Monday, October 31, 2016

October Photo-a-Day Part 2: my month in pictures


I'm actually going to be getting my photo-a-day up on the right day! GO ME!! Here is what we have been up to in the second part of October:

Mason enjoying some pancakes for dinner :) // We celebrated the founder of Girl Scouts' birthday at our last meeting. Cami and I made 50 cupcakes for the troop. // I have literally the cutest nephew ever! // And my little niece is quite the cutie pie too!

Friday, October 21, 2016

October Photo-a-day Part 1: my month in pictures


I have plans in the new year to stop doing this in a once or twice a month format because I'm not always taking pictures now. I'm taking loads of videos. It's ridiculous. So I think I may start "Five on Friday" or something like that to share a few pictures and talk about life. But I'll keep doing these couple of months in 2016 as the twice-a-month posts :)

Mimi (my mom-in-law) with all her littles (Mason, Cami, Ezra, Presley, & Matthew) // My first nephew with my first niece - love them soo stinking much. They are so cute!!
Sometimes I sneak pictures of Mason sleeping - it's easier when he's in bed with me LOL // Mason insists on holding the leash when we take Saydee outside.

Friday, October 7, 2016

2016 Series Challenge: Update #3


I have read 7 more books added in the last 3 months, bringing my total to 21 books. I know I'm not going to finish as many series as I wanted to by the end of the year, but I think 21 books off the series list is awesome so far. I have now finished 3 series and only started 2 new series since July.
  • 21 books in a series read
  • 3 series finished
  • 4 new series started
I will be back in January for my final update...is this real life?! LOL

I highlighted all the to-be-released books in purple.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Books I Read in September


Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany - 5 stars (finished 9/8)
BOOK 8 IN THE HARRY POTTER SAGA

Once I got used to the screenplay format, I blew through this book like it was nothing. I hated when I had to stop reading. Such a phenomenal continuation of the original stories. I only wish there were more. I would keep reading about these characters for a lifetime and more. I just absolutely loved it. I don't want to give any of the plot away for those who haven't read it, but please don't be discouraged by those angry that it's "glorified fanfiction" or has no plot. I honestly am not sure what they read because this has an amazing plot and although it may be written differently than the books, it doesn't make it a bad read in the slightest.

The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCullough - 4 stars (finished 9/16)
BOOK 1 IN THE KNOT SEQUENCE DUOLOGY
 **I received this ebook for free from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review**

The Oathbreaker's Shadow tells the story of a people who make vows with consequences for breaking them. They carry their vows as knots that are worn. The oathbreakers are scarred by their knots (like a brand), exiled into the desert, and haunted by a shadow of the person they made the vow to. Vows are not typically made until adulthood - as you can imagine the little promises children make and break between friends or parents - "I promise to clean my room!" "I promise to not go to this place." etc. The MC, Raim, however, has a knot that he has had his whole life and he is only 15 y/o. He has no idea what the vow is or who he made it to. When he makes the ultimate vow to protect his best friend and future ruler of their people, the small oath is broken. Raim is scarred and exiled, but he has no shadow.

I love high fantasy books. It has always been one of my favorite genres and I find that you either get really dry stories or ones you cannot put down. I docked a star, making this book 4 stars out of 5, because it did start out a teensy bit dry for me. I almost DNF it. I thought the premise was very interesting, but there was a lot of name introducing and descriptions that were a little unnecessary, in my opinion. Plus I kept getting confused with his bff's name, Khareh, with the place called Kharein. Once I got past that, it was fine. It was pretty solid. There were a few places that dragged on, but for the most part, it was a good read. I am very excited to read the next installment.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

October TBR List + Upcoming Releases


*sigh* I have gotten to 5 books behind now. I worked on trying to read some of my (48) NetGalley books in the month of September and one that I picked was a good read, but took me some time to really get into it. It had a few too many plot arcs and that was strange and made it harder to get through. The other I'm still working on...it's 464 pages long. And I mean....LONG. It's high fantasy and it's very descriptive, but at the same time, I do love it. I'm also super duper tired lately, so I never get to reading for very long. I need to pick up more of the other NetGalley books and try to do more than just one book at a time.

What I May Read:
  • First Kill by Heather Brewer - new series
  • The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad - new series
  • Pulse by Patrick Carman - new series
  • Born of Illusion by Teri Brown - new series
Again, not overly enthusiastic about them all being new series...
 





What books do you hope to read this month?
What releases are you excited for?