Mid-Year Review
As the end of June is fast approaching we thought we’d do a mid-year round up, letting you know our favoruites so far and maybe the one we weren’t too keen on. We also discuss whether we think we will achieve our reading target this year. At the 6 month mark, do you think you will hit yours?
Millie
Top 2:
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
This book left me with an ear to ear smile from start to finish. This love story is not what it seems. If you want a refreshing read that isn’t cheesy and predictable this is a great choice. A relationship that blossoms from post-it note conversations and fleeting moments, The Flatshare will warm your heart for sure.
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
Good Girl, Bad Blood is the sequel to Holly Jackson’s bestseller A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. I just could not put this book down finishing it in just over 24 hours. If you thought Jackson could not top AGGGTM you were wrong. Had me on the edge of my seat, holding my breath on multiple occasions. Yet again be left hanging till the bitter end.
Worst 2:
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
After owning this book for quite some time I finally got around to reading it and controversially not liking it very much at all. The dossier- like style is what initially intrigued me, but ultimately I was disappointed by Illuminae. The plot and character development were just a bit meh. By the end I really didn’t care for the characters or what happened to them, finishing the read for the sake of finishing it.
All My Secrets by Sophie McKenzie
14 year old me would have absolutely loved this book, having been an avid reader of McKenzie’s books at school. However, now 21 All My Secrets just fell a bit flat. A thrilling concept not quite executed in the right way and an unwanted love triangle thrown in the mix.
Claire
Top 2:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus by Ein Morgenstern is a phenomenal book. It had been on my TBR for a long time, but I didn’t know enough about it to move it up the list. I’m so very happy that I got around to reading it. The imagery in this novel is breathtaking and I had to force myself to put the book down.
The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
It’s no surprise that Christina Henry is in my top two books of the year so far, I adore her work and always pre-order without really knowing anything about the book because so far, I haven’t been let down. This retelling of Little Red Riding Hood is a dystopian horror novel. The main character is biracial and an amputee and this added so many more layers to the plot which makes this twisted fairytale even better.
Honourable Mention : Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis was my favourite book to read based on appearance.
Worst 2:
The Worthing Chronicle by Orson Scott Card
I read this book because I love Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and was curious about his books that weren’t apart of that universe. Before I even started the book I was confused about where it fits into the series. In the end, it didn’t matter because the book felt like a recap of the events from the other two novels in the series with an epilogue added on the end. Overall, it felt like it was set in the middle-ages rather than on a distant planet and I just wasn’t that interested by the story.
Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich
I really really wanted to enjoy this book, especially as I’ve heard such good things about the musical and I like the songs that I do know. The musical has been praised for dealing with mental health and suicide and I expected the book to be a little hard to read because of that. Instead, it was hard to read because none of the characters were likeable. The only redeeming part of this book was the epilogue.
Annual Reading Challenge
Favourite Month?
January: Colour
C: I was really tied between January and June, because (and I know it’s a bit of a cop-out) they were the easiest themes to find books for. January won because my chosen book for this theme has been one of the best books I have read this year.
April: Music
M: I was also tied between two months, January and April. Although I gave January’s book It’s Not Ok to Be Blue and Other Lies a higher star rating I found this book much harder to read as it focused on people’s personal mental health stories. This being why I have chosen April’s book which was Eleanor and Park. This isn’t your cliche high school love story and I think that’s what I loved most about the book.
Best and Worst Month?
C: To no one’s surprise, April has been my best reading month. I don’t have a worst month; in January, February and May, I read three books, however, I think May was the hardest to push through. I’m going to blame this on losing all motivation after being at home for two months at that point.
M: Similarly, my best reading month is also April due to having quite some time off of work I have had ample opportunity to read. Finishing 5 books in April. My worse month was February as I only read 2 books. I’m not too sure why I struggled so early on in the year but glad I managed to get my reading mojo back.
Are you going to complete the reading challenge?
C: Most likely yes. I only have ten books left to read to complete the challenge and with my average of reading three or four books a month, it should only take me three months at most. With the mini-challenges, that’s also a yes. I’ve completed four out of five of the challenges, all I have left to read is the play. Due to this year’s events resulting in a lot more free time, this year’s reading challenge has felt a little too easy.
M: I think there is a reasonably high chance of me finishing our challenge this year. I am currently on 21 books, with 14 left to read in order to reach our target of 35. Currently reading an average of 3 books a month. If this continues I will hopefully read more than our target. Thinking back now if we had known we would be having 3+ months off this year would we have set our target higher. Who knows?
M🌸 & C🌙
