Top Ten Tuesday- Rainy Day Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is:  Rainy Day Reads.  

I think everyone has their own view on what a rainy day read is and for me I don't mind reading any book on a rainy day so I just chose some books that would be great to get lost in on a rainy day.

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children book 1) by Seanan McGuire

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

State of Sorrow (Sorrow book 1) by Melinda Salisbury

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Heart of Mist (The Oremere Chronicles book 1) by Helen Scheuerer

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files book 1) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Darkfever (Fever book 1) by Karen Marie Moning

Caraval (Caraval book 1) by Stephanie Garber

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

What books would you recommend to read on a rainy day?

Book Review: Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin

Book: Other Words for Smoke
Author: Sarah Maria Griffin
Genre: YA fantasy/magical realism

{I was sent a free copy of this book by the publisher but all thoughts and opinions are my own}

The house at the end of the lane burned down, and Rita Frost and her teenage ward, Bevan, were never seen again. The townspeople never learned what happened. Only Mae and her brother Rossa know the truth; they spent two summers with Rita and Bevan, two of the strangest summers of their lives… 

Because nothing in that house was as it seemed: a cat who was more than a cat, and a dark power called Sweet James that lurked behind the wallpaper, enthralling Bevan with whispers of neon magic and escape. 

And in the summer heat, Mae became equally as enthralled with Bevan. Desperately in the grips of first love, she’d give the other girl anything. A dangerous offer when all that Sweet James desired was a taste of new flesh…

My Rating: 3 STARS

My Review:

The beginning of Other Words for Smoke has a really mysterious pull that makes you immediately interested in the story, I liked the overall premise of the book and that mixed with the atmospheric writing style definitely intrigued me.

The story is certainly unique. A story about a talking cat, a talking owl that lives in the wallpaper, witches and a house that has almost it's own personality.  I liked how eerie all these things added together made the story to be.  The house itself was very interesting and creepy and I thought the descriptions of the house were very haunting.

I felt like there was something missing with each of the characters that made me not care or feel connected to any of them.  I also didn't think there was much of a connection between Mae and Rossa despite them being twins.  I didn't like Bevan much and I felt that we didn't really find out much about her personality even though a lot of the book it told from her pov.

I did like the flashback scenes that took place to show Rita's past, I thought they were some of the most interesting parts of the book and I was disappointed that there were only a few of those scenes.

Overall I didn’t care for the characters much and I was underwhelmed by the overall storyline, I expected there to be more to things than there was but I did like the flashback scenes and the creepy atmospheric vibe of the book.  The writing was also intriguing.

March Wrap Up 2019

What I Read:

The Thief (Black Dagger Brotherhood book 16) by J.R. Ward - 2 STARS

I think this is definitely my least liked book of the BDB series.  I didn't really like Assail or Sola much before this book and my opinion of them still stands.  I don't hate these characters but there are definitely more interesting characters in this world that I would've preferred reading about instead.  I also really disliked the side story of Vishous and Jane and didn't like where their relationship went in this book.

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum - 3 STARS

I liked most of this book and really liked the way the story was told, it was very intriguing but the ending had me disappointed especially the reasons for everything and the whole ending section.

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle book 1) by Jay Kristoff - 4 STARS

I had high hopes for this book because of the hype surrounding it and I'm glad it lived up to those.  It's a slow start but I knew that before reading and after the first 100-150 pages I was really into the story.  I liked how most of the book took place in a school and I enjoyed reading Mia's journey to become who she is. There were some really interesting twists in this books and I can't wait to see where the series goes next.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 5 STARS

This was one of my most anticipated books so I was nervous to read it but I ended up loving it.  Taylor Jenkins Reid has such a way with words that makes these characters feel so real and like you're reading a piece of history that actually happened.

Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá - 4 STARS

I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot, I loved the artwork.  This story is about how there are so many different paths that a person could go down in life and it takes a look at the main character's life and what would've happened had he made different choices in life.  I really liked reading about that and find it such an interesting topic.

Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin - 3 STARS 

{I received a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review}

I liked the beginning of this book a lot and liked the creepy atmospheric feelings it gave off but I didn't feel connected to the characters.  My full review will be posted soon.

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments book 1) by Cassandra Clare {REREAD} - 5 STARS

I've been planning on rereading the Shadowhunter books since the start of the year and have finally gotten around to it.  I really enjoyed rereading City of Bones, I love this series so much.

Blog Posts I Did in March:

My Spring TBR 2019

Sequels I'm Unsure About

Song of Sorrow (Sorrow book 2) by Melinda Salisbury Book Review 

The 'I Should Have Read That Book' Tag

Top Ten Tuesday: Standalones That Need A Sequel

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I'd Like to Switch Places With 

My Bookstagram pictures for March (xo_reader_kyla):

I'm happy with my reading in March, it felt like I read a lot.  I didn't watch much in March but I have been finally catching up on The Originals, I've just finished season 4 and can't wait to watch season 5. I've been listening to a lot of March Kpop comebacks like Jus2, KARD and Stray Kids, I've been loving all their songs!

What did you read, watch or listen to in March?

Sequels I'm Unsure About

There has been a lot of sequels that I've lost excitement over due to many reasons, so I thought I'd list some of the books I've been thinking about recently.  

Sequels I'm Unsure About:

A Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (Montague Siblings book 2) by Mackenzi Lee - After reading some reviews of this book, and finding a lot of people were disappointed in the characters, my excitement has decreased a lot.

    

Defy Me (Shatter Me book 5) by Tahereh Mafi - I loved the original Shatter Me trilogy and was so excited for the new books in the series to come out but I ended up being really disappointed in Restore Me so now I'm unsure of whether or not to read the next one.

Wayward Son (Simon Snow book 2) by Rainbow Rowell - I love Rainbow Rowell's books and I liked Carry On but I wasn't overly wowed by it and I've now forgotten a lot of what happened in it so I'm not as excited as a lot of people are for this book.

The Fiery Cross (Outlander book 5) by Diana Gabaldon - I love the overall story of Outlander but I haven't continued with the story in a few years and don't know if I want to go back to it or not.

  

Sea Glass (Glass trilogy book 2) by Maria V Snyder - I don't really know if you have to read the Glass trilogy to continue with the Poison Study series but I don't find this trilogy as exciting as the first three Poison Study books.

Marked In Flesh (The Others book 4) by Anne Bishop - I liked the first three book in the series but the series doesn't really leave much of an impression on me.

What sequels have you lost excitement over?

The 'I Should Have Read That Book' Tag

I thought it'd be fun to do a tag because I haven't did one in a while and I've seen this one going around recently and liked the questions.

The 'I Should Have Read That Book' Tag was created by Books Nest.

QUESTIONS: 

• A book that a certain friend is always telling you to read - 

I thought for this question I'd switch it up and ask whoever is reading this to recommend me one of their favourite all time books in the comments. 

• A book that’s been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven’t picked it up - 

The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano - I love Lauren DeStefano's writing so I've been excited for this book since it was announced but I still haven't read it yet.

• A book in a series you’ve started, but haven’t gotten round to finishing yet - 

Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai book 2) by Tiana Warner - I started this trilogy fairly recently (just last year) and I really want to continue it soon because I enjoyed the first book a lot.

• A classic you’ve always liked the sound of, but never actually read - 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - I've heard a lot of quotes from this book and they always sound so interesting and makes me want to pick up the book.

• A popular book that it seems everyone but you has read - 

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air book 2) by Holly Black - I feel that everyone seems to be talking about this book since its release and I think I've already read some spoilers on it.

• A book that inspired a film/TV adaptation that you really love, but you just haven’t read it yet - 

The 100 by Kass Morgan - The 100 TV series is one of my all-time favourites but I haven't read the book it was based on.  I don't think I will read the book since I've heard it's very different from the show. 

• A book you see all over Instagram but haven’t picked up yet - 

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - I've seen so many pictures of the book and they all look so pretty and it's making me want to go buy this book already.

Have you read any of these books? What are some books that you feel you should have read already? 

Spring 2019 TBR

Spring is here so I thought I'd show some of the books that I plan on reading this spring and this is also the Top Ten Tuesday (a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) topic this week.  There are a lot of new releases in spring that I want to read also but I thought I'd keep this list short and only list the ones that are already out.

A Girl Called Shameless (The Exact Opposite of Okay book 2) by Laura Steven

Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle book 2) by Jay Kristoff

Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard

A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic book 2) by V.E. Schwab

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

Wildcard (Warcross book 2) by Marie Lu

What books do you plan on reading this spring?

Top Ten Tuesday- Standalone Books That Need a Sequel

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is: Standalone Books That Need a Sequel. 

Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer - 

I really liked this book and would have loved to read more about the characters and their friendships with each other.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle - 

I read this book at the beginning of last year and loved it so much.  I loved the writing and the characters and really wish I could read more of both.

I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman - 

I loved this book.  The characters and story were great, I would love to read more books about them.

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum - 

I finished this book just this month and I enjoyed most of the book but I didn't like the ending that much so I wish there was another book to wrap things up.

I thought it would be easy to choose books for this topic but I realised that I'm happy that most of the standalones I read ended as standalones.

What standalones do you wish had a sequel?