What I've Been Reading Recently- Winter Edition 2021

2021 really has flown by and suddenly we're into the final two months of the year. This means it's time for my "what I've been reading recently this autumn" post. Across September and October, I read 14 books. This was a step down from my summer reading, but I'm still happy with what I've been reading. Here's to hoping the end of 2021 will be as good as the last few months as I'm well on my way to hitting my Goodreads challenge.  

September 

In September I read 6 books, two of which were rereads. September ended up being kinda of a busy month as I went on a mini-holiday with my family, which meant I didn't have much time to read. 

The Foundling by Stacey Halls 

My first read of September was a book I was excited to read and had been leftover from my August TBR. You might have seen in my last what I've been reading recently post, that I loved The Familiars by Stacey Halls. So much so that I immediately bought her second book to read. Sadly, I didn't end up enjoying this one as much. I really didn't like one of the characters and struggled to connect with the story. I have a full spoiler filled review, which you can read here. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

This book had some of the most beautiful writing I have ever written. SMG has become someone I am dying to read from again. Thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the story and the setting. My only qualm with this book is that the main character could be a bit annoying and repetitive at times. I will be making my way through her other books as that was just some of the best writing I have ever read. I gave it 4/5 stars.

  

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The first book I reread this month. After really enjoying the TV show adaptation, I have been giving the books a second chance. I wasn't wowed by the SoC duology when I first read it in 2019, but I'm happy to say I enjoyed it a lot more this time. It still didn't quite live up to the hype for me, but you can really see the improvement in the quality of writing and characters. I cared a lot more this time, perhaps because I knew what was going to happen at certain points. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

My other reread was the other half of this duology. Again, this book grew on me with this reread. I can see why it's so beloved. I am interested as to why it's getting a sequel, as I felt the ending was strong. It would take away from some of that mystery. I'm now interested in reading the Nikolai duology, which I'm finally going to read at some point. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Autumn by Ali Smith

I have wanted to read this series for a while and am so happy that I've started this. At first, I wasn't sure about it, but I ended up really enjoying it. I liked the intertwining storyline. I liked the themes being discussed and how Ali Smith approached them. It was a nice, short and easy book to read. I am looking forward to continuing this series throughout the year. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

My final read of September was the prequel to The Hate U Give. I was looking forward to this as Angie Thomas is such a good writer, however this ended up being my least favourite of her books. I found Maverick a hard character to connect with and this didn't add much to what I already knew from THUG. It was an important story to tell, but just didn't have the same emotional punch as THUG. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

October

During October, I participated in Spoopathon, a month long readathon for Halloween. This really helped me stay motivated with my reading and I managed to read 8 books this month. Most of them were for Spoopathon, but I did fit in three non-Spoopathon books. 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

I decided to join the new local book club in my town and the pick for October was this. It's a translated fiction book and I did not like it. I didn't like the characters, I found them too similar and whiny. I didn't like the story. I just didn't like it. I don't think I'm the target demographic for this book, especially as I'm the youngest in the club by 10-15 years. I would not recommend this book. I gave it 2/5 stars.  

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

On the other hand, I would highly recommend this book. I read this in one sitting and I adored it. It has such a sweet message at it's core. The artwork is beautiful. It's one of the most heartwarming books I've ever read and I wish I could read it for the first time again. I loved it. An easy 5/5 stars from me. 

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

This book was so hyped and beloved, that I had wanted to read it for a few months. In short, this book just wasn't for me. While I liked the characters, I didn't like the story or the writing. I think this is a case of a celebrity getting to write a book. This was a murder mystery and I still don't know who committed which crimes. I won't be continuing with this series and I'm going to give my copy away. You can read my full spoiler filled review here. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

I adored Stuart's other book, the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so I was excited to read this as it was finally out in paperback. This did not disappoint. This was another clever murder mystery. I liked the characters and I loved the confined setting of the ship. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending, but aside from that, I had a great time with this book. I cannot wait to see what Stuart Turton writes next. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw

This book had a very rocky start, which meant I leant towards giving it 3 stars for most of my time reading it. However, it grew on me. I liked Mina as a character, she felt realistic. I wasn't convinced by the instalove storyline. Overall, this was quite a fun and easy read. I do plan on reading the sequel when it comes out next year. I gave it 3.5/5 stars.

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

This was probably one of the most disappointing books I have read. I went in expecting spookiness and witches and I did not get that. I didn't like the characters or the story. This reminded me of Where the Crawdads Sing, which was another book I didn't like. I will not be keeping my copy as I was just so disappointed by it. I gave it 3/5 stars.

Mouseguard: Autumn 1152 by David Petersen

If you are looking for a fun, fantasy graphic novel with mice in it, then I'd recommend this. I liked the world building and the premise of this. I also really enjoyed the artwork. I struggled with working out which character was which at times as some of the mice looked similar and you could only tell by the colour of their cloak, which they wouldn't always wear. I am interested in continuing this series as it was entertaining. Kinda like a mice version of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. I gave it 3/5 stars.

The Places in Between by Rory Stewart

The final book I read in October was the November book club book. This was a non-fiction book about a guy walking across Afghanistan in 2002. I don't read much travel writing, it isn't a genre I naturally gravitate towards. I found Rory a difficult narrator to connect to. A lot of what happened became quite repetitive. The only thing I really liked about this book was the parts featuring the dog he adopted along the way as I wanted to know if it was okay. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

So those conclude my reads for autumn 2021. What books did you manage to read this autumn??

October 2019 Wrap Up| CarenzaOnBooks

Another month done, another monthly reading wrap up. October was a very stressful and busy month for me, meaning I didn't get as much reading done as I wanted to. I only read 5 books, 2 audiobooks and 3 physical books. I've been a bit under the weather and truthfully, I haven't been reading a lot of books that I've been excited about. I think I might be in a bit of a reading slump but hopefully I'll break it soon and be back to my old reading self. 

Sadie by Courtney Summers

My first audiobook of the month. I had heard nothing but good things about this particular audiobook and it did not disappoint. To read my full review click here. I was hooked from beginning to end and I was so sad when it ended. I think I listened to it in about five days. I would love to read/listen to more books like this as it's like nothing else I've read. 5/5 stars from me.

Let's Call It a Doomsday by Katie Henry

I had read Katie Henry's debut novel earlier this year and I had really enjoyed it. Sadly, the consensus is that her first book is better than her second one. I just found I didn't care for the characters as much as I did in Heretics Anonymous. I also felt that the love story was very forced and came out of the blue. The mental health rep in this book was great and I did enjoy the fact that it was centred around a friendship between two girls. Sadly, the rest of the book just wasn't for me. 3/5 stars.

Angels in America by Tony Kushner

This was a re-read, but I listened to the new audiobook production. If you've been following my blog for a while then you'll know that my favourite play of all time is Angels in America and they recently adapted it for the audiobook format. It was a recording using the Broadway cast, which is predominantly the cast I saw. It was amazing being able to relive the experience over again and it was still as brilliant as when I saw it. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud at certain points. The only thing that made me sad was that they cut one of the best lines in the play for no reason and I was so upset about it. Still gets 5/5 stars.

Under the Net by Iris Murdoch

I wanted to branch out and read something outside of my comfort zone, however this ended up being too far out of my comfort zone and I did not like it. I just couldn't get into it. I honestly don't know why I spent ages reading the whole thing and didn't DNF it. Maybe at some point later in my life I would enjoy this book, but I just didn't like it this time around. 2/5 stars for me.

Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Now we come to one, if not my favourite, book of the year. I adored Serpent and Dove and I am dying while waiting for the sequel. The characters. The story. The setting. Just everything about this book was great. I haven't read a book like that in ages and haven't had an experience where I literally cannot stop thinking about it and am having to stop myself from reading it again straight away. Obviously 5/5 stars from me. It is the best. Please read it.     

October Wrap Up| CarenzaOnBooks

So another month has come and gone and therefore it is time for another monthly wrap up. October was a crazy busy month for me and a lot of things happened which meant I didn't have time to read that much. I only read two books and both of these were re-reads. I actually have reviews for both of these books, which I will link to in this post.

The first book I read was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I actually have reviews for all the Harry Potter books currently released, but I will link to my Deathly Hallows review here. It was nice completing my reread and I wish I could do it all over again right now, but I will probably wait another year or two before rereading the series. I gave it 5/5 stars and I love this series so much.

The other book I reread was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I'm going to see the play later this year so I thought I'd reread it. I actually enjoyed it more this time around and can't wait to see it.











So that concludes my October Wrap, I hope I'll have more time for reading this month, but who knows.
Carenza x

October Wrap Up and November TBR| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
So I had a pretty good reading month in October, I managed to read 9 of the 13 books/ short stories I wanted to read. So I'm hoping that this month I have another good reading month as I am on book 50 of my reading challenge so I should complete it.

October Wrap Up

The first thing I read in October was a short story I had to read for class and that was The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. I gave this 3/5 stars. Personally, I am not a fan of poetry and I found this hard to read.

The next book I read was the Fairyloot September book, which was Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter. I gave this 4/5 stars and you can read my review here. I really enjoyed this as it was something different from what I usually read.

The next short story I read was The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens. Again, I wasn't the hugest fan and I gave it 3/5 stars. It was hard to read as it is told through a conversation and you don't know who is saying what.

Then I finally finished Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs. I had started this in July and had decided it to put it down as I wasn't enjoying as much as the other two books. I gave this 3.5/5 stars because the ending saved it for me.

After Library of Souls, I read Tales of the Peculiar also by Ransom Riggs. This is a companion novel to the series and was probably my favourite book set in the world. I gave this 5/5 stars and I will be doing a book review for it very soon.

Then I read Testing the Echo by David Edgar for class. I gave this 3/5 stars as I found it very hard to follow and I wasn't that interested in the subject matter. I think it would be better to watch it than to read it.

Then I read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. I really didn't enjoy this and ended up giving it 2/5 stars. I had expected it to be spooky like the film of the same title but it was really dull.

 Then I read Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. I gave this 4/5 stars as I really enjoyed it. Although it is classed as a YA novel, the content is definitely aimed at adults. It had lots of very detailed footnotes on most pages, which I thought was a nice addition. I can't wait for the other books in the series to come out.

 The final book I read was This Savage Song by VE Schwab. I loved this book so much and gave it 5/5 stars. I'm going to be writing a review on this at some point because I love it and I need to  talk about it.

November TBR

The first book I plan on reading is the book I am currently reading is Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas. I've read around 200 pages and it's slowly growing on me. I have found a lot of similarities between ACOMAF and this book.










The next two books I hope to read are the final books in the Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. I really want to finish this series by the end of the year so I can start some of the other books by Rick Riordan.

The next book I want to read is the Book Thief by Markus Zusak. My best friend bought me this for my birthday and she has been nagging me to read it because she loved it so much.

Next, I want to read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I saw the movie and I really enjoyed it so I thought I would pick up the book to see how it was different from the movie.

I also I hope that I get to the October Fairyloot book Metaltown by Kristen Simmons. I'm looking forward to reading it as I haven't read much steampunk before.

Next I am hoping to read Winter's Snow by Carrie Hope Fletcher. This is a little companion novel from the same world as On the Other Side, my review is here. I won't talk about it as it spoils On the Other Side.

After that I hope to read An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters and Denizens of Downworld by Cassandra Clare. This book is finally available to people who don't live in America and I can't wait for my copy to arrive. My Cassandra Clare collection just keeps on growing, I just need to get my hands on the Tarot cards.

I also hope to read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I'm really excited yet slightly nervous for the release of the movie this month. I'm glad we're getting more from this world but I don't know how I feel about the five movie announcement and that Johnny Deep has a role in movie two.

Finally I hope I can read Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare. I have high hopes for this as I haven't read them in eBook form.
















So that concludes my October Wrap Up and November TBR, leave a comment about your wrap up and TBR.
Love,
Carenza x