Blogtober Day Twenty-Two: Series on my TBR

Hello, bookworms! For one of last year’s Blogmas posts (find it here) Amanda talked about series that she owned and needed to finish. In August, she finally finished the last series on that list. So, drawing inspiration from that success we decided for one of this year’s Blogtober posts we would make a list of new series that we’ve started and not yet finished. This post will double as Blogtober content and as a way to keep us accountable to finish these series before the end of the year! We’re planning to do a follow up post for Blogmas. This list is only for series that are completed, not series that are sill being published.

Amanda’s Series To Finish

The Empirium Trilogy by Claire Legrand: I read the first two books of this series in August for Tome Topple. It’s for sure going to make the list for my 2020 favorites. The final book comes out October 13th and I’m very eager to get my hands on it.

The Kendra Chronicles by Alex Flinn: I’ve been working on reading my physical TBR this year and Alex Flinn’s books have been high on that list. I’ve read a few of them, so some have been rereads. But I’ve never finished this series, so I’m looking forward to finally getting back into this series. Especially since it’s a favorite of Antonia’s.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: I started this series years and years ago. It was actually Antonia’s mom that recommended it to me and let me borrow her copy. But I made it to the fourth book and then lost said book. I never did find it, so I bought Antonia’s mom a new copy (she was rereading the series) and then never managed to finish it.

The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, & Matt Wilson: This is one that I plan to pick up this month. The graphic novel series follows twelve Gods who reincarnate into humans every ninety years. This series is dark as hell and I fucking love it. It’s only gotten more bizarre with each installment and I’m excited to read the five volumes I have left.

The Dark Elements by Jennifer L. Armentrout: This is actually a reread. I reread the first two books this past spring because of Armentrout’s new series, The Harbinger, which is set in the same world. I just have the third book left and they’re pretty quick reads. So, I think I’ll probably pick it up this month.

The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa: This is another reread. It was announced earlier this year that Kagawa is writing more books set in this world. Puck is finally going to get his own story and I’m so excited for it. I also only have the final book in this series to read, but then I’m going to read the Call of the Forgotten series which is also set in the same world. Hopefully by then, The Iron Raven will be released.

Antonia’s Series To Finish

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa: This is going to be my next read after I finish the book I’m on now. I’ve been so excited for this one and Amanda hasn’t been helping- she’s told me multiple times the ending is going to tear my heart out and I can’t wait.

Furyborn by Claire Legrand: Amanda recommended this one, it’s probably a little overambitious for me to try to read the whole series before the end of the year given how big my TBR list is but I want to at least start it.

The Air Awakens series by Elise Kova: I read the first three books forever ago after Amanda’s insistence but the end of the third book made me so sad and angry that I couldn’t make myself continue. I’m hoping to get back into it soon.

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini: Amanda and I were buddy reading this series last year and then life got in the way and I never got around to finishing the last one (it’s a reread). I really want to actually finish it finally.

Feverwake by Victoria Lee: Another series Amanda recommended that I’m really excited to start.

What series are you hoping to finish up before 2020 ends?

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Longest Books

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week we talk about our top ten with a different topic provided by Jana. This week’s topic is top ten – longest books I’ve ever read.

 Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

880 pages

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

870 pages

The Witness by Nora Roberts

757 pages

Night World # 3 by L.J. Smith

732 pages

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

720 pages

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

693 pages

Eona by Allison Goodman

637 pages

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

626 pages

The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima

598 pages

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

594 pages

What are the longest books you’ve ever read?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Antonia’s Top Ten Tuesday- Series I’ve Given Up On

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week is top ten series I gave up on or do not plan to finish. This is mostly going to be series I gave up on but would probably revisit eventually because I don’t have a ton that I’d refuse to read again.

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon– I read the first book and liked it but as soon as I found out the main characters are apart for 20 years between the first and second books, I refused to read further.
2. The House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast– This is one I’d absolutely be happy to reread eventually. It just felt like the series was being dragged out so much that I completely lost interest in waiting for the new books to be published.
3. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich– This is one that Amanda continuously pushed on me. I read a few and, while I really did enjoy them, I never loved them quite enough to read the entire twenty-five book series.
4. The Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout– I love her books and really liked the start of this series but for some reason couldn’t get past the second book when I first got them a few years ago. I’d like to actually get through this series finally.
5. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare– I loved these books but couldn’t make myself finish the last two. There was just so much happening and it felt like it went in a direction that I thought was unnecessary. I’ve always kind of thought this series should have stopped after the first three books.
6. The Argeneau series by Lynsay Sands– This one I absolutely still plan on picking up again. There’s just so many books that I got a little sick of it for awhile. She’s currently working on book 29 and I stopped somewhere around 16.
7. The Halo series by Alexandra Adornetto-I liked the first book and Amanda loved the rest of the trilogy; I just never liked it enough to take the time to read the other two books.
8. The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith– This is another one that I felt dragged on too long. I always thought the original series was perfect until more books were added on and they brought in ghost writers and all that nonsense.
9. Evernight by Claudia Gray– This is another series that Amanda loved but I couldn’t get into despite liking the first book.
10. A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin– I tried reading the first book. I tried starting from where I’d left off in the show. I absolutely could not get into these books and do not plan on trying again.

 

Well these are y top ten for this week. I’d love to see your own list. Thanks for reading.

-Antonia

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Series I’ve Given up on

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week is top ten series I gave up on or do not plan to finish. This is going to be a bit of a challenge for me because I rarely give up on books. So let’s see what I can come up with this week. Okay, so after coming up with an insufficient list I’ve decided I’m going to do a few series that I will definitely be finishing, but haven’t managed to get around to it yet.

1. House of Night by P.C and Kristen Cast – This series just had so many books. It got to the point where it was hard to keep up with the story and when new books came out. So I just stopped trying to stay on top of it. Now they’re coming out with books again and I just don’t think I’ll ever get around to rereading them all.
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – I read the first four books in this series. I borrowed them from Antonia’s mom. But I ended up losing the fourth book and by the time I bought a new copy she had caught up to me and needed the books back for her to read them. I may eventually pick this series up again, but I have no real burning desire to do so anytime soon.
3. The Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn – These books were another series that I had a hard time keeping up with. There are so many books and I just lost track of which ones I’ve read and still need to read. I may pick them up again because I did really like the books, but it’s not high on my priority list.
4. The Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson – Once again, too many books coming out to keep track of. I will eventually read these again because they’re easy mystery reads but it won’t be anytime soon.
5. The Princess series by Alexa Riley – I just was not impressed by these books. I think I only read the first and part of the second before giving up.
6. The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard – The final book in the series came out recently and I’d like to reread the whole series. When am I going to do that? Eventually, my TBR list seems to just keep growing instead of getting smaller.
7. The Talon series by Julie Kagawa – Again, the final book in this series was finally released and I’m planning to reread the entire series, eventually.
8. Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld – A few weeks ago, I learned that the third book, Nexus, was released sometime last year and I didn’t even realize. So I need to buy this and get around to finishing the series.
9. Millennium series by Stieg Larsson / David Lagercrantz – Literally just now while looking for books to add to this post learned that another book has been released in this series. I will read it, but when I get around to it and who knows when that will be.
10. Shadow Falls series by C.C. Hunter – I finished the main series of these books; I actually own all of them. But there’s a few spin-off series with other characters that I haven’t managed to get around to reading yet, but I definitely plan to.

This is my top ten for this week! What series have you given up on?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Give the Travel Bug

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week’s topic is – Top Ten Books That Awaken the Travel Bug in me. I’m excited about this topic because I love to travel. I’m going to try to pick books that are based in the real world instead of book worlds I’d love to travel to. So, here goes!

1. Twenty-Nine and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank – This series takes place in a small town in the south. I haven’t spent much time in the south, but these books make me want to go explore all the little out in the woods towns in the south.
2. The Lawless Saga by Tarah Benner – These four books start off in a prison in New Mexico and throughout the books, the characters move all around the south, from Colorado to Texas and back a few times. Even though this series is set in the distant future where the world is ruined due to lack of water and natural disasters and things of the like, it still gives me the travel bug because of all the traveling the characters do.
3. Dragon’s Gift Collection by Linsey Hall – So this collection is four full series and Hall just started on the fifth series, each following a different character. While much of these books take place in other realms, the characters do lots of traveling throughout the U.S and parts of Europe and I’ve always wanted to travel to Europe.
4. The Origin Mystery Series by A.G. Riddle – This is a series I read over the Christmas holidays while I was mostly dying in bed with the flu (also pregnancy nausea, but I didn’t know that yet.) So this series, where the characters travel literally the entire world, was great for me to escape my sick bed and travel from Antarctica to Italy to Africa and the oceans in between.
5. Agent of Enchantment by C.N. Crawford and Alex Rivers – There are four books in this series and they all take place in London, England which is somewhere that’s been on my dream travel destination list for legitimately my whole life. So I loved every page of getting to run through the streets of London with Agent Cassandra Liddel. (But also the parts in the Fae realm were pretty cool too.)
6. The Dominion Trilogy by Joe Hart – This is an incredible trilogy where our main character is trapped inside a facility in the first book and escapes. The next two books give the travel bug for sure while she makes her way around the country, hiding from those who seek to put her back where she escaped from. This series is dystopian, so the world isn’t as we know it now, but we still get to see enough to make me want to go out and explore.
7. Paper Towns by John Green – Am I even allowed to say I’m a John Green fan if I don’t include this on my list? The characters go on a big road trip adventure to find Margo Roth Spiegelman. Road trip, says it all.
8. Shadows of the Immortals by Marina Finlayson – This is another series where the characters do tons of traveling. We start in a small town where our main character Lexi is hiding out, but once she’s been found out we get to see a few different cities, including the Underworld.
9. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – So I only read the first few books in this series, in the books I did read the characters traveled all over Ireland and Scotland. They also traveled through time, but that’s beside the point.
10. The Guardian Trilogy by Nora Roberts – I loved this trilogy (but I love most of Nora’s books). Our characters start off in Greece in the first book, moving next to the island of Capri and then to Ireland in the last book. These are three places I would die to visit. Roberts makes the perfect setting with these stories that for sure makes me want to visit.

This is my Top Ten this week! Books that give me the travel bug set (mostly) in the real world.
Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Antonia’s Top Ten Tuesday- Books I DNF

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week’s topic is top ten books that I decided to DNF (did not finish) too quickly.

This one’s going to be a little bit weird because, while I’m not afraid to put a book down unfinished, I don’t remember which ones I’ve done it to. Usually when I DNF a book it’s right at the beginning so I just consider it unread and put it out of my mind. So this is going to be a list of five books I didn’t like enough to finish the series.

 
1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon- I really liked this book. It was unique and had a great love story but made me extremely sad. My mother and sister ensured me over and over that it gets better but the fact that Jamie and Claire have to live apart for twenty years wasn’t okay with me so I never read any of the other books.
2. Fallen by Lauren Kate- I go into detail why I didn’t like this book in my review.
3. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin- I love the show and I love the story but I’ve never been able to read the books. I couldn’t get into the first one but that was mostly because I’d seen the show and I have trouble reading books after I’ve seen the show/movie. Then I tried picking up the books where the show had left off and still couldn’t get through them.
4. Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest- I read the first three in the series but couldn’t make myself get past that. I don’t absolutely hate these books. I just had some trouble with the frequently immature characters. I might try to get back into them eventually.
5. Defiance by C.J. Redwine- I’m not entirely sure why this one’s on this list. I vaguely remember liking this book but apparently not enough to want to finish the series.

Well that’s my Top Five for this week. Sorry it’s a short one. Tell me what you think in the comments. Thanks for reading!

-Antonia

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Books I DNF

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week’s topic is top ten books that I decided to DNF (did not finish) too quickly. I’m going to put my own spin on this week’s topic because I always finish books once I make it past the first fifty pages or so and if it’s a book I don’t think I’m going to like, I just won’t read it. So this week I will be making a list of the top ten books I didn’t bother to start.

1. The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon – I started this series years ago, before it became a television show. I made it to the middle of the fourth book, The Drums of Autumn, before I had to return the copy I was borrowing to Antonia’s mom. I’ve never managed to get back into the series to reread/finish the series. Hopefully one day.
2. The Great Divorce by C.S Lewis – I was given this book as a gift by my aunt last Christmas (maybe it was actually a few Christmases ago.) I’ve picked it up just to put it back down a few days later. It sits and stares at me from my bookshelf silently asking to be read.
3. The Fifth Doll by Charlie N. Holmberg – I’ve been trying to read this book for the last two months and I can’t seem to make it further than a chapter or so every time I pick it up. I may give it another try in the future, but for now I’m not going to bother.
4. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – I bought this around the same time that the movie came out because I wanted to read it before I saw the movie. Still haven’t read the book or seen the movie.
5. Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger – This was one I was supposed to read for school. I didn’t like it / couldn’t get into the story. It was just weird to me. So I didn’t read it and I faked all my assignments that had to do with the book.
6. The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick – This is one I found on my kindle and I tried to start it four or five times in the span of six months and never made it more than ten pages into the book. So I just gave up because I obviously didn’t want to read it that badly.
7. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle – I had this whole series as a kid and tried to read them a few times but never did. I wanted to try again when the movie came out and just didn’t. Maybe I’ll read them someday, but who knows.
8. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I have a huge problem when it comes to classics. I’ve gotten about fifty pages into this book a handful of times but to this day have never managed to finish it. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.
9. Moby Dick by Herman Melville – Another book that I’ve read the first ten to fifty pages of and can’t find the drive or desire to make it any further than that.
10. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – I guess I’m just a girl that doesn’t like the classics.

These are my top ten that I’ve tried but mostly didn’t bother with. What are your top ten that you didn’t finish (maybe too quickly) or however you changed this week’s topic to fit your reading style?
Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Top Ten Tuesday – Not My Typical Genre

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post where we give our top ten choices on different topics, hosted by THE BROKE AND THE BOOKISH. This week’s topic is top ten books you’ve read the past year that aren’t your typical genre. This Tuesday I had a bit of trouble coming up with books. I have a tendency to stay inside my comfort zone. Generally when I read books that aren’t my usual it’s because it was recommended to me by someone in my life. Here are my top ten books that aren’t my usual genre.

1. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne – This was recommended to me by several people in my life and though it took me a while to finally pick it up and read it, I’m glad I did. While it’s not my usual fiction, it was really interesting and eye opening. I’ve recommended it to many others now that I’ve read it.
2. The Alchemist by Paul Coelho- I got this book as a gift. It’s another book that sat on my shelf staring at me until I finally picked it up. The Alchemist was a really good, quick read. The story was very good and I’m glad I finally gave it a chance.
3. Outlander by Diana Gaboldon- Antonia’s mother recommended and let me borrow this book. It’s definitely not a book I would have ever picked up on my own. I still need to finish the rest of the series.
4. Carrie by Stephen King- Carrie was another gift from someone. I’d never read anything by him before this book, but I might read more of his stuff after reading Carrie.
5. Wideacre by Phillipa Gregory- I read this trilogy on the recommendation and lending of a coworker. They were definitely not my usual romance that I was anticipating when I started reading, but they were super good reads.
6. The Year We Disappeared by Cylin and John Busby- My grandmother lent me this book. It’s a true story that takes place in my hometown. It was really interesting to learn about something that happened in my area.
7. Forgive Me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick- I bought this book from Barnes&Noble. I was standing in the young adult section looking around for something new to read when I overheard someone talking to a friend about John Green books. I quickly interjected and told them to buy all of them and read them as fast as possible. They in tern told me to buy this book.
8. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith- This is a book that Antonia read and then made me read. It isn’t one I would have picked on my own. The description was a little too young adult for me.
9. Eon by Alison Gooman- This was another recommendation from Antonia. She read it and then made me read it. It was an awesome book and I’m glad she pushed me to read it.
10. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima- Antonia made me read this series too. We pass a lot of books back and forth. It took me over a year to actually start the book, but it was worth it. I now own all four and have read them all more than once.

These are my top ten, what are yours?

Keep on reading lovelys, Amanda.

Outlander – Diana Gabaldon

Summary:
In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon-when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach-an “outlander”- in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our lord…1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire’s destiny is soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidding Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life…and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire…and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Review:
This eight hundred fifty page book took so much out of me. It took mostly time, to read the pages, but also little pieces of my heart. Outlander was a book that was almost forced upon me, by Antonia’s mother. She is a fellow reader, but I generally don’t like the same kinds of books as her. She made me take Outlander home and I’m very glad I read it.
This book was beautifully written. It is definitely a long book, but it was such a good one. The description of Scotland in the seventeen hundreds was amazing. A place I would totally love to go and visit. Outlander is told from the point of view of Claire, the Outlander herself. Reading this story from Claire’s point of view was awesome. I felt like I was part of Claire’s life going through everything right alongside her. The title of this book, Outlander, fits our main character very well. Its definition is an outsider or stranger and that’s exactly what Claire is when she finds herself in 1743.
I adored Claire. She proves herself more times than I can count in these pages. If I found myself two hundred years in the past, I probably would handle it nearly as well as Claire. She adjusts to this new life with a few bumps in the road but ends up fitting in fairly well. Claire is strong, brave, courageous, and an amazing main character. She loves fiercely and makes a point to protect what and who she loves.
Which brings me to Frank, Claire’s husband in the present. I really liked Frank from what I got to see of him. He loved his work and Claire. He was passionate about the things he enjoyed, even if he made himself look silly. I do wish that Frank could have played a larger part in this book and I’m hoping that I do get to read about him again later in the series.
Now to talk about Jamie. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. I could go on about Jamie forever. He’s a Scottish version of that mysterious, handsome, strong man that you want to whisk you away in your dreams. I really enjoyed getting to know every side of Jamie in this story. He has this innocence about him that can turn to an almost scary intensity at times. He loves with all he has and would do anything to protect those in his life. Jamie is honorable, trustworthy, honest and so much more. He’s really just an all around good person.
Going into this book thinking that I wasn’t going to like it very much didn’t change the fact that Outlander was an amazing book. I think anyone that likes books needs to try this series. Even if you don’t think you’ll like it. I loved every page.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

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