Tag: Robin Sloan

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

June was a decent reading month for me as I started my Smashing Series Round 2. I focused mostly on catching up on or finishing series that I had already started. I’ll be continuing that Smashing Series through this month, so expect to see more series reviews!

I did start listening to audiobooks for the first time ever in June and can now say that I actually love them. I listen to them all day while I’m at work so if it seems like I speed through them faster than normal, that’s why. Also, if you know of any good ones then please let me know!

Books Read

  • The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor – 4/5 stars, audiobook
  • Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2) by Victoria Aveyard – 3/5 stars, REVIEW
  • Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – 3/5 stars, audiobook
  • Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird, #2) by Claudia Gray – 5/5 stars, REVIEW
  • A Million Worlds with You (Firebird, #3) by Claudia Gray – 4/5 stars, REVIEW
  • Aftermath: Life Debt (Star Wars: Aftermath, #2) by Chuck Wendig – 4/5 stars
  • Aftermath: Empire’s End (Star Wars: Aftermath, #3) by Chuck Wendig – 4/5 stars
  • Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee – 2/5 stars
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – 4/5 stars, audiobook
  • Pure (Pure, #1) by Julianna Baggott – 4/5 stars, audiobook
  • The Crown’s Game (The Crown’s Game, #1) by Evelyn Skye – 4/5 stars, REVIEW

I think that’s a pretty damn good reading month, but that’s just my own personal opinion of course haha! However, I do freely admit that my reviews are lacking a bit. I’ve decided not review my audiobooks but if there is one that you’d like me to review, then let me know!

Total Books Read: 11

Overall in 2017: 36

Reading Challenge Updates

POPSUGAR

  • First book in a series you haven’t read before – The Crown’s Game (The Crown’s Game, #1)
  • A book set in two different time periods – The Lost Letter
  • A book with a title that’s a character’s name – Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
  • A book involving travel – Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird, #2)
  • An audiobook – The Graveyard Book

Previous:

  • A Book of Letters – We Are Still Tornadoes
  • A Book by a Person of Color – A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes, #2)
  • A Bestseller from a Genre You Don’t Normally Read – Big Little Lies
  • A Book Published in 2017 – Caraval (Caraval, #1)
  • The First Book in a Series You Haven’t Read Before – Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1)
  • A book by or about a person who has a disability – The Architect of Song
  • A book that’s been on your TBR list for way too long – Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)
  • A Book by an Author Who Uses a Pseudonym – A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)
  • A Book Involving a Mythical Creature – Heartstone

Beat the Backlist

  • The Graveyard Book
  • Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2)
  • Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
  • Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird, #2)
  • A Million Worlds with You (Firebird, #3)
  • Aftermath: Life Debt (Star Wars: Aftermath, #2)
  • Aftermath: Empire’s End (Star Wars: Aftermath, #3)

Goodreads Challenge

  • Total: 36/100
  • Previous Total: 25/100

Blog Posts

Teaser Tuesday

WWW Wednesday

Hype or Like Friday

Discussions/Misc.

How did your reading/blogging go during June? Did you read any good books? How are you doing on your own reading challenges?

WWW Wednesday – June 28th, 2017

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?

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The Crown’s Game (The Crown’s Game, #1) by Evelyn Skye

I only have about 40 pages left in this book and plan to finish it tonight. I’m really enjoying this one so far. I love when authors mix fantasy with historical fiction and this one is no exception. I can’t wait to see how this one ends!

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip-smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love…or be killed himself.

As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear—the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

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Leviathan (Leviathan, #1) by Scott Westerfeld

This is my current audiobook that I grabbed from Overdrive last night. I’ve listened to 4 audiobooks since I started last week. Can you believe it?! I listen to them all day while I’m at work and I really enjoy it. So far this book has been really interesting, mixing steampunk with WWI. I kind of went into this one blind and so far, so good!

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

What did you recently finish reading?

  • Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2) by Victoria Aveyard
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  • Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
  • Pure (Pure, #1) by Julianna Baggott

I had a really good reading week. Granted 3 of these were audiobooks but still, it counts! I enjoyed these for the most part but was a little let down by Mr. Penumbra’s, as it was very anti-climatic and went overboard with the technical jargon. I’m glad that I listened to the audiobook version of Pure since I really don’t have the time to reread it before finishing the rest of the trilogy. It was just as intense as I remembered.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • King’s Cage (Red Queen, #3) by Victoria Aveyard
  • The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1) by Samantha Shannon
  • The Queen of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, #1) by Erika Johansen

I will definitely be reading the King’s Cage next, and then it’s a toss up between The Bone Season (a reread) and The Queen of the Tearling. Both are part of my Smashing Series that I’ve decided to extend through July as well. We shall see which one will come first!

What are you currently reading? Did you finish any good books this past week? What do you think you’ll read next? Have you read any of the books on my list? What did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday in the comments below!