Goodreads Awards Update

So I made the conscientious decision to try and read the nominees in the YA Fantasy Goodreads Awards for 2020 and I figured I would do a little update! There were 10 books in the final round and I wanted to give my thoughts on the ones I were able to finish. I am still going to try and finish all ten books before the end of the year, fingers crossed!

Books I finished:

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron – Overall I just think the novel as a whole read a little younger. The characters are all pretty juvenile and one dimensional. The twists that were thrown in were entertaining but still predictable. There was nothing in there that really took me by surprise and shocked me in any way. I appreciated the diversity in the characters and the topics that were discussed but I wasn’t wowed in any way by this story. ⭐️2/5 stars

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi – I have to admit I wasn’t as enthralled with this instalment as I was with Children of Blood and Bone. It was a lot shorter than the previous book but I felt like it just wasn’t as immersive, which is mostly to do with the characters. Miscommunication was the main source of conflict in this book and that frustrated me. If Amari and Zélie had just sat down and worked through their issues I feel they could of probably come up with a fool proof plan that would have saved a lot of lives. ⭐️3/5 stars

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson – It boggles my mind how Brandon Sanderson is able to piece together such intricate storylines that still manages to surprise me at every turn. Characters and interactions that I dismissed as trivial and unimportant turn out to be vital to the continuation of the plot. You really need to pay attention to every little detail he puts in because somehow it will be revealed as a key piece of information that the whole story is revolving around. ⭐️4.5/5 stars

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – The pacing was a lot better in my opinion in this book than the rest of the series. I feel like everything has already been established and we just jumped straight into the action which I enjoyed! It kept me engaged and wanting to read on to see what will happen next. It got a little too political and not quite fantastical for me at times. All of the strategy talk and the movements of the armies bore me , if it would of cut out a lot of the planning and extending the schemes and action I think I would of liked this book a whole lot more! ⭐️3.5/5 stars

Books I didn’t get to:

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Goodreads Choice Awards

Usually I don’t really attention to the Goodreads Choice Awards but I have seen the criticism in the past about how it’s more of a popularity contest rather than going off actual ratings. Which is apparent this year as one of the nominees for the Fantasy category is Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson and it hasn’t even been released yet. I wanted to make an informed decision when I vote so I have decided to try and read all of the nominees from the YA Fantasy category and see which I think should be the winner!! There are a couple that I have already read and a few on my physical TBR and I will have to try and source the rest and try to get to them in the coming weeks.

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Recommended For You

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is book’s you’ve been recommended. I have never really been told by anyone to read a certain book before so I thought I would go to my Goodreads and see based on my different shelves the ten books they recommend I should pick up next!

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Goodreads Reading Goal

alcemist1Super excited to announce as of yesterday I completed my 2020 Goodreads Reading Goal of 100 books!!! I had the same goal last year and I believe I completed it around late July so I’m running a little behind but I am still super stoked I was able to complete it. It honestly doesn’t feel like I’ve read 100 books this year but due to the current situation in the world I’ve definitely had a lot more time to stay home and read! Last year I ended up completing 172 books so it will be interesting to see what I will end up with at the end of 2020. Hopefully everyone is able to complete their Reading Goals for the year and if you don’t I still hope you read some great books!! 😊

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Goodreads Reading Goal

readingDuring the Reading Rush last week I managed to reach and surpass my Goodreads Reading Goal for 2019!!! Last year I gave myself a goal of 70 books and if I remember correctly I completed that around October and just finished shy of 100 books by the end of 2018 with 99 books read. So I decided for 2019 to have a goal of 100 books because I got so close last year and because I don’t think I have ever read 100 books before in a year. To have completed and surpassed that goal by late July is amazing! I am super proud of myself and I’ve just been having a really great reading year so far and I look forward to continuing on the next 5 months and seeing how many I manage to get through by the new year!

Happy Reading📚