AUGUST WRAP UP!

    This month was not the best when it came to reading but I still read and I got things completed. And I think I have come to the realization that I am not a very good TBR reader, it makes it feel too much of a chore for me and then the rebel inside is telling me NO Arlene don't do it, don't read what you have already set out, read what you want! Join the Dark Side, we have cookies! So yeah.... I read 10 books and 2 short stories and I enjoyed everything so without further ado...

City of Bones- ⭐⭐⭐.5 

     The first in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Claire and while I really like the TV show I'm not sure how I feel about the books just yet, I think after I read the second book (which was on my TBR but didn't get to) I might feel differently about the books, but the first one was just okay. I loved Magnus Bane and Simon. But Clary was kind of whiney and a bit annoying. I found her to be the same way in season one of the TV show. But I still liked it better (the show I mean). So I will continue with the books, but not as fast as I would have had I loved it more.

New Boy-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
     REVIEW This book was so good!!!! I loved it. It definitely rang true from Othello (from what I can remember) and I was so lucky that my library came through and had it, my husband was my hero and went and brought it for me the next day. I just couldn't get over it and I still flash back to it. If you read my review (link above) you'll see that I did have some minor issues with the book, but nothing to really deter me from loving it the way that I did. I think this book was the main reason why I went a little ham on my book haul (see previous post) and got many of her books. 

Orange-⭐⭐⭐⭐
      I haven't read a manga in a long time and since SkinnyGirlFatHair highly suggested it I just had to give it a try and I'm glad I did. It was such a good read. At first I was taking it in same doses since it's such a large volume, but once I had started it and really started to get into the story I just had to finish it in two sittings. I have the second volume and definitely plan on reading it next month. It's a story with a time traveling letter to save a friend from suicide . It was touching and heartwarming. I'm glad I picked it up.

Pleasantville- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
     Book 2 in the Jay Porter series starts off and centers around a group of girls who have been taken and killed and all the while the race for mayor in Pleasantville is one the way and when one of the candidates' team mates is accused of being the killer, Jay is placed in a position where he has to step in and help. Not only is this person rep on the line, but Jay livelihood is also at stake. While for me this was a slow starter once it got going it really got good and I finished it in a days time. 

My Soul to Take-⭐⭐⭐
     Book 4 in the African Immortals series was kind of a let down. While I still love this series as a whole this book was just okay/a little boring to me. It was written beautifully but then it was almost overly wordy. I wanted more from the end of this series. Will be rereading this series though and will gladly recommend it to people. The ending wasn't everything that I thought it would be. The growth in the characters and the progress of the story was NOT what I was expecting and I say that in good way. I love how deep this story goes I love the progression of the characters from books 2 to 3, but from 4 I wanted more.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-⭐⭐⭐⭐
     This was such a cute story. I enjoyed it very much. I loved the voice of Mr. Wonka and Charlie and Grandpa Joe it was awesome. I love to watch the movies that this book inspired and you can clearly see where the two movies got their inspirations when it comes to how Mr. Wonka talks and interacts with his guest. I know that one thing that I loved the most was the fact that the songs from the movie with Johnny Depp came right from this book and a lot of the famously funny lines from Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka came right from this book as well. When I saw that, I knew immediately that this book was going to be everything to me. And so I gave it 4 stars, I can see now why this is such a classic and why people of all ages love it. 

Dying for Revenge-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
     OMFG book 3 in the Gideon series did not disappoint. This one took place months after the second book ended Gideon is once again on the run/on the hunt for the lady from Detroit. And this chick is not going to let him go until he is dead. So in this installment she has enlisted the help of a husband/wife assassin team to take of her little problem. What I loved about this one was the husband/wife team. Listening to the audiobooks is the part of reading these books and I loved that the wife's part was narrated by the same woman who does the Eve Dallas books, and one I realized who it was I was completely on board. It was sooooo good. 

The Book of Phoenix-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
     HOLY SHIT BALLS This was great!!! And I mean absolutely a wonderful rich read. It even got me a little teary in the end. I realized when I had made my TBR list for the month that I was starting with the second one in the Who Fears Death series and had to quickly backtrack before I got too into the second book. I was so drawn into the whole story right from jump and it moves so quickly. You start off with this old man who goes out to I've his wife some space and he finds himself in this cave with old computers and one of the computers links up with his communicator and he finds a long list of titles, many he can't read until he finds on in a long lost language, English, and is then read The Book Of Phoenix. And so the story begins.
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator- ⭐⭐⭐ 
     When I got the email from my library telling me that they had the second book in the Charlie Bucket series available I just had to see what would happen after he, Mr. Wonka, and Grandpa flew straight into the air at the end of the first book. And I'm sorry to say that I was not as pleased as I was with the first book. This book took a complete left from the first book. There were space stations and alien encounters. I wasn't here for the second book it was too wonky for me and while it might be the best thing since sliced bread for a child, for me it left a nasty taste in my mouth.

Holiday in Death- ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5  

     Book 7 in the In Death series. It was such a nice turn from what I had been reading to just dive into a good old 2056 murder mystery. And this one, as the title indicates, takes place during the Christmas time, *que music* It's the most wonderful time of the year *kills music*. Santa it seems is killing off beautiful women looking for love this X-mas season and leaving lyrics to the 12 days of Christmas along the way. I don't know about you, but I love Christmas and I can probably read a Christmas book anytime of the year. With the combination of Eve Dallas, the tough NY Cop, Peabody, her trusty and funny aide and all the other usually suspects It was a no brainer for me to rate this book 4.5 stars. I think the only thing that I keep taking off for is the bad sex scenes, I don't like them. But Peabody takes the cake for me. I love her so. 

Midnight in Death⭐⭐⭐⭐

     This is book 7.5 in the In Death series and it's a short less than 100 page novella that literally takes place not but a couple of hours after Holiday in Death has completed. Another Christmas themed story? Don't mind if I do. David Palmer a vicious serial killer has escaped from his prison cell after three years and is now after all the people who put him there. Eve, with the help of Roarke, is on the hunt for Palmer before he comes after anyone else. 

The Dispatcher⭐⭐⭐⭐

     This is a short story that I had gotten the audiobook for free of a long while back, and I decided to take a chance on it. This is my first John Scalzi book and I've heard many good things about his writing so I took a shot. Coming in at 128 pages this novella/short story was actually really good. I loved the concepts of the whole "Dispatcher". I thought it was a fresh idea, and I really liked the characters. The audio book was read by Zachary Quinto and I thought he did an excellent job on the story. Tony Valdez is a dispatcher and describing that it kind of a hard concept but in a way they help people, save lives in fact so they can come back. Now I know that sounds crazy, but when you read the novella it'll make sense. Here is a bit from the book explaining about death and what happens to you, 

“If you die of natural causes, you’re dead. If you commit suicide, you’re dead. If you accidentally fall down an elevator shaft or drop a radio in your bathwater, you’re dead. But if someone pushes you down that elevator shaft or drops that radio into your tub? You come back. Nine hundred and ninety-nine times out of a thousand.”

     Like I said, I thought the concept of the story was very good, the dialog was sharp the story wasn't hard to follow or understand. The parts about God and her existence was great, I like the conversations that came from it. The narration was great and I highly suggest you get the audio and now I might just pick up something else by Mr. Scalzi.

     So with all in all, it might NOT have been the best reading month for me, not sticking to my original list, but I did get to finish 2 series that have been on my TBR for a while, so I'll give myself that one. And I got one of my newly favorite/extremely interesting authors to retweet my tweet about how awesome I thought her book was (whole time trying to fangirl to hard lol)

     Alright y'all, that's it for me, until next time. Hit me up down below if you have read any of these books and let me know what was your favorite and least favorite read of this month. 

PEACE✌