Showing posts with label something strange and deadly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label something strange and deadly. Show all posts

Friday, January 3, 2020

Book Series I Finished in 2019


You know, I'm actually really happy with my 2019 reading year. I read 138 books (!) and I finished NINE series! I still can't believe I managed to do that and that I'm aiming to read even more in 2020. However, today's post is all about those series that I did finish and I can't wait to share them all with you! As I have nine of them to talk about, let's just dive straight in! 




The first series I finished in 2019 was the My Pack trilogy by Lane Whitt. This is a reverse harem series that I started reading all the way back in 2016 and fell in love with. The final book finally came out this past spring and I was so excited to finally get to read the finale. I'm a lot older than when I first started reading it and I can definitely acknowledge the issues with it this time around, though. Still, it was fun and so nostalgic to get to reread the first two books and finally finish off this series.

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book 2 Review     |     Book 3 Review




Next up I finished the Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. I absolutely loved Lady Midnight when it first came out and on my reread last December, however Lord of Shadows was a big disappointment for me. However, since my expectations had been lowered by book 2, I went into Queen of Air and Darkness without much hope. I will say the final book was better than the second, but I still think that Lady Midnight was the best one. Overall, I'm a bit disappointed in how everything ended but I did enjoy the trilogy as a whole.

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book 2 Review     |     Book 3 Review




A complete surprise to me this year was the Wires and Nerves graphic novel duology by Marissa Meyer. This is a companion sequel to The Lunar Chronicles and I really enjoyed getting to revisit these characters and see physical representations of them to match the previous ideas in my head. I will say I definitely enjoyed the original series more, but these were fun and I was able to get them through my library so I got to read them for free.

Goodreads     |     Volume 1 Review




The next series I have to talk about is one that I binged over the summer: the Something Strange and Deadly trilogy by Susan Dennard. Susan is most known for her Witchlands series, which is one of my favorites, but I also really wanted to read some of her other works. After finishing this series I am convinced on how great of a writer Susan is. Her two series are so vastly different and both so good. After finishing this series, Susan has definitely earned a place on my auto-buy author list.

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book 2 Review     |     Book 3 Review




The next series I finished this year was the Rich Boys of Burberry Prep series by C.M. Stunich. This is a reverse harem bully romance series and, I just have to say, I would never want to live in this book series. It's so addicting and full of drama and such a guilty pleasure read. I'd compare it to watching reality television. It's fun to watch but I never want to be in those situations. This is kind of the same. I will say that I am looking forward to the sequel series that the author has hinted at, though.

Goodreads     |     Series Review




Up next I binged A Wicked Trilogy by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Jennifer is one of my favorite authors and has made her way onto my auto-buy list. This is my third series I've finished from her and it was so much fun. I actually think it might be my second-favorite! The characters were just so fun to read about and I can't wait to dive into the sequel novella spin-offs when the third one gets published this year.

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book 2 Review     |     Book 3 Review




Over the summer, in the span of less than a week, I also binged the entire Redemption Saga by Kristen Banet. I got a free 3-month Kindle Unlimited subscription and I figured I would give the first book a try when I could read it for free. I ended up being sucked in and immediately downloaded the rest. I spent all my free time reading this series and I definitely want to reread it at some point in the future.

Goodreads     |     Series Review




Another series that I binged over the summer was the Dark Elements trilogy by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This was a reread for me, but since I read the entirety of the series in 2019, I figured I would include it on this list. The Dark Elements trilogy is definitely my favorite of Jennifer's series and that was only solidified after rereading them. I am so excited to read the spin-off companion series following one of the bigger characters in this series, though I think I'll wait to start it until after the second book comes out later this year.

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book  3 Review




The last series that I finished this year was the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco. I read the first book back when it came out in 2016 and absolutely loved it. For some reason, though, it took me until this year to finally read the second book. However, that just meant that I could be caught up in time for the final book (which absolutely blew my mind by the way). This is definitely one of my favorite series and I can't wait to see what Kerri does next!

Goodreads     |     Book 2  Review     |     Book 3 Review



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Friday, August 2, 2019

July 2019 Wrap-Up!


You know, July was a pretty good reading month for me despite how stressful the month was in general. I think I was so stressed that I turned to reading a lot more than usual. I ended up reading 21 books, though 7 of those were pretty quick graphic novel reads. I think towards the end I slacked off a bit from reading my TBR and just dove headfirst into a bunch of Fanfiction, but I'm really happy with this number nonetheless! Additionally, I enjoyed almost everything I read this month, with only a few books not being up to my expectations. Let's just dive right in!



BOOKS READ
1.
Title: Fix Her Up
Author: Tessa Bailey
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
This was a fun and enjoyable New Adult contemporary. I'm pretty picky with the contemporaries I read but I'd heard some good things about this one and decided to give it a try. I'm really glad that I did because I really enjoyed this book. Obviously it wasn't perfect but as I don't read contemporaries very often, this was so refreshing and fun for me. 

2.
Title: Hypnotizing Beat
Author: Katherine McIntyre
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Review

3.
Title: Amulet: The Last Council
Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars
Once again, Kazu has completely astounded me with how beautiful the artwork is in these graphic novels. I really enjoy these even if I don't love them. I definitely think binging them is the way to go since you could forget quite a lot between graphic novels. 

4. 
Title: Amulet: Prince of the Elves
Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars

5.
Title: Red, White & Royal Blue
Author: Casey McQuiston
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

6.
Title: Escape From Lucien
Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars
Escape from Lucien (Amulet, #6)

7.
Title: Firelight
Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Rating: 3.5 // 5 
Firelight (Amulet, #7)

8.
Title: Supernova
Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Supernova (Amulet, #8)
I decided not to do mini-reviews for all of the Amulet graphic novels I binged this month, so these thoughts pertain to all of the others mentioned in this wrap-up. This world and these characters are so much fun and it's been a blast to read about their adventures. This world and story are so unique and I am eagerly anticipating the final installment when everything comes to a finale. 

9. 
Title: Forgiven Are the Starry-Eyed
Author: Christine Doré Miller
Rating: 2 // 5 stars

10.
Title: The Package
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
This was super short and didn't have much to it but I loved it very much. It was a short fluffy scene between two of my favorite book characters and I'm so happy to have been able to revisit them and see an update on their lives. If anything, this has motivated me to finally finish my Lux series reread and finally get into the Origin series! 

11.
Title: Mooncakes
Author: Suzanne Walker
Illustrator: Wendy Xu
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Review

12.
Title: The Black Mage
Author: Daniel Barnes
Illustrator: D.J. Kirkland
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars
I really enjoyed this graphic novel. There was a lot that I liked about it but I also didn't think that it was perfect or a masterpiece. It was shorter than some that I usually read so I felt like I read it pretty fast, which is one of the reasons that I like graphic novels in the first place. I would have liked to have seen it a bit longer just to get more interaction between the main two characters and to discover more about the magic and societal systems. Other than those small issues, I really enjoyed it. I thought the overall idea of the story was very interested and well-thought out. I liked that it was a social and racial commentary set in a magical society. I liked how there were certain historical figures that were included in this story. Overall there's really not much I can say. I liked it but I didn't love it. I enjoyed it but I didn't think it was amazing. Would I read more if there were future graphic novels published following these characters? Absolutely. Am I absolutely dying for another installment? No, but mostly because the story ended in a good enough way that a sequel isn't needed.

13.
Title: A Darkness Strange and Lovely
Author: Susan Dennard
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Review

14.
Title: Strange and Ever After
Author: Susan Dennard
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Review

15.
Title: Wicked
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars
Review

16.
Title: Hidden Light
Author: Nikki Bolvair
Rating: 3 // 5 stars
I've enjoyed some of Nikki's previous works so I was really interested in this one when I saw the description. I enjoyed it for the most part but what I think did me in what the fact that it was only about 150 pages so I didn't get too much of a chance to connect with the characters. Additionally, the books after it aren't about the same main character so it seemed like a really small introduction to the world and maybe a prequel explaining some of these influential characters. I'm excited to continue though.

17.
Title: The Bridge Over Snake Creek
Author: Nikki Bolvair
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars
This installment was way longer and I loved that so much. It follows a different main character but I think I liked this one even more than the first book's. We get to see a lot more relational development between characters and the plot has time to actually breathe. Not only that, but I think the main character is going to play a pretty substantial role in book three so I'm glad this isn't the only time I'll get to see her.

18.
Title: Filthy Rich Boys
Author: C.M. Stunich
Rating: 3 // 5 stars
Series Review

19.
Title: Bad, Bad Blue Bloods
Author: C.M. Stunich
Rating: 3 // 5 stars
Series Review

20.
Title: The Envy of Idols
Author: C.M. Stunich
Rating: 3 // 5 stars
Series Review

21.
Title: In the Arms of the Elite
Author: C.M. Stunich
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars
Series Review






TV/MOVIES

For this month, I rewatched seasons 5, 6, and 7 of Bones. I absolutely loved binging this series last year and it's been a real treat rewatching it these past couple of months. Because there's so many episodes, I don't remember how each case ends. It's like watching the cases for the first time but being reunited with all these characters that I love.

I also finally got to see Spider-Man: Far From Home on the last day of July with one of my best friends. It was such a blast not only hanging out with her but also just seeing Tom Holland in action again as Peter Parker. Homecoming was one of my favorite movies when I saw it and, I have to say, I really enjoyed this one. The humor was there, the stakes were pretty high, and there was a lot more angst this time around. Overall, though, after watching the after-credits I just have SO MANY questions and the need to immediately watch the next one even though it hasn't even been written probably.



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Friday, July 26, 2019

Book Review: "Strange and Ever After" by Susan Dennard

Title: Strange and Ever After
Author: Susan Dennard
Series: "Something Strange and Deadly" #3
Genre: YA Supernatural/Paranormal/Steampunk
Page Length: 387 pages
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Date Started: July 22, 2019
Date Finished: July 22, 2019
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Goodreads
Book 1 Review
Book 2 Review

This book. THIS BOOK. You guys...I just have no words. Well, I actually have a lot of words but a lot of them are just me repeating "No" and incoherent screaming. This book kept me up until past midnight and then broke my heart. There's really no other way to put it. This book broke me and then healed me.

This is the third and final installment in the Something Strange and Deadly trilogy and boy did it deliver! If this is any indication on how epic Susan's conclusions to series are, then I'm both very worried and excited for the final Witchlands book (even though we still have a few to go). Everything from the first book in this trilogy has been culminating up to this finale. The stakes are even higher and relationships are on unsteady ground heading into this book.

The whole book was interesting. It was fast-paced, fun, and also anxiety-inducing with everything going on. The characters were great and compelling. I think the only way I can express how good it was for me is that I started reading it at 9:30 or so at night and stayed up past midnight just to finish it despite having to work the next morning.

I think the one thing that really surprised me was the fact that this book didn't throw plot twists at you and then magically fix things so that everyone had a happy ending. Nope. Betrayals were actually betrayals with no redemption. Deaths were final--which, in a book trilogy about necromancy, that hurt. The stakes were so high and the ending wasn't magically easy or happy. Nope. It hurt.

But the thing is...as bittersweet as the ending was, it was also perfect. It was so well-written and made so much sense. I wish it wasn't so perfect because then I could be mad over was broke my heart, but it all made so much sense within this story that I can't even be that upset over what happened (even though I'm still crying).

I think the main thing that this trilogy has done for me, though, is show me how amazing of a writer Susan Dennard is. I've read all of her Witchlands books and I've been following her Luminaries choose-your-own-adventure Twitter thread and this girl can write! Each of these three things are so diverse and different from each other yet each are so amazing. Susan is such a well-rounded author and after reading things she's written from different genres, I feel comfortable putting my trust in her hands and adding her to my auto-buy list. She's amazing, this book was amazing, and I can't wait to see what she does next (though I am a little scared).



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

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Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Book Review: "A Darkness Strange and Lovely" by Susan Dennard

Title: A Darkness Strange and Lovely
Author: Susan Dennard
Series: "Something Strange and Deadly" #2
Genre: YA Paranormal/Supernatural/Steampunk
Page Length: 406 pages
Publication Date: July 23, 2013
Date Started: July 22, 2019
Date Finished: July 22, 2019
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Book 1 Review

Y'all...this book was great. There's just something so easy about Susan's writing that allows me to just fall into it. I read this entire book--start to finish--at work and I loved it. I didn't even realize how much of it was passing until I turned to the last few pages.

I think what I like most about these books are how addicting they are. Once I start, I can't stop until I finish. This could be partly because of how they are written but I also attribute it to the mystery aspects and high stakes present.

This book definitely amps it up from the first one in terms of everything. The plot gets more intense with sacrifices, necromancy, and trying to catch a murderer while fight off dead things all set against the backdrop of high-society Paris. The relationships between the characters are evolving and it was interesting to see how choices each of them made either made their relationships stronger or start to crumble. Additionally, the inner struggles that our main character goes through are so compelling. The characters are still my favorite part of this. I'm an angst-lover and this book was FULL of angsty moments between characters.

Overall, I don't have much to say about this book other than I really enjoyed it! As I'm writing this review, I've already finished the third and final book and I have A LOT to say about that one and I don't want to spoil this book so I think I'll leave this review with these parting words: I highly recommend this trilogy for anyone who is a fan of paranormal/steampunk books or any book-lover in general!



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

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Friday, May 24, 2019

Book Review: "Something Strange and Deadly" by Susan Dennard

Title: Something Strange and Deadly
Author: Susan Dennard
Series: "Something Strange and Deadly" #1
Genre: YA Supernatural/Paranormal
Page Length: 544 pages
Publication Date: July 24, 2012
Date Started: May 21, 2019
Date Finished: May 22, 2019
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Goodreads

I first discovered Susan Dennard through her Witchlands series. I binged every released book in that series earlier this year and absolutely loved them. I knew Susan had written a previous trilogy, but I'd never seen much about it. When I looked it up, the synopsis sounded right up my alley. Historical fiction/paranormal? Yes please! I was really lucky to find the entire trilogy on Book Outlet for super cheap last month and I knew I wanted to start reading as soon as I got them.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that the plot was really interesting, the characters were realistic, and the dead rising proved to be an exciting addition. I will say that I spotted the major plot twist from almost the beginning, but I didn't care because I still was able to enjoy this book.

I think the main thing for me about this book was the main character, Eleanor. She's not in the best of situations yet she still tries her hardest to fight through. She makes mistakes and she struggles through tough decisions. Yet her heart is in the right place and she's not afraid to fight for what she believes in. I absolutely cannot wait to read more of her in the next book.

I thought we were going to get more of the Spirit-Hunters than we did so I was a tad disappointed by that BUT I still really loved them. I hope that their backstories are explored in even more depth in the next two books because they really are such complex and interesting characters.

The plot was definitely interesting. I found myself unable to put this book down because I was so interested in how things were going to play out. I think the different magical versus scientific aspects were pretty cool in how they interacted together. There were a few things mentioned here and there in the book that I think will set up an exciting tension point in the next books.

Lastly, Susan's writing style was just great in this book. It was so easy to fall into and stay engrossed in. I loved her writing in Witchlands and I found that, though different, her writing in this book was still amazing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't perfect or overly complex but it was enjoyable, fun, and definitely one that kept me up late reading. I'm super excited to read the next one and see where the story goes next.



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

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