December Wrap-Up

I’m really trying to be positive now that a new year has just begun so I’ll say it with all the joy and enthusiasm I can muster: December sucked. *lol* Big time! XD If I thought I wasn’t reading a lot in November, I’m almost ashamed of how little I read in December. I actually only manged to read two books and the only reason why „The Lost Apothecary“ fell into this month too was the fact that I FORGOT to add it to my November Wrap Up. Which says enough about the state I was in those last couple of months. *lol*

Like seriously! How could I forget to add it to my Wrap Up? Anyway I said I’d have a positive attitude in 2022 and I’ll try my best! So here I go! I’m typing this after spending two weeks in the blissful bubble named „home“ and I regret nothing! I only went out to go grocery shopping and to go for walks and I met my family and friends three times in total. I spent Christmas with my family, my sister’s family and my parents. Then I visited my aunts and uncle on Silvester and I met one of my besties. That’s it. (Mind you, technically speaking my country is still in some sort of lockdown because of Omicron) So if you’re asking yourself what I did on all those other days:

I cleaned my flat, I played with my kid, I did the laundry, I cooked for my family, I took naps… an indecent amount of them tbh but I was so exhausted I just needed them, I watched Netflix, I listened to BTS and watched some of their videos, I READ (Yes, I actually managed to finish two books I had on my „currently reading“ since August 2021), I edited videos, I wrote blog posts and reviews, I came up with about a gazillion ideas that need to be turned into practice and I just unwound from all the stress I had those last couple of months. Plus I started to do something against my allergies and asthma and I hope the therapy will work. In short: I enjoyed my vacation and I hope this energy will last until July because it will be the next time I can go on vacation.

So on that happy note let’s jump right into my monthly Wrap Up, shall we?! XD

Books read: 3 (3 books & 0 webcomic, 3 books… that’s gotta be the worst reading month ever)

Pages read: 915 (It was so bad I didn’t even manage to read 1.000 pages. *lol*)

Average rating: 3,67 (It seems like my December was pretty average as well.)

Books that were on my reading list: 0 ( 0 from 2019, 0 from 2020 and 0 from 2021. Umm yeah… what can I say? *lol* Mood reading is a thing? XD)

December Reads:

       

The Lost Apothecary:

I really enjoyed reading this book and even thought the story was pretty simple I still wanted to know what would happen next. Also this book got me in a moral dilemma because on the one hand I pulled for the apothecary but on the other hand I couldn’t condone her actions. *lol* Tbh I still don’t know how I feel about the apothecary but I think that’s exactly why this book stuck with me and was so good to read. Also the cover!!! Look at this gorgeous cover. ❤

The Gravity of Us:

When I finished the book I was certain it would be a four paws read but then I had time to think about it and in the end it turned out to be 3. Don’t get me wrong, this book was great and had a lot of things I loved to read about: science, the history of space travel and social media and media in general. There were some things that felt slightly off though and they are the reason for my 3 paws rating. If you know me, you know that 3 paws is still a great rating and only means I had some issues with the book. This said I’m definitely going to read Phil Stampers next story! =)

Mexican Gothic:

I’m so glad I finally managed to read this! „Mexican Gothic“ was a book that had me intrigued from the moment I picked it up and I really loved the atmosphere in this book. I mean High Place is always surrounded by fog, stands next to a cemetery and the house is old and falling apart. Not to mention the weird Doyle family that inhabits it and is pretty hostile towards our MC. (And that is the understatement of the century. *lol*) So yeah, if you’re a scaredy fox like me I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

How was your December? Did you read many books and were you more successful at finishing them than I was? *lol*  Which books did you read and did you enjoy them? Do we have some in common? How were your Christmas holidays? Were you as asocial as I was? (I don’t regret it, for once I really needed time for myself and away from others) Did you get books for Christmas and if yes which ones?

Talk to me and let me know! 

And as always take care and stay healthy and safe!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

October Wrap-Up

Sooo … my October was. Well, pretty unproductive when it comes to reading books. =( I really wanted to read a lot of spooky books in October but in the end I didn’t even manage to read those that were on my TBR. XD This was partly because real life kicked my butt and also partly because my library only got the book I preordered at the ending of October and therefore I was unable to actually read it during the month. >_<

As for real life kicking my butt: My October was definitely quite something. It started with my kid being in quarantine because she had contact with another kid that was tested positive with Covid, continued with a very dear and close family member that has severe health troubles now, went to my kid getting a really bad infection that caused her to have a fever for 5 days and ultimately ended with my flat having mould on the ceiling because we have leaky windows. And if you think that’s all… nope. The month ended with mentioned dear family member in hospital so yeah…

October has been a bitch and I’m really, really tired. T_T I just hope November will be a better month and that I will manage to get a grip on some of those troubles so that I can finally read some books again. And because of this disaster of a month I’m actually typing this in the middle of the night because due to everything that’s been happening I’m behind on my blogging and booktubing schedule. XD

But oh well, enough of my horrible month, let’s get to the good part because I somehow still managed to read four books and that’s something nice, right?

Books read: 4 (4 books & 0 webcomic, I just read four books… I can’t even! V, what’s wrong with you?? *lol*)

Pages read: 1.640 (Weirdly enough those four books had a lot of pages?)

Average rating: 4,00 (On point. I think I rarely had this but this time around they were all 4 paws reads. )

Books that were on my reading list: 0 ( 0 from 2019, 1 from 2020 and 2 from 2021. I actually wasn’t all too bad at keeping to my TBR. Believe me, no one is more shocked about that than I am. *lol* O_o)

October Reads:

          

Railhead:

The Yoongi to my V loves this series so much and has been raving about it for quite a while. (I guess that’s the understatement of the century but never mind. *lol*) So I couldn’t help but get curious about „Railhead“ when I found it in the shelf of my library. And now after reading it I can say: It IS a great book and I’m so ready to tackle the second one because I really need more of this amazing world and the unique locos. This book was definitely something new and I absolutely loved the sci-fi vibes! XD

A Gathering of Shadows:

This was already book two in the „Shades of Magic“ series and it was good! Maybe not as great as the first book but it was still quite something and I enjoyed to be back in this world. The four different Londons will never get old and I really love Kell, Lila and Rhy. The plotline was interesting but for some reasons it gave me „Godsgrave“ vibes and that’s probably why „A Gathering of Shadows“ didn’t turn out to be a 5 paws read. I guess I’ll have to think about it and write an elaborate review, so stay tuned. 😉

My Dark Vanessa:

So this was a pretty dark book and very disturbing and revolting. And for all of you who don’t know what „My Dark Vanessa“ is about: Well, it’s basically about a 15 year old girl that starts an affair with her teacher. So yeah, pretty dark stuff and a very heavy topic. I have some really mixed feelings about this and can’t put them into a couple of words so I guess I better make sure to get up my review of it soon. To say it in short: I felt and still feel very conflicted about it. >_<

Ninth House:

As it seems October was my „dark“ month because „Ninth House“ most definitely was a book that was outside of my comfort zone too. I’ve never read in the genre of „dark academia“ before but I gotta admit that it was very intriguing. I really enjoyed the secret society vibe and the magic that was such an integral part of the storyline. The ending of the book made me want to read the sequel right away, but as it seems I will have to be patient because it’s not even out yet. *lol*

How was your October? Did you read more books than I did and if yes which ones did you read? Has real life kept you busy too?! (I genuinely hope your October was way better than mine. XD) Also did you already read any of the books I mentioned and if yes did you enjoy them? Have you ever read in the genre of „dark academia“ and do you have any recommendations for me?

Talk to me and let me know! 

And as always take care and stay healthy and safe!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

September Wrap-Up

So for some reason my Wrap-Up never got posted on Wednesday. At least it never showed to others, only to me. Maybe it was a glitch on WordPress? Idk! I’m giving it a second try. Let’s see if it will work this time around.

Where to start? Well, I suppose September was a slightly better reading month than August. At least I managed to read one book more and I count this as an achievement. XD As for the rest of my September: I have no idea where it went. I had a week off in the middle of the month and wanted to catch up on my reading and blogging and booktubing (is that even a word?! *lol*) but eventually ended up doing a little bit of housework?! *lol*

Like I wanted to do a lot of things and even had a To-Do list and some of those things were housework and things that needed to be done for ages and I just never had the time to do them. And others like reading and blogging etc. should have been the counterweight and something I could do for myself but in the end my To-Do list was too long. So long story short: I did about half of the things on my list and then it was Thursday already and I decided that I would just drop the list and do what I felt like doing. Because quite honestly time is precious and you really should do the things YOU want to do once you actually have time to do them. XD

So basically I had plans and only managed to go for half of them because I just didn’t feel like doing the rest. That’s my chaotic energy right there and I’m not ashamed. *lol* Other than that work and my family kept me pretty busy so there was actually never a dull moment during the entire month. Which is probably the reason why I can’t think of anything else I did. I was just working, taking care of my kid, doing housework, cramming in a couple of pages every day and well, that’s it! *lol*

And before I continue to write unimportant TMI I’ll just head to my Wrap-Up! ;-P

Books read: 5 (5 books & 0 webcomic, I’m glad I managed to read more again and that I enjoyed all of those books. )

Pages read: 2.229 (Guess HP kinda boosted the page count. *lol*)

Average rating: 4,1 (Lots of great books this month so the rating was rather high!)

Books that were on my reading list:  ( 0 from 2019, 0 from 2020 and 1 from 2021. So yeah, I sucked at keeping to my TBR. What can I say? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

September Reads:

       

   

Harry Potter 5: ,5

Going into this I was kinda worried I might not like it as much as I did when I was a teen, but I shouldn’t have worried. Of course this was a 4,5 paws read. I mean I still don’t like the movie but the book is actually great and gives a lot of additional info that is important for the rest of the series. It’s kinda sad the movie couldn’t convey all the important parts of this book, but well that’s why reading books will always be better for me. XD

The Crown: ,5

I finally finished this series but I’ve to say that I liked the original trilogy more than the last two books. I really disliked Eadlyn in „The Heir“ an the only reason I liked her in „The Crown“ was that her character made a 180 degree turn. *lol* So yeah, I wasn’t all too happy about the change of her character (especially because it was so obvious!!) but I liked the boys and despite everything I was through this in no time. *lol*

Let’s Talk About Love:

Finally a book with an aro/ace MC and I really loved it! Alice and Takumi were just too cute and I absolutely adored their conversations. ❤ I had a lot of thoughts about „Let’s Talk About Love“ and wrote them all into a full review so if you want to read it you can do it: here! I wasn’t exactly Feenie’s biggest fan but *lol* you can read the reasons for that in my review! ;-P

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer:

This book was full of sterotypes and YA tropes but it worked somehow because it kind of made fun of them? *lol* Also the idea and concept of „Mara Dyer“ was something different and I really enjoyed the mystery element. Not to mention Mara’s unreliable narrative! XD And the ending? Wow! Let’s just say I’m very curious about book two now!

Clap When You Land:

This was such a beautiful book! I was sceptical at first because I wasn’t all too sure about the writing style but damn this was good! The entire story read like poetry and I loved every second of it. Acevedo did such a brilliant job at conveying the feelings of grief, being stuck and all the mixed emotions the two girls had about their father. This was… BEAUTIFUL and painful and all sorts of confusing and I loved it! Enough said! ❤

How was your September? Did you read many books last month and if yes, which ones? Are you bad at keeping to „To-Do“ lists too and do we share this chaotic energy?! XD Also did you already read the books I read and if yes, did you enjoy them as well? Did you have troubles to post your blog posts as well or was I the only one with that particular glitch?

Talk to me and let me know! 

And as always take care and stay healthy and safe!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

August Wrap-Up

Can someone please tell me where August went? Over here the weather is already bad and rainy so it’s like autumn came in the blink of an eye and decided to stay. Which isn’t nice! I mean I love autumn and spring but I want at least a couple of nice days before it gets all wet and rainy. *lol* Anyway! Let’s get back on track!

So the good news is that my physical therapy is over now, the bad news is that I’m afraid it won’t last for all too long. I’m trying my best to do the excercises they showed me and I’m careful with my body but even this morning I woke up with pain so yeah… it won’t be easy to maintain an excercise routine without the pressure of doing so. Put work, my family and my kid into the mix and you have the … well salad. *lol* As for my reading. I was very ambitious and hoped that I’d read more in August but in the end I was too busy with other things and once again only managed to read 4 books.

The fact I have to get up at 5 a.m in order to get to work cretainly didn’t help to motivate me to read at night. XD Truth be told, I was glad when I managed to watch TV and didn’t fall asleep. Haha! For some reason reading makes me more tired than watching a k-drama with English subtitles. I still don’t get why my brain has no trouble to follow k-dramas but just can’t seem to manage to read a couple of sentences without getting tired. If you know why I’m like that please TELL ME, because I have no explanation for it. *lol* But enough of k-dramas and back to the books I read! ;-P

Books read: 4 (4 books & 0 webcomic, Still not overwhelming but better than nothing. September will be my reading month! I know it. *lol*)

Pages read: 1.639 (The four books I read had plenty of pages so I’m okay with this.)

Average rating: 4,13 (Not bad, considering I totally read out of my comfort zone.  )

Books that were on my reading list: 0 ( 0 from 2019, 0 from 2020 and 1 from 2021. Well, at least one of them was from my TBR! XD)

August Reads:

       

Sawkill Girls:

This book came as a total surprise! I rarely read in the genre of horror but „Sawkill Girls“  was all over my feed and I got super curious about it. Looking at it in retrospective I’m so glad I picked this up because this book doesn’t only have strong friendships and even stronger girls but also challenges misogyny. Plus the icing on the cake: It was diverse and had good LGBTQ+ reps! Considering all this „Sawkill Girls“ had me hooked and I paged through it in no time. 😉 (This said, please read the trigger warnings in my review first before you decide to pick it up.)

The Raven King:

And here comes another book I loved to bits and pieces! I have no idea what it is about this series but whenever I start one of its books I just can’t stop to read it. It’s like some sort of addiction and I live and breathe for Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard! ❤ Those two boys will be the death of me! I swear! Especially with all the things that happened in this book! This book broke and killed me and urgh! T_T I just want my babies to be happy! *sniff*

One of Us Is Next:

It was so good to see Bronwyn, Cooper, Nate and Ash again! Of course they aren’t the MCs in here but they are side-characters and this made the entire book even more enjoyable! XD Plus Maeve, Knox and Phoebe were pretty cool MCs as well! I really loved to guess the culprit and I got about 50% right. The other 50% I would have never been able to discover so yeah. *lol* This was fun and I’ll definitely watch out for McManus’s next book.

The Eleven: ,5

I got a review copy from Paul Gaskill himself and wanted to read this for ages but never got to it. (I’m a horrible person and book reviewer and I promise improvement! XD) This time I was finally able to tackle it though and „The Eleven“ turned out to be a great dark fantasy book. Be aware of the trigger warnings though, some scenes were pretty graphic and hard to stomach. At least for me they were. I’ll make sure to write a proper review about this soon so that you know what you’re getting yourself into. 😉

How was your August? Was it over way too fast too? How is the weather over at your place? (Hopefully better than over here…) Did you read many books in August and if yes, which ones? And the most important question: Does any of you know why I have no problem to follow k-dramas with English subtitles but can’t even focus on reading a single sentence at night? *lol* The struggle is real, my friends!!! T_T So yep!

Talk to me and let me know! 

And as always take care and stay healthy and safe!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

July Wrap-Up

How was my July? Good question. To be entirely honest July passed so quickly it’s like it began and was over in the blink of an eye. I was so busy, I have no idea how I even survived this month. *lol* We were 2 co-workers short at work so I had to commute every day, then commuted back to pick up my kid, went home and during the evenings I went to physical therapy. To say it was A LOT to handle wouldn’t even get close to the truth so yeah, it was … exhausting.

I basically fell asleep on my sofa and dragged myself to bed when I startled out of my sleep. Which is definitely not healthy. *lol* How come something that is supposed to be good for me was actually causing me even more stress? XD Anyway, let’s not overthink this. The bottom line is that I was so tired in July that I quite literally slept with my eyes open. (another thing the amazing Kim Taehyung and I seem to have in common. *lol* But seriously, our sleeping habits are uncannily similar… at least when everything you hear in interviews is true.)

So yeah, my exhaustion was no joke and it’s the reason why I only managed to read four books. Truth be told, I’m amazed I even managed to read those four. The good news is that I’m on vacation now and that I’ll use it to catch up on my reading. I really hope to finish HP 5 and one of my review copies soon. (Why do I always start so many huge books at the same time?) And before I continue to speak about the books I want to read, I’ll just talk about the four books I actually managed to read in July. ;-P

Books read: 4 (4 books & 0 webcomic, guess it’s obvious that I was pretty busy in July. >_< )

Pages read: 1.568 (Not all too much but I’m okay with it.)

Average rating: 4,13 (Even though I only read 4 books those 4 were actually pretty great. 😀 )

Books that were on my reading list: 2 ( 0 from 2019, 1 from 2020 and 1 from 2021. Is it just me or am I getting better at holding to my TBR? *lol*)

July Reads:

       

If This Gets Out: ,5

I was so lucky to get an ARC of this and it was probably the best ARC I ever got from NetGalley. ❤ No kidding, I’m serious! The entire concept of the book with two boys from a boy band that fall in love behind the scenes was just amazing and then the two authors even tackled a lot of serious topics as well. Hands down one of the best ARCs I ever read! I really want a lot of people to read this! So if you are part of a fandom, love music, enjoy your books with a good LGBTQ+ rep and want to read about the music industry and mental health topics:  Just go for it!! XD (Especially you Taekooker’s out there!!! *lol*) I rated this 5 stars on GR and NetGalley and gave it 4,5 paws on here because I really would have loved the ending to be a little bit less abrupt … or well, I just wanted more of the story after.

I Wish You All the Best:

I think this was the first book I ever read that had a non-binary MC and since I’ve been dying to read this since 2019 I was really happy I finally tackled „I Wish You All the Best“. Ben was a really interesting character but the many things they had to deal with were just… a lot! Thankfully they had an amazing sister and awesome friends that helped them through the tough times. Not to mention the wonderful and precious Nathan Allan who is one hell of a cinnamon roll! ❤

Cress:

This was already book 3 of „The Lunar Chronicles“ and I enjoyed it immsensely! Cress and Thorne were so adorable and there happened so many things that my mind is still reeling! I really need to get to book 4 soon beause ahhh!! I just need to know how it will end! XD Cinder and Kai gave me life and I just want to have more of them in the next book. Plus I’m very curious about Winter and Jacin. Those two seem to be quite an interesting couple. Let’s hope I’ll be able to tackle „Winter“ soon!

Champion:

I finished this book about 2 weeks ago but I’m still not over the freaking ending!!! LIKE AHHHH! How could you do this to me Marie Lu???!!! Her endings always kill me and this one was no exception to the rule! Like it’s hopeful but at the same time it breaks your freaking heart and leaves you bleeding all over the place! GAH! I need to read „Rebel“ and there better be fluffy and sweet and happy moments!!! *dies*

How was your July? Were you exhausted too? Did you ever have to go through physical therapy and if yes did it help you? I can dance again so I take that as a win. XD How was the weather over at your place? In Austria it was super hot and we survived about 3 heat waves already. Did you read a lot of books and if yes which ones?

Talk to me and let me know! 

And as always take care and stay healthy and safe!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

May Wrap-Up

At the risk of repeating myself, May was another month my health wasn’t at its best. Tbh it feels like my body is putting me through a lot of trouble and I have no idea how I’m supposed to make it better. At the beginning of May my gums hurt so much that I had a sleepless night and went to the dentist the next day… Well, what can I say? My hurting gums turned into a full blown root canal therapy and for two weeks I was in immense pain. It’s better now but I’m still not done with the therapy and there are days it still hurts.

Well, and if that wouldn’t have been enough already a vein in my left eye burst and I looked like one of the zombies in „28 Weeks Later“. *lol* My eye is still red while I’m typing this and I really hope it will look better soon because it certainly doesn’t look nice on my BookTube video and kids apparently get scared by it. XD But that’s a story for another day. *lol* So yeah, the show must go on and I tried everything possible to keep my blog and BookTube running.

Aside from all the health troubles this May was also very cold and wet. Not that we could have done a lot because our country was still in lockdown until May 19th, but the fact the weather also sucked certainly did nothing to improve my mood. I just hope June will be more sunny and that all those health troubles will be behind me soon. For some reason my reading wasn’t affected as much as I thought it would be so I actually managed to read 6 books which I consider to be a lot under those circumstances. *lol* So if I’m already talking about books I might as well jump right into my monthly wrap-up, right? ;-P

Books read: 6 (6 books & 0 webcomic, one book more than last month and most of them were around 300 – 500 pages so that’s good!)

Pages read:  2.187 (This is definitely a better number than last month. *lol*)

Average rating: 3,75 (Is it just me or did I get picky lately? XD)

Books that were on my reading list:  5 (1 from 2019, 1 from 2020 and 3 from 2021. I’m kinda impressed I actually read books from all of my 3 book lists. *lol*)

May Reads:

          

        

King of Scars:

This book was not what I expected but it definitely surprised me! *lol* At first it was very slow and we got to know about the current state of Ravka and all the troubles the characters are facing and halfway into the book the plot took a totally unexpected turn and I was trying to keep up with it. XD So even though I really enjoyed „King of Scars“ it didn’t qualify to get all 5 paws from me. (I told you I’m getting picky. ;-P) Still, I can’t wait to read „Rule of Wolves“ and to see what is going to happen next, because quite honestly that ending THREW ME!!!

On the Come Up: , 5

I really enjoyed „On the Come Up“ and I loved to see Bri’s thought process and the way she came up with those amazing rap lines. =) It reminded me a lot of my own thoughts when I write my poetry so this was great. I guess the only problem I had with this book is that I couldn’t really relate to Bri and her actions and that took away some of my enjoyment. If you want to know more about why this got 3,5 paws from me you can read my entire review: here!

Broken Throne:

For a colletion of short stories this was pretty good. Some of them got 4 paws from me but others didn’t really do it for me so a 3 paw rating it is. (Yep, I’m definitely getting picky lately. *lol*) „Queen Song“, „World Behind“ and „Fire Light“ were definitely my three favourites. I was really sad there wasn’t more Maven in this and I definitely would have wished for… well, just more! *sighs* There would have been a lot of potential and just like in „War Storm“ it wasn’t used. =(

The Queen of Nothing:

And here we go with another book that surprised me! *lol* Seriously some of the plot twist in here hit me like a bucket of ice cold water. Like seriously! WTH? Haha! I still loved it though and was happy with the way this trilogy ended. Plus, I’ll always ship Cardan and Jude. Those two are the perfect enemies-to-lovers trope couple and the entire faerie aspect of twisting words and court intrigues only made me love this even more. ❤

The Ash-Born Boy:

I wanted to read this right after I read „The Near Witch“ but of course it took me a while to get to it. XD „The Ash-Born Boy“ was a nice addition to the main story and it was really good to finally get to know Cole a little bit better. I was very curious about his past and finally got some answers. I already suspected a lot of the things that were a part of this story, but others surprised me. A great short story if you want to know more about Cole. 😉

White Hot Kiss:

This was a reread and I paged through it as fast as I did when I read it for the very first time. *lol* So yes, I still love this and Roth and Layla are amazing! ❤ What I like about this book is that it’s about demons and wardens (which are some sort of gargoyles) and their war against each other. So this is a rather new concept for a YA book series and I really enjoyed that! Also how could I resist Roth’s charm? That boy is made of awesomesauce! XD

How was your May? Was it as wet and cold as mine? Did you read any of the books I read and if yes did you enjoy them? Am I the only one who’s turning into a zombie with a toothache and a red eye? *lol*

Talk to me and let me know! 😉

And as always take care and stay healthy and safe!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

April Wrap-Up

I guess April must have been the worst reading month ever because I can’t remember a single time I only managed to read 4 books in an entire month. *lol* I guess my bad health and trying to function like a normal human being eventually took its toll on me. >_< Not being able to breathe properly causes me to be exhausted and between giving 100% at work, doing household chores and taking care of my kid I was too tired to read at night.

The fact that I’m currently reading 6 books that all have more than 300+ pages („A Court of Silver Flame“ even has 757) certainly didn’t help to finish them either. *lol* So yeah, my reading suffered and I fell in some sort of involuntary reading slump. (Is a reading slump ever voluntary? XD) I can only hope that my appointment at the docs will help to get my health under control… well either this or that all those pollen finally cease to fly around like there’s no tomorrow. >_<

I still managed to maintain my BookTube channel and my blog though so there’s that! Also if any of you enjoy my BookTube channel please make sure to spread your positive energy over there as well! =) I’m not gonna lie, sometimes it feels pretty lonely on BookTube and even though I try to engage with other YouTubers it’s not easy to become a part of that close-knit group. Guess that’s the reason why I’m usually steering clear of social media and stick to goodreads and wordpress instead. Why did I start a YouTube channel again? *lol*

Anyway! Let’s talk about the good things of life and spread postive vibes by talking about the few books I manged to read in April!

Books read: 4 (4 books & 0 webcomic, I really hope I’ll read more in May again. Four books is a personal low. *lol*)

Pages read:  1.553 (Those books were all pretty short so the page count isn’t very high this time around.)

Average rating: 4,0 (I might have read only four books but they were all great in their own way so the rating was actually pretty high. =)

Books that were on my reading list:  2 (2 from 2020 and 0 from 2021. I tried to work off a couple of books from my TBR 2020. ;-P )

April Reads:

          

Wicked Lovely:

This book series will always be among my favourites and I’ll never get tired of speaking about it. Melissa Marr wrote ruthless and cunning faeries long before Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black did so this was the first faerie series I ever read. And it totally got me hooked on faeries. I’ll be forever grateful I stumbled upon it in my library. XD „Wicked Lovely“ is the first book in the series and a really slow read, the series picks up pace in the other books though. If you want to read my full review you can do it here! ;-P

Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts):

What a great LGBTQ+ book! The cast was diverse, the story line intriguing and the mystery element more than just compelling! Moreover this is finally a YA book that doesn’t shy away from speaking the truth about being intimate with each other. Jack’s voice is blunt, honest and straightforward. His advice is great and I think every teen should read this book! „Jack of Hearts“ was super realistic and didn’t romanticize sex the way YA novels usually do so that was great! If you want to know more just read my review!

Serpent & Dove:

I read this as a love story and not as a fantasy book because a lot of people warned me that the focus is on the romance. Thankfully I got that warning because if I’d have read it as a fantasy book I might have been disappointed. If given a chance the world building could be really interesting and I hope the author will explore it in the second book. The great idea is there it just needs to be brought to life. 😉 Also this felt pretty insta-lovey to me even though we’re dealing with the enemies-to-lovers trope so mhmm… I wasn’t an all too big fan of that sudden love. *lol*

The Near Witch:

This was such a great debut novel and I loved to read it! Schwab can do mysterious, magical and atmospheric we all know that. I just didn’t know she can do poetic too. XD Well, after reading this I finally know and I’m so glad I picked this up and gave „The Near Witch“ a chance. =) It’s always interesting to see where an author started and as expected this was a great beginning for an amazing career.

How was your April? Did you read more books than I did? (I hope you did! *lol*) Were you in a reading slump as well? Are you on BookTube? Which books did you read and did you love them? Can you recommend them?

Talk to me and let me know! 😉

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

March Wrap-Up

Well, March was definitely not my month. *lol* I barely managed to read anything and my health was basically non-existent for about two weeks. Some of you might already know that I have asthma because I’m pretty certain I already wrote about it in one of my former blog posts and this year it was acting up big time again. In the middle of March I could barely breathe and every single breath was an effort, well and then I had some sort of anaphylactic shock because apparently I ate something wrong and from there on out things only got even worse. >_< I got a respiratory tract infection on top of everything else and was knocked out for two weeks straight.

It was so bad I actually didn’t leave my flat for those two mentioned weeks and spent my days just sleeping and doing nothing. At the end I could at least watch Netflix, but it took me really long to be healthy enough to read again. So yeah, my reading suffered and my new BookTube channel collected some dust. XD Thankfully the subscribers I already had didn’t desert me and just patiently waited for more content. *lol* If you’re one of them and reading this now: THANK YOU SO MUCH!! ❤  I think the only reason my blog didn’t suffer was because I always write my blog post at least 2 weeks in advance … I did struggle when I got back though. I had no more blog posts and still didn’t feel well enough to write new ones. Somehow it still worked out, don’t ask me how because I really don’t know! Haha!

I’m really sorry if I missed some of your blog posts and I’ll definitely make sure to catch up on everything! I’m currently taking my asthma spray each day so that it won’t act up again and I went back to work as well. Let’s hope it will never get this bad again. XD This said let’s talk about the 5 books I actually DID manage to read! *lol* ;-P

Books read: 5 (5 books & 0 webcomic, Considering the month I had 5 books is actually an achievement. *lol*)

Pages read:  2.527 (I finally finished „Darkdawn“ and „Crescent City“ so that’s why the page number is so high.)

Average rating: 4,4 (I’m not surprised about this rating because the books were all great!)

Books that were on my reading list:  3 (0 from 2020 and 3 from 2021. Finally a month in which I actually read books from my 2021 book list! *lol*)

March Reads:

           

 

     

 

Darkdawn:

 

I really enjoyed the final book in this trilogy, especially because it was a buddy read with my Yoongi! ❤ Unfortunately the ending was a little bit too much for my taste and even though we finally got some answers „Darkdawn“ wasn’t as good as the other two books. I wasn’t happy about how things ended and after everything Mia went through I really wished for idk… more closure. A different kind of closure? *lol* I still can’t put my finger on it. All I know is that I didn’t like the ending and a certain someone! XD Yoongi, you know who I mean! Haha! ;-P

 

Heartstopper:

 

I love this comic series and I’ll always love it until the day I die. Am I exaggerating? Nope! Never! It’s really such a great series and Alice Oseman knows exactly what she’s doing. I love all the diversity, the relatable characters, the many LGBTQ+ reps, the strong friendships, the different troubles and the fact that the sibilings and parents actually care about the MCs! This is such a heartwarming comfort read and I can recommend it to everyone! If you crave to read something wholesome: This is the right choice for you! 

 

Beach Read:

 

This book totally surprised me and definitely wasn’t what I expected it to be! It was really great though and despite the very serious topics that were tackled it was still an enjoyable read and I paged through it in no time. January and August were a great couple and I loved the little snippets we got of the real life of authors. XD Also I think Emily Henry named them January and August not only to give them both month names but also to emphasize how different they are. *lol* Smooth move! XD

 

House of Eart and Blood:

 

 

This book was one hell of a ride and even though the real action only started after page 500 it was still amazing! I loved to get to know this world and all the different houses and hierarchies within it. This was well thought-out and I adored all the strong friendships and bonds between the characters. ❤ Also the slow-burn that started as a friendship and with time turned into more was great! We definitely need more books like that! My full review will be up on here soon! 😉 

Dead Beat:

 

 

I think this was one of the best Dresden Files books so far! I mean there were necromancers, vampires, fallen angels, a little bit of faeries and of course Thomas, Harry’s dog and Bob the skull! XD What’s not to love? *lol* This series is definitely getting darker and darker with every new book though and I’m kind of curious where Butcher will go with Harry’s character. Considering this was only book 7 it seems like I’ve a lot to look forward to. And tell you what? I’m ready. *lol*

 

 

How was your March? Did you read many books and if yes were they good? 🙂 Are you allergic too or am I the only one who’s suffering in spring? What have you been up to in March? Were you able to go out and to enjoy the nice weather or is your country in another lockdown like mine? XD

Talk to me and let me know! 😉

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

 

February Wrap-Up

It’s kind of shocking how little I managed to read in February. >_< You could say it’s because it’s the shortest month of the year, but since it’s only 2 days shorter than other months that doesn’t really count. XD I think my lack of reading time had other reasons, one of them me being just busy with well… life. Work has kept me pretty occupied those last couple of weeks and whenver I got home I had to take care of my kid and do house work which basically resulted in me crashing on my sofa every night. *lol* Come to think of it, it’s some sort of miracle I actually managed to read some pages. 😛

Despite my rather busy life I also made the decision to actually go for my own BookTube channel and after years and years of pondering the idea I spoke with my sister and brother-in-law when we celebrated my birthday (yes, my birthday was in February and even though we celebrated 2 weeks too late we still did. *lol*) and they were so enthusiastic about it that I decided to just go for it. Without their support I probably would have never gone for it, but the opinion from people that know me in real life and grew up with me finally persuaded me to make the leap.

Well, their support and the countless comments of my GR friends that gave me enough energy to tackle this project! Seriously, I don’t know where I would be without you guys, I’ve come such a long way from my first review and some of you were with me every step of the way. ❤ I always say that the bookish community is the most supportive community I know and I stand by it! You guys are amazing and all such lovely human beings! XD It’s a privilege and and honor to be a part of this community and I’m grateful every day. 

And before I get really sappy here I’ll just say one more thing and head right to my Wrap-Up: Feel loved because you are! ❤

Books read: 5 (5 books & 0 webcomic, Okay, one of them was a short story but it still counts. ;-P )

Pages read:  1.275 (In comparison to January that’s kinda pathetic *lol* but I just didn’t manage to finish the huge books and they’ll all fall into March instead. So I guess I can live with this.)

Average rating: 4,2 (The quality of the few books I actually DID manage to read was great. XD)

Books that were on my reading list:  2 (0 from 2020 and 2 from 2021. It looks like a good start for My Book List 2021. 😉 )

February Reads:

          

 

     

 

Scarlet:

This was already book 2 of „The Lunar Chronicles“ and this series only seems to get better with every book. I loved that we got to see Cinder’s storyline as well as Scarlet’s and Wolf’s. Scarlet was such a strong character and it’s kind of obvious Marissa Meyer loves to write about strong female leads. This said Wolf’s story was pretty intriguing as well. Plus we got to see a little bit of Thorne and Kai! XD I’m really curious about „Cress“ now because almost everyone says it’s the best book in the entire series. I can’t wait to see what will happen next. *lol* If you want to read my full review you can do it: here!

I Was Born for This:

I absolutely loved and adored this book!! ❤ Like seriously, all the paws and even more!!! Alice Oseman is such a great writer and she captures the voice of young people so well! If you’re a k-pop (or BTS) fan, make music yourself, blog about the things you’re passionate about, well then this is the perfect book for you! I could relate to almost all of the characters and to read this made me so damn happy! XD I already wish I could read this for the first time again. Haha!

The Queen’s Army:

 

 

Now this was a really informative short story about Wolf’s history and how he ended up in Queen Levana’s army. It was nice to find out about what happened before he met Scarlet and to get a glimpse at what Levana is doing to her own people. That woman is horrible, I tell you! So yeah, if you want to get some background about everything that happens under Levana’s reign (and why she definitely shouldn’t become Kai’s wife), I can really recommend this short story. 😉 

Dear Martin:

 

This was a really powerful book and I think everyone should read it! From the issues that were tackled it’s rather close to „The Hate U Give“ but they both had different approaches and each of them is important in its own way. „Dear Martin“ was definitely a book that made me think and I want to emphasize its importance! Because no matter who you are or what skin colour you have, what you do and how you deal with problems is what makes you you! Don’t close your eyes to injustice, open them and try to make this a better world! #BlackLivesMatter

 

Ten Tales of a Dark Tomorrow:

 

This was my second book of Kevin A. Kuhn and I gotta say it was so much fun to read! „Ten Tales of a Dark Tomorrow“ is a short story collection that’s inspired by the original „Twilight Zone“ series and let me tell you this: Those science fiction stories weren’t only different but also very enjoyable to read. XD Some of them made me shudder, others caused me to think and some of them were even amusing. So if you’re looking for a sci-fi short story collection: What are you waiting for? *lol*

 

How was your February? Did you read more than me? (I hope you did! *lol*) Is work keeping you busy as well? And am I the only one who crashes on the sofa after a tough day? XD How are you doing and what have you been up to? Is the Covid-19 situation getting better at your place? What do you think about my BookTube channel project? (I promise I’ll try my best to make it work)

Talk to me and let me know! 😉

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

 

January Wrap-Up

So far 2021 started good and because I don’t want to tempt fate I’ll just knock on wood now. *knocks on wood* Okay, better! *lol* For me January was some weird mixture of stress and relief. Stress because at first to balance work and my kid was quite a challenge and relief because there actually was an end in sight. XD Last year I mentioned that I increased my working hours and for a while this was going good but now I’m really happy to say that I reduced them again.

And tell you what? I didn’t even realize how tough those last months were and how stressed out I actually was. I suddenly have a little bit more time to breathe and it makes all the difference! 😀 Well, that and the fact that our circumstances changed as well. So I’m really grateful for all those changes because they make life so much easier to deal with. *lol* There I’m finally positive again!!

That my birthday is soon might help as well and the fact that I’ll even be able to see my parents in person! Since February the 8th it’s allowed to meet another household and you bet that I’ll meet my parents on my birthday. Of course I’ll keep my distance but still. Just to see them in person after 7 weeks will be the best present ever. ❤ And speaking of presents I’ll use my birthday coupons for a new winter coat and boots because they are both broken and due to lockdown I’ve been running around with a defective coat (damn that zipper *lol*) and boots that are made for autumn and spring. >_< (My snow boots died after many years. RIP. *lol*) Does anyone else have troubles buying things in lockdown times or is it just me? Especially when it comes to shoes and coats I just need to try them on first before I buy them…

But enough of dead clothes and back to the topic at hand! My monthly wrap-up!

Books read: 7 (7 books & 0 webcomic, I’m kind of impressed I managed to read 7 books, but I’m pretty sure it will be less in February.)

Pages read:  3.074 (Did I ever hit that number before? I think that’s a really high amount! XD)

Average rating: 3,71 (Rating wise this really wasn’t my best month but I’m sure February will be better again!)

Books that were on my reading list:  4 (1 from 2019 and 3 from 2020. YAY! I finally managed to finish some of my 2020 books! Don’t ask me about My Book List 2021 though. *lol*)

January Reads:

       

       

The Heir:

My bestie borrowed me this book before my country fell in an endless lockdown so I figured I might as well pick it up. *lol* I really enjoyed the Selection trilogy and I thought why not give America’s daughter a chance? Well, I guess my rating says it all. I mean there’s something to be said about the sweet guys in this book (I really liked Henry, Eikko and Kile) but Eadlyn as the MC was horrible. She’s really not very likable and even though she has a slight character arc it just wasn’t enough for me. I might read the last book though, just to know how it all ends. (Let’s hope curiosity won’t kill the fox. ;-P )

The Delinquent Crown:

Sydney Faith was so kind to provide me with a free reading copy of her book and I had fun reading her story. A lot of readers classified it into the genre of YA but for me it rather fell into middle grade. There’s just something about the fast pacing and change of scenery, mixed with a lot of fantasy elements that made me think this would be a great book for a younger audience. Also the romance is really, really chaste. Aside from blushing and holding hands nothing happens. XD

The Mark of Athena:

I was warned that I’d regret starting this without having the next book at home, but my library was closed so I thought: Ahh, hell. Why not!? It won’t be THAT bad. XD Needless to say my after-The-Mark-of-Athena-me wanted to bite itself in its …. Well, you get the idea. *lol*  This was so good but very serious as well and I can’t wait to read the next book because that ending!! AHHHH!!!! *dies once again* You can read my full review here if you want. 😉

Elusion:

Okay, I’ll be honest here: This book was kind of crazy. *lol* Due to the prison setting it was extremely dark which wouldn’t have been all too bad if it wouldn’t have started to get slightly repetitive. About 50% of the book were torture, trying to fix wounds, experiencing new atrocities, lather, rinse, repeat. And after the 50% mark things got extremely … calm and it felt like I was reading an entirely different book than the one I started. I might be curious enough to give book 2 a try but I’m not convinced yet. For now I’ll just give myself some time to digest it. XD

The Wicked King:

I loved, LOVED, LOVED!!! this so much! ❤ Jude and Cardan are made of awesomesauce and I adore them both! Also I just about died whenever they had a scene together. Their love-hate relationship gives me life and I live and breathe for their conversations and… encounters. *lol* Also Cardan lounging on his throne is my new aesthetic and I’ll always think of him like that. ;-P If you’re not already fed up with me raving about „The Wicked King“ you can always read my super long review over: here!

A Curse So Dark and Lonely:

For a „The Beauty and the Beast“ retelling this was pretty good. 🙂 Just like ACOTAR it was kinda dark though and Lilith’s character was quite something to digest. Evil sorceress that she is she certainly falls into the extremely vicious and cruel category. Harper and Rhen were great characters but if you ask me Grey stole them both the show! Most definitely one of the best side-characters ever! ❤ So if you like TBATB retellings you should definitely give this one a try! It’s worth it! 😉

And I Darken:

Ahh where do I even start? For me „And I Darken“ was perfect. It’s historical fiction, it had lots of intrigues and schemes and what’s even more important: It had a great character cast! Lada and Radu were such well-thought-out and complex characters and their sibling dynamic is certainly one of a kind. I still don’t get why everyone loves Mehmed but that’s okay. *lol* Maybe he’ll surprise me in the next two books? Who knows? All I know is that I’ll definitely read them! I’m hooked! ;-P

How was your January? Did you have a good start into the new year? Is there anything that stresses you out? (Aside from your, no doubt, huge TBR for 2021? ;-P)  Am I really the only one who has troubles to get good clothes during lockdown? *lol* How are you doing and what did you read? Any new favourites I should know about?

Talk to me and let me know! 😉

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox