April Wrap-Up

  Hello everyone! It feels like it's been forever since I posted. April dragged by, especially for my last week of spring coursework. I'm officially done for two more weeks before I start my last summer course. That being said, I didn't get a lot of reading in last month; I only read three books... Now that I don't have classes, I should be able to read more in the next few weeks. The three books I read last month will be described in more detail below.

(goodreads.com)

  The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh: This book was required reading for my first book club meeting. I chose this particular book because it wasn't solely based in fantasy, but had some folktale elements to it as well, which I thought might go over well with my first batch of attendees. Most of my fellow readers liked the book, which made me more confident in my choice. The plot of this book centers around the Arabian fairy tale One Thousand and One Nights and follows our two main characters, Shaharzad and Khalid. Since claiming the throne, Khalid has taken a new bride every night, only to murder them the next morning. Shazi volunteers herself as tribute to the evil boy king Khalid in order to enact her revenge on him for killing her best friend. After her marriage, Shazi beings to weave a fantastic tale for her new husband every night in order to stall her execution. As Shazi and Khalid begin to get to know each other more than they had originally intended, truths come to light as a result of Shazi's snooping and Khalid's growing love for her.  This book was rife with magic and secrets on both sides. Shazi goes into her marriage, thinking herself an assassin, but slowly realizes there's more to the king than she thought. The twists Ahdieh took on the original tale were interesting and created more of a background for her characters in this world. I really enjoyed Shazi as a strong female lead in this story; she does not need a man to save her. I also really liked some of the side characters, like Despina and Jalal, who both brought the witty banter with them. I'm intrigued enough by the ending to read the next and final installment, when I have time. I gave this book 3.5/4 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

  A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi: Keeping with my apparent theme of Arabian fairy tales, this book is the second in Chokshi's Star Touched Queen world (it is not a series, but the second book set in the same world). I loved her previous book so much that I had to pick this one up.  Plus, can we please take a moment to WORSHIP THAT COVER ART THOUGH MY GOD. I really enjoyed following Maya's sister Gauri's perspective because they are two fundamentally different characters. Gauri has grown up into a warrior, vying for her evil brother's throne and willing to do whatever it takes to secure it. She fights for her people and they're freedom from her brother's tyranny. Unfortunately, she gets captured on the battlefield and taken to an enemy kingdom, where she meets Prince Vikram, heir to the throne. Where Gauri is serious and logical, Vikram is inquisitive and witty. Their banter back and forth throughout the entire book was my favorite part. Vikram gives Gauri the opportunity to join him on a quest, given to him by the Lord of Wealth in the realm of dreams. Each of them have their own reasons for desiring the ultimate prize of one wish, but will they survive to earn it? I loved the pace of this story; it was almost never boring. The romance was also a slow-burn, which I appreciate. Is it wrong to want one of those creatures who talk nonsense and sit by battle fields eating the remains of the dead? There were so many parts of this where I had no idea where the plot would turn and what the characters would do to improve their dismal situation. I enjoyed this ride and I was super bummed when it was finally over. I gave this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

  Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima: This one was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, especially after what happened in the first book to this new series. Let me start off by saying that I HATE the new covers. There are two camps when it comes to Chima's new covers: love or hate. I think that the previous cover with the beautiful gems on would be so much better, but alas, I have no choice but to accept this one. Although Alyssa looks super bad ass here, I can't help but think this looks almost exactly like the Throne of Glass covers, so it's not even an original concept to me. I fell in love with Chima's Demon King series, and this one is its sequel series taking place a decade in the future. In the first book, Flamecaster, we followed Ash, the son of Han and Raisa, where he escaped his homeland to attend the wizard academy after his father's murder. This book follows Ash's younger sister, Alyssa (great name!) and heir to the Grey Wolf Throne. I'm not going to lie, Alyssa's story was not as exciting as Ash's was. I had high hopes because obviously her name is mine and I wanted to love her the most, but more than 3/4 of the book felt like there wasn't anything really going on. Alyssa spent a lot of time pining for her lost brother and trying to force her feelings down, which is obviously unhealthy. I really liked Hal in this book though, even is he has the worst luck ever. I didn't quite believe the attraction in this one, but I'm curious to see where the story goes from here. I think the third book might see family reuniting under one major cause to win this war. I'm also still confused and eager to learn more about a lot of things: the mage marks on the necks of two characters who still feel underdeveloped, a mysterious queen bent on capturing them both, DRAGONS, etc. The mainland war seems almost non-important now, but we'll see what happens. I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.

  So those are the books I read this month. The next book in my book club is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, so expect a review of that coming soon. What did you read last month? What are you planning to read this month? Are you a member of a book club? Let me know in the comments. Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

March Wrap-Up

    Hello everyone!  God I wish it would just STOP SNOWING.  Don't get me wrong, I'm really pumped to have a three day weekend, but I'm in Spring mode now so I'd appreciate it if the weather reflected my desires.  That and I've been itching to do some cleaning and honestly, I don't think anyone ever feels like cleaning during a nor'easter.  Anyway, I was only able to finish two books this month with all the school work I had to finish lately, but they were at least two of my most anticipated reads of the year.

(goodreads.com)

    A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab:  THIS BOOK.  I've been dreading the end of this series because I fell in love with it HARD when I started it a few years ago and I just don't want to let go of any of these glorious characters.  In this final installment of the Shades of Magic trilogy, we find Kell and Lila thrust into a battle to save Red London from the clutches of the evil Shadow King (tell me that premise doesn't sound like an epic fantasy adventure?)  We learn a lot more about the overarching conflict in this book and how it came to pass, based on mini inklings leaked from the first two books.  We also get to learn way more about Holland, which I LOVED.  He is such a conflicted character and I really liked the way Schwab took the time in her last book to really flesh him out so that readers can see him as more of a grey area character (no pun intended) than a common "bad guy."  This book also didn't have such a fast pace like the previous book, but I liked the change of scenery.  I appreciated the fact that it ended the way I would have wanted it to and the way I had subconsciously pictured it ending in my head.  My only qualm with this book is this: devoted readers of this series will know that Schwab has been hinting at and feeding us subtle information about the origins of poor Kell since the very first book and I was hoping that we might finally find out where he actually came from or who his true parents are.  We get SO CLOSE in this book to finding out the truth, but unfortunately never see the light.  I understand why Schwab did what she did for Kell's character development, but COME ON.  WE WERE SO CLOSE.  Oh well I guess...  I was so sad (in a good way) when I finished this, but I definitely think this is one of those series that I'll be re-reading again and again for the rest of my days.  A solid and well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars (despite my disappointment).

(goodreads.com)

    The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon:  Can we just take a minute to marvel at the glorious cover for the special edition that I specifically ordered?!  IT'S PURPLE AND ORANGE.  It's way better in person, but I can't believe people would prefer the newer cover design to the originals.  I just can't.  I literally just finished this one yesterday and HOLY CRAP things are getting real.  Now that it was announced that there would be seven books in this series, I feel like it's going to take forever for it to finish.  This book picks up directly following the events to the previous book; Paige has claimed the Under-throne, Jaxon Hall has disappeared, and Scion has plans to wage war on the Citadel and its Unnatural citizens.  A lot happens in this book, but it takes awhile to get there.  I'm not going to lie- the first half of this book dragged a lot.  I had almost no desire to continue, but my hope that it would pick up towards the middle kept me going and I wasn't disappointed.  We get to leave London in this book, which I found fascinating.  I had always been curious to see what it was like outside of London in the world where Scion has slowly been taking over.  There are a lot more mentions of the free world in this as well, so I hope we get to see more of that in future books.  The ship that is Paige and Warden took on a little water in this book.  I'm not as confident in their relationship now as I was before, but we'll see how it pans out.  They are in the middle of a war, so obviously tensions are high.  I'm curious about her tarot reading and how that prediction will play into later books.  I ended up giving this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

    I'm really pleased with the books I was able to get to last month and this month looks really good in terms of how many I'll be attempting to read and the genres I've chosen.  After the depressing subject matter in Shannon's book, I need a little more fantasy in my life.  Let me know if you've read either of these two books and what you thought or let me know what you plan to read this month in the comments.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

February Wrap-Up

    Hello!  I hope everyone is relishing the end of Winter as we move on into March.  Last month I definitely felt the pressure of necessary homework on my leisure reading, so I didn't get to everything I thought I would, but I still read three books, which is nothing to scoff at.  For the first time I can remember, I've found it hard to concentrate on my reading outside of schoolwork (which I've always had a hard time concentrating on, but I digress).  Sometimes I find it difficult to prioritize, even when I know it's the right thing to do.  Anyway, here's what I read last month.

(goodreads.com)

    My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand:  I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book, but I'm actually really glad that I picked it up.  A few of the BookTubers I follow have raved about how witty and fun this book is so I thought I deserved a little of that lightheartedness in my life.  It was definitely an interesting take on historical events...in a good way.  Lady Jane Grey is widely known as the "9 day Queen" because she ended up ruling England for only 9 days before being executed.  Fortunately, there are no beheadings in this book (that I can recall) and focuses mainly on a vile plot to overthrow the true King Edward (Jane's cousin), along with a lot of nobility that can shape-shift at will into animals.  It reminded me almost of a Patronus; but if the wizard turned into their Patronus form instead of projecting it.  Needless to say this book was really entertaining and I honestly laughed out loud in several places.  Very reminiscent of my Georgia Nicholson books, which I appreciated.  I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

    Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge: This book took me by surprise.  I had really enjoyed Hodge's other book Cruel Beauty and thought it would be along the same line, but I was wrong.  This book was way more action-packed than the first and followed a heroine that resembled one of Sarah J. Maas' female characters, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Rachelle acts as a sell-sword to the King after surviving a harrowing ordeal in the forest which resulted in her becoming bound to its will.  She is eventually tasked with guarding the prince, who has also been touched by the forest.  Legend tells of a sword that could destroy the forest for good and release the souls it's claimed, so Rachelle and the prince set out to find it.  This story propelled itself forward, relying heavily on the plot and the tension to save the kingdom.  I would say that I liked this a tad more than Cruel Beauty, so if I were to recommend reading them in any order, I'd start with this one.  I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

    Caraval by Stephanie Garber:  This was one of my most anticipated releases of this year and it did not disappoint (entirely).  I loved The Night Circus, so when I heard of this and that it was compared to it, I had to have it.  Where Night Circus revolved around two lovers over the course of decades, this story revolved around two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, who are sequestered on a remote and conquered island and abused by their father.  They have always dreamed of attending the invite-only Caraval, but have never been allowed to leave.  By chance, they are able to flee their island and get to the performance, just in time for one of the sisters to be kidnapped.  The rest of the story follows Scarlett as she tries to find her sister through the twists and turns of the game.  I loved that I couldn't guess where the plot was going to end up.  This is no ordinary game and the stakes are more real than they seem at first glance, so I loved the suspense aspect of the story.  I liked how mysterious all the characters were and how that played into the game and Scarlett's illusions.  The only thing I didn't like about this book was how Scarlett described her feelings as colors.  At first it seemed poetic, but by the end of the book I was cringing at the metaphors and symbolism because it just felt SO WRONG.  I thought it must be because her name is "Scarlett" and she must have always resorted to visualizing her feelings as colors, but it didn't end up mattering in the plot of the story so I thought it was kind of pointless.  Despite that setback, I ended up giving this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.  It seems like the author has another book coming after this one, so I'm curious to see where it'll go from here.

    Those are all the books I read last month.  Let me know in the comments if you've read any of these and what you thought if you did.  I'm about 75% through one of my other most anticipated releases of this year right now, so I'm excited to get that review up for next month.  What you you reading right now?  Let me know or follow me on Instagram to keep up with my reading lists!  You can also check out reviews I write for my library here under "Lax Literarian."  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

January Wrap-Up

    Hello everyone!  It's been awhile and I apologize, but with school back in session for the Spring semester, I haven't had much time to get to post.  I've also decided that, because I have rarely stuck to my TBR each month, I'm going to try not posting a TBR each month and just do a wrap up.  That way I don't have to read something I don't feel like reading and I can still write about the books I did manage to read each month.  I will occasionally do a "My Favorites" list each year at the end of the year, or a "Most Anticipated Releases" each month, but we'll see what my schedule allows.  That being said, I read a whopping 4 BOOKS last month guys!  I knew I would have a lot of time to read over the winter holiday and I'm proud of staying in time with my reading goals for the year.  Here are the books I ended up finishing last month.

(goodreads.com)

    Tales from Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare, etc.:  I have had my eye on this book for at least a year, but didn't have an e-reader to read the electronic copies, so I had to wait until the hardcover edition was released.  It was totally worth the wait!  Although there was no discernible plot and the story moved a bit slow at times for my taste, I really enjoyed getting to know this new version of Simon as he struggled through his training at the academy.  I really liked the side characters as well, especially my Scottish BFF George.  If you've been following me at all, you'll know I've been on somewhat of a Scottish kick since I finished Outlander.  The ending was a bit surprising because it was so abrupt.  I feel that because the book is supposed to be a bunch of short stories put together that the ending might have been different if this was a traditional book.  My favorites parts were towards the end as well as those that included the Herondale children.  I felt like they could have done a lot more with the characters with a few extra pages.  Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

   










    Passenger and Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken: These books were amazing!  Duologies are my new favorite thing; they are so concise with their story lines but they still pack a huge punch when it comes to plot.  In this short series, we follow Etta, who is a violin prodigy readying herself for her concert debut when she is unceremoniously shoved (literally) into the world of time traveling by a family who wants to use her to get a valuable object that her mother has hidden.  This story was a whirlwind full of traveling, history, adventure, romance and manipulation.  I honestly had no idea what was going to happen until the end and I really liked that I couldn't guess the chain of events.  Etta was a great protagonist and Nicholas is my precious cinnamon roll and they are straight up couple goals.  I loved that I started off not feeling too kindly towards certain characters, but ended up liking them in the end.  There was a lot of character development, especially with the female characters spread across the story.  I also really liked the ending Bracken gave her characters because it felt real and not rushed at all.  The whole second book moved a bit slower for me than the first, but I liked the result.  Full marks at 4.5 out of 5 stars!

(goodreads.com)

    The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi: This book wasn't even on my radar until I saw the cover of the second book by this author and saw that they were related.  Maya is our main character and she is cursed by the stars to have death follow her wherever she goes.  Although Maya favors reading over marriage and other female duties, her father makes a bargain with a neighboring kingdom for her hand.  Maya and her new husband Amar rule together over Akaran, an otherworldly realm where anything seems possible.  Maya soon realizes the fate of the world is in danger of plunging into eternal darkness and it will be up to her to save not only her kingdom, but also her husband from falling into the wrong hands.  This story reminded me so much of ACOMAF that I was instantly hooked by the synopsis.  I guess this book was based loosely on an Indian myth about the realm of death and a different take on the Persephone myth (obviously because it isn't Greek).  The imagery in this book was stunning, the way the author paints each scene as if you are looking out at crumbling ruins, lush forests, or an elaborately decorated castle.  I really liked the Night Bazaar and all the creatures that utilize that space.  I'm really excited that her next book is going to be released next month, so I can follow more of her characters.  I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

    There you have it!  I read a lot of great books last month.  This month is actually shaping up to be just as good.  With all these snow days we keep getting here in New England, I suppose I'll have many more opportunities to read in the coming weeks.  What are you reading this month?  What are some books you can't wait to get your hands on this year?  Let me know in the comments below.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

December Wrap Up and January TBR

    Hey everyone!  Welcome to 2017!  I thought it would never get here, but here we are.  I'm proud to say that I stuck to my reading goals for the last month of the year.  I'm trying to stay realistic when it comes to reading goals for the coming year and I think 40 books is a reasonable goal to set for myself.  I'm confident that I'll be able to stick to this while completing my Spring coursework.  That being said, here are the books I finished during the month of December.

(goodreads.com)

    Outlander was everything I hoped it would be!  I am also glad that I got the next three books in the series for Christmas so I can read the next few books at my leisure.  Jamie and Claire's story reads a lot like my favorite YA novels, so I enjoyed the pacing and the conflict.  The mixture of science fiction and historical content was absolutely entertaining.  I was pleasantly surprised by how well the TV series kept to the same story as the books.  I'm looking forward to starting again where I left off and watch the TV series simultaneously.

(goodreads.com)

    Crystal Storm is the fifth book in the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes.  Honestly, I enjoyed the change of pace from the last novel.  There was a set agenda and plot line which all of the characters adhered to.  I really enjoyed Jonas's story line much better in this book than I had in all the others.  I also really liked all the side characters, especially the hired guns accompanying Jonas.  I wish their stories were more developed, but maybe we'll learn more about them in the last book.  Probably not, but I'm sure the last book in the series is going to be BANANAS.

(goodreads.com)

    A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray was a great read for the beginning of winter.  It was dark, paranormal and full of back-stabbing teenage girls which is always a show.  As anticipated, I did enjoy the beginning of this series more so than the Diviners series.  It gets a bit confusing at times with the flashbacks and dream sequences, but overall I followed along just fine.  I really liked the Secret Garden-esq beginning of the novel and the Indian setting, which I wish they spent more time on.  I'm curious to see how the second novel expands on the first.

    January is going to be a good reading month for me I think:

(goodreads.com)

    Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman: I have been waiting to read this for quite some time and I'm happy to say that I'm enjoying it so far!  It's been so nice to see not only Simon's journey to becoming a Shadowhunter but also the children of the 1900s, including James Herondale, Matthew Fairchild and the other offspring of the Infernal Devices.  It just gets me even more excited for The Last Hours series coming out next year!  I'm about half way through at this point and I can't wait to see what else is in store for Simon and all the new initiates.

(goodreads.com)

    Passenger by Alexandra Bracken: I believe I've had this series on my TBR before now, but never found time for it.  My interests have been restored as of late.  I really enjoyed Bracken's dystopian series The Darkest Minds, so I was very pleased to find that she had a time-traveling series as well.  This story follows a young violin prodigy named Etta (LOVE that name) as she ends up on a mysterious ship with the power to plow through time and space like water.  Nicholas is a crew member aboard this ship and it will be his help Etta needs to find the mysterious object coveted by the Ironwoods, the notorious family hunting for Etta and her lineage.  This synopsis hooked me from the start and with the sequel coming out weeks from now, I can't wait to start this series.

(goodreads.com)

    Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon: After finishing the first book in the Outlander series, I immediately wanted to pick up the second installment.  I'm going to be honest and admit that I don't think I'll finish the book this month, but I can at least put a substantial dent in it in the coming weeks.  This book takes place directly after the events of the first where we see Claire and Jamie make their way to France in order to sabotage the Jacobite rebellion and prevent the deaths of many Scots.  I will be watching the TV series at the same time to compare and contrast both versions.

    There are also two novels coming out in the month of January that I would like to get my hands on:

(goodreads.com)

    Caraval by Stephanie Garber:  This new release caught my eye because of its similarities to The Night Circus, which I loved.  This story follows two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, as they make plans to escape their cruel father and attend a once in a lifetime nightly circus.  When Tella is kidnapped for the show, Scarlett is forced to find her or risk losing her forever.  This story sounds both mysterious and magical, so I can't wait to see if it meets my expectations.

(goodreads.com)

    The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova:  This new release has a steam punk-fantasy vibe that I couldn't look away from.  In this story we follow Ari, a clockwork engineer who specializes in black market organs in a society ruled by the Dragon King.  Eventually Ari encounters Cvareh, who is looking to restore his family's honor in the underbelly of Loom.  Both of them will have to venture to see the Alchemists of Loom in order to grant their deepest desires of vengeance and justice.  This book has a heist vibe to it, so I'm curious to see how the author incorporates the black market/planetoids/ rich-man-poor-man thing into this plot line.  Plus, that cover is stunning!

    There you have it!  I'm hoping to get to either one of the last two books before the end of the month, but we'll see how it goes.  This list, as always is subject to change on a whim, but thus is the uncertainty of reading habits.  What are you guys planning on reading this month?  What were your favorite books of 2016?  Let me know in the comments below.  As always, I remain your faithful correspondent.