Queen of Books: January '20 Wrap-Up

Wednesday, 5 February 2020

January '20 Wrap-Up

Time for another wrap up!

January was a good reading month! I loved almost all the books that I read and I managed to write two book reviews which is more than I usually write.

Here's to the rest of 2020 being an amazing reading year!

Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland. This was one of my most anticipated books for the second half of 2019, though I didn't know much about it when I picked it up. This is about a protagonist who is a 'soulwaker' aka she can enter people's souls in the sleeping realm-and she witnesses a black door every time she walks in a soul. The black door is locked and her mother tells her to never go through it. However, her curiosity reaches a level when it can no longer be ignored and that sparks an event that sets off the whole plot. I can't give away too much because of spoilers but this was such a well written and interesting book. The main character is asexual and there are many diverse supporting characters. I loved this one and rated it 4 Crowns.

The second book I read was Crier's War by Nina Varela. Crier's War is set in an alternative future, one where alchemists have crafted mechanical people, called Automaes, who now rule over the humans. These Automaes were originally created so a powerful queen could have an heir, but soon enough, many humans wanted Automaes for other reasons. The Automae's eventually rose up and conquered the humans making the world a very unsafe and oppressive world to live in. Ayla is a human girl who craves revenge against the Automa who killed her family. The other protagonist is a princess named Crier who offers a job to Ayla as her handmaiden. Ayla accepts the job in order to learn more about her enemy and put her revenge plot in action. This book was such an unexpected favorite. The plot had political intrigues, manipulations and a high stakes adventure. It also had a slow-burn hate-to-love romance. I ended up writing a full review of this book and I rated it 5 Crowns.

The third book I read was Bid My Soul Farewell by Beth Revis. This was another very anticipated book for 2019 as I loved the first book. I am not going to say too much about this book as it is a sequel and I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone who hasn't read Give the Dark my Love (the first book). I loved how we got to explore more of Grey and Nedra's character and that their relationship got to grow in this book! I rated this one 5 Crowns, and a full review is coming.

The fourth book I read was 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston. I had very high hopes for this book and I was a little bit let down. This is about Sophie who wants some freedom this Christmas from her overprotective parents, so when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her pregnant older sister, Sophie decides to stay back and have private time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. However, Griffin decides he wants freedom from their relationship, so Sophie flees to her grandparents' house where the rest of her large and boisterous extended family are. Her nonna devises a plan to cheer Sophie up: over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. This is such a fun and interesting premise and while I enjoyed it, I didn't really like the overall romance that it led to and thought it should have been more developed. I ended up rating it 3.5 Crowns.

The fifth book I read was Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan. I read so many mixed reviews about this book so I tried to go into it with no opinion. This is a Russian and Polish-inspired fantasy. The Russian inspired country is called Kalyazin, and the Polish inspired country is called Tranavia. The Kalyazi can contact gods, and they consider the Tranavian's magic (which is blood magic) to be unholy. This has caused the nations to go to war, which has been going on for awhile. The two POVs shown in the book are the strongest Tranavian character and the strongest Kalyazi character. I loved this book and I really liked the setting and the characters. I rated it 4.5 Crowns.

The sixth book I read was The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. This was a reread for me as I was in a small reading slump and couldn't get into any book that I tried. This is about Percy Jackson who can't seem to stay in one school because of his unable to focus on his schoolwork and inability to control his temper. When his mom finds out about his pre-algebra teacher trying to kill him, she takes him and his friend, Grover to the one place he'll be safe. That happens to be Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that his father whom he's never met, is actually Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends-one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena-Percy sets out on a quest to prevent a catastrophic war between the gods. This is one of my favorite series of all time and it's just a fun read. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The seventh book I read was The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. This was another reread for me. The Sea of Monsters is the sequel to The Lightning Thief. I can't say much about it without spoiling the first book, but I love this series a lot. I rated it 5 Crowns.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ

NONE

REVIEWS IN DECEMBER:

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig Book Review

Crier's War by Nina Varela Book Review

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

NONE

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

December '19 Wrap-Up

2019 End of Year Survey

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S:

Vehyn from Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

Grey from Bid my Soul Farewell by Beth Revis

Serefin from Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Malachiasz from Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Kamai from Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

Crier from Crier's War by Nina Varela

Ayla from Crier's War by Nina Varela

Nedra from Bid my Soul Farewell by Beth Revis

Nadya from Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS:

Kamai and Vehyn from Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

Ayla and Crier from Crier's War by Nina Varela

Grey and Nedra from Bid my Soul Farewell by Beth Revis

Malachiasz and Nadya from Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH: