Books

Wrap-up | Disney Readalong & Buzzword Readathon

Alright, I did not get through all the books I had set up for myself. I should’ve known better, during the week when I come home from work, all I want to do is chill and trying to tackle two readathons in the same week felt like a chore. My TBR was too ambitious, I’ll try something smaller if this ever happens again. (I seriously hope not) But at least I read one book for each readathon: one was horrible, the other was really fun, that’s accomplished enough for me so let’s get started even though this is gonna be quick.


~Disney Readalong: Aurora’s Dress – Pick a book with blue and pink on the cover.~

The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Story Type: Standalone or
|Series| Book I of II
Bookshelf: Mine or |Library|
Format: Audio
Genre(s):

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless. When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year-old Princess Eliza manages to escape. Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope-and love-once more. Now she must risk everything to ensure that she does not become… The Last Princess. (Synopsis via Goodreads)

Date Read: May 8th – 9th

My Thoughts: UGH this was sooooooo boring! All this girl does is describe things – things happening to her, things around her – with no emotional residence in connection to it! It doesn’t help that the narrator is so monotone either….the logic is all over the place I stopped caring about 2 hours in but I’m not a quitter, I always hate not finishing a book, no matter how bad it is. Thankfully, it was only 6 hours of listening to How to Write a Cliqued YA Dystopian Novel. There is no character development at all, which is what I live for, especially in YA. The character goes from A to B to C, ruminates about something in the past before “the 17 days”, thinks about everything happening to her, complains, and repeat. Honestly, the writing is fanfiction. It goes through the checklist of elements for a dystopian YA without all of the proper back-story, characterization, or just basic storytelling points. AKA the good stuff. For some reason, there is a sequel, I certainly won’t be picking it up.

And another thing! how dare you kill off precious doggie, Bella?! I have a Bella and she is the cutest thing ever!

Look!

Would I Recommend? Yes | No (NO NO NO)
Rating: 
In short: Ironically, this was as messed up as the corresponding challenge’s theme, so it fits better than expected.

Filed Under:
{Audiobook} YA Craze


~Buzzword Readathon: “Girl”~

The Marked Girl by Lindsey Klingele
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Story Type: Standalone or |Series| Book I of II
Bookshelf: Mine or |Library|
Format: Hardback w/ Audio
ISBN: 9780062380330
Pages: 400 (Chapters: 33)
Audiobook? Yes | No
Overdrive: EBook | Audio
~ or Purchase: Amazon| Barnes & Noble | Thriftbooks
Genre(s):
When Cedric, crowned prince of Caelum, and his fellow royal friends (including his betrothed, Kat) find themselves stranded in modern-day L.A. via a magical portal and an evil traitor named Malquin, all they want to do is get home to Caelum—soon. Then they meet Liv, a filmmaker foster girl who just wants to get out of the system and on with her life. As she and Cedric bond, they’ll discover that she’s more connected to his world than they ever could’ve imagined…and that finding home is no easy task… (Synopsis via Goodreads)

Date Read: May 9th – (40% complete) 12th
{Completed May 14th}

My Thoughts: This book was really enjoyable. I feel at a bit of a pause since the story isn’t over yet. Need the next book now! With this author being mostly from television and this her debut novel, I’ll give her some slack. Although predictable at points, there were still a few twists I didn’t anticipate, the world building was fantastic, and its clear her strong suit is characterization. The romance is adorably awkward and more of a gentle simmer than a slow burn. One thing she did wonderfully was illustrating the importance of responsibility and the type of choices and sacrifices that come with that. No spoilers of course but Cedric most prominently struggles with this. Between coming to know a beautiful and strange world where you can do anything and his duties to his home country as the future ruler, it’s written with quite a striking maturity. I was impressed.

Would I Recommend? Yes | No
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In short: A strong debut with much care taken towards an intriguing fantasy world and a strong lead cast.

Filed Under:
YA Klingele

~The Good Stuff~

Favorite Quotes:

“That’s just… so sad. How can you have an entire planet with no movies?” (pg. 132, ch. 10: the unavoidable truths)

“Besides, I just lost my family. You lost your whole world.” – “Seems like the same thing to me.” (pg. 144, ch. 10: the unavoidable truths)

“I know it might not seem that way, but your parents do care. They cared enough to adopt you, to raise you.” (pg. 375, ch. 31: the city’s end)


Disney Princess Comic Strips: The Enchanted Collection

Release Date: March 6, 2018
Story Type: |Standalone| or Series
Bookshelf: Mine or |Library|
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781772757507
Pages: 200
Audiobook? Yes | No
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Genre(s):
Get ready for adventure! Disney’s beloved Princesses are back again in this huge, hilarious collection of the Disney Princess comic series from Joe Books. Featuring laugh-out-loud stories from the worlds of Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Tiana, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, and others, this charming collection will make all of your dreams come true. What would happen if Tiana judged a chili cook-off? Or if Merida took up babysitting? How would Aurora spend a snow day? Jam-packed with wonderful Disney charm and laughter, these enchanting comics are a perfect read for all ages. This volume collects Disney Princess issues #1-14, with beautiful illustrations by Amy Mebberson, Dylan Bonner, Brianna Garcia, and Mitch Leeuwe. (Synopsis via Goodreads)

Date Read: May 8th – 9th

My Thoughts: I had picked this up on the side considering the Disney Readalong’s challenges were mostly princess-themed. The only Disney princess comics I had seen previously were Amy Mebberson’s and she has a whole tumblr dedicated to them. Every single one of these little adventures I enjoyed, my favorite being belle’s, but Beauty and the Beast is my favorite movie so it goes without saying.

I would post all of these if I could, they’re immensely charming and adorable slices-of-life in your favorite princesses’ downtime. One thing that I really appreciated was the variety in their casual wardrobe, I adored Cinderella’s dresses, especially and even the princes got a few casual looks!

They really cared about the continuity of the films as well, one of the comics is Aurora asking Merryweather, Flora, and Fauna to make her a dress and a cake like before when they lived in the forest and to this day she still doesn’t know they did it all with magic but she’s still very kind and polite towards her friends efforts. I’d love a series with all the heroines and hero’s mundane activities with all their vibrant personalities, maybe the cameo in Wreck-it Ralph 2 could be a well-received encouragement?

Would I Recommend? Yes (Definitely!) | No
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In Short: I hope these never end.

Filed Under:
J.GN 741.5973 D


Well, I didn’t read much but it’s better than nothing. The books I chose for the readathon I’m still planning on reading so they could be in my wrap up at the end of the month!

What are you reading? Come chat with me on twitter!

~As always, stay positive and visit your local library~

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2 Comments

  • Louise

    I LOVE your genre buttons!
    Congrats on managing something for both readathons. I get so frustrated when 2 or more that I want to do happen at the same time, it makes it trickier but I never want to miss out. 😂

    • MandyE

      Aww thank you so much Louise! Yeah it was hard alongside real life and such, haha. The genre labels are from https://www.demco.com/goto?genre_class – it’s what my library in my county (and the one I work at) uses for spine labeling, I thought it fun to integrate it into my book blogging design. I’m about to post my TBR for the Marvelathon, stay tuned!

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