Top 5 Wednesday: Books I’ve Recently Removed from my TBR

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday, hosted by the Goodreads group, is a freebie. I decided to share some of the book I’ve recently removed from my TBR.

1. Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3) by Cassandra Clare

First of all, I am not a Shadowhunters fangirl. I have had many problems with the multiple series, but I have also enjoyed several of them, as well. So why am I quitting this series at it’s finale? First of all, it’s 900+ pages. Just no. I’ve also happened to read a couple reviews that involved some spoilers and it has made me not at all interested enough to invest my time in this. Maybe if it was around 300 pages I would still give it a try, but not for 900 pages. The only thing I really care about in this series is Julian and Emma and their resolution sounds kind of stupid. I also refuse to ship polyamorous relationships. If that’s how you want to live your life, then ok, that has nothing to do with me, live your life. But I’m not going to choose to read and ship it.

2. Kiss Collector by Wendy Higgins

It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything by Wendy Higgins and I was excited for her new book. I did actually get this one from the library and I read the first chapter and knew I was just way too old for this book. I never marked it as reading and I didn’t really give it a chance past the first chapter, so I’m not marking it as DNF, I’m just removing it from the TBR.

3. I Like You, I Love Her by J.R. Rogue

I did get this off of Kindle Unlimited and read a few chapters before I knew I wasn’t in the right mood for it. I put it back on the TBR because I did plan on trying it again, but the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced I will never pick it up again.

4. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Ok, don’t hate. I’ve read pretty much nothing but wonderful things about this book and I have no doubt the author is very talented. However, lately I just CANNOT get into fantasy novels. Add that to the whole thing on Twitter where Adeyemi accused Nora Fricking Roberts of copying her and I just can’t. She did end up apologizing for jumping to conclusions and did eventually delete the tweet, I believe, but how full of yourself do you have to be -as a debut author, no less – to think an author as popular as Nora Roberts would need to copy you to sell books…

5. Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This is another book I have actually read several chapters of before deciding I wasn’t in the mood for it. I used to want to read all of JLA’s book, but a good deal of them end up just not being for me and this series falls into that category.

Have you read any of these books? Should I reconsider any of them?

Reviewing the Unreviewed: September 2015

I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. I thought I’d start doing a post once a month  with just the couple thoughts I shared on Good Reads

Pop Goes the Weasel (Helen Grace #2) by M.J. Arlidge. Read August 29-September 1. 3.5 stars.

My review for this will actually come out in a couple weeks, closer to it’s release date. While I didn’t find it quite as good as the first book in the series, I still found it compulsively readable.

Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson. Read September 21-23. 4 stars.

This book was pretty adorable. I liked the main character and her friends and her relationship with her parents. I liked that she was from a small town and liked it. I liked how her relationship with Adam developed. I even liked some of the star metaphors, though some of them seem a little contrived. It dealt with some heavier topics, but I felt it was balanced well the adorableness.

Sweet Temptation (Sweet Triology #4) by Wending Higgins. Read September 9-27. 3 stars.

Unless you’re a super fan of this series, I would highly suggest re-reading the trilogy before giving this book a go. The narrative relies on the reader already knowing what is going on and it skims over big explanations and a lot of details. Since it’s been awhile since I read the series – especially the first two books – I didn’t remember a lot of details. Because of this it took me a little while to get into the book, but I eventually did and really enjoyed getting Kaiden’s point of view. Some of it was a little repetitive at times, but his inner voice was pretty different than Anna’s and it added to the overall series experience. I would recommend this to fans of the series, especially to those Super Fans.

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RE-READS

   

Cinder, Scarlet, Cress – The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

I decided to do a re-read of the series before Winter comes out in a couple months. It pretty much reinforced all my original feelings on the series. Each book gets better. I love the characters and the romance and the action. Meyer does a phenomenal job of juggling multiple perspectives. This is probably one of the best done YA series out there and if you haven’t started it, I highly recommend it. (And I love those covers! Especially Cress!)

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases For the Rest of 2015

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is: Top Ten Seven Most Anticipated Releases For the Rest of 2015.

1. After the Storm (Kate Burkholder #7) by Linda Castillo Release Date: 7/14/15

2. Pretending to be Erica by Michelle Painchaud. Release Date: 7/21/15

3. If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins. Release Date: 6/30/15

4. Sweet Temptation (Sweet Evil #4) by Wendy Higgins. Release Date: 9/8/15

5. Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer. Release Date: 11/10/15

No Cover Yet

 

6. Oblivion (Lux 1.5) by Jennifer Armentrout. Release Date: 12/2015

No Cover yet

 

7. Anything for You (Blue Heron #5) by Kristan Higgins. Release Date: 12/29/15

What books are you looking forward to releasing this year? Are you looking forward to any of these?

Reviewing the Unreviewed: July

I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. I thought I’d start doing a post once a month  with just the couple thoughts I shared on Good Reads.

Falling for Her Fiancé (Accidentally in Love #1) by Cindi Masden. Read July 6th. 4 stars.

This was a super cute, fast read. Even though it’s totally predictable, I’m always a sucker for the “fake relationship” trope. 4 stars based on enjoyability alone.

On the Fence by Kasie West. Read July 7-8. 4 stars.

This book was all kinds of adorable!

Split Second (Pivot Point #2) by Kasie West. Read July 24-25. 3 stars.

 

I didn’t like this book as much as the first, but I still enjoyed it. This time instead of alternating realties, it was told in alternating POV between Addie and Laila. I didn’t care for Laila in the first book and it really took me until the final chapters for me to warm up to her now. I did end up really liking Connor, and of course I love Addie and Trevor.

My favorite part of the whole book, though, was:

*SPOILER ALERT*

when Connor healed Trevor’s arm! It was such an unexpected move and it made me so happy!

Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy #3) by Wendy Higgins. Read July 25-27. 2.5 stars.

 

2.5 stars. I think this book would’ve been a little better if it was about 50 pages shorter. Most of the story was very slow paced and there was a lot of “and I drove around, wondering what to do next” going on. There were a few surprise deaths at the end that I didn’t see coming and took some guts for Higgins to include. Overall, it was a decent ending to the series, but it kind of failed to capture my interest most of the time.

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DID NOT FINISH

The City by Dean Koontz. This was the first Dean Koontz book I tried and I don’t think it was the best one to introduce me to him. I got about a quarter of the way through before I gave up. The writing was good, but the story – what there was of a story – couldn’t interest me enough to keep reading.

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BACK ON THE TBR SHELF

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater. I wasn’t quite half way through this when I got distracted by something else. I’m planning on coming back to it eventually, though. I do love Maggie Stiefvater.

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RE-READS

All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins – because sometimes just need some Kristan Higgins – and Origin (Lux #4) by Jennifer Armentrout in preparation of Opposition coming out next Tuesday!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR list

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the Broke and the Bookish, is: The Top Ten Books on my Summer TBR List.

1. Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo. THIS IS OUT TODAY!!!!!!!!

2. Landline by Rainbow Rowell. Out July 8, 2014

3. The Dead Will Tell (Kate Burkholder #6) by Linda Castillo. Out July 8, 2014.

4. Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead. Out July 29, 2014.

5. Opposition (Lux #5) by Jennifer Armentrout. Out August 5, 2014 (*Insert excited squealing here*)

6. Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss #3) by Stephanie Perkins. Out August 15, 2014.

7. Rebel (Reboot #2) by Amy Tintera. Published 5/13/14.

8. Sweet Reckoning (Sweet Evil #3) by Wendy Higgins. Published 4/29/14. (I know! I still haven’t read it yet!)

9. Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1) by Danielle Paige. Published 4/1/14.

10. Ruins (Partials #3) by Dan Wells. Published 3/11/14.

What are you reading this summer?

 

Reviewing the Unreviewed: April

I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. I thought I’d start doing a post once a month  with just the couple thoughts I shared on Good Reads.

See Me by Wendy Higgins. Read April 13-15. 1 Star.

While this book had some cute moments, it was not for me. I think maybe the very young spectrum of YA readers might enjoy this (though there is some mild language and some sexual situations, but it’s not graphic so it could still be ok -as an aside, I find the increasingly graphic scenes in YA is kind of alarming, but I am in the minority of that, so many people may find nothing objectionable at all for the young readers.)

I found the plot of the story pretty laughable (not in a good way) and the characters were not all that likable. I HATED the main character’s younger sister. Like every single thing she did bothered me.

I believe this is a standalone, but the ending was a little too open for me to be satisfied with it.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.

While slow paced and a little silly, I enjoyed this book. The main character was really likable and I found that I appreciated how naïve she was about things, as opposed to the type of experienced characters there are in most YA novels. I was super naïve in high school myself, so I found that relatable. I was a little disappointed that this wasn’t a standalone, but I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

What I Thought was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick. Read April 19-23. 1 star.

I was pretty disappointed with this book. I enjoyed My Life Next Door and was looking forward to another sweet read, but this just wasn’t it. Most of the characters weren’t very likable and I felt like it left too many storylines open.

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RE-READ

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan.

I enjoyed this book just as much the second time around. I can’t wait for the next book. September is so far away!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading rut lately where noting new sounds interesting. Rainbow Rowell to the rescue! I love this book. If you haven’t read it, you should.

 

Monday’s Minutes

I apologize to all those that may care that I haven’t posted much lately. I haven’t really felt much like reading lately and what I have read I haven’t felt like reviewing. But, nevertheless, here is my Monday’s Minutes

WHAT I’M READING

The Last Letter from you Lover by Jojo Moyes. While I disapprove of infidelity, I’m mostly enjoying this book so far. This is my first Jojo Moyes book and I’m quite impressed with her writing. The character development is A-mazing!

WHAT I’M READING NEXT

 

Tomorrow Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins and Silenced by Dani Pettrey comes out, so they are probably next on my list.

What are you reading?

 

Monday’s Minutes

Monday’s Minutes is my weekly post where I share what I’m reading and what I’m reading next.

WHAT I’M READING

See Me by Wendy Higgins. Faeries. Leprechauns. Magical humans. This book is a little odd. I’m not very far in, but so far I’m not terribly impressed. The plot and the writing is not up to par with Higgins Sweet Evil series. I’m going to give it a few more chapters to see if it picks up enough for me to want to finish it.

WHAT I’M READING NEXT

I’m just not sure yet. I feel like I’m in a bit of a reading rut and nothing sounds interesting to me right now. Any suggestions?????