July 2015 Wrap Up!

I thought that I'd do something a little different today, since it's the end of a month this will be my first wrap up post!

Before I talk about July and the books I read, I just wanted to give some background. About a year ago I found Booktube. I absolutely love watching all the videos about books and the wonderful community there but due to 1. I am terribly on camera, 2. my camera is terrible, and 3. I do much better with blogs than vlogs, I decided to go the text post direction instead, I've never seen a wrap up post on a typed blog, but I love them on Booktube and I  love the idea, so here goes!

This month I read 11 books!

1. The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore
2. Eve by Anna Carey
3. Queen of Tomorrow by Sherry D. Ficklin
4. Rogue by Julie Kagawa
5. Murwood: The Lost Abbey by Jeff Wheeler
6. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
7. Dracula by Bram Stoker
8. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
9. Pure Insanity by Sean Ryan
10. The Last of the Firedrakes by Farah Oomerbhoy
11. The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

Some statistics, because I love statistics!

I read a total of 11 books and 3396 pages in July.
I gave a total of 42 stars out of a possible 55
2 books recieved 5 stars, 5 books 4 stars, 3 books 3 stars, and I only rated 1 book 2 stars, and none were rated 1 star.
I posted reviews for 9 of the 11 books so far.
9 of the 11 books were part of a series, 1 was a stand alone book,1 was part of a world, but not a series.
5 of those 9 were first books in the series
2 books were comics or graphic novels
4 books were advanced reading copies
2 books were read aloud with a friend

My top two books of July were:

1. Queen of Tomorrow by Sherry D. Ficklin
2. The Last of the Firedrakes by Farah Oomerbhoy

Both of these were given to me as advanced reading copies, which is still very new to me and I am still always a little concerned that I will hate the books, but they ended up being my favorites for the month. (Yes, I know that I gave The Last of the Firedrakes a 4 star, and The Ice Dragon a 5 star, no one said I had to make sense!

Least favorite

My least favorite book was Dracula by Bram Stoker.

I went into this book knowing I would probably not love it, but I wanted some context for a Stephen King book I am reading. I am glad I read it, but it was just very slow, and frustrating, and I didn't really enjoy it. 

Currently Reading

I am also working on a few other books right now that will now be finished in August, but I read a large chunk of them in July, and those books are:

1. 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

2. Transformed by E.V. Fairfall

 

These are the two books that I am currently working on. The first is 'Salem's Lot, and it is part of my Stephen King project (basically, I want to read Stephen King, and I'm making my way through his work chronologically because I'm a crazy person, I may post about that later!). The second book is Transformed and it was given to me by the author for review, I'm about a third of the way through this book and I really like it so far! So keep an eye out in August for my review!

Project Brad

Honorable Mention goes to Revan by Drew Karpyshyn

This book is part of another project I'm working on, and that's Brad. My fiance. I love him so much, but he has one [major] flaw: he is not a reader! It's been a running joke that I'll make a reader out of him yet, and I've been [not so] gently nudging [shoving] books at him since we met. He agreed that we could read books together and the first series that we read were the Chronicles of Narnia and her seemed to enjoy them, but I think that he was mostly trying for my sake! Its actually very sweet, we take turns reading chapters out loud to each other. These books usually take a lot longer because we read together at a much slower pace. Once we finished The Last Battle (this month!) he wanted to start reading some Star Wars books and I can tell that he is enjoying reading a lot more now! This book will probably be on my currently reading for a long time, but the level of excitement he has is so much higher it is worth it to draw this one out!

Wrap it up!

This was July in a nutshell! I think it was a really good month for reading. I had been in a reading slump and I really kicked it's butt this month! I was still really busy with work, but things are beginning to settle down again and I'll hopefully have a lot more time to read! I ended up catching up with my Goodreads goal and am 5 books ahead of schedule!

Look for my August to read post in the next few days!

What were your favorite books of July and what are you planning on reading in August?

Happy Reading!

2015 Reading Challenge

Angela has read 28 books toward her goal of 40 books.

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28 of 40 (70%)

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Review: The Gods of Mars

The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

**This review was originally posted on my Goodreads**

I know I said that I probably wouldn't read any more of these books, but I can't just leave a series hanging. 

The Gods of Mars was interesting. I thought that the religious aspect of traveling down the river to what the people of Mars/Barsoom consider to be Heaven only to find hatred and corruption was interesting. I think that this speaks to a deeper fear that we all have- fear of the unknown. More specifically, fear that we have incorrectly placed our faith in an unknown and it turns out to be entirely wrong. 

However yet again, I found the idea of this main character setting himself above the entire world. He finds a race of black Martians who are either evil, or ignorant and need to be educated by the Virginian slave owner. It is starting to stand out that Burroughs is more than a little racist. As I've said in a previous review, I do understand that this book was written in a different time, and there is a completely different historic context to it, but it is entirely out of control. Not only that, but I found the portrayal of women thus-far to be quite offensive. I think that there was a good idea under all of the ignorance, but found it hard to enjoy the book, and impossible to feel for the main character. But that's just me, there are many people who love these books and they have obviously stayed popular through out the years.

I would really only recommend this book to someone who enjoyed the first one. There are so many better science fiction books out there, you would be much better off picking one of those.

The Gods of Mars on Goodreads

My review on Godreads

Review: A Princess of Mars

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

**This review was originally posted on my Goodreads**

I had heard from so many people about how good this books is, and frankly, I was disappointed.

Maybe it is just not my thing, but John Carter seemed like a pretentious, self praising jerk. He set himself up above every other character in the book, and took numerous opportunities to assure the reader of his many skills, abilities and qualities, while feigning modesty. 

I understand that this book was written in a different era, but I felt that he looked down on the dog (thing) because he was a 'hideous beast' Dejah Thoris because she is a woman, the Green Men of Thark because they were less civilized than him, and the humans because they were not as clever as him.

On top of that, I found the timeline hard to follow, and did not really understand if John Carter was human or not (because he did not age). Perhaps some of these questions are answered in one of the next 10 books, but I'm not sure if I can force myself to find out. 

I did like the technology aspect of the book though. I found it really interesting especially because of when it was published. It is interesting to see what was considered amazing technology at that time. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoy's Civil War era science fiction.

A Princess of Mars on Goodreads
My review on Goodreads

Review: Eve

Eve by Anna Carey
Eve on Goodreads


I have been eyeing this book up in Books-A-Million for over a year now, and I finally read it! I have to say it was not what I expected, but it was still really good.

This book is a dystopian young adult book with a love story incorporated into it, so while this is a very unique dystopian young adult book with a love story, it is still a snowflake in a blizzard, which unfortunately means, that not a whole lot of this book really stuck with me. That being said, I will be continuing this book because I think there is a lot of potential in this series.

This book follows Eve, a young girl who escapes from her 'school' where she learns they are preparing girls to be baby machines, and teaching them to fear and hate men. I think that that is a really interesting idea, that has some really great ties to today's society.

I really enjoyed the fact that Eve was not a special little flower who everyone loves and dotes on at all times, but is also not a hard core Katness Everdeen type character who kicks some butt, and scares everyone, while being emotionally unavailable. I found her very realistic, and it actually really broke the mold in that respect.

Ultimately, however, it did read like any number of first books in post apocalyptic dystopian worlds. Luckily the second books are always the best!

My review on Goodreads

Review: Marked

Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

**This review was originally posted on Goodreads**

I had heard about the House of Night series books a lot, and thought I'd give them a try, although I admit, I really did not expect to like them all that much. That being said I thought that this book was really well written, and laid out. 

I particularly loved the matriarchal society that P.C. and Kristen Cast have designed and the very unique way in which they write the vampyres. This is not your run of the mill vampires are scary, but these ones are not all bad story. It presents vampires as more of a secret society. 

It isn't a book for everyone, but It reminds me of the popular television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in the way that it takes normal problems that teens and young adults would be going through, and makes them into supernatural or magical issues. 

There was a slight(ok, not so slight) undertone of feminism in the book, but it was not irritating, or overpowering. It did not overpower the plot as many of the feminist themed books tend to do. I am pretty sure that there were also ties to Wicca but I am not 100% on that as I am not familiar with that group. 

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought that I would and honestly the thing that held me back from 5 stars was the language. It was clearly trying to be 'hip' and 'cool' but came off childish, unrealistic, and to use a lame word, lame. That combined with some of the choices Zoey made were frustrating, however I guess that's just part of her character. 

Overall I think that this book would appeal to a wide variety of readers, including those looking for a romance, and those looking for something with a little bit more plot to it. I recomend that you give this series a chance!

Marked on Goodreads

My review on Goodreads

Review: The Ice Dragon

The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin's take on a children's book! Guaranteed to ensure your child never sleeps alone again! This book is listed as a children's novel by Martin set in the same world as his A Song of Ice and Fire series. So naturally I had to read it, and I was not disappointed.

This book is about a small girl and her love winter, and the great ice dragon that it brings. It is set in a time when the seasons seem to work more like our own, and there is, as always, a great war between nations. Although the language and style were written on a much lower reading level than the main books, this was far from a children's book. Be it descriptions of men lit on fire, or a young girl stepping on a nail and it going the whole way through her foot, the content is not what I would call child friendly. Bur for fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, this was excellent!

the pages were beautifully covered with illustrations by Luis Royo that brought this book to life. This book will most likely be incorporated into the series in some way, much like the Dunk & Egg series of short stories. 

I highly recommend that anyone who has enjoyed the A Song of Ice and Fire series, or the Game of Thrones television show pick up this book. It raises many questions, and leaves room for quite a lot of speculation, as well as several theories!

This book is published in beautiful hardback, so go pick your copy up immediately!

The Ice Dragon on Goodreads

My Review on Goodreads 

Review: The Last of the Firedrakes

The Last of the Firedrakes by Farah Oomerbhoy

I received this book as an advanced reading copy through Netgally from Wise Ink Creative Publishing and before I say anything I would like to say a big thank you to them for allowing me to read this book. 

The long asked question of 'what to read after Harry Potter' has been answered, as long as you don't mind a bit of déjà vu. I thoroughly enjoyed Oomerbhoy's masterpiece, from the stunning cover, to the cliff hanger at the end, and all the wonderfulness between. It took me a bit to get going, but once I did I couldn't put it down! 

I was initially a little put off by the similarities in the plot to the Harry Potter series, it felt like someone chopped the books into chapter sized hunks, mixed them up and stripped away the details, then put them back together and filled in with a new story. As the book went on, however, the comparisons lessened and it grew in it's own right, blooming into a very compelling story. It still puts you in mind of Dursleys, Hogwarts, and a certain blonde would-be villain, but it has a flavor all it's own. 

I was very impressed with Aurora's character. She was flawed, and young, but she was very likable. I don't always love main characters, but she felt very real to me. She was not obnoxiously over confident, but she also did not float about putting herself down so others would praise her. I liked that she has dark hair, and that she loves her dark hair. This stuck with me for some reason, and I started to picture her like princess Jasmine from Disney's Aladdin!

There was a romantic side to this book, and again, I must say it was beautifully written. I am normally left on the outside of romances looking in thinking 'good, she is happy,' or 'they want to be together' but that was not the case here. There is a point in this book, where Aurora and Rafe's inevitable romance just hits me! Not only did I want it to work out, but Oomerbhoy paints such a beautiful picture of longing that it leaks out of the page and you can feel it. 

Rafe was probably my favorite, and I couldn't help but picture him as a cross between Flynn Rider, and Aladdin! He put me in mind of a Robin Hood character immediately and I loved the depth his character has! I really feel for him in his current mess he find's himself in, and I can't wait to see how he fixes it! 

I think the biggest drawback to this book was that there were places that the plot similarities did become a bit overwhelming, mainly in the begining of the book, so if you are someone who is bothered by that you may not enjoy this book as much as you should. But the similarities are less as you go, so I have high hopes for the next book. No word on when the next book will be out, but I'll be here waiting when it does!

This book is set to be published on August 15, 2015 hop on over to Amazon right now and pre-order your copy!


The Last of the Firedrakes on Goodreads
My review on Goodreads