Monthly Wrap-Up: October 2016

Happy Halloween to all my followers! I’m super proud of the amount of books I read this month! I’m double the number I read both in September and August. I’ve also accomplished my goal of being more active and posting more posts non-related to reviews. Hopefully I can continue this trend for November as well!

BOOK REVIEWS

THE FORGETTING: This book was super intriguing and different from other dystopian YA novels, which I appreciated. The plot was gripping, the characters were interesting, and I found myself pulled along from chapter to chapter, wanting to know what would happen next. ★★★

DO YOU WANT TO START A SCANDAL: Tessa Dare is one of my favorite authors, and she knocks it out of the park with this one, once again. It was light-hearted, witty, sexy, and seriously funny. Piers and Charlotte were great characters to read about and the plot was super enjoyable as well. I still can’t get over the eggplant reference. ★★★★★ [review]

THREE DARK CROWNS: For one of my most anticipated releases of the year, this was also one of my biggest disappointments. I was expecting a story full of violence, betrayals, tangled politics, and bloodshed. Instead of a dark and gritty book about triplet queen who must kill one another to ascend the throne, I read a slow-moving and boring story in which romance was the main focus. ★★★ [review]

A SHADOW BRIGHT AND BURNING: I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t exactly like it either. The problem with the book is that it’s unoriginal. The entire time I was reading it, I just kept thinking about how similar they were to other YA books I’ve read, especially when compared to Harry Potter and The Infernal Devices. ★★★

THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES: I was blown away by this book. It was a nasty and vicious and didn’t sugar coat anything. I absolutely loved it. I couldn’t put it down and the ending was a sucker punch right in the feels. Of all the books I was really anticipating this year, this is one that really stuck out for me. ★★★★½

INFINITY: Alternative/parallel universes always intrigue me, but sadly I didn’t like this story too much. The characters were not that interesting, the romance was definitely insta-love, and the plot was lacking. Unfortunately, I probably won’t be continuing the series. ARC received through NetGalley. ★★½ [review]

WITCH’S PYRE: I loved the first book in the series, but I suffered from second book syndrome with Firewalker. Thankfully, this one was much better and reminded why I love the series so much. The plot was fast-paced, the world-building continued to be fantastic, and the growth of Lily was wonderful. My only issue was the lack of romance. There was a ton of angst between Lily and Rowan but it never got resolved until the last few pages and then that was it. As a total romantic, I needed more! A great end to a great series that I’m sad is over. ★★★½

TWISTED PALACE: These books are totally my guilty pleasures. They’re not the best books and there’s totally some problematic issues, but I love them anyway. I was disappointed by Broken Prince, but I’m glad things picked up again in this one. Twisted Palace was a great conclusion to the series. ★★★★

THE LOVELY RECKLESS: I though I was over reading these kind of book, but I’m glad I listened to all the rave reviews because I loved it! The books and romance moved a little fast for my liking, but I was blown away by Kami Garcia’s writing and the characters were all incredible. ★★★★ [review]

AERIE: I was really disappointed by this. I really liked Magonia, however there were a lot of things in Aerie that made it unenjoyable for me. The angst was overwhelming, I continued to find Jason whiny and boring, the romance was bland, and there wasn’t enough Dai. The world building and imaginative plot continued to impress me though. ★★ [review]

BRIGHT SMOKE, COLD FIRE: Everyone seems to be disappointed by this book, so I guess I’m in the minority by saying I really enjoyed it. The writing was great, the plot was interesting, and I found myself liking all the characters. I wasn’t bored once and was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. ★★★★ [review]