I miss reading. I still do it every night but by the time I crawl into bed I’m exhausted and barely get through a few pages. Blah!!! It’s okay my Halloween rush will come to an end (speaking of, THIS IS THE LAST WEEK TO ORDER HALLOWEEN COSTUMES FROM ME). But really even though I haven’t had the pleasure of turning too many physical pages I’ve been devouring the audiobooks. Here are some books that I’ve read that are noteworthy. Please note I wouldn’t recommend all of them but I think they are all worth mentioning. I must warn you this is a much more critical/negative list than I’m used to giving. You should know that if I hate a book I don’t push through it I give up so there was at least something even in the meh ones that kept me reading until the end. And there are a few gems so…
- The False Prince – I freaking LOVED this book. I can’t think of a single person who this wouldn’t be good for, boys, girls, young, old. The writing, stories, and characters are fantastic. It’s clean but not babyish or patronizing. Accessible for the younger bunch but full of depth that adults won’t find it boring. It’s adventure at it’s greatest. (listened to it)
- The 5th Wave – I DON’T get the hype. Unfortunately I think this book is everywhere due to a huge marketing campaign not necessarily the story. I barely finished it. In fact I KNOW if I hadn’t been listening to the audiobook I would have given up. I didn’t start caring until the last 10% of the book. And I mostly finished it just so I could rate it with all the info. There is a lot of internal monologue (not my favorite writing style). Even when more than one character is on the page it feels more like you’re reading a letter or diary entry. And the language think, trailer voice man and the most grandiose, immaturely philosophical statements over and over. It was a style thing and I did not click with it. It did end on a better note. I did finally care a little about the characters but for all the raving going on I expected SOOOOOO much more. I think I would have been fine skipping this.
- Blackout – I really really really enjoyed this. It’s pretty hard to describe it without giving away big things so here are a few words. Kids with powers, revolution, war, military training, fighting, lots of layers and twists, set in Utah!
- Everbound – I couldn’t finish it. I was really bored. I really enjoyed Everneath for a light read but I was about 1/3 through Everbound and found I didn’t care much and had a ton of other books waiting on my stack. Those of you who read it should I try again? Maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind.
- The Diviners – It was fun and creepy great for October reading. Think murder mystery with some supernatural elements set in the 20’s. If you like Libba Bray’s writing and that sounds good go for it. I have decided that I’m just not a Libba Bray fan but that sucks because I LOVE her ideas and her characters are really fun even her stories are great but I just don’t connect with her writing style. So, even with all that I think it’s pretty good and I’m sure other people would love it easily. (listened to it)
- The Handmaidens Tale – This is supposed to be a dystopian staple. People go all gaga when you mention it. I thought it was okay. It’s another case of me not clicking with the writing style. Some interesting ideas but not much of an ending so in addition to the style I just was left feeling like I was missing something. I’ve been told to check out the movie. Hmmm I should add that to my netflix right now. (listened to it)
- Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour – I read this while on a road trip cute right? This is one of those books I see on everyone’s favorite lists and I have to agree it is a very fun easy read. I’d say that it’s light but it does deal with some heavy stuff but at the same time the way the story is told you never feel weighed down by the seriousness of some of the topics. And of course there’s a lot of fun silly stuff and cute romance thrown in. If you’re feeling like a good contemporary YA read I definitely recommend this one.
- Unbreakable – SOOOOOO good. If I had finished this before I made my sequels list it would have totally made that. I really enjoyed the first book, Unraveling but it had some weird parts that I’ve mentioned. But this sequel was great. So fun, fast paced , just really good. Here are some words in an attempt at non-spoiling alternate words, conspiracy, FBI (kinda), killer heroine.
Also it’s a new month which means a new round of Rae Gun Rambling’s Photo A Day Challenge. Join in by posting pictures you deem appropriate for the prompt. Follow me at @raegunramblings on Instagram and Twitter, tag your posts with #rgrphotoaday . You don’t have to do every single day, just do it when you can and have fun checking out what other people are posting! And no you don’t have to only post about books part of the fun is getting to know people in many ways and seeing the different ways we all interpret the prompts.
Summer says
I like seeing what you have been reading – I have added some of your books to my wish list – thanks!
Jamie Moesser says
Loved meeting you last night at the Connective Circle event! Love that our tastes in books are so similar. I loved False Prince and its sequel Runaway King, and am looking forward to the final book in that series. I also met and talked with Jennifer Nielsen, who is awesome. Enjoyed Unbreakable, mostly because that’s one of the few books I’ve read in the genre that I’m writing a book in: YA science fiction. Totally intrigued by the Everneath series (another Utah author). Have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. LOVE her style. Also, the Possession series by Elana Johnson totally has me in its grips right now. I’m going to have to check out the rest of the titles you’ve mentioned.