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!
The end of 2019 is here and it’s about time that I started all these end of year/year wrap-up/top 10 books etc.. posts. As you can already tell by the title, today I’m going to be sharing with you my anticipated releases for this year, and whether they lived up to my expectations or not.
I did 2 posts earlier this year in which I shared my most anticipated books for 2019, and my most anticipated books for the second half of 2019. Out of those 20, I’ve only read 5, and I just got a sixth one, so maybe I’ll finish that by the end of this month. To be honest, the lowest rating I’ve given a book I was excited for this year is 3 stars. So none of them have truly, really disappointed me, but there were still some that I was expecting much more from.
This was really good. Initially, I was kind of bored, and I thought that the Husband was a bit annoying, but it was still pretty good and I loved the suspense and the mystery.
However, I was expecting more, and the plot was pretty similar to other books that I’d read. The POV was definitely unique, and it was interesting seeing how the murders happened and why. However, it was just not a amazing as I anticipated it to be. I was just expecting more.
In the end, this was a dark and twisted thriller with an unconventional narrator, and a surprising ending.
I seriously was super excited for this book. I was looking for a heist, with some diversity, and also a fantasy book, since it was out of my comfort zone at the time.
And this was good in some ways. I loved Nasir and Altair (seriously, there’s no way not to love Altair. He’s obnoxiously awesome!!!), I respected Zafira and the other characters, and I loved the descriptions and the culture.
However, it was seriously lacking in the plot department, and until the very end, not much happened. Honestly, the characters were the only thing that kept the story going, at least for me.
In the end, this was an amazing Arabia inspired fantasy with phenomenal characters.
I read this right before One of of Us is Lying, and I’ve gotta say, it was pretty good. Not spectacular like I’d been expecting, but it was still a decent mystery.
The pacing was a little slow, but the family drama, and the several mysteries were pretty interesting to follow. I liked some of the characters, but now that it’s been 10 months, I really don’t remember much, except that it was just good. Which is kind of disappointing.
In the end, this was a suspenseful mystery with great characters and an amazing twist/plot.
When I initially heard about this, I was super excited because I seriously loved The Naturals and The Fixer series by JLB. I was sure that this was going to be another awesome book, and I was pretty disappointed.
Book wise, it was ok. However, I came in with the wrong expectations, and didn’t get a mystery, but more of a search-and-rescue, which is the point of the book. I wasn’t expecting the search and rescue to be the main focus, so that added to my disappointment.
I didn’t connect much to Kira, the main character, either, but I thought she was cool and different from the usual YA heroines. Free and Jude were such a welcome relief and I loved them for that, but honestly, they were all just meh. This book was really just meh. Really disappointing.
In the end, this was a good book with okay characters, and a meh plot.
This was truly one of the best books I’ve read this year and I loved it. The idea of the story, the setting, the time period, the characters, it was all so splendid and I couldn’t have been happier.
This was one of the few Historical Fiction novels I’ve read this year and it was the most perfect. I loved Jo, I loved the atmosphere, and I loved how she was determined to make a change in a society that did not want that kind of change. I loved all the side and semi-MC characters who supported Jo through everything and made this book the beauty that it is.
In the end, this was an amazing historical fiction novel that tackles diverse topics, with an amazing cast of characters.
That’s it! These were the five books that I had on my list that I managed to read, and hopefully I’ll be getting to a sixth one (The Queen of Nothing!!!!) before this month’s end.
Have you read any of these? What did you think? What were your most anticipated releases for 2019? Did they live up to your expectations? Which books surprised you and why? Did you read as many books as you hoped to this year? Chat with me in the comments below?
Hey guys and qelcome to Top Five Tuesday!! Top Five Tuesday was created and is hosted by Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm.
Today’s topic is: Books that start with the letters U, V, W, X, Y, & Z.
This is actually part of a series that started the first Tuesday in July, starting from A and it will continue to the last week of July and end with Z. You can learn more about the topics and see the rest here!
P.S. I’m so sorry for posting this late!! I completely forgot!
I haven’t read a great book that started with the letter U, and I have exactly one book in my to-read shelf which is The Ultimatum. It’s about a girl who swindles con artists, and anything with con artists is a big YES for me.
I loved Vicious because there was no good guy, everybody was crazy, and the science was amazing (which is a lot of praise coming from someone who doesn’t really like science…)!
One of my favorite fantasy novels! We Hunt the Flame was fun, with two amazing guys, one who is an annoying obnoxious too-full-of-himself pain and the other a broody assassin with a dark past. I loved the writing, I really liked the characters, and the rep was great!
This one is on my TBR, and it sounds perfectly deliciously creepy. It also happens to be the only Y on my TBR and read shelf…
Z is for…nothing?
I’m going to double up on W to make up for this one!
That’s it for this Tuesday! Have you read any of the books I mentioned above? Did you enjoy them? Did you also struggle to find books for each letter? Let’s chat in the comments below!
(Be sure to link to your Top Ten Tuesday and Top Five Tuesday posts so I can check them out!!)
Good morning (/afternoon/evening/night depending on where you are) my dear friends!! I hope your week was spectacular! Today, I’m going to do the 2019 Mid Year Book Freak Out tag. I know, it’s halfway through July, and the middle of the year was June, but late is better than never right? This is my first year doing it, and hopefully I’ll continue doing it for many years to come! I think there are different versions of this with different questions (I think??) so this version is one I saw on Paws and Paperbacks!
Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2019
There are so many amazing books that I’ve read so far this year, but Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo definitely tops them all!
Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2019
The Wicked King by Holly Black. I really didn’t like The Cruel Prince, but this sequel made me really like the characters and also managed to make me super excited for The Queen of Nothing!
New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. This sounds so cute and also seems to be what my life will possibly be like in the future (minus the cat!!), so I definitely want to read this!! It’s also a book about a girl who loves books so…
Most Anticipated Releases For the Second Half of the Year
I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I was excited to read one of her older books, but Nobody was such a huge disappointment. It was so cliche, and so boring, and the MC annoyed me so much.
Biggest Surprise
I really didn’t expect much from My Lady Jane because it was a historical fantasy with a bit of romance. To my surprise, it turned out to be amazingly hilarious, super entertaining, and refreshing. And the cover is beautiful as well!
Favorite New Author
Lisa Gardner. I loved her D.D. and Flora Dane novel, Look For Me, and I’m definitely going to check out the rest of her mysteries!!
Favorite New Crush
KAZ BREKKER!!! 100% no doubt about it. Actually, the whole crew from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardguo is my new favorite crush!
No book has made me cry yet…I don’t really get emotional like that when I’m reading.
A Book That Made You Happy
The Restaurant Critic’s Wife by Elizabeth LaBan was different from my usual read, and the struggles of Lila as a stay-at-home mom of two who is married to a food critic made me laugh a lot and definitely made me feel happy.
Most Beautiful Books You’ve Bought So Far This Year
Lol, I haven’t bought any books this year? But I think that the cover of Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore is gorgeous!
What Books Do You Need to Read Before the End of the Year?
So it looks like no one gets tagged for this? People just do it, so I’m not going to tag anyone! If you’d like to do it, go right ahead!
P.S. No pressure. If you don’t want to do the tag. That’s absolutely fine. If you’ve already done it, please share the link so I can check it out!
And that’s it for today! Have you done the 2019 Mid Year Book Freak Out tag? Have you read any of the books above? What did you think? Let’s chat in the comments below!
Well hello there!! I hope you are having an amazing Thursday! Today, I’m going to share my Monthly Wrap-Up for June 2019
June was just okay. I caught up on reviews from May, read only 4 books, and did a few tags. I am also two books behind schedule for my Goodreads goal. I didn’t take any hiatuses which is great! But I didn’t do a discussion post which is bad. Let’s take a look at my just-ok month.
Books:
Covers are from Goodreads
Only 4 books this month which is incredibly disappointing. Hopefully I might do better this month. Click on the titles to visit my reviews.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: An amazing fantasy with remarkable and awesome characters. (I have not reviewed this even though I should have like three weeks ago?? I’ll be getting to it next week Monday though!)
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: A twisted and surprising thriller, with an unusual narrator.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: An intriguing historical fiction story with an amazing main character. (No Review)
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An amazing Arabia inspired fantasy with phenomenal characters.
Total Number of Books Read This Month: 4
Because I did two other reviews and I didn’t do a Monthly Wrap-Up for May, I’m going to add the two books I read in May and the links to their reviews.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: A slow coming of age story with an interesting murder mystery.
The Wicked King by Holly Black // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: A surprising political fantasy with great characters.
I didn’t write a discussion post this month even though I said in May that I was going to come out of my shell and try. So maybe, hopefully, I’ll try to write one this month. I’ve also joined an indie author review site called Reedsy Discovery. So you’ll be seeing some books from there soon.
I also reached 1,000 likes!! Thank you guys so much 💚
And I think that’s all I have to say…??
That’s A Wrap!
In the end, I read only 4 books, did 4 reviews, 3 tags, and 0 discussion posts. All the 4 books I read this month were either 4 or 5 stars books which is awesome! I kind of didn’t meet any of my goals for June that I set in May which were to read more, do interesting/discussion posts, or discover new blogs, which is sad.
For July, I’m going to try and aim for more reading (at least 6 books), and better blog content (not the same old boring routine lol). Hopefully, I will do a lot better this month and actually focus and pass my goals.
And that’s it for this wrap-up! Do you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see me do? Any discussion ideas you want me to talk about? Please share them in the comments below!! I’d really appreciate it 💚
How was June for you? Did you get as much reading as you wanted done? Any interesting posts that you’d like to share? Let’s chat in the comments below!
Eternity Books 