Series Review: My Gently Raised Beast volumes 1-9

  

 You can click on the cover of the book to learn more about this series on Goodreads

Format I Used: E-book

Pages: 2,600 (for all volumes)

My Rating: 4 stars

Publication Date: 2021-2023

 

Review for the series overall. As always, be careful when reading my reviews, because there might be spoilers.

*You can buy volumes 1-3 on Amazon now, with 4 and 5 up for preorder. OR you can read it in its entirety on Webtoons*

I'm quickly running out of Shojo manga to read, so I'm going through and picking up their Korean counterparts. This series is as charming as it looks, although there are some dark moments in it, so make sure to do your research on some of the trigger warnings for this series, before you dive into it. I will also say that I was glad that this wasn't an Isekai story. Not that there's anything wrong with those, it's just a nice change of pace that it's not.

I love the relationship Amon and Blondina have, and there were a few times it made me lol. The way Amon would get jealous if Briddy wasn't paying him enough attention was actually adorable. (not annoying like I thought it would be) and I loved how protective he was of her, even though he was younger than she was.

There were also a few times that it had me SO stressed out because I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and I was trying my hardest to not flip to the ending to see how things played out. And the friendships that she was able to cultivate with Lucy and her half brother, Lart.

Lart had the best and most drastic character development in the whole story, and I was glad to see it. I was hoping at least one of her half siblings would be good to her.

I was prepared to HATE Trije. I was expecting him to be a horrible person. He's not. Not really. He made some pretty crappy decisions that hurt a lot of people. But he finally realized what was happening and made some changes. He's still got a long way to go to make up, but at least it's a start.

 

Did It Make Me Cry? Yes.

ARC Review: Kitty Language ~ Lili Chin

Image from Goodreads. Click on the image to learn more about this book.

Format I Used: Digital E-Arc
Pages: 160
My Rating: 4 stars
Publication Date:June 13, 2023

I've always had cats in my life from a very young age, so I didn't pick this up because I was looking for information ABOUT cats... I picked it up to see the cute illustrations lol.

However, it really does have a lot of good information in it, so I would definitely recommend this if you're thinking about getting a cat, or if you're wanting to learn more about them. Not every cat is the same, so some of this stuff might not be applicable (which it tells you that at the very beginning) but it's definitely a good starting point.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Lili Chen, and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Review: Chasing Your Ghost ~ Magie I. Fields

Image from Goodreads. Click on the image to learn more about this book.



Format I Used:E-book
Pages: 439
My Rating: 3 stars
Publication Date: March 27, 2023

 Spoilers ahead so read on with caution.

This was okay. I was super interested in the premise and the characters, and it started off super strong. What really pulled me in at the beginning was the fact that I was getting Veil Diaries meets Ghost Whisperer meets The Mediator vibes, and I really love all of those things.

 I really felt for Riley and her situation. I was so angry on her behalf at how her mother treated her, and there were so many times, had I been in her shoes, I would have just left. I also really enjoyed the relationship that Riley had with her step brother. They were so funny together!

There were things that were a little but predictable, but maybe that's because I've watched and read so many supernatural things. The one thing that WASN'T predictable was the fact that Brett was the bad guy  I for SURE did not call that.

There were also a few spicy scenes thrown in at the very end, which was fine, but it also felt weird to me. I get it. They were making up for lost time when Asher was a "ghost" and they thought that they couldn't touch each other. But, in my opinion, it didn't add anything to the story for me. 

 
Will definitely be reading the next one to see what happens.

A to Z of 2022

Hey! I actually finished an A to Z reading challenge for once in my entire life. Here are all of the books that I read.

 

 

My End Of The Year Reading Wrap Up 2022

Well whoops, this was supposed to have posted on January 1st. Oh well, better late than never.

I love love love seeing My Year In Books on Goodreads. It's one of my favorite things. If you'd like to see every single book I've read this year, you can check out my Year In Books. But here is some details that I enjoy:

I finished a total of 393 books

89 of those were audiobooks

 

280 of those were Manga/Graphic Novel volumes

 

24 of those were a combination of traditional e-books and physical books

 

18 of those were ARCS I was asked to read and review

 

 

I read a grand total of 87,874 pages which averaged about 223 pages per book. (shorter than normal because I read so many manga this year. It was totally worth it.)

 

 

The shortest book I read was Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood at 112 pages

 

The longest book I read was House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas at a whopping 805 pages (yes I finally finished it annnd, oh boy the ending.)

 

 

 

3.7 stars - my average rating for the year

First Book Read in 2022--Maid Sama vol. 4 ~Hiro Fujiwara

 

 

 

 

Last Book Read in 2022*-- Matcha Made In Heaven vol.1 ~Umebachi Yamanaka

 

 

 

Most Popular Book--Book Lovers~Emily Henry (1,237,063 people also shelved this book)

 

 

 

Least Popular book-- Monster To Parent by Ichi Sayo (0 people also also shelved this book. It was worth it though )

 

 

 

Stay tuned for a break down of my favorite, least favorite, and my A-Z of 2023, coming at you in the next few weeks.

 

 

Review: The Holloway Girls ~ Susan Crispell

  

Image from Goodreads. Click on the image to learn more about this book.


Format I Used: E-book
Pages: 352
My Rating: 3 stars
Publication Date: June 7, 2022

  

 

 

Woo hoo, I'm finally marking one of my many "Currently Reading" books as "Read" that feels good. And also like I'll probably just start three more instead of finishing another that I'm already reading...

ANYWAY.

Even though it took me forever to read this book, it wasn't because it was bad. In fact, when I was reading it, it kind of flew by. And I actually really enjoyed it. Tobin and Juliet were so charismatic and I loved them both so much. They're the kind of people who literally shine so bright they light up a room when they're around.

I thought the whole concept was super interesting and I really liked the way it was executed. Were there a few moments that I was annoyed? Yes. But it wasn't anything that was too over the top

Did It Make Me Cry? No 

Favorite Quotes and Highlights:

I paste on a smile for Tobin, pretending to be the girl he wants me to be. It backfires almost immediately. His smile ignites like a fuse. He could set the world on fire with a smile like that. And he’d willingly burn with it, I think, if he thought that would make me happy.

I meet Tobin’s gray-eyed stare and say, “Salted caramel doesn’t cover up the flavor of blood. For that you need red velvet. But thanks for letting me know you’re not the person to call when I need help hiding the bodies.”

PUB Day Celebration!

 

Image from Goodreads. Click on the cover to learn more about this book.

I'm sure that there's about three thousand other books being published today, but this is the one that I am MOST excited for. I've been obsessed with this series for far too long, and I'm hoping that it doesn't hurt me in the end. I am going to be so sad when it ends, and I'm even more sad that I can't own physical copies of this book because it's only a digital release.

By the time this posts on my blog I will probably have already finished the book, so please hold tight for a review.