Monthly Wrap-Up - JANUARY 2015: The Month In Which I Discover Just How Busy I'll Be This Year2/3/2015 I just knew the goodness of 2014 wouldn't last. Last year, I had a lot of hopes and goals for 2015. To read more, to write more, to be motivated to be a better person in general and to be more inspired...you get the idea. And so, when the first week of school rolled around, I was not prepared for the many obstacles that would be standing squarely in the way of achieving all these goals. Namely, SCHOOL. What was I thinking when I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 100 books this year?!?! That's what you get for being so naive, Kat. To make this clear, I go to a selective school. And what comes with it? Homework. Tons and tons of it. And good grades. I'll have to begin my revision even though it's just the start of the semester. It wasn't that bad last year and the year before that (I was pretty busy but still, I could finish at least one book per week), but I should've been smart enough to realize that this is the year that I'll have to be more focused on my studies and everything is going to be really pressuring. I was in denial when I wrote that 2015 Resolutions post but I SHOULDN'T HAVE. Now I barely have enough time to finish my homework. When'll I have time for that TBR book that I've been meaning to read? How do I even update my blog, which I usually spend, at the very least, 2 hours doing??
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Hello, fellow readers! It's the end of July and also the end of another great reading month, which means that it's wrap-up time! In every monthly wrap-up, I pick a favourite character, favourite villian, favourite book, favourite book cover, favourite OTP, and last but not least, my least favourite book of the month. The books that I've read in July are: (my rating for books in wrap-ups may vary from the initial rating)
WOW. TWELVE BOOKS! That has got to be a record. I don't think I've ever read so many books in one month! I guess a part of me is still subconsciously pushing myself to complete my 2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge. I'm competitive that way, heh heh. Anyway, getting on to the wrap-up! favourite character Wow, umm. This is hard. Really hard. There are so many great books that I've read this month, and most of them have grown so much on me. I've done a quick scan of the twelve books and decided that my favorite character is Scarlet ! She's strong-willed and independent, which is why I like her. Scarlet is also in one of my favourite OTP's! (wink, wink) (Scarlet is one of the leading characters from Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, but you've probably figured that out yourself!) favourite villian Definitely the Darkling from the Grisha trilogy! He's sexy, has a seductive air about him, and best of all, he's the bad guy! Who doesn't love alluring bad guys? favourite book Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo! (The Grisha trilogy #1) A lot of characters were introduced into the story that I eventually grew to love, and also because it's fantasy! I can't resist a good fantasy read. favourite book cover
favourite OTP Scarlet and Wolf from Scarlet by Marissa Meyer! Why? Wolf struggles from what he is to love Scarlet, and Scarlet, headstrong as she is, taught Wolf to rid himself of his dark side. Both of them have grown close since they met and even though they barely knew each other, they would sacrifice themself for the other, and I think that is sweet. least favourite book Choosing a least favourite book is never fun, but I'll have to go with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Now don't get me wrong. I rated this book (around) 3-4 stars, the story was enjoyable, but the logical part in me thought that there was a lot of plot holes in it. Yes, it wasn't bad, but overall it still has room for improvement. Have you read any of these books in July too? Let me know in the comments! I hope you have a great day, and happy reading! Time sure flies fast! Another month of reading has gone by, and in this post I'm going to be sharing my June reads with you! NOTE: POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS AHEAD Books read in June in no particular order My Goodreads profile say that I've read 8 books in June altogether -I could never be trusted to remember numbers! The number of books I've read in the picture above is 7 because I've returned The Evolution of Mara Dyer to the library, but since I found this book to be so awesome I'm going to get my own copy soon. And it's going to be sitting on the bottom shelf where I put all the books that I love. The first book that I read in June was The 5th wave, by Rick Yancey. This book had such a good rating on Goodreads, I decided to read it while waiting for my copy of City of Heavenly Fire to arrive from Amazon. I rarely read sci-fi so I thought I'd give this book a try since everyone thought it was amazing. Everyone loved it. I didn't. Why? Let me start from the beginning, shall we? I'm not going into full detail why I hate this book, but I'm listing out a few. The beginning was okay. In fact, the beginning fascinated me. I wanted to know if Cassie was really the last person on Earth. I wanted to know how she survived. I wanted to know everything. But then, we get to the part where Cassie, her father, and her brother goes to this camp where a few other survivors have gathered after her mom died. And everything just started getting boring for me from that part onwards. It was saddening when she had to let her brother Sammy go. I also liked the part where she escapes from the camp. Other than that, I just couldn't get into this book. I understand why a lot of people liked it. The writing's good, there were a lot of plot twists, and there was good romance in this story. The characters were well developed and weren't tedious. However, I thought it was too fast-paced. I just didn't feel like I was there, in the book. I was just skimming the pages, knowing what happened but never really feeling anything. I have to say, though, because of this book I've gained a new appreciation for endings. The ending in The Fifth Wave was incredible. I was going to give this book 3 stars, but the ending changed my mind. If you liked this book -good for you. I'm not sorry that I didn't like it, but I respect the book and the author. It was good, but it just didn't manage to captivate me. My rating for this book: 4 stars I also read Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. This book has a different concept than most books that I've read before, so it managed to hold my interest. The time-travel in this book was slightly confusing, but all in all I liked it. I adore the relationship forming between Gideon and Gwyneth, and the story was gripping. I did not expect Gwyneth to be the Ruby instead of Charlotte, although I should've seen it coming. I am definitely going to read the second and third book in this trilogy. My rating for this book: 4.5 stars In my (very) long wait for CoHF to arrive, I have also read The Selection, The Elite, and The One. I already have a book talk on The One, so I'm just going to rate them here. My rating for The Selection: 3.5 stars My rating for The Elite: 3 stars My rating for The One: 3.5 stars Note how my rating for The Selection trilogy doesn't stray from 3 stars? That's because of America, the most irritating protagonist that I have ever read. She was so ridiculous and couldn't make up her mind on anything, I wanted so much to take books off my shelf and haul them at her. (But of course I wouldn't do that, i love my babies too much.) Finally, after two weeks of torturous waiting, I have City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare! You can read my book talk on this spectacular book here. As expected, City of Heavenly Fire was remarkable and did not disappoint at all. One thing I slightly regret is that I was not able to read this book on the day it came out (which is also my birthday!), but I'm grateful to have a copy of City of Heavenly Fire anyway! :) My rating for City of Heavenly Fire: I WANT TO GIVE IT MORE THAN FIVE STARS And last but not least, the last two books I read in June are none other than The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer & The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin! These two books were so good. When I first bought The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer I certainly did not expect it to be so incredible on so many levels. Read my book talks on The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and The Evolution of Mara Dyer! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE RETRIBUTION OF MARA DYER. I WANT IT SO BAD. IN FACT, I LOVED THESE TWO BOOKS SO MUCH MY FIRST COLLAGE I DREW WAS BASED ON THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. Fabulous, don't you think? Also, check out my IG typography account here ( @katerrific_designs ) because I post fabulous typography there more often. You can also visit my typography page on this blog. My rating for both books: 5 FREAKING STARS So that was all the books that I've read in June! Well, according to Goodreads, but I don't think I've missed any. Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Thank you for reading, I hope you have a great day, and happy reading! |
Kat is a voracious reader who enjoys nothing more than losing herself in a good book. Fantasy is definitely her cup of tea. She often complains about never having enough time to read and constantly struggles with keeping her TBR pile a considerably decent size. Read more or keep up with her bookish whims on Goodreads or bloglovin.
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