Saturday, January 23

Most disappointing books read in 2015

As I've mentioned previously, there were a lot of books that I read in 2015 that left me really disappointed. My reading year was at best mediocre. Therefore, and as I don't really want this post to be huge, I'm only listing the books that I rated either one star or one and a half stars.
Once again, there are many books listed here that I have yet to post my review detailing my exact thoughts and feelings on them, so if there's a book you'd like to see my review for sooner rather than later, let me know, so I can rearrange my posting schedule!

Fantasy



Mystery/Thrillers


Contemporary


Dystopia


Science Fiction



New Adult / Romance



If you liked one of these books, let me know why in the comments! Somehow they just didn't work for me, but I'd really like to know your thoughts. :)

Friday, January 22

Favourite Books read in 2015

The past year was kind of slumpy and full of really bad reads. The fact that I read so many books that didn't manage to impress me as much I as wished they had, or that were just plain awful made me really treasure the ones that I did like.
These are literally all books I rated four stars or more. I had to include the four-star books I read, otherwise this would be even shorter than it already is.
There are a lot of books here that I have not yet written a review for, but I will. If there is a book you'd like to see me review sooner rather than later, let me know in the comments and I'll rearrange my posting schedule.

Retellings




Fantasy




Historical Fiction



Graphic novels




New Adult



 What were your favourite books of 2015? Do we have any in common? Let me know! :)

Wednesday, January 20

[Wrap-Up] 2015 in Books: a Summary

Hello, friends!

I haven't really been posting - I'm a terrible person, there's nothing more I can really add.


So 2015 ended up being an okay reading year. It wasn't overwhelmingly good, but it wasn't bad either. I read a lot of books - well, at least to me it was a lot -, but there were a lot of books I read that I did not enjoy. I will soon be posting my favourite and least favourite books of 2015 and also my reading/bookish challenges and goals for 2016.

As for what I read in 2015, here are some numbers:

85 books read.
                          25602 pages read.
                                                             Average book length: 305 pages.

40 new-to-me authors.
                                       32 of which were females.
24 new series started.
                                     5 series finished.

I'm pretty happy with my reading year overall. It was really surprising to see that I tend to reach for female authors. I'd never noticed that before.
Anyway, keep an eye out for my 2016 reading goals - it'll be posted soon.

Monday, November 2

[Review] Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2) - Marissa Meyer

Author: Marissa Meyer
Original Title: Scarlet
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Finished Date: August 15th, 2015
Pages: 452
Read in: English

Synopsis
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. 
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
Source: GoodReads

Rating
For starters, the one thing that really surprised me in this book is that we continue following Cinder's adventures, as well as Scarlet's. I thought that each book would be centred on a different character, meaning that this one would revolve around Scarlet, and that maybe we'd only hear about Cinder through other characters' POVs.
I was very glad that was not the case. Even though I felt that this book was overall weaker than the previous one - especially because of the part the romance played in it, but I'll explain that in detail in the spoilery section -, it was still a wonderful story full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.
I ended up liking Scarlet as a character very much - maybe even more than I like Cinder. And of course there's the awesome addition of Carswell Thorne. I mean, Captain Carswell Thorne. With many of the characters from Cinder out of the picture, I was afraid this book would end up being dry or that I just wouldn't have enough time to get attached to another set of characters. But I did.
I honestly don't really know what to expect from the next two volumes. I thought I knew where this one was going and I really had no clue, so I think I'll just wait to be blown away.
If you haven't yet read the first book in the series, Cinder, go check that out. You won't regret it.
The following extended review contains spoilers
If you have not yet read the book and/or do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read any further.