October Wrap up

I think I had a pretty good reading month, 6 e-books and 7 audiobooks completed. While I didn't get everything reviewed on time, I did most of my October books reviewed.  I have 2 left, then I think I am finally caught up on all of the reviews I need to write and I have nothing to review in November.  That means I have some time to focus on finishing up my reading challenge prompts.  I updated my challenge spreadsheet and I have 10 left after October.  Fortunately I have books picked out for all of the remaining prompts and I own most of them.

Most of my books for October were of the spooky, mystery variety which I think was perfect given the time of year.  I love Halloween and fall is my favorite time of year.  The beginning of October was unseasonably hot, but about mid-month it finally started to get cold and actually felt like fall.  Halloween was rainy and foggy, but my kids had a blast and in the words of Garfield the Cat there was lots of "Candy Candy Candy!"

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• The Case of the Hidden Daemon by Lucy Banks
• Review
• I really loved the previous books in this series and this one is no different.  It moves the storyline from book 2 along nicely, while having it's own plot.  The group of ghost-hunters is pretty hysterical and I really enjoy Banks' writing style and humor.  This comes out October 23rd.
• The Spellbook of Katrina VanTassel by Alyssa Palombo
• Review
• This is perfect to get into the Halloween spirit.  This is a retelling of Sleepy Hollow.  I used to love the Headless Horseman cartoon when I was a kid because it was scary and I really enjoyed the TV show for a while.  This was not as paranormal and magic related as I wanted it to be.  It was much more of a historical romance, and from that perspective it was good book and from a retelling perspective it was one of the better ones.
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
• I'm glad to have finally read this. I have always loved this story and it is about time I read the original work. Perfect for fall and Halloween approaching.  I read this directly after reading the Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel to see how the retelling matched up.  It was fairly short, and pretty good.  I'm also using this to fill the reading challenge prompt for a book with an ugly cover.  This cover is completely unappealing.
• 
• Fight or Flight by Samantha Young
• Review
• I loved this.  I couldn't put it down.  It is a hate to love romance and I loved the couple.  I needed a good contemporary and this was the book I didn't know I needed until I read it.  Really no complaints about this at all.
• The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
• This is a weird little book.  It is poetic and beautiful, but its weird.  It pays homage to all of the various cultural death ceremonies throughout time that eventually came to be what we know in the US to be Halloween. I love Halloween and I really loved this little book.  The art and story were appropriately strange to be respectful to all of the different times mentioned.  I really enjoyed it.  I met the challenge prompt for a book about Halloween.  it could also meet a book with and ugly cover as the art is not aesthetically pleasing to me, but is totally appropriate to the story in a Tim Burton kind of way.
• The Boy I Grew Up With by Tijan
• Review
• This came out on October 29th.  This is kind of a crossover between the Crew series and Fallen Crest (which I haven't read).  It tells the backstory and present day story of side characters in both series, Channing and Heather.  It is kind of a dark contemporary.  There are plenty of steamy scences, and because of the crew business there are some violent mafia/gang kind of situations that the characters get into.  I liked it.

Audiobooks

I got through a ton of audiobooks this month.  I actually posted a couple of reviews for them too.  That in itself is amazing.  I almost never post reviews for audiobooks because I just never get to them.  I mean to but I just don't do it.

• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Review
• This covered a book challenge prompt for a book I borrowed.  I loved it.  I'm a child of the 80's so I really appreciated all of the 80's references.  This really appealed to my inner nerd.  It was so good, it just made me laugh and feel happy.
• 1984 by George Orwell
• This was an interesting read.  I can see why it is taught in high school and college courses.  You can see the post Nazi-era influence and the Marxism in the writing.  While this isn't my normal reading preference, I can appreciate it for what it is.  This covers a reading challenge prompt for a book set in the decade I was born.
• Minecraft: The Island by Max Brooks
• I picked this up when it was a free promo on Volumes.  My son loves Minecraft and I got it for him.  He and I listened to it on our way to and from his basketball practices and games.  Jack Black was an amazing narrator, and while I don't know anything about Minecraft I found this really funny and pretty entertaining.  My son loved it and said it was pretty authentic to the game.
• How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
• I was expecting this to be about time travel, it isn't but its still interesting.  It follows a man who ages very slowly and who has lived through some very iconic historical events.  It is a little slow paced for my taste but I still enjoyed it.
• The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
• This was pretty entertaining.  We follow Gen, who is now King of Attolia but he really doesn't want to be King.  As with the previous books, Gen is full of his usual antics and surprises you at the the most unexpected times.  You always think he's not paying attention or he is going to do one thing and he does the complete opposite.  He really comes into his role as King.  I really enjoy how this series is progressing.
• Warcross by Marie Lu
• Review
• This fulfills my cyberpunk reading challenge prompt.  I loved this.  The romance was a little cheesy but whatever.  I really enjoy Lu's writing and this was no different.  This wasn't super technical, it was more focused on the characters and plot.  
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
• This has gotten a ton of hype and lots of great reviews.  They are all well deserved!  This is one epic fantasy.  I haven't delved into a good epic fantasy in a long time and this was worth every minute of my time.  There are some seriously brutal and violent moments, but it is so well written.  I highly recommend it, it is one of the best fantasies I've read in quite some time.  I can't wait for the next book.

November TBR

I have a couple of ARCs in progress that I need to finish up and review, but for the most part I'm free to read whatever I want for the rest of the year.  I'm hoping to finish up the remaining books on my reading challenge list.  I only have 10 books left, that's not too bad with 2 months left in the year. 

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• Everless by Sara Holland
• This is the sequel to Evermore.  This series centers around a world where time is currency and time lives in your blood.  I really enjoyed the first book and I'm looking forward to finding out where the story goes.  This comes out in December but I'm trying to stay on top of my ARCs.
• Vicious by Victoria Schwab
• This book will fulfill my anti-hero prompt.  I've heard great things about this book, and the sequel just came out.  I recently picked this up on Kindle for 99 cents, so I'm excited to finally have time to read this.  I hear it is about mutants or monsters and two completing frenemies, maybe?  I like Scwab's writing and I'm looking forward to reading this.
• Cranberry Bluff by Deborah Garner
• I've had this on my Kindle for a while and I forget what it is about.  I think it is a contemporary.  I do remember it was free and came recommended.  It fits the prompt for a fruit or vegetable in the title so I'm going to give it a chance.  
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• I've wanted to read this forever.  I've heard nothing but good things about her books and this duology.  I was holding out for the audio, but my library doesn't have it on Overdrive or Hoopla.  This will fulfill my challenge for an animal in the title.

Audiobooks

As usual I've got 7 books on hold at the library, and several more on my wishlist.  I do have 2 checked out currently that I'll definitely get to in November.  

• Must of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
• I've been anxiously awaiting this since reading Strange the Dreamer earlier this year and I can't wait to find out what happens next.
• A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
• I'm really enjoying this series.  This is the 4th book in the series.  It is full of political intrigue, deceit, humor, and war.  I'm interested to see where things go from where they left off in the 3rd book.
• A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
• I won this in a giveaway via Libro.fm, a new audiobook vendor site I recently found.  I'm really excited to get to this.  I love Mafi's writing style and I'm excited to read something a little different from her.

Review: Warcross

Warcross by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really loved this, it kept me engaged and entertained the whole book. Nancy Wu did an excellent job with the audio narration.  This fulfills my cyberpunk reading prompt challenge.  It hits most of the requirements for cyberpunk. 

This follows Emika Chen, a brillian hacker turned bounty hunter because she has to pay the bills. She's been banned from computers after pleading guilty to hacking to save a friends reputation. At her center Emika is a good person, but she knows that the world is an ugly place, so she tries to catch some of the bad guys and make some cash doing it. Emika typically hides in the shadows of the internet, but when one of her hacks goes wrong she finds herself glitched into the opening game of the Warcross tournament. Her anonymous identity isn't anonymous any longer and the developer of the world's favorite game offers her a job. Hideo developed Warcross, and now everyone in the world plays, but someone is hacking into the game and messing with Hideo's code. He asks Emika to go undercover as a Warcross wildcard player and use her hacking and bounty hunting skills to find the hacker that is trying to destroy Warcross. Emika finds herself entrenched in the dark side of the game and trying to uncover a mole within her Warcross teammates. She also finds an unexpected connection with the handsome, yet haunted billionaire. As she uncovers more about what is going on with the hacker, she also uncovers more about Hideo and finds so much more than she expected.

I could have done without the romance. It was a bit cheesy and predictable. I also figured out the plot twist pretty much right away, so the big reveal at the end was no surprise to me. The one thing I do like about Lu's writing is her somewhat villainous characters. You think they are the good guy, then they turn out the be kind of the bad guy but they still have redeeming qualities and you still want to like them. This book is much more character and plot driven. I would have liked a little more cyber and techno babble, but I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea. I really like that stuff because I'm a nerd. I think the Warcross games that the teams played were described very well as was the technology itself, I just wish there was more focus on that aspect of the book. I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

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Tag Tuesday: Finally Fall Book Tag

If you saw my last tag Tuesday post you know I love fall. It is my favorite time of year. This fall has been really crazy, it was 90 degrees one day and 40 the next. It's been super rainy so we haven't had those beautiful sunny autumn days to transition us from summer to fall. The leaves stayed green well into October and because it got cold so fast everything just kind of died and didn't get pretty and change colors. This fall was a bust but hopefully this tag won't be. 

I just watched Chelsea from Chelseadolling reads video of this tag and it seemed appropriate and fun. She is one of my go to youtubers for contemporary recommendations. Check her video out and her channel in general.

Chelseadolling Reads video - https://youtu.be/-QQxkIn1biw

Tall Tale's original video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNUc-... 

QUESTIONS: 

1. In fall, the air is crisp and clear: name a book with a vivid setting!  This is probably an odd pick but I loved this book so much!  I felt transported to the time and places when I read it so I'm going with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.   I listened to the audiobook and it was one of my favorite reads of 2017.  I bought my own copy and while I don't re-read things often this is one I can see myself re-reading.

2. Nature is beautiful… but also dying: name a book that is beautifully written, but also deals with a heavy topic like loss or grief.  Ryan's Bed by Tijan.  Tijan is a relatively new to me author, but I had to read this when it came out.  It tells the story of twins, after one has committed suicide and the other is left to deal with the aftermath and her own grief.  I really loved how this was handled and how it was written.

3. Fall is back to school season: share a non-fiction book that taught you something new.  I'm currently reading Pittsburgh Irish: Erin on the Three Rivers for the Popsugar Reading challenge for a book about my heritage.  I'm 3rd generation Irish and this book is really interesting and I'm learning a ton about my Irish heritage that I never knew before.  I never met my Irish great-grandparents, but I'm learning all about how the Irish settled Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas of Pennsylvania.

4. In order to keep warm, it’s good to spend some time with the people we love: name a fictional family/household/friend-group that you’d like to be a part of.  - I would love to be a member of the Knitting in the City knitting group.  These women are so fun and I feel like I would be friends with them in real life, plus they could help me with my knitting.  I never could quite figure it out.  This series and its "sister" series The Winston Brothers by Penny Reid are awesome!

5. The colourful leaves are piling up on the ground: show us a pile of fall-colored spines! These are all books I've recently acquired that I haven't read yet and they are all red, orange, and yellow.

6. Fall is the perfect time for some storytelling by the fireside: share a book wherein somebody is telling a story.  I can't think of a more epic story than The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.  While this is quite the undertaking to read, it is so worth it.  I really enjoyed the magic system, the characters, and the plot.  

7. The nights are getting darker: share a dark, creepy read. Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon was pretty dark and creepy.  There are these creepy puppet things that really got to me and when someone asks me about a creepy read I'd recommend this one.  It has classic horror elements mixed with European Gothic style and I loved it.

8. The days are getting colder: name a short, heartwarming read that could warm up somebody’s cold and rainy day. - Paintbrush by Hannah Bucchin was such heartwarming YA contemporary.

9. Fall returns every year: name an old favourite that you’d like to return to soon.  I don't re-read books that often.  I used to when I was a kid, but I find I have so many new books I want to read I don't often feel the need to re-read old favorites.  I would like to re-read Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor soon, I just bought my own copy recently.  Muse of Nightmares just came out and I loved Lazlo and Sarai so much.  I can see myself re-reading that one soon.

10. Fall is the perfect time for cozy reading nights: share your favorite cozy reading “accessories”! - Warm fuzzy socks, a blanket, and a cup of hot tea.  Can you tell I'm always cold? 

11. Spread the autumn appreciation and tag some people! - I tag anyone who takes the time to read this, leave your answers in the comments or a link to your post.

Review: The Boy I Grew Up With

The Boy I Grew Up With by Tijan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via the author in exchange for an honest review.

This follows Channing and Heather, who if you are a fan of Tijan's Fallen Crest series you probably already know them. I've only recently discovered Tijan and I'm still making my way through her books and Fallen Crest is still on my backlog. This stands nicely on it's own. This delves into Channing's crew, so if you haven't read Crew yet that kind of explains more about crews but it isn't necessary to understand the storyline here.

We go back and forth between the past and present of Channing and Heather's relationship. It is important to go back into their past to understand how they have gotten to where they are in the present day, as well as to understand where they need to go. They've been through alot as individuals and as a couple. Channing is in a crew, he started crews, and sometimes that means things get a little dangerous. Heather runs a restaurant, and really wants nothing to do with crew business she just wants Channing, she's always just wanted Channing. Crew comes first, and Heather is tired of coming in second place, so she needs to learn to accept the crew as part of Channing's life or make a permanent break from him. Channing is in the same situation, he can't live with out Heather, but he can't put her first because of his crew. They both have to go through some fairly dramatic stuff before they decide if their relationship is worth it because while they love each other, they aren't sure they are right for each other. They both really grow as characters, from making irrational decisions that make you scratch you head, to really thinking out what they want to do with their futures as individuals and as a couple. They are both tough, hard, and not to be trifled with, and when they come together things are pretty explosive.

This was highly character driven. There were some fairly violent action scenes between the crew and the local motorcycle gang which really cemented that crews get into some dangerous stuff. They also protect their own, and while tensions are high people think emotionally do and do some crazy stuff. There is plenty of heat and chemistry between Channing and Heather as well. You know that anytime they are together there is going to be a steamy scene to follow because they pretty much can't keep their hands off of one another. This book deals with some heavy topics, and while I didn't expect the ending I'm really happy with how it turned out.

If you are a fan of the Fallen Crest series, I think you will like getting to know Channing and Heather. If you've read Crew, which I have read, you will appreciate getting to know them and seeing the older more established crew in action. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Channing and Heather in Crew #2 as Bren's story continues.

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Tag Tuesday Fall Time Cozy Time Book Tag

I love the fall, especially if the sun is out and it isn't raining. The leaves are colorful and that means pumpkins and Halloween.  My house is a spectacle during October, we have lights and music, and all things spooky.  I love it!  I was catching up on videos and I saw this on Ali's channel and thought it would be a perfect tag. I love Ali's channel so go check her out.


Ali - HardbackHoarder https://youtu.be/No3maib3clw
Sam's Nonsense // creator → https://youtu.be/Q-4nDR8jXi0


1. Crunching Leaves: The world is full of color - choose a book that had reds/oranges/yellows on the cover - I'm going with City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty.  I haven't read this one yet but it certainly has all of the colors on the cover and it has been on my TBR for a bit.  I do plan on getting to it at some point.

  

2. Cozy Sweater - It's finally cold enough to don warm cozy clothing: what book gives you the warm fuzzies? - Something by Penny Reid.  If I'm in a slump or a bad mood I read one of her books.  They are funny, well written, and always have a happy ending.  Penny knows how to write a good contemporary and I fall in love with her characters every time.  I highly recommend The Knitting in the City and Winston Brother's Series.

3. Fall Storm: The wind is howling & the rain is pounding - choose your favorite book OR genre that you like to read on a stormy day - I pretty much always like a good fantasy or mystery on a gloomy day.  As long as I have a warm beverage, usually tea, a blanket, and a book I'm happy.

4. Cool Crisp Air: What's the coolest character you'd want to trade places with? - This is a tough one, there are so many good characters out there to choose from.  I'm going to go with Annabeth from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Hero's of Olympus series.  She's smart, strong, and pretty much awesome all the way around.  Plus I love Greek mythology and she's a demi-god.  She gets to go on some awesome quests to save the world.  I know this series is YA/middle grade but I really enjoyed both of them.

5. Hot Apple Cider: What under hyped book do you want to see become the next biggest, hottest thing? - I had a hard time with this one.  Most of the books I read lately get alot of hype and for good reason, or they are hyped up and I didn't like them.  Alot of books I gave 5 stars to recently are older and were hyped at some point.  I don't hear about The Diviners series a ton so I'm going to go with that one.  I highly recommend the audio.  January Lavoy is amazing and I love the series.

6. Coat, Scarves, and Mittens - The weather has turned cold & it's time to cover up - What's the most embarrassing book cover you own that you like to keep hidden in public?  I read on my kindle or listen to audio books most of the time so this really isn't an issue.  Anything with a questionable cover or that I might not want people to know I read, I read on my technology.  While not an embarrassing read, I will say that this book sparked a ton of discussions while I was reading it.  I read The Shack for the 2017 reading challenge, and since I actually took it with me in public right around the time the movie came out people were talking about it.  Anything involving politics and religion always sparks interesting conversations.


7. Pumpkin Spice: What's your favorite Fall time comforts food/foods?  - I'm not a pumpkin pie person, I just don't like it.  I am however, an apple pie person. Give me apple pie, apple crisp, or anything with apples and cinnamon, add some vanilla ice cream and we are all good.  Yum!

Review: The Case of the Hidden Daemon by Lucy Banks

The Case of the Hidden Daemon by Lucy Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  This will be released on October 23, 2018.  I do recommend reading atleast book 2 before reading this one.  Book 1 was pretty much a standalone, but this one picks up where book 2 leaves off.  If you are going to read book 2, though start at the beginning because book 1 is great.  I really like this series. 

As was the case with the previous book in the series I really loved this. The band of characters is really comical. They each have a specific paranormal ability that helps them with their "ghost hunting". They all have flawed personalities and insecurities, and if they didn't work together they wouldn't work anywhere else. I do wish Kester would kind of find himself and his backbone. He keeps starting to find his courage and then he reverts to the naive, insecure, scared little boy. It doesn't help that people are constantly insulting him all of the time. I do hope that as the series continues Kester begins to conquer his fears and his colleagues begin to respect him. Overall, though I do really like the characters, they are witty and funny, and at the heart of it they really do care about each other.

This particular installment didn't focus on sending a spirit back to the spirit realm, but it did focus on daemons this time which is new for the series. I really liked the way Kester had to step up and solve the clues that the daemon left behind and the inclusion of the Thelemites, a cult-like organization that focuses on human-spirit interaction. As Kester and the agency try to figure out what the daemon and the Thelemites are up to, Kester is also trying to navigate a budding romance with librarian Anya. Anya has gotten herself mixed up in with the Thelemites and Kester is trying to protect her and fumble through his first relationship.

I will say I hate cliffhangers, this one wasn't too bad. The story does end, but it leaves you wanting more. I can't wait for the next book and to see where this is headed. There are so many different ways the story can play out and I'm so exited to see where it goes next. I have so many unanswered questions. Overall, I love this series and I highly recommend it.

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