Monday 4 May 2020

What I've Been Reading Recently- Lockdown Edition| Carenza Bramwell

It's time again to share with you some of the books I've read recently. In total I have ten books to share with you for the months of March and April. Without further ado, here are the books I read in the last couple of months.

March


The first book I completed in March was Sword of Destiny by Andrezj Sapkowski, the second book in the Witcher series. I had read the first one back in January and really enjoyed it. However, this one just didn't do it for me for the most part. Most of the stories were too long and I kept on getting confused. I ended up giving it 3/5 stars.


I then read one of my most anticipated releases of the year, Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare. I have a review for this, which you can read here. Obviously I loved this book with all my heart and I am dying to get back to this world. I gave it 5/5 stars. 

My next read was the fourth and final book in the Charlotte Holmes series, A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro. I loved the first two books in this series, but the third and fourth ones fell flat for me. I think this one was my least favourite as I didn't enjoy the mystery and the ending just wasn't what I wanted it to be. I gave it 3/5 stars.


Next I picked up a book that I never thought I'd read and that is House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas, the first book in her new adult fantasy series. I had seen everyone raving about it so I decided to pick it up. The pacing was on and off at times, but I loved the characters and it restored my faith in Sarah J Maas to some extent. I will be picking up the sequel. I gave it 4/5 stars.


The last book I read in March was The Beautiful by Renee Adhieh. This was my first ever Renee Adhieh book. I had heard that The Beautiful was the book to bring back vampires, so I was excited. The first half was great, but I didn't care for the second half. I have a full review of this book on my blog, if you want to read that, you can click here. I gave it 3.5/5 stars.

April


My first reread of 2020 was Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. I loved this series in my early teens and with the recent BBC adaptation I had to pick it up. I was surprised that I still really enjoyed it and I do plan on rereading the rest of the series. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

Another reread for me was Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by JK Rowling. Over on Instagram, there is a readathon for the Harry Potter series while everyone is stuck inside. As it's been a few years since I read the series, I decided to join in. I obviously gave it 5/5 stars. 


I then read Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. This was one I had seen lots of praise for, so I decided to pick it up. I found this book very difficult to read as I felt at times the world wasn't really explained. I think I would read it again, now that I know what happens. My main complaint with this book was that it could have been a lot shorter. The mystery was dragged out too much. I gave it 3/5 stars. 


Next I picked up My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. I picked this up after seeing Emmmabooks rave about it. I'm trying to read more modern lit and this sounded really interesting. It is about the MeToo movement from the perspective of one of the victims. It could have been a little bit shorter as there was a section towards the end that just didn't make sense, but apart from that I really enjoyed this book. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

April was just the month of rereads for me as I then read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling. I read my illustrated edition for the first time since I got it and loved it. The illustrations are beautiful and I need to get the rest in this series as I only have the first two. I gave it 5/5 stars. 

So that concludes my wrap up for the past two months. I'm hoping to have more time to read in the coming months.
Carenza :) x