesome characters, and a few flaws.

The Victim of the System by Steve Hadden // Rating: ★★☆☆☆ One sentence summary: This was a meh thriller with disappointing characters, and some unbelievable twists.

Total Number of Books Read This Month: 13
Total reviews: 4

Tags:

I took part in Bookending Autumn 2019, and wrote three posts. Technically, I only did one tag, but who cares about technicalities?

Garden of Evil (Prompt by Jamsu @ Jamsu Dreams)

Study Group (Prompt by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads)

Spicy Pumpkin Latte Book Tag (Prompt by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads)

Let’s Talk Bookish:

October 4: Star Ratings – Are they fair or necessary?

October 11: Sexual Content in YA – Is there too much sexual content in YA books? (suggested by Ruqs @ Many Things Bookish)

October 18: What are some tropes/characters that you think are poorly or under represented in books?

October 25: Are TBR’s necessary to be considered a book blogger, or reader? (suggested by Heran @ Be Frisky)

Great Posts From Around the Blog-O-Sphere:

Caitlin discusses Why Reading Is So Unpopular and honestly, all her points are pretty accurate, but I still love reading anyways.

Christina is back and I’m so excited!! Check out her amazing review of The Toll!

Line wrote an amazing post about Underrepresented Tropes and Characters in Books.

Marie talks about what How to Make it as a Book Blogger.

Anything Else?

I hit 200 followers!! I’m planning on doing a Q&A soon, so if you’d like to ask me a question, head over here to ask! I also had over 1,000 views which is another accomplishment that I’m really proud of, especially since my posting was pretty irregular. So thank you guys so much for that!!

IRL, it’s so cold. Like really really ice-on-the-grass-and-roofs kind of cold. Which is something because this is Georgia that we are talking about. I’m semi-loving it, semi-hating it because now it’s not burning hot, but it’s also a little too cold for comfort.

Anyways, school is kind of stressful, but it’s not as bad as testing season, so I’m pretty happy about that. I’m feeling really good about the number of books that I read, and I really hope to do just as good this month, and also get back to properly blogging and maybe get rid of my backlogged reviews.

That’s A Wrap!

That’s it! In the end, I read 13 books, did 4 reviews, 3 “tags”, and 4 discussion posts. 5 of the 13 books were either 4 or 5 stars, which I’m pretty happy about, especially since most of the others were 3 stars, and only 2 of them were below that.

I met most of my goals for October, so hopefully for November, I’ll read at least 10 books, do 4 reviews, 3 or 4 tags, and 3 more discussions.

Chat with me

And that’s it for this wrap-up! How was October for you? Did you get as much reading as you wanted done? Have you read any of the books that I did? Did you take part in BE Autumn? Is it freezing where you are? What’s you #1 most anticipated release for this month? Let’s chat in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday #37

Hey friends! I hope you are having a fantastic day! It is time for my weekly reading update, WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words.

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Let’s get started!

All covers are from Goodreads

What I Just Finished:

Assassin’s Masque was a good ending to the series, and I liked it. It’s like one of those series that you just read, not because you really like the book, but because it’s fun to read.

*spoilers for The Book Thief. You can skip over to An Unwanted Guest’s update if you don’t want to see the spoilers*

Guys. The ending of The Book Thief broke my heart. It left me crying. For over an hour. It hurt so much, and why? Why did that have to happen? Why did Death take them away? Rudy. Mama. Papa. Everybody. That beautiful and lively Himmel Street. And the fact that Death spoiled it ahead of time did nothing to prepare me, though I thought I was prepared. Even now, it still stings to think about it.

The original book that I was going to read by Lapena, was Someone We Know, but my library didn’t have that, so I picked up An Unwanted Guest instead. The suspense, the atmosphere, the characters, everything was done amazingly, and I did not guess who the murderer was at all. Also, the twist at the very end was pretty good.

What I’m Currently Reading:

I’m pretty excited to read The Scorpio Races (recommended by the lovely Meeghan). I’m only a few chapters in, but so far so good. I’m super interested in the water horses and how the races work.

I keep saying that I’m going to start Beartown, but I haven’t yet, and again, today, hopefully I’m going to start it. It’s been on my currently reading now for a few days, so hopefully I will actually start reading it.

What I Plan To Read Next:

I’ve got 5 books to read, and they are all from the library, and I’m trying to read them in order of when they are due, but that’s not working out well. I’m definitely going to pick up one of these 5 next, but I’m not sure which one (probably CK lol).

That’s it for this Wednesday. What are you reading? Have you read any of these? What did you think? Any suggestions for what I should read next? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s so that I can check them out!)

WWW Wednesday #36

Hey friends! I hope you are having a fantastic day! It is time for my weekly reading update, WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words.

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Let’s get started!

All covers are from Goodreads

What I Just Finished:

I finished The Lovely and the Lost over the weekend, and it was a good book. I was a bit disappointed, because I was expecting more (JLB is one of my favorite authors) of a mystery, but this was more like a search and rescue book. It was still pretty good nonetheless.

What I’m Currently Reading:

I’m on page 334/416 of Assassin’s Masque, and this is definitely the most thrilling book out of the trilogy. The twists, the politics, everything is very delicate right now and it’s kind of like waiting for the timer to tick down to the moment of doom.

I am 12% into The Book Thief, and I love Papa and his relationship with Liesel. It’s definitely so sweet, and Rudy is hilarious, Rose is terrifying but also funny at times, and I’m so excited to continue!

What I Plan To Read Next:

Next up is Beartown by Fredrik Backman or The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah.

That’s it for this Wednesday. What are you reading? Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s so that I can check them out!)

WWW Wednesday #35

Good morning friends! I hope you are having a great week so far! It is time for my weekly reading update, WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words.

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Let’s get started!

All covers are from Goodreads

What I Just Finished:

Escaping From Houdini was the worst book in this series. Well, I haven’t read the last one yet, but I’m hoping that it’s so much better than this mess. Ugh. Here’s my mini unofficial review.

Throne of Glass was 3 stars for me. I’m a bit nervous about this possible love-triangle-that-maybe-is-not-going-to-be-a-love-triangle. I kind of liked Celaena, but not that much, but I really hope that Dorian and Chaol stay friends. I really love Chaol so much.

Vengeful was awesome. I loved it, just as much as Vicious, and I’m pretty upset that some people died, and I still don’t know who June is, and Marcella creeped me out, while still being super awesome. I just loved this book.

What I’m Currently Reading:

I’m currently reading The Book Thief, and I’m loving Death as the narrator.

What I Plan To Read Next:

Next up, is probably The Lovely and the Lost and The Assassin’s Masque.

That’s it for this Wednesday. What are you reading? Have you read any of the books above? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s so that I can check them out!)

WWW Wednesday #34

Good morning friends! I hope you are having a fantastic day! It is time for my weekly reading update, WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words.

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Let’s get started!

All covers are from Goodreads

What I Just Finished:

I finished three books which is pretty good! So far, I’ve read 8 books this month, and I’m now only behind by 6 books on my reading challenge.

Before We Were Strangers is more of a romantic mystery novel that is heavy on the family drama/romance and pretty light on the mystery. Nothing really happened mystery-wise until the last half of the book, and that was kind of annoying. It all got wrapped up pretty quickly, and there wasn’t really any slow buildup to a shocking reveal.

The Wrath and The Dawn was a really sweet, really cute fantasy romance and I really liked it. The ending was pretty cliffhanger, and I dived into The Rose and the Dagger right away.

Guys. I cried. The Rose and the Dagger managed to make tears spill down my cheeks. A part of it was really heartbreaking, but the book in general was more amazing than the first. I really loved the politics, the wars, how the drama between Khalid and Tariq was resolved, and the epilogue was just darling.

What I’m Currently Reading:

I’m reading way too many books at the same time lol

Vengeful (55%): I finally got Vengeful!! I’m 264 pages in, and I’m really liking it! I also kind of like how the storyline is flipping back and forth, but it’s a bit hard to keep straight.

Escaping from Houdini (18%): I also started Escaping From Houdini, and so far so good.

Throne of Glass (10%): I started this yesterday and I am a bit annoyed at the excessive mention of Celaena being an assassin, but I will be patient and continue on.

Assassin’s Masque (7%): I started this one a few days ago, and I’m not super intrigued by it at the moment. So it’s been pushed to the back burner for now.

What I Plan To Read Next:

Next, I’m probably going to start The Book Thief and The Lovely and the Lost.

That’s it for this Wednesday. What are you reading? Have you read any of the books that I’m reading? What did you think? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s so that I can check them out!)