Final Wrap Up of 2019

As with September and October, I didn't read a whole lot in November so I will be combining my November and December wrap up for what will be my final one of the year. 

December was a better reading month for me because of the Christmas holidays. I also decided to take part in the Winter Magical Readathon in December so I'll let you know which books I read for which prompts as I go along. 

Broken Homes By Ben Aaronovitch 

Published 25th July 2013 by Gollancz

Star Rating - **

Goodreads Challenge - 65/50

Winter Magical Readathon Prompt - Read an Urban Fantasy 

The Secret Runners of New York by Matthew Reilly

Published 26th March 2019 by Hot Key Books

Star Rating - ***

Goodreads Challenge - 62/50

Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller 

Published 27th February 2018 by Feiwel and Friends

Star Rating - ****

Goodreads Challenge - 60/50

The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons 

Published 31st October 2019 by Tor UK

Star Rating - ****

Goodreads Challenge - 62/50

Review - Blog Review

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black 

Published 19th November 2019 by Hot Key Books

Star Rating - ****

Goodreads Challenge - 64/50

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Published 30th October 2018 by Orion Children's Books

Star Rating - ****

Goodreads Challenge - 66/50

Winter Magical Readathon Prompt - Buddy Read or Read a Book Club Pick


Spellhacker by M.K. England
Published 21st January 2020 by HarperCollins Children's Books
Star Rating - ****
Goodreads Challenge - 67/50
Winter Magical Readathon Prompt - Pink or Purple on the Cover


Thorn by Intisar Khanani 
Published 24th March 2020 by Hot Key Books
Star Rating - ****
Goodreads Challenge - 68/50
Winter Magical Readathon Prompt - Pick 5-7 books, place in a circle, spin and pick one at random.


Lost Boy the Christina Henry 
Published 4th July 2017 by Titan Books
Star Rating - ****
Goodreads Challenge 69/50
Winter Magical Readathon Prompt - Friends Favourite Book

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale 

Published 8th February 2018 by Del Rey

Star Rating - ****.5

Goodreads Challenge - 61/50

How did you do in December? Did you manage to reach your Goodreads goal? I'd love to hear about your favourite of the month. 

Final Quarterly Wrap Up of 2019

So here I am with my final quarterly wrap up of 2019 which covers the months October, November and December. 

This quarter I read 14 books which is my worst reading quarter to date. I'm not sure why that is, I just seem to have been really busy however I hope next year will start off better. Here are my stats for this quarter.

Age Demographic

Middle Grade: 1

Young Adult: 6

Adult: 7

Genre

Fantasy: 9

Sci-Fi: 1

Magical Realism: 1 

Mystery/Thriller: 2
Fairytale Retelling: 1

Source

Physical ARC/Finished Copy from Publisher: 5

Bought in 2019: 4

Owned Prior to 2019: 3 

Library Book: 1
Library Audio Book: 1

Star Rating

1 Star: 0

2 Star: 1

3 Star: 2

4 Star: 10

5 Star: 1

Top 3 Books of this Quarter

The Toy Makers by Robert Dinsdale

Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

So not my best for quantity but fairly good for quality, most of the books I read this quarter were at least 4 stars.

I'm hoping 2020 will be just as good as 2019 for reading, if not better!

Review - The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons

The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons

Published 31st October 2019 by Tor UK

Star Rating - ***.5

Goodreads Challenge - 63/50

I was gifted a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

You can have everything you want if you sacrifice everything you believe.

Kihrin D'Mon is a wanted man.

Since he destroyed the Stone of Shackles and set demons free across Quur, he has been on the run from the wrath of an entire empire. His attempt to escape brings him into the path of Janel Theranon, a mysterious Joratese woman who claims to know Kihrin.

Janel's plea for help pits Kihrin against all manner of dangers: a secret rebellion, a dragon capable of destroying an entire city, and Kihrin's old enemy, the wizard Relos Var.

Janel believes that Relos Var possesses one of the most powerful artifacts in the world―the Cornerstone called the Name of All Things. And if Janel is right, then there may be nothing in the world that can stop Relos Var from getting what he wants.

And what he wants is Kihrin D'Mon.

Jenn Lyons continues the Chorus of Dragons series with The Name of All Things, the epic sequel to The Ruin of Kings.

My Thoughts

I read the first book in this series earlier on in the year and I was really excited to dive into this one. I didn't love it as much as the first but it was definitely a solid sequel.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the first book was the unique writing style and this one followed suit in that respect. As with the first book, we follow one story told by two different perspectives however, I found this one a bit easier to follow as we follow the story in a linear fashion unlike the first book. The other thing I really like about these books is the world and the story development. It's very detailed and I think the author did a great job at creating a really well thought out story.

My favourite part of the first book through was the characters, I particularly loved Kihrin however, he isn't very prominent in this instalment and I think that's why I didn't love this one as much as the first. In this book we follow Janel and Brother Qown's story that led to them to be where they are at the beginning of the book. Kihrin is here in the background and you do get his witty remarks between each section of storytelling but I just didn't find Janel's story as compelling as Kihrin's. I also felt that at times the story became a little bit long winded and it could have been shortened in places, with less repetition between perspectives. That being said I liked the references to Janel's appearances in the first book and how all of this tied together and I liked the final section of the book when we jump back to present time and the action with Kihrin again at the forefront of the story.

Overall, as I said before, I think this was a very solid sequel that expanded upon the story that was set up in the first one. There were a few interesting twists and turns, especially in the final part that kept me wanting more. I think the author has created some really clever storytelling full of interweaving plots and narratives and I'm really excited to pick up the third and final book in this series to see how everything ends.

Overall Rating (3.5*)

Review - The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman

The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman

Published 8th October 2019 by Quirk Books

Star Rating - ****

Goodreads Challenge - 58/50

I was gifted a copy of this book, unsolicited, from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Inspired by a true story, this supernatural thriller for fans of horror and true crime follows a tale as it evolves every twenty years—with terrifying results.

Ella Louise has lived in the woods surrounding Pilot’s Creek, Virginia, for nearly a decade. Publicly, she and her daughter Jessica are shunned by their upper-crust family and the Pilot’s Creek residents. Privately, desperate townspeople visit her apothecary for a cure to what ails them—until Ella Louise is blamed for the death of a prominent customer. Accused of witchcraft, both mother and daughter are burned at the stake in the middle of the night. Ella Louise’s burial site is never found, but the little girl has the most famous grave in the South: a steel-reinforced coffin surrounded by a fence of interconnected white crosses.

Their story will take the shape of an urban legend as it’s told around a campfire by a man forever marked by his boyhood encounters with Jessica. Decades later, a boy at that campfire will cast Amber Pendleton as Jessica in a ’70s horror movie inspired by the Witch Girl of Pilot’s Creek. Amber’s experiences on that set and its meta-remake in the ’90s will ripple through pop culture, ruining her life and career after she becomes the target of a witch hunt. Amber’s best chance to break the cycle of horror comes when a true-crime investigator tracks her down to interview her for his popular podcast. But will this final act of storytelling redeem her—or will it bring the story full circle, ready to be told once again? And again. And again…

My Thoughts

I was sent this book unsolicited from the publisher and I'm usually quite wary of unsolicited review copies but this one sounded so intriguing I couldn't help but give it a go. The synopsis of this one sounded perfect for the Halloween season and I was right. The story was creepy and the writing style was extremely atmospheric which made it the perfect Halloween read. The thing I loved most about this one was the storytelling. I loved the way the author told the story using four different timelines all following the same urban legend. We started at the beginning with the original legend and then moved through the years with the remakes, but it all linked back to the very beginning. It was really clever, all of the stories interconnected well and I think this made the story quite unique. Not only did the stories connect but so did the characters. Our female MC was featured in all 3 of the remake story lines and all of the male MCs had the same traits. I'm not really sure how I feel about the male characters, which is the reason why I gave this one 4 stars. Each of them came across as quite possessive of the story they were telling and therefore the female MC however, this did fit quite well with the story and definitely added to the creepy vibe. Overall I quite enjoyed this one. It was very creepy and atmospheric and definitely makes a great Halloween read, perfect for the spooky season. Overall Rating

September and October Wrap Up

Over the past couple of months my reading has slowed down dramatically. Over the months of September and October I have only read 7 books across the two months which is a lot less than I had been (I'm looking at you 13 books in August)! I think this is combination of being back at work full time after the summer holidays and being in a bit of a dreaded reading slump. 

Because of these things I have also slowed down with my blog, only posting reviews of books I received from publishers, and that is why there was no September wrap up. However, I feel like I'm coming out the other side of this blip now so here I am bringing you a combined wrap up of all of the books I've read in the months of September and October. 

Invisible in a Bright Light by Sally Gardner

Published 17th October 2019 by Head of Zeus

Star Rating - ***

Goodreads Challenge - 54/50 

Review - Blog Review

Evermore by Sara Holland

Published 3rd January by Orchard Books

Star Rating - ***

Goodreads Challenge - 55/50

The Nightjar by Deborah Hewitt

Published 5th September by Pan Macmillan

Star Rating - ***

Goodreads Challenge - 56/50

Review - Blog Review

The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman

Published 8th October 2019 by Quirk Books

Star Rating - ****

Goodreads Challenge - 58/50

Review - Blog Review

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Published 28th February 2017 by Feiwel Friends

Star Rating - ****

Goodreads Challenge - 57/50

Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff

Published 5th September 2019 by HarperVoyager 

Star Rating - 

Goodreads Challenge - 59/50

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

Published 18th June 2018 by Harper Collins

Star Rating - *****

Goodreads Challenge - 53/50

Not a bad couple of reading months ratings wise but not great quantity wise. Hopefully the rest of the year will be better. 

I'm really pleased to have finished out the Nevernight Chronicles this month though definitely a series I would recommend. What was your favourite read of the month?

Review - The Nightjar by Deborah Hewitt

The Nightjar by Deborah Hewitt
Published 5th September 2019 by Pan Macmillan

Star Rating - ***

Goodreads Challenge - 56/50

I was gifted a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

The Nightjar by Deborah Hewitt is a stunning contemporary fantasy debut about another London, a magical world hidden behind the bustling modern city we know.

Alice Wyndham has been plagued by visions of birds her whole life...until the mysterious Crowley reveals that Alice is an 'aviarist' capable of seeing nightjars, magical birds that guard human souls. When her best friend is hit by a car, only Alice can find and save her nightjar.

With Crowley's help, Alice travels to the Rookery, a hidden, magical alternate London to hone her newfound talents. But a faction intent on annihilating magic users will stop at nothing to destroy the new aviarist. And is Crowley really working with her, or against her? Alice must risk everything to save her best friend--and uncover the strange truth about herself.

My Thoughts

I was really intrigued by the plot of this one. It was a great sounding concept and the ideas were really interesting however, I don't feel like they were executed in as much depth as I would of liked. I wanted more of the magic system and more information about aviarists and why they were so rare in this world. The setting was interesting too, I loved the idea of an alternate London however again, I didn't think this was explored as much as it could of been. We seemed to barely scratch the surface and I just wanted more.

The main character was really frustrating too. She was headstrong, which was great but, she often dived head first into bad situations without thinking which then resulted in her having to be rescued, a lot! There was also a lot of secrets and lies between our female and male main characters and I think the aim of this within the story was to keep you reading to find out more but this resulted in the above actions from the main character and this made for a bit of a frustrating reading experience. Also don't get me started on the romance! I didn't like it, it was far to tropey and cliche and in fact a little bit pointless.

The writing itself was fine. It was a bit slow to start and it did struggle to capture my interest in the beginning however, it did pick up the pace about half way through which kept me going until the end. The ending itself seemed to set up for a sequel too that explores more of the magic system but I'm not sure if I'll be picking that up.

Overall it was an okay read. One that, the more I read the more enjoyable it became however, I don't think I will be picking up any sequels.

Overall Rating 

Quarterly Wrap Up

Here's the next instalment of my quarterly wrap up (sorry it's a bit late) for the third quarter of the year, July to September.

This quarter I read 21 books which is the most so far this year. I think that's due to the school summer holidays that happened during this quarter. Here are my stats for this quarter.

Age Demographic

Middle Grade: 2

Young Adult: 7

Adult: 12

Genre

Fantasy: 14

Sci-Fi: 1

Contemporary: 2 

Mystery/Thriller: 1
Fairytale Retelling: 1
Graphic Novels: 2

Source

Physical ARC/Finished Copy from Publisher: 15

eARC from Publisher/NetGalley: 1

Bought in 2019: 2

Owned Prior to 2019: 1 

Library Book: 2

Star Rating

1 Star: 0

2 Star: 1

3 Star: 6

4 Star: 12

5 Star: 2

Top 3 Books of this Quarter

Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan 



Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff



Turning Darkness into Light by Marie Brennan

I'm fairly pleased with my reading this quarter. I focused mainly on reading my review copies and I think I managed to do that well. The ratings were quite average but there were definitely some stand out reads. 

What has been your favourite read so far this year?