Hello.. Still Alive and Reading //Sunday Post #52

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello Hello Hello, I am still alive and reading. I have not posted since March because honestly LIFE!!! Between homeschooling, working, taking care of my animals, and starting a massive garden my social internet life took a back seat. I fell off the face of the internet world and I have missed it. My reading also took a hit where when I did get time to sit down, I didn't want to read. I always set my goodreads goal to 100 and usually I am always a few books ahead of my goal. This year I have been behind 7-8 books all throughout the year. 

I also have not filmed any Youtube videos since March of 2022 and the last time I uploaded a video was on New Year's Eve. I wanted to get back to doing Youtube but in February, I started babysitting the toddlers again and that finally ended in July. But I still don't have much free time because this homeschool year has my oldest daughter in 9th grade and homeschool a high schooler is so much more difficult and organized.

The animals are doing great. We unwillingly added another cat to our family. My husband pulled into the front yard after work one day and when he opened the door, he heard meowing under our front porch. Naturally he thought it was our indoor outdoor cat whining to go in and get out of the rain. He looked and saw a solid black kitten that ran straight to him. We freaked out because another mouth to feed and more responsibility, but she is our shop cat because she loves to hunt. Her name is Cairan which is Gaelic for little dark one. I am of Scottish ancestry, so it fits.

She LOVES our German Shepherd and Pitbull. I officially have a zoo and a queendom. Three teenage daughters, four cats and two dogs along with a husband takes up all of my free time when I am not working. Since I have only read 63 books so far, I haven't been buying any books which is good because I have NO shelf space. I did get to go to a library sale today which was good. I didn't have to spend any money because I am considered an educator and the first bag I filled was free. 

I am hoping to have some time to keep posting every Sunday, because I love going back and reading what I wrote and reading the comments. 

Have a good week. 

Review: Spy X Family volume 2 bu Tatsuya Endo

I am OBSESSED with this manga series. The hype is real and I am kicking myself for not owning all the books yet. I am also trying to figure out why this is just now being hyped up and it came out in 2019 in Japan and was translated in 2020. I think if everyone read this in 2020, it would have made the year slightly slightly more bearable!

My family and I have also watched the first four episode of the show and I can now picture these characters better in my mind and what their voices are like and it is so much more better. I do have to say that shoving 5 missions into 4 episodes is not ideal. Also my favorite quote from the first volume was changed and I was not happy. That is the second con I have with the show.

Anyways, on to this volume. I am not going to mention alot because SPOILERS and I know I usually spoil things in my reviews because I write these mainly for me to remember what the hell I read but also to share with whoever reads these. There are one of two missions that were my favorite. Anya and Franky guilt tripping Loid was the best. The castle scene where Anya wanted to be rescued and shit went down with the bosses. My absolute favorite mission was the bonus mission at the end. 

There is a part with Yuri's brother and I got the bad juju vibes from him. But what the hell is up with tha because his sister is obviously an assassin. We get a list of Anya's favorite things and silenced pistols had me rolling laughing. I am just in love with Anya. She is a little cutie bear and I hope that further in the series, Loid and Yor finds out what her true background is and kicks some major ASS!

Review: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

 

Another classic added to my favorites list. I read the Barnes and Noble abridged version which is half the size of the original. But I still got through 610 pages in a little over a week. I wanted to listen to it and read along like I do every classic, but I could not find a audiobook that was abridged. So I read it with my eyeballs and got through it with some booktube reading sprints. Also the fact that I had to read it in the week because it was due back on the 11th of this month and I couldn't renew it anymore. 

Going into this the only thing I knew was that it was the ultimate revenge story and I have to agree. I have to say that if you are imtimidated by this, don't be. Just pick up the abridged version because it is so easy to understand what is happening and not all of the characters are dull and boring and obnoxious.

The story starts off with our main man Edmond Dantes disembarking from his ship where his captain has died and made him captain. He meets with the owner of the ship and he lets him know everything that went down. The owner of the ship then meets with his the purser Danglers who is jealous of Edmond that he got captain position. Edmond goes to see his father and his love Mercedes. Mercedes is being pursued by a cousin named Fernand and he is immediately distraught and angry when Edmond and Mercedes become betrohed. During their betrothal feast, Edmond gets arrested for suspicion of being a Bonapartist. 

Being a supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte was a big no no and he was known as an ursurper. Dantes pleads his innocence to a man named Villefort who believes the whole thing until a letter is taken from Dantes belongings and it incriminates Villefort and to hush up the whole thing, Dantes is then imprisoned in the Chateau d'If. He is there for a very long time in the dungeon and he eventually makes a friend with an Italian abbe. 

The rest of the story goes so fast. We also learn what his accusers have been up to and what happened to his employer, father and fiance. 

I knew that I would enjoy this because I love the french revolution time period. I need more books set in this time frame. 

Review: Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond

 

My daughter has been interested in watching Stranger Things and this summer we finally watched the first season. It was a re-watch for me. She is obsessed and I told her there were books and she was estatic. Sadly she lost interest in the books and she just wants to watch season 2 already. I have only seen the first episode of season 2 and never continued. After reading this I am even more excited to get into the next season.

This is more like a prequel of how Dr. Martin Brenner started the Hawkins lab and his experiments. It all starts in the late 60's during the height of the Vietnam War. Our main character is Terry Ives who was a character in the first season. Her roomate ends up signing up for this experiment for a little extra cash and after one session she is over it because of the drugs given. Terry ends up taking her place and befriending the rest of the group.

Dr. Brenner is over her experiment and things just keep getting weirder and weirder. Terry and the rest of the subjects band together to try to figure out what is really going on and why are there children in the facility. We got background on where Eleven comes from and happens. There is alot of Lord of the Rings love in this book.

The second book is all about Hopper and I think his daughter and it is written by a completely different author. I am going to have to check out Gwenda Bond's backlist titles because her writing style kept me interested and possibly peaked my interest again for season 2. 

BLOG TOUR: Between Monsters and Marvels by Alysa Wishingrad

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS by Alysa Wishingrad Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS

Author: Alysa Wishingrad

Pub. Date: September 12, 2023

Publisher: HarperCollins

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 400

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/BETWEEN-MONSTERS-AND-MARVELS 

A standalone high-stakes middle grade fantasy by Alysa Wishingrad, author of the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection The Verdigris Pawn.

Monsters are still lurking on Barrow’s Bay.

Dare Coates is sure of it. No drifter or ruffian could have killed her father, the Captain of the Guard, while he was on patrol. But everyone insists that monsters have been gone for years now. Dare’s mother. Her classmates. Even the governor, who swiftly marries her mother just months after her father’s death.

Dare’s suspicions grow even stronger when the governor suddenly ships her off to the mainland, away from any hope of uncovering the truth about her father’s death.

Or so she thinks. Soon Dare finds solid proof that monsters still exist and she starts to question everything she’s always known. Was her father who she thought he was? Who can she trust? Where is the line between good and evil?

The truth hides behind danger and deception. But with the help of an unlikely crew of cohorts and a stray beastie, nothing can stop Dare from finding out what happened to her father and exposing who the real monsters are.

Perfect for fans of Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters and Lauren Oliver’s The Magnificent Monsters of Cedar Street.  

 

Review: coming soon

 

About Alysa Wishingrad:

Alysa Wishingrad writes fantastical stories for young readers, tales that ask; is the truth really true? Her favorite stories are those that meld the historical with the fantastic, and that find ways to shine a light on both the things that divide and unite us all. The Verdigris Pawn, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, is her debut novel. Alysa lives in the Hudson Valley with her family and two demanding rescue dogs. You can find her at www. alysawishingrad.com or on Twitter at @awishingrad or Instagram at @alysawishingradwrites.

Sign up for Alysa’s newsletter! Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a finished copy of BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS Bookmarks and stickers, US Only.

Ends October 3rd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/1/2023

yabookscentral.com

Interview/IG Post

Week Two:

9/4/2023	Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog	Guest Post or Excerpt/IG Post
9/5/2023	Two Chicks on Books	Guest Post or Excerpt/IG Post
9/6/2023	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Guest Post or Excerpt/IG Post
9/7/2023	@katherinebichler	TikTok Spotlight
9/8/2023	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post

Week Three:

9/11/2023	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post
9/12/2023	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Review/TikTok Post
9/13/2023	Lifestyle of Me	Review
9/14/2023	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
9/15/2023	avainbookland	IG Review

Week Four:

9/18/2023	@pagesforpaige	IG Review
9/19/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
9/20/2023	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
9/21/2023	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
9/22/2023	@froggyreadteach	IG Review

Week Five:

9/25/2023	FUONLYKNEW	Review
9/26/2023	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
9/27/2023	Gryffindorbookishnerd	IG Review
9/28/2023	evergirl200	IG Review
9/29/2023	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Character Relationships

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.

This weeks topic is favorite character relationships. I had to think hard about this because I am mainly a plot driven reader. The first 5 pairings are from my favorite series EVER!!!!!!!

 1. Katniss and Cinna

2. Katniss and Peeta

3. Katniss and Prim

4. Haymitch and Effie

5. Finnick and Katniss

6. Snow and Tigris

7. Ryland and Rocky

8. Res and Fly

9. Yor and Loid

10. Anya and Loid

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books that had high expectations but were major disappointments!!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This weeks topic is books that defied expectations. To make it easier on myself, I chose books that I have read solely this year. I had a lot of expectations for this books because of hype or they are classics. These books have contributed to my reading slump this year.