It’s been just about six months since my birthday, so I thought it would be a good time to do a quick update on how many books from my 29 Reads for My 29th Year post. If I have read it, I’ll give it a quick review.
1. Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts: I’ve had this one on my shelf for forever, but I finally prioritized it because of the upcoming movie. It was soooo good. I had a lot of fun watching the main character come into her feminism and realizing that it needs to be intersectional. She was relatable, and the characters were interesting. I highly recommend this.
2. The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: However, I will hopefully get to it this month!
3. Roar by Cora Carmack
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I bought the sequel so it’s extra shameful that I haven’t read this yet.
4. King of Crows by Libba Bray
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts: This was one of my most anticipated reads last year, and I put it off because I was nervous about the series conclusion. However, I fully and completely loved this book. It was fast paced and compelling. I liked seeing the characters grow and develop. I was nervous about how all the threads would come together, and personally I wasn’t disappointed. This is definitely one of my all time favourite series.
5. Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts: I heard some mixed reviews of this book, so I was a bit nervous prior to going into it. However, I ended up really enjoying it. I like Lou and Reed’s dynamic. They don’t always get along but they do love each other, no matter how complicated that might be. I enjoyed seeing more of the world they lived in and getting to meet blood witches and werewolves to see what else is happening in the world. I am super excited to read the next one!
6. The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts: I had such a fun time with this book! I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was a really interesting story, and I liked the twists it took on conventional Arthurian legend. Guinevere was a really interesting character and I was intrigued by the mystery of her. I will definitely be continuing on with the series.
7. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts: I have a full review of this up on the blog here.
8. Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:I really enjoyed the conclusion to this series. It had a satisfying resolution. I love Maia and Edan together. I will say that the pacing was a little strange, but I liked how action packed it was. I liked getting to know more of the side characters that we got brief glimpses of in the first one. However, I think I liked the first one better.
9. The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I literally put this on my TBR a couple of months but I didn’t pick it up. Oops.
10. Majesty by Katharine McGee
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:I had a lot of fun with this book. I love Katharine McGee’s writing and the delicious drama that her books are always so full of. I really enjoyed the different points of view and how much the characters grew over the course of the story. Daphne continues to be the worst, but I really love Bea, Nina, and Sam a lot. They each feel really unique and I really wanted them to succeed. I also loved the way that the love interests shifted in this novel. Most of those shifts felt really natural and good for the characters.
11. Chosen by Kiersten White
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I’m really looking forward to when I get this.
12. A Heart So Fierce and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:I liked getting to see Grey’s point of view. He’s a really fascinating character. I also liked reading from Lia Mara’s point of view. Getting to see the other side of the war’s perspective was neat. I liked how the book resolved and I’m really interested to see how the series concludes.
13. All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I’m part of the way through this book. I just need to finish it.
14. Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:I’m definitely glad that I continued along with this series. It was really interesting to see the aftereffects of the return to magic. I enjoyed each of the different perspectives and seeing how the characters grew and changed over the course of the story. I’m looking forward to the next one.
15. A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:I didn’t enjoy the continuation of this series as much as I did the rest of the series. I didn’t like how Jacob acted but I also didn’t like how he was treated. The greater conspiracy was interesting, and I think I’ll continue along but it just wasn’t my favourite.
16. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn’t really know how I felt about the idea of Snow being the protagonist. I didn’t want it to be an apologist thing or a redemption arc. However, I really ended up enjoying it and how Snow was portrayed. He was always kind of a jerk, and that was well shown by the events of this book. You understand his plight, but you still also see that he comes from such a place of entitlement that it completely makes sense how he ended up as president. It was a really fascinating story.
17. The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I really enjoyed the first one in this series so I’m really looking forward to reading this one!
18. Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:This book really wasn’t what I expected. I found the premise interesting, and while I didn’t always like the main character, I found her intriguing. I wasn’t sure at the start if I was going to like it because it took a little while to properly immerse into the world. However, I ended up really enjoying it. I kind of want a sequel because I have so many questions still.
19. One by One by Ruth Ware
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:I really liked the premise of this story. I like isolated settings, because they really add to the spookiness of the story. This one was interesting because it included two points of view, and I found it both of them really interesting. It was well constructed and kept me guessing. I didn’t really predict what was going to happen, and while I liked the twist, I wasn’t completely blown away by the ending, which I needed for it to be a five. However, I still had a lot of fun reading this book.
20. Bright We Burn by Kiersten White
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: This was on my May TBR but I didn’t get to it.
21. The Near Witch by VE Schwab
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I will eventually get here. I promise I will. (Am I lying to myself? Hopefully not.)
22. Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:I really enjoyed this novel. I really enjoy stories about sisterhood as I’ve never had a sister and it’s interesting to see the different sides of it. I also really liked the aspects of how the sisters each had a certain perception of the other and how they didn’t actually know their sister as well as they thought, and how despite that they still really cared for the other. I also liked the growth of the two over the course of the novel, and the twists near the end.
23. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I almost put this on my TBR for June, but went a different way. I will do my best to find the time for it this year.
24. Amber and Dusk by Lyra Selene
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:I loved the writing in this book. It was very descriptive and really painted a vivid picture for me. The main character wasn’t exactly likeable, but that’s okay. I don’t always need a character to be likeable. I enjoyed the overall plot line of the story and the legacies the different characters had. I liked the side characters a lot, and how the story came to a head. I’m definitely interested in checking out the sequel.
25. Slay by Brittany Morris
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts: This story was interesting. It started off pretty exposition heavy, but I enjoyed the exploration of virtual reality gaming. I found it really intriguing when paired with the different ways of being Black and the different characters’ takes on it, and I appreciated the way the author presented the story. I quickly got fully immersed. I really rooted for Kiera and was pleased with how the story wrapped up.
26. Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I didn’t get to this one yet but I will eventually. It sounds really cool.
27. The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: I’m really intrigued by this one and I really want to read it. However, that’s the story of everything on my TBR.
28. The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo
Have I read it? Yes
Thoughts:This was a neat collection. The art was gorgeous, and I really appreciated the thought that went into it. I’ve always been a fan of seeing more about the fantasy worlds that I love so this definitely hit that niche.
29. Broken Things by Lauren Oliver
Have I read it? No
Thoughts: Another example of intriguing premise but the fact that there are too many good sounding books and not enough time.
So that’s how it’s gone so far this year. I’ll update you again in December.
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