Mount TBR Challenge 2023 discussion
Mount Everest (100 books)
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Merin Goes for Her 7th Mountain!
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Let's see if I can make it to the top, shall we? First two books down!Out of Sight, Out of Time: 4 stars
A Countess Below Stairs: 3 stars
#78 is P.S. I Still Love You, which unfortunately was not as enjoyable as the first book in the series. Still, I'm now one book away from finishing the series in its entirety, so it's not all bad!Rating: 3 stars
#79 was my second DNF of the year. I just really didn't vibe with the main character of The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay.No rating.
#80 is European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, which was another sequel. I enjoyed it, but found it overly long.
Rating: 3.5 stars
#81 is Cleopatra: A Life, which I'd owned since its paperback release in 2011. I enjoyed this one quite a lot - it's a solid nonfiction read about the life of an infamous woman.Rating: 5 stars
Book #82 is They Never Learn, which so many people rave about. I perhaps don't understand the massive hype, although I did like this one a lot, and found it thoroughly engaging.Rating: 4 stars
Book #83 is Aurora's End, which completes another series! I liked this one the most out of the trilogy, but it still wasn't as good as Illuminae.Rating: 4 stars
Book #84 is The Family Game, which I found to be a very average mystery/thriller that was distinctly lacking in actual suspense and surprise, but was still engaging and enjoyable. Conundrum!Rating: 3 stars
Book #85 is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, the longest book I've ever read. I'd recommend the audio as it was very well done, and portions of it can be a bit dense and tedious to get through. I still very much enjoyed it!Rating: 4 stars
Book #86 is Malice House, which was a book I was really looking forward to and wound up not really enjoying. It's always such a bummer when that happens.Rating: 2 stars
Book #87 is Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier. I really enjoyed this, and would recommend for fans of shows like Law & Order: SVU or Criminal Minds.Rating: 4 stars
Book #88 is the 22nd Nancy Drew book, The Clue in the Crumbling Wall. I'm trying to make my way through all the original books, and while they all clock in at 3 stars (more or less), I still had a good time with this one.
Rating: 3 stars
Book #89 was one of my most-anticipated books from my shelves, The Grace Year, but alas, I didn't love it.Rating: 3 stars
#90 was The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead. Very dark, but really engaging and suspenseful. Just be aware of the trigger warnings!Rating: 4 stars
#91 was Always and Forever, Lara Jean, which I liked more than book 2, but still not as much as book 1. Nonetheless, it was a good series finale, and I'm happy to finally cross it off my list.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Book #92 is another series finale! I really enjoyed The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl and would highly recommend the series.Rating: 4 stars
Book #93 is a series continuation that was unfortunately not nearly as good as the first book. Hereafter suffers from odd writing choices, and eye-roll worthy teenage love.Rating: 3 stars
Book #94 is A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, which I had a lot of fun reading. Definitely going to read the next book in the series!Rating: 4 stars
Three more books down, one of which completes a series!#95 is The Language of Thorns, a collection of short stories from the Grishaverse. I really enjoyed these!
Rating: 4 stars
#96 is United We Spy, the final book in the Gallagher Girls series. This was a GREAT finale; I loved every second of it.
Rating: 5 stars
#97 is A River Enchanted, a fantasy book that felt cozy and warm, even though it dealt with some heavier topics. Going to check out the sequel at some point to see how the story wraps up.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Two more books read, leaving one left before I reach the summit!#98 is the 23rd Nancy Drew book - The Mystery of the Tolling Bell - which was a tad absurd but still enjoyable.
Rating: 3 stars
#99 is a series continuation, The Hammer of Thor, which I had a lot of fun with. If you like the Percy Jackson books, you'll most likely have fun with Magnus Chase as well.
Rating: 4 stars
And on November 26th, I've reached the top of Mount Everest!!!Book 100 is A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab, which is the sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic. I didn't like this one nearly as much as the first book, but since I have a goal to finish this series in 2023, it had to be read regardless.
Rating: 3 stars
I'm going to go ahead and continue adding any other books for Mount TBR in a comment below, but won't be attempting another mountain, since making it up Mount Olympus with only one month left would be impossible.
#101 is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, a book that had been on my want to read list since 2012, but turned out to NOT be worth the wait. Meh.Rating: 2 stars
CinCO wrote: "Congrats on Everest!"Thank you! :)
#102 was Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese, which was another disappointment. I just didn't think this story was executed particularly well, and I felt absolutely nothing upon finishing it.Rating: 2 stars
#103 was the final book on my 23 in 2023 list - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. First book by this author, and I enjoyed it, although it wasn't 5 stars. This surprised me, because I was fully expecting to love every aspect of this, but it didn't hit me quite as hard as I'd thought it would.Rating: 4 stars
Forgot to update, so here are 7 more books I've tackled!104: Dragon Ball, Vol. 1: The Monkey King (rating: 3 stars)
105: Ring Shout (rating: 5 stars)
106: The Christmas Murder Game (rating: 3 stars)
107: The Afterlife of Holly Chase (rating: 3 stars)
108: Endless (rating: 2 stars)
109: The Ship of the Dead (rating: 4 stars)
110: The Clue in the Old Album (rating: 2 stars)
Mod
Bev wrote: "Congratulations on planting the flag on Everest!"Thank you! And thank you again for hosting this challenge each year! I'm excited to see what I can tackle in 2024. :)
Mount TBR Challenge 2023
Books mentioned in this topic
Dragon Ball, Vol. 1: The Monkey King (other topics)Endless (other topics)
The Clue in the Old Album (other topics)
The Afterlife of Holly Chase (other topics)
Ring Shout (other topics)
More...
Previous Climb
Pike's Peak
1) The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (completed 1/2/23)
2) Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter (completed 1/5/23)
3) Memento by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (completed 1/7/23)
4) Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix (completed 1/8/23)
5) Ares: Bringer of War by George O'Connor (completed 1/8/23)
6) The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (completed 1/8/23)
7) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern* (completed 1/15/23)
8) Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (completed 1/19/23)
9) Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway* (completed 1/21/23)
10) If I Lie by Corrine Jackson* (completed 1/22/23)
11) The Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene (completed 1/23/23)
12) Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente (completed 1/28/23)
Mount Blanc
13) Age Of Bronze Volume 3B: Betrayal by Eric Shanower (completed 2/7/23)
14) Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano (completed 2/9/23)
15) In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead (completed 2/13/23)
16) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (completed 2/20/23)
17) The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary (completed 2/28/23)
18) The Whispering Statue by Carolyn Keene (completed 3/3/23)
19) The Night Swim by Megan Goldin (completed 3/5/23)
20) The Haunted Bridge by Carolyn Keene (completed 3/9/23)
21) Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano (completed 3/10/23)
22) Apollo: The Brilliant One by George O'Connor (completed 3/11/23)
23) Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo (completed 3/11/23)
24) Kith by Holly Black (completed 3/12/23)
Mt. Vancouver
25) Delirium by Lauren Oliver (completed 3/18/23)
26) The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (completed 3/25/23)
27) Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman (completed 3/26/23)
28) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (completed 3/31/23)
29) The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss (completed 3/31/23)
30) The Clue of the Tapping Heels by Carolyn Keene (completed 4/2/23)
31) The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani (completed 4/10/23)
32) Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour (completed 4/16/23)
33) Alex by Lauren Oliver (completed 4/16/23)
34) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (completed 4/17/23)
35) Artemis: Wild Goddess of the Hunt by George O'Connor (completed 4/23/23)
36) Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (completed 4/23/23)
Mt. Ararat
37) A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab* (completed 4/30/23)
38) Lovely War by Julie Berry (completed 5/7/23)
39) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (completed 5/12/23)
40) The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larsen (completed 5/21/23)
41) Hermes: Tales of the Trickster by George O'Connor (completed 5/28/23)
42) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (completed 5/29/23)
43) Hephaistos: God of Fire by George O'Connor (completed 5/29/23)
44) Dionysos: The New God by George O'Connor (completed 5/29/23)
45) The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk by Carolyn Keene (completed 5/31/23)
46) The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell (completed 6/7/23)
47) The Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black (completed 6/13/23)
48) House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig (completed 6/14/23)
Mt. Kilimanjaro
49) If We Were Villains by ML Rio (completed 6/24/23)
50) The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (DNFed 6/25/23)
51) The Mystery at the Moss-covered Mansion by Carolyn Keene (completed 6/28/23)
52) The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages by Trenton Lee Stewart (completed 6/30/23)
53) We Are Okay by Nina LaCour (completed 6/30/23)
54) The Histories by Herodotus (completed 7/7/23)
55) The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle by Christopher Healy (completed 7/9/23)
56) The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart (completed 7/10/23)
57) Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD by Jason Kander (completed 7/16/23)
58) The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang (completed 7/23/23)
59) The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (completed 7/24/23)
60) The Quest of the Missing Map by Carolyn Keene (completed 7/25/23)
El Toro
61) Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (completed 7/28/23)
62) Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas (completed 7/30/23)
63) The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw by Christopher Healy (completed 7/31/23)
64) Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby (completed 8/6/23)
65) Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi (completed 8/7/23)
66) Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (completed 8/15/23)
67) Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (completed 8/19/23)
68) Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (completed 8/25/23)
69) Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe (completed 8/27/23)
70) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (completed 9/1/23)
71) The Clue in the Jewel Box by Carolyn Keene (completed 9/3/23)
72) Kind by Holly Black (completed 9/3/23)
73) The Secret in the Old Attic by Carolyn Keene (completed 9/4/23)
74) Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson (completed 9/5/23)
75) Shadowlands by Kate Brian* (completed 9/6/23)
Mount Everest
76) Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter (completed 9/10/23)
77) A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson (completed 9/10/23)
78) P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han (completed 9/17/23)
79) The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay (DNFed 9/23/23)
80) European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss (completed 9/25/23)
81) Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff (completed 10/1/23)
82) They Never Learn by Layne Fargo (completed 10/4/23)
83) Aurora's End by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (completed 10/8/23)
84) The Family Game by Catherine Steadman (completed 10/11/23)
85) Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (completed 10/22/23)
86) Malice House by Megan Shepherd (completed 10/23/23)
87) Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier (completed 10/26/23)
88) The Clue in the Crumbling Wall by Carolyn Keene (completed 10/27/23)
89) The Grace Year by Kim Liggett (completed 10/29/23)
90) The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead (completed 10/30/23)
91) Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han (completed 11/4/23)
92) The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss (completed 11/07/23)
93) Hereafter by Kate Brian (completed 11/8/23)
94) A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (completed 11/10/23)
95) The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo (completed 11/12/23)
96) United We Spy by Ally Carter (completed 11/12/23)
97) A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross (completed 11/15/23)
98) The Mystery of the Tolling Bell by Carolyn Keene (completed 11/18/23)
99) The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan (completed 11/19/23)
100) A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab (completed 11/26/23)
TOTAL BOOKS READ: 100 of 100
* denotes a reread