I know I skipped a Wrap-Up for August and Haul for September. It got so busy around here that I have no idea what I bought and when I bought it. The crazy was real. I was all over the place. I'm going to pick up the hauls in October and the Wrap-Ups in September.
So for the month of September I read 19 books. I think that overall I did well, don't you?
Book #1: Delirium by Lauren Oliver
They
say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And
I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now
I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second
than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.
This one was so much better than I thought it was going to be. Normally, I don't like YA Contemporary. No matter what other sub-genres it falls into. This book has been been making it's rounds on BookTube again recently for reasons I don't happen to know, so I thought I'd give it a try. I read the whole thing in less than a week and it's a near 500 page book. I know that a lot of people like it and a lot don't.
I gave this book a 5/5 because it was way better than I thought it would be, but it could have used a bit more backstory on why they thought love was a disease and why they decided that removal of it completely was the proper response to it. I would have really liked if they had gone into that more.
Book #2-13: Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
A
family with an ancient curse...And the girl who will change their
lives forever...Tohru Honda was an orphan with no place to go until
the mysterious Sohma family offered her a place to call home. Now her
ordinary high school life is turned upside down as she's introduced
to the Sohma's world of magical curses and family secrets.
I read the 12 volumes of this series that I happen to posses. I rated them an average of 4.5/5. I like the story line. It's so much fun to see how she handles these boys and living in their house and having to put up with not being able to talk even to her best friends about it. I stopped partway through to wonder what it would be like to have to do this myself, and I don't think I'd be able to do it! She just shoulders so much and she doesn't complain at all. How did she even do this? How did no one figure out what she was doing.
I also love Yuki and Kyo's emotional growth in the story. Very few people actually notice it at first. They slowly stop fighting each other and those around them. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the volumes to see how it plays out and what happens.
Book #14: Descendants of Darkness(v1) by Yoko Matsushita
Asato
Tsuzuki works as a shinigami, or 'Guardian of Death', in the Ministry
of Hades. It's his duty to make sure that the souls of the dead reach
the afterlife, but contrary ghosts and humanity's evils keep getting
in the way of a job well done. With all these problem assignments,
will he ever get a bonus?
This was given to me a long time ago by a friend of mine, and I read it a few times before finding out about Goodreads. I used to watch the anime on Toonami in the middle of the night when it came on. I would wait up until 2a just to see it on Sunday mornings. I wanted to add it to my list of read books and I'm so glad I picked it up again. I gave this a 4/5 because a lot didn't really add up, but then this is just volume one.
I didn't quite understand how the doctor was involved. Aside from creating Maria (and what kind of Chinese name is Maria?). I hope that the next volumes will have further explanation for this and I can find out what in the world they left out of the anime.
Book #15: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
I’m
pushing aside
the
memory of my nightmare,
pushing
aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing
aside thoughts of Hana
and
my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like
Raven taught me to do.
The
old life is dead.
But
the old Lena is dead too.
I
buried her.
I
left her beyond a fence,
behind
a wall of smoke and flame
Lauren
Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York
Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles
with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks
of a revolution about to ignite.
This one got 5/5 as well as its predecessor. I liked it more than I thought I would. I've found I'm starting to branch out into more books that are YA related. But seriously. You killed him. An entire book ago. Why is it he didn't stay dead? She moved on! No one else even knew he was alive! I think it might have been a bit of second in a series syndrome where we have to have a love triangle or something, so the character couldn't stay dead and buried.
Book #16: My Dear Watson by L.A. Fields
One
of the most famous partnerships in literature yields, over time, to a
peculiar romantic triangle. Sherlock Holmes. Dr. John Watson. And the
good doctor’s second wife, whom Doyle never named. In L A Fields's
novel, Mrs. Watson is a clever woman who realizes, through examining
all the prior cases her husband shared with the world's greatest
consulting detective, that the two men shared more than adventures:
they were lovers, as well. In 1919, after the pair has retired, Mrs.
Watson invites Holmes to her home to meet him face to face. Thus
begins a recounting of a peculiar affair between extraordinary men.
“You are such a unique person,” Holmes says poisonously. “What
a shame that history will most likely never remember your name.”
The question Mrs. Watson faces: Did Holmes simply take advantage of
her husband’s loyalty and love, or did the detective return those
feelings? And what to do now that the pair are no longer living
together at Baker Street and Watson has other claims on his
affections? My Dear Watson offers readers a romance that requires as
much reasoning to puzzle out as it does passion. Mrs. Watson proves a
worthy opponent—in intellect, in guile, in conviction—for the
great detective. Recommended for libraries by the GLBT Roundtable of
the American Library Association.
I actually have been reading this book for so long....I started it on October 20, 2015. So nearly a year. I finished it just after my birthday. Good lord this one took forever. Mostly because the font itself was incredibly small and dense. It wasn't that I didn't like the story, I did. It was just like slogging through cold molasses. I gave this 5/5 because I love Sherlock and Watson and every single variant of their stories. I can't wait to find more and see what happens with the detective and his favorite doctor!
Books #17-18: Love Recipe by Kirico Higashizato
Tomonori
Ozawa has just landed his dream job at a large publishing firm. The
only catch is, he is the new editor of a Boy’s Love magazine! With
that, comes the responsibility of managing Sakurako Kakyoin, a male
yaoi artist who is notorious for missing his deadlines. To become a
full–fledged editor, Tomonori-kun has to start from the bottom –
checking drafts, editing scripts and lettering. Now if only
Kakyoin-sensei would stop sexually harassing him, he could actually
get some work done!
Yeah. I like yaoi manga. More for the story than the love scenes. There's not much to see anyway. I just like reading about the development of the characters. Especially the ones who are like "Am I gay? Am I bi? What am I?" like Tomonori. He's so unsure of himself that he has no idea. I was not fond of the discrepancy between the cover art of volume one and two. I like to be able to formulate what they look like full color and I have no idea here.
Anyway, I rated these 5/5 each because they are just too cute. I can't not love the way Sakurako suddenly starts doing more to be nice to Tomonori instead of trying put him in bed. It's slow, but he does learn.
Anyway, I rated these 5/5 each because they are just too cute. I can't not love the way Sakurako suddenly starts doing more to be nice to Tomonori instead of trying put him in bed. It's slow, but he does learn.
Book #19: Phoenix by Vaun Murphrey
Now that the dust has settled and the dead are buried can Cassandra and Silver take over the reins and guide Weavers into a new era? Not everyone is comfortable with their assumption of power and an old enemy lingers, begging the question - are they ready to face the Soul Eater? Find our in PHOENIX, Book Four of the Weaver Series.
I FINALLY FINISHED IT!! This is a NetGalley book that I've had for a very long time that I have been reading for months. Not even putting it down and forgetting. No. Actively reading for months. Almost as long as My Dear Watson.
I was supposed to read and review this with the previous three books (Chimera, Changeling, and Vector).
