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

Planned Reads for September.

I have a brand new list of books that I'm desperate to read this month! I can't believe how close it is to Halloween, and so I'm starting to get a feel for some different genres!

I have started and am a good way through 'Reign Of The Fallen' by Sarah Glenn Marsh and liking it so far. It's full of necromancy, has a bisexual MC, and a gorgeous front cover. I hope to finish it soon!

'The Poet X' by Elizabeth Acevedo looks absolutely amazing, and I'm really excited to give this book a try! I love a PoC MC, and I'm looking forward to some spoken word poetry!

Speaking of poetry, I've been really intrigued by this fairly recent acquisition: 'Aphrodite Made Me Do It' by Trista Mateer. The cover is so stunning, but I love the idea of poetic dialogue between Mateer and Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love.

I'm also in the mood for some epic fantasy if I get time this month, and 'The Poppy War' by R.F. Kuang has definitely caught my eye! Hopefully it lives up to the crazily good reviews and hype!

I want to try and get a bit further through 'A Song Of Ice & Fire', and so the next book I need to read is 'A Dance With Dragons: Dreams & Dust' by George R.R. Martin. It's more epic fantasy which is a good genre for September!

Lastly, I want to read 'His Last Bow' in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'complete Sherlock Holmes' collection. I'm really looking forward to having my socks blown off for this one, the previous instalments in the series were very impressive!

September Wrap-Up.

Absolutely blown away by the amount of reading I managed this month! So much more than usual, that's for sure! Granted, there were a few web-comics that didn't take me quite as much time, but I'm very pleased with my seven managed reads!

1. 'Into The Jungle' by Katherine Rundell. This was a very sweet collection of origin stories for some of my favourite The Jungle Books characters! I particularly enjoyed Baloo's, and I think they each had a great lesson to teach, as well as providing an interesting imagining of how the characters could have become the ones we know and love. I'd highly recommend this for fans of the original books, or even the Disney adaptation! 4/5 Stars.
2. 'Steve & Mark' by Tab Kimpton. Things about this comic didn't quite work for me: the rushed and slightly lacklustre artwork, and the fact that I don't feel a burning need to finish the other stories being the major pain points. But this was definitely a very sweet, sincere story about coming of age, finding out about your sexuality, and coming to terms with it. I liked the inclusion of characters who will be getting their own stories too. 2.5/5 Stars.
3. 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov. I went into this feeling more than a bit anxious. The topic is so taboo and horrifying to me that I worried I would hate every moment of the story. Especially as I'd seen it described as romantic by so many people. But a few chapters in, I realised I would enjoy this book because we are not supposed to find the child raping, kidnapping MC at all charming or likeable as he imagines himself to be. In fact, he's one of the best unreliable narrators I've read in a long time. 4.5/5 Stars.
4. 'The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding' by Alexandra Bracken. It had been a while since I had read an MG book, but Autumn felt the right time of year for a book filled with family curses, demons and witches. I liked the story and some of the character input - Alastor in particular. I wish the characters were a bit more three-dimensional though. 3/5 Stars.
5. 'Teahouse [Ch.1]' by Emirain. I had real mixed feelings about the start of this series. On the one hand, I'm pretty intrigued by both it's popularity, the relationships that are developing and the plot. On the other hand, I really hate that everyone is so obsessed with sex in the book and so little plot is given as a result. I'll keep going with it to see if it there's any real story there. 3/5 Stars.
6. 'Folk' by Zoe Gilbert. I really enjoyed this short story collection a lot - it was atmospheric, beautifully written and had the perfect mix of the supernatural and the real. A couple of the stories didn't engage me like the others, but there was truly some exceptional stuff here and it covered a lot of dark themes too. 4/5 Stars.
7. 'Solitaire' by Alice Oseman. I have wanted to read this book for some time and took the opportunity to do so because I'm now absolutely desperate to read 'Heartstopper', a story focussing on two of the characters in this book. While I liked this book, especially the familiar Kent Grammar School setting, I didn't really like the MC all that much and would have preferred a book with a more interesting start and less bizarre climax. 3.5/5 Stars.

This month I read five books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total so far twenty nine.

- Steve & Mark

- Lolita

- The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding

- Teahouse [Ch. 1]

- Solitaire

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

I read two books for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total so far eleven.

- Into The Jungle

- Folk

I read three book for the Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge, making my yearly total so far nineteen.

- Into The Jungle

- The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding

- Folk

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

Made Into A Movie: Lolita; Vladimir Nabokov

Middle Grade: The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding; Alexandra Bracken

One Word Title: Folk; Zoe Gilbert

Set In A School: Solitaire; Alice Oseman

Freebie: --

Dual POV: Steve & Mark; Tab Kimpton

Less Than 300 Pages: Teahouse [Ch.1]; Emirain

Features Animals: Into The Jungle; Katherine Rundell

Planned Reads for September.

I can't believe how close we are to finishing the year! The fact that we are in September is absolute madness. I've got some great reads lined up this month though and hopefully I'll get into the swing of it quickly!

I am really having a hard time getting into 'The Belles' by Dhonielle Clayton, and I'm really not sure why. When I am reading it, I'm enjoying it, but it takes a certain type of mood for me to want to pick it up. Weird. Still, I'm nothing if not persistent so...I will read this.

I also really want to give Alexandra Bracken another shot, she has so many popular series out and just because I didn't like one doesn't mean I won't like them all. 'The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding' looks up my street, even if it is MG fiction.

'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov is definitely a classic I'll be reading because I've arranged to with a couple of friends. Despite the controversial subject matter, I'm actually looking forward to it, and the discussion it will spark.

I love retellings, and 'A Study In Charlotte' by Brittany Cavallaro is the first in a series that reimagines the adventures one of my favourite detectives - Sherlock Holmes. I look forward to a modern take on the characters and mysteries.

Yikes, yes, I know. Katrina, you said you'd read this before! Well, you are right...and I will. I've been looking forward to 'Ash Princess' by Laura Sebastian for so long, not least because it retells 'Cinderella'! I need more fairy tales in my life.

Well, I loved 'Radio Silence' when I read it, and 'Solitaire' is Alice Oseman's debut which I'm ashamed to say I haven't read yet. I really want to read her 'Heartstopper' comics though and so really feel I need to read this first!

Autumn is a great time of the year for ghost stories, and though I want to save my super spooky reads for October, 'A Sudden Light' by Garth Stein is more based in mystery, with a bit of paranormal thrown in for good measure. I'm very excited!

The cover for 'Folk' by Zoe Gilbert is absolutely stunning and the synopsis sounds even more incredible. Dark and filled with creepy, lore-based short stories, I can't wait to get into this book!

September Wrap-Up.

I'm so pleased because I had a much better month this month! Hooray! While not all of them were on my original list, I actually managed seven reads in September, which is amazing!

1. 'Our Numbered Days' by Neil Hilborn. A short book of poetry by my favourite modern poet, I bought this a while ago for my fiancé and decided to read them myself! With a heavy focus on mental health, some of these poems were very relatable while others a little nonsensical. Nevertheless, an enjoyable collection with some real gems. 3.5/5 Stars.
2. 'The Geek Feminist Revolution' by Kameron Hurley. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this read. The raw, anger-fuelled passion was very inspiring without a doubt. But there was a lot of self-promotion, repetition and I didn't feel that the essays had been structured very well. More like a memoir in the wrong order at times. 3/5 Stars.
3. 'The Little Red Wolf' by Amélie Fléchais. What a cute little re-imagining of a classic fairy tale! I loved that the wolves were the 'good guys' in this one and Fléchais put a great little spin on the original. Beautiful illustrations too! 4/5 Stars.
4. 'O Frabjous Day!' by Lewis Carroll. I'm really obsessing over owning these little black classics now, after reading this one! I liked some poems more than others, especially those that I recognised so distinctly from Carroll's classic 'Alice In Wonderland' the rhythm and clever wordplay is so much fun! 3/5 Stars.
5. 'The Return Of Sherlock Holmes' by Arthur Conan Doyle. I really went along the classics route this month, and felt that September is the perfect time of year for a little bit of Sherlock Holmes! Doyle really does write short stories extremely well, and these mysteries were no exception. I liked that not all of them were murders - a lot of variety meant I didn't feel that I was reading the same story repeatedly. 5/5 Stars.
6. 'The Girl From Everywhere' by Heidi Heilig. To begin with I really didn't think I was going to enjoy this, thanks to a lack of 'building into it'. However, as the story progressed and came with well-researched settings, mystery and plot, and developed characters I really began to like this book. 4/5 Stars.
7. 'I Am Malala' by Patricia McCormick & Malala Yousafzai. What an emotional read! This book made me cry with it's heartfelt passion and message. Malala is truly an inspirational figure in recent history and I really felt that I learned so much after reading this! My favourite read this month, that's for sure! 5/5 Stars.

Now it's time to see how I did with my challenges this month!

This month I have read two books for the Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to twenty one. My read was:

- The Little Red Wolf

- I Am Malala

This month I have read zero books for the 2017 New Releases Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to nine.

This month I have read zero books for the LGBTQIA Challenge, bringing my yearly total to nine. 

This month I have read four books for the Diverse Reads Challenge, bringing my yearly total to twenty nine. My reads were:

- Our Numbered Days

- The Geek Feminist Revolution

- The Girl From Everywhere

- I Am Malala

And here's my update on this quarter's Bookish Bingo card, courtesy of Pretty Deadly Blog!

Mental Health: Our Numbered Days; Neil Hilborn
Different Culture: I Am Malala; Patricia McCormick & Malala Yousfazai
Illustrations: The Little Red Wolf; Amélie Fléchais
Magic In The Real World: The Girl From Everywhere; Heidi Heilig
Yellow Cover: The Geek Feminist Revolution; Kameron Hurley
Required Reading: The Return Of Sherlock Holmes; Arthur Conan Doyle
Poetry Or Verse: O Frabjous Day!; Lewis Carroll

Planned Reads for September.

No matter how badly I do the month before, I always aim to go into the next month with a positive attitude. I'm focusing on smaller reads for September in the hopes that I'll get through more of them. There are some really cool ones too!

'The Geek Feminist Revolution' by Kameron Hurley: So I started this month a little way through this non-fiction read, and I'm liking it. It's angry and passionate, and has women at it's heart. It's not quite what I expected, but I'm sticking with it because it's still a good read that puts me in a motivational mood.

'The Girl From Everywhere' by Heidi Heilig: After reading something so grounded in the real world, I think it will be nice to read something a little more magical. I have not read any books about time travel recently, and it seems like such an awesome concept that I want to find a good one! It's well-reviewed and will fit the bill nicely I think!

'The Return Of Sherlock Holmes' by Arthur Conan Doyle: Time to delve into more of the Sherlock Holmes series of books! This time I'll be reading a collection of short stories, which is very exciting! I love murder mysteries, especially if they're written by Arthur Conan Doyle! I have high hopes. I'm going with a school theme seeing as September is 'back to school' month, and Sherlock Holmes can be found on any curriculum.

'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas. This book has had my attention for a while. In fact I bought it almost as soon as it came out, but never got to read it. Until now. It's held the top spot in the NYT bestsellers list for such a long time and from the sounds of it, that record is well deserved. I can't wait! This is a book a lot of people would like to see on the curriculum I think.

'Our Numbered Days' by Neil Hilborn: Poetry? When do I ever read poetry? Not since school is the answer, but I do enjoy it. Neil Hilborn is a particular favourite of mine and I've watched a few Youtube videos of his work. I bought this book, for my fiancé who loves this guy and I really want to see how they look on paper.

'Holding Up The Universe' by Jennifer Niven: I'm going with a bit of a school theme this month, as it was school that evoked my love of reading. This book is set in a school and I have been putting off reading it for too long. I really enjoyed 'All The Bright Places' so I'm hoping this second book from Niven will be equally as good, maybe even better!

'Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki & His Years Of Pilgrimage' by Haruki Murukami: I have never read Murukami. Ever. He's one of those classic authors who everyone tells me to read and I've just never got round to. Nevertheless, it's also set in a school and I like the concept of this book. It's not as long as some of Murakami's other works either so it will let me get a good taster of his style.

'Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education' by Malala Yousafzai:, by the author of the same name, is certainly a biography I'd be interested to read. As a girl who 'stood up for education' it fits the school theme very nicely. I want to read this book so badly, it has been on my TBR for an absolute age, and will hopefully be my second non-fiction read of the month!