March Wrap-Up

I knew I wouldn't repeat my February feat of reading 20 books, but two out of the four books I read this month, definitely made it to my favorites of the year list.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★★★ 5 stars

"No Mourners. No funerals."

Reading this book was a great way to start off the month. Though I will admit that I read this so soon to keep my mind off the approaching release date of Lady Midnight. Nevertheless I enjoyed this immensely. I previously read the Grisha trilogy last month and I was really enjoying it until the last book fell flat for me. But still I went into Six of Crows with high expectations and was delivered just that every time. This book was excellent. If you didn't enjoy the Grisha trilogy that much and still unsure of whether you should read this I implore you do so. This book is leagues ahead of the Grisha trilogy. Not only do we get a diverse cast of characters, that are extremely well written, the plot is really fast paced and grips you, and also has you internally screaming at your book most of the time. This felt like a combination of Ocean's Eleven movie plus Heist Society by Ally Carter times 100. I am honestly anxious and terrified to see how this duology concludes in The Crooked Kingdom.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Rating: ★★★★★ 5 stars

❝ Once I was the elder, but now you are elder than I. When I was in the faerie country, each night I would think of each of you—of you and Helen, of Livvy and Ty and Dru and Tavvy. I gave the stars your names, so that when I saw them wink to light in the sky I felt as if you were with me. It was all I could do to still the fear that you were hurt or dying and that I would never know. But I have come back to a family not just alive and healthy, but whose bonds have not been severed, and that is because of what you have done. There is love here, among you. Such love as takes my breath out of my body. There has even been enough love left for me. ❞

No surprise here that I managed to read this in the same month. If you know me, then you know how much I was anticipating this book. Feeling both excited and mildly terrified when I finally procured a copy on release day. This book. THIS BOOK. I don't even know what to say about this book to convince you how much I LOVED this it. Just go read my review where I exhibit all the feels.

The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 stars

“Love is giving the world away, and being loved is having the whole world to give.” 

I went into this book with pretty high expectations due to all the buzz around its release, but I was not a fan at all. I read this book for my book club's The Reader's Guild, book of the month. Honestly I don't even think I could explain the synopsis of this novel. A main component of where it fell flat for me is due to the fact that I felt the author was trying to do too much at once. Like there's time travel, parallel universes, Native American folklore, and some other scifi elements that just felt weird and confusing. I did enjoy a lot of points on feminism and the stories that were told, but that's about it. There is so much going on in this novel in a short amount of pages that it begins to feel rushed. Not to mention that I really didn't like any of the characters, nor cared for the insta-loved that inevitably ensued. The main reason that I disliked this besides the busyness was that it was confusing up to the point where I had to ask someone to explain the ending to me because I had no idea what was going on. But I guess some books just aren't for everyone.

When We Collided by Emery Lord

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

"I feel like I know him a little, like if I collect fragments of the six of you and tape them together; there he is: a mosaic of your pieces."

Usually I'm not the hugest fan of contemporary, but this novel sat in the middle of my love-hate spectrum. There is a lot of great aspects of family and love ingrained in here that I believe Emery Lord delivers excellent, in a way that is not cheesy. I did love the Daniel family for the most part, but was kind of off and on with our main character Vivi. Though I really enjoyed the realness of this contemporary and more of my thoughts can be found here.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

"He imagined the future I could have before I even wanted it for myself, and he was the one to push me toward it. That’s faith. Growing up, I thought faith was about believing Jesus died for us, and that if I held on to that, I’d get to meet him when I died too. But faith doesn’t mean that to me anymore. Now it means someone seeing something in you that you don’t, and not giving up until you see it too. I want that. I missed that."

I technically finished this in April, but it was near the beginning so I'll just count it towards March. This book is sold as a thriller, but I feel like that it doesn't read like a thriller at all which is why a lot of people are disappointed when they don't get something like Gone Girl from it. This is told in the present day and flashback rotations our main character, Ani, reflects at her freshman year of high-school and the events that occurred then. There is a lot of important themes of feminism and forgiveness in this novel, and even more so gut-wrenching when you realize that the author wrote this book based on events that happened in her own life. My full review can be found here.

February Wrap-Up

The month of February had me reading nonstop. Honestly I couldn't help myself with this Hamilton reference because this month I had been reading like I was running out of time. The past few months, my wrap-ups have been pretty small. And though I am a major believer of quality over quantity, I have been wanting to get through books at a faster rate than previously. This month I read a total of 20 books, most of which consist of novellas, short stories, and poems, but there are some regular full length novels in the mix.

Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

❝ Now I am the queen of darkness and terror. ❞

This was the first book I read in the month of February and I was sadly not floored by it at all. I received this book from the publisher, mostly due to the fact that this book is blurbed as 'for fans of Libba Bray and Cassandra Clare' which so happens to be my top two favorite authors. Silver in the Blood takes place in Romania in 1890 following, two high society cousins Dacia and Lou who are sent from their homes in New York City to Romania to meet their family and learn a terrifying secret. This synopsis had intrigued me so much, but this book was such a let down. The beginning was incredibly slow, and honestly I couldn't find myself liking any of the characters. Due to the slow beginning, near the end it felt really rushed. I did like the plot and the concept of the storyline and also the Romanian setting. Even though I didn't love this book, I'm interested to see what's in store for the sequel.

Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ 4.7 stars

Individual Ratings:

Welcome To Shadowhunter Academy ★★★☆☆ 3½ stars

The Lost Herondale ★★★★☆ 4 stars

The Whitechapel Fiend ★★★★★ 5 stars

Nothing But Shadows ★★★★★ 5 stars

The Evil We Love ★★★★☆ 4½ stars

Pale Kings & Princes ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Bitter of Tongue ★★★★★ 5 stars

The Fiery Trial ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Born to Endless Night ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Angels Twice Descending ★★★★★ 5 stars

❝ Mark grinned, something wild and fey in the grin, like sunlight glittering through a spiderweb. “And we do love mischief, Simon Lewis, and sometimes wickedness. But it is not all bad, to ride the winds, run upon the waves, and dance upon the mountains, and it is all I have left.❞ 

❝ Tell the Clave that I have saved more Shadowhunter lives, that I will be a Shadowhunter and be damned to them, that I will be a faerie and curse them! And tell my family that I love them, I love them, and I will never forget. One day I will go home.❞

Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy is what essentially pulled me from my prolonged reading slump. I can go on and on about the beauty of this novella collection, but I already talk about this too much so if you want more of my thoughts, read this post.

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Individual Ratings:

Shadow and Bone ★★★★☆ 4 stars
Siege and Storm ★★★★★ 5 stars
Ruin & Rising ★★★☆☆ 3½ stars

“Na razrusha'ya. I am not ruined. E'ya razrushost. I am ruination.”

It's been awhile since I've read an entire series back to back and finish them in one month. But after constantly putting it off I finally decided to finally read the Grisha trilogy. Shadow and Bone is set in an alternate Russia, Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a stretch of darkness infested with monsters, when Alina Starkov and her regiment is attacked on the fold, she emits a power that not only saves her and her friend's life, but may be the key to defeating the Fold and darker powers that threaten her country's safety. I really did love this at first, Leigh Bardugo did pretty well with the set up in Shadow and Bone, we are introduced to this unique world of those with magical power, grisha. The writing flowed well and she developed most of her characters thoroughly. The Darkling being one of my favorite characters to have read about. There is something so intriguing about the way he speaks and thinks, honestly what would I do to know what is going on inside his head.

But anyways, we move to book two, Siege and Storm which was my favorite book out of the three. In this I feel Alina really comes to her power more, not to mention that we are introduced to a new character, Nikolai Lantsov, whom I adore. And then we get to Ruin and Rising, I have always heard mixed things about this last one, but never paid no mind to it. I thought I would be apart of the few that loved it, but frankly that was not the case. The beginning was great, it wasn't until the end that I really began disliking it. Near the end things began to get confusing and misconstrued and honestly I felt this book contradicted a lot of what was said in the previous book, and the ending was so unsatisfactory. I just felt certain character could have had more closure and things could have been explained better.

The Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★★★ 5 stars

❝ He understood then. The Grisha lived as shadows did, passing over the surface of the world, touching nothing, forced to change their shapes and hide in corners, driven by fear as shadows were driven by the sun. No safe place. No haven. 

There will be, he promised in the darkness, new words written upon his heart. I will make one. ❞

This is a Grisha trilogy novella that tells a story of the Darkling, before he became the Darkling. Honestly, I may have cried a lot while reading this. This novella is fairly short, it follows the Darkling and his mother as they finally settle in another town as something they constantly must do. They find a grisha camp, as this were the case due to the fact that the world pretty much despised grisha and hunted them down regularly. You see the Darkling as just a boy, yes he has his strange dark power, but in this story you see him have many boyish wants. A longing to fit in, to make friends, to stay for a season and not move around all the time. It's heartbreaking to see when he experiences cruelty, the point where you can see him not being able to trust anymore. I can imagine that after this novella is where the change takes place, where he feels he no longer needs anybody, where he really grows into his power and longs to make the grisha great and respected again. I honestly wished this could have been longer.

The Tailor by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

❝ Because I am a doll, and a servant. because I am a pretty thing and a soldier all the same. ❞

This is another grisha trilogy novella, one from a scene from Shadow and Bone from Genya's perspective. I really enjoyed this novella, due to the fact that Genya is one of my favorite character's from this trilogy. It was really interesting to see her interact with the Darkling because we never really get to see them talk privately and I always wondered what made her want to join his side initially.

The Devil & Tom Walker by Washington Irving

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 stars

"The good people of Boston shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders, but had been so much accustomed to witches and goblins and tricks of the devil in all kinds of shapes from the first settlement of the colony, that they were not so much horror struck as might have been expected."

The Devil and Tom Walker is a classic story about a man who meets the devil in the woods and ends up working for the devil due to his own greed. I had to read this for my English class, so I understood the theme of greed, corruption, and the trees surrounding the Indian fort representing the mortal decay of all the men who have sold their soul to the devil. It was statement to say that those who are too consumed with money are practically in the clutches of the devil. There is a lot of deeper meaning and motifs to be had from this story, but honestly it just wasn't my favorite.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”

I have finally read one of the most influential poems in American literature. It was kinda sad that I have not read anything from Poe besides that of The Tell Tale Heart. The Raven is a dreary, phantasmagoric tale of love worn man who let's an ominous raven in his house. While reading this I did listen to the audiobook and it gave it an even more atmospheric feel to the story. you really get Poe's single effect of dreariness and despair. I definitely long to read more by him.

Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

"There can be no doubt that the consciousness of the rapid increase of my superstition—for why should I not so term it?--served mainly to accelerate the increase itself. Such, I have long known, is the paradoxical law of all sentiments having terror as a basis."

I further delve into Poe's work with the Fall of the House of Usher. It's a grim short story where the narrator is invited over to his old friend Roderick Usher of the Usher estate. Upon meeting he sees Roderick has changed greatly since their childhood, his face looking weary and hard. The house is an entity of itself as you fall back into normal creepy tone of Poe's writing, you begin to see how the house mirrors its inhabitants. I just thought this story was okay, but maybe if I read it again in the future I could appreciate it more.

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2½ stars

“A teacher (a good teacher) is composed of molecules of education and intelligence, bonded together by patience and passion.”

Was not a fan at all. Kate Malone is your typical straight-A, smart, female character who is somehow careless enough to apply to one college. That's right, one. Kate only applies to MIT because she feels as if she is a shoe-in. This novel is essentially her dealing with her decisions, and by dealing I mean constantly complaining about everything unfair about her life, because of her rash decisions. I listened to the audiobook of this and honestly if I hadn't this would probably have a lower rating. I did like the narrator's voice, and honestly Kate could be funny at times when she wasn't constantly whining, but the end of this story sort of cuts of that kind of does it for me.

January Wrap-Up

Since I'm perpetually late at posting things, how about an extremely late January wrap-up in the middle of February?

The month of January was a pretty average month of reading for me. I read a total of 5 books, two of them being for school. Here's what I read:

1. Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

“Words are finite organs of the infinite mind.”

Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a short essay, which I had to read for English class during our focus on transcendentalism. Emerson talks about our society's connection to nature and further discusses how nature can mimic human emotion. All in all I thought this essay was beneficial to those who truly admire nature and all of it's uncertainties.

2. Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

“There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.”

Another essay I read from Emerson was Self-Reliance. In this Emerson divulges into a key transcendentalist property which is non-conformity. He urges each man to break from the bonds of society and choose their own path before them.. I fairly enjoyed this essay, though maybe a little less than I did for Nature.

3. The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 stars

“If there's a single lesson that life teaches us, it's that wishing doesn't make it so.”

This is probably the most disappointing book I'll read all year, which is saying a lot since the year just started. I went into The Magicians quite excited, for I had my eye on this book for quite some time now and with the TV showing coming out made me all the more to pick it up. It tells the story of Quentin who soon finds himself attending a magical college in upstate New York. I know many people dubbed this as the 'adult' Harry Potter, but since I haven't read that I can't make a comparison. I did like this book in the beginning, but as you read on it just gets even more weird and outlandish up to the point where I just decided to skim the last 90 pages or so because I was so done with this book. If you want to know more of why I really didn't like this book I have a mini review on my Instagram here.

The only redeeming thing is this gorgeous cover.

4. Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Rating: ★★★★☆ ½ 4.5 stars

"He watched her, listened to her, and knew she was truly asleep. He kissed her forehead and found the act pleasing for its own sake."

“Whether it was true or not, it eased his heart to think there was something beyond the physical plane, something that felt benevolent toward humans, because the gods knew there wasn’t much on the physical plane that felt benevolent toward them.”

The only book I read this month that I absolutely loved!! Written in Red is about Meg Corbyn, a blood prophet, meaning that when she cuts her skin she can see prophecies, is on the run from her compound and ends up living among the terre indigene, an otherworldly species, Others, which consists of shapeshifters, vampires, elemental deities and plenty more. There's always been animosity between the Others and humans, but overtime you begin to them take a liking to Meg and maybe even change their stereotype on all humans. This my first dive into adult urban fantasy, and I am so glad to have finally picked up this book. There isn't much, or any romance at all in this first novel and the plot is pretty slow building, but what makes this book one of my favorites are the well developed characters. I have a full review here for more of my thoughts.

I read this in e-book form!! :)

5. Manhattan Mayhem edited by Mary Higgins Clark

Rating: ★★★☆☆ ½ 3.5 stars

"Well, Detective, have you ever heard of money? It's thin and green and you need it to pay for things." 

Manhattan Mayhem is anthology of various crime/mystery stories that center around various locations in Manhattan, over different time periods and characters. Could you imagine my elation when I heard about this book? For I love books that take place in Manhattan and I always love a good mystery story. This book is filled throughout with beautiful NYC black and white photography which gives it even more of an allure. But whenever I read an anthology there's always stories that I love and some I just find to be alright. Since there is so many authors in this anthology, many of the stories are short and at times it felt like they just cut off, but there are also some that really hook you in a matter of pages and neatly resolves itself by the end. Full review here.

December Wrap Up

In the month of December I read a total of 5 books, which wasn't at all the amount of books I wanted to complete last month but nonetheless here is my extremely late December Wrap-Up.

1. Life As We Knew It by  Susan Beth Pfeffer

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 stars

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer was my first read of the month and I really did not enjoy this at all. This was the choice for my school book club so in a way I felt an obligation to give this book a try even though I was wary of it. Life As We Knew It is a post apocalyptic novel that follows Miranda and her family as they struggle to survive on earth after the moon is knocked out of orbit and is in closer proximity to the earth, causing a change in weather conditions. 

This novel was quite taxing to read. The main source of my dislike would have to be the writing. The way that Pfeffer writes is read as juvenile and it was hard for me to discern if this way a middle grade or young adult book. There isn't much that happens in this novel, the plot mainly just focuses on Miranda and her family staying in their house. The rest of the characters in this novel felt very one-dimensional and I couldn't really connect to them. Though I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 because during the end of the novel Miranda began to redeem herself which I really appreciated. I know there are three other books in this series, but I am certain that I won't be reading those.

2. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Rating: ★★★★★ 5 stars (10 million stars)

A book of my heart and soul. If you follow me on Instagram you already know how much I am in love with this book. I have a full review here if want to know my complete thoughts. This novel is both beautiful and heartbreaking. A Little Life follows Jude St. Francis, the quietest and mysterious out of his three friends and catalogs their lives throughout college and mid-adulthood as Jude tries to come to terms with severe abuse he received as a child. This book is just so intricate and intimate. Hanya Yanagihara has such a way of manipulating words that make you feel deeply for Jude. At times it became very hard to read and many times I ended up having to put this book down. I can't recommend enough how phenomenal this book is, and if you take the time to consume it slowly, you'll enjoy it all the same.

3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5 stars

Started The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne in November, but finally completed it in December. This was required reading in my English class and I fairly enjoyed it. Recently I've been enjoying more of the classical literature that I am required to read in school. The Scarlet Letter centers around Hester Prynne who is ostracized by her Puritan village after they discover she committed adultery and is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet letter A on her chest. This novel surprised me immensely. I will admit that Hawthorne can become quite verbose in his writing, but once you root through all the extraneous words, the story is very easy to follow. I appreciated being able to discuss this class and go more in depth into it. Hester Prynne becomes almost a saint-like figure as she humbles herself and takes her punishment. If you have to read this for class I recommend reading it slowly or even reading the modern text No Fear version to help discern some of the tougher parts of the text.

4. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh is a retelling of the classic A Thousand and One Nights. This story follows Shahrzard who volunteers to be the wife of  Khalid, murderous boy-king who ends up killing his wife every night. Shahrzad volunteers in hopes of killing him in order to avenge her friend's death who was one of his victims. This story is languid and almost sensual and I really enjoyed Ahedieh's writing style, there was something atmospheric about the setting in the desert. Although I enjoyed this story for the most part I found it really disconcerting how it felt like the author was trying to absolve Khalid of his actions. That was the main reason why I did not love this novel, but I also wished the magical elements of this novel was explain more in depth because it came off as underdeveloped and halfhearted. I have a full review here if you want more of my thoughts.

5. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Rating: ★★★★★ 5 stars

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen was my last read of December. (I actually finished it on New Year's Eve) And this book flew to the top of my favorite books of 2015 list. I went into this novel with pretty high expectations and I am so glad that they were all met. The Queen of the Tearling is an unconventional fantasy story actually set in the future, with both medieval and modern aspects, and focuses on young queen Kelsea Raleigh, who upon turning nineteen must take up her family throne after so many years away from her kingdom. This novel had everything I wanted and then some. Kelsea isn't really a physically strong character, but she is wise and uses her brain. It shows how much she thinks situations through and actually cares for the well-being of her country, which she barely knows. For such a lengthy novel, the plot really flies through as Erika Johansen encapsulates you in this world. I am quite to get back to the second book, Invasion of the Tearling. My full thoughts can be found here.

November Wrap Up

The month of November has flown by. I'm still immensely missing the vibrancy of the trees' leaves and the cool autumnal breeze. My November TBR initially consisted of five books:

• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
• Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
• The Girl At Midnight by Melissa Grey
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

I never ended up reading An Abundance of Katherines, which was a read for my school book club, because it just didn't appeal to me. So my total books read in November was three; The Girl At Midnight, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and Passenger. I'm currently 54% of the was through A Little Life, (which I'm currently reading and loving) but have yet to finish it which is why it isn't included in this wrap-up.

1. The Girl At Midnight by Melissa Grey

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 stars

This was the first book I read this month and I was quite eager to read this due to its gorgeous cover and intriguing synopsis, but sadly was completely disappointed by it. I have a full review on why I immensely disliked this book. This is an urban fantasy novel set in New York City that follows Echo, a runaway pickpocket, who is taken in by the ancient bird like race Avicen, who are at war with Drakharin, who are descendants of dragons. Echo has set off to find the Firebird, something that has been lost for centuries, but if found has the potential to stop the war. I wish I could have enjoyed this novel more, but the writing felt very cliche and the overall plot was really choppy to read. Not to mention that there were too many parallels to Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone.

2. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: ★★★★★ 5 stars

This book definitely brought me out of my reading slump. Blue Lily, Lily Blue is the third book in Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle quartet, with the first book being The Raven Boys. I read the first two books in the beginning of the year and also started this, but I out it down for some reason and never got back to it. I decided to pick it back in November and immediately fell in love with it. The Raven Boys is essentially about Blue Sargent, daughter of  psychic who befriends a group of boys from a nearby prep school and soon becomes entangled in their quest to find a lost king. Not only is the plot of this novel spectacular, but what really sold me are the characters. I love reading about Blue, Gansey, Noah, Ronan, and Adam. All these characters are individually so well developed and their interactions with each other feel genuine which is all the more endearing. The third book definitely did not disappoint and I am overly excited for The Raven King.

3. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

The final book I completed this month was Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. I was very eager to read this novel when I received the arc back in October. After completing this book I gave it three stars because I just found this book to be okay. Passenger is the story of Etta Spencer a violin prodigy, who inherits her mother's ability to travel through time. Nicholas Carter, another traveler who only wants to finish cutting his ties from a powerful travelling family sets off with Etta in search of a powerful object that could change the game of travelling, and help her get back home. I went into this with previously loving Bracken's Darkest Minds trilogy, but this wasn't the case with this novel. I adore the concept and some of the characters, but I didn't feel an exact connection to this novel and it did seem to get a bit insta-lovey near the end. Overall I enjoyed the story even though it seemed to drag in parts and feel rushed in others. I still will be reading the next book in this duology, Wafarer, when it releases. Full review of Passenger here. This book releases January 5th, 2016.

My reading month in November was pretty much all over the place, but I'm glad that I managed to get more reading done, which has been hard since school started. Looking forward to whatever December brings.

I recently uploaded a November favorites playlist on 8 tracks, which you can listen to here. It's essentially a compilation of all my favorite songs I've been listening to in the month of November, a majority which I listen to while reading. Will be uploading more book playlists on there soon.