Disis19 Hearts...

Redeemed by P.C. Cast My rating: 3 of 5 stars I took a 6 year hiatus from this series and finally decided to finish reading this series. I think that had to do with the fact that I really didn't enjoy Revealed and just wasn't interested in what was happening in that installment. That being said, I didn't feel the series as a whole wasn't interesting enough to not finish it. I do feel like this series ended well with this installment. It didn't have any of the things that I recall bothering me in the series before and it did keep my interest throughout. Since I had been away from this series for so long, I thought I'd have a hard time getting back into it, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that these characters did stay with me all these years. Glad to have finally finished this series and I will be looking into other work by this author in the future. View all my reviews

My thoughts on the Manhwa series Good Luck by Kang E-Jin.

Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 12 by Kumiko Suekane My rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting series covering a lot of the questions and thoughts one could have about cloning. It definitely made me think about the subject as I was reading it. The summary of this series is a little misleading in regards to the series as a whole, but that didn't bother me very much and I actually expected where the story took me. I would've loved to see a little bit more at the end of the final volume, but I do think the story ended up in a very believable way. There are definitely a few characters that I was more interested than others, but I did find all of the characters interesting. There were even a couple of historical figures that I had to look up because I hadn't heard of them before. There were a few scenes that involved female nudity in the first 5 volumes of this series that I did not appreciate and did not feel like they were appropriate in the situations that were being...

The Suffering by Rin Chupeco My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was an entertaining read. The setting is definitely a place that lends itself to a story such as this and I thought it was the perfect backdrop for the events that unfolded. I listened to a good portion of this book in audiobook form though and that lends itself to a bit of my disappointment in the experience. The pronunciations of Japanese words weren't always correct which gave me a bit of a cringe when heard. It's definitely disappointing that these weren't corrected during the recording. I probably could've done without the high school romance sections in this book as well as I don't feel like it lent anything to the story itself. Though I'm ok with where this story ended up, the end isn't exactly feasible for me if I think about what happens 10 or 20 years from where the story ended. That being said, I definitely enjoyed this duology and look forward to reading...

Danganronpa -The Animation- Volume 4 by Takashi Tsukimi My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this series, though I'd say the game gives a lot more info in regards to collecting information and how the characters went about it. That is probably the one thing that bothered me about how the story was presented in the manga. The investigation times were so short and you didn't really know how all the information was found. Instead it was just laid out for you during the trial. Also, you don't really get to know the characters as well in the manga as opposed to the game. That may not bother you but since my first introduction to this story was with the game, I think that definitely has an impact on my second interaction with the story. That being said, this was still an enjoyable read through and I would definitely recommend it especially if you have not been introduced to this story through the game or anime. View all my reviews

Rogue by Julie Kagawa My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was an enjoyable listen. I do appreciate it when there are multiple POVs and the audiobook has a different narrator for each. It really helps me remember which POV I'm in at any point in time. That being said, I do feel like I enjoyed the first book in this series more. It has been a while since I read Talon and I feel this installment did lag a bit for me. I think it was because though things were happening, we are getting backstory on a few of the characters as well. I am also not enjoying the love triangle aspect and this book seemed to touch a good deal on that. I will continue with this series since it has been enjoyable, even through this installment. View all my reviews

The Gentlemen's Alliance †, Vol. 11 by Arina Tanemura My rating: 5 of 5 stars I really enjoyed my re-read of this series! There are still a couple of questions in regards to the family things, but overall this still remains a favorite series of mine. That's surprising in itself since I don't usually enjoy contemporary type stories. This is just a story about a group of highschoolers and their relationships with one another, which couldn't be farther from the types of things I normally read. This story works for me though and it's one I've read through twice now so that's saying something. It's so nice to come back to a series after not visiting it for several years, and still enjoy it as much as I did when I read it the first time. Arina Tanemura's art styles is one of my favorites, and I can't wait to read through other series of hers. View all my reviews

Dracula by Bram Stoker My rating: 3 of 5 stars This one is hovering between a 2.5 and 3 for me. A few times, I was very interested in what was going on, but most of the time I was just passively reading/listening to what was being told. I think that if I didn't incorporate listening to the full cast audiobook with Alan Cumming and Tim Curry, combined with the fact that my friend was doing a readalong of this, I probably would've dropped it. Am I glad I finally got this classic read? Of course, but I can't say that it wasn't a disappointing experience. I couldn't get invested in the story and I have to admit that this tale did not bring on a sense of fright in me at all. The end was anti-climactic and I felt let down by having to read all those pages before it for the end to be what it is. The audiobook version I listened to was a great asset to this story. Had I not had that, I probably wouldn't have finished. If I did, I'm sure this wo...

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare My rating: 3 of 5 stars This one didn't go as smoothly for me as I would've liked. It is hard for me to give specifics as to why without giving things away. I can say that a lot of non-communication between characters held up the momentum and there are things in this story that grated on my nerves. Nonetheless, I'm glad I got through it so I can get to the final installment in this series and see how it all turns out! View all my reviews

First wrap up in a while! You can tell I'm out of practice ^-^ In this video I talk about what I read in January, as well as the reading challenges I'm planning to participate in this year, the trackers and spreadsheets I'm using, and some 2019 releases that are on my radar.

The Lost World by Michael Crichton My rating: 3 of 5 stars This one is hovering between a 2.5 and 3 star rating for me. I have to say I'm kind of disappointed in this story. It definitely didn't keep my interest - at least until the last quarter of the book. That last quarter held most of my enjoyment in this story. I think I would've been happier with more dinosaur moments and less of the journey to get to the island. While I really enjoyed Jurassic Park, this one fell a bit short for me. View all my reviews

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare My rating: 4 of 5 stars Stepping back in this world was so refreshing. With as much trouble as I had reading The Infernal Devices, I am glad I did read that trilogy before reading this one because there were little references here that I wouldn't have gotten had I not read the prequel series. Would I have just glanced over those had I not read The Infernal Devices first? Probably, but knowing the references made things a bit more interesting. This read felt a lot faster and I was always interested to find out what would happen next. So glad to be buddy reading this with a friend too, because we've had a lot to talk about! Looking forward to getting into the next one. View all my reviews

What Light by Jay Asher My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm very surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I don't usually read YA Contemporary Romance, but I was looking for a light holiday read and this fit the bill nicely. The story kept my interest and I found myself thinking about it and wanting to get back to reading it, even when I had to put it down for a couple days so I could focus on a couple buddy reads I was participating in. I just wish that I had picked it up before the holiday season passed. View all my reviews

Bits & Pieces by Jonathan Maberry My rating: 3 of 5 stars I so wish I read these short stories along side the novels. It has been a while since I read the series and getting back into this world was interesting. Most of the stories in this collection didn't add anything to the world or story for me after finishing the series. While we do get to see some of the characters we're familiar with, we see a lot that are new - at least I don't remember them. I do wish there were more stories about the time when First Night happened and how the towns were created. While there is a story on how Tom survived First Night, I think I would really appreciate a full length prequel novel about him as well. I unfortunately don't believe short stories are for me. That is the reason I haven't read very many in the past and this experience does make that belief seem valid. Though I didn't enjoy this collection as much as the series, I am excit...

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham My rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting start to the series and it definitely has a couple things I enjoy in books - ghosts and mystery. I enjoyed how the mystery from the past was tied into the story as well. I'm not yet completely hooked, but will definitely be continuing further into this series. I'm not sure if it was because I listened to most of this or if it just didn't completely grab my attention, but I had a hard time keeping track of each characters names. Besides the ones we see often, I couldn't remember who was who. Even with the different voices that were performed by the narrator, it was hard for me to keep track of them all. I know as I read through this series further, I won't have that problem, but it was a bit confusing for me. Looking forward to the next one. View all my reviews