Book haul October 2017

Guess what, friends? The IT department at work was able to fix my laptop for me (OMG ILU, IT STAFF), which means that not only do I have my laptop back, but I have my reading stats spreadsheet back.

HALLELUJAH.

This means that I can finally bring you a book haul! I’ve always sworn black and blue that I don’t acquire enough books to warrant doing hauls monthly. But then I started including the books I buy on my Kindle, and now it’s kind of out of control. Whoops?

Without further ado, here’s what I bought in October:

THE STUFF I’VE READ ALREADY:

The Diviners by Libba Bray (E-Book)

I bought this because a friend has borrowed my physical copy and I knew I wouldn’t remember enough of the story to jump straight to Lair of Dreams in preparation for reading Before the Devil Breaks You. Besides, it was like $8, and sometimes you NEED an e-book and a physical copy of your favourite books, right??

Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray (Paperback)

Obviously. It’s gorgeous and I loved every second of it, even though it stabbed me in the feels about a thousand times more than I anticipated…

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterley (Paperback)

I have this on my Kindle, but I did a favour for a friend in Europe and it was easier for her to buy me books than to transfer me money, so I sent her a list of stuff I wanted hard copies of, and she went to town on Book Depository. This is one of the few times when the movie tie-in cover was the best cover option. I read it late last year and loved everything about it.

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde (Paperback)

Another one that I have on my Kindle and that Nikki sent to me. I loved this book so much when I read it earlier this year. It’s phenomenal from start to finish.

Longbourn by Jo Baker (Paperback)

Another one that I loved earlier this year and had Nikki get me a physical copy of. For those of you who haven’t heard of this, it’s a retelling of Pride and Prejudice told from the perspective of the servants. And it. is. AMAZING.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (E-Book)

I mean, obviously I read the biggest news in YA this year. And…frankly, I found it a little bit of a let down. The plot was meandering, the characters felt like characters rather than people, and while I appreciated the Own Voices nature of the mental health representation, I…didn’t love this.

The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud (E-Book)

The final book in the Lockwood & Co series features even more ghostly mayhem and ridiculousness. I got sick of waiting for a physical copy to arrive at work, so bought it on my Kindle.

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne (E-Book)

Another one that was a little bit of a let down. Although in this case, it was probably my high expectations that made it a let down. I LOVED Holly Bourne’s Spinster Club trilogy, and this didn’t have the same strong female friendships that I loved so much in that series. It was only $0.94 though, so… *shrugs*

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare (E-Book)

I really think discovering Tessa Dare’s books is one of the best things that’s happened to me all year. This one was utterly ridiculous from start to finish, and yet fast paced and funny and enjoyable as hell.

Hamilton’s Battalion by Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole and Rose Lerner (E-Book)

I already talked about this in my weekly wrap up on Monday. It was stinking adorable and I’m so incredibly glad that I gave its little $5.99 butt a chance because I loved every second of it.

THE STUFF I HAVE YET TO READ:

Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh (E-Book)

I know basically nothing about this, except that I think it’s kind of like Pacific Rim?? But in Korea???? I think April talked about it in a video recently, and it sounded great then. So. I bought it.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (Paperback)

After a million and one glowing recommendations from Joce, how could I not buy this book?

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff (Paperback)

I’m kind of hesitant about this one. I LOVED Nevernight last year, but that was before the whole revelation that chunks of it were based on Maori culture in a not great way. So I’ve been putting this off because a) I’ve heard it’s a stab to the feels and b) I need (want) to reread Nevernight first, and I don’t know what I’ll think of it this time around…

Dodger by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

Okay, technically I *have* read this before. But it was back in 2012, so I’m not entirely sure it counts at this point. I’m planning on rereading it soon, at any rate. This is basically Pratchett does Dickens. Essentially, the Artful Dodger was a real person who Dickens met, so it’s all seedy underbelly of Victorian London stuff, and I’m really excited to pick it up a second time.

Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali (E-Book)

Another one I know very little about, but Saajid recommended it, so I bought it.

Arabella of Mars by David Levine (Paperback)

Another one that Joce recommended. I don’t know much about this either. I think it might be steampunk? But I could just be basing that on the cover… Still, I’m excited to pick it up sometime soon!

What books have you acquired recently?

Weekly Wrap Up #4

I had…a pretty crap reading week this week. I don’t really have any explanation for why this week was worse than any other, except that I was out of town for three days and read almost nothing on two of those days, and that I was sick for basically the entire week and reading is really freaking hard when you’re sick. You know?

Books read: 6
Pages read: 2,334 pages

#1: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Audience: YA
Genre: Crime

Plot summary: The FBI recruits a bunch of teenagers with natural abilities in profiling and tracking to assist on cold cases.

Thoughts: I heard about this book from my dear friend April, who described it as being a young adult version of Criminal Minds. That was basically all I needed to hear to know that I had to read this.

And it was pretty much exactly what I got. There’s a lot of set up stuff here, with the main character being recruited to the program and then being trained, so there were times when it DEFINITELY had that “first book in a series” feel to it. But there was still something about it that was so compelling that I was hooked through until the actual investigation stuff started.

I wasn’t so keen on the mild love triangle elements of the story, but I’ve been assured that those disappear in the later books, so I’m excited to read those and see where the story goes from here!

Rating: 4 stars

#2: Kisscut by Karin Slaughter (reread)

Audience: Adult 
Genre: Thriller

Plot summary: A police chief is forced to shoot a 13 year old girl, then discovers that there was a hell of a lot more going on with the case than he originally thought.

Thoughts: I originally read Karin Slaughter’s books in a completely bonkers whichever-one-is-on-the-shelves-at-my-library order. I’m now going back and rereading them in the order that was actually intended, and I’m getting so much more out of it, which is great.

I’m also glad that I chose NOT to get this one from my library, because they only had it as an audiobook on Overdrive, not an e-book, and based on the content of this book? 0/10, would not recommend audio.

It’s INCREDIBLY graphic and deals with a lot of horrifying topics (see trigger warnings below), but at the same time, it managed to be gripping and intense and compelling and OMG WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN.

Definitely not one for the fainthearted, but despite the horrifying nature of the case, I was hooked from start to finish.

Rating: 4 stars

(Trigger warnings for rape, paedophilia, female genital mutilation, incest, child pornography, and the death of an infant)

#3: Hamilton’s Battalion by Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole and Rose Lerner

Audience: Adult
Genre: Historical romance

Plot summary: Three diverse short stories revolving around the Battle of Yorktown and Alexander Hamilton – one involving a Jewish couple, one involving a M/M romance between an African American freeman and a rich British guy, and one involving a F/F romance between one of Eliza Hamilton’s African-American servants and the granddaughter of one of Hamilton’s soldiers.

Thoughts: It involves Alexander Hamilton. Obviously I read this.

I was slightly hesitant going in because I had such high hopes for Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz back in September, and then it turned out to be a complete and utter hot mess. But this? This was a delight from start to finish.

All three stories are fun and diverse and deal with the difficulties of being a minority during the American Revolution. The middle story – the M/M romance – was definitely my favourite. There was a lot of humour in the story, and the dynamic between the two main characters was absolutely wonderful.

Is it completely ridiculous and indescribably cheesy? Uh, yes. Was it also a thoroughly enjoyable read when I was trapped for eight hours in a car while suffering from gastro-intestinal distress courtesy of a bad reaction to medication? DEFINITELY. (This week was a hot mess, you guys. For realsies.)

Rating: 4.5 stars

#4: The Boundless Sublime by Lili Wilkinson

Audience: YA
Genre: Contemporary

Plot summary: A teenage girl’s family falls apart after her little brother’s death. When she meets a mysteriously naive but incredibly cute boy, she finds herself joining a cult to be close to him.

Thoughts: This LoveOzYA book was…disturbing. The aftermath of Ruby’s brother’s death is heartbreaking, as is the way that her family crumbles around her. And seeing her fall into a cult when she was in an emotionally vulnerable state and thought she had perfect control of the situation was pretty terrifying at times.

There’s a plot twist about three quarters of the way through the story that just…nope. Not okay. And on the whole, this was creepy af while also being incredibly gripping. Definitely worth the read.

Rating: 4 stars

#5: By Your Side by Kasie West

Audience: YA
Genre: Contemporary

Plot summary: A teenage girl with anxiety gets locked in her local library over a long weekend with her school’s bad boy.

Thoughts: I have super mixed feelings about Kasie West’s books. On the one hand, they’re cute contemporaries, which is totally my thing. On the other hand? There’s always an element of implausibility about them and I find myself eyerolling more than I should.

This one annoyed the shit out of me, because I have never once come across a library where there’s no phone at the circulation desk. N.E.V.E.R. And yet she never once checks the desk for a phone to call for help.

Add in the fact that, like, SOMEWHERE there would be an emergency exit, and I was perpetually annoyed for the duration of this book.

As far as the actual romance goes, it was fine. But the whole thing was dragged out unnecessarily thanks to the inclusion of a guy that the main character was ALMOST dating before she got stuck in the library being in a coma and his parents being all “YOU’RE BASICALLY HIS GIRLFRIEND, HE’D WANT YOU TO BE HERE!!” all the time. Ugh.

Rating: 3 stars

#6: Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein

Audience: YA
Genre: Contemporary

Plot summary: An alternative teenage girl is forced to get a lift to school each day with the popular jock down the road. They argue about whether high school or university is more important.

Thoughts: This was…pretty fun, to be honest. It was fast paced and fluffy and utterly ridiculous and predictable as hell. But somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to care about how ridiculous and predictable it was, because I was too busy enjoying it.

The dynamic between June and Oliver was delightful, the supporting characters featured a lot of diversity, and the story was fast paced. And really, what more can you want on a lazy Saturday afternoon??

Rating: 4 stars

What did you read this week?