Feb 28 2014

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February 2014: Review Recap!

I have been having so much fun reading lately that I’m having a difficult time doing anything else. Currently, my reading has been split pretty evenly between awesome books I already own and the endless pile of ARCs I can’t seem to stop requesting. It’s okay though, because I finally have a good way to keep track of which books need to be read by when, and it is taken away a lot of the obligation I used to feel regarding them (It also helps that I’ve somehow managed to restrain my request to just the have-to-have titles). In any case, here my:

Books Reviewed:

Panic by Lauren Oliver

Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey

Death sworn by Leah Cypress

Panic by Lauren Oliver – 4.5/5 stars

Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey – 5/5 stars!

Death Sworn by Leah Cypress – 2.5/5 stars

Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

Pale Demon by Kim Harrison – 5/5 stars

Dangerous by Shannon Hale – DNF

Guests Review: The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison – 4/5 stars

My favorite book reviewed this month is probably Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey… although I am an uber fan of Kim Harrison.

Hopefully in March I will be posting a couple more reviews than I did this month. My plan to read more than I review has backfired, as I find myself a full ten books behind (meaning you are getting reviews for books I read as far back as December. Fail.). As I mentioned before, my time spent reading lately has been just ridiculous.

Waiting on Wednesday Features:

: August 26, 2014

: Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

: April 8, 2014

Other exciting news: Charlotte over at Apathy and Rhetoric and I started a monthly YA book club! It has been really fun to participate in so far, and we are welcoming anybody who wants to join. For more info, click on the button below:

What awesome books did you read this month?

Jan 31 2014

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January 2014: Review Recap!

So far in 2014 I have read a bunch of killer titles! The trouble is, I am still posting reviews for books I read in December (fail). Near the end of last year, I was making an effort to get caught up on all the great ARCs I’d been approved for on Netgalley and Edelweiss. 3/6 of the books I reviewed this month are evidence of my attempt to catch up. As one of my Top Ten Bookish Resolutions of 2014 was to quit requesting so many ARCs, next month’s ought to be a much better month in reviewing!

Books Reviewed:

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Control by Lydia Kang

Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull (March 11, 2014)

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner – 2.5/5 stars

Control by Lydia Kang – 2/5 stars

Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull – 3.5/5 stars

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Outpost by Ann Aguirre

Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – 5/5 stars!

Outpost by Ann Aguirre – 2.5/5 stars

Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra – 3/5 stars

My favorite book reviewed this month was by far Sanderson’s Way of Kings. I’ll have to see how the series continues before I make any drastic decisions, but suffice to say it’s in contention for one of my favorite fantasies!

Waiting on Wednesday Features:

: March 18, 2014

: Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau

: The Selection Stories by Kiera Cass

: The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

There are some really awesome titles coming out, but the one I’m most excited about featured this month is Lascar’s Blade by Glenda Larke. She’s easily one of my favorite authors and I vowed I would drop everything to devour anything new from her.

I am participating (and I use the term loosely) in two reading challenges this year: a Dystopian Challenge (hosted by Blog of Erised) and a Series Challenge (hosted by Read. Sleep. Repeat.). As you can see, I have accrued zero points for both challenges thus far this year. Although I’m not too bent up about it because my biggest challenge this year is a personal one: read only the books that excite me the most. For the record, I am doing a smashing job in that one so far!

What awesome books did you read this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 2 2013

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November 2013: Review Recap!

Ever feel obligated to read certain books? I used to all the time, whether it be a popular seller, and advanced book, or even a continuation to a series I only kind of liked. Somewhere around March of this year I decided that I’d had enough of reading books that I wasn’t immediately excited about – especially considering my perpetual 20+ list of books that I’m just dying to read. As a result, I have had more fun reading in the last several months than I’ve had since I was a kid. Here’s my new motto and I’m sticking to it: Life’s too short to read books that don’t excite you!

So here’s a look at what I’ve been up to this month:

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

False Sight by Dan Krokos

Perdition by Ann Aguirre

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – 5/5 stars

False Sight by Dan Krokos – 2.5/5 stars

Perdition by Ann Aguirre – 4/5 stars

Alienated by Melissa Landers

Champion by Marie Lu

Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre

Alienated by Melissa Landers – 5/5 stars!

Champion by Marie Lu – 4/5 stars

Blue Diablo – 3/5 stars

Even though they weren’t all five-star books, I was still super eager to read each one. My favorite this month was probably The Naturals followed very closely by Alienated!

Waiting on Wednesday features:

: August 19, 2014

: Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

: January 7, 2014

: Thief’s Magic by Trudi Canavan

Considering how much I love Richelle Mead, it’s no surprise that the book I most looking forward to reading is Silver Shadows.

What amazing books did you read this month? :-)

I want to start out by thinking Blog of Erised for hosting such a fun challenge.

Last month, I figured out that my challenge count was a bit inaccurate. I was only counting the dystopians I’d read and reviewed, leaving out the ones I hadn’t done a post for yet. According to the rules, all read books count so this month we will see a rather larger jump in my overall score. :-)

This month, I finish the following dystopians:

: Champion by Marie Lu

: False Sight by Dan Krokos

: Pawn by Aimee Carter

: Enclave by Ann Aguirre

: Outpost by Ann Aguirre

: Skinned by Robin Wasserman

A total of 6 – add that to the 19 books accumulated as of last month and we end up with:

The Official Tally:

25/24

Level 4: Leader!

Yay – challenge met!

What dystopians did you read this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Oct 31 2013

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October 2013: Review Recap!

I actually read a ton of books that I loved this month. The only problem is, I didn’t have a chance to write reviews for all of them (I know, ultimate shame). So, although this recap doesn’t accurately reflect my month in reading, there were still some pretty decent books reviewed:

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede

Hammered by Kevin Hearne

Poison Study – 4/5 stars

The Book of Enchantments – 4/5 stars

Hammered – 2/5 stars

False Memory by Dan Krokos

Inhuman by Kat F Falls

Prodigy by Marie Lu

False Memory – 3/5 stars

Inhuman – 4/5 stars

Prodigy – 4/5 stars

And my favorite read:

Allegiant – 4.5/5 stars!

As I said, most of best books I picked up this month haven’t been reviewed yet, so be on the lookout within the next couple weeks for some rave reviews!

Waiting on Wednesday features:

: The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

: Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep

: Ruins by Dan Wells

: May 6, 2014

: The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead

This is probably the best collective month of coming soon features that I’ve ever done – all of these books (with exception of the Estep book) I am so excited to read that I will be dropping everything to pick them up the day they come out!

What awesome books did you read this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Aug 30 2013

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August 2013: Review Recap / ARC August Challenge

I read quite a few books this month, and a lot of them were ARCs for my ARC August challenge (see below). In fact, I read so many books that I didn’t have enough time in my blogging schedule to feature them all (the one’s I didn’t get to will be featured in next month’s recap).

Here’s a look at this month’s books:

(click the covers for the full review)

Spartan Frost – 1/5 stars

Spartan Frost by Jennifer Estep

Never Fade – 4/5 stars

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Zenn Scarlett – 3/5 stars

Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

Hexed – 4/5 stars

Legend – 5/5 stars!

Broken Forest – 2.5/5 stars

Broken Forest by Eliza Tilton

Countdown – 2/5 stars

Countdown by Michelle Rowen

And my favorite:

Dragon Keeper – 5/5 stars!

The Dragon Keeper

Statistically, I find this month fascinating. It has the lowest average rating so far this year, and I can’t help but think that it has something to do with the fact that I read mostly “obligation” books (Aka: books I read because I feel like I should). I made a deal with myself at the beginning of the year that I wouldn’t read anything because I felt like I had to – and you know what? It’s made for this single best year in reading I’ve ever had! The moral of the story? Don’t bog yourself down by mediocre books just because they are free. That’s not to say there aren’t some truly amazing titles available as ARCs, it just pays to be picky.

Now for the ARC August challenge recap:

I am super excited that Octavia at Read. Sleep. Repeat. hosted this challenge because it gave me the motivation I needed to work through all of my outstanding ARCs. I’m happy to say that of the original six I plan to read, I got through four of them… And then read four additional acquisitions to boot! I never thought I would be at this point, but I finally have my Net Galley ARCs down to just two books – and it’s going to stay that way this time (by the way, for this challenge I considered only current ARCs eligible… it’s incredibly sad how many past ones I never got to before their release dates)!

ARCs Read:

: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

: Sky Jumpers by Peggy Edelman

: Inhuman by Kat Falls

: Countdown by Michelle Rowen

: Broken Forest by Eliza Tilton

: Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

: Spirit Animals: Wild Born by Brandon Mull

You can definitely see what kind of arcs draw my attention. The clear winner for my favorite arc read this month is: All Our Yesterdays! I haven’t officially written a review for it yet, but suffice to say it was a 5/5 star rating and one that I will be talking about for months – I loved it! Spirit Animals was a close second, and that review is also forthcoming.

by Niki Hawkes

May 31 2013

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May 2013 – Review Recap!

This is the second month in a row that I’ve posted this feature, and I have to say it’s probably one of my favorites. Not only does it give you guys a chance to catch the reviews you missed, but it also allows me to reflect on all the stellar books I’ve been reading lately. I am now three months then to my commitment to only read the books at the top of my “must – read” list, leaving all of those “obligation” series for when there’s truly nothing exciting on my radar. I used to force myself through books that I wasn’t enjoying, but no more! Because of this, I haven’t enjoyed reading this much since I was a kid. Long story short, I’m not picking a favorite this month – there were too many good ones!

As a side note, I’ve also created a review archive with links to all the books I’ve reviewed since I started the blog (separated by genre, of course) which I will be updating periodically.

May’s Reviews:

(clicking on the covers will direct you to the full reviews)

Frost Burned: 5/5 stars!

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Fablehaven: 5/5 stars!

The Indigo Spell: 5/5 stars!

Walking Disaster: 4.5/5 stars

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection: 5/5 stars!

The Spirits War: 4.5/5 stars!

Chill Factor: 2.5/5 stars

A Shadow in Summer: 5/5 stars!

The Darkest Minds: 3.5/5 stars

Dancing with the Devil by Keri Arthur

Dancing with the Devil: 2/5 stars

This also happened to be the month that all my blogging dreams came true: one of my reviews was shared by my all-time favorite author, Richelle Mead. My first instinct was to play it off as if this sort of thing happens to me all the time; but who am I kidding? It is seriously the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me and made all of the blood sweat and tears I pour into this blog worth every moment!

There you have it – my adventures in May! There were couple of books that didn’t quite work for me for various reasons, but on the whole, this was a stellar month of reading! I cannot remember the last time I read so many five-star books in a month. What books were at the top of your list?