Today's post is my November Wrap Up. I read a total of 16 books last month. I had an average reading month in the way of star ratings, it came out at an average of 3.6. But I did have my 2nd highest rated book of the year, I use Book Roast’s CAWPILE rating system if anyone was wondering.
Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson
In the time of the Han Dynasty in ancient China, the last remaining dragon is in danger of being killed by the cruel Emperor. A nameless orphan with no past and an uncertain future becomes his unlikely ally. The young orphan soon discovers that it is her destiny to protect the aging dragon and his mysterious purple stone.
I’m not sure what to say about this book, the premise sounded really interesting but it didn’t follow through. I can definitely see why people would like this book but I wasn’t one of them. I found the plot to be really slow and boring and found the writing was very dense. It wasn't that I didn’t like the characters but they annoyed me and made it even harder to get through this book. Danser kept a lot from Ping and Ping was very naive, although she had an excuse. They also did a few different things that just rubbed me up the wrong way.
2 ⭐️
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
THRONE OF GLASS SYNOPSIS - After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
This is the final book in the Throne of Glass series and this was definitely my favourite book of the series, Also my second highest rated book of the year. I don’t have the best attention span so I find it very hard to sit down for a long period of time and just read. I have been getting better over the last month as you will see in the books below. But I have never had this problem with the TOG series. Kingdom of Ash is almost 1000 pages long, but it never once lost my intrigue and felt like I could just keep reading straight without any breaks. The plot was amazing, the characters were amazing and their development was really well done. Sarah J. Maas broke my heart in a way that has not happened since Dobby and Ghastly’s death.
5 ⭐️
An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
When Laia's grandparents are brutally murdered and her brother arrested for treason by the empire, the only people she has left to turn to are the rebels.
But in exchange for their help in saving her brother, they demand that Laia spy on the ruthless Commandant of Blackcliff, the Empire's greatest military academy. Should she fail it's more than her brother's freedom at risk . . . Laia's very life is at stake.
There, she meets Elias, the academy's finest soldier. But Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined – and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
I picked this up in September, read 70 pages then put it down and only picked it up again this month, I then read the rest in one day. I found the start to be very slow and almost boring but I knew once Laia made it to the academy I would enjoy it more and I was right. It had a solid plot, interesting fleshed-out characters and a well done world. What I loved the most about this book is Elias and Laia’s relationship or the start of it and development throughout. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next and seeing the characters grow.
4 ⭐️
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price
This is a very hyped up series and I enjoyed it but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed the plot and the characters, the atmosphere was good and I liked the part of the world Prychian we got to see. I liked Feyre well enough and I didn’t mind Tamlin in this book but still didn’t love him. I enjoyed the parts that we got to see of Rhysand and was looking forward to seeing what happens next.
4 ⭐️
The Great Brain Robbery P.G. Bell
THE TRAIN TO IMPOSSIBLE PLACES SYNOPSIS - A train that travels through impossible places. A boy trapped in a snow globe. And a girl who’s about to go on the adventure of a lifetime.
The Great Brain Robbery is the second book in the Train to Impossible Places series, and I adored this book. It was really nice and comforting to be back in this world with these characters, Wilmot is hands down my favourite by far, he is so sweet and adorable and I just love him so much. The plot was interesting and engaging, and it also had a very intriguing bad guy.
4 ⭐️
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
This is the sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses that follows after the events that it leaves off on. I enjoyed this book more than the first but still didn’t love it as much as a lot of people. It was really good to see the PTSD that Feyre was going through and her road to recovery. I really enjoyed the introduction of the inner circle and Velaris. I see why everyone raves about Rhysand and Feyre as a couple, they were very cute.
4 ⭐️
Dark by Kat Kinney
But when Hayden shows up on his doorstep, newly changed and in danger, Ethan defies his father’s orders to stay away. Someone in the paranormal community is hunting her, and hell if he’s going to fail her again.
I liked the two main characters, Hayden and Ethan, they were very different but that complemented each other. The plot was fast-paced and engaging throughout the whole book. I really enjoyed the romance, but I found that sometimes the characters would say something and then they would go out and do something completely different, which made for some inconsistencies.
See my full review here - https://bookishequestrian.wixsite.com/mysite/post/dark-by-kat-kinney-review
3 ⭐️
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
CITY OF BONES SYNOPSISE - When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air.
This is the third book in The Mortal Instruments series. I just don’t think the series is for me. I found this book to be very boring. Clary and Jace didn’t annoy me as much as they have in previous books, but I still didn’t like them, the side characters made a bit more of an appearance but still not enough to help me like this book.
2 ⭐️
Kingdom of the Wicked by Derek Landy
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant
Ace Detective
Snappy Dresser
Razor–tongued Wit
Crackerjack Sorcerer
and
Walking, Talking,
Fire-throwing Skeleton
This is the 7th book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. This was my reread for my read-along of the series. It was great to be back in this world, this book isn’t my favourite in the series but I still love it a lot.
5 ⭐️
Tanith Low and the Maleficent Seven by Derek Landy
This was a great novella that follows Tanith Low and a few other characters as they hunt down god killer weapons to destroy them. It was a fun, action-packed read with a weird bunch of characters and a lot of humour thrown in.
4 ⭐️
Dead of Night by Emily Goodwin
Vampires and witches have had more than a jaded history, and when witches start showing up dead in surrounding covens, all signs point to something old and powerful. Something that knows the ways of the witches.
This is the first book in the Thorn Hill series and this surprised me at how much I enjoyed the book and grew attached to the characters. It had a solid, mystery filled plot, well thought out lore with the paranormal creatures, interesting characters and a few steamy sex scenes. I think this so far has been my favourite paranormal romance I have read.
5 ⭐️
The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
All 12-year-old Marinka wants is a friend. A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a human companion. Someone she can talk to and share secrets with.
But that's tough when your grandmother is a Yaga, a guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife.
I don’t have strong feelings towards this book, it was ok. I liked the atmosphere and the concept was really cool, but somewhere it just fell flat for me. I found at times Marinka to be annoying and her grandmother could have prevented this whole book if she had just told the truth from the start.
3 ⭐️
The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING SYNOPSIS - One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit.
I don’t have any strong feelings towards this book which makes it hard to write about. I found it to be a bit boring at times but I also found it interesting at times. It was much of the same as the first book.
3 ⭐️
Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business. Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine.
Again not too much I can say about this book, it was fun and quick, I liked the characters, especially the cats, they were really cool to see. The ghost elements were also really interesting to read. The problem I had with the book was that I listened to it on audio and they sometimes talked in Spanish? And I couldn’t understand what was being said.
3 ⭐️
The Shadows and the Children by Day Leitao
THE CUP AND THE PRINCE SYNOPSIS -
One prince wants her out.
Another wants her as a pawn.
Someone wants her dead.
Zora wants to win the cup and tell them all to screw themselves.
This is a short story and the prequel to The Cup and the Prince, the first book in the Kingdom of Curses and Shadows. Zora was born in the Dark Valley. The land is cursed, shadow creatures spawn in the dark and can survive in daylight. It was interesting to see how Zora got to where she was at the start of the first book.
3 ⭐️
Last Stand of Dead Men by Derek Landy
This is the 8th book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. I was meant to read this for my read-along this month but I decided to just read it in November. If you know, you know. I feel like everyone has that one character that no matter how many times you read a character's death you still cry everytime. Well, mine is in this book. Obviously, I’m not going to tell you who dies because of spoilers. This book was great, I love the plot except for the betrayal that happens and I will never forgive Landy for writing it.
5 ⭐️
That’s it guys for my wrap up, hope you enjoyed and sorry I couldn’t go into a lot of detail about my thoughts for some books.
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