Back in the Game with More Reading Challenges ☾

Hello everyone!
I know I've kind of abandoned this blog, but I'm back and starting it up once more, hoping to stick with it and update regularly.

I've been in a bit of a reading slump the past couple of months, and have just recently gotten out of that slump with some great books! It may be a little late in the year to start a reading challenge, but I'm going to count the books I've already completed toward this challenge, and hopefully this will keep me motivated to read more.

This is the POPSUGAR 2016 reading challenge! I attempted the 2015 version last year and unfortunately didn't complete it, but I'm much more determined this time around. I will be doubling up on some of the challenges, if a book happens to complete two or more. Here are the categories, and I will be crossing them off as I go:

• a book based on a fairy tale
• a National Book Award winner
• a YA bestseller
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
• a book you haven't read since high school 
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
• a book set in your home state (or country, given I live in Canada)
• a book translated to English
• a romance set in the future
• a book set in Europe
• a book that's under 150 pages
• Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling
• a New York Times bestseller
• a book that's becoming a movie this year
• a book recommended by someone you just met 
• a self-improvement book
• a book you can finish in a day 
• a book written by a celebrity 
• a political memoir 
• a book at least 100 years older than you
• a book that's more than 600 pages
• a book from Oprah's Book Club
• a science fiction novel 
• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
• a book recommended by a family member
• a graphic novel 
• a book that is published in 2016
• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
• a book with a protagonist who has your occupation
• a book that takes place during Summer
• a book and its prequel
• a murder mystery
• a book written by a comedian 
• a dystopian novel
• The 100 by Kass Morgan
• a book with a blue cover
• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
• a book of poetry
• the first book you see in a bookstore
• a classic from the 20th century 
• a book from the library 
• an autobiography
• a book about a road trip
• a book about a culture you're unfamiliar with
• a satirical book
• a book that takes place on an island 
• a book that's guaranteed to bring you joy

Total Completed: 7/40

December Wrap Up!

1. The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Wrapped up this series at the very beginning of December, and I'm very happy with this conclusion to the haunting trilogy. You can see my full series review here with a spoiler-free section and a part discussing some spoiler-y things!

Rating: ★★★★★

2. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I really enjoyed this! It was sad and heartfelt, and I really enjoyed the flashback aspect of this book. We got to learn so much about Mia and her family that way, and I just found the whole thing interesting. I didn't really connect to any of the characters in particular though, and I did find the writing immature. Still debating on whether or not to do a full review - I might wait until I read the sequel.

Rating: ★★★★

3. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Lots of YA this month, huh? This book was absolutely amazing, though. It was beautiful and cute and heartwarming/heartbreaking. It was just as happy as it was sad, with a great ending. It just dealt with a lot of topics in a way that I have really seen before in YA - including sex. Sex was treated as though it wasn't a huge deal, which I really liked. It was just done in an excellent way, and I loved the scrapbook and playlist aspect of the book! Time to read more Morgan Matson.

Rating: ★★★★★

4. Judging a Book by its Lover: A Field Guide to the Hearts and Minds of Readers Everywhere by Lauren Leto

Thought I'd throw in a non-fiction to mix it up, since I don't read nearly as many as I would like. This book I enjoyed a lot, it's nice to read from the perspective of someone who loves books equally as much as I do. Books about books are a dream come true. However, the author's voice was very... pretentious. She came off as though she was bragging the entire time, and it was hard to get past. The first half of the book I loved, but I found myself skimming through the last half. It was getting boring and repetitive, and I just wasn't into it anymore. If the book was written with a less condescending and arrogant voice, I think I would have enjoyed it more. But hey, did you know Kurt Vonnegut coined the phrase "flying fuck"?

Rating: ★★★

5. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

I've never been a big fan of new adult, and the first half of this book I had a lot of problems with. I didn't like the writing, the the story seemed cliche, and it was pretty predictable to me at first. I find a lot of new adult books seem like they're more fanfiction that actual novels, just because of the writing style. This one wasn't an exception at first, but then it got so much better. The story took a turn I wasn't expecting, the main character became so much easier to relate to, and it broke my heart. I was sobbing near the end, the characters were so great and their development was perfect. If you're trying to read this, I highly recommend you stick with it, because it gets so much better near the end.

Rating: ★★★★

6. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This was a weird one... I don't really know how I feel about it. I found myself skimming some parts of it since it didn't really make sense to me. But then there were some parts that were really wise and I think overall, the book had a good message. It just wasn't really for me.

Rating: ★★★

Those are all of the books I finished this month, but I also wanted to talk about one that I started and did not finish.

My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins

I ended up reading the first three stories from this anthology before I got bored, so I'll tell you my ratings of those three.

Midnight by Rainbow Rowell: ★★★★★

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link: ★

Angels in the Snow by Matt De La Pena: ★★★

I don't know, I enjoyed this for the most part, but I think I'm going to put it down. I'm just really not in the mood for this any more with the end of the holidays, and I don't feel like it's worth carrying over into the new year. 

That's all for this month, guys! I hope you all had a fantastic new year :) 

Currently Reading

Hey guys, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've been on here to update my December wrap-up, but I haven't posted anything in a few weeks, so I thought I'd tell you what I'm currently reading.

I'm one of those horrible, confusing people that read several books at the same time. I start books and don't ever pick them up again, instead turning to something else. So, these are the books I am currently in the middle of or have started within the last couple of months, and ones that I plan on finishing very soon.

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

This is the one that I'm really into at the moment. I just started it today, and I'm already 100 pages in. It's fast paced and keeps you entertained, and I'm really enjoying the writing style. It's a Christmas book, and even though Christmas is over, I'm still very much in the holiday spirit and this is a great read this time of year. 

My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins

According to my ereader, I am 8% done this book. I've only read the first story, which I really enjoyed. I plan on finishing this before the new year, even though again, this is a holiday book and the holidays are basically over. 

Sophie's Choice by William Styron

I'm only about 20 pages into this book, but I'm enjoying it so far. It's a massive book, and I know it's going to send me on an emotional journey, one that I'm not sure I'm ready for. I'm taking my time with this one, but I hope to get further into it very soon. 

Bone by Jeff Smith

I'm reading the bind up of all of the volumes, which is massive. I'm 235 pages in out of 1341. I left this in my dorm room though, so I haven't been able to pick it up at all this month. I'm hoping to finish this within the first couple months of the new year though! It's just a fun, light read. 

So, these are the four books that I'm currently into! I'd like to finish the first two by the end of December (3 days!), but the other two I'm taking my time with. I need 2 more books to complete my Goodreads goal, so I hope I can do it!

Series Review | Mara Dyer Trilogy

"If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one."

  

Title: Mara Dyer Trilogy (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer)

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Series: Trilogy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: Ebook

Source: Own

Genre: YA Paranormal

Goodreads

 MOSTLY SPOILER FREE UNTIL SPECIFIED

Blurb:

Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is. She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

Plot: ★★★★★

The plot is amazing. It's mysterious and suspenseful, and keeps you hooked throughout all of the books. There are so many cliffhangers and these books are definitely page turners. It's very well thought out throughout most of the trilogy, I just felt the last book was a bit rushed at the end. Like the author is trying desperately to tie up loose ends, but misses a bunch of them. I would love a novella or even just a little extra at the end of this book to clear up some other unanswered questions, but I do love the twists and turns the books took, for the most part. 

Characters: ★★★★★

Oh my goodness, the characters are amazing. I have a thing for unreliable narrators, and this story definitely has one. But Mara is strong, and fierce, and stands up for herself, and does what she has to in the face of danger. She is no way dependent or weak. And then Noah Shaw. I shouldn't even have to say any more, Noah Shaw is just the epitome of everything I love in a character. He's funny, and adorable, and charming, and he loves Mara so completely and unconditionally, and he's just perfect. He has a tragic backstory I would love to know more about, and his arrogance and humour are just so...perfect. There's no other way to describe him. I think I could go on forever. And then there's Jamie, whom I love so much. He's funny and seemingly carefree and he's understanding and the perfect friend to Mara. I love kickass friendships like this one. And of course Daniel is another really important figure in Mara's life, and I love how he comes in near the end of the last book and helps them through everything AND I LOVE THAT HE BELIEVES MARA. The fact that Mara would do anything for him and her family is so heartwarming and beautiful. I really dislike her parents, but I think that's the point. They try to do what's good for her, but that have no idea. They're just ignorant, it's not their fault. And even the villains in this series you love to hate, and sort of feel bad for them when you discover their backstories. Like Jude, you can't help but feel sympathy toward him, even if you still hate him. All of the characters are just really well rounded and you can tell there is a lot of thought put into them. I really appreciated all of them and their relevance to the story.

Writing: ★★★★.5

I've read better, but Michelle Hodkin definitely knows her way with words. The story was haunting and deep, and a lot of it was almost poetic. There are so many quotes in this book that stood out to me, one of the main ones being: "I felt a dragon slept inside me and exhaled poison with every breath." So beautiful. Also, I loved how in the second half of Retribution, we got to read some scenes from Noah's point of view. I liked getting into his head. 

Romance/Feels: ★★★★★

YES YES YES ALL THE FEELS. Mara and Noah are so incredibly perfect, and although they had their ups and downs, they are made for each other (quite literally). Nothing could tear them apart, and I really love that. (I also love the lack of love triangles, just saying.) It did get a little too Romeo and Juliet for me during the last book, but I can get over that.

Ending: ★★★★

This is what I had a problem with. I feel like I still have so many questions and not enough answers. I like how it was pretty much a happy ending, but I would really like to know a lot more about what happened. I'll discuss this more under the spoiler line. 

Overall Enjoyment: ★★★★★

I love this trilogy so much, and I highly recommend it. It's suspenseful, there's a ton of action and romance, it's funny, it'll probably make you cry at some points, and it's so interesting. I think there's something in here for everyone, and I just want to give these books to everyone I've ever met and tell them to read them. It kind of changed my perspective on a lot of things, in a way. I'm still in a huge book hangover. 

Rereadability: 100%

Final Rating: ★★★★★

SPOILERS NOW OCCURRING UNDER THIS CUT

OKAY so I really wanted to discuss some of the specific problems I had with this series, the last book in particular. 

• First of all, the fact that Mara and Noah both died and came back to life seriously annoyed me. It felt.. messy and unnecessary and kind of predictable. I mean, it felt obvious to me that neither of them were going to die for real, so I felt like that bit could have been left out. At least Noah's part, I think. Having it happen once would have been okay... but twice? Unrealistic. 
• Also, Stella getting fed up with Mara and leaving the group felt a little.. unnatural to me. I mean, she knew who Mara was. She had experienced her killing before, she knew that Mara could be harsh. And Jamie was in on it too, making the assholes climb down into the subway tunnel, so why wasn't she upset with him? It just felt like that was something Stella and Jamie had already accepted, and then suddenly she was up and leaving because she was scared of Mara, and Jamie had admitted that as well. I didn't get that part, and I was expecting her to come back at some point, which didn't happen. We didn't get any closure or answers about what happened to her, which really bummed me out. I loved her character. 
• Something else that bugged me with the series as a whole was how Mara would predict things, and then it would happen. It killed some of the mystery for me, and bothered me a lot. I know she's not clueless and could have guessed some of what was to happen, but I felt like the author could have... portrayed that better, I guess.
• And again with the ending, I just would really like to know what happened with Mara's parents, and Stella (like I said), and where the gang ended up and what they did and what else happened with Mara and Noah and there were just so many more questions I had. I don't feel like I got complete closure. 

All that being said, I am in love with series. Just a couple of things that bugged, but that doesn't change my opinion as a whole. It's a wonderful YA trilogy full of mystery! 

November Wrap-Up

I read a total of 6 novels and 1 short story during November!

1. The Cider House Rules by John Irving

My friend and I did a thing where we lent each other our favourite books, and this was one he gave me. He has incredible taste in books, let me tell you! This was so good! (A central theme in the novel is abortion though, so if you're not into reading about that, I wouldn't recommend it.)

Rating: ★★★★★

2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

DON'T LET THE DUMB TITLE AND CHEESY COVER FOOL YOU. This is the second book in the companion series by Stephanie Perkins, the first one being Anna and the French Kiss. I read the first one forever ago and absolutely loved it, so I don't know why I picked this one up so late! I think I may have liked this one a little better than Anna, but they're both incredible. I seriously need to read the third one. 

Rating: ★★★★★

3. The Humans by Matt Haig

I did a full review on this book, so click here if you would like to know my thoughts!

Rating: ★★★★★

4. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

A short story I had to read for my lit class, and I really enjoyed it! Insightful, beautiful, and sends a good message about identity and what is worth holding on to. 

Rating: ★★★★

5. The Outsider by Albert Camus

Another book I had to read for class! I didn't really like any of the characters, but I did like the writing style. I have a thing for unreliable narrators, and Meursault was definitely one. I found it interesting, but at the same time it wasn't really my cup of tea. I might do a full review on this. (You might also know this book as The Stranger or L'Etranger. They're all the same thing.)

Rating: ★★★

5. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

I'm planning on doing a series review on these books when I finish the third one, so I'm not going to say much! 

Rating: ★★★★★

6. The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Saw this one coming, didn't you? Again, I plan on doing a review as soon as I finish the third book!

Rating: ★★★★★