August 2019 Wrap Up

 In the beginning of the year I was reading so many more books per month! 😂 With school starting up again and work, I really do read as much as I can, but there is not that much opportunity. I'm still going strong toward my Goodreads challenge (a lofty 19 book cushion at the moment), and I will finish my 2019 reading challenge!

Here are my stats for the month. I read a total of 7 books, averaging 418 pages in length. That is definitely longer than the books I've been reading the past few months so I give myself props for that! My average rating was 3.5, which is lower than last month. I blame that on my last read this month... you can see all the details below:

1. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Rating: ★★★★☆
This was a really good book. I really loved the writing style, with the --ALL CAPS EFFECTS-- and the strikethroughs on people's names when they were dead. It really showed how the deaths weighed on Yael's conscience. She could've (should've) been so completely jaded from her past in the camp, and used that as unrelenting fuel to kill anyone who stood in the way of her mission. Instead, the death she witnessed gave her a kind of PTSD that made her terrified of death, including when she was the one doing the killing. I think that Yael was a complex protagonist, and I enjoyed reading her POV a lot. Check out my review for Blood for Blood (linked below at #6) for my review on the series as a whole.

2. Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins

Rating: ★★★★★
This is probably my favorite Kristan Higgins book so far (the fourth one I've read). It's definitely heavier topics and more serious, but I think Nora's giddy optimism kind of off sets that so I liked it. I really meant to write a review for this one, but didn't get around to it. 😕But I do highly recommend this book.

3. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
This book had some of the most unlikable characters I've ever read, I'm really impressed! Yes, that's sarcasm, because I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hate the main character or her twin sister, but here we are, with a 2-star review. Two main reasons for the two-star rating: the plot and the characters. And, well, those are two pretty important aspects of novels. To find out more, you can find my review HERE.

4. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Rating: ★★★★★
This book was an emotional roller coaster. I hated characters, I loved characters, I loved characters I hated, and hated characters I love. The author really knows how to write character development. There were a lot of tropes in here that have been so poorly executed by many (most) YA fantasy books (enemies-to-lovers, enemies-to-friends, the chosen one, evil overlord, powerful artifact, the quest. Like really guys, there's a lot.) But! I didn't even really notice these plot points as tropes until after I finished the book and was reflecting on it because they fit so well into the story. Check out my full review HERE.

5. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

Here's another children's classic that I just thought "meh" about. I didn't rate this book because I don't feel that I am the target audience, so I am not going to get out of it what was intended by Carroll. I'm sure this is a joy for children, I just didn't really grow up with the Alice stories, so I didn't care that much about it.

6. Blood for Blood (Wolf by Wolf #2) by Ryan Graudin

Rating: ★★★★☆
This series packs a serious emotional punch. I really enjoyed my time reading, and I was really invested in the characters. I loved the moral dilemmas the characters faced (especially Felix, like wowwww), and I think the 3rd person POV was used really well to tell the story as all the characters. The first book was really just about Yael, and while she's still the main character in the second book, the author really broadened the story by incorporating more characters. Read my full review HERE.

7. Wayfarer (Passenger, #2) by Alexandra Bracken
 
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
This book... where do I even begin? How about with the simplest thing... This book is boring. It does not excite the reader. I was not drawn into the characters or the plotline, much like the first book. The book was 532 pages, but I don't even remember most of the plotline because that's how unmemorable it was. For a second there in the middle, I thought I would end up giving this 3 stars because I was intrigued at certain points, but by the halfway point I was just dragging my feet to finish this. So what went wrong? Read my full review HERE.