Showing posts with label YA reads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA reads. Show all posts
The air is cooling, the leaves are -- wait, never mind. This is Texas. The air doesn't cool until mid November. And do our leaves even change color?! As much as I love living in hot states, sometimes I miss the smell and the crisp feel of Fall air. In the meantime, I'll just blast the AC in my apartment and pretend it's also cold outside.
Fall in my apartment starts in July, I'm running a bit late this year. Between trying to salvage my mental health, getting ready for Tums to start school and adjusting to Winnie being a total Muffin and skipping her naps, it's been a different kind of busy for me over here.
I started this blog 11 years ago and my life has drastically changed since then. I never thought I'd have kids, for starters. And I never thought I'd be one of those parents who were counting down the days until school started again. But here we are. A lot a lot can happen in ten years.
My life switched up just like how my ex husband decided to switch up on me one day lmao. Craaaazy. Shout out to my cousin Raena who never gave up on the idea that I'd have kids some day despite what I kept saying... girl you got your wish! You'll love Tums, she's literally a smaller me haha!
Fall is the only time I make a TBR, and while it's been a few years since I've actually been active with completing it, I still look forward to making a list of books I probably won't read. It's the little things in life.
This isn't a solid final list but a few titles I am hoping to read this Fall.
House of Salt and Sorrows is one that I put down after coming across a rather creepy scene. I really need to finish it. I want to finish it. It's so intriguing. The Twelve Dancing Princesses was never on my list of favorite fairy tales but I'm finding that I enjoy the retellings more than any other one.
Into a Wicked World is one I just started and unlike Dorothy Must Die I'm really enjoying this one. I think this was renamed? Or, I don't know. I know I bought the previous version of it. I'm a little confused at what happened with that but they shared the same cover until they didn't.
Once Upon a Broken Heart has been on my TBR for far too long. That's it. That's the reason. Oh and it's a retelling by an author I enjoy.
Gallant is one I started on my last plane ride. I LOVED LOVED LOVED The Cassidy Blake series and would had thought I'd pick up more of V's books but then I gave birth and reading just hasn't really been a thing I have the luxury of doing. This one is just as captivating, I really hope I get around to finishing this one this year!
Belladonna was one I got from OwlCrate a few years ago and I keep planning on picking it up every Fall season but then I don't get around to it. Almost tempted to start this one first just so that doesn't happen this year lol.
The Book of Living Secrets is one I literally just found and picked up today as I was browsing GoodReads lists. It sounds super interesting and the cover was what really caught my attention.
Are there any books you tend to set aside for a certain season or holiday to read them?
Today I'm talking about my Fall TBR, not to be confused with my annual October Reading Challenge.
I've been out of the reading scene for awhile now and I'm not really sure why. I had such a strong start in the beginning of 2020 and then suddenly I didn't. I like the way my husband explains it; "I wouldn't call you stopping more like you're just taking an extended break,"
I did manage to complete my goal of reading 2 books last month (just barely tbh) and I'm aiming for 2 more this month. I hope to get through these books (somehow) before October. I chose these to get me in the Fall mood! And also because they've been on my TBR forever that I should just read them already!
All but 2 are from either Owlcrate or Owlcrate JR.
I've heard such good things about all of these reads that I feel like I'm missing out by taking so long to read them already! I'm currently starting on Shadow of the Fox and House of Salt and Sorrows.
Weirdly enough I don't really have any Kindle/ebooks for this challenge! That's definitely a first.
This is one I'm super excited to get into! The cover is stunning, I love the art style. And it sounds really interesting as well. You can read about it here on Goodreads! I find that most middle grade reads have super heavy themes and some have been know to make me feel like my heart is breaking and choke me up a bit. It's crazy! I guess because it's the concept of kids having to deal with this crap when they shouldn't have to? I'm not sure but I get emotionally invested for sure.
Do you have any books you plan to read this week/month?
Over the last few years I've set a reading challenge for myself in October --- sometimes this extends to September or December but it's always always been in October. I dedicate this month to read all the "scarier" books I pushed off the rest of the year. And normally I would look forward to this challenge but this year I live alone so reading scary books is a bit of MORE than JUST a challenge for me, especially with my anxiety acting up and making me see things that aren't there (which it tends to do when I get really stressed out --- I just cant figure out the trigger for it this time and it's driving me nuts).
If you'd like to see the covers to the books I'm mentioning you can check out my Amazon list of it [ H E R E ] as I'm too lazy to figure out a format for these book covers in this entry though I would love to do it, if I could figure it out. Perhaps I'll edit this entry later and play around with that. Or not. Who knows. But for now you get just a basic list.
Any titles I come across to add to the list that isn't on this list can be found on the Amazon list. In addition I have 2 1/2 re-reads I try to do every year of my 2 favorite passed challenge reads!
⇢ The Girl at Midnight by Melissa GreyAgain, to see the covers click ⇢ H E R E.
⇢ And I Darken by Kiersten White
⇢ Roar by Cora Carmack
⇢ The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
⇢ The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski
⇢ Roseblood by A.G. Howard
⇢ Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgans
⇢ Frostblood by Elly Blake
⇢ Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
⇢ Haunted by Alexandra Adornetto
⇢ The Beast Is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale
⇢ Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
⇢ Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic
⇢ The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night
⇢ Hex Hall by Rachel HawkinsRE - READS
⇢ Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
⇢ Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (MAYBE)
I normally post my book reviews on Readarella; but lately I've been feeling like book review bloggers aren't a thing like they use to be in 2009 when I first started. I feel like it's moved on to book vloggers which isn't a bad thing since I use to post video reviews too and into bookstagramers which I feel I'm at a disadvantage at sometimes because I buy typically digital books and while you can create a cool flat lay with a Kindle or your phone I feel like having a physical book works much better. Plus I'm not savvy on how to make a flat lay and I'm limited on what to use for props. Maybe when I move into my next place I'll actually set up bookcases and do all that flat lay stuff.
But I wanted to post a review anyway since I've gotten back into reading recently \o/.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
The Lunar Chronicles #1
Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Find It: Amazon | GoodReads | B&N
Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.
Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.
But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.
I'll be honest, I read Cinder like last year-ish but since I continued on with the series I felt weird not reviewing this title first.
Cinder is about a cyborg named Cinder who works as a mechanic in New Bejing. I honestly didn't think I would be interested in this read for several reasons --- it takes place in a future world. It's about a cyborg and Cinderella was never really my favorite fairy tale. But as the story progressed, I found myself OBSESSED with this world. With who Cinder is and the people that make up her life. Yeah she still had that awful step mother but there were so many twists the author put on this story! Plus, it was a re-telling so I had to pick it up!
Cinder still had the two step sisters although one of them was one of her closest friends and I think that made this story that much better. Though the evil one could seriously suck it, in my opinion she was just as awful as her mother! Which is crazy because hello, her sister obviously didn't have a problem with Cinder. But whatever. Also there was Iko, lovely lovely Iko who I immediately fell in love with --- she's their household android assistant and she has such a big personality for something that should had been such a small role.
The story of The Lunars and of their dreadful Queen was also an interesting twist to put on this story and this world.
I remember at the time I read this I was totally smitten with the way Cinder and Kai interacted though I can't remember exactly why. But Kai in his own wasn't bad for the guy in the story. He had his own problems and his own things going on so while Cinder played a part in his days and in his story, his story was independent enough that he stood out as his own character in my mind and I kind of like that. Too many times the boys in YA books (especially in fantasy and paranormal) get so blended in with the girl in the book that there really isn't much to them when you think back on it.
The huge plot twist in this story did take me by surprise and it drove me to read the rest of the books (and it still is)! I wish I could talk about it but I hate including spoilers in my reviews, maybe I'll rewrite this review on Readarella and include all of my thoughts there :) who knows.
I absolutely enjoyed this read a lot more than I thought I would had and I'm so glad I decided to give it a go, after like 4 years of it sitting in my TBR pile.
Here's to the rest of the series!
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