I’ve already done this before, but I’m still going to do it again.
A lot of things have changed since my first time doing this nearly a year ago (will be exactly a year this Saturday) and I now have some new favorites and possibly a whole new outlook on life, so I’m curious to see how my answers will differ this time around.
Many thanks to the amazing Nikki @ The Night is Dark and Full of Books for tagging me! (and I’m so sorry for taking 6 months to finally do this!!)
Hola! Buenos días!! How are you guys? Hope you’re having a semi-fantastic week what with all the things going on in this wonderful world.
Today, I’m doing the NCIS LA book tag, which the wonderful and lovely Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads tagged me to do in December of last year. (at least it wasn’t november like i thought?) This is utterly horrible and I can’t believe that I slacked off on tags so much. But I’m finally doing this, so yay!!
I’ve actually kind of watched NCIS, because my grandmother I think used to watch it, so I’d catch bits and pieces here and there. But I’ve never watched a full episode, so I don’t think that really counts as watching.
Maybe this will increase my interest in it once again!
Check out the original creator Clo @ Cuppa Clo‘s blog, and thank you so much Meegs for tagging me!! Let’s get started!
Hey guys and welcome back! Today is the 7th day of 2020 and life is finally getting back to normal. Yesterday was the first day of school again, and to be honest, I kind of missed having classes and assignments. I know. I can barely believe that I even thought that myself. But of course, when assignments properly start, I’m going to be wishing for another break once again.
Anyways, today I’m going to be wrapping up my 2019 reading year.
To help wrap up my past reading year, I’ve decided to do Jamie’s End of Year Survey with a twist. Instead of answering all her questions (46!!), I’m going to pick a handful to answer, and also do a wrap-up my way. Initially, I was going to do 2 different posts, one with the survey and the other with my wrap-up, but that’s going to be repetitive, so I’ll be combining both.
This is probably going to be rather long, so without further ado, let’s get started!!!
2019 Reading Stats
Number of Books Read: 98
Number of Re-Reads: 3
Genre You Read the Most From: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
I didn’t make it to 100 books. But that’s okay. Because I got to 98, which is still a pretty good number and I’m really proud of myself for making it that far.
The re-reads were The Fixer and The Long Game, both by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter. The first two were great, and I loved re-reading them. The third one was a little cringey, and I can see why it appealed to a Younger Rukky, but it was not for Current Me.
Lol, no surprise. Mystery/Thriller/Suspense was by far the genre that I read the most from, with Fantasy coming in second, and Contemporary in third.
I made a little pie chart to break down my reading even further, and I’m so relieved that it turned out looking okay.
if it’s a little fuzzy, I apologize!
I also did another chart showing my year in books by rating, so here you go:
I like how most of my books were 4 or 3 stars. The books were either mediocre or pretty good, just not super great, and I’m happy with that. I think it also shows that I’ve figured out what books work for me, and what don’t, and so hopefully next year, this will have much less 2 or 1 star books.
I did have a couple of DNFs (Did-Not-Finish), and most of them, I plan on trying to re-read another time, while some I absolutely did not like.
For Blanca and Roja, Ninth House, and Blindsighted, I don’t think i was in the right mood when I picked them up, so I was really bored and impatient with them. These are the ones I plan on picking up some other time.
Marshall Law just wasn’t for me. I got it for review from Reedsy, but I didn’t like it and never finished it.
Captive Witness was disappointing, because I loved Nancy Drew once upon a time, and when I picked this up, I couldn’t get over how old fashioned it was. I was cringing so much, and decided to stop so that I wouldn’t ruin all my great memories of reading all the various series.
The Perfect Husband was a nightmare. I am so done with that book. Usually, when there is extra stuff going in books, especially in thrillers and mysteries, I just skim past and move on. But this book had stuff in pretty much. Every. Single. Chapter. I can’t believe I got to 74%. SEVENTY-FOUR, guys. And you’d think that they don’t have time for any of this extra drama, and so called “romance” when the MC is being hunted by a pure 100% psychopath. But no, they can’t stop their “love” for five seconds.
So yeah. 3 of them, I might try later, 2 of them were just not for me, and 1 of them was a true nightmare. But I’m still pretty glad that I only had 6 DNFs the entire year.
This was more of a political thriller, but I still loved the mystery of who was behind the attack. I’m also a huge fan of any book with “secret agents” and Mary and Stone were amazing and made me love the story even more.
It was interesting being told what happened to Frank in bits and pieces, and what brought him to that beach. There was so much suspense, as things were slowly revealed and I liked that. The book wasn’t perfect in other aspects, but the suspense was really great.
This is a master thriller. It was honestly the first time that I’d been truly petrified and nervous, and anxious about how things would end in a book. It was a little over the top, and would probably be better as a movie than a book, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved this. I loved the characters. I loved Kaz’s cunning ruthless and brutal, I loved Inej, Jes, Wylan, Nina and Matthias, I loved everything about it. Well, it was slow until the heist at the end, but I liked the build-up and relationships between the characters, and how we got to know them so well. This is honestly my top fantasy book of 2019.
This is a fantasy that I loved because of it’s worldbuilding. The way Allomancy was described, the way the Empires and cities felt so real that I could literally picture everything happening clearly, that was amazing. I loved the heist, and was shocked at how things turned out, but what I loved the most about this was how real, and possible, and well-thought out the world and Allomancy was.
I got a recipe for November Cakes. That’s honestly enough to bribe me into loving this book. But really though, I sincerely enjoyed the story. The happiness, calm, and peace that came after I finished reading it. The deadly but utterly beautiful horses. Puck and Sean fighting for what they want, what they love. It was really beautiful, and I’m so glad that Meegs pushed me to read this.
He’s grumpy. He’s strict. He’s mean. But underneath that tough exterior, Ove is hurting. And this book is about what caused it, and what happens when a new bustling family, with a fiery and delightful mother, moves in next door. I loved this because of the characters, and because the found family relationship that all the neighbors built with one another. Ove is also really endearing, and it was heartbreaking reading about everything that went wrong in his life. Even if it was fictional. This book made me so happy, because Ove learned to live and love again.
I may have loved this solely because the ending shattered my heart. But I’m also a big fan of coming-of-age novels, and this is one of them. At first, I didn’t like many of the characters, and I was a little annoyed, and maybe bored. But as the story continued, and the years passed, and the war dragged on, I began to feel for all these characters. I began to understand them, love them. And when that ending came, even though I knew, even though I’d been warned, it still shattered me when that happened. It’s a book that made me laugh, made me smile, made me cry. And I don’t think a book has ever done all three to me.
This was a great book about a woman fighting society’s sexist and racist views through a newspaper column in 19th century Georgia (aka the 1800s). Jo was a great main character, and I loved Old Gin, Noemi, and Nathan so much. She’s brave, she’s fierce, and she was risking so much to write her Miss. Sweetie column and using it to inspire change in her community. This was one my most anticipated books this year, and it did not disappoint.
I’ve already read the first book, A Darker Shade of Magic, and even though it was slow in the beginning, I loved the magic and the world, and I can’t wait to read the second book.
Best Sequel of 2019?
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab. This was such an awesome sequel, and I loved the new villains, as well as Victor’s search for a cure. The ending was really great, but I hope that there is still a 3rd book! Mitch, Syd, and Victor were so sweet together, and honestly, this book was just perfect.
Best Series Ender of 2019?
Nope, none. The only Series Ender I read in 2019 was The Queen of Nothing, and that was most definitely one of the worst I’ve ever read. I’m just really disappointed and salty about it.
Favorite new author you discovered in 2019?
My new top three authors that I discovered in 2019 are:
Maggie Stiefvater (The Scorpio Races), V.E. Schwab (Vicious), and Brandon Sanderson (The Final Empire).
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2019?
It’s a tie. I can’t pick one over the other! Both covers are just so beautifully gorgeous.
Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2019 to finally read?
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus. I’d seen it in my library a lot, and I can’t believe that I never picked it up until earlier this last year. It was one of the first YA mysteries that I read, and I really loved it.
Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2019?
This post is already over 1,500 words long, so I’m going to stop here. I think I’ve covered all the major questions, and if you’d like to see all the books I read last year, check out my 2019 Year in Books on GoodReads. I’ll probably be doing a Blog/Life Wrap-Up next, and I may do a Most Disappointing Books of 2019. Not sure yet, but keep an eye out for another wrap-up!
That’s it for this post! What was your favorite book of 2019? Have you read any of the ones mentioned above? What did you think? How many books did you read in 2019? Chat with me in the comments below!
Good morning friends! I hope you’ve had a great start to the year. Today, I’ll be sharing with you my Monthly Wrap-Up for December 2019.
A lot of great things happened this month. I had my Winter break which I spent with family, I read a good number of books, and something exciting happened…more on that below. My blogging took a dip since I barely wrote anything the last few weeks of the month, but I’m still pretty happy with everything else in my life right now, so I’m not too upset about that.
I am still happy to get back into blogging full time and doing all the wrap-up posts that I should have done before.
Anyways, without further chit chat, let’s get started!
Books:
Covers are from Goodreads
My goal for the year was 100 books, but I read 98 which isn’t bad. I’m still proud of myself, especially because I read 13 books this month. And some of them were great. Others, not so much. I also didn’t do any reviews, and that’s something I plan on working on this month and through-out the rest of the year.
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas – 3.5 | This was so so so much better than the first book, and we actually got to see Celaena in action. The disaster that happened in the second half was nerve-wracking and the final reveal was surprising. However, it all made sense and I can’t wait to see where the rest of the series goes. RTC
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Choksi – 3.5 | It was good. Not spectacular like I had been hoping but still good. I liked the puzzles and the characters. However, the plot was meh, and I didn’t feel like I connected to the characters that much. Unofficial Review
The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah – 2.5 | It was meh. There wasn’t much Muslim rep like I’d been hoping. Mina was aggravating, Michael was just meh, and I honestly liked the side characters more than the MCs. The politics was interesting, but overall this book was just meh. RTC
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson – 4 | This was really good. I loved the world, the Allomancy, and the explanation of how everything worked. The characters were all pretty interesting and I liked Vin, Kell, and Ham the most. The heist was unbelievable and that ending shocked me. I can see why many people love Sanderson’s books, but there were some things that annoyed me and weren’t done very well. Unofficial Review
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager – 3 | This had a lot of potential, but in some areas it fell flat. There wasn’t much of a mystery, but there was a lot of suspense and some thriller parts towards the end. I liked the atmosphere and how I could feel Jules’ terror, but I was disappointed that pretty much all my guesses and suspicions were correct. RTC
Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco – 2 | This book was a disaster. The ridiculous twists, and the reveal at the end made no sense at all, and I was so frustrated with Audrey Rose. Being in her head is painful, because she thinks the exact same thing a hundred different ways. I’m just so glad that this series is over. There were some good parts (Liza, Daci, and Illeana met and their friendship is amazing!!), but overall, this was still a disappointing finale to this series. Unofficial Review
The Late Show by Michael Connelly – 4 | Pretty good. I liked Renée and the mystery of who did it, as well as the rogue cop aspect. However, I wished that Renée had a partner who also played a major, present, role in the story. It was good, just not amazing. RTC (maybe..)
I Hate Weddings by P. J. Petersen – 2 | This was short, a little sweet, but also rather annoying. It was hilarious seeing all the things that went wrong, but I was also annoyed by the juvenile-ness of it as well as the decisions that Dan made.
Our House by Louise Candlish – 4 | This was great. I liked the alternating storylines, and the ending was super satisfactory. I didn’t like Fi much, but I understood her passion to protect her kids. Bram was the one I sympathized with the most, and I really hoped that he would be saved. It was really sad reading the story from his POV. RTC
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly – 4 | It’s been a while since I read a legal thriller and I loved this. Mickey was ok, and I liked his relationship with both of his ex-wives, and the way that he made things right by the end. Again, it was good, but just not a 5 star. RTC (maybe..)
Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin – 3 | There were some good parts. There were some bad parts. I liked Ayesha and Khalid somewhat, especially at the beginning, and the rep was also pretty good. The drama was hilarious. However, the ending completely went off the rails, and I hate how some things were resolved. RTC
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – 2 | I have no idea what happened to this book. It’s so short. It’s so tame. It’s so ridiculously unlike The Wicked King that I can’t believe they are from the same series. There’s no backstabbing political poison awesomeness. There’s not much epic spying or fighting. Sure the snake part happened and everything, but that’s it??? That’s ALL that happened??? And the ending. Wow. RTC
Standstill by Jack Probyn – N/A | I got this for review from Reedsy. The idea of the story was great, and it was somewhat thrilling, but there were too many errors, grammatically and with the plot/setting. The MC was really unlikable, and overall, it just wasn’t for me.
Blingsighted by Karin Slaughter – DNF | I read the first few chapters, and I just wasn’t pulled in to the story. My hold was also up, so I decided to DNF and maybe try and read it some other time.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – DNF | I was bored. There is so much telling, and not so much interaction/dialogue, and I love dialogue. So I was bored. And then my hold was up and I let it go. Maybe I’ll try to read it some other time, but right now, I’m just disappointed.
Total Number of Books Read This Month: 13
Total Number of DNFs: 2
Tags:
I’m still behind on tags, like usual, but I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has tagged me!! I’m working on getting them all done.
So. For that awesome news that I was telling you about. I got into college. Aka, I am now a college student. Not fully, because it’s a program where I am in High School and in college at the same time, but still, I. am. taking. college. classes!!!!! Or well, I’ll be starting in a few weeks
I’m partly excited, and partly nervous, because hey, this is a lot. I’m a high school and college student now. It’s still weird saying that lol. Classes are going to start in a few weeks, and I’m still not sure how this is going to affect my blogging. It was a little hard to do everything before with just my high school classes, but now that I have extra, I might not have time to blog as regularly as I used to.
So yeah that was the awesome exciting news…
I’ve also been thinking about a new posting schedule:
Monday: Review
Wednesday: WWW
Friday: LTB
Sunday: Review
Tuesday: “Creative” post (such as wrap-ups/tbrs/”other” posts)
Thursday: Tag
Friday: LTB
And repeat. At the end of the month, I should have 4 reviews, 2 WWW Wednesday posts, 2 tags, 2 “creative posts”, and 4 LTB posts. I feel like those are still pretty good numbers. This is not definite, and it all depends on how much time I have. If I can still manage to post 4 or 5 times a week, I’ll try, but if not, that’s my tentative new posting schedule.
I said in my November Wrap-Up that I was going to do some more creative posts in December, and I did do some! I did my first Book Recommendation post, which you can check out here, and I also talked about my anticipated reads for 2019, and whether they lived up to my expectations or not (this may be more of a wrap-up post than a creative post, but still).
Once I’m done with all the wrap-up posts (2 or 3 more), I’m going to do another Book Recommendation post, and maybe try creating an original tag. I know, I’m very ambitious.
I’m also behind blogging-wise. Last week, I started my Winter break, and I spent it with my family so I didn’t blog as much, and I didn’t blog hop either. I managed to catch up on all my comments yesterday (I hope I got them all, and I’m sorry if I missed one!!), and through this weekend, I’ll be going back to catch up on all your awesome posts! I may or may not comment I’m behind on a lot guys…I don’t have a number, but it’s a lot, but I’ll definitely read them.
And yeah. I think that’s all the updates I have.
That’s A Wrap!
In the end, I read 13 books, did 0 reviews, 2 tags, 4 LTB posts, and 1 recommendation post. My goals for December were to read 14 books (at least 10), do 3 reviews, 4 or 5 tags, and 4 LTB posts. I only met my reading and LTB goals.
For this month, my goals are to read 12 books, do 2 more wrap-up posts, 1 book recommendation post, at least 4 LTB posts, 1 creative post, and maybe 1 or 2 book reviews.
That’s it for this wrap-up! How was December and 2019 in general for you? Did you meet any of of your goals for the year? What are your plans for 2020? Any tips for my new college self? Am I the only one who was disappointed by The Queen of Nothing? Chat with me in the comments below!!
Good morning. I hope you are having a great week! 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:
Mistborn: The Final Empire: I guess you could say that the hype is real for this one. I really liked this, and all the characters. Ham, and Vin were my favorites, and I loved how Vin changed throughout the story. Kell was amazing because he’s a madman and a genius, as well as a phenomenal leader. But I still want to be mad at him for what he did. Elend’s potential as a character was ruined, and I am still mad about that, but overall this was really great.
Lock Every Door: This is a thriller and not really a mystery. The mystery wasn’t that great, and pretty much all of my suspicions and guesses were correct, so it was really meh because of that. However, I loved having Jules as the narrator, because I could feel her fear, and the atmosphere combined with her fear made this such a thrilling book. It was still disappointing, because the hype made me expect more.
Hungry Hearts: My hold is over. I managed to finish it up to 41% but now I’m going to have wait to borrow it again.
What I’m Currently Reading:
Capturing the Devil (24%): So far so good. That twist. I did not see that coming (which I don’t most of the time lol) but it makes sense and I’m curious to see what else happens. And Audrey Rose has gotten a grip about Thomas so I’m happy about that.
Blingsighted (0%): I’m going to start this, and hopefully it’ll be good! I’ve heard so much about Karin Slaughter’s thrillers, and I’m so excited to finally try one of her books.
What I Plan To Read Next:
Next up is The Late Show and Ninth House.
That’s it for this Wednesday. What are you reading? Have you read any of Karin Slaughter’s books? What did you think? Did Lock Every Door end up being disappointing for you too? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s so that I can check them out!)
Eternity Books 