October Wrap-Up.

I was definitely happy to be reading some spookier reads this month! It's one of my favourite genres! I managed four reads, three of which were on my original list.

1. 'Pet Sematary' by Stephen King. It was good to finally read through something written by King that I really liked! The tension and atmosphere were expertly built, and the concept for this novel was truly horrifying. The quick ending let this one down a little though. 4/5 Stars.
2. 'Fence [Vol. 3]' by C.S. Pacat & Johanna The Mad. What more is there to say about this series that hasn't already been said? I'm hooked! It's 100% my guilty pleasure and I'm eagerly awaiting the next volume! 5/5 Stars.
3. 'The Phantom Of The Opera' by Gaston Leroux. Having loved the musical and the film for the longest time, I felt it was finally time to read the classic book. It was a little melodramatic at points, but I really enjoyed the style and reliving the tale. 3.5/5 Stars.
4. 'Wakenhyrst' by Michelle Paver. I've read a ghost story by this talented lady before, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This read had some of my favourite elements of horror - old houses, a historical setting, intrigue, and captivating characters. 4/5 Stars.

This month I read three books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total twenty seven.

- Pet Semetary

- Fence [Vol.3]

- The Phantom Of The Opera

This month I read one book for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total eleven.

- Wakenhyrst

This month I read one book for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total five.

- Fence [Vol. 3]

This month I read two books for the Diversity Reading Challenge, making my yearly total twenty seven.

- Fence [Vol. 3]

- The Phantom Of The Opera

*Mini Challenge: Physical/ Sensory/ Cognitive/ Intellectual/ Developmental Disabilities*

September Wrap-Up.

Reading-wise, I'm going through a pretty tough time at the moment. I'm allowing myself to just read what I can and be happy with what I achieve, but I definitely miss being able to plow through the books that I used to! I got through five reads, two of which were unplanned graphic novels!

1. 'The Poet X' by Elizabeth Acevedo. I absolutely adored this. It was gorgeously written in prose, contained a very diverse cast of characters, and highlighted a number of important issues in an intelligent way. I'll definitely be reading more of Acevedo's stuff! 4.5/5 Stars.
2. 'Fence [Vol. 2]' by C.S. Pacat & Johanna The Mad. This series is becoming a fast favourite of mine! I really enjoyed the tournament style flow of this book, as well as watching the relationship development. 5/5 Stars.
3. 'Aphrodite Made Me Do It' by Trista Mateer. I don't read poetry often, but I quite enjoyed this. It read as a conversation between Mateer and Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love. I liked the spin on Aphrodite's story that Mateer came up with! 3.5/5 Stars.
4. 'Lumberjanes [Vol. 1]' by Noelle Stevenson. As I read and enjoyed 'Nimona' a lot, I really wanted to try out this story of friendship and girl power! The themes and humour were there but I found the plot a bit too fragmented with little context. 3/5 Stars.
5. 'Reign Of The Fallen' by Sarah Glenn Marsh. I had really high hopes for this high fantasy featuring a bisexual necromancer MC, but alas, the majority of the book was a repetitive cycle of grief and substance addiction with very little addition to the plot. It was a real shame. 2/5 Stars.

This month I read four books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total twenty four.

- The Poet X

- Fence [Vol. 2]

- Lumberjanes [Vol. 1]

- Reign Of The Fallen

This month I read one book for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total ten.

- Aphrodite Made Me Do It

This month I read zero books for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total four.

This month I read four books for the Diversity Reading Challenge, making my yearly total twenty five.

- The Poet X

*Mini Challenge: POC: Hispanic/Latinx*

- Fence [Vol. 2]

- Lumberjanes [Vol. 1]

- Reign Of The Fallen

August Wrap-Up.

Well, I did manage four reads this month so I'm glad about that. Only one was what I originally planned to read, and three of them were graphic novels, but it has been a really tough month reading-wise. I'm definitely going through a bit of a slump!

1. 'Kriss: The Gift of Wrath' by Ted Naifeh & Warren Wucinich. My first read of the month was a dark, fantastical graphic novel. I loved the art so much, and became quite invested in the plot's potential. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where this series goes. 3/5 Stars.
2. 'Fence [Vol. 1]' by C.S. Pacat, Johanna The Mad & Shanen Pae. This first instalment of the series I've seen everywhere made me so happy! So much Queer goodness, I learnt a lot about fencing, and I'm super invested in the story. 4.5/5 Stars.
3. 'Nimona' by Noelle Stevenson. This is another graphic novel that has been on the radar for a while because it is all over the blogosphere. I had so much love for the interesting characters and cool world-building concept (a unique blend of medieval fantasy and sci-fi). 4/5 Stars.
4. 'Hello Me, It's You' collated by Hannah Todd. This was a really neat idea and definitely had the potential to open up a lot of dialogue about mental health issues. Repetitive at times but very relatable for those that have experience with the subject matter. 3/5 Stars.

This month I read three books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total twenty.

- Fence [Vol. 1]

- Nimona

- Hello Me, It's You

This month I read one book for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total nine.

- Kriss: The Gift Of Wrath

This month I read zero books for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total four.

This month I read three books for the Diversity Reading Challenge, making my yearly total twenty one.

- Fence [Vol. 1]

- Nimona 

- Hello Me, It's You 

*Mini Challenge: (Mental Health/Addiction)*

July Wrap-Up.

Reading-wise, it has been a pretty appalling month. I kind of expected it to be though as I've had lots to catch up on work-wise after the wedding/honeymoon and I'm finding myself falling into a bit of a reading slump again. I managed two reads overall, only one of which was on my original list. I'm getting better at not beating myself up over this stuff though!

1. 'Naturally Tan' by Tan France. I have now got through Season 4 of Queer Eye and this was the perfect accompaniment. Tan France is one of the fabulous five hosts of the show and his British origins have meant I've always had a soft spot for him. I loved the insights about the show's processes that I gleaned from this read, and learning more about his life, though perhaps could have done without his slightly over-critical nature at times. 3.5/5 Stars.
2. 'Mooncakes' by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu. Graphic novels might be the answer to this slump I'm having. Especially queer ones. I loved this little story for a variety of reasons - the diverse characters, fun plot and supernatural goodness. There's a lot of originality in here too! 4/5 Stars.

This month I read zero books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total seventeen.

This month I read two books for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total eight.

- Naturally Tan

- Mooncakes

This month I read zero books for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total four.

This month I read two books for the Diversity Reading Challenge, making my yearly total eighteen.

- Naturally Tan 

*Mini Challenge: (LGBT Pride Summer)*

- Mooncakes 

*Mini Challenge: (LGBT Pride Summer)*

June Wrap-Up.

I really enjoyed and read so much while on my Honeymoon, and it's a good thing as the first two weeks of June were completely devoid of reading. As I chose six reads I'm pretty proud that I managed to get round to four!

1. 'Trans Power' by Juno Roche. I liked this book for the message it gave and the education that I received. I haven't read much around the topic of transgender issues and it's something I really wanted to address. Aspects of this book made me uncomfortable - they were meant to - but I did also wish that more of a focus had been on the diverse interviewees and less on Roche's repetitive thoughts and feelings. 3/5 Stars.
2. 'Shadow Of The Fox' by Julie Kagawa. This read like an anime, which was a slightly bizarre experience at first. But. It is an anime I would watch the s*** out of and as a result, I loved it! Samurai, demons, ronin, yokai - all of my favourite tropes were here. I totally fell in love with this. 4.5/5 Stars.
3. 'Heartstopper [Vol. 2] by Alice Oseman. Nick & Charlie are pretty much one of my favourite pairings ever and this volume, covering chapter three of their beautiful story, is the best yet. So much fluffy, adorable goodness. This is contemporary LGBTQ+ done right and I can't wait for more! 5/5 Stars.
4. 'Enchantée' by Gita Trelease. I totally fell for this book in a big way. It was my most anticipated read of the year and it lived up to my expectations - amazing historical detail, intriguing magic system, complex and likeable characters, and a truly rich, diverse, sparkling world. I forgave the plot pacing because of everything else! 5/5 Stars.

This month I read one book for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total seventeen.

- Shadow Of The Fox

This month I read three books for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total six.

- Trans Power

- Heartstopper [Vol. 2]

- Enchantée

This month I read one book for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total four.

- Heartstopper [Vol. 2]

This month I read four books for the Diversity Reading Challenge, making my yearly total sixteen.

- Trans Power *Mini Challenge: (LGBT Pride Summer)*

- Shadow Of The Fox

- Heartstopper [Vol. 2] *Mini Challenge: (LGBT Pride Summer)*

- Enchantée

May Wrap-Up.

Well I set myself a smaller goal this month, and will do so next month too as the wedding is really taking up most of my time now. Of the six reads I set myself, I actually managed three though which I'm pretty proud of!

1. 'The Yellow Wall-Paper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It really took me by surprise how much I enjoyed this feminist classic set of short stories. There were three in this 'little black classic' and each was very different but cleverly written with a great plot. I thoroughly recommend to anyone who hasn't stumbled across Perkins Gilman yet! 5/5 Stars.
2. 'The Astonishing Colour Of After' by Emily X.R. Pan. This is a book I had really looked forward to reading, and the writing was as beautiful as I'd heard it was. I liked the plot, the huge exposure to the culture of Taiwan and the magical realism. I think the characters could have used some work, especially MC Leigh, but I'm impressed that this is Pan's debut. 4/5 Stars.
3. 'The Valley Of Fear' by Arthur Conan Doyle. It has definitely been a while since I read a Sherlock Holmes book and I liked dipping into this one. It had a great mystery to solve, an interesting backstory and, as usual, fantastic banter between Holmes and Watson. I wish that Moriarty had been a little more involved and the ending hadn't been so abrupt though. 4/5 Stars.

This month I read three books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total sixteen.

- The Yellow Wall-Paper

- The Astonishing Colour Of After

- The Valley Of Fear

This month I read zero books for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total three.

This month I read zero books for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total three.

This month I read one book for the Diversity Reading Challenge, making my yearly total twelve.

- The Astonishing Colour Of After *Mini Challenge: (East Asian/Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander)*

Here is the update for Pretty Deadly Blog's Bookish Bingo card.

Warm Climate: And The Mountains Echoed; Khaled Hosseini

Stand-Alone: The Astonishing Colour Of After; Emily X.R. Pan

Large Cast Of Characters: Crooked Kingdom; Leigh Bardugo

Spring Release: The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying; Marie Kondo

Three Word Title: Fierce Fragile Hearts; Sara Barnard

Freebie: -

Novella: The Mirror & The Maze; Renée Ahdieh

Epistolary: The Yellow Wall-Paper; Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Yellow Cover: Rubyfruit Jungle; Rita Mae Brown

A Book I Own: Everless; Sara Holland

School Setting: Myth To The Night; Cora Choi

Mystery Thriller: The Valley Of Fear; Arthur Conan Doyle

April Wrap-Up.

These next couple of months really are going to be light on the reading side of things guys. Wedding planning is taking up all of my time I'm afraid! But I did manage to squeeze in a few good books here and there. In fact, I managed four!

1. 'The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up' by Marie Kondo. I started this as a reaction to watching Kondo's Netflix series and wanting to learn more about her KonMari method! This is a great book to get you started, full of some pretty harsh truths and helpful tools. 4.5/5 Stars.
2. 'A Myth To The Night' by Cora Choi. Sadly, this book wasn't for me. The premise sounded cool, but the execution was pretty poor - stilted dialogue, no character depth, bad plotting and terrible pacing. 1/5 Stars.
3. 'Fierce Fragile Hearts' by Sara Barnard. I liked this book a lot, and was glad to be reading it, seeing as it continues the story of characters from Barnard's debut, 'Beautiful Broken Things'! It was lovely to be back in Brighton and see Rosie again, though I did find myself a little too irritated with Caddy and Suzanne's behaviour in this one. 3.5/5 Stars.
4. 'And The Mountains Echoed' by Khaled Hosseini. My sister has been recommending Hosseini's books for as long as I can remember and other friends told me to read them too. This is my first of his and despite the fact that I don't particularly enjoy vague, sad or bittersweet endings, I liked the build-up a lot. 4/5 Stars.

This month I read three books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total thirteen.

- The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying

- A Myth To The Night

- And The Mountains Echoed

This month I read one books for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total three.

- Fierce Fragile Hearts

This month I read two books for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total three.

- A Myth To The Night

- Fierce Fragile Hearts

This month I read two books for the Diversity Reading Challenge, making my yearly total eleven.

- Fierce Fragile Hearts

- And the Mountains Echoed *Mini Challenge: (Middle Eastern OR South Asian)*

Here is the update for Pretty Deadly Blog's Bookish Bingo card.