October Wrap-Up 2016

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October’s been a good reading month, I’ve read a total of 9 books! Most of the books I read were quite short so that explains the high number. And, I also acquired a lot of books this past week so I tried to make an effort to read a bit more to try and get through them all.

Normally I post my wrap-up and TBR together however I read a lot of books this month and I have lots of books to read next week so I decided to split them. A TBR post will be going up tomorrow.

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What I Read In October:

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

Neil Josten is the newest addition to the Palmetto State University Exy team. He’s short, he’s fast, he’s got a ton of potential—and he’s the runaway son of the murderous crime lord known as The Butcher. Signing a contract with the PSU Foxes is the last thing a guy like Neil should do. The team is high profile and he doesn’t need sports crews broadcasting pictures of his face around the nation. But Neil’s not the only one with secrets on the team. One of Neil’s new teammates is a friend from his old life, and Neil can’t walk away from him a second time. Neil has survived the last eight years by running. Maybe he’s finally found someone and something worth fighting for.

I started reading this book in September and I finally finished it this month! Although I liked this book, it did take me a while to get through. This book was very different from anything I’ve ever read and I enjoyed it even though I’m not a sports fan myself.

3.5/5 stars
Review

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The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and they have come to be called the Young Elites. But when Adelina is recruited by the Young Elites they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen before.

I loved this book! It was dark and edgy and Adelina was a great antihero. I also loved how Marie Lu twisted some overused young-adult book tropes to surprise the readers.

5/5 stars
Review

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Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas

This is the fifth book in the Throne of Glass. I loved the previous book in this series, Queen of Shadows, so I had high hopes for this book. However, I found it a bit boring, especially the first half. There wasn’t much going and it took me ages to read to as a result. The side characters did save this book, as they were the most interesting thing in this story.

3.5/5 stars
Review

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Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender

When Alexis’s little sister, Kasey, becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. But things get weirder when the old house they live in starts changing. Doors close by themselves, water boils on the unlit stove, and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house so cold the girls can see their breath. Kasey is changing too. Her blue eyes go green, and she uses old fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time. Most disturbing is that Kasey, the formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister – but what if the green eyed girl isn’t even Kasey anymore?

I read so many great review for this book on Goodreads and even though horror isn’t a genre I normally like, I thought I might enjoy this book. But, this book was full of cliches and it was very predictable. I’m someone who gets scared easily yet this book didn’t scare me in the slightest.

2.5/5 stars
Review

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Fallen by Lauren Kate

 17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart.

This book has been around for a while and I kind of knew going in that it’s not got the best reviews. And I understand why. This book was boring. There was no plot and the writing was lackluster.

2.5/5 stars
Review

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Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Dustwalk is an unforgiving, dead-end town. It’s not the place to be poor or orphaned or female. And yet Amani Al’Hiza must call it ‘home’. Amani wants to escape and see the world she’s heard about in campfire stories. Then a foreigner with no name turns up, and with him she has the chance to run. But the desert plains are full of dangerous magic. The Sultan’s army is on the rise and Amani is soon caught at the heart of a fearless rebellion.

 I absolutely loved the setting in this book and how Alwyn Hamilton didn’t hold back on the brutality that Amani suffered during the story. I liked this book a lot although at points I felt like too much information was being thrown at me at once.

4/5 stars
Review

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Finding Jade by Mary Jennifer Payne

The year is 2030, and climate change is making life on Earth more challenging. In the midst of it all, fourteen-year-old Jasmine Guzman struggles to come to terms with the abduction of her twin sister, Jade, and with her mother’s illness. Things go from bad to worse when a series of bizarre occurrences lead Jasmine to fear she’s losing her mind. But, with help from Raphael, a boy at her new school, Jasmine learns she actually has special powers as a Seer that are putting her life in danger.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is aimed at slightly younger audience but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It includes a range of elements mixed together, such as a dystopian world, magic and different cultures, which made this story fun to read.

3.5/5 stars
Review (coming soon)

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Darkchylde by R. Queen

Ariel Chylde is haunted by horrible dreams, and on her eighteenth birthday sheds her skin as the nightmares emerge to act out her deepest, darkest impulses.But before Ariel can save her small town from the terror of her dreams, she must first save herself from the sinister secret of her subconscious. A secret guarded by unspeakable evil.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was a bit different from other things I’ve read, as it’s a horror story, but I did enjoy it. On occasions I felt the writing didn’t flow well but I liked the characters and the setting.

3/5 stars
Review

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The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Natasha is a girl who believes in science and facts. She’s definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when her family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Daniel has always been the good son, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when he sees her, he forgets about all that. 

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! The characters fell in love very quickly during this novel, which is something I normally dislike, but it felt so realistic that I enjoyed it. Everything about this novel was wonderful.

5/5 stars
Review

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Blog Posts From October:

As I mentioned earlier, I took part in a Halloween readathon this month which was fun and even though I didn’t read everything I planned, I’m still happy with what I did read. I also got my first approvals on Netgalley for some great books, including The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon and Heartless by Marissa Meyer which is really exciting.

Here’s a look back at what I posted this month!

Lists:

• Mental Health Book Recommendations
• T5W: Books That Took Me Ages to Finish
• T5W: Favourite Spooky Settings
• T5W: Favourite Non-Canon Ships

Reviews:

• Darkchylde: The Ariel Chylde Saga by R. Queen
• Death Note Volumes 1-5 (mini review)
• Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas
• The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
• The Loneliness of Distant Beings by Kate Ling
• The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender (mini review)
• The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
• The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Tags:

• The New York Times “By the Book” Tag
• You’re Not Good Enough Book Tag

Wrap-Ups & TBRs:

• September Wrap-Up & October TBR
• Halloween Read-a-thon TBR

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What books did you read this month?