Harry Potter Moment of the Week #117

hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows Reviews.

It's the battle of Hogwarts! Which wizard do you go after to battle first? 

My absolute first thought is Fenrir Greyback. He's such a savage character, I'd want to help take him down before he can harm anyone else. He's turned enough people I love into werewolves, and if I could prevent the deaths he caused in the battle of Hogwarts then I'd take that honor. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

The Top Ten Tuesday has a new home. It's hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. Renegades by Marissa Meyer - I didn't get to this during the winter, so I'm putting it right here at the top. There's definitely part of me that is nervous to read anything else Marrisa Meyer writes because I love The Lunar Chronicles so much. But I'm going to do it. I'm going to read it very soon!

2. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake - This happens to be my book club book this month, so I will definitely be reading this spring. I'm quite excited because it sounds so interesting! Three sisters and one crown, who will get it?

3. Trouble Never Sleeps by Stephanie Tromly - This is the final book in the trilogy and I AM HERE FOR IT! I love these characters and I can't wait to see how they finish. It comes out on April 24th, so I have to wait a little while, but you can bet I'll be picking this up the day it comes out!

 

4. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi - I'm believing the hype on this book. I've been following the author, tracking her excitement over being published and it's wonderful! I can't wait to dig into this story.

5. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - I keep saying I want to read this book and I really do, but other books have been getting in the way. Now that they're making a movie, I've got the push I need.

6. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab - I plan on finishing several series this year and this is one of them. I enjoyed the first book and felt like the characters and plot got more interesting in the second, so I'm hopeful that this finale will excellent. I love Lila and Kell and can't wait to see what happens to them.

 

7. Leisl & Po by Lauren Oliver - I've had this book for so long now, I can't remember what it's about anymore. That doesn't stop me from wanting to read it though. I haven't read any middle grade in a while so hopefully this will be a good change of pace. 

8. The Darkest Mind by Alexandra Bracken - This book has been on my radar and like so many on this list, I just haven't gotten around to it. It was recently described to me as x-men on a road trip. I don't know about you but I love the X-men and I like a good road trip story. 

9. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas - I'm two books into this series and if I'm going to finish it this year, I need to get moving. I'm debating whether or not to reread Throne of Glass before reading this one, but we'll see. If I'm diligent, I might read Heir of Fire too.

10. Hawkeye: Kate Bishop Vol. 2: Masks by Kelly Thompson - I'm looking forward to reading more about Kate Bishop's shenanigans. It's sure to be a good time. 

Harry Potter Moment of the Week #116

hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows Reviews.

If you could change one thing from the eighth film, what would it be?

That final battle! I mean, it's not all bad, but I was really hoping for the final face-off between Harry and Voldemort to be epic. And for there to be a body.  That was the whole point, wasn't it. Everyone feared Voldemort because he disappeared the first time. There was no real evidence that he was dead, he was just gone. The final battle needed the body, a tangible confirmation that Voldemort was, in fact, actually dead.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Surprised Me

The Top Ten Tuesday has a new home. It's hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.


1. Trouble Is A Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly - I received this in an Owlcrate box and I had never heard of it, so I didn't really know what expect. I was so pleasantly surprised by this story! It has become one of my favorite series.

2. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - This series has gotten quite a bit of hype across the internet and it made me nervous to read it. I finally took the plunge last year and so far I like it. I still have to read the last book but I already have a feeling that this entire series will be great.

3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - This duology blew me away. I didn't read the Grisha trilogy so I didn't have any expectations going into these books. I liked the premise: a heist story set in a fantasy world. It has become a favorite for sure.

4. The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier - I was given this book by my sister-in-law. She really liked it and hoped that I would too. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. I didn't hate it but the story didn't strike me in the way I thought it would. It left me feeling creeped out, but not in a good way.

5. The Call by Peader Ó'Guilín - Speaking of creepy, I heard this book was spooky, but I really wasn't prepared for it. It was so good, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed being scared by this story.

6. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne - I had such high hopes for this, probably too high, and they just weren't met. I can absolutely see how this play could be amazing on stage, but as a script it just didn't do it for me.

7. The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen - I was intrigued by this series, but it just didn't live up to the hype. I was surprised by how graphic the violence was in the story and the story itself just didn't captivate me.

8. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - Before this book, I read one other Moriarty book and didn't really enjoy it. I took a chance on this book and was surprised by how much I liked it. I loved the intricacy of the plot and the characters, oh it was just so good!

9. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy - I would have loved this book in middle school or high school, but I read it too late. I was surprised by how lukewarm I felt about it. I thought I was going to be seriously invested, but I wasn't.

10. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton - I thought there was going to be more action in this book, but there ended up being quite a bit of existential theorizing. I enjoyed the book, but I was surprised by how different it was from how I imagined it.

2018 Challenges and Goals

I'm a little late in the game this year, but I've come up with some reading challenges and goals for 2018.

I've set this year's Goodreads goal to 25 books. I'm pretty sure that I'll read more than that, but I wanted to start with a realistic goal. I've also gone through the books I own to free up some space on my shelves. It wasn't the most pleasant task, but my shelves look great and now I don't feel as overwhelmed by them.

My physical TBR has gotten a little bit out of hand in recent years, so I went through and created a stack of books that I either have to read or get rid of at the end of 2018. (or both) To keep me accountable, I'm putting that list here:

1. Waiting For You by Susane Colasanti
2. The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry
3. Breakaway by Kat Spears
4. How Not to Fall in Love by Lisa Brown Roberts
5. Atonement by Ian McEwan
6. Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
7. Soundless by Richelle Mead DNF'd
8. Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliot
9. Of Fire and Stars by Coulthurst
10. The Rose Society by Marie Lu
11. Roseblood by A.G. Howard
12. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
13. Uncaged by John Sandford & Michele Cook
14. Starters by Lissa Price
15. Now That You're Here by Amy K. Nichols
16. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
17. Leisl & Po by Lauren Oliver
18. Watership Down by Richard Adams
19. Taken by Erin Bowman DNF'd
20. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
21. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
___________________________________________________________
This year, I've finally taken stock of all the series I've started and haven't finished. There's a lot of them, like so many that I don't want to start any new ones until I've unloaded some of the others.  I found a challenge to help me do just that! If you'd like to join me, you can check their master post for the rules and guidelines.

2018 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge hosted by Celebrity Readers.

I have chosen the B-lister life and will be attempting to finish/catch up on 5-8 series this year. I've got some in mind but we'll see which ones I actually read. Here's my tentative list:

B-List Finisher

1. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller (2 books total) - 3/2/18
2. Charlotte Holmes Series by Brittany Cavallaro (3 books so far) - 3/10/18
3. Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein (2 books total)
4. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin (2 books total)
5. Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab (3 books total) - 5/11/18
6. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (7 books so far)
7. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (2 books total)
8. Trouble Trilogy by Stephanie Tromly (3 books total) - 5/3/18
9. Everland Trilogy by Wendy Spinale (3 books total) - 5/25/18
10. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake (3 books so far Sept. 2018)
11. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (3 books total not including the new release) - 9/4/18
12. Warcross by Marie Lu (2 books total) - 10/25/18

Harry Potter Moment of the Week #115

hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows Reviews.

You have a chance to make three Horcruxes, what items do you use?

First, let me just put this out there: I would NEVER make Horcruxes because I want to keep all of me together. I'm not playing any games. However, if I *had* choose,  I'd probably pick a book, not sure which one exactly. (I think it'd be too cheesy to pick a Harry Potter book.)  One of my mugs would be a good choice; there are so many, no one would guess which one. And some measuring spoons, maybe my first set.

These picks may make it easy to find my Horcruxes, but they do represent my personality pretty well. Here's to hoping I never find myself entertaining the idea of making one!