Disappointing Sequels and Series Endings

I've read a lot of book series over the years and there have been many a sequel and conclusion that I loved but today on my blog I thought I'd list some of the book sequels/conclusions that have disappointed me. I have loved nearly all the first books in these series but I really feel that a lot of the sequels and endings on this list were not needed and were not as good as previous books in the series.  I've also linked this post up with this week's Top Ten Tuesday (a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) topic since this week's topic was: freebie.

Allegiant (Divergent book 3) by Veronica Roth

Up from the Grave (Night Huntress book 7) b Jeaniene Frost

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows book 2) by Leigh Bardugo

Vengeful (Vicious book 2) by V.E. Schwab

Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers book 3) by Becky Chambers

Fierce Fragile Hearts (Beautiful Broken Things book 2) by Sara Barnard

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

The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer book 3) by Michelle Hodkin

What book sequels/conclusions were you disappointed in?

Book Review: The Glass Spare (The Glass Spare #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Book: The Glass Spare
Series: The Glass Spare book 1
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Genre: YA fantasy

Wilhelmina Heidle, the fourth child and only daughter of the king of the world’s wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father—whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war—Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance. 

Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified—but as she tests its limits, she’s drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, though, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure. 

But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with Wil’s power. 

With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that’s turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

The Glass Spare sounded very interesting to me and I've loved the author's previous books so I knew there was a good chance I'd love this book and I did.  The writing was one of my favourite things about this book, I just love the way the author tells stories and I love how emotional they feel because of the writing.

The story intrigued me a lot and I really wanted to read more because I was excited to see what was happening next.  And even though it could come across as generic, with certain tropes like instalove and how the main character finds an unknown power that leaves her seeking answers, I thought this book was entertaining and it really held my interest.  The plot was also very fast paced and that along with the writing really made this book feel like such a quick read.

One of the things I really liked about The Glass Spare was the interesting family dynamics between Wil and the rest of her family.  I loved reading about her and her brothers and the different kinds of bonds they had with each other, each bond was unique.  And even the family dynamics of the warring kingdom were interesting to read about.  The characters all felt well rounded and interesting to read about, all their own personalities shone through.  

Overall I really liked The Glass Spare and I was glad I picked it up.  It's a great YA fantasy with interesting characters and an intriguing story and writing that really makes the pages fly by.

My Reading Rush TBR 2019

The Reading Rush (previously called BookTubeAThon) is a readathon that happens every year and is a week long.  This year it starts on the 22nd of July and ends on the 28th.

My Reading Rush TBR:

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - This is one of my most anticipated books of the year so I'm very excited to read it.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan - I had planned on reading this when it got released but I have still not got around to reading it but I've heard good things about it and hopefully I'll like it.

Under A Dancing Star by Laura Wood - I don't know too much about this book but I really liked the authors previous book, A Sky Painted Gold, so I'm excited to read more of the authors writing.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer - I've been meaning to read this book for a while so hopefully this readathon will give me that push.

I have not listed a lot of books because I feel like this is already an overly ambitious tbr as it is since some of these books are pretty thick.  I'm really excited to participate in the readathon again and this year there is a new website (my username on there is: kylaslibrary) to track your progress and talk to other people about the readathon.  I'll be updating my Twitter (KylasLibrary) during the readathon so if you want to see how I'm doing follow me there.   

There are reading challenges but you don't have to do them, some of the books I picked do match with some of the challenges but I'll probably not be able to complete all of them. 

Are you participating in The Reading Rush? What are you planning on reading?

Top Ten Tuesday- Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is: Auto-Buy Authors.  I feel like over the years my list of auto-buy authors has changed a lot and will probably continue to change a lot so I thought I'd list ten authors whose books I've loved and I'm interested to read more of their future works as well.

Marie Lu

Adam Silvera

Lauren DeStefano

Sarah J Maas

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Jay Kristoff

Jennifer Niven 

Cassandra Clare

Sandy Williams

Ilona Andrews

Who are some of your auto-buy authors?

Summer Book Recommendations 2019

I know we're already into summer but I thought I'd do I post about some books that I think would be great to read in the summer months.  Some of these books take place during summer and some of them I think just kind of have a summery feel to them.

Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer 

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers  

A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood

Paper Girls Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood 

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Summer Blue Bird by Akemi Dawn Bowman

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

What books do you think are to great to read in the summer?

Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag 2019

I did this tag last year and I love how it makes you reflect on your reading for the first half of the year so I really wanted to do it again this year.

THE QUESTIONS:

1) Best book you’ve read so far in 2019 - The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles - 

This is such a beautiful book and I really hope more people read it.

2) Best sequel you've read so far in 2019 - Song of Sorrow (Sorrow book 2) by Melinda Salisbury and In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children book 4) by Seanan McGuire - 

I know I cheated by picking two books for this question but they were both amazing.

3) New release you haven't read yet, but want to - Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

4) Most anticipated release for the second half of the year - Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle book 3) by Jay Kristoff

5) Biggest disappointment - Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa - 

I was very disappointed in this book, the story and characters felt very generic and dated.

6) Biggest surprise - Enchantée by Gita Trelease - 

I was surprised by this book because although it sounded interesting I had heard some mixed reviews of it before I started it so I was a bit hesitant on it but I liked the book a lot, I really enjoyed the story and the setting of it.

7) Favourite new author (Debut or new to you) - Akemi Dawn Bowman - 

I read both of Akemi Dawn Bowman's books this year and I really liked the writing of them.  I found the writing to be very quotable so I'm looking forward to reading more of their books.

8) Newest fictional crush - Luvian Fen (Sorrow duology by Melinda Salisbury) - 

I don't usually get much crushes on characters these days but I did like Luvian so I'll pick him for this question.  Technically I first read about Luvians character last year when I read State of Sorrow but I feel like we get to see a lot more of his character in Song of Sorrow.

9) Newest favourite character - Mister Kindly (The Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff) - 

I don't know if Mister Kindly counts since he is more of a creature but I think he's really unique.  He's a sarcastic shadow cat companion to the main character and I really like reading about him.

10) Book that made you cry - The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles - 

Seriously, more people need to read this book!

11) Book that made you happy - The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - 

I liked how open the world/universe of this book was. 

12) Favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year - 

I don't really have an answer for this because I don't think I've watched many book to movie adaptations this year so far. 

13) Favourite review you've written this year - 

I didn't know what to choose for this one so here is my review for my favourite book of the year so far: The Air You Breathe. 

14) Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received) - Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 

I love the edition of Daisy Jones that I have.  It's signed and has black sprayed edges. 

15) What books do you need to read by the end of the year? - The Great Alone and Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - 

I own both these books but still haven't read them yet, I keep meaning to because I loved The Nightingale by the same author and I need to read more of their books.

What are some of your answers to these questions?

June Wrap Up 2019

What I Read:

A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers book 1) by Becky Chambers - 4 STARS

I really enjoyed this book and thought the universe and alien species that the author created were very interesting and made me want to read more about them.  Each species had so much depth and complexity while still being easy to understand.  I really liked the characters and the story of this book.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers book 2) by Becky Chambers - 4 STARS

I went straight onto the second book in this series after finishing the first and although it isn't about the same characters as the first, I still enjoyed this book a lot.  I found this book to be a lot more emotional than the first and I liked the flashback chapters that told the characters backstory.

Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers book 3) by Becky Chambers - 3 STARS

I was torn between giving this book 2 or 3 STARS (I still might change it).  I enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy and was shocked at how disappointed I was in this book.  I didn't feel connected to any characters and felt that the characters and the overall storyline felt a bit pointless. 

Blog Posts I Did In June:

➢ Vengeful (Villains book 2) by V.E. Schwab Book Review

➢ Summer 2019 Releases I'm Excited For

➢ Wildcard (Warcross book 2) by Marie Lu Book Review

➢ Hyped Books I Didn't Like

➢ The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles Book Review

➢ Summer 2019 TBR

➢ Historical Time Periods I Loved Reading About

My June Bookstagram pictures (xo_reader_kyla):

I feel like I didn't read much in June, I just read one trilogy, but I did enjoy most of the books.  What did you read in June?