2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

Hi everyone! In 2016 I definitely did not hit my mark of 25 books to read in the year so I had to lower my goal down to 15. My only hope I can meet it this year and maybe pass it. Especially in the second half, I was really focused on my nursing school courses and getting all my readings done for those classes that my reading for pleasure took a backseat. Now that I only have one semester left I am hoping that the second part of 2017 will make up for the probably lackluster first half I will have trying to keep up with readings for class, studying, and trying to pass the NCLEX come June. I'm just hoping for a decent reading year and hoping I can get a few done during the semester.

1. Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

I liked this book. I wasn't too into it in the beginning because I wanted them to spend more time in the asylum then they did and it kind of seemed really obvious in its retelling-ness like her name is Snow so there was really no guesswork figuring out at least where that part was going it's not like she was going to start shooting flames from her hands. But as the book picked up I found myself enjoying it more and more. I am still not sure who to trust and who Snow should ally herself with and how she will progress as a character because based on the events at the end of the book it could go a number of ways. I am excited to read the next book when it comes out and continue with the series.

2. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

I loved this book. I loved the two perspectives we got in the book and the constant warring between following your heart or following the duty and role set out for you pretty much since birth. I liked the air of mystery about who was actually attacking the crown. And I loved watching the relationship develop and watching the characters grow into who they were supposed to be.

3.A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

I went through a lot of emotions in this book and I definitely thought I was going to have emotional whiplash at some points with the rate that I was going through them. I was happy, sad, cursing, laughing , etc. in rapid succession and I really enjoyed that because I love the journey. I loved being stressed out and kept on my toes and truly feeling everything in the moment. It was no ACOMAF (which is just everything to me), but it still held its own and was a great addition to the series. I think the pacing was a little off for me at some points and I would have loved it some moments and events would have been a little more fleshed out and focused on because at times things just felt rushed and there were some events I wanted to see in their entirety that were just gone through in just a few paragraphs. I get that at some points you can't go into detail on everything but if something is billed as this super dangerous thing and has the ability to break anyone who encounters it I think it needs a little more than a page before it's onto the next pit stop which is like 3/4 of a page at most. The pacing was basically my one true issue with the book and even then it didn't take too much away from the book just in certain spots. But all in all I really enjoyed this book and I loved being with the characters that I love so much again.

Sorry voor my ignorance, but what is ACOMAF?

Susy wrote: "Sorry voor my ignorance, but what is ACOMAF?"

It's A Court of Mist and Fury the second book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series

Ah ok, thx! Added the series to my TBR list, but haven't started yet with the first book. Dying to start though seeing all great reviews!

Well I hope you enjoy it whenever you read it!

4. Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander

I started reading this 11 months ago and had to stop because I got bored and annoyed. I tried to pick it up again 6 months ago and had the same problem. About a week ago I decided to actually try and finally finish the book. I nearly DNF'd it so many times this week when I was stuck in the 100s because it just seemed to be taking forever to get through and I really wasn't invested and enjoying the story. I am so happy that I finally finished it so now I can say with certainty that it wasn't just that beginning section that was getting in my way, I just did not like the book as a whole and there is no chance I will be reading it again. There were small parts that I enjoyed, like the first 2 and last 2 chapters as well as the last paragraph of the epilogue (because the rest of the epilogue bugged me as much as the rest of the book). There were also some moments and passages in the book that I did enjoy and I thought really worked and said something, but there just wasn't enough for me. I thought the premise of the book was so interesting and it was supposed to be this funny satirical book but it didn't deliver what I wanted from it and there were only a few moments that I found genuinely funny and a few where that satirical/sarcastic tone really worked, at least for me.

I think a lot of my issues with the book stems from the fact that I didn't like the main character Kugel. He was sarcastic and kind of cynical and jaded. All of these traits are good in moderation in characters (some of my favorite characters are a perfect mixture of the three), but I was just hit over and over again throughout the book with his outlook on the world, and how the world is already hell, what was every person and animal's last words/thoughts before they died (he had a journal of what good last words would be and when he thought of one he'd write it down which was interesting at points but he was always bringing up people and their last words and judging them on whether they were good or not), and why did he bring his son into this horrible world that he was too good and bright for. I feel the only normal person in this book was his wife (or at least the only one thinking rationally and trying to keep the family afloat) and I applaud her for putting up with Kugel for all this time because I only had to deal with him for 352 pages and I was done by around page 50.

Another thing that bugged me about this book was the fact that there were no quotation marks at all. I had such an issue trying to figure out who was speaking and when (which was really hard when there was actual conversations and not every line had a specified person who was talking) and what was actually spoken and not just a thought. I feel like it slowed me down when I was reading because I had to go back so many times and try to figure out if he was talking at all or just musing to himself. I didn't think anything could truly make me miss a punctuation mark as much as this book did. And even if I had loved everything else in the book this still would have tripped me up and taken away from the book.

5. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was a good beginning to the series and I think it did a good job of setting up the characters and the magic system. I really liked all of the sisters, which I was surprised at because I thought there would be one that I absolutely hated (one annoyed me a bit a certain points but that was it) and I was invested in the side characters too which is always a plus. I think it had a nice cliffhanger at the end. The one thing I didn't really enjoy was the love triangle that was set up. I felt like it was just put in for some drama, but the premise of the book already lends itself to plenty of drama and that is the kind of drama I would be more interested in. It just kind of made me want to skip pages whenever it was brought up. But other than that I thought it was a strong first book and I am excited for the second one.

6. Summer Unscripted by Jen Klein

I thought this was a really cute book. I loved that it centered around a theatrical production and that the main character was thrown into the crazy world of theater because I did theater in high school and all throughout college and I loved every second of it so anything with a play or musical as the setting is something I enjoy immensely. I loved the surrounding cast of characters especially Milo and Ella. I liked Rainie's growth throughout the book and that she moved from just doing the play because she was chasing after a guy and trying to be closer to him to actually opening herself up to the experience and genuine feelings and learning to enjoy it and the people around her. The ending did move a little fast to try and get everything wrapped up and figured out but I still enjoyed what was there and I liked that Rainie's story came full circle.