My January Wrap up | 2020

The New year brought me into such an optimistic reading mood in Jan, that I managed to finish 4 books out of 6 from my planned TBR.

Though I did not read that many books and did not complete my TBR, it was still a good reading month for me as I liked almost all the books I read.

1) NO EXIT BY TAYLOR ADAMS

 I started my year with mystery/thriller, which I was craving at that time and this book delivered a wild ride. I liked it a lot, gave it 4 stars
Full review here

2) HAUNTED BY DARCY COATES

This is my favourite so far in 2020, another horror gem by Darcy Coates. I read her 'Dead Lake' last year and I really liked that. Decided to pick this pick based on its premise, loved it! 4.5 Stars read for me, few characters were a little irritating but otherwise I LOVED it!
Full review here

3) HOSTILE HOSPITAL ( A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS #8) BY LEMONY SNICKET;

Finally I read the eight book in 'A series of unfortunate events' after so many months of procrastination.Really a dumb move,it was good and my favourite by far in the series.Really want to see what is going to happen with the children after that cliffhanger.
4.5 stars!

4) THE LONG WALK BY STEPHEN KING

This was my last read of the month, finished on the very last day of January.
My feelings for this is quite complex.There were few things I really liked and few things really bugged me.Gave it 3 stars
You can check my whole review for this here

I also started 'Emma' by Jane Austen but only read 20% of it and put it down for another time, I will pick it back when my mood strikes for classics. Will be continuing it then.

That's it for the Jan wrap up, hope to have a better reading in February (SPOILER ALERT : It's not going very well!)

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Reading Wrap up | October (2018)

My reading for last month was pretty average and if I have to do a follow up of my planned TBR, it was awful.

My TBR for Oct Month

The Austere Academy (Book #5) by Lemony Snicket    ✔️ READ

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas    Progress - 40%

 Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher     ❌ Did not Start

Harry Potter & Chamber of the Secrets by JK Rowling (Re read)   ❌ Did not Start

The Troop by Nick Cutter    Progress - 10%

The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (AKA Stephan King)   ❌ Did not Start

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill   ❌ Did not Start

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill   ❌ Did not Start

↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔

Apart from one book mentioned above from TBR, I finished 4 other books.So here presenting my Overall Wrap up for Oct month-

#1  HARRY POTTER & THE PHILOSOPHER (SORCERER)'S STONE

This was in my Sept TBR, but I finished this in October and what a nostalgic re read!!! Loved it!

You can see my full review here

#2  THE AUSTERE ACADEMY (A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS #5) BY LEMONY SNICKET

Another great book from this series. Yet another Baudelaire's story in completely different setting but same miserable situation!

 4 Stars!

THE CAPTIVE PRINCE SERIES  BY C.S. PACAT

Quite a polarizing series, but I have a very mixed feeling about it.

- Captive Prince - 3.5 Stars
- Prince's Gambit - 2.75 Stars
- Kings Rising - 4 Star

You can see my full series review here

So that's it for my reading wrap up.. I am in middle of one book and have started another one which is going to be included in Nov wrap up.

See you in next Post..,,,Bye 🙋🙋

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My TBR for Oct Month (2018)

After my great reading follow up last month I am really pumped and excited to make and share this list with you guys. So here we go!

#1    The Austere Academy(A Series of Unfortunate Events #5) by Lemony Snicket

Continuation of yet another misery in Baudelaire children's life in the form of Count Olaf, 'Austere Academy' starts where 'The Miserable Mill' finishes.This time....the destination is - A Boarding School

Let's see how this will go!

#2     The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

'The Count of Monte Cristo' is an adventure historical novel by French author, Alexandre Duman.This is considered as one of the classic revenge story of a sailor named Edmond.

That's what this short and interesting Goodreads blurb says - 

Set against the tumultuous years of the post-Napoleonic era, The Count of Monte Cristo recounts the swashbuckling adventures of Edmond Dantes, a dashing young sailor falsely accused of treason. The story of his long imprisonment, dramatic escape, and carefully wrought revenge offers up a vision of France that has become immortal.

Captivating and Interesting... Isn't It?!

#3     Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher

This is sitting on my TBR from last 2-3 months! Now is the time to pick another book by Jim Butcher

#4     Harry Potter & the Chamber of the Secrets (Harry Potter Series #2) by JK Rowling

No need to explain much but as I announced earlier, my first re-read of this whole series after five years here I am including second book after a nostalgic read of the first one!

Now... My Spooky Reads for this Spooky Halloween month

 #5  The Troop by Nick Cutter

Once a year, scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a three-day camping trip—a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story and a roaring bonfire. But when an unexpected intruder—shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry—stumbles upon their campsite, Tim and the boys are exposed to something far more frightening than any tale of terror. The human carrier of a bioengineered nightmare. An inexplicable horror that spreads faster than fear. A harrowing struggle for survival that will pit the troop against the elements, the infected...and one another.

Sounds Spooky! Right?!

 #6  The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (AKA Stephan King)

In this #1 national bestseller, “master storyteller” (Houston Chronicle) Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, tells the tale of the contestants of a grueling walking competition where there can only be one winner—the one that survives.

In the near future, when America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules—keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you’re out—permanently.

After a very long time, I will be picking up a Stephen King! It's high time!!

#7 & #8  Heart Shaped Box & NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

I will be very honest and say that I am not a great fan of Joe Hill's writing. I have read Horns by him and it was an average read for me due to its slow writing, but 'NOS4A2' is a highly praised book in horror genre so I will be giving this one a chance and if I really like it, I will be reading his another book 'Heart Shaped Box' or vice versa (will pick based on my mood)

So yeah... these are 8 books in my TBR, 4 of which are horror for halloween month!

Let's see how it goes.............

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Reading updates - My TBR for September! (2018)

I did not manage to finish a single book from my previous TBR, hence I am little hesitant to actually make my TBR list for this month.But I am also very stubborn and cannot quit making it...so here I am, once again shamelessly putting my TBR list before you!

I am also going to include my half read books from previous month. So here we go!!!

1. Horns by Joe Hill

I have completed around 60% of this book so I am more than halfway through it.I have mixed feeling about it so far,not telling much,I am going to post its review very soon..once I am done.

You can see its Summary here

2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone by J.K. Rowling

As I posted earlier that I am going to re- read the whole Harry Potter series after so many years so I picked this book and slowly taking my time in reading it in small chunks. I am 20% in the book so will be finishing the rest this month and post my re reading experience with you guys!

3. The Miserable Mill (A Series of unfortunate Events #4) by Lemony Snicket

This has been in my TBR list for ages and I still not have manage to start it.But I really want to read this one and hence its in this TBR!

You can see about this series here

4. The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking #2) by Patrick Ness

This was in my last TBR but did not manage to even start this so here we go...again making the same mistake. Even though I had mixed feelings about the first book, I liked the setting, plot and unpredictability of it but was not the fan of our main protagonist, Todd. So very eagerly waiting for this one.

You can see series details here

See my review of first book here

5. Rise of the Wolf (Mark of the Thief #2) by Jennifer A.Nielsen 

I read the first book in July month and it was an okay book. I liked the premise but the execution was underwhelming. But still I am intrigued enough to complete the series. This is the second one and I really like the cover of this one , all glorified in its blueness.

You can see this series details here

6. A Darkness at Sethanon (Riftwar Saga #4) by Raymond E Feist

This has become one of my favourite series I read this year so far, so I have no idea why I did not read it last month.My reads and expectations of each books have increased after each books.The whole world of Midkemia and Kelewan keeps you captivated in each book and the plot is action packed and interesting. So I am going to finish this first series by this author, so I can move to other series in this same world.

You can see my review of all books in this series here

7. Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy #1) by Sally Green

Seriously I know nothing about this book except that this is a YA Fantasy and about a Boy who is kind of in a middle of Bad and Good side of the world. That's it!

But you can see its full summary here

It sounds interesting! Isn't it!

8. Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher

This was also in my earlier TBR, did not pick (surprise!) so yeah... adding in this TBR again

I loved 'Codex Alera' series by Jim Butcher and loved all the fantasy elements of it. This one is another of his masterpiece (as per the reviews) so I am really pumped for this one.I was avoiding it due to the massive number of books in the series so far, which still has not finished after 16-17 books. So finally going to pick this one and slowly going to keep up with the series.I know nothing about it except that this is about a wizard P.I. named Harry Dresden and his cases.

See this Book Summary here

So needless to say I will try to follow this TBR and read more this month for sure!

So that's it for now...See you in next post...Bye..🙋

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The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 2) by Lemony Snicket

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events  - Book 2
My Rating - 3.75 Stars!

After the events of the first book,Baudelaires are placed under the custody of Dr. Montgomery (whose first and last name is same), Baudelaire's distant relative from their mother's side.They soon becomes comfortable with the umarried Herpetologist (one who studies reptiles) and helps him with his studies and upcoming trip to Peru,where they will be accompanying him. Shockingly Montgomery's assistant resigns abruptly just before this, so enter in his place…Stephano…who is (Surprise!!! Surprise!!! )none other than Count Olaf in disguise. Baudelaires quickly see through his disguise, when strangely no adult in this whole book can see! Rest of the book follows Baudelaire Siblings trying to figure out and escape from his evil plan.

My thoughts -

Overall it was a very quick read and even if I had few issues with the book, I still enjoyed it.My main issue was that all the adults in this book were stupid and treated children like they have no brains.Especially Mr. Poe,who I am sure going to have more moments like this further in series.This was a dark children's fiction book so I will overlook and will try not to dwell much in these issues.I still liked it and was invested in the story and our main protagonists.

Will be continuing with the further books and see what unfortunate events Baudelaires are going to face next.

Series Overview - 

The Bad Beginning - 4 Stars
The Reptile Room - 3.75 Stars

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