Tag: Morning Star

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

Y’all, I am happy to announce that I was finally able to bust through my reading slump in September! I’m so glad I was able to pick up some books that were able to pull me out of my slump and get back to truly enjoying reading. I may not be hitting double digits quite yet, but I’m still proud of the progress that I’m making. If you’re like me and struggle with reading slumps from time to time, I recommend a good binge of a sitcom or newly released show (my current go-to’s are The Mindy Project, New Girl, and The Boys). I also recommend trying a book outside of your normal genre! But with that being said, I see myself finishing out the rest of year really strong and am excited for the books I have on my October TBR!

Books Read

  • The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough – physical book, REVIEW
  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson – physical book, REVIEW
  • Heart of Iron (Heart of Iron, #1) by Ashley Poston – physical book, REVIEW
  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book, REVIEW

Total Books Read: 5

Overall in 2019: 54

Reading Challenge Updates

POPSUGAR

  • Read a book during the season it is set in – The Summer Before the War
  • A book with LOVE in the title – The Game of Love and Death

Goodreads Challenge

Total: 54/75

Previous Total: 49/75

Blog Posts

Book Reviews

WWW Wednesday

Discussions/Misc.

Did you get a lot of reading done in September? 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 October?

WWW Wednesday – September 18th, 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?

What are you currently reading?

  • Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen – physical book
  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book
  • Heart of Iron (Heart of Iron, #1) by Ashley Poston – physical book
  • Iron Gold (Red Rising, #4) by Pierce Brown – audiobook

I have only read the first chapter so far in Heart of Iron, so I don’t have too much of an opinion yet. However, I’m enjoying the writing style so far and I think this could be an easy to devour story… but we shall see!

I just started Iron Gold as well, so I’m only about 10 mins into that story. I know I’ve mentioned this multiple times so far, but I really have enjoyed my decision to reread this series as an audiobook before diving into the latest release, Dark Age. Pierce Brown is just such an amazing author. I’m actually really excited for when he breaks away from the Red Rising world and into a completely new story.

What did you recently finish reading?

  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson – physical book, Book Review

I ended up in love with The Summer Before the War. I really enjoyed the small village setting, the eccentric characters, and the relationships between them all. This has made me want to read anything and everything by Helen Simonson, so I plan to dive into her backlist soon. I really recommend this story to fans of Downton Abbey, so if that’s you then I hope you decide to pick up this book!

Surprisingly enough, I think I enjoyed Morning Star even more this second time around than I did the first time I read it. Before now, I had always said Golden Son was my favorite in the series, but this reread has me debating on changing that original opinion. If you haven’t tried listening to this series as an audiobook, I highly recommend it. The narrator is fantastic!

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book
  • The Last Magician (The Last Magician, #1) by Lisa Maxwell – physical book
  • The Alice Network by Kate Quinn – audiobook

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 – September 11th, 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?

What are you currently reading?

  • Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen – physical book
  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book
  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson- physical book

After a slow start to picking up the book, I am finally making some progress in The Summer Before the War. Y’all, I think this may become a new favorite novel. I love the writing style and all of the characters are so interesting. I can’t wait to see how this story will unfold.

I also put aside the podcasts yesterday and finally made some more progress in Morning Star. Things are really about to start getting interesting in that story. I can’t believe how much I’ve actually forgotten in this book.

No further progress in my non-fiction and classic books. I’m hoping to set aside some time this week to read a few chapters in each.

What did you recently finish reading?

Nothing this week.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book
  • The Last Magician (The Last Magician, #1) by Lisa Maxwell – physical book
  • Heart of Iron (Heart of Iron, #1) by Ashley Poston – 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 – September 4th, 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?

What are you currently reading?

  • Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen – physical book
  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book
  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson- physical book

I will finally be starting on The Summer Before the War today and I’m really excited. I love a good historical fiction sprinkled with romance and this one sounds like the perfect book to end summer with. I plan to get back into reading Middlemarch regularly again this week, as well as Surprise, Kill, Vanish. I should finally be finishing up Morning Star in the next couple of days… damn those podcasts.

What did you recently finish reading?

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  • The Game of Love and Death by Marth Brockenbrough – physical book

I finally finished this book. It was a nice bittersweet love story, if a little slow-moving. I think it was only missing a bit more conflict and action.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book
  • The Last Magician (The Last Magician, #1) by Lisa Maxwell – physical book
  • Heart of Iron (Heart of Iron, #1) by Ashley Poston – 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 – August 28th, 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?

What are you currently reading?

  • Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen – physical book
  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book
  • The Game of Love and Death by Marth Brockenbrough – physical book

I’ve finally passed the halfway point on Morning Star, which is pretty exciting since my life has been taken over by podcasts lately… You know, it happens to the best of us.

And no, I haven’t really made any progress in the other novels. My plan is to focus on The Game of Love and Death this weekend and try to finish that one up. I will admit it’s a bit slow-moving and I’m craving a little something more exciting to keep my attention to help pull me from this mini reading slump.

What did you recently finish reading?

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  • The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – physical book

Y’all, I have very conflicted feelings on this book. I mean, it took me over a month and a half to finish. I was super excited for this book but it just didn’t live up to the hype for me. It took wayyyy too long to get to any serious action and that it was one of my main pet peeves when it comes to novels.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson – physical book
  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book
  • The Oracle Year by Charles Soule – 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 – August 14th, 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?

What are you currently reading?

  • Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen – physical book
  • The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon- physical book
  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book
  • The Game of Love and Death by Marth Brockenbrough – physical book

I really planned on finishing Morning Star before today, but it was one of those weeks where I just got sucked into my podcasts over the audiobook. Oops! But I really should finish it by this weekend. I’m ready to relive Darrow kicking Octavia’s ass!

I’ve finally got less than 100 pages left in The Priory of the Orange Tree. It felt like I was really never going to finish this book, didn’t it? I’m so glad things are actually happening and I’m finally fully invested in this story. Needless to say, this book has been a bit of a let down for me.

The Game of Love and Death is a bit of a slow burner so far, but I still love the setting and unique plot of the story. Flora is such an interesting character and I’m rooting for her to get a happy ending.

What did you recently finish reading?

Nothing this past week, but I’ve got big plans to get some reading done this weekend!

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson – physical book
  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book
  • The Oracle Year by Charles Soule – 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 – August 7th, 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?

What are you currently reading?

  • Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen – physical book
  • The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon- physical book
  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book
  • The Game of Love and Death by Marth Brockenbrough – physical book

I’m coming up on the end of Morning Star and it’s crazy how much I had forgot happened. This book is nonstop action and I am so glad I made the choice to go back and do this reread. I also made a bit more progress in The Priory of the Orange Tree. I only have about 200 pages left and let me tell you, it has just now reached a point where I feel truly invested in seeing what is going to happen next.

What did you recently finish reading?

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  • Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff – physical book

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the mix of characters and how they each had a fairly distinctive personality that shown through during their individual chapters. Also, Zila is low-key amazing… even if she is a sociopath.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson – physical book
  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book
  • The Oracle Year by Charles Soule – 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 – July 31st, 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?

What are you currently reading?

  • Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen – physical book
  • The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon- physical book
  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book
  • Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff – physical book

Still slowly making my way through Middlemarch and Surprise, Kill, Vanish. I haven’t picked those two up in over a week, but I plan to get a lot of reading done this weekend out by the pool.

Trying to break up the really heavy fantasy of Priory of the Orange Tree, I’m picking up Aurora Rising today. I’m really excited about this book as it sounds like it’s right up my alley. I am finally less than 300 pages away from finishing Priory, so I really hope to finish this behemoth by this weekend. But fingers crossed on that!

What did you recently finish reading?

  • Golden Son (Red Rising, #2) by Pierce Brown – audiobook
  • Antigoddess (Goddess War, #1) by Kendare Blake – physical book

I finished these two beauties yesterday. Obviously, I loved my reread of Golden Son. This is one of my all-time favorites series and its been really enjoyable going the audiobook route on this reread. I highly recommend that version to everyone! Also, I thoroughly enjoyed Antigoddess more than I thought I would. I loved the mix of mythology with the modern day. I will for sure be continuing with the trilogy.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson – physical book
  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book
  • The Oracle Year by Charles Soule – 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!

My August TBR

So something happened in July that I never thought I would experience… I found myself getting tired of reading fantasy books. Now this situation occurred at the absolutely worst time, as I am in the middle of an adult fantasy read-a-thon. Talk about terrible timing, am I right? With that being said, I’ve decided to focus on some other genres such as historical fiction, middle grade, and sci-fi during August to help switch things up a bit and maybe help me get back on the reading track. Let’s see if I can actually finish an entire month without reading any YA or adult fantasy. I think this will be both a bit difficult but also really good for my reading health. Wish me luck!

August TBR

  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) by Pierce Brown – audiobook
  • The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough – physical book
  • First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy – physical book
  • The Oracle Year by Charles Soule – physical book
  • Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff – physical book
  • The Gallery by Laura Marx-Fitzgerald – physical book
  • The Alice Network by Kate Quinn – audiobook
  • The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson – physical book
  • Somerset by Leila Meacham – physical book
  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend – physical book

What do you plan on reading in August? Do you ever find yourself getting tired of certain genres? Have you read any of the books on my TBR?

WWW Wednesday – July 24th, 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?

What are you currently reading?

  • Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen – physical book
  • The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon- physical book
  • Golden Son (Red Rising, #1) by Pierce Brown – audiobook, reread
  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – physical book

I haven’t read any of Middlemarch or Surprise, Kill, Vanish this week but I plan to do nothing but read this weekend so that should help catch me back up on those two. I have made it over the halfway point through Golden Son and if I can turn off my podcasts for long enough, I should be able to finish it before the end of the week. I’ve also made some more progress in The Priory of the Orange Tree. This book is actually moving slower than I was expecting it to, and hasn’t quite consumed all of my attention like I thought it would originally. I do expect it to start picking up more the further I get into it. It’s just so dang huge!

What did you recently finish reading?

Nothing this week!

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1) by Katherine Arden – physical book
  • The Savior’s Champion (The Savior’s Series, #1) by Jenna Moreci – physical book
  • Morning Star (Red Rising, #2) by Pierce Brown – audiobook
  • City of Lies (Poison Wars, #1) – 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!