March 2017 Wrap-Up

It’s April already! How did that happen? It’s still winter where I live, but hopefully it’ll be spring soon because I’m really feeling like spring. 

The titles take you to the book’s Goodreads page or my review if I have one. 

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The Nightmare

by Lars Kepler

Lars Kepler is a Swedish couple writing under one pseudonym, and this is the second book from them that I’ve read. Scandinavians really like detective fiction. I liked it, especially the beginning, but it lost me a bit towards the end. I prefer my crime stories to be “smaller” if that makes sense, more personal. The moment it’s about some big corporations or businesses or something like that I’m like eh. 

2/5 stars

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Blue Lily, Lily Blue
by Maggie Stiefvater

I don’t have much to say about this series that I haven’t already said. I love it. I love the characters so much. My favorite is still Gansey, I don’t know, he’s just charmed the hell out of me. Ronan is a close second and Ronan is more my type of character, so usually this character would be my number one, but I don’t know, I’m so weak for Gansey??? I really had to emotionally prepare myself for the next book. 

5/5 stars

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February 2017 Wrap-Up

This month was yet another good reading month. I think it’s a good idea to start the year strong, that way I can afford some slumps later. 

The titles take you to the book’s Goodreads page or my review if I have one. 

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George
by Alex Gino

This is a middle grade book about a trans girl named George who’s dying to play Charlotte in the school’s production of Charlotte’s Web. I listened to this on audio, and it was wonderful. I love that George knows all along who she is and that she’s trans, it’s just a matter of getting other people to understand  that she’s a girl. 

5/5 stars

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Orbiting Jupiter
by Gary D. Schmidt

Oh man, open the flood gates. This is another short middle grade novel, but the themes are mature and this easily slides into young adult/teen territory. I won’t say much about what it’s about here, but you can read my review of the ARC if you’re interesting. It’s an incredibly emotional book that will leave you in a pile on the floor screaming WHYYYY. 

4.5/5 stars

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January 2017 Wrap-Up

January is the month for getting ahead on your Goodreads challenge. My goal this year is 60, and I read 10 this month. I’m very happy with that. A lot of them were Norwegian audiobooks, because I’m trying to read more Norwegian literature. 

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A Great and Terrible Beauty
by Libba Bray

I’d heard a lot of good things about this series, but I wasn’t too impressed with this first one. It was good, but not as good as I’d hoped.  This is historical fiction with a fantasy twist. The characters are great, the dialogue is believable, but overall it didn’t quite grab me. I much prefer Libba Bray’s satirical Beauty Queens. 

3/5 stars

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Doppler
by Erlend Loe

Here I am, trying to read more of the Norwegian books every Norwegian has already read. This book (it’s also been translated into English) is the first in a trilogy about Doppler, a man who’s sick of people and of being “good”, and so he moves into the woods and adopts a baby elk called Bongo. It’s hilarious, it’s just my kind of weird and dry humor. Read this and laugh. It works perfectly on its own so you don’t have to commit to the trilogy unless you want to. Plus it’s really short. 

4/5 stars

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August – November 2016 Wrap-Up

Me? Slow? Nah, never. Here’s all the books I read between August and November. I didn’t read all that much, but it’s something. 

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
by John Tirfany, Jack Thorne & J.K. Rowling

Spoiler alert. I finished this as soon as I bought it and while I loved it, I also didn’t? I loved the nostalgic factor and I loved seeing all my favorites again. I loved Albus and Scorpius’ relationship (Scorpius is a precious cinnamon roll) and I loved Draco and Harry being friendly towards each other. And seeing Ron and Hermione again made me super emotional. But I also thought it was messy and clichè, and the time travel plot was kind of eh. I didn’t buy the whole thing with the daughter. When did Bellatrix and Voldie do the do? 

3/5 stars (5 for the nostalgic and enjoyment factor, but 3 for plot)

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The Girl on the Train
by Paula Hawkins

I listened to this on audio and I really loved two of the narrators, the third not so much. I thought this was interesting and pretty compelling, although it was predictable. 

4/5 stars

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This Savage Song
by V.E. Schwab

Thinking back on this book, not much stands out. There are monsters, a human girl and a monster boy, and some sort of feud between humans and monsters. It’s good, but not great. What I did love though was how the different monsters are created/formed. I thought that was very inventive, plus it kind of makes sense (in the fantasy way, of course). I also like that there’s no romance despite the Romeo and Juliet-like plot. 

3/5 stars

 

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The Shining
by Stephen King

I’ve been a slow reader lately, but I devoured this despite its size. I loved it. I wasn’t that creeped out by it (except a few parts, but that could be because I was reading it out on the balcony in the sun) but I was still fully into it anyway. After I finished it I watched the movie, which I’ve never seen before, because everyone’s always talking about how it’s the best horror movie ever. And I just have to say… WHAT? It was terrible??? It didn’t make sense and it was so weak compared to the book. I hate how the movie only focuses on Jack being crazy, instead of the hotel being evil. There’s no character development, and the movie doesn’t even EXPLORE THE SHINING FOR MORE THAN TWO SECONDS? I don’t know what Stephen King thinks of it but I hope he hates it too, because it butchered his characters (including the hotel). And there are no hedge animals. Yikes. 

5/5 stars

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July 2016 Wrap-Up

Um, so, this is very late. Very, very late. I’ve been quite busy this far in August though, I’ve had a lot of work and not a lot of free time to write blog posts. So let’s pretend half of August hasn’t passed already, haha. 

Here are the books I read in July. 

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BOOKS READ

Saga volume 6
by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I didn’t even know this volume had been released when I found it in a bookstore, on the actual release day I think. This is my favorite volume this far, I loved everything about it. I probably won’t write a full review so here’s my goodreads comment. 

5/5 stars

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The Life List
by Lori Nelson Spielman

Like I wrote in the last wrap-up post when I listed what I was currently reading, this genre isn’t my usual cup of tea. This is more in the realm of chick-lit. But I read it over the summer, while chilling at the poolside, and it was fitting for that. It wasn’t too bad, it was entertaining enough even though I didn’t buy the main premise that a mother would force her daughter to do all these things in less than a year. 

3/5 stars

 

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The Raven Boys
by Maggie Stiefvater

I did not think this would be good because of the terribly cheesy and clichè synopsis. And then??? It’s so good? Definitely one of my favorite books. All the characters are great, they come alive on the page. Don’t read the synopsis, especially not the one on the back of the book. Just don’t. It has nothing to do with the story at all. Ridiculous. 

5/5 stars

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De Usynlige
by Roy Jacobsen

Another Norwegian book that I listened to on audio. It’s not really my style either, but it was alright. 

3/5 stars

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June 2016 Wrap-Up

Hey, guys! I was away in the beginning of this month, so here’s my slightly late June wrap-up. I didn’t read as much this month as the last, but it doesn’t matter. I’m still relatively on track.

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BOOKS READ

Irène
by Pierre Lemaitre

The last part of this book caught me off guard. I loved it, it was quite an unique twist. I recommend this author if you’re into detective novels. 

4/5 stars

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Tokyo Ghoul volume 1
by Sui Ishida

Manga! I haven’t read manga in years, this made me very nostalgic. I decided to read this after I watched the first episode of the anime and then saw that people on MAL (My Anime List) weren’t impressed with the pacing compared to the manga. So I read the first one just to compare and it was good, but despite the anime being a little bit rushed I prefer to watch this type of story instead of reading them. I also prefer the art in the anime. 

3/5 stars

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The Hypnotist
by Lars Kepler

I listened to this on Storytel and it was pretty good. I’ll definitely read more of these, I’m especially looking forward to Stalker because I’ve heard it’s super creepy.

4/5 stars

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Shatter Me
Tahereh Mafi

Ohhh boy. This was a train wreck, the “can’t look away” kind of train wreck. I can’t wait to write the review.

1/5 stars

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May 2016 Wrap-Up

Hey, guys! My wrap-up this month is a little bit later than usual, but who cares, right? I read quite a lot this month, at least it’s a lot for me, so I’m happy about that. Here’s to June being at least half as good in terms of reading. 

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BOOKS READ

Days of Blood and Starlight
by Laini Taylor

This series is still so, so good. Hopefully my review will be up soon, I always have a harder time writing positive reviews than negative. 

4.5/5 stars

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Eva’s Eye/In the Darkness
by Karin Fossum

Another Norwegian audiobook I listened to on Storytel. This detective is a childhood favorite of mine so I really loved finally getting into the books. I’ll have to rewatch the episodes as well after I’ve read some more.

3/5 stars

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The Rest of Us Just Live Here
by Patrick Ness

I hadn’t planned on reading this, at least not yet, but I saw it at the library and figured why not. I read this in pretty much one sitting, it was quick and easy and actually pretty good. I’m not always the biggest fan of contemporary (and this functions a lot like a contemporary, minus a few elements) but this was a nice read, I loved the characters.

4/5 stars

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling

A re-read! As good as always, I can’t wait to start Goblet of Fire because that’s the book I’ve read the least for some reason. 

5/5 stars

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Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
by Matthew Quick

Oh man, this was great. It was dark, twisted, touching, and had me on the edge of my seat. I’d figured out most of the big reveals before they were revealed, but pssh, who cares. Loved it. This book has one of the most frustrating mothers I have ever read. Pay attention, woman! Goddamn. Also, Leonard Peacock is the most wonderful name. 

5/5 stars

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Come What May
by A.M. Arthur
[review]

I got this ARC from NetGalley and it was pretty good. It was cute, but overall not much different from a lot of things I’ve read before. In my review I talk about how this is my experience with the NA genre this far. 

3/5 stars

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Don’t Look Back
by Karin Fossum

This is the second book in the Konrad Sejer series (my favorite detective from childhood). I liked the plot of this one more than Eva’s Eye, it’s one of the stories I remember most clearly. 

3/5 stars

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Saga Volume 5
by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I finally got my hands on volume 5! I found at at the comic book shop, woohoo. This series is still great, I adore it. I especially like Hazel’s narration. 

4.5/5 stars.
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Beauty Queens
by Libba Bray

This. is. awesome. It’s a very in your face satire on several things such as beauty standards, sexism, racism, and the patriarchy overall. It’s hilariously funny yet perfectly serious in its message at the same time. If you love satire, feminism, and social commentary you must read this asap.

5/5 stars

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