An End to the Book Buying Ban

Well folks it is the end of June. I've made it! I worked so hard and got so far and in the end mostly succeeded in my book buying ban for June. Its been tough. There had been many times I was tempted to buy books (as I mentioned on Tuesday) and I mostly turned them down.

However, today is June 30th and I just got the notification for UPS a package will be delivered today. In an effort to save myself some money (B&N was having a sale) I ordered the reward for this success a few days early just before the holiday weekend. My thoughts were July 4th is on Monday so I'll have to wait extra long for it anyway. This will work out just fine.

My reward, if you didn't know, was Hamiltome. The giant book about Hamilton (the musical). Ah and UPS thinks they are doing me favor because they are delivering it while they are in my area today.

Argh the irony!!

I am not going to beat myself up over the fact it will be delivered in June though. I think I've done a great job this month resisting the call of books. The floodgates may open in July but I'm going to try to keep the buying to a minimum. It has gotten out of control these past few years and I want to read the books on my shelves not just look at them.

If you are thinking about going on a book buying ban, I recommend it. I've never done one before and had an interesting (and dramatic) month resisting book sales and ordering books.

A few tips!

1) Set a specific amount of time - I see people put themselves on bans "for the foreseeable future" and know they are going to fail. Eventually you will buy books again.

2) Don't worry if you fail - Obviously I failed a little bit, but overall things were successful! I bought less books than I normally would in June.

3) Outline a specific reason you want to book ban - My ultimate goal was to read more books than I bought this month. Maybe you want to set a goal amount to save before you buy your next book or read a certain number of books before you purchase again. Whatever you decide! Its up to you!

That's it! Let me know how your book buying bans have gone in the past! Happy Reading!

June Wrap Up (2016)

Books Mentioned:

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin 

Be With My by J. Lynn

The Proposal by J Lynn

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

The Watsons by Jane Austen

Juvenilia by Jane Austen 

Poison and Protect by Gail Carriger 

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

T5W- Top Settings I Want to See More of

It is time, once again, for Top Five Wednesday. I love this meme and the topics have been really amazing lately. I know I've been doing a lot of list posts lately. I promise I'll be working on some discussion and reviews soon. I've been super busy lately at work and exhausted when I get home!

1) Tortall - When I was a child I was constantly in this world and reading about the characters there. I loved it and I got lost there many afternoons. I want to climb back into that world with new stories and characters someday.

2) Fantasy world with Technology - Not steampunk! I'd be interested to see more modern fantasies where magic and technology cross pathes.

3) The Old Kingdom - After I discovered Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy, I wanted even more books set in this world. I love the characters so much I can't wait for the next installment!

4) Africa - Future africa? Fantastical Africa? Folklore/fairytale retellings based Africa (based on African mythology/folklore? I'll take any or all of these please because I don't know of any.

5) Asia - While there has been a wave of books set in the middle east or based in middle eastern culture, I haven't seen many based in East Asia or India. I'd love to see more based here just like I mentioned about Africa.

Any Suggestions? Thank you!

My Last T5W ---> My Own Favorite Posts and Videos

Top Ten Times I Almost Broke My Book Buying Ban in June

Guess who is on a book buying ban this month! ME! This is me recounting a few of the times I nearly broke that ban throughout the month for Top Ten Tuesday Freebie.

1) On day one when I went on Amazon and saw Jennifer L. Armentrout's Covenant Series was SUPER cheap. - It is in fact still cheap and taunting me daily.

2) During that Book Outlet Summer Reading Sale - Phew guys this was a close one!! I had a cart together and everything.

3) When my mom offered to go to the book store with me. - She offered to go! She never does that! (I then had to explain what a book buying ban was)

4) When the price of Hamiltome kept going up - Hamiltome is my reward for keeping up this ban for the whole month. If it got obscenely expensive, I was going to break or cry

5) This moment right now. Today.

6) When A Dance With Dragons was on $4.99- I just finished A Feast for Crows and need to know what happens next.

7) When Book Depository sent me an extra 5% site wide - So many UK editions to consider.

8) Saturday mornings in bed when I can't sleep - This is a normal time for me to shop for books. Sadly I couldn't buy any of those books.

9) When I was watching June book hauls and everyone had amazing new books.

10) After my Owl Crate came - After that box of bookish goodies arrived on my doorstep (The only book I was going to purchase this month) it was really hard not to buy more.

My Last TTT - Top Ten Books I've Bought in 2016*

*Also when I wrote this post. 

Owl Crate Unboxing

In June I splurged on the Owl Crate Royalty box because who can resist royalty? Not I! I was really pleased with this box and I would definitely order one again in the future. Check out the video description for links to all the products.

Review- Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Series: Falling Kingdoms  #1

Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Published: December 2012
Source: Purchased
Hardcover - 412 pgs
Add it // Buy it

Rating: 2/5

In the three kingdoms of Mytica, magic has long been forgotten. And while hard-won peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest now simmers below the surface.

As the rulers of each kingdom grapple for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed... and four key players, royals and rebels alike, find their fates forever intertwined. Cleo, Jonas, Lucia, and Magnus are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

It's the eve of war.... Choose your side.

Quick Thoughts: Ugh!

Full Review:
I'll keep it short. This book fell completely flat for me. The characters didn't compel me to keep reading. The world building was practically nonexistent and the plot was very predictable. After hearing so much hype about this series, I was expecting to be really impressed. Instead there was a cast of trope-based characters that didn't hold my attention during the constantly shifting points of view. The different points of view made the book confusing and disjointed. Overall nothing made me care about the characters.

It took me almost seven months of giving up and going back to this book to finish it. Maybe I should have just given up, but there was potential there. I thought things were at a turning point several times, but it fizzled every time. I'm disappointed but I still have some interested to see what happens in the next books.  I already have book two so I'll probably check it out in hopes the next installment will work better.

My Last Review----> The Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races (Review)

Series:Standalone
Genre: Historical Fiction/Paranormal
Age Group: Young Adult
Published: October 2011
Hardcover - 409 pgs
Add it // Buy it 

Rating: 5/5

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

T5W - Favorite Personal Blog Posts or Videos

Top Five Wednesday was a bit delayed! I was a bit lazy posting this even though I mostly had it written. #LazyBlogger. Also #HotBlogger because it has been really summery suddenly.    Anyway this week the topic was five posts/video you've written that you are proud of and these are mine!

Random Post:

Five Reasons to Check Out the Library - I love libraries and I promote them a lot. I'm proud this was an early post in my blogging career.

Reviews
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman - This is a book I did an initial review of and rewrote it completely upon reread. I'm proud I gave this book a second chance because it completely won me over during round two.

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers - Mortal Heart was an ARC I won from Goodreads and it was a series I was super excited to read before anyone else did. I posted my review just before release and I felt like a real blogger when I could do that.

Videos

  

Abhorsen Review - Hot Key Books saw this review and put it in their playlist about the Abhorsen Series. I was really really excited when that happened. 

Three Reasons to Read- Several people commented saying they wanted to read the series after I made this video which made me really happy. Its a little dated now because the fourth book is our but I'm still proud of it. 

Top Ten Books I've Bought so far this Year

OK, while I normally follow the Top Ten Tuesday topics to a T, this week I don't have ten favorite books that were released this year. I haven't read that many new releases. Instead, I'm just going to list the top ten books I'm excited for that I've bought this year. Some of these are new releases and some of them are older titles. 

I haven't read any of these, but I'm so excited for them. 

    

    

My Last TTT ---> Top Upcoming Releases for July-December 2016

Favorite Book to Flim Adaptations

Though there are those who argue the book is always better. However, there are film adaptations I adore despite, or maybe because of, their many flaws. I've made a video about some of them, but I continue to find new ones all of the time. Let me know your favorites!!

Review - Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

Series: Seraphina #2 (Final)
Genre: Fantasy 
Age Group: Young Adult
Published: March 2015
Hardcover - 608pgs
Add it // Buy it 

Rating: 3/5

The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself—for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways. 

As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny?

Quick Thoughts: At the end of Seraphina I couldn't believe this would only be a duology. There were so many storylines started in book one that needed to be explored and tied up. In the end I think Hartman did a good job wrapping up her story, but there were many things I still had questions about at the end of this long book. I still enjoyed the characters and the world building is excellent.

Full Review: At the end of the day my feelings about this book are conflicted.

If I based my review entirely on characters, prose and world building, Shadow Scale would rank at the top. Hartman is incredibly skilled at writing and I loved the world. However, the plot and wrap up to the store left me wanting something more. In the end there was very little character growth from Seraphina which was really disappointing. She struggled throughout the book to make good decisions and was befuddled by her enemies, but never learned from her mistakes.

Throughout this duology Hartman discussed both race and religion prominently. Seraphina travels abroad and encounters many different views on her mixed heritage both rooted in religion and cultural differences. Hartman's world is full of rich details and I enjoyed how much we explored, literally, in this wrap up. Hartman is also a master at writing beautiful phrases that sucked me into the story. 

However I was disappointed we rushed through the scenes in Goredd at the end of the story after spending so much time abroad throughout the book. One of the most frustrating parts of this novel was despite the build up throughout both books, the romance disappeared into the background almost completely. In general it seemed like the old characters were abandoned for a new set of traveling companions. Overall I missed Seraphina's homeland and wanted to get back to it sooner!

Towards the end the story was a bit muddled and rushed. There were some last minute revelation that were great in theory, but glossed over so much I felt like that there were added for shock value. To me this wrap up could have used a little more trimming as far as the traveling and more explanation at the end. Overall it was ok, but compared to Seraphina it fell flat.

Happy Reading