YA fiction

Update: Goodreads Reading Challenge 2023 (4/4/23)

April 4, 2023 — Leave a comment

I missed posting an update for March. Whoops! I have no excuse other than a lot of things have been happening at work and I’ve been scheduling the bare minimum of posts.

Since I last shared anything about my 2023 Reading Challenge, I finished Emilie Autumn’s The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, Danielle Valentine’s How to Survive Your Murder, Riley Sager’s The Last Time I Lied, Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen, Paula Morris’ Ruined, Kim Harrison’s The Drafter, and Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I’ll put my ratings below.

5/5
4/5
3/5
3.5/5
3.5/5
3/5
4/5

I’m not going to go into too much detail about why I gave these ratings, because many of you likely won’t agree with why I gave lower ratings to a couple of them. Let me just say that the twist in The Last Time I Lied was good, but possible to figure out if you’re really trying. The twist in How to Survive Your Murder was actually really solid, I just wasn’t crazy about the characters. Red Queen was a little too typical for me; it was well-written and is worth reading, but I’m not sure I’ll continue the series. Ruined was readable, just not overly interesting. Same with The Drafter, which is a shame because I typically like Kim Harrison’s books. And American Gods was too long (good story, though).

I have now started Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone, and Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil.

As always, feel free to tell me about any books you’re reading and offer up some recommendations! I have only read 13 of my 35 book goal, so I need some suggestions.

Update to My 2022 Goodreads Challenge (11/5/22)

November 5, 2022 — Leave a comment

I finished Danielle Vega’s Survive the Night and Natasha Preston’s The Fear. Both were readable books, yet I was disappointed with the stories overall.

On the bright side, I stumbled upon Small Spaces by Katherine Arden thanks to an Instagram post and I loved it! Yes, it is considered a kids’ book, but y’all, the creepy factor was real. I will certainly be reading the rest of that particular series from Arden.

My mom brought me Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert. That was a disaster. If you don’t mind books with more smut than plot, this one should be right up your alley. Lol. I myself didn’t enjoy it.

And I know it seems horribly after the fact, but I just read The Maze Runner. I was unexpectedly impressed with the movie, and I tend to think the novels are always superior to the films, so of course I had to check it out. I couldn’t put it down. Another series I will have to follow through on.

My current reads are as follows:

Daylighters (Rachel Caine)

The Snakes (Sadie Jones)

This one was actually sent to me via a “blind date with a book” order from Etsy.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke – and Other Misfortunes (Eric LaRocca)

Once I finish these three, I will have completed my reading challenge for 2022!!!!!

Update to My 2022 Goodreads Challenge (9/27/22)

September 27, 2022 — Leave a comment

I finally finished The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler. It was a really good read, but other books kept jumping ahead of it. For instance: Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw, which is a story from the world created by Tim Burton in The Nightmare Before Christmas (and is thoroughly enjoyable).

I also finished Rachel Caine’s Bitter Blood and read Fall of Night. I think I only have two books left in the Morganville vampires series and that breaks my heart. I love the world and the characters she created, and I’m going to hate to see it end.

Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly was at the top of my to-be-read pile last time I posted, and y’all…that was one fucked up novel. I couldn’t put it down. I certainly didn’t see the twist coming. And that was Vandelly’s first book! I look forward to more from her.

I have now read 18 of my 25 book goal for the year. Here are the books I’m currently reading.

The Fear (Natasha Preston)

Survive the Night (Danielle Vega)

My want-to-read list is sitting at 65 books and I’m adding more basically every day. I don’t think I’m going to run out of options. Lol.

As always, if you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them! Happy reading!

Update To My 2022 Goodreads Challenge (7/3/22)

July 3, 2022 — Leave a comment

Hello! It’s time for another update to my 2022 reading challenge!

Since my last post regarding this subject, I finished Afraid (a collaborative effort among Lisa Jackson, Lisa Childs, and Alexandra Ivy), My Pretties (Jeff Strand), and – yes – His Final Girl (Brooklyn Ann).

I also read Stephanie Perkins’ The Woods Are Always Watching and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun. These were two unplanned purchases that jumped ahead on my list.

I have now read 13 of my 25 book goal. And my to-be-read list is now as follows.

1. Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

2. Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly

3. The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler (I actually started this one a couple of months ago, but I stalled out on it. Trying again.)

As always, I would love to hear what y’all are reading, and feel free to leave me recommendations!