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Hello everyone, I wanted to give you an update on my reading progress. As you know, my goal is to read eight books every month which means I need to read at least two books per week. This worked out well for me in January but, unfortunately, I didn't quite make that goal in February.
Out of the eight books I set out to read, I only completed:
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronavitch-- This book was recommended by a co-worker. It follows Peter Grant as he goes from being a low-level cop to investigating strange deaths and murders that may or may not be caused by magical creatures. He's trained as a magician-- making several references to Harry Potter-- and has to find the culprit while also solving a blood feud between the river spirits. It's fun and strange and magical.
Love by Toni Morrison-- I read this one for the POPSUGAR challenge prompt: "read a book with 'love' in the title." In Love, we follow the story of Heed and Christine's life as it revolved around a man who owned and ran a sucessful hotel. The two women both believe they should inherit Cosey's wealth-- one being his second wife while the other being his granddaughter-- and the other is trying to steal it. As we learn more about their lives, the reader comes to realize Cosey's manipulation and abuse that has led two friends to turn against each other and brought about their downfall. This is a tough read but well worth it.
Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A Nielsen-- A middle grade book, this is an Iowa Teen Picks winner for 2018 and 2019. A fantasy set in ancient Rome, we follow a slave boy named Nic as he is sent to steal a bulla-- a good luck charm-- from the tomb of Julius Cesar. Once he has it, though, he is forced into a fight for his life and the survival of Rome as different parties try to claim the charm and it's powers for their own. This was a fun and easy read; I recommend this for anyone who likes Percy Jackson.
Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl-- I read this for the POPSUGAR prompt: "A book you meant to read in 2018." Here we follow Black Widow as she is forced to confront the man who trained her back in Russia, but he has his eye set on Ava Orlova, another girl he had begun to train in the Red Room. Natasha, Ava, and a boy with too many conflicting names must find a way to stop the madman before he revises an experiment that could put the security of the world in danger. This was an okay read. I felt it tried too hard with the romance and not enough with the mystery and spy-games.
Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan-- special thanks to NetGalley for giving me a digital copy. I read this for the POPSUGAR prompt: "a book by two female authors." This is a new book (just published this month) about two high school girls raising their voices against a variety of women's issues at their school. This book is compelling and hard hitting; I tend to avoid reading things that make me angry-- I had to keep walking away and coming back to this book-- but this one is anger with a purpose. I highly recommend!
A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston--Arabian Nights meets Beauty and the Beast. This one took me by surprise. I was expecting a sappy romance and instead I got a fantasy that focused on the power of women's tradition. Told like a legend or fairy tale, the main character-- who is never given a name-- purposefully takes her sister's place as the bride to the king Lo-Melkhiin, ready to die to protect her sister. When she isn't killed on the first night, she resolves to just wait, but in her waiting, she discovers a strange new power, the ability to predict or cause events to happen and the ability to create impossible things. She also learns of the demon that is controlling Lo-Melkhiin. This is a good read and I liked how it didn't belittle the women's roles and strengths. I do wish the author was from the culture that the story is inspired by, but I can't really hold that against them.
The Vampire of Maple Town by Kane McLoughlin-- Special thanks to NetGalley for giving me a digital copy. An original story that pulls from various fairy tales, this book follows a young vampire named Charlie as he tries to understand what makes him so different from the people in the nearby town of Maple. He makes friends, learns how to smith weapons such as the blood blade, capable of killing vampires, and meets his first love. But the deal he signed after learning he was a vampire will force him to kill one person from the village. This is a cute little story, not great, but a good read for anyone who wants something relaxing for a trip or weekend.
I was not able to get to Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. :(
My March TBR Pile includes:
Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young-- special thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.
Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell-- special thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He-- special thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte-- POPSUGAR prompt "A book with 1 million ratings."
A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit-- POPSUGAR prompt "A book about a hobby."
Attila: The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome by John Man-- POPSUGAR prompt
"A book with 'pop', 'sugar', or 'challenge' in the title."
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Lost Cult by E. E. Knight-- POPSUGAR prompt "A book revolving around a puzzle or game."
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Awabi-- the All Iowa Teen Reads winner of 2019.
I'm curious if any of you are reading any of these books or if you're doing the challenges as well. Also, I've read a little bit about tracking things that you read like genre, author, page count, publisher, etc. Would you be interested in knowing any of these things for what I read? Please let me know in the comments if you do.
Obviously, I have my work cut out for me. To top it all off, I'm also working on a short story that I hope to have published with Z Publishing House this year.
If you're interested in reading the works of emerging writers from all over the United States, I recommend checking out Z Publishing House. I do get a small commission from anything purchased through this link: www.zpublishinghouse.com?rfsn=1831564.e6254
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