Mount TBR 2017 discussion
Level 1: Pike's Peak (12 books)
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Ready, Set...Go! Pike's Peak edition
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Pike's Peak:Book #1:
The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid
TBR since: November 14, 2016.
Finished: January 1, 2017.
Rating:★★★★★ (actual: 4.5 stars)
Comment: I started this book at my new year's vacation and devoured it in less than two days. It was engrossing and full of action-packed moments, political intrigues and interesting, realistic and complex characters. The plot is fresh and full of twists, and the universe was well built. There were some minor things that bugged me and I think could be better explained, but it didn't bothered me as much and I was able to enjoy the book regardless.
Book #2:
A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir
TBR since: December 10, 2016.
Finished: January 16, 2017.
Rating:★★★★★
Comment: THIS BOOK. Sabaa, what are you doing with my emotions? And how come book 3 is coming out in 2018? NO, I NEED IT RIGHT NOW. This second novel was even better than An Ember in the Ashes. It was darker, much more gut-wrenching and it got some awesome character development for all the characters. We had some surprising plot twists that left me on the floor and so many amazing scenes. Helene finally got a POV that quickly became my favorite in the book. Magic also played a bigger part in this one, uncovering the real plot underneath the whole Martial Empire thing. Sabaas' characters are so complex and realistic, and I really love how creepy and sadistic she makes her villains. They are a force to be reckoned with and it gives the narrative something else. I can't wait for book 3, AH.
Book #3:
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
TBR since: July 7, 2015
Finished: January 21, 2017
Rating:★★★★★
Comment: I was little skeptic about this book, the synopsis didn't appealed to me much, but I loved Bray's The Diviners and Gemma Doyle series, and I love how she writes her characters. I was surprised by how much I loved this book. This super fun and amazing parody is sarcastic and feminist AF. It's all about girl power, sorority, being yourself and raises awareness to issues like how society views women, LGBT issues, racism, religious prejudice and more. And all of this is thrown in the mix with teen beauty queens, a plane crash, a (not so) deserted island, an evil Corporation, a crazy dictator (think along the lines of that Sacha Baron Cohen movie), hot pirates and a catapult full of beauty products. It can't be more awesome than this.
Book #4:
The Age of Innocence by Edith Warthon
TBR since: December 26, 2014.
Finished: January 30, 2017.
Rating:★★
Comment: I'm finally done with this book. I started it somewhere in September 2016 and couldn't finish until now, and only after insisting a lot and reading a couple of chapters between other more enjoyable books. I disliked this so much. The pacing of the book was slow, and nothing actually happened during most of it. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and most of them annoyed me to no end. But it's done now and I can move on to other books and get rid of this one.
Book #5:
A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody
TBR since: August 5, 2016.
Finished: January 22, 2017.
Rating:★★★
Comment: A cute, enjoyable teen book to pass the time. I couldn't help but picture it as a movie from Disney Channel or something, and I think I would watch it if it ever became a movie for real. An easy, short book, but overall very predictable. I already knew what would happen and how the book would end by chapter 4 or 5, not even 50 pages in. Although it was a romance, it didn't gave me that tingly feeling when the main couple got together or got me cheering for them at all. IDK, it was very meh for me. And though there were some parts that annoyed me, I had fun while reading it.
Book #6:
The Siren by Kiera Cass
TBR since: August 13, 2016.
Finished: February 2, 2017.
Rating:★★★
Comment: I expected more out of this book, mainly because I love Kiera's writing and The Selection series. You can see that this was her debut book, because it's not as polished as The Selection and her writing style is there, but still raw. She improved a lot. I found super interesting this idea that The Ocean is this ancient, living being that feeds on humans that drown in the sea, and that her sirens are girls who drowned and she gave them a new life as her 'daughters'. This mother-daughter relationship with the sirens and the Ocean was intriguing and I think one of the reasons Kiera failed to actually make the Ocean as the villain it was supposed to be - she felt almost human, full of emotions and like a real mother, protective and lovable to her 'daughter's, although stern and angry sometimes, demonstrating this love in some harsh and sometimes hurtful ways. This book to me was more a Little Mermaid retelling than a brand new story - the parallels were too evident, but it was more dramatic and way more focused on the romance aspect for my liking. I mean, every few pages or so, the only thing Kahlen, our female protagonist, did was get herself locked in her room, crying or thinking about Aiklin. She was selfish and impulsive (even though this was descrived as being Elizabeth's trait), and hurtful to her sisters, and I was glad when Elizabeth called her out on her bullshit - this made me not connect with her properly or sympathize with her situation. I enjoyed Padma's story and subplot more than I did Kahlen. I also wished we got to see more on Miaka and Elizabeth's background the way we saw of Padma, Ainslin and Kahlen. As for the romance, I couldn't quite feel the chemistry between the couple or feel Ainklin's appeal. That's one of the reasons why I couldn't enjoy this book as much. It had it's great things, and I enjoyed most of the read, but I don't think it's a book I want to re-read.
January summary:5 books read
6 purchases (crap!)
Pike's Peak progress: 6/12 (halfway up, YAY!)
It was a good month, but not my best. February is already shaping up to be better, since I've already read 3 books, two in a spam of 3 days (unfortunately, I don't know if any will count towards this challenge).
Book #7:
Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
TBR since: October 09, 2016.
Finished: February 13, 2017.
Rating:★★★★
Comment:I absolutely love all of Riordan's books, and especially this one. It has diverse characters (I mean, we have a Muslin girl, a gender fluid character, a disabled elf and lots of other amazing representations), it's funny as hell, it has lots of actions and it's all about mythology. What's not to love? I really liked this book, but I thought the pace was slower and I kind of missed the 'impending doom' sort of feel to it, that it's present in almost all of Rick's books. Even though now we know the main plot of the series and we get a lot of background on some characters and lots of character development to others, the ending still felt kind of meh to me. Also, I guessed really early on some of the bigger twists of this novel. It was good, but not as amazing as the first book. I'm guessing the next book will be more fast paced and with more surprises - AND WE GET TO SEE PERCY AGAIN,YAY!
Book #8:
The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan
TBR since: November 14, 2016.
Finished: February 15, 2017.
Rating:★★★★★
Comment: Now this book. This is the last book in the Kane Chronicles main trilogy (there's the crossover books with Percy Jackson that I am DYING to read), and it was SUCH A PERFECT CONCLUSION! I think this trilogy is very underastimated. It's not as popular as the other series (Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase, Heroes of Olympus), but is just as good as them. At first, I was not used to these characters and the first book got a 3.5 stars rating or so, but man, the character growth of both Sadie and Carter! The way the plot evolved into something that got me so completely hooked! The secondary characters managed to complement the story and shine on their own as well and Apophis is one of the best mythological villains, almost as good as Cronos. In this book, everytime he appeared it gave me chills. Seriously. I loved this books so so much, and I came to adore the Kane siblings (and family, in general) and the whole gang of Brookling House as much as I do with Camp Half-Blood or Hotel Valhalla. Ugh, I'm not ready to say goodbye to Sadie's boy drama and badassery (and all that sarcasm) and Carter's awkwardness and heart of gold.
Book #9:
For Magnus Chase: Hotel Valhalla, Guide to the Norse Worlds by Rick Riordan
TBR since: October 31, 2016.
Finished: February 14, 2017.
Rating:★★★ (actual: 3.5 stars)
Comment: A nice little guide to the Norse mythology, with all the humor that's the trademark for Riordan's books. I rather liked it, since I don't know much about Norse mythology (at least prior to these books), and this helped me understand the main series a little better.
Book #10:
They All Fall Down by Roxanne St. Claire
TBR since: December 29, 2015.
Finished: February 18, 2017.
Rating:★★★
Comment: I actually liked this book. It was at times clever (although the whole solution to the mystery was a bit of a stretch, but it was ok), and kind of creepy - I couldn't bring myself to read if I was home alone at all hahaha. It felt a little bit like Pretty Little Liars with all the text messages, but that's one of the things that set the creepy mood of the book.
Book #11:
The Girl Before by J.P Delaney
TBR since: October 17, 2016.
Finished: February 21, 2017.
Rating:★★★★
Comment: I was provided a copy of this book via NetGalley, but for some reason I put it aside and picked up again only now. This book was so good! It had some good twists and it was a clever psychological thriller - the way it alternates POVs from the two women who lived in One Folgate Street, their respective stories and traumas, their relationship with the owner and the mystery of the death of one of them. I couldn't see the end coming and we're mislead the whole book, and I loved it! It gave me a kind of Gone Girl vibe and I could never guess who was The Girl Before at all until the very end.
Book #12:
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
TBR since: November 21, 2016.
Finished: February 26, 2017.
Rating:★★★★★
Comment: I went into this book thinking I would not like it much, but since the tv show was coming out, I decided to give it a chance. And was I wrong, because I loved it. Moriarty manages to create three very relatable and real characters, using them to explore issues such as domestic violence, abuse and motherhood in all its forms. The mystery thrown in is another thing to keep the readers entertained and I liked the whole interview transcript format along the chapters, not only did they relate to what was happening, but also set the tone for the murder investigation. The end was so satisfying and surprising, I never expected it and I like to be surprised. I'm also watching the series and so far it's been really faithful to the original source, with some minor modifications and even a POV added, which is making things more interesting, so I'm enjoying it as well.
And I just planted my flag on top of my first mountain of the year, YAY! February was a good month, I really managed to get through my books, especially my TBRs AND managed to NOT buy a single book! So proud of myself!February Summary:
7 books read
0 purchases (GO ME!)
Pike's Peak progress: 12/12 (I AM DONE!)
Now, taking a breath and restocking to move to Mount Blanc!
Thanks! I'm starting today as well! See you at the end!
Natália wrote: "Book #7: Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
TBR since: October 09, 2016.
Finished: February 13, 2017.
Rating:★★★★
Commen..."
Percy shows up in the Norse gods books? Awesome :D
I really love how Riordan makes an effort to include a diverse cast without making them stereotypical (that I remember, it's been a while since I've read the first series). The Kane Chronicles and the second set of Olympus books are on my TBR shelf for this year. So glad the quality is kept up :D
Mount TBR 2017
Books mentioned in this topic
The Hammer of Thor (other topics)The Girl Before (other topics)
Big Little Lies (other topics)
They All Fall Down (other topics)
The Serpent's Shadow (other topics)
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I'm also planning on using mostly books from series I have yet to finish reading (but have already started) because I have too much on going series right now.