Disis19 Hearts...

Most of you know that I've been struggling through The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I've got just one book to go before I complete the series. My friend Lee from the blog totallee.net has been with me through it all. As you know, they're taking me forever to get through and unfortunately, I've been the one that lags behind on our buddy read of these books. While Lee was waiting for me to finish, she's been working on a crocheted portrait of Frodo Baggins and it's finally complete! Check out her amazing work in the below video and subscribe to her YouTube channel to see more. Also, if you are a crocheter and would like to create this portrait yourself, be sure to head on over to her blog as the pattern is now available there.

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 2 of 5 stars This book was very difficult for me to get through. I knew it would be as I've had issues getting through The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, but this one took the longest to read so far. I am determined to get through this series at least once in my life though and I have not gotten through any of the books in my attempts previously. For me to get this far is an accomplishment for me. I'm afraid I have an unpopular opinion of this series. The story just isn't grabbing me and I don't feel connected to the characters like I do with the movie versions. There are definite differences between the two and I do find those tidbits interesting, but I was completely able to leave this book to the side for long periods of time. I did great in the beginning, but lost my momentum pretty quick. One more book in this series to go and I'm hoping that one won't be as difficult to get through a...

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book was not what I expected it to be, but that's what I get for not reading a synopsis before going in. I especially wasn't prepared for it to have a religious tone to it. It's not preachy (at least I didn't feel like it was), but I felt a little on edge the whole way through wondering if it was going to get preachy. The atmosphere was interesting, a few things happened that I wasn't expecting, but for the most part, this story did not grab me. Thankfully this installment did end with a bit of finality. I am comfortable thinking on this as a stand alone. That being said, there is still a possibility I will continue with the next volume in the future. As of right now though, I am satisfied with where things left off and will be moving on to something else for the time being. View all my reviews

Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm not into shark movies, but I do enjoy documentaries on sharks and prehistoric creatures so when I heard about this book, I was very interested. I really enjoyed this one. It starts off with a bang and the events through out the book just kept me intrigued. The relationship that happened towards the end was unnecessary in my opinion and kind of curious to be honest. I feel like some development was missing in order to make that relationship believable, but that's really my only issue with the book. The end was fast paced and exciting and I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series. View all my reviews

Announcing July's Selection for the First in a Series Cozy Mystery Book Club! Come chat with us in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group ^-^ Will you be joining in on this read? You can find the book on these sites: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Books iBooks

On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub I seriously wonder what takes me so long to get to some of the books on my shelf and this one is no exception. It was very entertaining and I really enjoyed this story. All the information on various types of coffee was interesting as well, but it tended to make me crave a cup after reading. That's a bad thing when you're reading right before bed! I definitely recommend this one, especially if you're a fan of coffee or are a frequent customer of a smaller coffee shop. The mystery was engaging and Clare didn't come off as too pushy in her sleuthing style, which I appreciated. Her sleuthing style seemed very natural and logical to me and that was refreshing to read. I have collected several installments of this series so I will be continuing on. Glad I finally got to this one! View all my reviews

Brazen by Christina Farley My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed the conclusion of this trilogy. Though I thought book 2 wasn't as enjoyable as book 1, this one brought the excitement back to this series for me. I listened to a majority of this series on audiobook and I highly recommend the narrations especially if you're not familiar with the Korean language. I thought Greta Jung did a great job with the voices. Overall, I do recommend this series and will be looking forward to reading more from the author and hearing more of the narrator's work. View all my reviews