Amanda Hocking – Wonderfilled Reads

The 5 Most Disappointing Books of 2019

Every year we get so excited to pick up new releases or finally grab that one book off the shelf that you’ve been eyeing since you bought it. And unfortunately, there will always be some books that just don’t live up to the expectations that you had. Well, this year there were a few books that failed to hit the mark for me. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I didn’t end up enjoying the book at all, but maybe it just didn’t quite live up to the hype I had built up in my head.

Freeks by Amanda Hocking

This one just fell a little flat for me. It was interesting but I feel like the paranormal/fantasy aspect of the story could have been more fleshed out and really expanded on. I was hoping for something a bit more creepy than what I actually got. It was more of a love story than a mystery.

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

I must be the only person in the world who thought this book was just weird. I will never understand all of the hype that it got. It was obvious what the twist was going to be from the beginning. Talk about a book with too much hype…

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) by Robin LaFevers

This book wasn’t terrible, just lacked as much action as I was expecting. I did enjoy the slow burn romance though, which definitely helped keep my attention. Maybe if I had read the book instead of listening to the audio version, I would’ve enjoyed it more.

Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Now I am well aware that I’m still in the middle of this one, but I can already tell you that I’m really disappointed by it. Y’all, it’s just so freaking boring. And for those of you in the back… IT’S SOOOOOO BORING! I’m three-fourths of way done with it and her family is just now getting shot. Ugh.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

I really liked the idea of concept of this modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice. However, I just could not stand Zuri enough to care whether she would get a happy ending or not. She was just such an unlikable person and definitely beats Elizabeth Bennett by a mile on being judgmental of others.

What are some books that have disappointed you so far this year? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them?

Pokemon (Gotta Read ‘Em All!) Book Tag

I grew up during the Pokemon craze of the late 90’s and early 00’s. It was a very exciting time to be a kid, trying to collect all of the trading cards and beating every single video game… Pokemon Snap, anyone?! And with the recent release of Detective Pikachu and popularity of Pokemon Go (and yes, I do play on a regular basis), the nostalgia has been amped up. So when I saw this tag on Peruse Project’s channel, I knew I had to participate.

Please feel free to do this tag if you’re interested!

Type: Normal

Favorite Contemporary

Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry

This book was such a delight to read. Y’all know that I’m not much of a contemporary reader, but this story was one that I immediately fell in love with. The characters were all unique and interesting. I also really enjoyed the family dynamics that were a main focus of the story. This is just a really fun and emotional read that I would recommend anyone to pick up.

Type: Fire

Hot Fire Romance

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, #1) by Deborah Harkness

A witch and a vampire walk into a library… Sounds like the start of a joke, doesn’t it? But no, this is just the start of a steamy romance full of magic and mayhem. This is one of my favorites series and the television series is reallyyyy good too.

Type: Water

A Flowing, Easy To Read Book

Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch

Contemporary romances are probably most people’s go-to easy read. I personally have been enjoying Welch’s romances, as they feature cute boys and international destinations such as my favorite place in the world, Ireland.

Type: Electric

A Book That Kept You Buzzing Long After Finishing

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

I read this book immediately upon its release and I could not get it off my mind for the rest of the year. It truly had the biggest impact on my reading life last year. I loved everything about it.

Type: Grass

Your Favorite First Book In A Series

The Diviners (The Diviners, #1) by Libba Bray

I’m not one for horror or scary stories, however this book changed my mind. I was immediately engrossed in the Roaring Twenties NYC setting and the characters living there. I really enjoy the multiple POVs and how each have their own story to tell.

Type: Ice

Cold As Ice Character(s)

Victra au Julii from Golden Son (Red Rising, #2) by Pierce Brown

Victra is most definitely my main bitch. She is strong-willed, independent, and armed with the sharpest tongue. I love how cold and vicious she can be on the outside, while also having a pretty warm heart.

Type: Fighting

An Action-Packed Book

Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) by Susan Dennard

This book starts off in the middle of a chase scene and doesn’t let off from there. I fell in love with the energy in this novel and I can say that it carries throughout the entire series so far. I am super excited for the next installment!

Type: Poison

A Toxic But Still Enjoyable Book

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

I’m not sure this book is really problematic in any way, but due to it being a remake of Beauty and the Beast, and how some find that story to be nothing but an example of Stockholm Syndrom.. I guess it works. Either way, it’s soooo good. It really might be my favorite retelling.

Type: Ground

Down-To-Earth Character(s)

Nikki from Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

I really love Nikki as a main character. She was so relatable trying to be independent and live her own life, while trying to also keep her family and community happy. I also loved the relationships she formed with all of the widows. It almost made me jealous of her… Haha!

Type: Flying

Favorite High Fantasy Book

Furyborn (Empirium, #1) by Claire Legrand

I loved this book soooo much when I first read it. I have the sequel as well, but I think a reread is needed first before diving into it. It’s definitely coming up on soon again on my TBR.

Type: Psychic

A Predictable Plot

Freeks by Amanda Hocking

Yeahhhhhh, the “twist” in this book wasn’t even a twist. I knew that was going to be the case from the very beginning. Yawn.

Type: Bug

A Book That Annoys You

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

This book got so much buzz when it was first released, but it really didn’t do anything for me. The concept and story was really interested but I hated the whiny main character so much that it ruined everything else for me.

Type: Rock

A Hard To Describe Book

Navigating the Stars (Sentinels of the Galaxy, #1) by Maria V. Snyder

This book is a futuristic science fiction that focus on science groups locating and trying to unlock the secrets of some artifacts that have been found on multiple planets. That’s about all that I can really explain without getting into a whole bunch of stuff. It’s one of those books with just a lot going on.

Type: Ghost

Everyone’s Dead, A Book Where No One Is Safe

Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee

This family is basically cursed with bad luck. When you mix gang fighting with magic powers, bad things are bound to happen and happen quite a lot. This book will definitely keep you on your toes.

Type: Dragon

A Book With Fantastic Creatures

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2) by Holly Black

This series is centered around Fae, so of course magical creatures run amok all through the pages. And I love it so much!

Type: Dark

Dark And Twisted Story

Give the Dark My Love (Give the Dark My Love, #1) by Beth Revis

A book all about necromancy and how one woman uses her dark side to keep loved ones around in hopes to save her country. As you can imagine, things get really dark pretty quick.

Type: Steel

A Book With Pirates

Daughter of the Siren Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King, #2) by Tricia Levenseller

This book is literally about the daughter of a pirate king and a siren. There are battles and sword fighting, and of course a bit of romance. What more can you ask for?

Type: Fairy

A Book With Fae/Fairies

Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

This one is going to come out of left field a bit, but hear me out… Kal Gilwraeth is actually an alien version of Fae. That is coming straight from the mouths of Amie and Jay, too! So yes, let’s give it up for some space elves! They deserve some love and recognition as well.

What are some answers you would use for this tag? Have you read any of the books on my list? Do you agree with my choices?

June Wrap-Up: Reviews, Reading Challenges, etc.

I will admit that this wasn’t my greatest month of reading because instead of just focusing on one book at a time, I was bouncing around multiple books. Now this isn’t a normal reading pattern for me. I’ve only just started doing this and I have no idea how I got to this place, but here I am. Ha! Anyways, I still really enjoyed the few books that I finished in June and plan to really focus on my reading for Iron Tome-A-Thon in July.

I don’t know why summer is usually the season where the majority of people read a hell of a lot, and then there’s me who struggles with it. I feel like I really get into watching movies or bingeing tv shows during the summer. But maybe I’ll get out of this phase soon? Eh, probably not.

Books Read

Long hair beauty with pink flowers

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal – audiobook, 4/5 stars
Freeks by Amanda Hocking – physical book, 2/5 stars
Winterspell by Claire Legrand – physical book, 4/5 stars
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson – physical book, 5/5 stars

Total Books Read: 4

Overall in 2019: 43

Reading Challenge Updates

POPSUGAR

A book recommended by a celebrity you admire – Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

Goodreads Challenge

Total: 43/75

Previous Total: 39/75

Blog Posts

Book Reviews

Book Review: Sorcery of Thorns

WWW Wednesday

Discussions/Misc.

Did you get a lot of reading done in June? Do you struggle to read more in the summer? Were you able to read all of the books on your TBR? Did you read any new favorites? What book did you like the least? What do you plan on reading in July?

WWW Wednesday – June 12th, 2019

elcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham – audiobook
Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson – physical book
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal – audiobook

I’m going to be taking my time with Middlemarch and so I’m only like 60 pages into the book so far. It’s been very engaging, even though not much has happened yet. I’m really enjoying all of the characters.

After loving An Enchantment of Ravens, I pretty much knew that Rogerson would be an author that I’m going to love anything she writes. Well, being about 100 pages into Sorcery of Thorns, I can already tell that this will completely the case. This book is so exciting and I’m loving the dynamic between the characters. Also, SO MUCH SARCASM. Yes, Thorn is awesome.

I haven’t listened to much of Dreamland Burning this week, due to the heavy content putting me in a bad head space at the moment. I do plan to finish the story, but I just needed to take a little bit of a break.

Which has lead me to starting Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows. I’m only a couple of chapters into this book so far, but I’m still enjoying it. This definitely seems like the lighthearted read that I needed and I can’t wait to continue with the story.

What did you recently finish reading?

Freeks by Amanda Hocking – physical book

This book didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It was definitely the most average story that I’ve read. It wasn’t the worst book that I’ve ever read, I just feel that there was so much more room for Hocking to expand on the supernatural side of the story. I think the world-building was just really lacking.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Long hair beauty with pink flowers

Romanov by Nadine Brandes – audiobook
Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno – physical book
Winterspell by Claire Legrand – physical book
The Gallery by Laura Marx-Fitzgerald – physical book

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday – June 5th, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?