Happy New Year! This post marks the start of all of the 2019 related content. We’re talking my least favorite books tomorrow and my favorite books the next day with a haul on Saturday!
I’m breaking my review into 3 parts; books read for the Queer Lit Read-a-thon, my own challenge, and all other books read. Even though I did another read-a-thon at the end of the month, it’s all getting lumped in with the other books.
I read 10 books total!
Queer Lit Read-a-thon
For the Queer Lit Readathon, I read one book, started two, and gave up on one. For the sake of simplicity and because I did start them all during the readathon, I’ll talk about them all here.
Goddess of the Hunt by Shelby Eileen – 3.75 stars
The sole book I read and I enjoyed it! Very accessible poetry for say, someone like me who doesn’t normally read poetry. I know a bit about Greek myths so I was kind of imagining other myths the author could connect Artemis and aromanticism to, but I still enjoyed it.
The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson – DNF
DNF at 57%. I was not enjoying it. After the 20% mark, everyone was unhappy and not sure in their relationships. I could see where some things were going and I didn’t think the author was portraying them right (dealing with seeing friends less, being bisexual, etc).
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg – 2.5 stars
This was interesting, but not what I expected. If I had know more about this book, I would not have listened to the audiobook for a queer readathon. Read my full review here!
Soft Science by Franny Choi – 4 stars
I took my time finishing this one and will probably come back to it again. I really enjoyed it and I can’t say why? Maybe it’s because I saw Choi perform some poetry very recently so I kind of got a feel for her style
Lowest Rated Challenge
The Bermudez Triangle double counted for this challenge, which means it counted for one of my DNFs.
Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy – 3.5 stars
I didn’t hate this anthology! Honestly, even though my average rating was a 3, I bumped the overall rating because the stories I did enjoy, I really enjoyed and overshadowed my disappointment with other stories. My favorites stories were Death Knell by Victoria Schwab and Marigold by Samantha Shannon
For my full breakdown of my opinions of all stories, click here!
The Gathering by Anne Enright – DNF
Look, we knew this was going to happen. It’s an adult contemporary that I only own because I got it for free. As far as I can tell, it’s just family drama. I read 10 pages and was so uninterested. The first chapter with the bone imagery was cool, but that’s it. I’m not gonna bother reading anymore of this.
That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston
So don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book, but my feelings are kind of all over the place in regards to how to rate it, so I’ll forgo rating this one. For (hopefully) more coherant thoughts, check out my review of this book here!
The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini – DNF
I know I only wanted to do two DNFs, but this was so bad. The dialogue was terrible and it was a scene between the main character and the first girl he’s ever talked to in the entire book (it took him 60 pages to talk to a woman who wasn’t his mom or step-mom) that made me put it down. I read it aloud to my boyfriend and it truly showed how unnatural it sounded.
All other Books
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson – 3 stars
I listened to this on audiobook and enjoyed it. I think my age hindered my love of the book. Of course the book is groundbreaking and important, but I think I would’ve related more to the voice of Melanie if I were also a teenager.
The Disciples by V.S. Holmes – 3.5 stars
This is the prequel to the book TRAVELERS, a novel that centers around an archaeologist as she digs up a site and potentially discovers more about human civilization and beyond. I recommend the first book (especially as you can read it for free by signing up for the author’s newsletter), but would say to read the first book before reading the “prequel.”
Empire of Light by Alex Harrow – 3.5
I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This is a fast-paced/action sci-fi and dystopian novel with many queer characters. For my full review and why I put this book down for several months before trying it again, click here!
Mangoes and Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera – 3.5 stars
I feel like I have to get back into romance before I reread this, as I definitely enjoyed it but I haven’t adored it like I’ve seen other reviewers. I’m still new to the romance genre, and so I think if I read some more romance next year and reread this for Christmas next year, I’ll enjoy it more. Definitely sweet and sexy and well paced for a novella!
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen – 4 stars
I finally read this! Bring on the retellings! This took a lot of like, preparation, but I definitely loved it, even if Lydia deserved better and I needed the audiobook to actually comprehend it.
What did I learn this month? Participating in a read-a-thon during campus crunch time is a bad idea if you want to read many books, reading the lowest rated books isn’t the worst thing in the world (and I may try it again!), and it’s hard to pack in books in the last month of the year, especially when there’s a guest in the house.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!
Kappa Reads 