I’m back, and oh man, July was a month. I got back into planned reading, where I strategically pulled books from my shelf instead of arbitrarily mood reading (which is what I’d been doing since March, basically). Marvel-a-Thon helped a ton (and I have my final tally/recap at the end of this post).
Let’s get started!
A reminder of my cuter-than-words rating system (puppies!):
Snarky Reading Recap – July 2018
Spy by David Wise
This was a super well-researched account of the life (mostly professional life) of Robert Hanssen, who spent about twenty years as an FBI employee spying for the Soviets. That’s insanity, right? Well, he could have been caught a lot earlier, but you know – you never want to assume your friend is a spy or whatever. In any case, this was pretty good! A little dull in the middle, but the ending made up for it.
Rating: 3 dogs petted.
I’m Not Missing by Carrie Fountain
Holy guacamole. I love this book so much. I can’t even explain it again. You should probably just read my full review here.
Rating: 4+ dogs petted.
Smothered by Autumn Chiklis
Hard nope, but it was mostly personal preference. There is definitely a group of people out there who would really enjoy this book. I’m just not one of them. Also, my full DNF review comes out tomorrow!
Rating: 0 dogs petted.
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (reread)
Meh. I wrote a review for this one after I read it the first time, and I think I was even more frustrated with effing Mare Barrow the second time around. My rating definitely went down. And yet… I still want to know what happens…
Rating: 2 dogs petted.
Savage Prince by Meghan March
So I rated this pretty high on Goodreads, but as I think back on it, I’m like, “Idek what happened?” So I’m lowering my rating a little bit here. Regardless, I still want to know what’s going to happen in the finale, though.
Rating: 2 dogs petted.
#Nerd by Cambria Hebert
This one wasn’t good. The writing was juvenile for their supposed ages, the characters were so blah, and the plot was dumb. It was an easy, fairly fluffy read, but I scoffed aloud several times. Not for me.
Rating: 1 dog petted.
Love on the Ledge by Zoraida Córdova
Oh my, I love this series and I LOVE Zoraida. I will read anything she writes, and I can’t wait for my copy of Bruja Born to finally arrive on the island… Soon, soon. Anyway, I’ll be reviewing this in all it’s squeeish glory, but just know I loved it.
Rating: 4 dogs petted.
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
This was meh for me, and I know I’m definitely in the minority. I didn’t like how Amar talked to Maya, and I didn’t like the whole Hades and Persephone thing. This is just a not-for-me. But the writing was absolutely beautiful, which is what continues to make me give it a high rating.
Rating: 3 dogs petted.
Life on the Level by Zoraida Córdova
THIS BOOK. The pinnacle of the series. I’ll be squeeing about this one too, sometime in the future! SO GOOD.
Rating: 4 dogs petted.
Iron Princess by Meghan March
So this is the sequel to Savage Prince and it was also a “what in the world did I just read” kind of book. This trilogy could have been a single book, I think. Or maybe a duology? I don’t know, but it was fine, just not great.
Rating: 2 dogs petted.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
You guys. I can’t even. This book was SO GOOD. I’ve already recommended it to pretty much everyone who will listen. I slept on it for so long, and I will not be silenced! I can’t wait to review it so I can squee some more!
Review: 4+ dogs petted.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
I’m glad I finally read this, but it was one of those books that made me angry, which made me not like it as much. Margaret Atwood’s writing is sparse and superb, but I’m still raging. So therefore, it’s not going to get a pristine rating, but also, not a bad one? Ugh on the content of this book. Please no.
Rating: 3 dogs petted.
Arrowheart by Rebecca Sky
My second DNF this month, another not-for-me. I liked the premise and concept, but the execution didn’t sit well with me. I’m hoping to write a full review at some point.
Rating: 0 dogs petted.
Butterface by Avery Flynn
I hate the title of this book, but it’s so fun! I loved Gina and I loved Ford and I loved the supporting characters. Everyone. All the things. I loved this! Review coming next week!
Rating: 4 dogs petted.
Marvel-a-Thon Final Stats
Phase One: Complete!
- Iron Man Challenge: Completed
- Savage Prince by Meghan March
- The Hulk Challenge: Completed
- I’m Not Missing by Carrie Fountain
- Iron Man 2 Challenge: Skip
- Smothered by Autumn Chiklis
- I DNFed the book, so I’m counting it as a skip
- Smothered by Autumn Chiklis
- Thor Challenge: Completed
- The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
- Captain America: The First Avenger Challenge: Completed
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
- The Avengers Challenge: Completed
- #Nerd by Cambria Hebert
Phase Two: In Progress (ahhh almost!)
- Iron Man 3 Challenge: Skip
- Arrowheart by Rebecca Sky
- I DNFed this one too, so it’s another skip
- Arrowheart by Rebecca Sky
- Thor: The Dark World Challenge: Skip
- Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison
- Skipping so I can move to Phase Three
- Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier Challenge: Completed
- Iron Princess by Meghan March
- Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1 Challenge: Completed
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- The Avengers: Age of Ultron Challenge: In Progress
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
- Ant-Man Challenge: Skip
- The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig
- Skipping so I can move to Phase Three
- The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig
Phase Three: In Progress
- Captain America: Civil War Challenge: Not Started
- Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson
- Doctor Strange Challenge: Not Started
- Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright
- Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 Challenge: Not Started
- To See the Sun by Kelly Jensen
- Spider-Man: Homecoming Challenge: Not Started
- See All the Stars by Kit Frick
- Thor: Ragnarok Challenge: Not Started
- When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
- The Avengers: Infinity War Challenge: Not Started
- Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
- Black Panther Challenge: Not Started
- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
- Captain Marvel Challenge: Completed
- Butterface by Avery Flynn
- Avengers 4 Challenge: Not Started
- Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig
Stats:
- Phases Completed: almost 2
- Challenges Completed: almost 9
- Challenges in Progress: 1
- Skips Used: 4 (2 were DNFs)
So yeah, not even close, really. But it was fun!
It was a pretty darn good month! I’m so pumped for ARC August, starting today!
Happy reading, and stay snarky!
Snark & Squee 