April 2017 Wrap-Up

Hello book lovers! I hope everything is going well! How many books did you read for the month of April? Did you enjoy them?

Reading Thoughts

Honestly, a lot of people seem to hound themselves about reading a certain number of books per week, month, or year. I was at that stage one point in my life, but honestly I'm so tired about setting a reading goal for myself every year. The first year that I really got into reading, I read the most, and it seems that since I didn't set a reading goal for myself, I enjoyed it more. (I believe I read around 95 books or so...)

The year after that however, I decided to create a reading goal/schedule for myself. Part of the reason was that I wanted to see if I could read more than I did the previous year, and the other reason was other booktubers and bookstagrammers were also setting reading goals for themselves. But from setting such a high goal, and feeling pressured to read, I then ended up burning myself out with reading so much and not actually enjoying the books. (And I ended up reading around 45 books that year.)



READING PLANS 

So now I have decided to not do monthly TBR's or take reading goals to heart anymore, it's just too much stress and I don't feel like putting in hours of time thinking about how I plan on squeezing more reading in for the rest of the month. I just want to enjoy and feel the bliss whenever I pick up a novel.


Anyways now that we got that out of the way, I still plan on doing monthly Wrap-Ups and occasional TBR's. But my TBR's will be slightly different than before, instead of making ridiculous goals to finish a 7 book series or something crazy like that. I plan on focusing on a specific subject or genre per monthly TBR, and only selecting one to two novels to focus on. Now I still plan on reading YA and Fantasy, but I'd love to branch out eventually and read contemporary or historical fiction. (But YA will always be close to my heart and my absolute favorite).




APRIL TBR    











OOOOKKKKAAAYYY! WHEEW!
Now that we've gotten through all of that let's talk about the books I ended up reading for the month of April!


1:
The first novel I read for the month of April was










An A+ for A Darker Shade of Magic!


A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, first novel in the Darker Shade Trilogy.

I went into ADSOM without reading reviews or summaries on purpose, and I was pleasantly surprised with all of the content in the story. I have a feeling that ADSOM will be one of my favorite fantasy trilogies/series of the year! I find that V.E Schwab's way of writing is rather beautifully orchestrated.
The main character, Kell, had to be my favorite, as there's still so much about his character that's been left unsaid. I'm overall excited to learn more about the 4 parallel worlds of London there are in the Darker Shade Trilogy.





2: I decided to join in on a readathon that my friends from Instagram created, which was to read/reread A Court of Thorns and Roses and the sequel A Court of Mist and Fury.

 B+ for ACOTAR


It was my first time reading ACOTAR, or any of Sarah J. Maas's novels for that matter, so I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started the novel.
Other than the fact that there has been major hype surrounded by not only this trilogy, but also her Throne of Glass series.

And I have to say that I throughly enjoyed this novel,  the fact that it's a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling made it all the better.
The main character Feyre has some guts and ambition to go through all of her trials, which I admire greatly about her character.
The development of the novel was surprisingly smooth, I was hesitant to start ACOTAR because I'd heard about many mixed emotions about the beginning of the novel.

But it was quite refreshing that it did start off slightly slower than other fantasy novels, because it gave me the chance to really soak in all of the world building and depth behind the plot. ACOTAR was a great entry for the trilogy, each and every character took a subtle part within the novel that leaded up to the very ending, which is nice because it felt like none of the characters were ever neglected.




3: Since I participated in the readathon for ACOTAR I had to read the sequel to it, which is A Court of Mist and Fury also known as ACOMAF.

An A++ for ACOMAF


Now... ACOMAF was a game changer for me, honestly if ACOMAF went in the same direction of ACOTAR I still would've read it, but it went in a completely different direction. The content in ACOMAF was shocking, stunning, and beautiful all at the same time. I LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!

There were so many things in this novel that I didn't see coming, and that rarely ever happens in what I read these days. In the interest of Feyre's companion, which I won't give away because that'll be spoiling you, let's just say that there's an abundance of steamy romance that I guarantee you'll love!

I have to say that ACOMAF is by far my favorite in the trilogy so far, I can't say how I'll feel about A Court of Wings and Ruin since it just came out on the 2nd, and I barely started reading it today. But I'm expecting it to be amazing, if not better than ACOMAF.




4: The next novel I read was Shattered Blue by Lauren Bird Horowitz!

B+ for Shattered Blue

I actually won this book on one of Lauren's giveaways! So thank you Lauren and Lauren's wonderful team!
 Anyways I really enjoyed this novel! I especially love the fact that it's set in the area I live in, the Monterey Bay.
Plus I love anything to do with Fae, I especially loved the magic system that Shattered Blue had, and I'm intrigued to learn more about it in the sequel Renegade Red.

Our main character Noa has endured a lot of sorrow in her years, and now that she's close to graduating, it seems like things just keep getting worse for her, until Callum comes along and shocks her world. Shattered Blue is very reminiscent of Twilight, actually one of Lauren's main inspirations for writing this novel. I love everything about Twilight so when I read some similarities in Shattered Blue, it made me love it even more.


5: And the last novel I read for the month of April was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen.


 I buddy read this with one of my friends over on IG, and reading the novel for me at least was a little hard, so I ended up doing what my buddy reader did, which was listen to the audiobook, making my experience with it all the better.
Our main character Bod also endures a lot in his life, he never even got the chance to grow up with his true family, but he learned to make due and truly be himself with his adopted parents, a couple of ghosts.

This novel was very interesting and intriguing to say the least, it's set in present time, but the main focus is in the "in between world".

Funny enough, I'm not actually entirely done with listening to The Graveyard Book, so I'm not going give it a full rating as of yet. But since I only have about 15 more minutes of audio let, I figured I'd let it be in my April Wrap-Up, since I read and listened to the majority of it during April.





I really hope you all enjoyed my April Wrap-Up! I was very pleased with every novel I read this month.



Anyways if you're interested in following some of my friends that created the readathon or that I buddy read with all of their IG accounts will be listed down below.


The Bookstagrammers that created the ACOTAR and ACOMAF readathon were Cerise @justacupofteawithbooks and Kayla @justabookfreak , both of them have stunning accounts with such lovely content and conversations! So I recommend you check them both out.


As for the Buddy Readers, Kayla and I buddy read A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab.

As for The Graveyard Book, I read it with @Belles_book_club and it was amazing as well. It was actually our first time buddy reading together, and really hope that we get another opportunity to do so!





As for following me on social media you can find me on

IG: @Metamorphicbooks
Facebook Page @Metamorphicbooks
Goodreads: Jade Klinger
Twitter: @Crowklinger

Book Club:
IG: @YADiversity
Twitter: YADiversity
Goodreads: YA Diversity

The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova Review

Hello all!
I just finished rereading The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova, and it was amazing! I finished it around the beginning of January, but so much has happened since then, I felt like I needed a refresher... Honestly, it was so worth it.

 (Before I get into the review I'd like to thank Keymaster Press for providing me with an ARC copy of The Alchemists of Loom. It's greatly appreciated, and thank you for supporting me and my reviews.)

                       

Review of The Alchemists of Loom

The Alchemists of Loom was a wonderful and exceptional work, and I feel that it will serve as an excellent starting point for a continuing series. I thought that it opened up so many new fresh ideas for the Fantasy Genre. This novel is written in a multi-perspective point of view; it gives you the opportunity to piece together the story, and leaves you on the edge of your seat.

 To start, I'd like to delve a little into the lore of AoL: The world is made up of 5 guilds, which I'll show down below.

The Ravens

                                             The Alchemists
                                         

The Rivets 

                                             


                                            The Harvesters 


                                              


                                              The Revolvers 

                                                

Each guild plays a special part in the world of Loom; for example The Harvesters are known for taking care of Loom's crops and harvesting them. By having these guilds the world of Loom is rather organized, as each guild-and each citizen-has a specific job.

                                                       Guild Brands 
 
"Found on the right cheek, tattooed guild brands were imposed by Dragon Law to designate a Fenthri's rank and guild membership. The tattoo is elaborated upon as new merits are achieved."

Within these guilds, each member holds a certain rank, and there are three different kinds of ranks you could achieve. Initiate, Journey, and Master. For example you could be an Initiate Raven, Journey Raven, or Master Raven. Being categorized into these three ranks only became a practice when the Dragons took control.

               Dragon Houses

"All members of Dragon society belong to one of the three Dragon houses. Ties into the house can be by blood, adoption, mating, or merit."

The Dragon houses are just as important as the guilds in Loom, and here there also three royal Dragon Houses: Rok, Tam, and Xin. In Loom, Dragons have all different kinds of powers, and many Dragons have different looks, some may have orange hair or red skin.





                Characters

The female protagonist Arianna is made up of a lot of things... literally. In her world she's known as "The White Wraith", and she's a master dragon organ harvester. Throughout the whole story it's quite evident that Ari despises Dragons with all of her might. In Loom, Dragons are known to be superior in comparison to the other guilds. Arianna is strong, quick, knowledgeable, and she has an extremely caring side to her, which can be quite unnerving. Ari never stays in one location for long, as an infamous criminal has to be quick and carful to cover her tracks. Although, she can't do it all by herself, her assistant/pupil Florence has been learning under Ari for a couple of years. Flor is the most trustworthy and knowledgeable character in AoL, and I have to say her character grew on me.

Then Cvareh comes into the picture, a Dragon who doesn't settle well with Arianna. But the two must forge an agreement, and are forced to work together. (And I know that was quite vague, but I don't want to spoil you.)

I really love Cvareh, mainly because even though he's not the strongest Dragon in Loom or in his House he's still determined, and overall caring, and I think that caring aspect is what really drew me in. Oddly enough, Ari and Cvareh are similar when it comes to personality, despite the animosity. 

Ari, Flor, and Cvareh begin the ultimate journey to The Alchemists of Loom, but Dragon King's assistant Leona will do anything to sabotage their journey. Leona will do anything to be the King's favorite, even if it's killing a Dragon prince and The White Wraith. In my eyes Leona has earned respect, even if she is a villain who's on the wrong side of the story. She still is extremely determined and loyal to her King, which counts for something.

Through the entire novel, we read from a multi-perspecitve POV. Which I loved because it was similar to putting a puzzle piece together. The perspectives we see from are: Arianna, Florence, Cvareh, Leona, and even a little of Petra who is Cvareh's sister.

The Alchemists of Loom is now in my top 5 most favorite fantasy novels. It met and exceeded all of my expectations, and I was silently stunned at how easy it was to decipher all the complexities. And if that's not proof enough already of how much I enjoyed this novel, I'm reading it again for the third time... 

I'm ready and on point for the second novel in the "Loom Saga", called "The Dragons of Nova". If I could I'd give it a 10/10 rating, but since my review will also be posted on Goodreads and Amazon, it's a 5/5 stars all the way! I encourage you to pick it up, and hope you all enjoy it as I did. 



* Thank you again Keymaster Press for supplying me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

* Thank you so much Elise Kova for being such an amazing person and author. Love ya Major Elise/ Dragon Queen.

* To learn more about Elise Kova and her Loom Saga, as well as her Air Awakens series please click here.

Fall into November 2016 Wrap-Up

Hello book lovers! One more month until it's 2017! So far, how has your year been treating you?
Today I'm going to be talking about my November 2016 Wrap-Up! So happy with all of my reads for this month! Each and every book was amazing, and I think that each story will stick with me for quite sometime.









1) While it Lasts by Abbi Glines 5/5 stars

I've only read up to this book in the Sea Breeze series, and it's been such a ride! Gosh I'm loving this series so much, the POV changes are right on point as well. While comparing all of the three novels I've read in this series so far, I have to say that the third novel is by far my favorite. The main character Cage has a lot of depth behind his character, which is something you don't see a lot in romance novels. I liked this book the most mainly because all of the "fluff" in this novel doesn't exist, I like how Abbi Glines cuts straight to the point and has a sharp edge with her writing.







2) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Fourth book in the series) 4/5 stars

Some of you may not know this but, this is my first time reading the Harry Potter series! I'm honestly not sure why I haven't read this series sooner, but I had to jump on the bandwagon this year so that I can enjoy and talk about this series with all of you!

A lot of people really love this particular book in the series, but since I dragged it on for several months, due to reading other things and being busy with school, I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous ones. Although I can say that I'm willing to set aside time down the road to reread the Goblet of Fire with a fresh mind.

3) The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black 5/5 stars

Man this book was such a ride, I'm almost tempted to reread it for the month of December! I actually listened to the audiobook (for the majority of the time) of "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown", which was fantastic! I loved how Christine Lakin's (narrator) voice adapted to every single character in the novel. She did a perfect job at changing her pitches to make the voices sound more authentic to what the actual characters would most likely sound like if there was a movie made out of "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown". I'm extremely thankful that I chose this book as my first audiobook to listen to, plus the story itself has such a cool concept to it!







4) The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova

This book is the first steampunk themed novel I've read, and it was so mind-blowing! The POV changes were so on point that I honestly loved reading from all of the characters POV's. I'm also extremely intrigued by all of the guilds in "The Alchemists of Loom", and how they work. I'll be completely honest and say that my absolute favorite character is Cvareh, because I love how his character goes with the flow. His uniqueness is what really drew me to liking his character, and the way he thinks to me, feels natural. Plus I cannot forget that the amazing Dragon Queen who wrote this, (Elise Kova) has the best world building skills ever!! After finishing the AoL I feel out of place with reality because I just want more of the Loom Saga!
(Review to come soon)






5) Gemina (Illuminae Files _ 02 ) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

My bookclub YADiversity read this for the month of the November! And I'm not entirely sure what to think because I thought that Illuminae was my favorite, but I think Gemina may be my favorite. Still somewhat indecisive about that. Anyways, I'm also pretty ashamed with myself because I'm still not done with this book, but I'm about 100 page from finishing the novel, so thankfully I don't have too much more to read. Also there's a live discussion going on for Gemina on YA's group discussion page on Goodreads, which I'll link here. So if any of you have read Gemina and want to fangirl/fanboy with me, then you're welcome to join! I already know that I'm giving this novel a 5/5 stars! The characters are so cunning and funny, and the illustrations inside the book were absolutely stunning. Fun Fact: Marie Lu, author of the Legend Trilogy actually did the illustrations for Gemina!



Anyways I hoped you all liked my November Wrap-Up! I'm noticing that the past two months I've enjoyed most of all of the books I read, which is great! So since this is the last month of the year, I plan to read as many books as possible! My goal is to finish up all of the trilogies and series that I started this year.

There are a couple of other things I wanted to quickly say, and one of them is that some of you were probably wondering why I do not "group" my Wrap-Up's with the rates I've given on each book. For example: grouping my 5 star reads together, grouping my 4.5/5 star reads together, and so on. I mainly do this because I want to stay true to the order of which book I read 1st in each month, I just feel more organized by doing this, and it makes sense since it's in chronological order.

Secondly I'd like to inform you all that my friend @kitkatdallibooks over on Instagram and I created a December book challenge for you all, so if you like to join, it's not too late to. Click the link here. We're also both doing individual giveaways on our Instagram so check that out as well!

And another thing is that my bookclub's book of the month for December is Heartless by Marissa Meyer! So please read a long with YADiversity this month. I love Alice and Wonderland, so I'm intrigued to see how Marissa adds her own twists to her retelling!

Review of Beyond The Shadows by Brent Weeks

Welcome Book Lovers! I hope all is well, and that summer is treating you all dandy!
Do any of you have summer plans or planned summer reads? I have a couple of each this summer, and I'm feeling quite adventurous, now that I've finished the third and final novel in the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks

I want to start off by saying Beyond The Shadows was an outstanding conclusion to a high fantasy trilogy. It was outstanding, and although it wasn't my favorite of all time, I still really loved watching the subplots tie together and finish out.

I started the Night Angel trilogy last summer of 2015, and I think it was one of the greatest reading decisions of my life. Reading books one and two were a fly by, then life got in the way and I spent some time away from the series. As I returned and finished the last book, I found that a great deal had changed in the world of Kylar.

Another thing I want to point out: this trilogy is one of the first adult high fantasy novels I've ever read. It isn't particularly a genre I read and enjoy often, so I don't have any credentials in the area, but it seems that this was an ideal series to go for.


The first two novels in the trilogy really kept you hooked. The Way of Shadows was written in a way that felt like you were thrown into someones life, which was completely enthralling. You get the opportunity to view several perspectives, but mainly Durzo's and Azoth's. Because Durzo and Azoth are so much alike, they create a very concrete foundation for second and third book, although they don't know  quite how similar they are. To see through the eyes of an experienced, older wetboy, as well as a amateur apprentice bring a typical but not necessarily overdone style to the books.


Then in Shadow's Edge we follow the perspective of Azoth, or Kylar. (The name he goes by in his late teens to early twenties). I enjoyed Shadow's Edge as much as I enjoyed The Way Of Shadows, and in it, we see Kylar's character develop in the most intriguing of ways.We also see him go through the twists and turns becoming a man, and having family responsibilities with his girlfriend Elene. However, this aspect actually bothered me the most throughout the second novel. Kylar and Elene are in an intimate relationship, but their differences in beliefs are apparent, and Kylar's character becomes annoyingly whiney as his relationship is falling apart. Now I enjoy burning romance as much as anyone, but Weeks seems to add too much for my taste.

I have to say that's the only thing that completely irked me from the second book. I mean there were a few minor things that also bothered me, but nothing that I would necessarily complain about.
All in all, book two in the Night Angel trilogy was quite enjoyable.



Now book three in the Night Angel Trilogy literally blew my mind away, it wasn't at all what I expected. It wasn't horrible and it wasn't at all what I expected the ending of an epic high fantasy novel to be. From how the first two novels in the series were, I figured that the finale would be somewhat similar. So we start off with Azoth learning to be a wet boy at a young age in book 1. In book two, we see Azoth who is now Kylar, figure out who he really is, and fight with his inner demons. But in book three, he basically conquers the entire world, and does the impossible, which is great right? Except that I've seen that so often, and it feels like Kylar wasn't really meant to be a leader or in a position of power. It seemed that his character was really unbalanced and indecisive. Kylar didn't know right from wrong, and as he took control of so much, knowing that he wouldn't really be an ideal person to do so made reading it became unnerving and tiring. It almost seems like since this was a high fantasy series, Weeks felt called upon to make sure the main character was the great victor, but Kylar still has so far to go when the story ends.


But that's just my personal opinion of "Beyond The Shadows", in the "Night Angel Trilogy".
I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy, and getting the opportunity to watch the characters within the story grow.


I can say that I am extremely excited to delve into Brent Week's other new series, called "The Lightbringer series". If you've read his "Night Angel Trilogy" or his "Lightbringer series" then please comment below, telling me what you thought of his novels!


Thank you so much for reading my review and overview of the "Night Angel Trilogy", I hoped you liked it and until next time,

Love Jade

Spooktober 2016 Wrap-Up

Hello Book Lovers! Happy Belated Halloween! Did any of you dress up as a bookish character? Even if you didn't celebrate Halloween, did you at least read any Spooky books?
How many books did you read during the month of October?


I read four books for October, two more than last month, so I'm pretty proud go that...





So starting in order, my October list begins with:

1) The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins  4/5 Stars


The Girl on The Train was an amazing novel. I don't read adult mysteries/ thrillers often, but I found this read to be extremely intriguing and enjoyable.
Our female protagonist, Rachel is probably my absolute favorite character from this month's set. I loved seeing the depth of her character and her thought process.

To full review, please click here.






2) Because of Low by Abbi Glines 3.5/5 Stars

Because of Low is the second installment in the "Seabreeze series" by Abbi Glines and we follow Marcus's and Low's POV in this novel. First off I'd like to say that I really enjoy how the first novel in the series goes smoothly into the second novel. Since we follow a strictly female POV in the 1st book I really liked how Abbi switched it up and added double points of view. Reading about Marcus and Low's relationship was super enjoyable and cute; however, the story line didn't really stick with me as well as the characters. I can say that I enjoyed the 1st novel Breathe more than the 2nd novel.

(Full review to come soon)








3) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff  4.5/5 stars



Illuminae was by far the best book I read for the month of October. It has the perfect balance of eerie and spookiness to keep you on your toes. I loved the whole Sci-Fi aspect that surrounded the novel. The main characters were amazing, and there was quite a lot of spookiness going on throughout the novel. For one, being up in space and not having control over your own survival is rather frightening; not being able to come back down to earth or even leave certain areas of the space station is paranoia-inducing. AIDAN is also scary, and so is the deadly pathogen that lurks within the spaceships that our main characters live in. The formatting was absolutely mind blowing!

(Full review to come soon)




4) The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova


So I have not yet given this novel a rating, only because I'm not done with reading AoL. But from what I have read, it is amazing! The steampunk aspects are absolutely stunning and on point. I have full confidence to say that I know this book will be another 5 star review, and since I haven't finished the novel yet. I will be carrying it to my November TBR.

I'm also buddy reading this book with @madforbooksluv and @novelstosong
so if you'd like to follow them and our updates. I'll leave the links on their names.






Anyways I really hope that you enjoyed my Spooktober 2016 Wrap-Up.
I hope you read some lovely books for the month of October!

Until next time booklovers,
Love Jade

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Review

Hello Book Lovers!

Today I'm going to be talking about The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. As you may know, there is a movie made based on the novel, and as the book became popular to the extreme, I decided it needed a read. Another thing you may know is that I normally do not read thriller/mystery novels, especially adult ones, but I decided that since the movie was coming out I should read the novel before watching the movie.




Synopsis of The Girl on the Train



EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?







Review 4/5 stars 


     Our protagonist Rachel has basically gone so far down into the rabbit hole she can't climb back out: she's a drunk, she's obsessed with her ex, and she blacks on a steady basis. Now you could say she's completely unfixable and down right crazy, but in my eyes Rachel's character had every right to be in that state. As she watched her relationship burn away, she viewed alcohol as her savior from her own emotions, as many do in such a situation.

As she went through the twists and turns of being distraught and confused, we see that she does care for herself and her wellbeing, but lacks the ability to accept her own emotions. It's almost like I don't have to study phycology, because when I read this book I was already enrolled.


I don't want to give away too much, but the one thing about Rachel's character that I didn't care for  was that she stalked, and she stalked a lot. I'll just leave it at that, but I just feel that she should've left that whole situation alone.


Secondly, there's one other aspect I didn't care for in "The Girl On The Train", which was Anna's POV. Anna is the mistress who ruined Rachel's marriage. I honestly wish that Paula Hawkins would've just left Anna's POV out of the whole equation. It really wasn't necessary, and it didn't add any new embellishments to the story. Also, Anna's character is despicable; her character thinks it's perfectly fine to walk over someones relationship. Out of the whole novel, I only read two chapters of Anna's POV because her way of thinking sickened me, but other than that I didn't loose any of the plot.


Even though there were aspects I did not enjoy, overall I felt that this novel was fantastic, I loved seeing Rachel grow into her emotions and become who she really is. The development of the story was gradual and spooky but just enough to keep you wanting more. A lot of people refer this book to being similar to "Gone Girl", I've personally never read it before although I've heard the plot is sightly similar, so if you enjoy thrillers or anything similar to Gone Girl, then I'm sure you'll enjoy reading "The Girl On The Train".

And just remember... it's never who you think it is.





I hope you enjoyed the review! If you've read "The Girl On The Train", what was your opinion on the novel?

Spooktober 2016 TBR

Hello Bookaholics! How've you been? So sorry I've been absent for awhile, I've been extremely busy with school and studying for midterms. Plus some of my relatives from out of state have come to stay with me, so I've been taking them around my local area for sight seeing and whatnot.



But now I'm finally back on here, and it's felt like forever since I've done a monthly TBR or Wrap-Up. But now that it's October, I'm endeavoring to get some things back on track. I'm a huge fan of anything that revolves around Halloween or the month of October, and even though I'm much older now, I still enjoy making my Halloween costumes and dressing up every year.


Also, before I get into my TBR for the month of October, if you want to keep tabs on what I'm reading you can follow me on Goodreads. I post on there quite often especially since I have a Goodreads reading goal this year. My bookclub over on IG has a Goodreads page as well, and we have a monthly read along every month. This month will be a spooky read, so it's not too late to join us for the October read along.






Book 1)
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I mainly wanted to read this because the movie recently came out, which I've been dying to watch. (And I'm that kind of person that likes to read the books before watching the movie/tv series) Secondly, I wanted to read the novel because it's an adult suspense/mystery novel that has a lot of hype around it, and, to be honest, I've never really read an "adult mystery novel".

I actually already finished this novel as my first Spooktober book of the month! And let me just tell you.. it's down right thrilling and chilling at the same time. So I suggest you pick it up! (Review will be up soon)



(Spoiler... It's not who you think it is)




Book 2) Because of Low by Abbi Glines





Now since I had just finished "The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, I needed a super romantic read, as TGOTT was rather depressing.
Anyways, ever since I read the first book in the "Seabreeze" series by Abbi Glines, its been a little addicting. I mean come on, they're basically like candy. I just finished reading "Because of Low" and gosh it was fantastic!
My review for Because of Low will be up soon as well.








Book 3) The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova



I'm a mega fan of Elise's novels! Her Air Awakens series is beyond mind-blowing, and her world building skills are killer. AoL is her first "adult fantasy" novel, and I'm super excited to dive into it! Reviews for her novel are already starting to pop up around Goodreads. Here's a little quick shoutout to my wonderful book reviewing/blogg friends @madforbooksluv and @novelstosong will be buddy reading "The Alchemists of Loom" with me. I'll be tweeting my status updates on AoL as well as Goodreads.











Book 4) Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman



The second book in the Illumane series is coming out in less than a week from now, and I've only heard fantastic things about this series. Sadly I haven't read the first novel yet, and since it's super close to the release date of the second novel, it would be a perfect time to dive into the series. My bookclub @YADiversity is actually reading the sequel for the month of November, so if you'd like to Gemina for the first time, then please join in on the reading fun!







Book 5) A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis







So I've heard that A Madness so Discreet is a "beautifully-twisted  historical thriller". Now who wouldn't want to read that, especially in the month of October? I am super intrigued his novel, and I cannot wait to dive into the thrilling darkness that it has to offer.


So that was all for my Spooktober 2016 TBR. I had a few more novels on my TBR Pile for this month, but lets be real; balancing school and life, it's hard to read loads of books every month.

What does your Spooktober TBR look like? Have you read any Spooky reads for the month of October 2016? Comment below!