harry potter

November wrap-up

bookishy

This month was also a good reading month for me – I have to admit that bookstagram is really motivating me to read more (not to mention all the book recommendations). Both October and November are ‘Harry Potter’ months for me, so I’ve mostly reread the series. I’ve also started rereading ‘Grisha Trilogy’, even though I read it in July. Overall, I liked all the books I’ve read this month so here they are.

‘Shadow and Bone’ Leigh Bardugo
★★★★★

Even though, I have read ‘The Grisha Trilogy’ for the first time this summer, I fell in love with these books. So when it turned out that FierceReads is doing #ShadowandBoneTrilogyReread I just had to join. ‘Shadow and Bone’ was as amazing as it was when I first read it, and I cannot wait for ‘King of Scars’ so I can get more Grisha, Nikolai and more Nina from ‘Six of Crows’.

‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ J.K. Rowling
★★★★★

The continuation of my October ‘Harry Potter’ reread – I did not manage to complete it in one month, but I hope to finish it by the end of the year. I honestly cry every time the Marauders are mentioned, so this one was very teary. BUT I’M NOT ASHAMED OF IT, OKAY? Basically, this part was very emotional, also I’m kind of sad it was the last book where we got Oliver Wood and his Quidditch obsession. In conclusion, ‘Harry Potter’ is my life, Remus Lupin is cinnamon roll that needs to be protected and Sirius Black is perfect.

‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ J.K. Rowling
★★★★★

Let me just tell you, I was not ready for Cedric’s death. I knew it was coming – I mean, I have read this series what feels like a hundred times. But after such a break in reading those books, I cried my eyes out on his death scene. Also, I noticed how much of a cinnamon roll he is. And did I mention getting teary every time Sirius, James or Lily are mentioned? Every. Damn. Time. I’m such a cry baby when it comes to books. Getting away from the subject, I know. Basically, I love ‘Harry Potter’.

‘Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix’ J.K. Rowling
★★★★★

This book is simultaneously my favourite and my least favourite. It is incredible because of all the jokes and pranks that Fred and George did. But it is horrible because of what Harry had to go through and, because of Sirius’ death. I understand why she killed him, though I don’t think I could ever forgive her for that. Also, this is the book where one starts to realise that Dumbledore wasn’t so great. Well, now I’m off to read the next part. Hopefully, it won’t make me cry so much.

‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ J.K. Rowling
★★★★★

This the part that conceived me that I dislike Severus Snape. What I love most about this part is the fact that Draco is shown as a victim of a war, and Ginny is presented as a badass (which she is). I also always liked Dumbledore’s lessons with Harry – it helped me understand Voldemort much better. I always feel weird writing about ‘Harry Potter’, because I feel like I could talk about it forever, and this is just supposed to be some kind of conclusion.

‘What Could Possibly Go Wrong…’ Jeremy Clarkson
★★★★

To be quite honest with you, I don’t give a damn about cars. I know basic brands, and I know whether I think a car is beautiful or not. But I adore Jeremy Clarkson’s books – his humour is incredibly witty, and he probably offends everyone in Great Britain. This book focused mainly on cars, but I still found a few columns I loved. Some fragments made me laugh out loud, and I just had to read them aloud to my parents. Now I need to find a book of his in my house that I haven’t read yet…

‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ J.K. Rowling
★★★★★

I managed to finish ‘Harry Potter’ series in two months! (I was supposed to do it in one, but oh well, life happened). It has been so many years, and I still cry every damn time I read this book. Also, I still haven’t forgiven J.K. Rowling for so many deaths, but now as I read it when I’m older, I cannot forgive her for mistreating Slytherins the way she did. Overall, this book is neither my favourite or my least favourite. My favourite parts of this book are the beginning and the ending – especially the fight between Harry and Voldemort. I guess now I’m off to watch the movies…

‘Red Rising’ Pierce Brown
★★★★

Rarely does a book surprise me – usually when I don’t like the beginning, I don’t like the whole book. When I’ve started ‘Red Rising’, I thought it was dull and confusing (I don’t usually like such confusing worlds which are presented in such a confusing way). But after reaching 150 it pulled me in, and I ended up staying up till 3 am to finish this book. My favourite thing about ‘Red Rising’ was the main character, Darrow. He is everything a protagonist should be and now he is my favourite male hero.

‘Sword of Destiny’ Andrzej Sapkowski
★★★★★

Finally, after many years, I proceeded to reading the rest of ‘The Witcher’ series. Can I just say it’s only thanks to my sickness that I’ve read it? So thanks! I like the format of stories, though I’ve never thought I would. Geralt is one of my favourite protagonists, even though he is socially awkward. Jaskier is annoying, but aren’t all bards? And Yennefer is queen, but I cannot wait to finally meet Triss!

‘Blood of Elves’ Andrzej Sapkowski
★★★★★

Let me just tell you that being sick is really helpful in reading books (just sayin’). I love all of the characters – even though Jaskier is still annoying. And Yennefer is a really difficult human being. This is the book where everything starts to be complicated – the plot, the geography and the alliances. I had to be focused all the time in order to be caught up with who is who. But I loved it nonetheless, and I cannot wait to read book four!

October wrap-up

bookishy

October was such a good reading month for me! Honestly! I have managed to read 10 books which, compared to September, is a lot. My favourite read of this month was ‘Everless’ (I don’t include ‘Harry Potter’ in that, because ‘Harry Potter’ is ‘Harry Potter’). Here is my October wrap-up!

‘Catwoman’ Sarah J. Maas
★★★★★

I was so excited to finally get my hands on one of the books from the DC Icons series. The authors that feature in this series are incredible – Marie Lu, Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo are among my favourite authors in the world. I stumbled upon ‘Catwoman’ in a small bookstore in Malta and I knew I had to have it instantly. I have read in one day, before and after classes, and I have loved it so much. The plot is incredible and all the decisions come to a perfect conclusion in the end. The characters are well-done and intriguing, especially the female ones – Selina, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. I adore this book and I will definitely order the rest of DC Icons books.

‘Daughter of the Siren Queen’ Tricia Levenseller
★★★★

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by this one. I love the first part of the duology, ‘The Daughter of the Pirate King’, and was anticipating the second part for weeks until it finally arrived. The plot felt forced and not very well-planned. The characters I have loved so much in the first book – Alosa and Riden – were so flat in the second one. They always seem to create problems where there were none. If ‘Daughter of the Siren Queen’ was a standalone, it would be a much better book. But as a continuation of ‘The Daughter of the Pirate King’ I have felt like it was missing something important.

‘Grace and Fury’ Tracy Banghart
★★

Ugh, I was so disappointed by this book. I’ve seen people fuss over it on bookstagram and I had great expectations of ‘Grace and Fury’. The plot was too simple, besides the plot twist at the beginning. The characters were too plain and I couldn’t help to think that the idea of two princes was taken from Victoria Aveyard’s ‘Red Queen’. The book was supposed to be very feministic, but I had an impression that Nomi and Serina, the main characters, were only depending on men.

‘A Whole New World’ Liz Braswell
★★★★

At first, I was excited for this retelling. After the first few chapters, I was disappointed – everything seemed to be written down from the Disney’s movie. And then, everything changed – the characters were different from the fairy-tale and I liked the storyline with the rebellion of Agrabah. Also, I think that writing the book from Aladdin’s point of view was a great decision. Now, I’m on to read the retelling of Mulan by Liz Braswell and I hope it will be as good as ‘A Whole New World’ was.

‘The Last Wish’ (‘The Witcher’) Andrzej Sapkowski
★★★★★

I love this book – I have read it four before so technically it is a reread of a reread of a reread. Or something like that. It is probably one of the few books written by Polish authors that I like. It is also my sister’s favourite book. The main hero is perfectly written and, even though I don’t usually like this form, this time the form of short stories was fitting. I strongly recommend reading this book, even if you are not Polish – I can guarantee that you will love it.

‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ J.K. Rowling
★★★★★

There is no better month than October for a ‘Harry Potter’ reread. Well, every month is good for that, but there is something about October and fall that just screams ‘Harry Potter’. I am a big Potterhead and it felt amazing to read the first book again – I have to admit I cried every time James and Lily were mentioned. And when Sirius was mentioned. I’m so emotional when it comes to ‘Harry Potter’. Well, now I need to watch the movie, don’t I?

‘Descendants of War and Magic’ Ruby Fitzgerald
★★★★

I’m torn whether this book should get three or four stars – I think I would settle on 3,5 ★. It was a good book and I liked it, yet it was nothing outstanding. It did not make me wanna cry, laugh or scream (maybe a bit scream when some people were mean to Xenos). The magic realm was well-written and organized, which I liked a lot. The characters were fine, but there were too many of them, and the book was too short for me to get attached to them. It is not a book to obsess about, but it is a good one to read in a tram.

‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ J.K. Rowling
★★★★★

It is my least favourite of all ‘Harry Potter’ books. But it still gets five stars, because it is Harry Potter. I do not know what to write here, because if I start discussing the book it would turn from being a ‘wrap-up’ to my monologue about ‘Harry Potter’. I have to admit though that my heart skipped a beat when Ginny was taken into the chamber, even though I knew the ending. ‘Harry Potter’ does make me emotional. Also, that Slytherin hate is breaking my heart.

‘Everless’ Sara Holland
★★★★★

I love this book so much and I cannot wait for continuation! It had me turning pages since the first chapter, and I have read it in two sittings! I was on my toes the whole time – I could never predict what is going to happen next. Jules is an amazing main character and I loved her nerve and wit. ‘Everless’ had me crying, smiling, putting down the book to stare into space blankly – basically it had everything one needs from the book.

‘True Fire’ Gary Meehan
★★★★

At the beginning I was sceptical about ‘True Fire’, but I appreciate a book that can surprise me, especially if it surprises me multiple times. And this one definitely did. Megan is not a heroine I had expected, since she is sixteen and pregnant. The plot twist that occurs at the end (I’m not going to say anything more, not to spoil the book) made me put this book down for a moment and stare at the wall. It missed a kind of swiftness which made it not easy to read, but other than that I recommend it strongly.