January Wrap Up

New Year, New (extensive) TBR!

My goal this year is to read one book a week or a total of 52 books. 

A few of my book purchases this month!
All of these were purchased for my classroom.

At the end of the first month, I'm off to a great start! I completed five books, with another book and an audiobook that have significant progress.

The Afterlife of Holly Chase - Cynthia Hand
☆☆☆☆☆
A truly imaginative and well-written, modern retelling of A Christmas Carol. I did guess the twist, but I love the way Hand  flushed out Holly's character development--arguably better than Scrooge in the original. Also, I firmly believe Boz is Dickens.

Amber & Dusk - Lyra Selene
☆☆☆☆
I was skeptical about this story at first: it felt too similar to two other books I have read, Tangled Webs (Lee Bross) and The Glass Spare (Lauren DeStephano), but eventually the plot evolved into something uniquely its own. I am interested in what will be coming next.
*OwlCrate selection, December 2018

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris
☆☆☆☆☆
A poignant love story blooms during one of the cruelest events in human history, the holocaust. Morris writing style of vignette-like memories made me feel as though I was sitting with her as Lale shared his story.

Cress: The Lunar Chronicles Book 3 - Marissa Meyer
☆☆☆☆☆
This second installment has only made me fall deeper in love with Cinder and Kai. Cress's character building has made Thorne more likable, but Scarlet and Wolf are still growing on me. Meyer has done a fantastic job creating a truly vile evil queen in Levana, but I have mixed feelings about Kai's adviser. Is he supporting Kai or Levana?

This Splintered Silence - Kayla Olson
☆☆☆☆☆
Olson wrote one of my favorite reads from last year, The Sandcastle Empire, so I have truly been looking forward to reading this sci-fi mystery. I was cautious at first because Lindley's narrative voice was similar to Eden's from TSE. However, this story quickly took on a personality of it's own and drew me in completely! I was constantly guessing who was guilty and how the love triangle would work out.

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (audiobook)
I'm started listening to this in April 2018 and I still have not finished it because I have a difficult time buying in to the motivations of these two selfish, vile characters. But I'm no quitter--I will finish this. Eventually.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon - Kelly Barnhill
My mentor teacher and a school librarian are leading a reading club at our middle school and have encouraged teachers to choose one of the "32 Best Middle School Reads" to discuss at one of their book talks. While I have not read this book yet, I selected it because I had already purchased it because the story intrigues me.

More detailed summaries and my progress on my goal can be found on my GoodReads account. Feel free to follow me (Lynnae Rachele Andersen) there and let me know what you're reading!

March Wrap-Up

Can you believe that today is the last day of March? Me neither!

I have been terrible at blogging what I've been reading. Now, mind you, I don't do this for the followers (that has really frustrated some people), but simply because I enjoy putting my literary thoughts on paper, so to speak. But, I do like the idea of one post that gives a short review of what I have read this month. 

Thus, this post. 

March Reads

Completed

1. Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows ⭐⭐⭐⭐
   I feel a little guilty including this as I merely finished the list 80 pages on March first, alas, that means GoodReads includes it as a March book. 
   First installment of the Forbidden Isles series: detailes the imprisonment and impressive power of Mira Minkoba the Hopebringer and protector of dragons.
2. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory ⭐⭐⭐
   Drew and Alexa are trapped on an elevator together and Alexa finds herself as Drew's wedding date. What starts off as a non-committal, one-time date turns into an adorable love story.
   I'm still figuring out how to rate romance novels. My brain tries to place them on the same level as other genres, and that isn't fair. 
3. The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines ⭐⭐⭐⭐
   Adorable story of how the Lord directed in the Gaines' life long before they starred on HGTV's Fixer Upper. 
4. Steel Magnolias (play) by Robert Harling ⭐⭐⭐⭐
   I am honored to portray Annelle Dupuy-DeSoto in a production of this play next month at a local community theatre.
5. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
   This is the first of Hannah's novels that I have read, but I will certainly be picking up more.
   The Allbrights adventure to Alaska with hope for a brighter future. Instead, they learn survival from nature and themselves during the long winter. 
6. Fallen by Lauren Kate ⭐⭐⭐
   A little contrived, but a great novel about reincarnation, love, and fallen angels.
7. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
   Ironically, probably my favorite romance novel to date. Don Tillman is a geneticist in search of a wife, and he has the 16-page survey to prove it. Enter Rosie, the antithesis of Don's Wife Project, but with an intriguing Project of her own. 

In Progress

1. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher ⭐⭐⭐
   Fisher is certainly a skilled poet and witty personality. Couple that with her involvement in Star Wars and her personal diary kept during the filming of the original trilogy: a great premise for an autobiography. But, while I found the writing compelling and read 90% of the novel in about 3 hours, overall I found myself feeling sorry for Carrie and the life she didn't want. The book left me with an overwhelming sense of pity that Carrie never found herself. 
2. The Hazel Wood
   I started this modern fairy tale at the end of the month. The thing that interests me the most about it is what many reviewers complain about: the dark tone. I do see some of the negativity towards Alice's character, but so far I have not seen enough to agree that she treats Finch abominably.