May Wrap Up

I really can’t decide if May was an okay month, or total garbage It seemed to fly by and drag by, was pretty stressful, and I feel like I didn’t really accomplish anything. But, I did get in a decent amount of reading, at least, so that’s something. I still have a list of blog posts I meant to write last month…and in April…and March… *sigh* Hopefully some motivation will strike this month, and hopefully I’ll be able to carve out some time for some of those before I totally give up/lost interest.

I’ve already posted my wrap up for the Spring Bookish Bingo, and I think that was pretty much the only challenge thing I really participated in last month. I might have checked off a couple of things for the other (year-long) reading challenges I’m doing, but I’ll be posting updates for those at the end of this month (or beginning of July) when I do a mid-year review.

On to the books!

Books I started before May but finished last month:

Tarot for Yourself: A Workbook for Personal Transformation by Mary K. Greer, which I’ve been attempting to read on and off for 5+ years I really liked this book, overall, and I would probably recommend it, but it’s not my favorite book on tarot. I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers, which I’d started at the end of April and finished at the beginning of last month. This second book in the His Fair Assassins series was my favorite, and I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. I freaking love Sybella ❤

Books I read in May:

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare because I’ve fallen down the romance rabbit hole and I am obsessed now that I’ve started figuring out the kinds of romance stories I enjoy. Tessa Dare is a new favorite author, and I gave this one 5 out of 5 stars.

Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries, which I enjoyed overall, but there were several things that irritated me. In the end, I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon which was so freaking cute and sweet and steamy oh my gods ❤ Contemporary is not really my thing, but I really loved this one and highly recommend it. I gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot, which I really wanted to enjoy more, but I just thought it was okay. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt, which was an eye-rolling letdown, but I didn’t hate it. I gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars, but I’ve honestly already forgotten most of it

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers which was also a bit of a letdown. It was my least favorite of the original trilogy, but I still gave it 4 out of 5 stars, so I obviously did enjoy it quite a lot, I just preferred the first two books.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber, which I’m not even talking about anymore oh my gods. I reviewed it here, and I gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Courting Darkness by Robing LaFevers, which I wanted to like more, because Sybella, but…I wasn’t in love with this one. It was fine, I’ll read the next one, but I thought this one was just meh. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard, which I ended up loving. Not as much as the first book, but I think this was my second favorite. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard, which was…fine? I liked some parts a lot, loved a few parts, hated a few. It was a mixed bag for me, but I didn’t hate it or feel particularly disappointed. I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Royally Screwed by Emma Chase, which was entertaining, but not my favorite. I would like to read the other Royally books, but I’m not in a rush. I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige, and I’m still not sure if I want to stick with 3.5 out of 5 stars, or lower it to 3 I liked this one, but not quite as much as the first, and some of it felt super rushed, while others dragged a little.

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, which I’m hoping to write a review for before I start the next book. I loved it and gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, which was the runner up on my e-book poll a while back. I’m also hoping to write a review for this one, but…I didn’t love it like I expected to I ended up giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey, which I reviewed here. I am still so freaking mad about not loving this book, ugh. I gave it 2.5 out of 5 bitter stars.

Fairy Tales read (all by the Grimm brothers; links to Fairy Tales Fridays post):

• The Beam
• The Wolf and the Fox
• The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle

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And that’s a wrap, whew.

That was:

• 15 books read in May
• 2 books finished in May, and
• 3 fairy tales read

Not bad, and I’m quite pleased, overall.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am so happy I can get audiobooks to work for me now, because they’ve been a huge help, particularly with books I want to read, but my motivation isn’t super high. I like checking out the audiobook to listen to while also reading along in a physical or ebook, which is great because I don’t have to stop reading to eat, feed the cats, do the dishes, etc. Basically, I alternate between just listening and listening and reading at the same time.

They’ve also been a huge help in allowing me to enjoy books while I’m recovering from a migraine. Eye strain (my vision is total garbage) definitely contributes to causing my migraines, and sometimes they’ll come back if I’m not careful about stuff like that. I used to have to take off at least a day after a migraine, but now I can pick a book back up basically as soon as the migraine is over.

Okay, sorry, I didn’t intend to babble about that, but I really am so grateful to audiobooks (and ebooks, which are much easier on my eyes since I can increase the font size and change it to a style that’s more comfortable for me). I used to read like 5 books a week when I was a kid, but as my vision deteriorated in my teens, that number plummeted, so it’s really nice to get back to reading a lot more after all this time ❤

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How was your May?

Did you read anything great last month?

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Spring Bookish Bingo Wrap Up

I’ve been participating in these seasonal bookish bingo rounds (created by Pretty Deadly Reviews) for a while now, and I always enjoy it. I do try to fill the card each time, but if I get at least one BINGO, I’m usually okay with it.

This time around, I didn’t think I was going to fill all the spaces because I needed one book. Just one. I didn’t think I would get it from OverDrive with enough time to read it before this round ends, but I did, huzzah! Okay, on to the card and the books!

The Card:

The Books:

• Warm Climate: Illusion by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Weapon on Cover: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
• Three Word Title: Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare
• Novella: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (review)
• Yellow Cover: Instinct by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Stand-alone: Sawkill Girls by Clair Legrand (review)
• Spring Release: Little Darlings by Melanie Golding (review)
• Water on Cover: When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare
• Author Shares Last Initial: All Systems Red by Martha Wells (review) (Do I get double points because we share last and first initials? I’m kidding. Mostly.)
• A Book You Own: Intensity by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Large Cast of Characters: War Storm by Victoria Aveyard
• Black Cover: Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
• free space: Royally Screwed by Emma Chase
• LGBT: Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle
• Retelling: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
• Green Cover: Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Contemporary: A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
• 2019 Debut: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan (review)
• Epistolary: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
• School Setting: Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
• Set Outside the US: Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare
• The Undead: Feed by Mira Grant
• Author of Color: Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon
• Plants on Cover: Stardust by Neil Gaiman (my copy has trees)
• Mystery Thriller: The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

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I don’t have it in me to add anything else to this, like the book cover or my rating At the time I’m writing this, I’ve been awake over 24 hours (not unusual for me, but I’ve been a bit ill so it’s really hitting me hard) and I’m just exhausted and starting to fear I might start typing all the random thoughts in my head instead of what I mean to type 😛

Overall, I’m not mad about this card. I definitely didn’t love every book, but several of them also worked for yearly challenges I’m participating in, so…I think it balances out, for the most part.

If you participated and have a wrap up post, leave a link so I can check it out!

O.W.L.s Magical Readathon Wrap Up

I can not believe I made it through this readathon haha. While it doesn’t officially end until the 30th, I decided to go ahead and do my wrap up, since I managed to finish early.

My career choice was Alchemist, because I enjoy torturing myself with huge reading lists 😛 (My backup choice, which was such a close second it took me days to choose between them, was Librarian.) To pursue a career as an Alchemist, I had to read a book for all 12 O.W.L.s, and there were a few times this month when I didn’t think I could do it.

Somewhere along the way, I deviated from my original TBR, which I expected would happen, and I’m not upset about it. Well, I’m a little annoyed with my original choice for Astronomy, because I had to move that one to my DNF shelf on Goodreads. It worked out, though, because I ended up loving the book I did finish.

Okay, let’s get to the books!

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Ancient Runes (Retelling)

Cinderella: Ninja Warrior by Maureen McGowan– I impulse-bought this book like 5 years ago from an Ollie’s or something like that, because the title made me snort. It was a forgettable, but fun-at-the-time kind of book, which I gave 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Arithmancy (Work written by more than one author)

Saga vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples– I really love these comics, so far, but this is as far as I’ve read. I picked this up during Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, and I can’t wait to get vol. 3 ASAP. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

Astronomy (“Star” in the title)

Stardust by Neil Gaiman– Somehow, I had not read this before. I’ve had it for a few years, but kept kind of forgetting This is why I’m almost glad my original choice was a DNF, because I had to search through my Kindle for a replacement and found this gem, which I gave 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Care of Magical Creatures (Land animal on the cover)

Emily the Strange: The 13th Hour by Rob Reger and Buzz Parker– I loved Emily the Strange when I was a teenager, and I still have a soft spot for these comics. This particular topic was hard for me to find a book I haven’t read. Apparently, I just don’t have a lot of books with animals on the cover But, Emily to the rescue, with the cats! I gave this one 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Charms (Age-line: read an adult work)

Deadline by Mira Grant– I was originally going to read something else for Charms, but I got sucked into the Newsflesh series for Tome Topple and Spring Into Horror. April was filled with Seanan McGuire books for me, which I’m not complaining about because I love her writing, no matter what name it’s published under. I gave this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Defense Against the Dark Arts (Reducto: title starts with an “R”)

Redamancy by Kat Savage– April is also National Poetry Month, and I didn’t think I was going to be able to fit any poetry into the readathons, but I found this one on my shelf and read it during Dewey’s. I love Kat Savage, and I’m glad I hadn’t gotten around to this one yet because I also have very few “R” title books I haven’t read 😛 I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Divination (Set in the future)

Feed by Mira Grant– The first book in the Newflesh trilogy, and one of my choices for Tome Topple and Spring Into Horror. I love zombie stories, and I think this one has made my list of favorites. I gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Herbology (Plant on the cover)

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding– I had an eARC of this, which I’d planned to read for Spring Into Horror (reviewed here). I’m still not sure if that’s submerged branches or weeds or what, but it’s plant-like enough, so I used it for Herbology 😛 I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars.

History of Magic (Published at least 10 years ago)

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters– This 2002 novel was one of my picks for Tome Topple, and Spring Into Horror. However, now that I’ve read it, I’m not counting it for the latter. (It’s shelved as a mystery on Goodreads, but I try to stick more to thrillers and horror for things like Spring Into Horror, even though mysteries can be counted.) I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Muggle Studies (Contemporary)

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole– I don’t read many contemporaries, but thankfully my hold from the library came through in time for me to squeeze this in. This was a super cute and fun read, with some steamy bits, and I can’t wait to read the other Reluctant Royals books. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Potions (Next ingredient: sequel)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire– I know, this is actually a series of companion novels, but I’m counting it anyway. I have a review for this one coming soon, but I will say that I really enjoyed it. Jack was my favorite character from Every Heart a Doorway, so I’ve been dying to read this for a while. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

Transfiguration (Sprayed edges or red cover)

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik– I have very few red-cover books (I think I had 2, maybe 3, that I hadn’t read yet) and only one unread book with sprayed edges, so this topic was a struggle. I loved this book, which was my first of Naomi Novik’s books, and I can not wait to continue with the series. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Whew! That was a lot of books, even if a few of them were pretty short. Bless audiobooks ❤ I listened to three of these (Feed, Deadline, and A Princess in Theory), and listened while reading along to Fingersmith, and that really helped, I think.

I can’t wait for the N.E.W.T.s now haha. I didn’t get to participate in either readathon last year, and I’m really excited about all of this. I think G (BookRoast on YouTube, the creator of these readathons) has done such an absolutely amazing job, and you can really tell that she cares about this. There’s so much detail and thought put into it, and it honestly almost makes me cry happy tears when I think about it ❤

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon: Wrap Up

You guys, I can not believe how successful the readathon was for me. I’m honestly in shock about it haha. See, I didn’t get started until like 9 or 10 hours into it, because things got in the way. I expected to not finish the 4 books on my TBR, but hoped to get through like 2.5 or maaaaybe 3.

Not only did I finish my TBR, but I also finished the book I’d been reading before Dewey’s started :O

I’m too exhausted to pull cover images or even link up my instagram posts, so I offer my apologies for this boring and media-free post. I’ll try to keep this wrap up brief, at least 😛

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My first book was Redamancy by Kat Savage. It was pretty much the only poetry book I own but hadn’t read yet, and I really wanted to read at least one for National Poetry Month, but I didn’t think I’d be able to fit one into the O.W.L.s until I remembered this one. It also counted for Defense Against the Dark Arts for the O.W.L.s Magical Readathon (title starts with “r”).

Next up, I finally read Emily the Strange: The 13th Hour by Rob Reger and Buzz Parker, which was my pick for Care of Magical Creatures (land animal on the cover, because there are cats).

Then, I switched back to my previous read, of which I had about 150 pages left in. That was His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik, and I used it for Transfiguration (sprayed edges, or red cover). It also works for at leas one reading challenge prompt, but I can’t be bothered to seek it out right now.

My fourth book was another comic trade, which I’ve been wanting to read for ages and finally found a good excuse to read. That was Saga vol 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, and I used it for Arithmancy (more than one author).

Lastly, I threw myself into Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire, and ended up finishing it literally 2 minutes before the end of the readathon 😀 I picked this one for Potions (a sequel), which might be cheating since it wasn’t a direct sequel, and these are actually companion novellas, but I think it counts so I’m using it.

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And that’s that. I’m so pleased, but also very shocked that I managed to get through all of them (although the total page count was only like 650). Now, I have a few days to recover before Tome Topple begins *laughs nervously*

I might write reviews for some of these, but I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to see how I feel later, after food and sleep 😛

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If you participated, how did it go for you?

Anyone else preparing for Tome Topple?

If you’re participating in the O.W.L.s, how’s that going?

February + Winter Bookish Bingo Wrap Up

I’m finally (mostly) over whatever was making me ill for the last 2ish weeks, so hopefully I’ll have posts up regularly again, yay.

I think the only good thing that came out of me being sick was that I read a ton. It’s weird because it was the first time in my life (that I can remember) when I was ill and not only able to read, but that was all I felt up to doing. Usually, I can’t even make myself read when I’m sick.

Because I was sick and my brain wasn’t really functioning well enough to write reviews or anything, I should have at least one coming up soon (King of Scars), probably later this week.

Okay, enough updating. Time to get to what I read last month and all that.

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February was actually a decent reading month for me.

I read 10 books (almost 11, but I finished that one on the 1st of March), and 2 fairy tales. Of those, 8 counted for Beat the Backlist.

If I did the math right, I read 4,331 pages last month. Not bad at all, if I do say so myself.

I read:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (a re-read)
• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (a re-read, reviewed here)
• Rapunzel by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm (Fairy Tales Fridays)
• Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (reviewed here)
• The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White (reviewed here)
• The Six Swans by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm (Fairy Tales Fridays)
• The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman (one of husband’s picks from my TBR)
• While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt (ARC review here; release day March 5th)
• The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (one of husband’s picks)
• King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
• The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (the winner of my Kindle TBR poll)
• The Rose & the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

I might still review all of those last 4, instead of just King of Scars, I’m not sure.

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February was also the last month of Winter Bookish Bingo, which I didn’t do so great with. I was close to getting more than one bingo, but didn’t quite make it.

• Friend’s Fave: Vicious by V.E. Schwab (review)
• Blue Cover: Modern Tarot by Michelle Tea
• Historical: The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
• Second Chance: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• Romance: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (review)
• Features Tech: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (review)
• Dec.-Feb. Release: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
• Free space: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor (review)
• Start a Series: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (review)
• Pink Cover: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White (review)
• Male Main Character: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
• Fantasy: The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
• Author of Color: The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman
• Fave Author: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (not my all-time fave anymore, but a fave…at least with the HP books)
• Set in Europe: While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt (review)
• Animal on the Cover: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (snakes, phoenix)

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Overall, February wasn’t a bad reading month. Blogging, though…it wasn’t good. I got way off schedule at the beginning of the month, finally got back on track, and then got sick. Oh well. I’m going to try to get a ton of things pre-written and scheduled ASAP so that hopefully doesn’t happen again.

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How was your February? What was your favorite read last month? Least favorite?