Reading Wrap Up || Book Reviews & Recommendations
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ค. 2024
- Hey Booktube! The last month has been rough in terms of reading but we made it! Here are my reviews and recommendations after reading 10+ books in April!
All My Book Recommendations: amzn.to/3IBX5It
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Happy Mother‘s day to my favourite cat mama 😏🖤
Didn't think I'd have 3 babies but here we are!
You’ve inspired me to be more hardcore with my dnf-ing. I tell myself that if I’m not enjoying the reading then it’s time to find a different book. I’ve read far more books this year because I haven’t forced myself to finish books I wasn’t enjoying.
Same here! Emily is a positive influence in this regard for sure.
I'm so happy to hear it!!
I remember Thirteenth Tale being popular when I worked at a bookstore back in 2007-2010. What a gorgeous baby your cat is!
the thirteenth tale is also a movie staring olivia coleman
Widower - for a man.
I think you made the right call with Daughter of Smoke & Bone. I read it this year and really liked book 1, but I DNF’d book 2 at like 85%. If you couldn’t get into book 1, there’s absolutely no way you’d finish the series.
Someone recommended DoSaB as an intro to Laini Taylor and it just wasn't my thing. Tried again with Strange the Dreamer recently and loved it.
The Thirteenth tale is a well written a creepy mind bending tale. Good for the fall as you said.
detective book with older main female character: "An Elderly Lady is up to no good". Basically Ms Marple gone rogue 😅
Loved that book! Planning to pick up the sequel- any idea whether it is as good? Emily would love it I guess. 😂
@@arpitabanerjee2203 I don't know, I am planning to pick the sequel too 😅
I've DNF'd a bunch of books this year, it's freeing. But sometimes difficult to do cos if I've spent so much time on something, I feel like I should finish it? You're right though, continuing = reading slump. Onward to freedom haha.
My reads in April were mostly 3 stars, which is fine but I want an OBSESSION. I want to fall in love with a book. I hope we can both break out of our reading funks and find them because AH.
So glad you liked The Thirteenth Tale! It’s been my favorite for almost ten years but I need to re-read it.
I hadn't heard of The Thirteenth Tale before your read-it-or-unhaul-it video, it sounds like something for my fall TBR! 😊
Good job on ur April reads and keep it up 💛💖🩶💛🩶💖💖💙💙🫶🏻🫶🏻💕💚💚🌸🌼💘🍄📖🩵💞💞📖❤️❤️📚📚📚💛💖🩶💛🫶🏻💚💚💕💕💚🌞🧡🧡🌞🌸
I read a book with a cat named Terrible Charlie! lol
It was "Swarm" by Jennifer D Lyle, wasn't great but ok for a YA apocolypse, giant killer butterflies was at least fairly unique.
I think why divine rivals worked so well for me, is the build up of the war. I love how it kind of hangs over the story like a dark cloud and creates this daunting atmosphere until you’re suddenly caught in the storm. But I can fully understand that you disliked the ending, I did too 😅
The Thirteenth Tale is one of few books I've actually reread! I read it first when I was around 20 years old, and needed to see if it was still a favourite, and I still quite enjoyed it :D
Loved THIRTEEN TALE!😄
The Girl Who Chased The Moon was my first Sarah Addison Allen book and I loved it!! But I agree with you, it is sort of a younger read, maybe The Sugar Queen would be more up your alley.
The last book I finished was "20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth". I picked it randomly and it was surprisingly good!
I think Daughter of Smoke and Bone is one of the rare books that I'm glad I picked it up before I started DNF'ing books, lol! But I think where the series ends always makes me forget how it started, plus I loved how the Strange the Dreamer duology ended and it kind of made me want to go back and read this. I just don't know if I want to deal with the first book, lol.
I just finished Just for the Summer and it’s another amazing 5⭐️ read from Abby Jimenez! Banter is fantastic, characters are great, there is a cute dog.
The girl who chased the moon one of my favorites books amazing cover so gorgeous 📚💚❤️💙❤️📚🩷💚📖🩵🩵📖📙📙🌼🌼💜🍄🍄🍄🌺💖📚❤️💙🩵🩵🌼🌼🪻🪻🌺🌺💐🌸🫶🏻🫶🏻💘💕📚❤️💙❤️📚🩷📙🧡📖💛💜💖💖💜💛🩶🩶
I have to say just like you I am not a big romance fan but when in a reading slump they always help me get out of it
Read The Thirteenth Tale a few years ago for bookclub, it was a great read. Currently reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and next is A Fate Inked in Blood.
good vid, Emily
16:28 oh my, I’m glad I waited at the end to comment! I was about to say I think you would like Just For The Summer.😊 I’m not a romance girly myself but I can’t put it down 😅
I haven't read an Emily Henry yet but she's an author I keep meaning to try. I am looking to read some romance books over the next few months so might try one soon.
I really liked The Thirteenth Tale. Try Once Upon a River by the same author. Also good. I'd like to read more of Setterfield's work.
My library sells used books for super super cheap. Every time I go, I see a few copies of The Thirteenth Tale, but always pass it. Maybe I'll try it out this time, thanks!
I really loved it! If you've finished all the classic gothics (Rebecca, Wuthering Heights), it will scratch that itch!
Worth a try for sure!
It's such a good bok!
I've been reading a lot of Manga lately. I read a mystery romance last year "Something's Wrong with Us by Natsumi Andō". I have a couple volumes left to read, I'm just waiting for my library to have them.
I’m still in my intro phase to Fantasy, so I thought Divine Rivals was 3 ⭐️ cute, but I do agree with that ending 😒. I’m so excited for Just for the Summer; I just got mine from the library too! I read 2 of her other books, and couldn’t help but kicking up my feet and giggling!
If you need an intro fantasy I would say tress of the emerald sea by Brandon Sanderson. It’s just a fun easy whimsical pirate fantasy. It’s easy to get into and fast paced.
Omg I've also just started the 40 rules of love! I liked 10minutes and 38 seconds a lot, but I'm finding this one a bit harder to get into.
Also I read thirteenth tale last year and loved it, great story so well written. Once upon a river by her was so good too. Bellman and black wasn't good, I slogged through it and nothing happens!
On how you described the thirteenth tale it reminded me of the Seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, maybe you would like That too
I just finished the Dandelion Dynasty and I'm now in my biggest book hangover. Highly recommend the series though if you're in a mood for Asian history inspired epic fantasy with some of the best female characters I've ever read.
I need to try it soon!
I've read the first book (The Grace of Kings) and was extremely underwhelmed. It has the worst case of "telling, not showing" I've ever come across. I'll still continue reading cos I had stupidly bought the whole set, but man... I don't get the hype at all :(
@@geraltpl I actually had similar feelings but not to that extent. The Grace of Kings is a VERY different book from the rest of the series that people who love it usually end up feeling disappointed by the rest of the series and vice versa. I liked the Grace of Kings (partly because the history it covers is very familiar to me) but it wasn't anything special. Then the Wall of Storms blew my mind. I read it in one go when I was on a very long transpacific flight and was so emotionally invested that I had to stop myself from screaming on the flight lol. I just finished Speaking Bones and wept so many times. So I would say definitely give the Wall of Storms a go. If you still don't like it, then you most likely won't like the rest of the series.
@@BookswithEmilyFox I really hope you like it. I'd recommend keeping your expectations in check for book 1 but book 2 onward makes it my top 3 book series ever.
The Thirteenth Tale is my favourite gothic!! So atmospheric, and written way more accessibly than Rebecca (and way more captivating!). Currently reading Minique, a historical fiction about a girl in Montreal in 1680 who eventually becomes 'that lady in the woods'. I'm just a few chapters in and I LOVE it. All the historical tidbits about Montreal being the poorer city to Quebec due to trade routes, and the author sprinkles in lots of french words (le boulanger, la folle, etc.). All the women are named Marie-quelque chose 😂
Random but... Did you change your username? lol I totally remember your picture but I feel like it's not the same name. Don't change both or I'll struggle to remember you XD
I am jealous that you have read The Thirteenth Tale! It's on my TBR too, but I will wait until the fall. The best nonfiction book that I have read so far is Private Equity by Carrie Sun, about a young Chinese woman who worked at a NY hedge fund doing grueling work, exhausted by all the responsibilities she had. She has this insane desire to please her parents, boss, other people; it is a memoir written 5 years after she left that crazy world and in a better place in her life-thank God! It does show how insane cultural values and striving for perfection becomes generational legacy; Carrie inherited her drive from her parents. I felt sorry in the end for her parents enduring abuse during the Cultural Revolution in China, what poor Carrie endured in college, I am so glad she's happy now with herself. I could not put the book down. So far, I do not have a fiction book recommendation, but I have many to read this year and all of them are really good.
I tried Funny Story by Emily Henry hoping it would be like Book Lovers and I was interested in the set up but I was so bored and uninterested in the characters. I wish it were dual pov bc I feel like I knew everything there was to know about the mc by page 50
He did end up being more interesting than her!
Oh, so it’s nothing like Book Lovers? I guess I don’t need to give Emily Henry a last chance then because BL was the only one of hers I loved and actually finished lol
If you like Emily Henry for the older protagonists you should try Linda Holmes' work! Evie Drake Starts Over opens with the FMC on her way to leave her husband when she gets a call from the hospital that he's been killed in an accident.
Her other book has a Happy for Now ending.
🤔 I have divine rivals , may put in my free little library..
Claudia! Love her so much. 🐱 ❤
My top 3 were
-The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
-Godzilla x Kong by Greg Keyes
-The Hidden Guardian by J.D.L Rosell (that one made me cry)
I finally read Nightbitch and enjoyed it more than expected.
I found a song with One Dark Window vibes it's "Become the Beast" by Karliene
I still need to read divine rivals 😩
I loved and enjoyed Funny story love Emily Henry so much one of my favorite authors 💖💜🩶🩶🩶💜📚📚💖💛📖📖🩷💙❤️📙🫶🏻🩵💕💘🌼🪻💘💘🍄🌸🌸🥀💚💐🌞🌞💕📙📙🫶🏻💙🧡📚💖💖💜💛🩶🩶💜💖
I've read so many 1, 2 and 3 stars books this year. Hoping to get to some good ones 'cause it's been a while.😔
I am sadly coming to admit that I might be getting too old and cranky for YA romance and romantasy. (I do have issues with romance in general, tbh. although you have convinced me to try Beach Read and Book Lovers.) After years of being able to suspend my cynical attitude, it's too difficult now. For some reason, children's books and middle grade are OK still.
I also hated The Bodyguard! I do not understand the rave reviews around that book at all. Just for the Summer is great though. Best book I've read so far this year.
I just done listening to'Just(in)for the summer' last week(I gave it 4 stars), its cute, worth listening to. But can‘t compare to 'part of your world' with Daniel and Alexis(5 stars,best romance ever) .These two audiobooks share same male narrator(Zachary webber) but different female narrators,all three narrators I grow loving very much, especially Julia whehan.
After finishing happy place by Emily Henry and rating it 1 star, I believe your taste in romance is similar to mine, you should definitely do a romance recommendations video for the picky girlies like me :)
I have an old one (th-cam.com/video/j2gRXKrcFNk/w-d-xo.html) but I should do an updated version!
I only read Beach read by her, and it was bad, I hate it. So cliche. Never pick u another book by her.
You cannot imagine the feeling of vindication I had when you said you dnf'ed Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers! I read it completely, did not like it at all, but everyone is raving about it 😮💨
LOL you're not alone!!
For some reason I like books with older female characters. I did read Vera Wong, but also didn’t like it. I can really recommend “The Vanishing of Margarete Small”. It’s on the quiet side, so not sure it’s something you’d enjoy, but has some light mystery (no murder) threading through it. Another one I (mostly) liked was Mis Benson’s Beetle which is a bit more on the adventurous side. Also just read (actually listened to) The Last List of Mable Beaumont, but almost DNFed it because of the (to me) insufferable main character.
Im surprised you liked Thirteenth Tale if you aren't a fan of Rebecca and Wuthering Heights - that's very interesting! Im finally reading The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.
I was happy about it for sure! You'll have to tell me how it goes!
I honestly thought I was the only one who did not understand the hype for Divine Rivals. It felt like a book in which everything and nothing happened at the same time. Plus once it got romantic, I mentally checked out. Went from A to Z real quick.
Things totally got boring once the romance got going@
I cringed so much 😂
I immediately stopped reading when it was made clear that Iris didn’t know who she was writing to but Roman knew who was writing to him. So like chapter 2 or something 😂
Emily I really recommend you check out the siren of sussex, it’s a historical romance that I think you’ll enjoy, it has great female friendships, mature characters, subtle feminist themes, good representations, cute romantic scenes that makes your heart flutter - at least it made mine - and HORSES.
Divine Rivals isnt for me either 😅
❤
NOT LIKING DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE IS WILD!!!! But also, I get it. Sometimes a book just doesn't land. I'm bummed though. That book became my whole personality for like a year straight. I had a book themed bday party that year and everyone had to dress like a book character. I obviously went as Karou.
I should have tried it when I first got it!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone was awful. It doesn't get better. The Thirteenth Tale was really good. I read it a few years ago. It's the author's best book.
I DNF’d both Daughter of Smoke and Bone & Divine Rivals. Did not get the hype for either one of them. Seeing some of my fellow readers give five stars to those when they rate other acclaimed books 1-2 stars was baffling 😭
I gave Divine Rivals 5 stars, but the second book in the series wasn't as good in my opinion.
I really appreciated the first book because it hits some serious topics and it wasn't insta-love.
Good for you for putting down The Paper Palace! I gave it 1 star and DNFed it about ~20% into it. It went into EXPLICIT detail about child s3xual abuse, so big fat no from me.
The same thing happend to me with the paper Palace, also tried it as an audiobook and that part at the beach was a no no not for me and the writing... I found it pretty boring 😢
I'm glad it's not just me!
I read it a couple of years ago and I HATED it with a passion. Especially the ending. Thankfully I've learned about DNFing since then and I wouldn't get that far if I read it today. I don't give many one stars but The Paper Palace was a one star to me!
Paper Palace. Best book I have read in a while!
Oh my gosh I did not like Divine Rivals either, and especially hated the ending. I liked the beginning but I ended up skimming the last 50 pages because I just really didn’t like it and it felt extremely ya. Ugh. 😂 I haven’t been meshing with any of the new popular fantasy books
Same! I'll take that as a sign to get to the older fantasy books on my shelf!
@@BookswithEmilyFox omg yes! I feel like all the new ones are copying each others tropes so now I’ve been reaching for older books too :)
I prefer Abby Jimenez over Emily Henry
Also that colour looks fab on you 🩵
Thank you! What's your favorite one by her?
please tell me what lip product(s) you are wearing, i need it in my life❤
I had the 3CE pinkalicious liquid lipstick on that day and it's the leftover stain with some clear lip gloss on top!
@@BookswithEmilyFox thank uuu
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy had such weird third book. I liked the characters, but there was no great resolution.
I enjoyed Funny Story by Emily Henry.
Have you tried her other books? How do you feel like it compares?
@@BookswithEmilyFox Book Lover's is still my favourite.
I listened to the audiobook of Funny Story & really liked it.
@@shellykeyes8389 So did I. The narrator is awesome.
@@badfaith4u Yup she did a great job…I think she’s a writer too!
I haven't finished The Bodyguard yet because it's so frustrating. What's the point of promising a gender roles reversal romance (female bodyguard, male actor) if the guy ends up protecting the woman all the time anyway? Ugh
She eventually does her job but I was so annoyed by her at the end because... why are you so slow??
I DNFd the audiobook less than a quarter of the way in. 😭 Why does a supposedly A-class bodyguard think working out is a waste of time? Also, they like to have at least one person on the team with the same blood type as the client? Surely, there are better ways to keep some blood on hand without risking a bodyguard feeling unwell due to blood loss. 🤦🏻♀️
I loved "Daughter of smoke and Bone" ❤
Happy Mothers Day, sweet cat momma!
Thank you
Yup Emily Henry- meh
Happy Mother’s Day cat momma! ❤️❤️💛🩷🩷🩵🩵❤️💙💙🥀📙📖📖📚❤️💙💜💜❤️🌞💕🌼🩷💛🩵🩵❤️💙💙💙📚📚📚📚📙📖📖🧡🩷💚💚❤️❤️💙💙💙💙💙
Hi Emily. Your lips are perfect. What product do you use.
Nice video, but maybe more cats next time? Hahaha sorry I just love to see those three babies.
Ive been reading “i am a fan” since feb and I’m hating every second of it but i refuse to dnf because i have to know how annoying and pointless this book gets
Hate reading is totally valid lol
I really love your channel but I feel kind of sad that you keep criticizing YA recently like you're "too old for it". Yes there are some YA books that read very young and that aren't enjoyable for adults but there are some really great ones and it's not because you're over 18 that you can't enjoy them anymore. I feel like you don't give them a real shot and you just give up on them super fast. Like Daughter of Smoke and Bone you spoke about her talking about her ex breaking her heart and that is a topic in only the very beginning of the trilogy, it's not even relevant after, and it's a great fantasy. Same with Graceling, I was so dissapointed you didn't give that a go. It's like you're just cutting it out because it's for young readers and that means you're missing out on some great ones. Also I'm like nearly 30 and it always makes me feel a bit hurt when you say "i'm too old for that sh*t" about a book that I loved, like you're saying older readers shouldn't be reading YA... I don't know I'm just sad because I wanted your opinion on some of these books that I love and you're not giving them a fair shot.
Divine rivals is so overrated
I definitely dont' get the hype!