Wilder Girls by Rory Power | All elements I love in one book but…

Ever since the release of «Wilder Girls» in July of last year, I’ve been constantly thinking about this book. The dystopian premise of a School for Girls on an island under quarantine due to unknown illness sounded VERY interesting to me [and it still does, even after finishing the book and seeing that it wasn’t quite what I expected]. After reading «The Grace Year» earlier this year, I expected from «Wilder Girls» something just as bizarre, weird, and utmost mind-blowing, especially since it was classified as Horror! 

This was one of the books I picked for the Reading Rush this year, and while it read very quickly, I wasn’t as surprised by it as I was expecting to.

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The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson | Magic, adventure & Russian folklore!

What an interesting month! It’s the 19th of September as I’m writing this review and only yesterday I finished my second book of this month. Hooray! 🤯 That’s why I love adding books to Goodreads as soon as I start reading them so I can see for myself how long it takes me to finish them. And oh my, I started «The Castle of Tangled Magic» on the 8th! 

Ten days to finish a middle-grade book that could be read in a couple of hours!

I won’t be blaming this all on the book, as September has been very busy and I just didn’t read for the most part of it. But at the same time, if the book was a little bit more engaging, I wonder if I would have made the time for it. Hm…

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager | Should I read more books by Riley Sager?

Will I ever become a Riley Sager fan?

Last year I read my first Riley Sager book – «Lock Every Door» and, to be honest, I wasn’t impressed. The thriller genre is very competitive. There are so many incredible writers whose books I love and who never fail to surprise me with the crazy twists. So far I can’t say the same about Riley Sager. 

Someone who is new to the mystery / thriller genre will appreciate his books much more than I have, and will probably be surprised by the twists and turns.

Week 1 | Classics: Persuasion by Jane Austen

In my August Monthly Goals post I mentioned that one of the things I wanted to do this month was to read Classics and Non-Fiction. I’m going to try and read at least 3 (maybe 4 – one for each week) and share my thoughts with you!

This is my second Austen book. Last year I read «Pride and Prejudice» and while it wasn’t my favorite classic of all time, I really enjoyed it. «Persuasion», however, had a very boring beginning, and my mind kept wandering away from the story. 

Every Little Piece of my Heart by Non Pratt | It’s been a while since I read a YA contemporary!

I’ve been doing a great job this year keeping up with popular new releases and trying books by new-to-me authors. In the last couple of weeks, I spoke about Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Elizabeth Acevedo, this week it will be all about Non Pratt. Probably next year I’ll need to adjust my goals a bit and read books by the authors I read before instead. 😀

To be honest, other than «Giant Days» which I learned about from Jadeyreads YouTube channel, I’ve never seen or heard about any of Non Pratt books before. Even though I wasn’t “wowed” by «Every Little Piece of My Heart», I definitely want to read some more of her books in the future.

The Obsidian Tower (Rooks and Ruin, #1) by Melissa Caruso | A bizarre reading experience!

At first glance, «The Obsidian Tower» has so many elements that I love in fantasy books, that’s why I was so surprised to find out that I didn’t like it. I was even more surprised when I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was wrong or what exactly I didn’t like. 

So this review will be my attempt to discover what went wrong and hopefully give some meaningful feedback at the same time.

Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 1 | A Spooky Graphic Novel for Adults!

Are you a fan of Graphic Novels? I love the idea of graphic novels, comics, and manga, but I can never enjoy them to the fullest potential. Graphic Novels are a lot more than just a story. They convey their message in a different way than books do, often relying on the art style and colors. While I like looking at the beautiful art, I often find that it’s not enough to substitute the storytelling of a novel.

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs | Not what I expected?

It’s been a long time since I really committed to reading thrillers and mysteries. My reading taste changes all the time, and more often than not something that I would have found absolutely incredible a few years (sometimes months) ago, fails to surprise me in a way I wanted it to.

That’s how I felt about «What Lies Between Us» by John Marrs. While it had a very captivating plotline, smart twists, and characters I couldn’t trust, it just didn’t leave me dumbstruck as I thought it would.

Burn by Patrick Ness | The most weird dragon book you’ll ever read!

I have a very special relationship with Patrick Ness’s books. They either break my heart in the smallest pieces [«A Monster Calls»] or leave me dumbfounded, wondering what the heck did I just read?! [«The Rest of Us Just Lives Here»]. «Burn» definitely falls more into the second category. While I liked the characters and the story more than in «The Rest of Us Just Lives Here», it was still a very weird book. 

That’s probably why I’ve been staying away from the Chaos Walking trilogy for now. I really want to love it, but I’m scared that it might be too weird for me and I won’t be able to connect to the characters the way I want to.

The Paris Hours by Alex George | One day in Paris and four intertwined fates!

Happy Publication Day to «The Paris Hours» by Alex George!

In this new historical fiction, Alex George showed us the wondrous City of Love, Lights and Art, and four amazing stories that unwrap in a single day in Paris. If I’d need to describe this book in one word, the first one that comes to mind is “dreamy”. And while the story itself does not contain any sliver of magic, I was constantly in a dream-like state whenever I picked it up. 

The Fantastical Exploits of Gwendolyn Gray (The Chronicles of Gwendolyn Gray, #2) by B.A. Williamson | Middle Grade books are the answer to the reading slump!

Tell me honestly, do you love reading Middle Grade? I’ve been escaping into these whimsical worlds since March and loving every single experience! No other genre can make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. So, of course, I had to jump on the chance of reading the sequel in the middle-grade series by B.A. Williamson. 

The first book, «The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray» came out in 2018 and I had a lot of fun trying to come up with adjectives to describe Gwendolyn that would start with the first letters of rainbow colors. I know! I have the craziest ideas sometimes! 😀

Since Gwendolyn lives in a Gray world that has no colors, besides her wonderful red hair, I thought it would be appropriate to bring some color in her life that way.

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel | The contemporary book that you might be “forced” to like

When I first started blogging, I threw myself into every book I heard about online. It didn’t matter if it was mentioned on youtube or on one of the blogs I followed, as long as the book was “hyped enough” I had to get my hands on it. 

This led to me reading a lot of YA contemporary novels that I wasn’t a big fan of.Lately, I try to avoid YA contemporaries as Adult Fiction tends to be so much more interesting and more relatable in a way as well, as I’m sloooowly approaching my 30s (did I just say this out loud?!)

Grace is Gone by Emily Elgar | One of my favorite tropes in thrillers!

Reading «Grace is Gone» reminded me of two very distinct things:

1. why thrillers and mysteries used to be my favorite genres, and also
2. why I stopped reading them. 

This might sound like I disliked this book, which is not true. But I can’t say that it was the best Mystery either, especially since I suspected from the very beginning what the twist will be, and patiently waited for my guess to be confirmed by the author.

The Universe is Expanding and so am I by Carolyn Mackler |Don’t get fooled by the amazing cover!

Virginia Shreves is back in this follow up to «The Earth, my Butt and Other Big Round Things».

Q: Is it absolutely necessary to read the first book?

No, I haven’t read it and didn’t feel like I missed anything. Just treat this as a completely new book and you will be fine.

Q: Did it make me want to purchase and read the first book?

Also, no. I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters and only the shortness of the book made me plunge through it till the end.  

Mr. & Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel | The perfect book to take on vacation!

A debut novel by Juliet McDaniel is an absurd presentation of a socialite’s life, Maxine Simmons, in the late 60s – early 70s California – Palm Springs. Satirical, witty and VERY addicting – «Mr. & Mrs. American Pie» is a perfect summer read. Don’t need to look any longer if you are hunting for some books to take with you on summer vacations.