Summer TBR Wipeout – Update (1)

Doesn’t time fly when you’re taking part in a reading challenge 🙂 It seems like only yesterday I posted my introductory post for Candid Cover’s Summer TBR Wipeout  but it seems we’re already more than two weeks into the 7 week challenge so it’s time for a progress update.

Wipeout


Read / Currently Reading

Time does seem to have gotten away from me a bit so I haven’t finished as many books as I’d hoped by this stage (note to self: don’t sign up for a reading challenge when you’re trying to sell & buy a house) but on the positive side I have at least managed to stick to the list. The following books I’ve either finished or have made a good start on.

Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #2)The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)The End We Start FromReasons to Stay AliveThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)

  • Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence4.75 Stars – I absolutely loved this sequel to Red Sister. There’s lots of action, a few unexpected twists and some fantastic character development. I especially love the relationships between the characters in this story, they’re just wonderful. Not sure what’s holding me back from giving it the full five stars but there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on (maybe just that the author keeps killing off my fave characters or that I’m going to have to wait almost a year for the next book even though it’s already written)
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang4.5 Stars – A funny and wonderfully sweet romance with a main character who has autism. It’s kind of a gender switched Pretty Woman with our MC hiring an escort to teach her how to be in a relationship. I loved both leads and the relationship between them but did get a little frustrated with the lack of communication at times. For a debut though it’s pretty impressive and I certainly learned a lot about autism.
  • The End We Start From by Megan Hunter4 Stars – This was a very short but completely unique read about a woman trying to keep herself and her newborn baby alive when the southern parts of the UK flood. It has a very quirky style to it, it’s very much inside the head of the MC, with very little in the way of descriptions, detail or dialogue (the other characters are referred to by their initials only) but there’s something about it that made it difficult to put down.
  • The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers In Progress – I’m currently around half way through as I’m writing this post and really enjoying this story of a mixed species spaceship crew making a long and dangerous journey. The characters are incredibly likeable and even though there’s not much in the way of story it’s pretty addictive reading.
  • Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig – In Progress – I started this about a week ago and am currently about a quarter of the way through. Haig’s a great writer but this real story of his battle against depression and anxiety is a challenging read for me so I’m dipping in and out.

Books Added/Removed

I know it’s not been long but yep, I think I need to switch some books around on the list.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers, #2)The PowerZenith (The Androma Saga #1)Surprise Me

  • A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky ChambersAdded – Given I’m going to see Becky Chambers on the 24th July for the launch of the third book in the Wayfarers series I think it’s probably a good idea for me to read the second book. Plus I’m really enjoying the first book 🙂
  • The Power by Naomi AldermanRemoved – I was planning on reading this as part of a buddy read starting today but as I’m midway through another couple of books and have quite a few others to read in the next 9 days I don’t think I’ll have time. It’s staying on my TBR but probably won’t be read as part of this challenge.
  • Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings Removed – The negative reviews for this are really putting me off reading it so with all of the other books on my TBR I’m really excited about I’m going to knock it off the list. I may change my mind if loads of people tell me it’s brilliant but that seems unlikely.
  • Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella – Added – I meant to include this in my original list but felt like the 21 books I already had on it were more than enough. Kinsella is however one of my fave authors and I managed to snag a copy from the library so I’ll definitely be reading this at some point. And I need a bit more romance on this list 😉

So that’s my progress to date, it’s actually kind of freaking me out that I haven’t read more (I blame the weather). Hopefully I’ll have made a bit more progress by my next update around the end of the month.

Have you read any of the books on the list? What did you think of them? Have I made the right decisions to drop a couple off the list or would you recommend I keep them on there? Feel free to leave comments and links to your summer TBR below.

Happy reading everyone ❤

My 2018 Bookish Goals

2017 is almost over and while I’ve had an incredible bookish year I’ve already started thinking about what I want to achieve in 2018. I tend to avoid New Year’s Resolutions as I know I’ll never stick to them but last year I set some reading and blog goals and actually met a lot of them so I want to do the same for 2018.

I’m probably not going to beat myself up over them if I don’t achieve them, reading and blogging should be fun after all, but I’m hoping these goals will give me a little bit of motivation and kick start the year.

Read More »

Summer TBR Wipeout – Wrap Up Post

Sooo around 6 weeks ago I signed up for Candid Cover’s 2nd Annual Summer TBR Wipeout and wow time has really flown. I can’t believe it’s all over but unfortunately it is and it’s time for my wrap up post.

In my introductory post I set myself the target of reading 21 books over the period knowing it was unlikely I’d manage them all but willing to give it a go. So how did I do?


Read

I would definitely class myself as a mood reader so sticking to a plan is almost impossible for me (getting my excuses in early). Other than a couple of slips however I did manage to stick pretty close to it and finished 14 of the 21.

The Rome AffairDaughter of the Burning CityYesterday: The thriller of the summerThe Marriage PactEmma in the NightDon't Close Your EyesClose Enough to TouchMaresi (The Red Abbey Chronicles, #1)Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant, #1)Wing JonesWe Were LiarsThis Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1)Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2)Roar (Stormheart)

Out of these 14 I don’t think there were really any bad reads (well maybe one) and I enjoyed just about everything. The definite highlights however were The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond, The Rome Affair by Karen Swan and We Were Liars by E Lockhart but special mentions should also go to The Monsters of Verity series by V.E. Schwab and Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy (and maybe a few others too)

Outwith the list I also finished another 4 books taking my grand total read to 18

Big Sexy LoveArtemisBurn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)White Hot (Hidden Legacy, #2)

I’m really, really happy I deviated as Big Sexy Love by Kirsty Greenwood turned out to be my absolute favourite read of the summer and I suspect will be one of my favourite reads of the year. The title makes it sound a bit Fifty Shades but I promise it’s not (there’s almost no sex). It’s more of a Sophie Kinsella or The Hating Game type romcom but a really emotional read. The MC’s BFF is dying (this is in the blurb so not spoilery).

Artemis by Andy Weir I just couldn’t resist as soon as I received the ARC (and it’s brilliant) and Ilona Andrews was a bit of escapism (my list was lacking some paranormal romance).


Still to Read

So with 14 of my 21 done I should still have another 7 left but I decided to knock a book off the list (it was a book club read I didn’t fancy) so have 6 still left on my TBR.

Tall OaksThe ScandalNOS4R2The Boy on the BridgeThe Darkest Part of the ForestNow I Rise (The Conqueror's Saga, #2)

With the exception of The Scandal I think I’ve hit all of the release dates of my ARCs so there’s no mad panic on these (although I really want to read asap). I’m thinking I may do a Fall TBR Bingo 🙂


So that’s it, it’s officially over 😦 I want to say a big thank you to Candid Cover for hosting, I’ve absolutely loved it and sign me up for next year.

Happy reading everyone!
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