Review for "One of Us Is Next" by Karen M. McManus

Bayview High is ruthless. One incident is all it takes to define you for the rest of your life.

That... ENDING!! OMG. I don't even know what to do. I didn't think anything could be more shocking than Simon's story from the first book, but wow. I am floored. I did not see it coming at all, and trust me, I was speculating this whole book.



Rating: ★★★★☆

I should preface this review by saying that I gave One of Us Is Lying 3 stars. I thought it was kinda basic, but in retrospect I think I was too harsh with it. I won't change my rating now, I would need to reread it to do that in good faith, but I do believe that if I read the actual book (not listen to the audiobook as I did the first time) I would give it a higher rating.

This book, however, did not disappoint. This series is entirely up my alley of the Pretty Little Liars / Gossip Girl brand of high school drama supplemented by secretive gossip blogs. Seriously, if you want to read this series, DO NOT LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK. If at all possible, read the book in its natural form. The audiobook isn't bad, per se, but the book IMO is much more impactful when you read it via eyeballs.

The justice system works very differently when you're white, male, rich, and good-looking.

PREACH.

Okay, so having admitted my caveat with the first book, I should mention that there might also just be things about this book that I liked more than the first one. First of all, I think I like these characters more. Bronwyn and the other three of the Bayview 4 grew on me, but I wasn't upset that this book focused on a different group. I particularly liked Knox, I thought he was hilarious and sweet, even if he was petty at some points (because honestly, who isn't?). I really liked his style of narration, and I also appreciated Maeve's POV. Maeve actually reminded me a lot of a girl I know IRL, so it was fun reading her. Phoebe was my least favorite narrator, but she too grew on me throughout the book to the point where I was totally shipping her with her LI at the end of the novel.

Let's talk plot. As with all other teen dramas, this book has a healthy (unhealthy?) amount of cheese. But, I loved it. I was living for those cheesy, unrealistic movie moments. Just because it wouldn't happen in my life doesn't mean I don't appreciate it in their lives!! Also, as for the mystery portion of the story, I am still stunned. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, they throw a curveball in there in the last three pages!! The utter audacity. It was wonderful. Beyond that (the ending specifically), I was just really invested in this story. I wasn't bored, I didn't find it basic, and all in all I devoured it.

Brief things I didn't love: the author, in this book and others, has the tendency to overdescribe teenage boys' hotness. Not like with one, grossly descriptive paragraph, but like every time said guy comes into a scene the internal monologue is like "he's just so hot I can't even" or "I almost forgot how hot he was" or "his T shirt fit his arms ridiculously well". Like, we get it, he's hot, moving on. I know this is not right for me to think, but it gets me thinking "does she only like him because he's hot?" I just feel like much more time is spent talking about these boys' physical attributes instead of the fact that they are sweet and funny, which they are, given their actions (Luis, I'm looking at you).

Other than that, some of the plot was a little convenient. Like SPOILER: the fact that the handwriting font was the same for the death threats Eli was getting and for the note Phoebe got. It just seems too obvious, and like they could've figured out the notes were from the same source with some less obvious clue. END SPOILER This rarely distracted from my enjoyment though, and overall I was quite pleased with this read.

Review for "Leah On The Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

Rating: ★★★☆☆

So, what I’ve noticed about Becky Albertalli’s writing: she is great at writing from the perspective of cute, nerdy, adorable gay boys (Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and What If It’s Us). BUT not great at writing from the teenage female perspective. They are just so bitchy (this book and The Upside of Unrequited). This book is 3 stars for me; I enjoyed it and I liked almost all of the characters except Leah herself. I got this same vibe from her while reading Simon and honestly I wish the spin-off would’ve been about someone else. Also, a lot of the problems I had with Leah i also found to be problematic in Molly and Cassie from The Upside Of Unrequited, hence my theory on the author’s strengths and weaknesses. So what was so wrong with Leah? 3 main things:

1. She’s just mean. Like all the horrible things she thinks about Wells - in her internal monologue, to her mother’s face, to Wells’s face. It was so horrible reading some of the things she said to her own mother. And for what? Because she didn’t like the fact her mom was dating someone? She was single for 7 years and had to raise you, Leah, she deserves happiness finally!!
2. She complains about everyone and their petty problems while she is completely absorbed in her own petty problems. Simon comes to her with a real concern about moving away from his boyfriend and wants real advice, and she’s just kinda like bro it isn’t a big deal chill out. But then her own problems, aka having a crush on someone, are like the end of the world.
3. She is terrible at being inclusive. She totally turns on her friend for saying something racist, and won’t back down even when the person it was said against forgives her. But THEN when that same victim comes out as LGBT she’s like “what? That sexuality doesn’t exist you’re WRONG” and the other person is just like but this is how I feel and leahs like NO and so the other person is like okay and runs off crying and then just turns around and forgives her like the next day. I just, I can’t even.

So this book was not horrible, honestly it gets 3 stars instead of 2 because I like the side stories from the other characters so much - mainly Simon and Nora (I wish we got more of Nora - honestly I kind of shipped her with Leah but RIP ship). Definitely not as good as Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda but definitely better than The Upside Of Unrequited.

Review for "We Used to Be Friends" by Amy Spalding

I've never been happier to feel so little like the girl I was last year.



Rating: ★★★★☆

I am surprised how emotional I got at this book! At first, it sounded like it was going to be sort of basic, but that's honestly part of its charm. Hear me out! So many YA contemporary novels try to jazz up the writing, to make the teenage narrators some philosophical, wizened people who are so enlightened about love and life. This book is just about two girls who have to deal with life as it throws some of the hardest situations at them. I related so much to some of the things the girls went through, not only with their own families but also as their friendship ended.

The way the book was written - half in chronological order and half backwards - was so interesting and new and as frustrated as I was with it at certain points I really do think it added to the story. Sure, sometimes I just wanted to know what happened next instead of being thrown into a different timeline, but having it start at both the beginning and the ending showed the minute details of why James and Kat's friendship wasn't ideal from the very start. It was also good because it constantly keeps you wondering, now how did that come about? And hypothesizing as you go. Overall I felt like it reeled me into the story and the characters more than if the story had been just chronological.

I don't know if it was the timelines or just having alternating viewpoints throughout, but this story did an extremely good job of making the reader empathize with the narrator. Every time James was narrating, I thought Kat was a jerk and James was the victim. But then every time Kat was the narrator, I was thinking about how Kat was right and James was a cold-hearted you-know-what! Maybe it just so happened that they both narrated on the months that they weren’t the jerk in the friendship (because the alternating viewpoints narrate on different months of their senior year), but overall I just felt a lot of emotion for these characters. Since their friendship ended the way it did, I feel like I should have thought one of the them was a horrible person by the end, but I really just felt like they were incompatible and it's no one's fault (although undoubtedly James was more of a jerk by the end of the novel). I thought Kat's internal monologue about how she didn't hate James even after their fight and how it just made her want to be a better person really showed her development through the novel, and I wish we had gotten more compassion/understanding out of James at the end because it kind of just ends on her part by showing her blow up at Kat and leave for college.

Overall, a very solid, realistic friend breakup book that is definitely more moving that any relationship breakup could be!!

ALL THE BOOKS I READ IN 2019 RANKED

This post is self-explanatory! I actually read 175 books this year, but somehow 5 of them didn't end up on this list and I am way too lazy to go find out which ones. (Actually, it's probably because I don't include rereads in these rankings because otherwise my rereads would end up dominating every single year. I also don't include unrated books, usually children's classics.) I know this isn't very pretty, but I was also too lazy to insert book covers for all of these. Another side note: I am aware that some of these rankings will not line up with corresponding ratings (some five star books are ranked lower than some four star books, etc.), but I tend to evaluate books differently right after I finish them (when I give the rating) and when I am later reflecting and comparing them to other books (this is especially the case with classics). Anyway, here are the bests and worsts of 2019.

1. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
2. Godsgrave (Nevernight Chronicle #2) by Jay Kristoff
3. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers
4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
6. Sunny (Track #3) by Jason Reynolds
7. What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
8. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
9. Ghost (Track #1) by Jason Reynolds
10. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
11. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
12. Beartown (Beartown #1) by Fredrik Backman
13. Matilda by Roald Dahl
14. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
15. Us Against You (Beartown #2) by Fredrik Backman
16. Good Luck With That by Kristan Higgins
17. Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
18. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
19. Watchers by Dean Koontz
20. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyou
21. Birthday by Meredith Russo
22. The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
23. One by Sarah Crossan
24. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
25. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
26. Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
27. Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King
28. Circe by Madeline Miller
29. Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins
30. Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff
31. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
32. Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
33. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
34. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
35. The Godfather by Mario Puzo
36. Wolf By Wolf (Wolf By Wolf #1) by Ryan Graudin
37. Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
38. The Martian by Andy Weir
39. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
40. A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers
41. Gulp by Mary Roach
42. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
43. The Giver by Lois Lowry
44. Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennet
45. I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver
46. Blood For Blood (Wolf By Wolf #2) by Ryan Graudin
47. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
48. With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo
49. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott
50. Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) by Maggie Steifvater
51. A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
52. Becoming by Michelle Obama
53. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
54. Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo
55. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
56. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
57. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
58. What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
59. Animal Farm by George Orwell
60. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
61. Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo
62. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
63. Patina (Track #2) by Jason Reynolds
64. The Cerulean by Amy Ewing
65. The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
66. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
67. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doherr
68. El Libro de Los Americanos Desconocidos by Cristina Henriquez
69. Winning by Lara Deloza
70. The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
71. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
72. Twice In A Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
73. Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus
74. The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins
75. Lu (Track #4) by Jason Reynolds
76. The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
77. The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
78. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
79. My One and Only by Kristan Higgins
80. Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Steifvater
81. The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
82. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
83. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
84. Sadie by Courtney Summers
85. The Maelstrom (The Tapestry #4) by Henry H. Neff
86. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
87. I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong
88. Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo
89. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
90. Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #4) by Maggie Steifvater
91. Internment by Samira Ahmed
92. Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1) by Maureen Johnson
93. The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman
94. We Are Okay by Nina Lacour
95. Misery by Stephen King
96. And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
97. The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious #2) by Maureen Johnson
98. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi
99. The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
100. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
101. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
102. American Royals by Katharine McGee
103. Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
104. Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3) by Becky Chambers
105. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
106. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
107. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
108. The Second Siege (The Tapestry #2) by Henry H. Neff
109. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
110. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
111. The Hound of Rowan (The Tapestry #1) by Henry H. Neff
112. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
113. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
114. Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
115. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
116. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
117. King of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1) by Leigh Bardugo
118. Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds
119. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
120. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
121. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
122. The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. Pearson
123. The Fiend and the Forge (The Tapestry #3) by Henry H. Neff
124. The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black
125. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
126. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
127. Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi
128. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
129. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
130. Atomic Habits by James Clear
131. Dracula by Bram Stoker
132. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
133. Iron Man (Junior Novelization) by Peter David
134. Sleeping Giants (The Thermis Files #1) by Sylvain Neuvel
135. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
136. Elevation by Stephen King
137. The Red Winter (The Tapestry #5) by Henry H. Neff
138. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle
139. Spook by Mary Roach
140. Again, But Better by Christine Riccio
141. Frankly In Love by David Yoon
142. Dune by Frank Herbert
143. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
144. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
145. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
146. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
147. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
148. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
149. Evernight (Evernight #1) by Claudia Grey
150. Stargazer (Evernight #2) by Claudia Grey
151. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
152. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
153. Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken
154. Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl
155. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
156. Aura by Carlos Fuentes
157. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
158. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
159. This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson
160. The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot
161. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
162. Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall
163. Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger
164. You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon
165. Wayfarer (Passenger #2) by Alexandra Bracken
166. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
167. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
168. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
169. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
170. Beloved by Toni Morrison

October 2019 Wrap-Up

20 books!!! I finally broke the barrier!!!!! This month, for spooky season, I decided to try and read some spooky type books which is not something I would normally go for since I don't read horror. I still didn't read that many spooky books (oops), but still 1 is more than 0 (my normal).

Stats ~
Books: 20 (we love to see it)
Pages: 6328
Pages/book: 316
Pages/day: 204 (thank you audiobooks)
Rating: 3.39 (I thought this seemed low at first but then I went and looked at previous month averages and 3.39 is actually pretty middle of the road. Rough.)
Most read genre: Classics (who is she???)


1. King of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Two books disguised as one, what a deal! This book is the continuation of the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. And it was sort of a letdown! I'm so over the Darkling, I'm not sure if I'll read the next book. I might read it just for the Nina/Hanne bits, but it honestly might depend on how long it is (how much time I would have to invest in it). Check out my full review HERE.

2. Openly Straight (Openly Straight #1) by Bill Konigsberg

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Am I the only one who thinks that what Rafe did wasn’t crazy? I was intrigued by the concept of this book because I can relate to his motives. I knew a lot of kids in high school that I admittedly might have referred to as “the gay kid”. I don’t blame him for wanting to shed his labels. I took issue with a few aspects of Rafe’s character apart from this though, as I previously mentioned the part where he fantasizes about Ben’s parents kicking him out of the house for him being gay. There were also some really stereotypical that-doesn’t-really-happen-in-high-school characters, relationships, scenes and dialogue. Slightly related, are there actual moms that say the phrase “oh sweetie...” because it was in this book a lot. So overall, it’s a fine read. Not the best in gay teen contemporary either in the story quality or the writing style.

3. A Closed and Common Orbit (The Wayfarers #2)

Rating: ★★★★☆
I didn't read the description before reading this book, I just read the first one, so I kind of thought it was going to continue the Wayfarers' storylines (Rosemary, Jenks, etc.). Needless to say I was surprised to find the entire book was about Pepper and the new Lovelace. Still, it was beautifully done. This science fiction world is flawless, and Becky Chambers always finds ways to make big statements about our own lives and society through these worlds. It didn't quite keep me as rapt as the first book, which I think is because there were only 2 POVs and like 5 characters whereas the first one had a lot more, but still I love the characters, emotions, and relationships in this story. And this series in general has altered my views on AI and what it would be like if machines could think or even feel for themselves. I am excited to read the third one. Side note: I've read this and the first book of the series as an audiobook, and I highly recommend.

4. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
What can I say? It was boring. I didn't connect to Tiger Lily as a protagonist at all, and in fact all the characters (including Peter and the lost boys) fell flat for me. I did like that it was told from Tink's perspective, I thought that was cute. And I did feel some of that emotion that Tiger Lily had near the end of the story. But overall, the book is anticlimactic.

5. Evernight (Evernight #1) by Claudia Gray

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
I was very uncomfortable how Bianca kept referring to Lucas as her “protector” after they’d had like one conversation together. I guess it’s just instalove but it was creepy. Also the fact that Lucas was 20 and knew Bianca was 16 and was still pursuing her... like what. Gross. As for positives, the world is not terrible, and I did feel the creepy ambiance of Evernight Academy.

6. Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Rating: ★★★★☆
I really loved the messages in this book, and the writing style. This is a truly stunning novel. Only two reasons this is four stars instead of five: first, I wish it wasn’t instalove. The love story here is the definition of instalove, and it’s actually pretty well done, but the love story would’ve been more meaningful (IMO) if it was a friends to lovers story instead. Secondly, I wish we had gotten more of that closure with Sebastian and his family! It just left on a cliff hanger and then cut to the epilogue. I want the drama, I want to know how it went down.

7. Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3) by Becky Chambers

Rating: ★★★☆☆
I was so looking forward to a continuation of the Wayfarer story uggghhhh!
This is basically just a collection of semi-connected stories in the same universe as the first two books in the series, and IMO it is less compelling than both the previous installments. It's still good, just not amazing.

8. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Rating: No rating
I can't rate a children's classic! I hate rating classics, especially near-and-dear children's classics. I really enjoyed this audiobook, and it was definitely interesting to see some of the changes that were made when making the animated characters.

9. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Rating: No rating
Like I said I don't rate classics... I don't really know what to tell you. It's Shakespeare. It had no chance of becoming my new favorite read. This is often referred to as Shakespeare's darkest tragedy, which I definitely understand. Overall, a really good spooky October read. And the audiobook (audioplay?) was very atmospheric.

10. Watchers by Dean Koontz

Rating: ★★★★★
I finally finished this and WOW I was literally on the edge of my seat!! So many spooky fall vibes, and the author does such a good job of giving characters creepy personalities realistically. And the themes in the novel... and the alternating storylines... and the ending. Shook.

11. Beartown (Beartown #1) by Fredrik Backman

Rating: ★★★★★
I know a lot of people say this but I really don’t cry at books but this one got me!! The injustice, and the fact that it’s all so common irl.... wow.
At first when I heard the ending (both the climax and the 10-years-later bits), I was not happy. I wanted it to actually happen. But the more I reflect, the more I like how it ended. I did think that is was a little cheesy that (view spoiler) But other than that the ending was really appropriate and honestly just realistic in such a beautiful and sad way. Also he just off-handedly mentions that (view spoiler) What the heck! Benji and Amat were my favorite characters and I just love them so much.
I need this to be a mini series and in honor of that here’s some people in my dreamcast (I know I didn't get everyone, but some of the characters I didn't immediately think of anyone that I would want to play them, ex. Amat and David):
Maya - Joey King
Ana - Sophia Lillis
Kira - Jessica chastain
Peter - Aden Young
Benji - Timothee Chalamet
Whatever the bass player’s name was - Cole Sprouse
Bobo - Jeremy Ray Taylor
Kevin - Ty Simkins
Kevin’s father - Gabriel Macht
Kevin’s mother - Connie Britton
Jeannette - Saoirse Ronan
Ramona - Viola Davis

12. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Rating: ★★★☆☆
I never had to read this in high school, but I decided to pick it up now just to see what it's all about. I knew the general plot going into it. It was fine, it was good, I will probably never read it again.

13. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Rating: ★★★★☆
Here's a book I did not think I'd like as much as I did. This is another one that I didn't have to read in high school and I just knew the bare bones of the plot. I really liked the writing though, and I liked the ending a lot too. To me it had a lot of The Giver vibes mixed with The Book Thief and just Nazi book burning in general.

14. Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

Rating: ★★★★☆
I love Mary Roach's books! This one was super fun, and way less boring than I expected. It explores all the weird questions about digestion and eating that I wouldn't even think to ask. If you're into quirky nonfiction (and can stomach stinky science) this is a great choice.

15. Animal Farm by George Orwell

Rating: ★★★★☆
I love a good social commentary; this one kept me engaged the whole time.

16. Misery by Stephen King

Rating: ★★★☆☆
The imagery was so vivid, and it was fascinating to watch Paul's descent into madness the longer her spends with Annie and with Misery. Three stars because it was just so slow (I've only read one other King book, but I'm going to assume that that is a staple of his stories: the slow burn). At first I didn't know if I liked or disliked the interruptions of Misery's Return chapters; I read them and I could tell how they showed that Paul's mind was getting darker but other than that I wasn't that interested in them (probably because a series like the Misery one Paul wrote is not my cup of tea). By the last Misery chapter that was included in the book I skimmed and then skipped over most of it, because I was a lot more interested in Paul's real life story than his fiction one, no matter how it showed his inner darkness/madness. I guess that's just the gotta in me!

17. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
The only thing more boring than this book might be the activity of fishing itself. I did like this one more than Fiesta though.

18. Matilda by Roald Dahl

Rating: ★★★★★
This was actually my first time reading this book! I didn't read it as a kid, although I did read The Witches and The BFG, so I was fairly certain I'd love this book (and that's not to mention that I did watch the movie of Matilda as a child several times, and I loved the movie). This book brought so much welcome nostalgia, and I love the dynamic characters and Matilda's resilience and charm. I also loved Kate Winslet's narration of the audiobook; overall this was just a really enjoyable time for me.

19. Stargazer (Evernight #2) by Claudia Gray

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
I own four of the books in this series, but I've decided that I just cannot continue with it (I did finish this book, but won't read the next three). It felt like so little was going on. I don't like Bianca as a protagonist, I don't find her to be a strong female lead, I find her to be a bad example for young girls who might be reading this book because she is always pining after Lucas talking about how she needs him to be her protector even after he hurts her and her family. Also some of the stuff in this is just so ridiculous! A vampire joining a band of vampire hunters? I just... I can't. It must be noted that if I'd read this when I was 14 I probably would have loved it. *insert cringe here*

20. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Rating: ★★★☆☆
The first plot twist - or rather, change in plot direction - was interesting and I liked it a lot. The second one had less effect on me. Then there were just so many reveals that it was cheesy. Oh, this person? That's actually the same as this OTHER person! And that happened like three times. I was intrigued by the story, but there were no shocking plot twists and there was not a ton of suspense. It's kind of just your run-of-the-mill domestic thriller. Good, but not life-changing.

Review for "King of Scars" by Leigh Bardugo

Remember, he told himself, remember who you are. He felt his claws emerge, his teeth grow long. I am Nikolai Lantsov, privateer and king.



Rating: ★★★☆☆

Two books disguised as one, what a deal! This book is the continuation of the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. And it was sort of a letdown!

Ravka was his first love, an infatuation that had begun in his early boyhood and that had only deepened with age. Whatever it demanded, he knew he would give.

I'm giving this 3 stars, which I feel like is pretty generous. I liked the emotion, and I love the parallels between Nikolai having a monster inside him and like how that relates to fighting inner demons (mental illness). I don't know if that is a crude/weird connection to make, but personally it helped me relate to Nikolai's character a lot. Which was needed because I didn't like Nikolai near as much as I did in Siege and Storm or Crooked Kingdom. I think that's because he was more serious, but I was able to still feel a connection to him. I just thought that based on his charm/wit from previous books, his inner monologue would be more witty/charming, but it wasn't really. Honestly I thought the Nikolai perspective was the most boring. But I digress. Another thing I liked in this book was Zoya's perspective, I thought the background added depth to her character and I just love seeing beyond her harsh facade. It's mentioned that men often think she's soft underneath, and the point of her POV is to say, no I'm not soft, I'm actually this cold and I'm powerful, deal with it. Speaking of soft: I loved reading Nina's inner thoughts about Matthias, and how he had a lasting impact on her. Last thing - I liked the addition of Hanne. I think she has a lot of potential for development in the next book.

So first of all, the obvious critique that I'd heard before I started the book: it's tediously slow-paced. I just don't know why. It feels like so little happened in 524 pages. It is just really frustrating.

Second of all, why were there two plotlines? I really thought they would collide at the end and that would make for a really grand finale, but no. The Zoya-Nikolai-Isaak story was literally complete separate from the Nina story, and they were even separated by an entire country. Other than Nina mentioning Nikolai a few times, and Nikolai mentioning Nina a few times, I'm tempted to say the plotlines were so separate they could've been just two entirely different novels. My assumption is that they will come together in the final book, but I just wish we had gotten a little more of the connection before that.

One small thing that bothered me was kind of the cheesiness/implausibility of certain plot points. The main one that comes to mind is Trassel. Like, really out of the ENTIRE country of Fjerda (Fjerda is big), Nina just happens to stumble upon Matthias's old wolf? Seems unlikely, and I think the Nina-Matthias emotional moments of this book were sufficient without the addition. Somehow though, even though I know it's unlikely and corny, it still makes me smile.

I really did not like the Saints plot of the story. I guess I just didn't really get it/the mythology is starting to seem a little bit too extravagant. I don't know. It just did not work for me.

I think the number one issue I had with this book is the blatant recycling of ideas. It seems like a good idea to continuously make books in the same fantasy world... until all the plots start to look the same. First of all, we have the Nikolai battling his inner demon plot, which I'm pretty sure was resolved at the end of Ruin and Rising so it kind of seems like the author ran out of ideas and just defaulted to that when she brought it back. And also why the Darkling. Why bring him back. I won't even dignify these questions with question marks. I am so over the Darkling. And it's kind of like, what was the point of the entire Shadow and Bone trilogy and Alina and Mal's sacrifices if he's just going to come back. I never liked the Darkling as a villain, and I just feel like it's lazy writing to bring him back instead of crafting a new villain. I'm over it. The last aspect I felt was recycled was the power build up. Every book it's like, ooh a new thing happened/a new thing was acquired and now I'm extra OP! Like in Shadow and Bone it happened when Alina realized the power of the stag belonged to her and not the Darkling, in Ruin and Rising it was when she killed Mal, and in this book it's when Zoya kills Juris to gain his power. There's just always another secret level of power to get to, and it makes the entire hierarchy of power useless. I just want the author to create a system of magic, explain it, and stick to it. This book has just been the author breaking the previously established rules of the magic system, and not in a creative way but in a lazy way.

I'm so over the Darkling, I'm not sure if I'll read the next book. I might read it just for the Nina/Hanne bits, but it honestly might depend on how long it is (how much time I would have to invest in it).

September 2019 Wrap-Up

What a whirlwind of books this month! I read 19 books 😱which I was not expecting to get that many in what with school starting and everything. But still, how frustrating that, once again, I couldn't get just ONE MORE in to get it to a solid 20. Here's some stats for the month:
Total books read: 19
Total pages read: 6044
Average rating: 3.35
Most read genre: Contemporary
Average pages/book: 318
Contemporary is not usually my most read genre, but this month it took it by a landslide because I read What If It's Us (see below), and it was so adorable I went and found as many cute teen gay romances as I could and have been reading them ever since. And more to come in October!
The books I read this month are definitely shorter than usual, but it's still a respectable average with 19 books considered.
Side note: I don't give ratings to books that are rereads, because obviously if I'm rereading them they were probably a four or five star book, so I don't want the rereads to skew the average higher than it would be. Rereads are purely for enjoyment. My average rating this month was kind of low, but there are a couple of one and two star ratings that probably contributed to that.

Here are the books I read in September:

1. Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★★☆
I liked this installment a lot more than the first book. I loved the addition of Nikolai, and I like the direction the series goes in from here.

2. Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★★☆
This was a solid conclusion to the Shadow and Bone Trilogy.

3. Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: No rating (reread)
I love the Six of Crows duology!! This is actually the first book I ever in the Grishaverse, and rereading it after Shadow and Bone trilogy makes everything make a lot more sense. You can enjoy it without reading Shadow and Bone, but I personally recommend reading Shadow and Bone beforehand. Especially because Six of Crows is better (IMO), so the universe only improves.

4. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Read this for the hype, it has major "I'm privileged" vibes. Issues I had with it: You can’t simultaneously argue “you are in control of your own happiness, take responsibility for yourself” and “God is in charge of everything so you ultimately aren’t in control of your own fate.” Also the blatant humble bragging... we get it, you’re the best at everything which is why you are rich and famous and we aren’t. I was totally rubbed the wrong way by the sex chapter. Not because it was too intimate, but because she encourages women to force themselves to like sex even when they don’t.

5. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Rating: No rating (reread)
As of yet, this is my favorite Shakespeare piece. And I think it's very important for young readers today. I first read this in high school, and just because of the themes about prejudice, I think it should be a required reading in all high schools (if need be, in place of Romeo and Juliet).

6. What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Rating: ★★★★☆
Obviously I liked this book more than the last Becky Albertalli I read, The Upside of Unrequited. I still saw remnants of the things I hated from that book like the signature unlikable supporting character that the narrator swears is the most amazing person in the world (Dylan) and super obvious telling-not-showing. But I shipped Arthur and Ben so hard. They were so delightfully awkward. This book was, to me, what I wish Eleanor and Park had been (that one was only meh for me). At times I was annoyed by Arthur and/or Ben, but then I realized, hey they are literally sixteen years old, and they’re just acting like they are. I can respect how the authors nailed the teenage romance perspective. Their actions and feelings feel immature at times, but that’s because they’re meant to because they’re kids. But seriously... i need a different ending!!! Or a do over ending! A sequel maybe...? Also - loved the narration in the audiobook, highly recommend.

7. The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

Rating: ★★★☆☆
I really liked the serious parts of the novel, I think they are really important and those topics were handled well but it was still realistic and relatable. Can’t give this one over 3 stars because the best friend characters were so awful and for some reason they are a large part of this book. Like, all of them are terrible. Also there were some chapters that were completely pointless and unrelated to the book. Why did we have an entire chapter about how Jordan adopted his dog?
Another note: I didn’t love the narration of the audiobook. The Max narrator was okay but the Jordan narrator was not good. And for some reason they did these ridiculous voices when they were speaking another character’s dialogue. The Jordan narrator speaking as Pam was kinda stereotypically racist, like she was some 50 y/o sassy black woman and not just a teenager. And the Max narrator doing his two best friends was just bad.

8. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Rating: ★★★☆☆
I spaced out during some of this, but overall I really liked the stories of the mothers and their daughters.

9. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Rating: ★★★☆☆
This book did not turn out the way I thought it would. It was a pretty good story. My major takeaway: read this book if you want to be SAD. It is sad.

10. Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Just... read my full review HERE.

11. The Giver by Lois Lowry

Rating: ★★★★☆
I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I watched the movie afterwards, and I actually didn't hate most of the changes they made from book to screen. Some of them I even think should've been in the book in the first place, such as Jonas getting chased when he's trying to get Gabriel and then escaping.

12. Iron Man (Junior Novelization) by Peter David

Rating: No rating
I can't rate this... I love the MCU and I'm so partial to this story and these characters even if this was not the best rendition of them.

13. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★★☆
Very whimsical fairy tales. I enjoyed most of this. Some things were just way too descriptive. It's fun to read the actual Grishaverse books and catch some of the references to stories of "monsters in the thorn wood" or "rivers that could talk" knowing that these are those stories. My top three I really liked, and the bottom three bored me.
My ranking of the stories:
1. The Witch of Duva
2. Ayama and the Thorn Wood
3. Little Knife
4. The Too Clever Fox
5. When Water Sang Fire
6. The Soldier Prince

14. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Rating: ★★★★☆
The description of this book makes it seem so much more frivolous than it is. This is deep stuff. The book is told from the viewpoint of individuals who have died from HIV/AIDS as they watch over 7 gay boys trying to make their way through life and accept themselves. Craig and Harry, who were together but aren't anymore, are trying to break the world record for the longest continuous kiss. Peter and Neil have been dating a year, and they must consider their relationship through the difficulties of being a gay couple. Ryan and Avery have just started to go out, and they deal with homophobia and their pasts. Finally there's Cooper. When Cooper's parents find out he's gay through reading his messages in online chat rooms, they are furious enough to drive Cooper out of the house, and right into the arms of the other men in those chat rooms. Some of it is hard to read. The POV is really unique, and I think the story is told beautifully. I love all the different characters' circumstances, and how they're all kind of intertwined as you get to the end of the story. Hearing the narrators talk about the characters' situations while also referring back to when they were alive and fighting the disease was so powerful. I gave this four stars for being really excellent, not quite five stars because some of the lines were too poetic to the point where it felt cheesy and silly.

15. Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: No rating (reread)
Still love this conclusion! It wasn't as magical as the first time around, but things rarely are *sigh*.

16. They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

Rating: ★★★★☆
I liked this story. I thought the contemplations of death that the boys were forced into were tragic and deep and really well developed. I think this is a relevant piece, especially for people would are familiar with grief and loss. I got very emotional at the conclusion of the book (the title says it all), and that does not normally happen to me with books.

17. We Are Okay by Nina Lacour

Rating: ★★★☆☆
I guess my overall impression of this book is just underwhelmed. I read this 4 days ago and I can't even remember the main character's name. I know the mystery element was pretty good (but also I was a bit like "is that it?"), and I liked how the story is told in two different timelines. Loved the ending of the book, I thought it was a really good conclusion. But overall, compared to a lot of hard hitting contemporary, it's kind of unmemorable.

18. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Rating: ★★★☆☆
This book was a snooze fest for me UNTIL Tea Cake entered. Not that he was an amazing character, but things just picked up from there. Unfortunately that was literally 50% through the book. I would give the first half a two star and the second half a four star rating, thus three stars.

19. This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Check out my full review HERE.