Queen of Books: 10/06/19

Time for another wrap up!

This summer seemed to go by very quickly. I hung out with friends a lot as well as went to California for a couple of weeks to visit my grandparents and go to Disneyland!

I read a lot of books this month and got a good chunk of my novel done which I hope to finish by the end of this year. Wish me luck!

Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was A Study in Death by Anna Lee Huber. This is the fourth book in the Lady Darby mystery series and I've enjoyed every single one of them so far. I love reading about a female detective especially in a time where females weren't supposed to be doing that sort of thing. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The second book I read was The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon. I read this book because I wanted to see the movie. I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would as I didn't enjoy her other book: Everything, Everything. I really liked the story even if it was a little improbable and I rated it 4 Crowns.

The third book I read was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I had heard so many good things about this book which made me really want to read it. I read it in one sitting because my copy that I had gotten from the library had holds on it. I really enjoyed it. I loved how it was written in flashbacks and it was so interesting and fully kept my attention. I rated this one 4.5 Crowns.

The fourth book I read was Beyond A Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake. This book was one I've seen all over and never bothered to read it until now. I really liked the setting which reminded me a lot of Sky in the Deep and I loved the characters. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The fifth book I read was The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. I read this one right after I watched the movie, which I loved. I ended up really enjoying the book as it went a lot deeper into the plot and the character's lives. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The sixth book I read was Enchantee by Gita Trelease. This book reminded me a lot of Glitter by Aprilynne Pike. This was about a girl who uses magic to transform herself into a baroness in order to go to the Palace of Versailles to play cards with royals and earn money to buy medicine and food for her and her sister. I loved how glamorous this book was and I rated it 4 Crowns.

The seventh book I read was Murder at Westminster Abbey by Amanda Carmack. This is the second book in the Elizabethan Mysteries which is set in Elizabethan England. I really like the main character who solves these mysteries and I like how each one is different and yet there are always some small continuities from the previous books. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The eighth book I read was Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly. Stepsister is a different sort of Cinderella retelling, in that, it is set after Cinderella gets married and from the point of view of one of the stepsisters. Isabelle isn't a beauty like her stepsister, Cinderella. Instead, she's a fiesty girl in a world which wants women to be compliant and beautiful. Isabelle gets a chance to alter her destiny and prove that she isn't broken. I loved Isabelle and I ended up rating this one 4 Crowns.

The ninth book I read was Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean. I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. This is an Asian inspired fantasy about a girl named Mari who is a type of yokai who woos men into marriage and then runs off with their fortune. Her family doesn't think she's pretty enough as she doesn't fit the slim, and gorgeous mold so she takes up fighting in order to prove her usefulness. Mari gets entered into the contest to win the princes' hand because of this and that's where the story really takes off. I enjoyed the main character a lot and I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The tenth book I read was The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston. Geekerella was such a unique young adult contemporary and I am so excited that Ashley Poston decided to write a sequel/companion to it. I rated this one 5 Crowns.

The eleventh book I read was Kingsbane by Claire Legrand. This is the sequel to Furyborn so I can't say much without giving a lot away, but I really liked how the story progressed and how much more we learned about the characters. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The twelfth book I read was Sherwood by Meagan Spooner. I put off reading this for awhile because it was so long. I love Megan Spooner's other retelling: Hunted, and I was excited to see what she was going to do with the Robin Hood fairytale and I really liked how she did it. I rated it 4 Crowns.

The thirteenth book I read was Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson. Dance of Thieves is in the same universe as The Remnant Chronicles series with some of the characters from that series making cameos. This one is more romance heavy while The Remnant Chronicles had a lot more about the political situation. This is about Kazi, who is a former street thief and a current member of Queen Lia of Venda's Rahtan who is sent to locate General Illarium, who is responsible for the deaths of some of Lia's family members. She goes to Hell's Mouth which is under the control of the Ballenger family, and meets Jase, the new Petrei (aka leader) of the family. He is literally abducted and shackled to Kazi by labour traders and then the plot takes off. It is really good and I rated it 5 Crowns.

The fourteenth book I read was Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett. This author's books are very good YA Contemporaries though I was a little iffy about this one because I had a hard time getting into it. I did like how the two main characters were very different from many other characters you'd find in young adult contemporaries. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The fifteenth book I read was Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken. This is the second book in The Darkest Minds series. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first book in the series but I still rated it 4 Crowns. I am not going to say much because of spoilers but I'm really enjoying this series so far.

The sixteenth book I read was As Death Draws Near by Anna Lee Huber. This is the fifth book in the Lady Darby series and I really like seeing how this series progresses. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The seventeenth book I read was The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. This is by far one of my new favorite books. Adult rom-com books are one of my new favorite things. This is also going to be a movie staring Lucy Hale which is so exciting! I loved both Lucy and Josh and I am definitely going to write a review of it. I rated this one 5 Crowns.

The eighteenth book I read was Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan. I saw this book on the shelf at the library and I thought it looked cute and fun which it really was. Lou wants to have the best summer ever however her job as a dancing hot dog at the Magic Castle Playland theme park, might get in the way of that. Her crush has a girlfriend, and her best friend isn't up to Lou's quest to set her up with the perfect girl even though she's always up for it. And this is their last summer with the Magic Castle Playland unless she can find a way to keep it open. I really enjoyed this one and rated it 4 Crowns.

The ninteenth book I read was Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small. Ballet books are always a hit or miss with me because they usually involve female characters trying to up each other. This one was pretty similar and I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. I ended up rating it 3 Crowns.

The twentieth book I read was Fake It Till You Break It by Jenn P. Nguyen. Summer is a time for contemporaries and this one was such a cute new addition to the genre. I loved this one. Mia and Jake have known each other their whole lives and their parents keep trying to get them together even though they can't stand each other. After Mia's mom turns away another boy, Mia and Jake decide they've had enough and they decide to pretend to date and then stage a horrible breakup, however they soon realize that they don't hate each other as much as they thought. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The twenty-first book I read was Killing November by Adriana Mather. November is sent to a boarding school completely off the grid, hidden by a forest and the classes are very different from normal classes like knife-throwing, poisons and historical analysis. All the children who attend it are the children of the world's most elite strategists who are training to become assassins, spies and master impersonators. November knows nothing about this world and discovers that friends are very few. When a student is murdered, people start to blame November and she has to find out who the killer is before she becomes a victim. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The twenty-second book I read was Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen. I love YA pirate novels and I knew I had to read this one. Dark Shores is about second mate, Teriana who embarks on a forbidden mission to the West in order to save her family and people. She has to work with Marcus, a commander of the thirty-seventh legion, who's reputation of never surrending, immediately sets them at odds. I loved this book and how much high stakes adventure it had. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The twenty-third book I read was Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia Macneal. I've really been getting into Adult Mysteries lately and this one was an interesting one. I like ones about females and this one was set in the 1940s. I ended up rating it 4 Crowns.

The twenty-fourth book I read was There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon. Sandhya Menon's YA contemporaries are full of hilarity and cuteness. I loved this new addition to her Dimple and Rishi series. It's about a boy who recently got dumped by his girlfriend and his parents insist that they can set him up with a better match. He meets Sweetie, who is a formidable track athlete and is fat which her mom is constantly getting on her back about and she's fed up about it so she decides to show the world and her parents what she really is all about. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The twenty-fifth book I read was Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins. Ever since I read Royals by Rachel Hawkins, I knew I had to read the next book in the series. I loved this book, the plot and the characters and I ended up rating it 5 Crowns. I do hope to write a full review of this one sometime soon.

The twenty-sixth book I read was Nocturna by Maya Motayne. I was a little bit iffy about this book but when I ended up sitting down and reading it, I really enjoyed it. This is about a girl who is a thief that can change her appearance, and a prince who have to team up in order to take down an evil threatening the kingdom. It was set in a Latinex-inspired world and I ended up rating it 4 Crowns.

The twenty-seventh book I read was Wicked Fox by Kat Cho. A lot of people who read this one were disappointed with it which made me a little bit scared to read it, however I knew I had to try it for myself. I ended up enjoying it. I rated it 4 Crowns.

The twenty-eighth book I read was We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal. I heard so many mixed reviews about this but I really wanted to read it. I wrote a full review of this book which you can find here. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The last book I read was Suspicion by Alexandra Monir. I bought this book a few years ago for my sister and I finally got around to reading it myself. I also recently watched the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Rebecca, which this book is based on. This book is about Imogen Rockford who is an heir to her family's estate, however she never expects to actually have to run it. When she is seventeen, she is summoned back to Rockford Manor and learns that there are secrets that lurk behind Rockford's aristocratic manor. It is super atmospheric and spooky and I ended up rating it 4 Crowns.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

The only audiobook that I listened to this summer was Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I've listened to this several times already and I loved it just as much as every other time. The narration is perfect and really brings the characters to life. I rated it 5 Crowns.

ARC'S READ

NONE

REVIEWS IN JUNE + JULY + AUGUST:

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco Audiobook Review

The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey Book Review

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead Book Review

Immunity by Erin Bowman Book Review/Tour

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

5/27 - 6/2

6/3 - 6/9

6/10 - 6/16

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

Summer Bookish Bingo '19 TBR

May '19 Wrap-Up

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S:

Leif from Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake

Liam from The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Lazare from Enchantee by Gita Trelease

Simon from Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

Jase from Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Joshua from The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Marcus from Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

Alfehr from Nocturna by Maya Motayne

Nasir from We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Ciara from Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake

Ruby from The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Camille from Enchantee by Gita Trelease

Isabelle from Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Mari from Empress of all Seasons by Emiko Jean

Imogen from The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

Jessica from The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

Eliana from Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

Kazi from Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Lucy from The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Mia from Fake It Till You Break It by Jenn P. Nguyen

Teriana from Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

Millie from Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Finn from Nocturna by Maya Motayne

Miyoung from Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

Zafira from We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS:

Ciara and Leif from Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake

Lazare and Camille from Enchantee by Gita Trelease

Simon and Eliana from Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

Jase and Kazi from Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Lucy and Joshua from The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Lou and Seely from Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

Mia and Jake from Fake It Till You Break It by Jenn P. Nguyen

Marcus and Teriana from Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

Millie and Flora from Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Zafira and Nasir from We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH: