Reading Resolution + First Week Recap

So I know I'm a little late posting this, but here's my New Year's reading resolution: Read 50 pages per day!

To some of you, this might sound minuscule, but most of last year I was reading no where near that amount, which makes maintaining a book blog a bit difficult. I think 50 pages is a realistic goal.

In order to keep myself on track, I'm going to start posting a weekly recap on Sundays. This will include: pages read, the previous weeks posts and any new additions, along with anything else I feel like adding. So here's my first recap! I've included the 1st and 2nd as well because the year started on a Friday.

Last Week's Posts

Review: An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes by Randy Ribay
2016 Reading Challenges

New Arrivals

Family Magic by Patti Larsen - free on Amazon

Pages Read

1/1 - 50
1/2 - 9
1/3 - 20
1/4 - 4
1/5 - 18
1/6 - 51
1/7 - 122
1/8 - 113
1/9 - 0

Weekly (+2) Total = 387 pages
Weekly (+2) Average = 43

As you can see, this week was wildly inconsistent, with pages ranging from 0 - 122. Next week I will try to read more steadily. But I wasn't too far from my goal (only 7 pages on average)

2016 Reading Challenges

The start of the new year is always exciting for me, because it's the time I get to sign up for all the book blog challenges! To be completely honest, I often don't finish them, but I love to try! Here's what I'm going to sign up for this year!

2016 Reading Bingo - hosted by Novel Heartbeat

Prequel & Sequel Challenge - hosted by Novel Heartbeat and Writer Grrl Reads

Goal = 50 points (last year I got 67!)

TBR Pile Challenge - hosted by Bookish Lifestyle

I have a few (ok, like honestly over a hundred) books of on my book shelf that I haven't read yet. I'll be realistic and go with A First Kiss as a goal, but more would be better.

1-10 A Firm Handshake

11-20 A Friendly Hug

21-30 First Kiss

31-40 Sweet Summer Fling

41-50 Could This Be Love?

50+ Married with Children

So, that's my list of challenges for now. I may be adding a few more in the next few days as I stumble across them.

Review: An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes

Info: 
Title: An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes
Author: Randy Ribay
Publisher: Merit Press
Publication Date: October 16, 2015
Source: I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
As their senior year approaches, four diverse friends joined by their weekly Dungeons & Dragons game struggle to figure out real life. Archie's trying to cope with the lingering effects of his parents' divorce, Mari's considering an opportunity to contact her biological mother, Dante's working up the courage to come out to his friends, and Sam's clinging to a failing relationship. The four eventually embark on a cross-country road trip in an attempt to solve--or to avoid--their problems.

Told in the narrative style of Akira Kurosawa's RASHOMAN, AN INFINITE NUMBER OF PARALLEL UNIVERSES is at turns geeky, funny, and lyrical as it tells a story about that time in life when friends need each other to become more than just people that hang out. 

Review:

I was excited to read this one, as I'm an occasional D&D player and the synopsis mentions that the characters are in a playing group together. However, I found it to be disappointing. The D&D aspect was probably the thing I was most excited for. However, this turned out to be a bit misleading. They don't play any games at all until the final chapter. Instead, this book just got on my nerves. More specifically, the characters got on my nerves. They were so whiny! Seriously, these characters were the epitome of teenage angst, which is not really my thing. And I only liked one of the 4 main characters. Archie was acting like a spoiled little brat and I felt super bad for his dad. Mari was just an unlikable character for me because it felt like she had no interest in anything. She's a storyteller, but she had no enthusiasm for anything. Dante was the only character I was close to liking and even then I found his characterization weak. And don't even get me started on Sam. I just wanted to shake an enormous amount of sense into him. I have no idea why any of the other characters even bothered with him. Which brings me to my other major complaint. The whole premise of the road trip together was really weak in my opinion. Sam was obviously the instigator, but why Mari and Archie would ever agree to go is beyond me. I think it was perhaps a bit too much to have 4 major characters in a book that is under 250 pages. However, I'm not sure if more characterization would have helped my opinion of the book, since I disliked most of the characters based on what was written. My dislike of three quarters of the main characters made it impossible to rate this book above 2 stars.

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Review: Winter

Info: 
Title: Winter
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Source: Purchased

Synopsis:
Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

Review:

This was one of those bittersweet books, because a series you loved is coming to close. While this wasn't my favourite book in the series, I still enjoyed it and thought it ended the series well. My favourite characters (Thorne and Iko) were back in action, although neither of them played as major of roles as some of the others. But they didn't do anything to diminish my love of them, so that's always good. This book focused on Winter, Levana's stepdaughter and Meyer's version of Snow White. I really enjoyed Winter's character. It was interesting to see a glimpse of her madness and see her struggle to differentiate reality and hallucination. Despite her difficulties, Winter is a kind and likable character. We also got a see a softer side of Jacin in this book and he *almost* became likable at times. The finale was filled with excitement and was not a disappointment, although I think it was always going to be a happy ending, even when it felt a touch unrealistic. I can't say too much without things getting a little spoiler-y. Overall, I enjoyed the conclusion to the series and can't wait to read whatever Meyer puts out next! Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Chapters Find the Author:   Goodreads | Web | Facebook | Twitter

Review: Just Like Magic

Info: 
Title: Just Like Magic
Author: Elizabeth Townsend
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: October 21, 2012
Source: Amazon Freebie

Synopsis:
Miss Ella Merton had her life completely planned out: attend the finest finishing school, be presented at the palace, and marry well - in fact, why not a prince? But now her beloved father has died, her family is bankrupt, and she's being forced to work in the kitchen. Still, she's not willing to give up - if only her two stepsisters weren't so selfish, and that chore boy so familiar, and her godmother so unfashionable - not to mention that ridiculous dog. With no magic wand to wave, can she still make her dreams come true? 

Review:

I'm a big fan of fairy-tale retellings, but this one left something to be desired. It ws a pretty straightforward retelling, without much to make it unique. That, and Ella was a very unlikable character for the first half of the book. As mentioned, this retelling was pretty straightforward, other than the lack of magic. So instead of a fairy godmother, Ella's godmother is a dressmaker, which give a plausible way for the story to move forward without the use of magic wands. However, I wish there had been a bit more added in to the story to give a more unique spin to it. My major issue with this book was that I hated Ella for most of it. She is snooty and spoiled and proud and lacked backbone. When her stepfamily started treating her poorly she should have pushed back or at least allowed her friends to assist her. But no, she just complained about it and did a poor job and was rude to poor Henry. Eventually she came around, but it was too little too late for me. The other issues I had with the story are the issues I have with the fairy tale in general. By it's very nature, there was a unhealthy dose of instalove. Because talking to someone for a couple hours in the dark is enough to know they are marriage (and throne) material. Right?! Also, this book is pretty short, with didn't help my reception of it. Anyway, not a winner for me. But give it a try if you are a big fan of retellings and don't mind unlikable characters. Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository Find the Author: Goodreads | Web | Twitter | Facebook

Review: Lair of Dreams

Info: 
Title: Lair of Dreams
Author: Libba Bray
Series: The Diviners #2Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 25, 2015
Source: I received a complimentary ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Synopsis:
The longing of dreams draws the dead, and this city holds many dreams.

After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O’Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. With her uncanny ability to read people’s secrets, she’s become a media darling, earning the title “America’s Sweetheart Seer.” Everyone’s in love with the city’s newest It Girl…everyone except the other Diviners.

Piano-playing Henry DuBois and Chinatown resident Ling Chan are two Diviners struggling to keep their powers a secret—for they can walk in dreams. And while Evie is living the high life, victims of a mysterious sleeping sickness are turning up across New York City.

As Henry searches for a lost love and Ling strives to succeed in a world that shuns her, a malevolent force infects their dreams. And at the edges of it all lurks a man in a stovepipe hat who has plans that extend farther than anyone can guess…As the sickness spreads, can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld to save the city?

In this heart-stopping sequel to The Diviners, Printz Award-winning andNew York Times bestselling author Libba Bray takes readers deeper into the mystical underbelly of New York City.

Review:
Evie and her friends are back in action in Lair of Dreams and it's just as fun and exciting as The Diviners. I love the angle the author takes towards the supernatural and the powers that our main characters have. Combine that with the background of the roaring twenties and it's a winning combination!

Since I really have enjoyed this series so far, I think it will be easier to start with the things I didn't love and that put this as a 4 star read instead of a 5. The first issue is with Evie herself. She drove me up the wall in this book. She's been a flawed character from the start, but she is so stubborn and selfish in this book that I (along with some other characters) just wanted to shake some sense into her. The second issue is that things got a bit love triangle-y. Actually, more than a love triangle, some kind undefined love shape, of which I personally am not a fan.

Ok, now that the negative bits are out of the way, I can start gushing about all the things I love. We get to see a lot more into the character of Sam Lloyd, which was interesting and really helped show him as a full character.

But the majority of this story belongs to Henry and a new character, Ling Chan: the dream walkers. I loved both of the characters, both together and apart. We find out so much more about Henry and his life in New York, as well as his past in New Orleans. And Ling is possibly my favourite character. She's direct to a fault, but also very strong and loyal and I enjoyed her juxtaposition of the mysterious power of dream walking and her interest in the scientific world. Through Ling and Henry's dream walking, we also meet Louise and Wai-Mee, who were interesting characters as well, especially Wai-Mee.

The plot of the sleeping sickness was pretty terrifying. Often young, otherwise healthy people going to sleep and never waking up. I don't even want to imagine. I found part of the plot a touch predictable, as I determined one aspect very early on and the second, more major aspect a few pages before the characters (nothing wrong with that one, still a very surprising revelation once I figured it out.

There's so much that happened in this book it would take ages to put down all my thoughts on it. So, it shorted, I really enjoyed this book, which a slight damper put on by Evie being such a brat much of the time, and I can't wait for there to be another book, especially with that little bit with Theta at the very end. And I want something good for poor Mabel and I want Ling to meet Jake Marlow and...

I told you there was a lot.

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Review: Not Wanted on the Voyage

Info: 
Title: Not Wanted on the Voyage
Author: Timothy Findley
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: Originally published 1984
Source: Borrowed

Synopsis:
Not Wanted on the Voyage is the story of the great flood and the first time the world ended. It is a brilliant, unforgettable drama filled with an extraordinary cast of remarkable characters: the tyrannical Noah and his indomitable wife, Mrs. Noyes; the aging and irritable Yahweh; a chorus of singing sheep; and a unicorn destined for a horrible death. With pathos and pageantry, desperation and hope, magic and mythology, this acclaimed novel weaves its unforgettable spell.

Review:
I've actually waited a few weeks before reviewing this book, trying to sort through my thoughts and feelings on it. I still feel like that is as impossible a task as ever, so I'm just going to go for it.

I liked the idea of this book. The plot and themes throughout with interesting and engaging. I enjoyed the characters of Mrs. Noyes, Mottyl and Lucy and enjoyed hating Dr. Noyes. I think the themes of the novel were interesting and spoke to the struggles many encounter when facing off against powerful figures and institutions.

However, I felt that the author appealed to shock value more than I liked. The seen with the 'pirates' made me almost cry. The scene with Emma and the Unicorn made me feel physically ill. I also found some pacing issues with the first 2/3 of the book and I found the ending very unsatisfying.

Overall, I still feel fairly undeciding about this book, so I've currently settles on three stars, as I both loved this book and wanted to throw it across the room while reading it.

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