What I've Read Recently // #1

Hello everybody! I feel like I have been a super bad blogger for a super long time. I think it's been like 2 years since I have been consistently posting on here or having any real desire to keep picking up books beyond the feeling of obligation. And not even that was enough to get me to pick them up sometimes.

Don't hold your breath or anything, but I feel like I may be on the verge of wanting to do this more again??? I have been participating this month in the OWLs Magical Readathon and I've had all the mandatory courses for the both of the careers I am eyeballing done since the 11th. And I have just been picking up other books to fill in other course prompts since then. Like.. actually wanting to. This is probably the most productive readathon I've ever participated in because I'm actually sticking with it.

And I will say, I have had a lot of snow days this year so far (3 just this last week!) and those have been my most productive reading times lately. It felt like there was no better time to pick up a book than when the snow is up to your knees and the wind is blowing so hard outside that you can't even see the barn.

So, I am just going to go through what I have been reading so far this year, doing a wrap up of sorts.  I have had a really good reading year so far in terms of picking up books that I have been really enjoying. I feel like a lot of the reason I haven't had a TON of reviews go up this year yet is because I have been doing kind of a lot of rereads (at least for me).

So, without further ado, here is what I have been reading lately.

          

1. First up is Lion Cub by JP Harker. This is the third book in the Caledon Saga which I have been thoroughly enjoying. It's very different from the books I usually pick up in terms of writing style, but I like it. And I am very excited, but also scared for him to finish the fourth book because I'm nervous for all of my favorite characters.

2. I reread The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken next. I wanted a refresher before I went into The Last Life of Prince Alastor. I feel like this was where my reading took a nose dive this year (which is sad because it was only the second book and it's by my favorite author). It was nothing against the book or anything, I feel like it just was NOT what I wanted to read at that moment and it took me like a month to finish it.

3. Then I finally read The Last Life of Prince Alastor, which I had a much easier time getting through and really enjoyed.

          

4. I reread The Bone Witch and physically read it for the first time. The first two times I read it, I listened to the audiobook. I love this series so much and I love the characters and I am so sad that it came to an end this year.

5. Then I reread The Heart Forger and it was just as AH-MAZING as it was the first time. These characters are "squad goals".

6. Then I read The Shadowglass finally. Oh my goodness, that ending, I cried like a baby. I would sell my first born for more from these characters.

          

7. The Wicked King by Holly Black was my Potions book (a sequel) for the OWLs Magical Readathon. I'm pretty stoked that I don't have to hide from spoilers for this one anymore. And my body is so ready for the last book!!

8. How to Die Alone: The Foolproof Guide to Not Helping Yourself by Mo Welch was my Care of Magical Creatures book (a book with a land animal on the cover). This one was a really fast read. I requested this one from Workman Publishing and they sent it to me (thank you!!). Unfortunately, it wasn't as funny as I thought it was going to be, but it was a quick, fun read.

9. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid was my Charms read (an adult work). Like I said in my review, I was not charmed by this book. I didn't really like.. actively dislike it, but I wasn't as impressed with it as I felt like I should have been based on the huge amount of hype surrounding this book. I was expecting the ending to be so good, but it wasn't anything that I couldn't see coming for half the book. Definitely my most disappointing book of the year so far.

          

10. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer was my book for Herbology (plants on the cover) and was the last book I needed to read to qualify to do my NEWTs for either Herbologist or Magizoologist. Beauty and the Beast has been one of my all time favorite movies since I was little (I used to watch/rewind the VHS repeatedly until my mom mad me go do something else) and I LOVED this retelling of the story. I loved Harper, Rhen, and Grey! I was really unsure of this book for awhile for a couple reasons. One is because I didn't know it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling right away when I heard about it. And the other reason is that I don't really like books that take place partially in a fantasy world and partially in the real world, but the parts that take place in DC are very few and far between so I was super pleasantly surprised by this.

11. I read Speak for History of Magic (a book published 10+ years ago). I read this book in one sitting, I loved it so much. I just read this one this weekend and I haven't put together my thoughts about it yet, so not too much to say.

12. Monstress vol. 2 - The Blood by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda

I read this one for Arithmancy (a book by more than one person). I love the art style of this graphic novel series and I think the story is interesting, but I'm not sure how much I like reading graphic novels. I feel like I have a hard time focusing on reading the words AND looking closely enough at the pictures and it makes me finish the book feeling like I haven't gained anything. I haven't had this problem yet with manga because I have really only been reading mangas for anime I've already watched so I kinda know what's happening even if I don't pay close enough attention to one or the other. But maybe I will just have to do a reread in the future and that will probably help.

     

Currently I am listening to the audiobook for Six of Crows (which is a reread for me) so I can FINALLY read Crooked Kingdom and hopefully avoid more spoilers and physically I am reading The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski for Transfiguration (a red cover or sprayed edges).

Are you participating in the OWLs Magical Readathon? Have you read anything amazing this year so far that you want to talk about?