NEW READS
1. Again, but Better by Christine Riccio (3/5)
- There were some aspects that I enjoyed - the adventure, some of the humor, the friendships. It was enjoyable to see Shane's travels. However, I did not like Shane that much. She seemed a bit obsessive and immature. Her decisions in life are questionable. Also, I did not like the lead guy, and I honestly don't remember what his name is. They had chemistry, but I don't want them to be together.
- This had the potential to be good, but the execution was bad. There were too many problematic things that happened. The fantasy elements felt like it was there just to drag more content to the story. It felt unnecessary.
- There was too much reference to other pop culture.
2. Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire (3.8/5)
- I loved seeing Jack again. I enjoyed being in the Moors again. I love that world, even if it's too dark.
- I don't think that they needed Christopher and the others. We just got to see Jack interact with them because they had to escape the Moors. However, they didn't necessarily do anything or anything to the story. Still, it was fun to see them reunited.
- I love Jack and Alexis' relationship.
- It was devastating about what happened with Jack and Jill's relationship. Honestly, though, it was too much to hope that they would mend their relationship.
3. The Bone House by Emily-Lloyd Jones (4/5)
- I enjoyed reading this book. It had a creepy vibe to it, but it was intriguing. The bone houses were creepy, but the lore behind them was interesting to read about.
- I love the bond between Ellis and her siblings.
- I love Ellis and Ryn's interactions.
- The issue I had was that the pacing was kind of slow, and there were emotional parts that felt lacking.
4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (4/5)
- ACTUAL POST OF MY REACTIONS WHILE READING THIS
- This was an interesting look at Snow's past. It was intriguing to read, especially since he was a decent person in the beginning. At least for me. His interactions with Lucy were very different from what we know of him.
- The Hunger Games during this era was also very different from what we know now. It was devastating to see more of this aspect.
- I don't know if there is a sequel to this, but it had a lot of open-ended events. It kind of left you hanging.
5. The Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab (4.25/5)
- The story was shallow and straightforward (this is expected since this is a middle-grade book), but it was enjoyable to read. There were a lot of creepy aspects to it, which made it better. I was honestly shocked that this had an emotional aspect to it. I was devastated to know about the history of the conflict in this one.
- I love that the setting involved a lot of places in Paris. It was beautiful to me, even though there were a lot of haunted places.
- I love the friendship between Cassidy and Jacob. Also, Jacob's humor is still funny. I hope we can have more background about him in the next book.
6. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare (4.5/5)
- The story was intriguing. This focused more on the demonic aspect of the Shadowhunter world rather than the usual there's-just-someone-wanting-to-get-revenge-or-antidownworlder. However, many parts seemed just like a setup or filler. Still, I love that we have different interconnecting subparts to the story.
- It irritated me that there were many times that they were facing a great dilemma, yet they seemed to chill about it, and they had the nerve to have a ball or picnic. This seemed wrong to me especially since the current head of the clave and London Institute are characters we know and love. It was wrong to see them not in action.
- There were a lot of new characters. It was fun reading about them, but you won't care about all of them. I loved seeing the characters from the Infernal Devices characters.
- I love the different relationships that we see with the characters. It was a complex web of interactions.
- I love Matthew Fairchild and Anna Lightwood.
- I love the relationship between Cordelia and James.
- Grace irritated me so much. I wanted to slap her hard.
FAVORITE BOOK OF 2020: Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
RE-READS
The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan (4/5)
- This is about an adventure story that includes Egyptian mythology. I love how the mythology part was weaved into the story. We got action, and magic all around.
- Given the age of the character, you can feel how middle grade the story was. There are times when Carter and Sadie can be a little too much. Their choices in life will sometimes make you want to slap them. I still love them, though. They were entertaining, and their bond as siblings was realistic and hilarious.
- This is an adventure story incorporated with Greek Mythology. Greek Mythology is my favorite mythology. I get that their story sucks most of the time (because the gods suck), but I love it. I love seeing most of the stories I know incorporated in Percy's adventures. Their adventures were very entertaining to read, and the first series were short books so it's easier to read. This is honestly one of my favorites book series of all time.
- I love Percy and his friendship with the other characters in the book. I love him so much because of his witty remarks and his care for his friends and family.
- Annabeth's brain cells are to die for.
The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
(5/5 except for The Lost Hero 4/5)
- This is a continuation of Percy Jackson's adventures from the first series. There are just a lot more characters to read from since they get their own point of view. I still love this storyline, but sometimes it gets hard. Sometimes you can't see the end of the tunnel of their hardships. It was heavier than the first set of series, that's why I haven't finished all of them again.
- The Lost Hero got a 4/5 because I don't love Jason, Piper, and Leo. I'm sorry to all their fans. I mean, I do like them, but I will forever look for Percy. Something was lacking for me when I read this first book. This was honestly the book that I forgot most of the things that happened.
- The Son of Neptune *chef's kiss*.
- I remembered the trauma of waiting for the fourth book of this series, after that cliffhanger of an ending for the third book. People who read this nowadays are lucky that they didn't get to experience that.
Too Far Trilogy by Abbi Glines (5/5)
- I had a phase where I loved Abbi Glines' book. I decided to give it a try again after 6 or 7 years, and I can tell you that I still love Blaire and Rush's story. It wasn't anything picture-perfect in the beginning, but they grew. Unlike other characters, *coughs* Nanette. I love tea-worthy love stories, and this is one of the top-tier for me. I can understand why some people don't like it, but I really do love it.
MANGA I READ IN 2020 will be discussed in a separate post.
