Monthly reading review – October 2017

Monthly reading review – October 2017

This October I have read:

Second Nature by Alice Hoffman ★★★★

The Frog Prince by Elle Lothlorien ★★

Lord Wraybourne’s Betrothed (Lovers and Ladies, #2) by Jo Beverly ★★★★

Captive Prince (Captive Prince, #1) by C.S. Pacat ★★★★★

Prince’s Gambit (Captive Prince, #2) by C.S. Pacat ★★★★★

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde ★★

1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

This October I’ve read six books. The amount is equal to the books I’ve read in September. If I take into account that I’ve lost a whole week of reading due to the trip to Germany this October I think I did OK.

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in October? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

The books I’ve enjoyed the most in October were most definitely Captive Prince books! Both books had me on a small reading spree with late night reading and reading hype in general. Hope to get my hands on the third book soon.

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

There were two books in October I did not enjoy as much. First was The Frog Prince because of my own misconceptions about the book – I really thought it had some fantasy elements and magic which is simply not the case. The other book that I did not enjoy reading was The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was a second reading and I just could not stand the decadence of the characters and themes in general.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

I was actually very pleased with the books I’ve read in record time for my TBR Jar Draw challenge. The book club assignments I was a bit slower with.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

I dived into The Captive Prince trilogy and finished first two books quickly. Hopefully I will finish the trilogy soon by reading the last book.

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

I’m still aboard The Captive Prince hype train so that is definitely a recommendation. The theme is slightly fantastical due to the imagined world and cultures the author describes. Some might not enjoy the M/M pairing in the book but the book is very well written!

Final thoughts on October reading

I have posted a one review on the book I’ve read in October:

The Frog Prince by Elle Lothlorien ★★ – REVIEW

The books I enjoyed reading had more positive impact on me this October than the books that I did not like or simply endured. The number of books I’ve read is the same as the previous month with the distinction of having one whole week lost to the trip to Essen Spiel in Germany. It was a satisfying month for reading. I am hopeful that the next month is going to be even better!

TBR Jar Draw October 2017 Part Two

After finishing my TBR Jar Draw for October in record time I decided to make a new draw from the jar. I am very pleased with having read my last book for the TBR Jar Draw and having an opportunity to maybe even read two books for this challenge in one month!

A book for October TBR Jar Draw was a kindle freebie The Frog Prince by Elle Lothlorien.  I do believe that the digital format helped with faster reading since I’ve lately been reading a bit more digital books. I’ve made a short review and you can read my thoughts on this book HERE.

The two draws I have not read are going back in the jar:

# Belladonna (Ephemera #2) by Anne Bishop

# The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

My three new TBR Jar draws are as follows:

1 # Wait Till Your Vampire Gets Home (Broken Heart #4) by Michele Bardsley

This book was one of the presents my boyfriend brought back for me from his business trip in Nairobi, Kenya. I’ve never read anything from this author before and haven’t even heard of this book series. The title was an inside joke of ours since he was a really pale Caucasian man in the heart of Africa. While I was looking at the book on my bookshelf I realized it is still wrapped in foil cover from the store. I consider this book as a very dear present with meaning and haven’t really put it at the top of my reading list at the moment.

2 # Rosemary and Rue (October Daye #1) by Seanan McGuire

This is the second time I’ve pulled this book out from the jar. The first time I pulled it out was earlier this year in May. What makes me hesitant on reading this book is the fact that it is the first book of the series of which I own only the first book. It is an excuse I use that in case I like the book I would have to go and order the next books from the series and then I would have to wait for them to arrive and then that would be buying new books instead of reading those I already own….excuses…excuses…

3 # Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)  by Joe Abercrombie

This is another first book of the series I have not started reading. I remember my boyfriend enjoying reading it a great deal. I own a hardcover copy of a very beautiful British edition. In fact I like the cover and binding so much I’ve decided to get the whole trilogy and make a shelfporn set I could enjoy looking at! As for why I haven’t read it until now it goes the same excuse as for the previous book. I actually expect to like the book quite a bit and funding for the purchase other two books in the trilogy in the exact beautiful hardcover edition is not something I can afford right now…

I am kinda leaning toward the Half a King book even with all the excuses I mentioned above. I will make my choice as soon as I finish with the digital books reading streak I am currently on.

The Frog Prince – Book Review

Finished reading

The Frog Prince

by Elle Lothlorien

★★

Expectation

I had high hopes few years back when I first found out about this Kindle freebie from some friends at Shelfari (still miss Shelfari). It is one of the first Kindle freebies that I downloaded in general. For some reason I thought this story as a part of a magical fantastical universe since the author did some other fairy tale retelling like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Pulling this title for my October TBR Jar Draw was a surprise as well since I thought all my TBR Jar Draw titles were physical  copies only.

Summary

The initial surprise effect got me into reading. First half of the book I felt like I was missing something. I kept waiting for some fantastic element to lift up the book as a whole. I found much of this book to be chaotic. The main character was highly unusual in its quirky composition. Character as a whole seemed forced in the cliche of many seen before funny traits. the problem was that there were so many quirky things that it was hard to keep up with them all. For this reason the character seemed off and I as a reader had problems with connecting with her.

What kept me giving this book more chances was the expectation of the fairy tale elements. When reading fantastic literature I try to keep an open mind and figure out the authors ideas and world building in general. The fantastic elements never came though. The story introduced a royal family Habsburg Lorraine heir and the most fantastic thing that happened is Austrians voting back their monarchy to something like that of Great Britain.

Schönbrunn Castle, Wienna, Austria

Conclusion

While the first half of the book was chaotic the second seemed a bit more composed although this might be due to the plot and character familiarity. There were so many missed opportunities for this book to be amazing and informative. I even held back at “curtain down” love scenes. The more I think about it the more I’m inclined to lover the rating even further just for all the unused potential in the story.

TBR Jar Draw October 2017

I was glad for finishing my September TBR Jar Draw in record time. It made me feel proud of myself. Also I enjoyed my reading quite a bit. I realized the more books I finish reading the more inclined I am to read more. Works the other way around as well …

In September I’ve finished reading Many Bloody Returns edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner. I’ve made a review on each of the thirteen stories from this collection. You can read my thoughts HERE.

The two draws I have not read are going back in the jar:

# Necroscope (Necroscope #1) by Brian Lumley

#  Naamah’s Kiss (Naamah Trilogy, #1) by Jacqueline Carey

My three new TBR Jar draws are as follows:

1 # Belladonna (Ephemera #2) by Anne Bishop

This is one of those second books in the series I’m not much fond of. I bought first two book years ago. I wanted to try something from the author Anne Bishop. I’ve heard some nice things on few of her books. Sadly this one did not thrill me and I still have issues with remembering what was the deal with these books about. I’m not sure what to do with it

2 # The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

I bought this book years ago out of curiosity. I’m still curious about it. I’m expecting a bit more complex writing style from it since it is written thousand years ago. I’m not too thrilled about reading it right now because of it.

3 # The Frog Prince by Elle Lothlorien

This one actually surprised me when I pulled it out of the jar. I thought I put all the physical books I own in the TBR Jar. This is one of the first Kindle freebies I downloaded few years back. It caught me off guard so much that i’m leaning toward reading it! The frog on the cover is kinda confusing though…

Again I was surprised with what I pulled out of my TBR Jar. This October I was a bit more apprehensive on the titles I’ve drawn. I will probably go with the Kindle freebie this time simply for the easier reading before bed time.