Ten Thousand Skies Above You – Wonderfilled Reads

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

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?

Book Review: Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird, #2)

The obsession with Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird, #2) by Claudia Gray is real, y’all. This trilogy is giving me life right now and I’m so scared to see how it’s going to end.

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents’ invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.

The Good

Plot that rocks! – This is one of those stories that it’s almost impossible to get bored with. You’re constantly following Marguerite through the different dimensions, and with each one being so incredibly different, there’s never any time for you to lose interest. I didn’t think it was possible for the plot to get any more exciting after the first book, but I was so happy to see that I was wrong. SO INTENSE!
Oh, those consequences… – I know that some people had some issues with the first book because Marguerite was never having to deal with any backlash for her actions and decisions (especially that really important/bad one). However, don’t fear because all of those choices are finally coming back to haunt her. And you might think, now that’s not very nice to get excited about, Larkin. But I don’t care! It makes the book so much better knowing that there’s some realistic issues coming about. You can’t just go bumbling through life without ever suffering any consequences! Luckily, Gray knows that and it was definitely a great piece added to the overall story.
Can’t stop, won’t stop. – This kind of goes hand in hand with the overall plot, but the pacing is just so on point. It never slows down to even a walk, it’s just a non-stop sprint from start to finish. If you’ve been feeling the need for something a bit more upbeat, then this is the trilogy you’re probably looking for.
Tortured Paul – Paul is such an amazing character. I loved that in this book we get a little bit more of his history and finally see some more depth in his character. I thought it was great writing to finally build a real story behind Paul. Huge thumbs up.

The Bad

Sometimes it’s just too much. – Listen, the romance has a huge part in this trilogy, that’s a given and something that I didn’t really have a problem with in the first book. However, in this book it finally started to annoy me just a tad. Like I get it, you’re in love and all, blah blah blah.. But it’s just laid on a little thick, I think. I would’ve preferred Gray to just pull back a bit on all of the love references.

This series really has turned into one of my all-time favorites. Unless it just has the shittiest ending ever, I can definitely see myself recommending this to literally every person I know.

FYI: Currently in the middle of the third book and it is freaking awesome. YESSSSSS!

Final Verdict: 5/5 stars

Have you read Ten Thousand Skies Above You? What did you think of it? Did you enjoy the entire trilogy? How do you feel about books where the romance can sometimes overpower the plot?

WWW Wednesday – June 7th, 2016

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?

A Million Worlds with You (Firebird, #3) by Claudia Gray

I can’t even tell you how much I’m addicted to this trilogy. I’m seriously kicking myself for putting off finishing it for so long. IT’S SO DAMN GOOD. Also, those covers are freaking stunning.

I’ll also be starting Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee tonight for my book club. I’m not real thrilled about it… Blahhhhhhhhh

What did you recently finish reading?

Aftermath: Life Debt (Star Wars: Aftermath, #2) by Chuck Wendig
Aftermath: Empire’s End (Star Wars: Aftermath, #3) by Chuck Wendig
Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird, #2) by Claudia Gray

I really enjoyed the Aftermath trilogy. It was exciting, full of action and political intrigue. I can see where people might have an issue with his writing style in the first book, but I think it gets a lot better in the following two books. If you’re a Star Wars fan, or just a science fiction fan in general, I recommend these for some fun reads! But if you like your science fiction with a bit of contemporary and a whole lot of swoony romance, then pick up the Firebird trilogy. Seriously, Paul is a total book boyfriend.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2) by Victoria Aveyard
King’s Cage (Red Queen, #3) by Victoria Aveyard

I’ll be carrying on with my Series Smashing June by catching up on the Red Queen series. I didn’t want to like the first book in the series when I read it back in January, but I did find it very entertaining. I’ve heard mixed things about the following books though. It’ll be really disappointing if they aren’t very good.

What are you currently reading? Have you finished any books this week? Did you enjoy them? Have you read any of the books of my list? What did you think of them? What are some series that you need to catch up on? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday in the comments below!

Teaser Tuesday – June 6th, 2017

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme currently being hosted by Ambrosia @ The Purple Booker. All are welcome to participate!

Rules:

Grab your current read.
Open to a random page.
Share two ‘teaser’ sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! You don’t want to give too much away so as to not ruin the book for others!
Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird, #2) by Claudia Gray

The unbearable terror of the past hour expands, explodes. Every thought I have vaporizes. Nothing remains but the hard truth: Paul kidnapped me.

-page 213

Oh my gosh, why is this series so good?! Read it. Don’t even question it, just do it.

What are you currently reading? Have you read the Firebird trilogy? What did you think of it? Leave a link to your Teaser Tuesday in the comments below!