Disis19 Hearts...

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente My rating: 4 of 5 stars Ok, I originally said 3.5, but on reflection probably 3.75 instead. I definitely enjoyed the story more in this book than the first. Also, the issues I had with the difficult vocabulary words were not present in this installment. As with the first though, it took me a really long time to finish this book. It just didn't pull me in until closer to the end. That being said, I was engaged sooner in this story than I was in the first book, even though it was still pretty close to the end. This book also provided another interesting nugget of info at the end, which really makes me want to continue with the series. Seeing as this has been a slightly more enjoyable read and experience than the first, I have hopes that each installment will just get better and better for me. View all my reviews

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown My rating: 4 of 5 stars More like a 3.5 Though this book took me quite a while to get through, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I listened to almost the entire thing on audiobook and though the narrator was just ok, the story kept me wanting to know what happened next. It even escaped my mind that the story took place over the span of several hours and not days. There were definitely things I could've done with less of, like the several points where our villian's physique is described. I seriously didn't need to know about it to the extent that the description was given. The way Sato handled situations got under my skin a bit, too. That being said, I did find it interesting learning about the topics this story explored and I will be moving to the next one shortly. View all my reviews

This is the announcement video for the First in a Series Cozy Mystery Book Club October Selections. Links for both books can be found after the break.

Escape from Witchwood Hollow by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek My rating: 3 of 5 stars I was approached by one of the members of the author's street team to possibly read and review this book. Upon reading the synopsis, it sounded like it would be right down my alley so I happily agreed. Thank you to the author for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. Synopsis (from Goodreads): Everyone in Arnn - a small farming town with more legends than residents - knows the story of Witchwood Hollow: if you venture into the whispering forest, the witch will trap your soul among the shadowed trees. After losing her parents in a horrific terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, fifteen-year-old Honoria and her older brother escape New York City to Arnn. In the lure of that perpetual darkness, Honoria finds hope, when she should be afraid. Perhaps the witch can reunite her with her lost parents. Awakening the witch, however, brings more than salvation from mourning, fo...

Here's my monthly update post of how I'm doing with my Reading Challenges to date. #RockMyTBR - For this challenge, I set a goal for myself to read at least one book off my physical TBR every month. In addition to this list, I want to read one book from Kindle Unlimited to make sure I'm making use of that service. The books I read for this challenge are as follows: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland #1) by Catherynne M. Valente (buddy read with Raul from Latin Lector) The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1) by Soman Chainani As you can see, I again did not meet the challenge of reading a book from Kindle Unlimited....  (๑◕︵◕๑) #FinishingtheSeries - For this challenge, I set a goal for myself to complete or become current on 3-6 series during the year. I am not counting series I start and finish in 2016 until I finish the initial 6. These are the books I read towards this challenge in August:...

This second part of my wrap up includes all of the manga I read in August. Links to all series mentioned can be found after the break.

I think I'm finally out of my reading slump! I was able to read 16 things in August. This video covers only the novels that were read. Part 2 will contain the manga that I read. Keep a look out for that video, coming soon!

Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle My rating: 4 of 5 stars Synopsis (from Goodreads): The streets of San Francisco would be lined with hardcovers if rare book expert Brooklyn Wainwright had her way. And her mentor wouldn't be lying in a pool of his own blood on the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration. With his final breath he leaves Brooklyn a cryptic message, and gives her a priceless and supposedly cursed copy of Goethe's Faust for safekeeping. Brooklyn suddenly finds herself accused of murder and theft, thanks to the humorless, but attractive, British security officer who finds her kneeling over the body. Now she has to read the clues left behind by her mentor if she is going to restore justice…. ☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ ☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ I really enjoyed this one. The tidbits about the books restoration were very interesting and the main character has a background that was new to my reading experiences. I ...