2020 goals and NetGalley catch up

 I've been approved for many Netgalley books, I was sad and poor and reading lots so I decided to go trigger happy and apply for every book that peaked my interest even a sliver and then because I'm a mood reader...I read none of them.... sigh I did it to myself, so here I am catching up and my 2020 monthly goals is to read at least 2 books that I've got ARCs from each month. ARCs given in exchange for honest review

So far in January I've read, 

Life Lessons with Uramichi-Oniisan by Gaku Kuze This was a very fun manga, the story follows a group of audlts who are actors/characters in a young children's tv show. Uramichi is very cynical and you can just tell how beaten down he is. I laughed and cringed reading this, it was everything I feel as a failed adult even though I know there's no time limit to completing my goals and progressing/growing as a human 😓 Anyways I highly reccomend this series, I think it's fun and relatable.

and of course the best book so far this year, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E Schwab I'm absolutely bewildered by this incredible story, it was beautiful. I can't believe a human wrote this, it was perfect and I just want to pick it up and read it again, immediately. The characters, the descriptions, the story were perfect. It's a slow burn that keeps burning even after you turn the last page. 

November reads 2020

This was such a good reading month for me, I enjoyed everything I read and I'm very satisfied. I feel like I had such a full month!

 The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black 5/5 I'm not crying, you're crying! I can't believe but I loved this book, it was honestly a perfect ending in my opinion.

I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan I enjoyed this one and the format half podcast, half first pov is one of my favorites but this story did fall a little flat forme. Mostly because the secondary characters were all under developed and completely unnecessary for the plot. 

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, apparently it's loosely based off the real life slender man true crime but I would never have guessed. Overall it was a lot of fun to read and I'm shocked at how everything played out even though I did guess some of it. Highly recommend. 

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour is probably one of my favorite books from this year. It was dark, and filled with the processing of grief, and trauma. I really loved this book and don't want to say too much, but it's worth reading and honestly going in blind really made it it an incredible experience. Nina LACour is now an autobuy author for me.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade is my favorite romance novel this year. The fat representation really resonated with many of my insecurities about life. It was very relatable and I also appreciated the dyslexic representation as well. I loved how they solved problems as adults and they used their communication skills to progress. I just loved this book and can't recomend it enough. The only part that was a little much for me was that a 40 year old actor was writing quality fanfiction 😜 

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is a mystery that transcends generations. The question being repeated throughout history. Was she asking for it? Victim blaming and rape culture is the big topic surrounding this story and I felt like the author did a good job at pointing out the injustice and work that needs to be done to improve rape trails, and prosecution (or lack thereof...). Also I listened to this as an audio book and the quality of the story really shone through, the format of half story and half podcast is always one of my favorites especially for mysteries. 

The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter Ummmm, yes I'm still reading these. I can't even... but also I'm addicted to reading about that tension right before characters have sex in romance novels... You know? They spend half the book with pent up emotions and feelings while they're still trying to complete their goals and this series is doing really good at that.

The Darkest Whisper by Gena Showalter Once again these books do feature quite toxic relationships and I still don't quite get the possessive mate hype in romance but meh, I'm honestly having fun with these. But they really aren't very good so ya. 

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James I actually loved this book, I loved that there was some paranormal aspects but that it didn't center on the actual mystery, it was bonus. I loved that, so even if the story was slightly predidctable this really made the story for me. I loved how the author blended past and present, true crime and paranormal. I honestly can't wait to read more of this author.

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White Maybe it was the fact that I read this as an audio book but I was really disapointed. Like 2.5 or 3 stars out of 5 disapointing. First things first, it was worth reading but maybe try the physical copy? Because I listened to the audio it was painfully obvious that the narration, that Guinevere was obssesed with Arthur. Which is just gross, I think the author should make the love interest with either Lancelot or Mordred. Arthur is just boring... and this book except for the very last end of it was honestly just soooo boring. I don't even know how the author put all the scenes into a coherent story, a lot of it felt really random. I could say more but those are the gist of my feelings.

Dad Reads Fall Edition

As we all know by now my dad is a man of few words and lots of grunts but here we be still collecting books he's read recently.  I'm extremely behind on posts obviously since it's January so here are my jot notes instead of full real sentences.

The Stranger Inside by Lisa Unger 4/5 kept him wondering, good ending, well written, liked characters

Blood World by Chris Mooney 4/5 was intrigued what next, very well written, nothing bad, some slow sections but interesting

Hunting Whitey: The Inside Story of the Capture & Killing of America's Most Wanted Crime Boss by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge 5/5 loved it, lots of interesting info, gave you info like story, super well written, really enjoyed, really gave you insight into his life

Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent3/5 was interesting with the 3 different povs, how their lives unfolded, just wanted to know all three perspectives, was boring in a lot of places and could've been better but wanted to know what happened

No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez 3/5 interesting, written ok, characters ok, and little dragged out

Bonus Book 

My mom read Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter by Beth McMullen she loved it. It's an upcoming middle grade that I grabbed because archaeology and history and Indiana Jones is life. 

Mexican Gothic

 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is now officially an autobuy author for me. I loved reading this lush, acidic trip through an old mansion in Mexico. I learned some history but for me it descriptions and our main character that really made me fall in love. The writing started the story off slow with our main character traveling to visit her cousin to check their safety after some troubling letters.

I really don't want to spoil any of it and I think it's a book that better if you go into it fairly blind. The only really important thing to know is that it's gothic horror thriller, and it's best to expect some triggers if you're a senstitive reader.

My October reads 2020

I actually read a ton of books in October for me, especially since I've gotten into audio books but also I've just gotten into the reading groove. So here they are and I'll mention a few things about specific books but the ones where I just give a rating will have dedicated posts about eventually....

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 4 stars

Torso Brian Michael Bendis is a true crime graphic novel that really encapsulated the times when this case was happening. It was honestly more historical than true crime. it was really good but I'm more interested in the actual crime versus that specific time period. It's a little too modern for me.

Anthony Bourdain's Hungry Ghosts This was really well done I thought. I was expecting it to be more genius but it ended up just being a fun spooky food graphic novel. I don't know if I'll reread it for the stories or just for it's aesthetics which are beautiful.

To Catch A Killer by Sheryl Scarborough I listened to this on audioe and overall the narrator did a great job, the overall story was a bit predictable but fun. I rated this as less stars and almost didn't finish it because the main character swooned over her love interest too much. It was so ridiculous I rolled my eyes constantly. Just ugh, gross and I live for romance.

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Kirscher I feel like this topic is important to explore within ya especially. So much rape culture is fostered young starting with kids, middle ages and teens. It's important to instill healthy ideas about consent and sexism for all genders starting from a young age. Overall I really enjoyed this book, I read it very fast because the writing hooked me in.

Monster Vol 1 by Naoki Urasawa This series has a bunch of my friends fawning over it and so I really wanted to see what the hype is, and although I liked it and will be continuing on with the rest of the series, I did find this first volume a little hard to get into and slightly confusing. I perservered and was rewarded with by the story getting better and better. 

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden This short middle grade horror was actually horrifying for me. I read it in one night because I couldn't go bed thinking about the story. I really loved this book and look forward to reading the next one and then the 3rd when it's released. 

Dryad vol 1 by Kurtis Wiebe I recieved an earc from netgalley in exchange for review. This graphic novel was very well done, I was hooked on the characters and the story. It was very different and not at all what I thought it was going to be. Definitely worth reading, although I'm not sure if I'll continue the series because it ended up not being what I wanted from the story. I struggle to enjoy stories that have both classic fantasy and sci-fi elements. Idk I'm weird.

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe  I recieved an earc from netgalley in exchange for review and this was very much a 3/5 star for me. It was good, but also meh. 

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco I was hoping this book would be scary but the scary elemnts fell really flat for me. I did enjoy the story overall though, but reading it felt awkward.  I know the author is Filipino and probably has a very good understanding of Japanese culture but maybe she wrote this book so that a younger teen could enjoy it as well. It just wasn't scary at all even though I feel like the stories about thelegends this book was based on feel scary. It's hard to explain, but it was good.

Dare You to Lie by Amber Lynn Natusch This was by far my favorite read of October! It was pretty much Veronica Mars in a ya book format and I had so much fun reading it. The pacing and voice were addicting and I read it in one night. And I'm excited because people tell me that the second book is even better!

The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter Um, don't read this series unless you enjoy toxic masculinity and romance involving the trope mates, instalove, and smut. Although I would not recommend to most (if not all) of my friends the actual plot develops is interesting ways and I'll probably make my way through all 15 books because I'm trash for trash. It's 2020 and I can't handle anything remotely serious anymore.

The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes This made a really interesting audio book and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. TW for natural animal death which brought me to tears. Now that I'm writing this, I think this book is way better than I originally thought and if more books appear with these characters I'm going to read them.

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano I realy enjoyed this overall but I think I wanted it to be better than it was. This concept has been used before by authors and was doing good with it but it fell downhill with the forced romance and awkward characters. I may read the next one eventually.... but also I don't know if I care enough.

The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter see Darkest Night write up above and know that I'm fallen....

#octoberreads #thelovelyandthelost #thedarkestnight #smallspaces #dryad #somethinghappenedtoaligreenleaf