YA Addicted Book Club discussion

Happy New Year everyone! What books are you guys starting the year off with?

Happy New Year! I’m starting off with the Nancy Drew series: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene. It’s the same book I already started reading from last year but I haven’t finished it yet.

I'm starting with and it's probably a bit more of a heavy read than I was wanting right now. I'm still chugging through it though.

I'm starting with , wanted to start the year off with a short, light read after reading quite a few heavy books towards the end of last year.

Gord wrote: "I'm starting with and it's probably a bit more of a heavy read than I was wanting right now. I'm still chugging through it though."

Oh!! How is it?? Im looking forward to this one

Brittany wrote: "Oh!! How is it?? I'm looking forward to this one."

I'm not really feeling it for some reason. it's just kind of boring and there a few times where it feels like it drifts into this weird space. It's that space where everything is a conspiracy that everyone is in on and it's always against you or a group that you identify with. I'm not saying that there isn't validity to it but it's just the way that it's presented.

I'm starting off with a bit odd selection . I love the first two so far, the third one is meh.

Elena wrote: "I'm starting off with a bit odd selection . I love the first two so far, the t..."

I read Daughter of the Deep last year and enjoyed it! It was cool to read something a little different from Rick Riordan.

I'm starting of the year with finishing of my latest book in my Elemental Assassin re-read. This one was heartbreaking, but good!

And I also started this one a couple days ago. I'm only a couple pages in, but I am intrigued already.

Liliana wrote: "I read Daughter of the Deep last year and enjoyed it! It was cool to read something a little different from Rick Riordan."

I totally agree, it's not his usual type of book but I love it.

Liliana wrote: " I'm starting of the year with finishing of my latest book in my Elemental Assassin re-read. This one was heartbreaking, but good!"

Great start! I hope you enjoy The Last Hours Series, I remember loving it more than the original.

Oh I love anything Shadowhunter-related, so I don't doubt I'll enjoy it 😆 I do like the new characters though! And it's nice to see characters from the other series.

Space band by Tom fletcher haha love a good middle grade

Finished yesterday (I was 50% in before the year started).

I'm currently reading for my January YA bookclub book. Started listening to on audio.

I finished the first book of my 2023 reading challenge! I have my rating and review on it as well. I thought it was a great children's mystery series. The Secret of the Old Clock

Gord wrote: "Brittany wrote: "Oh!! How is it?? I'm looking forward to this one."

I'm not really feeling it for some reason. it's just kind of boring and there a few times where it feels like it drifts into thi..."

Damn that is disappointing to hear

Big Bad Me sounds amusing Kay!

Brittany wrote: "Big Bad Me sounds amusing Kay!"

I'm 50 pages in. It's okay so far, but I'm not that far in yet. I wouldn't have picked it up if it wasn't the book club choice but I am liking it.

Totally fair, not sure its one I'd have picked either but it sounds fun all the same

I finally finished loved every moment of it but didnt want it to end. Or to be right. So I kept avoiding reading more than a chapter or 2 at a time

Finished , five star book to start the year!!

Working on now and am hooked! Cannot believe I waited so long to read this one!

I have heard really good things about both of those books, Heather! Glad to hear that you're enjoying them!

I keep hearing amazing things about Legends and Lattes. Im hoping to get it before the end of the month. Good to hear you loved it too

L&L was just so sweet and cozy! I hope you enjoy it whenb you get it Brittany!

Brittany wrote: "I finally finished loved every moment of it but didnt want it to end. Or to be right. So I kept avoiding reading more than a chapter or 2 at a time"

I haven't started the 2nd era yet and love you enjoyed the last book. I totally get it why you want to extend the pleasure :)

@HeatherH I've heard so much good about L&L and can't wait to read it too. Also Kindred sounds intriguing.

Here's what I've been reading since the last update.

- 4 stars. I wanted to take a break and ended up finishing it 🤣. That's a bit crazy, but I really needing something slow and romantic.
- 4 stars. Long time ago I watched this anime series and didn't enjoy much. The manga is way more better.
- 1 star. That book is dumb and empty. The main character is so Mary Sue, the love/passion is so out of nowhere. There is no tension, no plot, nothing.
- 5 stars. Ok, fine, I know I might be a crazy lady, but I re-read the Harry Potter series almost every year. I have 4 different editions of the first book and this time I’ve read the illustrated one.
- 4 stars. Now I get it, what it is about Emily’s books people like. I’ve read a couple of her books but wasn’t impressed. But People We Meet on Vacation finally got to me. Though I expected something totally different, I loved the story. It’s so classical opposites attract and at the same time so different to what I’ve read with that trope so far.
- 4 stars. Not the usual Riordan’s style, but I love it. It’s also a retelling, but not a Greek or Egyptian mythology. And there are still his unique prints like a teenager saves the world, dreaming big, an ordinary person being not so ordinary and being brave.

Time for my first update of the year.

-2 Stars
This was my first book of the year and I just did not enjoy this one at all. It started out interesting enough by getting into the evolutionary reason for humans having butts. Then it skipped ahead from ancient man to late 1700's, early 1800's with the inevitable discussion of Sarah Baartman. It's things like this from history, amongst so many other things, that kind of makes me hate humankind in general. The stuff that was done to her was horrid but for me it's what happened after that really makes me hate people. She passed in 1815 and parts of her body remained on display in the Museum of Man in Paris until 1974. They didn't return her body to South Africa until 2002. Any way, angry Gord rant aside, lets get back to the book. The book then explored fashions, eugenics (another aspect of history I hate), and the changing idea of beauty. It even touched on 80's aerobic videos like "Buns of Steel". Then it got into modern day stuff like Beyonce, the Kardashians, Miley Cyrus, etc. I really struggled with some with this modern stuff because I just don't care about the escapades of the Kardashians or what not.

There is a lot of author bias in this book in my opinion that made it feel less like a study of the history of butts and more like an opinion piece on a few hundred years of history. Staying neutral here, there were also several opinions put forth in the latter half of this book that didn't sit right with me. Dismissing a persons opinion simply due to their gender for instance. By the end of the book I was simply pushing forward to complete the book so I could us it towards certain challenges.

-4 Stars
This has been that proverbial elephant in the room now for many years. I've had this recommended to me by Goodreads more times than I can count. I've had it recommended to me by other members on this site. I've seen it pop up sci-fi/fantasy stuff on YouTube. It's not like I was avoiding it for any particular reason I just never got around to reading it. The year started with one of my groups doing a buddy read of the series and it gave me an excuse to finally jump in. This book was good, no, great. It's one of those books that I regret not reading sooner. A lot of the appeal of this book is around the main character, Murderbot, who is extremely relatable even though he is a robot. I'm sure we have all had those days where we just didn't want to deal with people and wanted nothing more than to be left alone with our hobbies. Outside of a great MC the book has a solid enough story to keep the book moving along. It's a little lean on the other characters and the world building but it's only 150 pages. It sets up an interesting MC, tells a solid enough story, and then sets up future possibilities. I'm definitely coming back for more in this series.

-3 Stars
This book was so average that I've already started to forget it. Younger sister wants to protect her older sister from evil prince/king so she sets on a quest to find a way. This book was not a bad book but it also didn't do any thing for me. For instance one of the things mentioned on the Goodreads blurb page is that there is a chicken possessed by a demon in her party. My brain latches onto a concept like that and sees infinite possibilities. Maybe the chicken can use demonic magic, breathe fire, summon evil minions. Maybe the demon is misunderstood and secretly wants to live a quiet life as a farm animal. All sorts of possibilities. What does the book do? Nothing, nothing at all. It likes to remind you that the bird is possessed but outside of the chicken acting like a chicken it does nothing at all. I'm not actually sure it was even possessed. That there little example sums up this book in general. Lots of interesting possibilities and ideas that it does nothing with.

-4 Stars
I wasn't going to read this when it came out on the 5th but brand new content that I hadn't seen before. I'm finally moving past the point I was at in the web novel when it got dropped. This book was focused around Yuna doing more adventure related stuff which is what I have been craving now for some time and it delivers. Next book looks to be a beach episode which I'm not as excited for but I'm curious where things will go after that. Here is to all new content.

-5 Stars
How do I even begin talking about this comic? This is a non-fiction comic and the author is a survivor of a school shooting. The comic is about her experience that day and the years afterwards dealing with all the emotional trauma. Needless to say this book is heavy and I did cry a few times. I don't read a lot of non-fiction in comics or manga so initially I approached this like I would any other comic. It didn't take me long to get swept up in the story and to toss aside my usual approach to comics. This comics tackles a very serious issue and made me see a POV that I just never really considered before simply because this was not an experience I've ever had to deal with. It was an emotional read and as uncomfortable as it might have been I'm glad that I read this comic.

-4 Stars
The latest manga in this series and more food related goodness.

-4
More Sakamoto days with more over the top fights. I'm really enjoying this series and I can;t wait to read more.

-3 Stars
This is another comic from Sarah Andersen who is the author of and . If you enjoy those comics then you know what to expect here and will probably enjoy it as well. This comic is about a group of cryptids (Mothman, Nessie, Big Foot, etc) and a glimpse into their lives. It was what I expected and it was a fun little read.

Now, what am I working on next.

On audio I am about halfway through and I am enjoying my reread of this book. Adventure buddies!

For my non audio book I'm currently working on for a challenge. It's not my normal type of book but it's not bad so far. After that I have a stack of things lined up from the library.

Elena wrote: "@HeatherH I've heard so much good about L&L and can't wait to read it too. Also Kindred sounds intriguing."

Kindred is definitely started off so good! Its, so far, one of those "why did I wait so long to read this" type of books

@Gord
First off, I had never heard of Sarah Baartman, but went off to read about her after starting your reviews and wow, I do not even have words for how horrible she was treated. Thank you for talking about her and giving me the opportunity to educate myself.

All systems red is high on my TBR as well after tons of recommendations. Glad to see you enjoyed it! Hoping to get to it soon!

I'm not sure where I first heard of Sarah but it was a story that horrified me from the first time I heard it. I'm always picking up tidbits of information here and there. Some from non-fiction books, some from fiction books. It all just kind of creates this weird museum of facts inside my head.

Elena I really enjoyed People We Meet on Vacation too and agree with everything you said about it. Also yay for HP rereads

Gord, too bad about Butts not being a great read.
Yay for Adventure Buddies! And for Murderbot, but that's a given. Love that robot.

Just to add to the Legends and Latte's love, I read it at the end of last year and I really enjoyed it. It's so adorable.

I inhaled on audio. So good! A great slice of life style fantasy book

Time for that weekly update and I don't know about anyone else but this week has felt really long. Monday felt like an eon ago.

-3 Stars
Alright, I might, just might, be warming up, slightly, to contemporary romance novels, maybe. This was a simple romance about opposites attracting. She is a socialite from LA who has been sent to a small fishing town after making a fool of herself and getting her father into trouble. He is a salty sea captain who owns his own fishing boat and never deviates from his routine. I'll be honest, overall this wasn't bad. One thing I did not like about this book was the sex scene. Not because I'm a prude who doesn't like sex in his books or anything. It just felt boring and cookie cutter. The guys is hung, the sex was the greatest she ever had ever, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. Honestly I felt like I've read this exact same sex scene a million times. It's just the same thing from book to book to book to book. I just want someone to change things up a bit. I don't know, have someone let go a giant fart the first time they have sex. Just something different that doesn't make the sex this thing of ultimate perfection that just works perfectly for these perfect people the first time they drop their pants. Anyway, rant over, I'll go back to my cave.

-5 Stars
Or not, I guess I still have books to talk about. Part of my goals this year was start listening to longer audiobooks. Originally I set my limit at 15 hours because I was limiting my listening time to my walks. Since I was only walking to work 15 hours was the max length I felt comfortable committing to with a three week borrow time from the library. First up on the longer list was a reread of this fabulous series. I've gushed about this book and this series plenty already. The audiobook was a good listening experience. Not the greatest thing ever and far from the worst. What is a good way to describe this? It's like that little extra seasoning on top of an already great dish.

-3 Stars
There isn't a lot to say about this manga. This is not a manga for the story or the characters. This is a manga that is a love letter to ramen in all of it's various forms. If you love ramen then this is a book that will make you very hungry.

-4 Stars
I finally got my next volume of One Punch Man so I can continue my journey with this series. I'm liking the change of direction that this story is starting to take. For a while now it felt like it was about introducing bigger and badder villains to set up just how strong Saitama is. Now we are getting hints at other things going on in the world and I am very curious.

-4 Stars
This is a weird one guys. Normally I don't think l would like Princess Jellyfish. It's just not a story that I would normally be interested in but there is just something here that's just clicking with me. There are various story elements going on, the story has its funny moments and yet still feels mature as well. There are just a lot of moving pieces and I'm enjoying the experience.

-4 Stars
This is the setup for the arc known as Battle City and the series is finally getting into one of my biggest questions. The Egyptian magic aspect of the series. Up to this point there have been hints and teases to this stuff but nothing concrete. This arc really starts to dive into the Egyptian side of things and I am interested. I'm curious to see where this arc will go with all this stuff.

As for what is next...

On audio I'm listening to . I've been thinking about rereading Dresden for some time now and listening to them on audio seems like a good fit. I'm a little over 30% into the book and Marsters is a good voice for Dresden in my opinion.

On the physical books side of things I am chasing the library due date again. I need to get and done this week so I can return them next weekend. I don't know how much reading I am going to get done this week as things are busy at work and I'm working a 6 day week due to inventory counts.

@Gord, I just finished the audio of It Happened One Summer and felt the same. I also rated it 3 stars. It was meh... and Piper was so unlikeable.

Gord glad to see you're enjoying One Punch Man! I never read the manga, but I did watch the anime a while back and really enjoyed it! It's fun!

Here's what I read in the last week or two:

Next on my Elemental Assassin re-read was this novella in Finn's POV. It was heartbreaking, but I enjoyed it!
I loved this book , I really did, but that ending was frustrating! I saw it coming, but still! It's not a trope I love. It's a good thing I only have to wait till the end of the month for the next and last book in the series. Lol. But I really did enjoy this! I liked that there was this sort of murder mystery going on, what with a bunch of Shadowhunters being murdered. And I just love these characters. Cassie Clare always writes loveable characters!

And right now I'm halfway through with this one, and I'm excited to see how this series will wrap up.

Finished my first book of the year and I enjoyed it. I think I liked her first book of essays, Talking As Fast As I Can more, but this was still a fun listen and a solid start to my year of reading.
Will be moving onto next which I'm excited to finally read as I meant to read it last year, but all my reading just took longer than I thought and I never got round to it. I'm hoping it will be worth the wait!

@Gord I didn't realise you've started One Punch Man. I wanted to read it for ages and can't get a copy :D I'm glad you're enjoying it.
I had the same feelings about Princess Jellyfish. But when I started reading, I couldn't stop myself, so addictive it was.

@Lili I'm glad you loved Chain of Iron and I also like that about Cassandra, here characters are always so loveable!

@Jo That's a definitely interesting start of the year. And Bloomsbury Girls sounds really good.

My small update. The highlight is that I ended my yearly re-read of HP series.

- 4 stars. It was so cute, hilarious and cozy! Loved it, enjoyed it and am going to miss those lovely witches.
- 4 stars. The series actually becomes more interesting and not boring at all, which is usually an issue with long cozy mystery series. So far this is my favorite CM series featuring ghosts.
- 5 stars. The best retelling of the beauty and the beast I’ve read so far. It has everything: traveling between worlds/dimensions, confusion about some parts with nice resolution, proper culmination, perfect drama moment, almost love triangle(?), at least I felt it there. And the best part is the ending! I can’t wait to read the next book.
- 4 stars. I love how hopeful the book is, how hard it is to go through all the events, but there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. The only thing I missed here was more Atlas perspective, more character and more development of his relations with his brother.
- 5 stars. I loved the book, each page of it. Extremely cute, nice, warm and kind atmosphere. And definitely asian! Helen Hoang knows how to write a perfect asian romantic story, with enough cultural aspects for you to feel how it is different from other cultures.
- 4 stars. I didn’t get all the buzz and hype. There is nothing wrong with the book, it’s good, but is it really worth all the hype? Probably not. I enjoyed it more than some other historical books, but not my favorite.
- 5 stars. It’s a yearly re-read, those books never get old. Love them dearly.
- 3 stars. The book is average in the genre. I expected a little bit more of this setting, which is interesting and intriguing. Plantation turned into a B&B in Louisiana? Sounds like a gorgeous setting for everything mysterious to happen.
- 3 stars. Oh so average insta love romance. I wanted it to be more about baking, learning to bake, food changed people’s lives, that kind of book.

so many books everyone. Love it!

I can't remember if I've updated my reading here but I've finished 3 books so far:
- 4 stars. I really liked this one. There was some pacing issues in the middle where it was super slow but the ending was fantastic. Can't wait for book 2.

- 3.5 stars. This was a really cute magical realism romance. I always tend to like magical realism. As a mainly fantasy reader I enjoy it more than a pure contemporary romance. It's not the best I've read but it was cute and enjoyable. I appreciated that the main character ran a book club haha.

- 3 stars. It was okay. It was a cute storyline and I could tell it was inspired by one of my favourite shows (Schitt's Creek) but Piper was unbearably annoying and I didn't like her at all. The sex scenes were too much and so cringy. Awful when you're listening to them on audio. Don't know if I'll be picking up any other Tessa Bailey books.

Currently listening to on audiobook and reading on paperback.

Kayleigh {K-Books} wrote: "I can't remember if I've updated my reading here but I've finished 3 books so far:
- 4 stars. I really liked this one. There was some pacing issues in the middle wher..."

Oh I did A Marvellous Light on audio last year, the guy who narrates it was decent, though as with many male narrators, I found his female voices did leave something to be desired.

I finished on audio, now starting

@Brittany how did you like Once Upon a Wardrobe?

It was a good listen! A neat way to explore C.S. Lewis' life and does a good job of navigating the underlying sadness and how to live life to the fullest with the time you are given. Its about imagination and the lions of our lives. It was good, not spectacular but good and worth the listen

Brittany wrote: "I finished on audio, now starting "

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on A Magic Steeped in Poison. I have that on my TBR.

I'm about 1.5 hours into it to far Kay and its intriguing anyway