Least Favorite Books of 2018

Hello everyone!

I figured since I shared the best books I read in 2018, I'd also share some of the worst I read. I'm only sharing the ones I gave 1 or 2 stars. Just because I didn't like these books doesn't mean others won't really enjoy them. In fact, I know some of these are well loved, they just weren't for me. 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I had to read this book for school and just didn't see the point to the novel. I found it dull and just didn't enjoy it at all.

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

I did enjoy learning the behind the scenes of Star Wars, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. 

Star Trek: The Manga Volume 1: Shinsei/Shinsei by Chris Dows

I was looking for a story like the tv show, but this just wasn't it for me. 

Starstruck by Rachel Shukert

This story moved too slowly for me and the main character to me seemed too needy. 

All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson

I think if I'd read this when I was younger, I would've loved it! But sadly, I didn't enjoy it. The artwork was really nice though.

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

This book was poorly written and goes against so many morals. I did not enjoy it one bit.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I know so many people really enjoyed this book, but the pace was super slow for me. It seemed like not a lot happened. I really wanted to like this one, but I didn't.

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

I don't have much to say about this one except it wasn't for me.

Selp-Helf by Miranda Sings

This book tried so hard to be funny, but it wasn't for me. I love watching Miranda, but I didn't like her book. Sorry not sorry.

Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon

These poems made absolutely no sense. 

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

This series really dragged out for me and I really didn't like this sequel. The first book was really good and I couldn't wait to continue, but this book just didn't do it for me. I don't think I'll get around to the third book, but I do plan to read Six of Crows. It sounds more up my alley.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

This story just wasn't for me. I can see how the plot would be intriguing but I didn't like the concept. 

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston

This is another one I had to read for school and absolutely hated it! I didn't get the point of the book. I found it boring and struggled to get through it.

Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

I really wanted to like the conclusion to this trilogy, but it was so disappointing. I didn't like how the author went about with the plot of this novel. It had so much potential from book 2, but it didn't live up to my expectations sadly.

Crown of Midnight by Sylvain Neuvel

I think I've just determined that the Throne of Glass series just isn't for me. I really could care less about any of the characters and I'm just not enthralled with the plot. This one didn't keep my attention for long, and because of that, I don't think I will be continuing in the series either. 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

~Abby

2018 Reading Stats

Hello everyone!

I always find it interesting to learn about people's reading stats so I thought I'd share my own. I'm pulling most of these from Goodreads, but I'm also doing some of my own.

- I read a total of 78 books and a total of 27,471 pages.
- The average book length I read was 352, which I thought would be higher since I read more books over 400 pages. But I guess it evens out with the shorter books I read.
- The shortest book I read was The White Ballets by Rajka Kupesic with 40 pages.
- The longest book I read was Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems with 1,020 pages.
- The most popular book I read on Goodreads was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald with over 3 million readers.
- The least popular book I read was Neon Aliens Ate My Homework by Scholastic Inc. with only 18 readers.
- My average rating for the whole year was 3.6 which does not surprise me at all since I rated a lot of books 3-4 stars this year.

Let's move into genres.
- I read 11 adult novels and 46 young adult.
- I read 15 non-fiction and 63 fiction.
- I read 12 rereads for me.
- Poetry: 10
- Biography: 3
- Self-Help: 1
- Middle Grade: 7
- Historical Fiction: 4
- Graphic Novels: 2
- Contemporary/Romance: 11
- Classics: 4
- Science Fiction: 9
- Fantasy: 22
- Thriller: 4

Now let's talk about ratings.
- 5 stars: 22
- 4 stars: 20
- 3 stars: 21
- 2 stars: 13
- 1 star: 3

I think seeing the statistics behind certain things is so interesting. I hope this wasn't too boring.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.
~Abby

Favorite Books of 2018

Hello everyone!

I read some pretty great books in the year of 2018 and wanted to share my favorites with all of you. It was hard to sort through all the books I read this year and pick my favorites, but I love all the ones I chose. I'm going to list them in the order I read them. Also, I'm not including rereads, only books that I read for the first time in 2018.

Roseblood by A.G. Howard

I love Phantom of the Opera and of course loved this retelling. It did have an interesting paranormal twist that a lot of people didn't like, but I thought it added to the original story in a unique way. It's so worth the read and A.G. Howard's writing is so whimsical.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

If you want a book that pulls at your heartstrings, this is the book for you. I got so attached to the characters in this novel, and it made me cry so much. I really did enjoy this novel and the story it shared.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

I really enjoyed the movie adaptation of this book in particular, but the book was even better! I don't think I need to explain myself that much about this book.

The Siren by Kiera Cass

After this book, I've decided that Kiera Cass is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is so beautiful and she knows how to keep your attention throughout the novel. I loved the characters in this story and the plot was great. 

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

I loved the twists this story took and I didn't see the ending coming. I'm so excited for the sequel to come out!

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

This was one of the best conclusions I've read for a trilogy. All the characters ended up with the RIGHT people and the characters are so lovable. I think part of the reason I really enjoyed this book is because I could relate to certain things Lara Jean was going through in this book. It was a great read and I'm so glad I took the time to read it.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

I loved Anna and the French Kiss so I thought I'd give this one a go. I was not disappointed. I think it was even better than Anna and the French Kiss and I'm so excited to read Isla and the Happily Ever After.

Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna

This book got me into poetry, and for that, it had to make my favorites list. This was such a unique poetry book and I'd never read anything like it before. 

The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One by Amanda Lovelace

I loved the messages behind the poetry in this book. I related to a lot of it which added to my enjoyment. I loved this collection.

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

This book was so adorable. I loved taking a fictional trip to Italy and falling in love with yet another fictional character. I'm excited to read Jenna Evans Welch's second novel.

The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans (aka Jenna Evans Welch's father)

This was such a sweet story with heartache and overcoming it with someone you love. I enjoyed this novel so much.

The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans

I think I enjoyed this novel even more than The Mistletoe Promise which I didn't think was possible. This one was fantastic and had such a good message. I couldn't recommend it enough.

What were your favorite reads of 2018?
Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous day.
~Abby

December Wrap-Up 2018

Hello everyone! 

December has been a pretty good reading month for me and a great way to end 2018. I ended up reading a total of 5 books, but one of them was over 800 pages so I'm pretty proud of myself. I didn't read as many holiday books as I was hoping, but I am going to be reading some in January just because I want to read more of them. 

Flashback by Shannon Messenger

⭐⭐⭐

Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review here. 

The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

⭐⭐

Review here.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

⭐⭐

What books did you read in December?

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

~Abby

2018 Goals Wrap-Up

Hello everyone!

Towards the beginning of my blog, I made a couple of posts about what I wanted to accomplish with my reading this year. Let's see if I reached any of those goals. The original blog posts can be found here and here and here.

Firstly, let's start with the books/series I wanted to get to this year. I'll add a * next to the books/series if I got to them this year.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo*

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling*

Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer*

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo* (I'm counting this one as read because I tried finishing it a few times and couldn't get into the third book, so I don't plan on finishing it. But don't worry, I plan on reading Six of Crows at some point.)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell*

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins*

The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw

So in conclusion, I read 6/18 of the books/series I originally wanted to get to which is less than half. Hopefully, I can get to most of these next year.

The next goal I want to address is my reading goal. I set out to read 50 books, but ended up reading 78! I read more than I planned for which is amazing!

I also set a goal of reading more contemporary books which I think I definitely accomplished. I read quite a few this year.

I will be posting a separate post about my new goals for 2019 so keep a look out for that.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous day.

~Abby

Review: The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel

Hello everyone!

It seems like it's been forever since the last time I posted a book review. In the past 6 months, I've read The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel and thought I'd share some of my thoughts about this series. This trilogy follows a crew of characters kind of thrown together to discover why alien technology has been left and what its purpose is. Now obviously, that's not what the whole series is about, that's mainly just book one. This trilogy is told in a unique format because it uses news reports and interviews to move the story along. I've never read a book before that did that, but I heard Illuminae is very similar, so I'll have to try that one out eventually too.

Let's move on to what I liked about this series. I've been getting more into sci-fi lately, and this was a great trilogy for me to read to introduce me more into that genre. I really enjoyed the format as I was saying earlier and didn't find it confusing at all. There are some science-y things talked about throughout each book, but I understood most of it at a very basic level. I do have to say the second book, Waking Gods, was my favorite in the trilogy by far. It had more plot movement for me which is what I look for in a sci-fi. I want to see all the action. Plus, this series has aliens, so how could I not read it? I love books with aliens, and movies for that matter.

Let's move on to what I didn't necessarily love about this series. So the first book wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I didn't hate it either so I decided to continue in the series. Like I said, I loved the second book, but the third book was definitely my least favorite in the whole trilogy. It dragged and felt like it wasn't needed, at least the beginning. I liked learning more about what happened when they were taken, but the stuff in between bored me. It really started picking up for me once I was almost 2/3 of the way through. I really did like the ending though. That's the main thing I didn't like about the series was the third book.

Ratings:

Sleeping Giants - 3.5/5 stars

Waking Gods - 4/5 stars

Only Human - 2.5/5 stars

Overall, if you enjoy science fiction, I would recommend reading this series, especially if you're just starting reading in this genre. It was enjoyable and I did enjoy it overall. It's not a new favorite series of all time, but it's one I could see myself potentially going back to in the future and recommending to people. If Sylvain Neuvel releases another sci-fi novel, I will definitely be checking it out. I would rate this series a 3.5/5 as a whole. 

Have you read this series? If so, what did you think of it?

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

~Abby

Dessert Book Tag

Hello everyone!

I found this book tag over at Reading in the Rain.

Brownies: A book that has sweetness written all over it.

This was one of the sweetest stories I've ever read. I really enjoyed it.

Lava Cake: A book that surprised you.

Sleeping Giants was okay to me, so I thought Waking Gods would be about the same, but I really enjoyed the sequel. It was better than the first in my opinion.

Ice Cream: *brainfreeze* A book that made your head hurt.

I didn't understand this book one bit.

Smores: A book that had a lot of layers to it.

If you've read this book, you'll understand how it has many layers.

Cookies: A book that made you fall in love with reading.

This was the first trilogy that turned me into an avid reader. I'd read my whole life, but this is when I started to read more and more.

Cheesecake: A book that had that sour-ish tang for you.

I personally really like cheesecake, but for this prompt I'm going to have to go with...

This book had so much potential, but I was just disappointed by it at the end. 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

~Abby

2019 Reading Goals

Hello everyone!

The new year is right around the corner, and a new year means new goals. Last year I set up some pretty high reading goals for which books I wanted to get to, so instead of adding to that list, I'm going to try to get to them this year. The books I want to get to this year are:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

The Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

The Hunt for the Seventh by Christin Morton-Shaw

That's only 12 books (not including individual books for series), so I should be able to get to them all. I won't be disappointed if I don't complete the series, but I at least want to get a decent start in each of them.

My reading goal for 2019 is going to be 75 which is a step up from my goal of 50 last year. It shouldn't be too hard of a goal to accomplish since I exceeded 50 in 2018.

A genre I want to read more of in 2019 is poetry. I discovered I really like poetry last year and want to read more of it. This shouldn't be too hard to do since I can usually read a collection in a day or two.

My big goal is to start reading more of the books I own and not check out so many books from the library. Don't get me wrong, I love the library, I just own a lot of books that I haven't read yet and I'm super excited for them. 

What are your goals for 2019?
Keep an eye out for my 2018 goals wrap up at the end of the year.

Thanks for stopping by. Have an awesome day.

~Abby

Christmas Movies Book Tag

Hello everyone!

Today I felt like doing another fun Christmas tag. This tag was originally created on the channel Katie Loves to Read.

Elf: A book which made you laugh out loud.

I laughed out loud quite a few times throughout this book. Stephanie Perkins just knows how to incorporate humor into her stories so well.

Arthur Christmas: A middle grade/YA book that you think adults would love or could learn from.

This book has such a good message behind it and I feel like people of all ages would love it and learn from it.

White Christmas: A classic book that you think everyone needs to read.

This was way better than I expected it to be when I first read it. It has such a deeper meaning behind it and really makes you think about your life in a new way. I think everyone should read this at least once in their life.

Love Actually: A book with a huge cast of characters.

There are so many characters in this series and it's told in more than one perspective, but mostly Michael's.

The Grinch: A book with a great villain.

The villain in this book is so deceitful! I won't say much more so I don't spoil anything, but he's a pretty good villain.

It's a Wonderful Life: A book which really made you think about life.

This book was so touching and really made me think about my life and how I affect others. I really enjoyed this story.

The Polar Express: A book where the character(s) go on an adventure.

Sage goes on quite the journey in this book and continues on into the rest of the trilogy. This book is so action-packed and quite humorous. I love this trilogy so much.

The Snowman: Choose a book with a festive cover.

I love the simplicity of this cover, and it's festive because it has a Santa hat. And the story is so sweet.

Bonus Question: What's your favorite Christmas/Holiday movie?

Elf, Christmas With the Kranks, A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and The Year Without a Santa Claus just to name a few.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a good day.

~Abby

Most Anticipated Books of 2019

Hello everyone!

The new year is quickly approaching, and with a new year comes new books. I wanted to share the ones that I am most excited for in this blog post.

The Wicked King by Holly Black

I adored The Cruel Prince when I read it earlier this year and have awaited the sequel ever since I finished. 
This is set to be released January 8.

Stain by A.G. Howard

Now, I've only read Roseblood by this author, but I loved it so much that I want to read more of her works. I do plan to read Splintered at some point, but I'm super excited to read this one when it comes out.
This is set to be released January 15.

Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi
For this one you'd almost wonder why I'm so excited for it since I haven't even finished the series. I read the first two books and never got around to the third because you know there were other books to read. Well, I loved the first two books in this series and am planning to finish them sometime in the new year and I'm pretty sure I'm going to love them all and want to pick up this book when finished. That is my very lengthy explanation. 
This is set to be released April 2.

Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

I really enjoy Christine's videos on YouTube and am so excited for her book to come out.
This is set to be released May 7.

Fire and Ash by C.V. Wyk
I read Blood and Sand pretty close to its release date earlier this year and really liked it. I want to see how the story progresses.
This one doesn't have an exact date to be released in 2019.

Keeper of the Lost Cities #8 by Shannon Messenger
This book does not yet have a title or a set release date, but it's supposed to be coming out next fall. I really enjoy this series and am eagerly awaiting the conclusion, which there's still supposed to be one more book after this one.
This is set to be released fall 2019.

I know this was a really short list, but these are the only releases I am aware of that I am anticipating. I'm sure as more are announced I will mention them in future blog posts. 
What books are you looking forward to in 2019?
Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.
~Abby