I’ve exceeded my Goodreads challenge goal and read more than 30 books with only 3 months of 2017 under my belt. In addition to the 10 books I read in January (see post for details), I also read an additional 20+ books in February and March.
Before feeling bad about the number of books that you’ve read in the past few months or years, please note that most of these books were in audiobook form and I tend to listen at 2x the normal speed because that is how I read. I have a prescription to Audible and I am not afraid to use it. I also have a Kindle unlimited subscription on top of my aforementioned audible subscription.
The books I read can be categorized in four sections
- Books that are in my comfort zone and are near guaranteed to bring me to my happy place like Tell Me Three Things.
- Books that are free with with my Kindle unlimited subscriptions but I otherwise would not have prioritize to read/listen to save for the fact I was having a stressful week at work, am on a strict budget and needed to quench my thirst for narrative.
- Sequels. I am a finisher and have been known to hate read the subsequent books in a series.
- Me trying to branch out or me trying to maintain my intellectual sexy.
And some combination of the four. I will note each category (CAT 1, 2, 3, 4) after each book or series listed.
Without further ado, here are the additional 20+ books I read in February and March:
Under Different Stars (Kricket Series, Book 2 & 3) by Amy A. Bartol (Young Adult Fantasy/Romance). I read all three books over four days (starting in January and spilling into February). Book one was good, book two was meh and book 3 knocked my socks off! At the beginning book 1, I thought most of the characters were eye roll worthy cliches, but something about the overarching narrative makes a scifi fangirl like myself curious about where the story was heading. I immediately started book two, and though I did not enjoy the plot as much, I liked it enough move on to book 3 and here is where the magic starts to kick up and the plot become exquisitely more complex. This series was a fun casual read. I really hope the writer releases book 4 soon so I can have closure. (CAT 2 & 3)
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. (Young Adult Science Fiction/Romance) I picked up this book because a fellow bookworm with discerning tastes described this as a “near perfect YA novel.” This was not an overstatement.
Half way through this book I knew that, baring some epic decline in the second half, A Sun Is Also A Star would be added to my top 10 list of favorite YA novels.
This book is beautifully written, intelligent and real. It makes you laugh out loud but is also thought provoking. It makes me remember what it was to fall in love and forces me to analyze that love through the lens of both science and faith. It indeed is a near perfect YA novel. (CAT 1 / 5 star)
Saga Vol. 1 & 2 by Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Fiona Staples (Artist). (Graphic Novel Fantasy/Science Fiction) A sci-fi graphic novel series featuring a breast-feeding woman of color fighting for a love that is illegal and their child, who is now hunted by two waring factions. It is pretty epic (CAT 4 / 3.5 maybe 4 star series)
The Tea Planter’s Daughter (Tyneside Sagas #1)(India Tea #1) by Janet Macleod Trotter. I gave this book one star for being a dreadful period novel and found myself not listening to most of the audiobook and listening at 3x the speed to speed up the process. I read the summary for the 2nd book in the series and did not feel obligated to keep reading at all. (CAT 2)
The Last Girl (The Dominion Trilogy #1) by Joe Hart. Another one star book. A dreadful dystopian YA book that was depressing, verbose, with a story-line that does not pull in the reader. I read the summary of the subsequent books in the series and did not feel obligated to continue. (CAT 2)
Inescapable and Intuition (The Premonition, #1 & #2) by Amy A. Bartol. (Young Adult Fantasy/Romance) I loved the last book in the Kricket series so much that I opted to try another series available to me for free via kindle unlimited. I was very disappointed. I found book 2 difficult to complete. There was an underling tone of sexism and toxic possession between the two main protagonists that kept making me roll my eyes. The romantic relationship is unconvincing and does not draw the reader in or secure our buy in. I do enjoy the way Bartol structures her dialogue, but the female characters, even the powerful and commanding ones are stereotypical and wrought with damsel in distress troupes. The reader is forced to endure a disproportionate amount of hyper-sexualized violence against women. The lead females are often forced to fight and be tortured in lingerie or sex slave like attire. I hated it and opted not to finish the series. This earned one star. (CAT 2 & 3)
A Thousand Pieces of You, Ten Thousand Skies Above You & A Million Worlds With You ( Firebird Series #1, #2 & #3) by Claudia Gray. (Young Adult Science Fiction/Romance) The Firebird Series is on my favorites bookshelf next to Pride & Prejudice, Dune, Eleanor & Park, & Kindred. Poetic romantic sci-fi. Oh, how I love this book! It is endearing, well written & lovely. The perfect mix of sci-fi & young adult literature! The storyline is complex and the characters well formed. It was an amazing journey to embark on. For me Firebird was near perfection, a 4 & 5 star series of books.
Angelfall, World After & End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days #1, #2 & #3) by Susan Ee. This is a 1 and 2 star dystopian YA novel about angels. The framework of the story is really good but the dialogue between the characters is so poorly written that I often found myself cringing or laughing our loud from how basic and nonsensical it is. I would not recommend. (CAT 2 & 3)
The Duke’s Holiday & Virtuous Scoundrel (The Regency Romp Trilogy #1 & #2) by Maggie Fenton. These books, that I am embarrassed to have read, are a part of a period romance novel series. Book one was kind of quirky and funny so I read book two ad it was just horrid. The worst dialogue with unneeded sex scenes. Do not read these books, I repeat, avoid. (CAT 2 & 3 / 1 star series)
Wreckage by Emily Bleeker. Wreckage is a contemporary mystery romance revolving around two survivors of a plane crash, Lillian and Dave, who’d spent two years trapped on a deserted island together. Both are married, and Lillian has two boys. They are rescued but must lie when they return to civilization about what really happened on the island. The book shifts between the interviews and scenes on the island.
The book starts out promising but the why of their lies are not very strong and the ending does not fit well with the journey of the characters. (CAT 4 / 2 star book)
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum. (Young Adult) This book gives me all the feels. It is smart. It is funny. It is quirky. It is beautiful. Julie Buxbaum wrote the hell out of this book in the loveliest way. (CAT 1 / 5 star book)
Plus One by Elizabeth Fama. (Young Adult Science Fiction) This book had incredible potential but there were a few plot holes and strange choices that I just could not overcome:
- The author does not do a great job of convincing the reader of the why and how of this alternate reality where most of the world is held prisoner to a day and night caste system.
- The main protagonist is annoying as h e l l, she does self destructive senseless crap that is exacerbating to say the least and though perceived as passionate and endearing to the main love interest, it can cause readers like my self to feel frustrated and not want to root for her.
- Some of the writer’s choices are off-putting. For instance, a main character recalling a childhood molestation scene right in the middle of loosing one’s virginity with little emotion or pause. I was soooo disturbed. There were a few moments in the book that made me squint, scratch my head, and audibly ask the heavens why.
With all that said, Fama finished the novel so strongly that it piqued my interest in the sequel and raised her rating from 1 to 2 stars. (CAT 1)
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is a beautiful, disturbing, and poetic novel that follows a child of abusive and neglectful drug dealers/addicts. The seemingly fragile female protagonist has a fierce strength and intelligence hard earned through much suffering. It’s a book filled with brokenness and beautiful prose. There are sections that get under the readers skin and others that pry tears from the readers eyes. It is a book that is not for the faint of heart but if you are willing to challenge yourself, you will enter world that both breaks your heart while filling your mind. No matter how conflicted I feel about some of the content and the near overwhelming sadness of this fascinating and difficult story, in the end, I have to describe it as extraordinary.
****Trigger warning for topics related to child abuse and rape.
I heavily considered giving this book 4 stars, mostly because of the writing style, but the difficult bits of this novel that got under my skin and made me cry prevented it. (CAT 4 / 3 star book)
There was a trend of in subscription but horrible Kindle unlimited books which I plan to discontinue next month.
I’m always on the market for a good book, what do you recommend? You can also friend me on Goodreads.
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