Clare's November Wrap Up and December TBR

November Wrap Up:

I had a really good reading month in November and managed to catch up on my Goodreads goal. I did have a few disappointing books but also a lot of books that blew me away so it balances out!

23. Nemesis by Anna Banks: This is one of those books that just wasn't for me. The plot and the world-building felt lacklustre and I could not get behind the romance at all. 

22. Windwitch by Susan Dennard: I enjoyed this much less than the first book Truthwitch. It was more a filler book than anything falling victim to the second-book-curse. Hopefully the third book will get back on track.

21. Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge: I loved Hodge's first two novels so I was a bit surprised by how all over the place this felt. The plot and the world were never very clearly developed and the characters were either forgettable or unlikable.

20. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman: Enjoyable. Not always historically accurate which bugged the history nerd in me but the story itself was good and the characters were very much in the grey so I would be intrigued enough to continue the story.

19. Florence Grace by Tracy Rees: This is the second of Rees's books published and the second I've read. I enjoyed Amy Snow a lot more. This was still atmospheric and the characters were great but I wasn't as connected with the plot.

18. Heartless by Marissa Meyer: Part of my reaction to this was knowing the ending before it started. Which I should have been prepared for. I love Alice in Wonderland so I knew exactly where this was headed. But it meant I never got attached to Jest or invested in the romance which so much of the story was built on.

17. Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley: A good contemporary with great characters. Another one where I preferred another of the author's books. I liked the depiction of being LGBTQ whilst in a very religious community but I think Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit was so great that I was constantly comparing the two!

16. Ringer by Lauren Oliver: A good sequel to Replica although not really needed I don't think. Replica worked well enough as a standalone that whilst reading this I constantly wished the story had just wrapped up nicely already. Still it was a good story. 

15. The Irregular by H.B. Lyle: I will have a full review of this up soon. I liked some aspects of it and disliked others which made it a hard review to write. Overall though it was a good spy novel.

14. The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember: This was a slightly disappointing one for me in some ways. I didn't like the romance at all. However I loved the politics of the merpeople and I loved that Loki was given the correct pronouns and I loved the character development.

13. The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead: This was fun and mostly light-hearted. I don't think it needed to be a fantasy novel. It was so blatantly using the politics and religions of England and America that it would have made just as much sense without the fantasy added on and would have been better almost as a frontier novel.

12. The Empress by S.J. Kincaid: I love this series. This wasn't quite up to the standard of the first book (second-book-curse strikes again) but I'm so excited to see where the series is going and how this will all wrap up!!

11. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King: This was emotional and dark but with plenty of snarky with thrown in to make it a fast and enjoyable read. 

10. Close to Me by Amanda Reynolds: This was a good thriller although not as twisty as I would have liked. I will have a full review up for this very soon.

9. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King: This was as good as I've always been told it was. Loved the characters, adored the conversation about consent and discussions around labelling yourself/being labelled and how you choose to come out.

8. Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart: I really enjoyed this. It was very dark and very twisted and so much fun. The main character was deeply unlikable in the best possible way. 

7. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard: This was a fun start to the series. Loved Safi and Iseult and Aeduan. Like I mentioned, I didn't like the second book but this series still has so much promise and I am interested to see what happens next! 

6. Replica by Lauren Oliver: The format of this worked so, so well. I read it flipping from one side to the other every chapter and the chapters led really well into each other. 

5. Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden: I can't believe I haven't read this book before now. It was really good although emotional and at times hard to read. I loved that it had a happy ending though.

4. As I Descended by Robin Talley: Macbeth but LGBT and diverse and it was a lot of fun. So dark and if you love retellings I definitely recommend it. I read this before Our Private Universe which dampened my enthusiasm for the latter a bit and I really hope Robin Talley writes another book like this soon because it was great!

3. The Mountain by Luca D'Andrea: My review for this went up yesterday. I loved it. I desperately want to read more by D'Andrea. Check out my review to learn why. 

2. Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray: Libba Bray is just incredible. I need, need, need, to know how this all resolves and it kills me thinking of how long I'll have to wait for the next book!

1. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo: SO beautiful. Honestly just, the illustrations were gorgeous, the stories were enchanting. I loved this so much. 

December TBR:

I posted this week about the ten books on my winter TBR so I don't want to repeat myself. Instead these are the books I aim to read and review in December! I love December, it's my favourite month of the year and I'm so excited for all the books I'll read.

Clare's October Wrap Up and November TBR

October Wrap Up:

Favourite Read of the Month: We Have Always Lived in the Castle AND The Book of Dust. You can't make me choose!!

November TBR:

Other than Renegades and Retribution Rails I really don't know what I want to read next! October was a very scheduled month for me, I had books I needed to read for review and some that just fit with Halloween so well I HAD to read them. So in November I'm just going to see where my mood takes me!!

Clare's September Wrap Up & October TBR

September Wrap Up:

12. House of Ash by Hope Cook: Just a real disappointment. This wasn't as creepy as it hoped it was and the characters bored me enough that I didn't really care whether they made it through the book at all. The ending was just a bit too clean for me as well.

11. S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett: This seemed like a really interesting concept but it was ruined when the ending was spoiled right at the beginning. If you begin your book telling me who lives and who dies I'm really not going to be at all in suspense. And this story needed suspense.

10. Water in May by Ismee Amiel Williams: I really liked all of the characters and the plot was super compelling. I was put off by some hints of homophobia that I really did not want.

9. The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones: Really unique idea, I loved the demons - not so much the humans. I did race through this because it was very compelling but looking back on it there were some flaws. That said it was really enjoyable.

8/7. Burning and Breaking by Danielle Rollins: Burning was my least favourite of the two. It definitely comes across weaker - it isn't as compelling. But Breaking was very interesting - I loved the idea of, as the tagline says "What makes a girl a monster" and thought it was executed really well. So many of the characters were unlikable but in a really good way.

6. The Treatment by C.L. Taylor: This is almost dystopia except its set in the very-near-basically-now future. It was very tense and I love books where you never know who to trust. I was most intrigued by the sibling relationship (as always) and thought it was well done. I would definitely read more from Taylor!

5. The Diviners by Libba Bray: This was a re-read and one of my favourite books of all time. (I've placed it lower down to be fair on new reads). This is creepy, and beautiful and the characters are incredible and I am just so excited for the third book WHICH COMES OUT TODAY!!

4. Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel: What I actually love about this book is how classic YA it feels - yet still new. If you ever get nostalgic thinking of the Lux series or even the Twilight series but want amazing writing - then this is probably for you. This book reignited my love for YA which has been kind of waning lately!

3. Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu: Read this as part of an upcoming collab with Vera @ Regal Critiques and absolutely loved it. I'm not usually drawn to books about faith but Vera loves this book so much that I had to give it a try - and it was so good!! Interesting and tense and I was so, so attached to the characters.

2. Odd & True by Cat Winters: Cat Winters has literally never failed me. My review for this should actually go up tomorrow so keep an eye out for that - this was incredible. The sister dynamics were wonderful, the mystery had me on the edge of my seat and I thought the ending was incredible!

1. Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody: THIS BOOK! I wanted to re-read it the second I finished it. I want multiple copies of it. I just. Love. This. Book. The characters were amazing, the story was incredible and the setting made me actually want to dive into the book in a way I haven't wanted to since Harry Potter!!

Reviews Posted This Month:

• Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody
  

October TBR:

October shall forever be known as the month releases finally killed me. My bank balance will come for me on a revenge spree or my TBR pile will topple and crush me whilst I sleep. I'm actually feeling super daunted by how many books are releasing in October. And this isn't even all the ones I'm excited for!

I've also been inspired by Vera (whose wonderful wrap up post is here) to add some links to some of my favourite blog posts from other bloggers this month!

• Barb at Booker T's Farm reviewed Black Bird of the Gallows and I agree that I will never look at bees the same way again after reading it!!!
• If you're interested in gaming (which I am) you should definitely check out Puffin Zero's post on Destiny 2 which made me super anxious to play it!
• As a red-head I was excited to read Lauren @ Always Me's Top Ten Books That Feature Characters With Red Hair and she made some excellent picks!!
• Vera @ Regal Critiques discussed the Top Ten #OwnVoices Books she has read so far this year and you should definitely check out all the books on the list!!
• Ashley @ What She's Read showed which 5 Book Inspired Classes she would teach and I would 100% attend all these lessons!!

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare), Facebook and Instagram to keep up with what we are reading.