Stacking the Shelves #17

STS is a weekly meme hosted by Tyngas Reviews.

Now that the holiday's are over (for a while now...), here is what I got for Christmas and during all the awesome eBooks sales that were going on after Christmas. I still haven't spent my gift card yet, but my current plan is to save it or The Conjuring of Light. 

Presents

 

eBooks

   

   

   

Okay, I might have went overboard on the ebooks. I spent less than $5 on each and most were around $1.99. But I have a hell of a lot of reading to do.

Short & Sweet Reviews: Graphic Novel Edition #7

Gotham Academy Vol 2: Calamity 
Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher

I was kind of disappointed with this volume unfortunately. I was just confused while reading this one. The issues kind of jumped around and I had a hard time following them. Maybe it was too long since I read the first volume but who knows. I am still going to check out the next volume and hope I get some of the magic back. I still really enjoy the characters and some of the revels in this volume.

2 out of 5 Stars

Archie Vol 1: The New Riverdale
Mark Waid, Fiona Staples, Annie Wu, Veronica Fish 

I haven't read Archie and years so this reboot was an awesome way to step back into Riverdale. You get reintroduced to all the main characters, which was awesome since I have never really read a whole lot of Archie. I only read here a there so I had no idea what was going on in the main universe. If you are super familiar with Archie, this first one might be all old knowledge but I think it was a fun exciting way to reboot Archie.

4 out of 5 Stars

Lumberjanes Vol 2: Friendship to the Max
Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Brooke Allen

I absolutely adore Lumberjanes, it's my definitely my favourite comic book series. I love the colours and the characters. They get into so many shenanigans it makes me happy. I would love to go to Summer Camp and make some amazing friends like these girls. I found that this one was a bit more of a cohesive story than the first. Highly recommend.

5 out of 5 Stars

Top 10 Tuesday: 2016 Releases I Meant to Get To But Didn't

TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week we are talking about the 2016 releases that we really want to read but just haven't got to yet. I broke up my to-read shelves onto more organized shelves so my to read 2016 publication shelf is pretty huge. So here are the 10 books from 2016 that I still really want to read. 

  

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake - I just picked this up on a sweet eBook deal for only $2.99. I can't wait to read it very soon.

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - Victoria Schwab became my new favourite author this year so I was pumped when this was also on a sweet eBook deal. Definitely now on the top of my list.

And I Darken by Kiersten White - My library has some copies of this and I have tried to get it a few times. Something else kept getting priority but still on the to read list.

  

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst - I have been excited for this titles for awhile now but it was only recently released. It will be one I get from the library soon.

As I Descended by Robin Talley - This one is another one I will likely get at the library someday. Seems up my alley.

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis - I have seen this on a few people's best of 2016 lists. It's getting a higher place on my TBR soon.

   

Adnan's Story by Rabia Chaudry - I just finished listening to the podcast Serial so I want continue more into this case. It's a crazy case and I would love to hear more.

Wenjack by Joseph Boyden - This is an incredibly important Canadian book. It's about residential schools; it's the true story of a boy who tried to make his way back home but didn't make it. I am currently on hold for it at the library so I will read it very soon.

In The Country We Love by Diane Guerrero - I have heard lots of people talking about this one this year. Especially with the current climate, this story is extremely relevant.

A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold - I read the book Columbine by Dave Cullen last year, and I think hearing Dylan's story from his mom would be eye opening to mental health issues and grief.

Review: A List of Cages by Robin Roe

An advanced copy was provided to me by Disney-Hyperion and Netgalley for an honest review. 

Genre: Contemporary
Publication: January 10, 2017 by Disney-Hyperion
Pages: 320 Pages
Source: eARC
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Review | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary
When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he's got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn't easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can't complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian--the foster brother he hasn't seen in five years.

Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He's still kind hearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what's really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives.

My Thoughts:
My heart is still reeling from this story. I didn't really know what to expect when I started this book, but what I got was a very impactful story that I won't soon forget. Once I did get into the story, I found that it did follow certain beats which were fairly predictable but the story itself is still very good and worth the read.

I loved the characters in this book, which is good because it is a character driven story. You just feel for Julian this entire book, his life so far has been tragic and your heart breaks for him. This book also covers a wide range of important topics, the main ones being mental illness, friendship and abuse. They are portrayed extremely well and you are really able to stand in both Julian's and Adam's shoes.

My only one main complaint is that I found it fairly predictable, it follows some pretty standard beats. I wasn't overly surprised by anything but that being said, I was never bored. I loved how the characters grew throughout the book and their view of the their situations changed. It felt natural and organic. All in all, I highly recommend this book. It covers some very important topics and I can see why so many people are excited about this book.

This book is released on January 10! Go check it out. 

Check In for Anticipated Books from 2016

Today I am going to be looking back on the books that I was anticipating coming out in 2016 and seeing if I read them and what I thought of them. I saw some other people do this and I think it's an awesome idea to show how your year actually went. These are books I listed at the beginning of the year and from halfway through the year. I have broken them up into read, still on the TBR and lost interest.

Read

  

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas {5 Stars} - I loved every second of this book, and it made made my top 10 books of the year. Review

The Rose & The Dagger by Renee Ahdieh {3 Stars} - I definitely enjoyed this book but I wasn't as blown away by this one as the first one, The Wrath and the Dawn. But I am happy to have finished another series. Review

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon {5 Stars} - Another one that I absolutely loved. I read this one super quickly a few weeks ago and I really loved this story. Another of my faves from this year. Review 

 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne & J.K. Rowling {3 Stars} - I am happy that I got to go back to the Wizarding World but this definitely wasn't my favourite. I enjoyed it, however it wasn't perfect. Review

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson {4 Stars} - Another series in the bag! This was a solid series ending, not my favourite in the series but it wrapped up everything perfectly. Review

DNF

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi - I'm still really sad about this. I just recently decided that I just wasn't into this book. I didn't mesh well with the writing style and I felt like I was reading from a distance. Maybe I will try again another day, but likely not.

Still on the TBR

  

   

All of these I am still excited to read. I just didn't get to them for various reasons, and clearly we can't get to everything. Three Dark Crowns I am currently waiting for at the library and I just didn't have the time to read Frost Like Night. Most of these I didn't get to because I decided to take a bit of a break from fantasy after I read too many in a row. 

Lost Interest

  

After hearing reviews from most of these my interest has dwindled. My taste has changed over the year, and I don't think that I will every end up getting to these books. If you think I should, let me know what you liked about them.

Did you get to all the books you were excited for in 2016? Let me know!

December in Review

Christmas has come and gone for another year and if you're Christmas is anything like mine you probably just added a bunch of new books to your TBR piles. I managed to finish 70 book this year, which is incredible for me! I am so happy. This month was the month of Graphic Novels. They were just easier to consume during a busy holiday season. 

  

   

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier {5 out of 5 Stars}

Gotham Academy Vol 2: Calamity {2 out of 5 Stars} 

Archie Vol 1: The New Riverdale {4 out of 5 Stars}

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi {DNF @ 47%)

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan {3 out of 5 Stars}

A List of Cages by Robin Roe {4 out of 5 Stars}

Lumberjanes Vol 2: Friendship to the Max {5 out of 5 Stars}

Favourite of the Month: Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

Disappointment of the Month: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Overall Thoughts: I am very happy with my progress this month. Lots of graphic novels, which were all pretty awesome. I read the ARC for A List of Cages and it was stellar, review to come in the new year. I am sad that A Star-Touched Queen didn't work out from me. I just didn't mesh with the writing style and felt lost most of the time.