October's Audiobooks

I'm trying to keep a little log of the books I read through the audiobook, which audiobooks are my favorite way to reread books! I can get through them so fast and I just love being able to listen to them while I work. I really try to leave spoilers out of these and just talk about why I'm rereading them.

I only listened to two this month and honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with audiobooks because I can get into the people narrating them I fly through them even if I can't get into the story. But at the same time, there are books that I can get into reading but I can't get into because of the narrator. So this month there are only two audiobooks because I just wasn't in the mood to listen to books until the last week of the month. Let's see how many I can get into next month.

This was one of my favorite books last year! I love the twists and turns in this book and I really cannot tell you why I picked it up because thrillers aren't my normal genre. But I'm so glad that I did. This is the first time I'm rereading it and it's crazy rereading it and knowing the twists and turns! Let me tell you it is insane! A lot of people either love it or they hate it, I haven't seen much that is in the middle of the lane for it. I think a lot of people who read thrillers kind of get bored with this one but let me tell you it is crazy for the ones who don't normally read it. Now seeing other people review this book or talk about it makes me so proud because I can have my input and talk about how much I love this book. These authors wrote another book together that came out this year and it was okay but nowhere near as amazing as this beauty was.

I'm so glad that I read this book! Guys this book does something that is so incredible, at least to me! It takes every loose end to every part of this story and they are tied up by the end! I love the twists and turn, even in the epilogue you get hit with one final whammy that you honestly weren't even expecting. Even re-reading it now and knowing all of these things, the book is still so amazing! I'm so glad I reread this book. Guys check this thing out!

One thing I've been really wanting to do lately when it comes to reading is to reread some of my old favs, especially Nicholas Sparks books. I keep gravitating back to Dear John! This story was so intense when I first read it and I loved everything! It was one of the first books that I ever made me cry! I can't wait to get back into this book!

I'm so glad that I picked this up! I read it so long ago and I loved listening to the audiobook. It was fast and easy to get through it and there was so many little details to this story that I really didn't remember! So glad that I picked this one up in Overdrive this month.

ShayKay's Review of What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Goodreads: What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Synopsis (From Cover)

Irene Steele is still recovering from the shock of her life: her loving husband, the father to their frown sons and successful businessman, was killed in a helicopter crash. But that wasn't Irene's only shattering news: he'd also been leading a double life on the island of St. John, where another woman loved him, too.

Now Irene and her sons are on St. John, determined to learn the truth about the mysterious death - and life - of a man they thought they knew. Along the way, they're about to discover some surprising truths about their own lives and their futures.

Lush with tropical details, romance, and drama, What Happens in Paradise is another immensely satisfying page-turner from one of America's most believed storytellers.

Thoughts Before Reading

It's been a minute since I've actually had a chance to do a little thought before reading the book. So let's jump into it. I've been dying to jump into this book as soon as I finished the first book! Last year I got the first book through the Book of the Month, and I'm so glad that I picked it up! This book was intense, so when the second book popped up on Book of the Month for October I just had to get it! I need to know where the book goes after that last cliff hanger! Plus with everything going on with work and school I love being able to just sit down and read a book whenever I get a little quiet time. Let's see how long it takes me to read it.

Midway Check-In

I'm almost in the middle of the book now and guys I'm so hooked, which is so great! My goal is to finish this book this weekend, but I have some homework to do too so I don't know if I will have time. But doggy class is canceled this weekend and we aren't really planning to go anywhere so it is still somewhat doable! So I believe that my biggest annoyance in the first book was definitely Baker and even though I haven't read that much of his excerpts yet he already annoys the crap out me, you guys! I love Cash and I will always vote for him over Baker, but Baker is literally the most selfish human being! He is definitely one of those characters you are supposed to be annoyed with and let me tell ya I hate him. Even the parts that are supposed to make me feel bad for him I have no emotion because that's how much I dislike this guy! If Ayers doesn't see this and doesn't stop thinking about him it is going to drive me nuts! Cash seems like the sweetest he deserves so much more! I think I would totally ship Irene and Huck together though, I think I want that to happen. I'm not sure yet, I love how during his parts he just thinks about her randomly but she is more reserved about it.

After Thoughts

I really hope this book has another one in the series. Just like with the first one in this series the book ended in a cliff hanger, I just don't think it was as huge of a cliff hanger as the last book did. I really want to see how everything is tied up. I think with this one I actually started to care for Baker which is huge cause I really hate his character! I'm in love with Irene, Cash, and Huck's stories and I cannot read them fast enough. But I'll admit that I don't think this is the same Irene that we had in the first book, she seemed more hesitant and I just wanted more for her character. I felt so bad for Huck as the story went on, he was my favorite character in this one for sure! Cash's character also expanded in this story and I loved how it went. I just feel like there is so much that there has to be done that there just has to be another book, I just have no clue how it is going to end. I think it would be interesting if Rosie and Russ just shows up in order to save their families, but there isn't much that can be done right now for Irene.

I love this series so much! I just don't know how the next book is going to go I assume it is going to start tying up more of the loose ends that didn't get straightened out in this book but I don't know if there is going to be another book.

Goodreads Rant

Okay, guys let me just get this off my chest now. My crazy OCD cannot handle Goodreads right now. I've decided that I need to have a shelf on Goodreads that consists of the books I own, this will mean I will have books I want to read, books I've read, and then another list of books that I currently own. Well, I've just about finished my bookshelf so I started going through my GoodReads books. So I have to go through every book on my shelves and add them to this list. While I started doing this I started thinking about making another one just for Kindle books and another one for audiobooks. These would be convenient. But it's a lot of work going through all of these. I also think this is spamming everyone that follows me on there because it is posting them as if I'm just now starting to 'want to read them,' because they are rearranging that 'want to read' shelf to go in order with the ones I just marked as Book I Own. 

But for people who love to read on a large scale like this or even like to look for something to read you don't have much choice in what system you do this with. I had an excel spreadsheet of all my books, and it helped so much in the moving process, but if I'm in a bookstore I can't just look at my spreadsheet and see what I have and not have. At least on GoodReads, I can type in the book and pull up this specific book I want and it will tell me how I have it listed. But this is just a lot of time-consuming work. I hope it doesn't annoy anyone as much as it annoys me.

I started doing this on Monday and guys I just finished today! I really wanted to start tracking books I owned and this is literally the best way to do it. I know it pops every book up in the feed as 'wanting to read' or 'read' and I'm sorry but I'm so freaking happy to have this as accurate as I do. I might still be missing a couple of books, and I know I haven't added my nook books because I haven't been on nook for years I don't even think I have access to those books anymore. Plus I'm on a Kindle now so if I want to read those books I have to read them on my phone which sucks! I really wish I could read them on my Kindle! Guys combine your app stores for your customers' sake, heck I would even pay for a nook app on my Kindle at this point. My next step would be to get an iPad and be done with both Kindle and Nook in order to have book systems. I just don't want to sink the money into one right now.

So yeah this was totally worth doing, it was just very time-consuming. I would vote for anyone who has a huge collection like mine to do it. Even if you have been on GoodReads forever it is awesome to be able to pull it up. I still want to look at the books I want to read and take some of the really old ones off but as of now every book I own is marked as want to read or read. I kind of want to go back through and mark what is on my Kindle and the ones on my Audible because guys I love torturing myself apparently!

ShayKay's Review of Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan

Goodreads: Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplsn

***I just want to throw out there that I feel like the synopsis is really spoily and pretty much just tells you the whole entire book! I actually only read the first paragraph before reading this book and I'm so glad that I did it this way because I started writing this review after I'm already halfway through the book and I just noticed how the book literally follows the whole entire synopsis! So read at your own discretion.

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

Seventeen-year-old Veronica Clarke never thought she would wish she'd failed a test until she finds herself holding a thick piece of plastic in her hands and staring at two solid pink lines. Even the most consistent use of condoms won't prevent pregnancy when your boyfriend secretly pokes holes in them to keep you from going out-of-state for college.

Veronica needs an abortion, but the closest place she can legally get one is over nine hundred miles away - and Veronica doesn't have a car. Too ashamed to ask her friends or family for help, Veronica turns to the one person she believes won't judge her: Bailey Butler, Jefferson High's own little black cloud of anger and snark - and Veronica's ex-best friend. Once on the road, Veronica quickly remembers nothing with Bailey is ever simple and that means two days of stolen cars, shotguns, crazed ex-boyfriends, truck stop strippers with pro-life agendas, and a limo driver named Bob. But the pain and betrayal of their broken friendship can't be outrun. When their fighting leads to a brutal moment of truth, Bailey abandons Veronica/ Now Veronica must risk everything in order to repair the hurt she's caused.

Middle of the Book Check-In

Let me start off by saying this is definitely a YA book! But I've been in such a reading slump I feel like this is literally just what I needed! I have not been able to put this book down! Another crazy thing I never buy books on my Kindle unless they're on sale, but this one I just had to read and I'm so glad I splurged on it. I feel like this might become one of those controversial books and I'm so glad to get my own opinions before it starts blowing up.

I think Veronica's back story really helps add to the story, she lives in this very conservative community and you really see this when you are introduced to her sister's family. I can't decide if I like Veronica or not though. There are moments where I feel bad for her and I'm rooting for her. But then I feel like she's just being selfish about everything. I keep flipping back and forth. But you definitely get reminded of it being a YA book because of how Veronica is, she's obsessed with what her friends think of her, social media, and being the most popular person in the school. Which this trope itself I can't decide if I like it or not. If it is done well then I can love it but it can definitely get annoying and old really fast for me too. Right now it is really clicking for me. I really don't know if she is going to actually go through with the abortion or not. I feel like even though Bailey gives her a really hard time here and there I think she really cares and is actually being more realistic than Veronica is being. So I'm really curious about how this stripper scene goes down because that's where I am at so far. But also what happens between Veronica and Bailey?! This whole book you know they don't have the best relationship but what makes it implode so much?? 

As of now, this book is about 3.5-4 stars for me it can go in either direction right now since I'm only in the middle of the book now. So let's see how this thing goes. If I keep up this pace I will definitely be done with it by this weekend! Which is crazy not just because I've been in this reading slump but also because of work and school I never have the time to read anymore.

After Thoughts

So I was right I finished this book last night! I really hate using half stars to rate books so I just never do it and I honestly ever had a book that I had to use it with. But this book I can finally understand the feeling of having to use half stars. I loved this book but I don't think it is a 4-star book. However, it is definitely not a 3-star book so 3.5 for it!  I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book. So I think we should start doing 5 things list so let's start with this one!

Pros

1. I loved Bailey's story! It was amazing and she was so quirky.
2. The spin on that freaking stripper! OMG, that was one of the craziest parts of this story.
3. This book is so fast-paced that I had no time to get bored with it, and we all know how easy it is for me to wander away from a book if it gets boring.
4. There were so many funny scenes in this book and I lived for them! I couldn't read it fast enough.
5. I don't know if this should be a pro because I'm not for or against abortion, I have no thoughts of it. But I loved how the book was about abortion because even the procedure was the main thing for the character the book itself didn't just stay on the subject the whole time. Throughout the book, it focused on people for abortion, people against it, and then you had the comedy in the book so I didn't feel like the book was either for it or against it, and it wasn't really just focused on it.

Cons

1. The synopsis! I want to be able to read the synopsis to see if I want to read the book but I don't want it to tell me everything that is going to happen throughout the book! Pull me but don't spoil the read for me!
2. Veronica! To be honest I had a big love/hate relationship with her. I felt bad for her and the situation she was shoved into but the decisions she made drove me nuts! But to be fair it is a YA book.
3. Just like how I said the book wasn't just about the abortion but I wish there was more of Veronica deciding through the options. I get that she knew abortion was the choice she wanted but the book didn't really show her think about other options. It seems like that was the only choice she had and I get that it was but it would've been nice for this book to at least show her think through the different options there are for her.
4. The ending of the book was a huge downfall for me. I wanted more resolution between Veronica and her school friends. Heck, I wanted more between her and Bailey. Good news the book seems to be apart of a series, but I really don't know what is going to happen in the next book. I hope it follows Veronica and Bailey because I want more in this story. But if it is the same kind of scenario but with different people, I think it is going to get old fast. I don't want to just read about people getting abortions I want to see more of Bailey, plus I think it would be interesting to see how Veronica moves on after this. 
5. The ex. I get his part in the story and he did add to the story. But for me personally, I had a hard time reading about the stalking side of his story. Plus he was just a garbage human, to begin with.

Bailey ended up staying my favorite character in the book! I loved her as a character and I had a love/hate relationship with Veronica. This story took some really crazy twists and turns, GUYS THERE'S A STRIPPER! I think the only thing that I would really wish was in the book was maybe a prologue, because I would love to see what happens to Veronica and Bailey after they got back to school. You kind of get a glimpse of the choices Veronica makes but I would just love to see how their relationship ends at least up until graduation. Plus maybe leave out some of Veronica's need to be the best scenes, they got annoying real fast. This book looks like it is going to be a series and I don't know if they are going to follow this dynamic duo or if they will follow another girl in this scenario. If it follows these two I think I would read it because I just mentioned how I need more of these two, mostly Bailey. But I don't know if I would read it if it follows another person in this scenario because I hate when series follows different people. You just got me attached to these characters, so give me those characters!

But one of the biggest things I can say about the book that will be best for you as a reader is if you are curious about this book please do not read the synopsis it will literally give away everything that happens in the book. If you are on the fence and feel like you have to read the synopsis then just read the first paragraph!  

ShayKay's Review of Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

Goodreads: Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

Synopsis from Book

In a sleepy seaside town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth "Evvie" Drake rarely leaves her large, painfully empty house nearly a year after her husband's death in a car crash. Everyone in town, even her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and Evvie doesn't correct them.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Dean Tenney, a former Major League pitcher, and Andy's childhood best friend is wrestling with what miserable athletes living out their worst nightmares call the "yips": he can't throw straight anymore, and, even worse, he can't figure out why. As the media storm heats up, an invitation from Andy to stay in Maine seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button on Dean's future.

When he moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken - and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. To move forward, Evvie and Dean will have to reckon with their pasts - the friendships they've damaged, the secrets they've kept - but in life, as in baseball, there's always a chance - up until the last out.

Thoughts Before Reading

This was one of the books I picked up for my birthday, and I honestly found it by chance! I was just scrolling through books on Books-a-Million and this one popped up. After reading the synopsis and looking at the book reviews it sounded like the best thing to buy with my birthday money. The fact that I willing picked up a book with hearing so little about it and being from an author I've never even heard of before just proves that Book of the Month has really got me looking at things outside of the norm for me. I love it! 

I thought the book sounded hilarious and very interesting. I hope it has just as many laugh out loud moments as the reviews say. The book itself sounds like another great summer read and I'm trying to cram in as many books as I can before I start classes again this week. I wonder if the book will look into Evvie's life before the car crash and how much Andy plays into the story between Dean and Evvie. From the synopsis I assume Dean and Evvie are going to end up together, but I really hope it isn't an instalove scenario. 

Halfway Through Check-In

So I'm really having a love/hate relationship with this book! I really want to love it, not just cause it cost so much but also because the synopsis of the book sounds right up my ally. But the writing style keeps throwing me! I can usually get into the book even when the reading gets rough. The story itself is really good but the writing style is rough. I think the hardest part for me to follow is the transitions. The book feels really choppy, and when the time moves I have to read it for a little bit just to realize that we are all of the sudden in a different time and there are different situations going on. For example, Evvie and Dean are just hanging out just talking and then boom it's another day. I know I'm not doing a really good job at explaining this, just think about one those picture flip books. Once I get into it then all of the sudden there are different things happening. So its just a little rough to get into the book and then stay there. I'm not to the point where I want to DNF the book because I really enjoy the book, it's just rough getting there.

*****Spoilerish*****

It's mostly through Evvie's perspectives, but every now and again we get glimpses through Dean's. I love Dean, I think he's really interesting to read about and I don't know what I want for him. Do I want him to get over the yips and go back playing baseball? Do I want him to get over this and just be with Evvie? I'm not really sure yet. Evvie definitely has some secrets going on, when the book opens you see her getting ready to leave her husband and then he was killed in a car wreck. Her story has been slowly coming out as the book goes on. I like to think that this book is so choppy because the author didn't want Dean and Evvie to just instantly be in love which I prefer not having that instalove in it but I think the book is trying so hard that it makes everything feel so forced together, and some of the layers thrown into the book I think I would rather see it less to make the book feel so rushed. This is so crazy because I love seeing the layers, they make the book!

Guys! I cannot decide if I like Evvie or not! I love Dean! So far his story has been interesting and he has this thing that works for him. But I just feel like Evvie is going to be one of those untrustable characters, and what you think is going to happen is going to be way worse. I just feel like there is something more going on with the whole reason why she wanted to leave her husband than what she is starting to admit too. I don't know if the choppy transitions make her look like this or not. It just seems that her skeletons are coming out of the closet and with each one she has something dramatic happen. So she wanted to leave her husband on the same day he died but why does that matter so much to her best friend. Why couldn't she leave and stay friends? I just don't know what is going on. Even though this doesn't make sense to me yet I'm still reading it, it's still interesting! Just in an annoying way. I can't wait to see how it ends.

After Thoughts

Well I finished it. I don't really know if the book just didn't click with me or if I just didn't like it. I think I just kept waiting for something more to happen with Evvie's story and it left me wanting more. Normally I like it when the book leaves me wanting more but with this one I don't think it fulfilled the story. First, I couldn't get past how the book was written, and I don't mean the writing style I mean the actual story. It just felt choppy to me and that the transitions just happened without really transitioning from one scene to another. Second, while being in Evvie's perspective she was really annoying but kept eluding to the way her husband treated her, and don't get me wrong he sounded like a horrible person, but she kept making me think that there was more to their past. The story kept feeling over-dramatic and the build up led to nothing! This part aggravated me the most. I mean if you are going to spend so much time talking about something but then never even getting to it then why even play it at all? 

I loved Dean's story the most throughout the whole book. Then it just devolved when he ran away to New York. It was like the whole time Dean was being himself and then all of the sudden he turned into someone being pushed around by the person he loved instead of fighting for her. There was just so much that made me mad while reading this book that just drove me nuts. That all being said I still gave the book two out of five stars because there really were some parts that I really liked and enjoyed reading.Would I read more by this author? Yes, I the story sounded cool it was just the execution that didn't go over really well.

ShayKay's Review of Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Goodreads: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Synopsis from GoodReads

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow - and Reds like him - are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization agianst the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down enemies....even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Thoughts Before Reading

So I've tried reading this book a few times so far. My first attempt was right after I bought the book on my Kindle. However, I believe I was reading something else so I stopped, but I can't remember what I was in the middle of. At the time Red Rising was on sale in the Kindle Store, and I've heard a lot of people talking about the book and comparing it to Hunger Games. The synopsis even reminds me of Hunger Games, so I thought about giving it a real try. This second time I made it pretty far into the book. I've learned that it has its fast and slow parts. It has been very detailed. But during one of the slower parts I fell away from the book. If I had the book in a physical copy I think I would've gotten through it, but since it was on my Kindle it was really easy for me to walk away from it. This time I'm trying audiobook. I keep going back to the book because I don't think it is boring, and it has potential. I think it was just the format I was trying to read it on was making it worse for me. If I'm reading on my Kindle it really has to keep my attention, and if it doesn't I'll find something else to read. 

The audiobook sounds really good so far. I think the reader does different voices for different characters and I love that! It keeps me entertained with the story and I can't wait to see what happens with Darrow once he gets into the Gold Caste.

After Thoughts

Well I finished this book a while ago and guys this was a struggle! I was seriously so excited to read this book! Everything I heard about it was just so much hype for it! People were comparing it to an adult version of the Hunger Games, how does that not sound so cool!? So let me tell you guys when I saw this book on sale I picked it up (eBook). I tried reading it and I kept DNF. The first attempt wasn't really an attempt so I don't really count it. I just got it, I was in the middle of another book I was really enjoying so I just stopped going to to it to read it. So I stopped reading it. The second time I picked it up was very intentional. I read the first chapter and it took me forever. I do know that when I read on my Kindle if I'm not fully into it I do read it slowly. But this book dragged! So I stopped and picked up one of my Book of the Months book, every so often I will power read through my saved up Book of the Month pile. Eventually I tried picking it up again because I was determined! I made it about a third of the way through the book but then again I tapped out. I lost to this book like three times! The book was just slow. When the book is doing something it is so good, but when it lulls it seriously takes forever to get through. The slow parts definitely outweighs the other parts. In complete honest the book's slow moments were still good they were just very detailed and dragged.So it was rough to get through even though I really enjoyed the attention to details that were being thrown everywhere. I definitely see where the Hunger Games get tied to this one so much. There are so many things that are reminiscent of the Hunger Games. But the Hunger Games I think had more speed to the story. Red Rising probably had more action but it was definitely more adult version.

I had to use the audiobook to get through this book, and I was so relieved/disappointed that this book was just as hard to get through as an audiobook as it was on my Kindle. I enjoyed the story overall. The cliff hanger made me kind of want to pick up the second book to see how the story unfolds but this book definitely sent me into a huge book slump. I'm just now starting to pick up another book and I finished this one almost a month ago. So even though I want to pick up the second one just to see how the story goes but it was insanely rough to get through this one and I don't think I will. I definitely don't want to say I will never read the rest of this series but for now I don't see it happening. 

The Bookish Bookin Book Tag

Since I have a little bit of time let's do a tag! I found this one actually on the Lists of Tags over on Fandom, but then I found the questions over on Continue Reading Here..... blog so I thought why not do another tag, it's not like I've been reading much lately! Darn Sims! I do promise I have something in the works that is actually a review about a book so hopefully it comes out soon! 

1. What is a well loved book you hated?

Guys! This one was so hard for me to find because old Shayna put 4 or 5 stars on literally everything! Like I don't even know why! This book I picked for this question is something I still think I rated too high. I hated Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, but I still gave it 3 out of 5 stars, and even though I think I rated it too high I know why it's a 3. I loved the writing style and probably the first half of this book. But then the turns the book took I hated and it through me off. I was kind of interested in it but then everyone saying how great it is really pushed me over the edge but guys! It was rough to finish! I don't think I'm done with this author though, I think I would like to try a different book by this author one day.

2. What is a guilty pleasure book?

I think one of my biggest guilt pleasure books would be the Crazy Rich Asian series! Like give me more of those books and I would read them instantly! The first one was definitely my favorite of the series but I loved the whole set so much!

3. Have you ever spoiled a book for someone? If so, which book?

In the real world I don't really have many friends that read that I can really spoil books for, but one of my favorite things to do is point out differences between the books and movies. So I guess I try to spoil movies for whoever is watching it with me then the movie does something totally different then the book. I guess that's why I usually only watch movies by myself or with Tyler so it's fine for me to do it. 

4. What book made you ugly cry?

I don't really get that emotional over anything really. It's not that I don't get attached to the characters or the story I just don't like to cry so it takes a lot to make me cry. That being said the last book that made me really tear up was definitely Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson. This book follows three different point of views, which usually drives me nuts and makes it even harder to get that emotional connection. But this book really blended the three stories together so well. The three women the book follows are all students of West Point, a military university. So that right there already tell you its a military book and it was definitely outside of my usual reads, and it is a chunker of a book too! But the story is so beautiful and very touching. I really think it is going to be in the top ten for the year for me.

5. What is your latest DNF?

This answer is really going to make people mad but hear me out before you get upset! The most recent book I DNF, unintentionally, was the Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I added unintentionally because I was listening to it on audiobook through Overdrive and guys it wasn't that I didn't like the book I just wasn't in the mood for it. I've mentioned it a lot but I'm a mood a reader and I just finished Red Rising on audiobook and then Things You Save in a Fire in physical book, plus just started graduate school, so my mood to read books disappeared. I loved Things You Save in a Fire and that book hangover just made me not feel like reading. I'm still not really in a reading mood, and all of this happened about a week ago. Literally all I want to do right now is play Sims, but I have to work and stuff since that's what adults are supposed to do. I do plan to read this book for real, I just don't know when that will happen.

6. Which book have you read due to controversy?

Honestly I picked up Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James just because of the controversy, and guess what! I loved it, it isn't one of those books I can reread all of the time. I don't love it because of the racy bits I loved it because it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, and I know your looking at this like I'm totally nuts but just think about it! The basic plot of the book is an innocent girl falling in love with a beast and by the end of the series the beast turns into her prince. Another unpopular opinion I loved the drama aspects in the second book more than the first book.

7. Have you read a book where you questioned the author's sanity?

Stephen King, hands down! How does he come up with these scary intense books?! Then the fact that the books are so long! They are all pretty much huge chunkers, and they are terrifying. It's just insane how he comes up with them so much.

8. The most cringe-worthy book you've ever read?

OMG! Modelland by Tyra Banks was definitely the most cringest book I've ever read in my whole life! I don't even know what happened to this book! But can you really expect anything different? I read it so long ago though I couldn't even tell you where it went down hill because I do remember liking the beginning of this book.

9. What book have you read solely due to the cover?

There aren't really many books that I pick up solely because of the cover. I do have to admit there are books that I have multiple copies of because I get a prettier version and I keep the original because of the sentimental values. For example, I have read A Game of Thrones through audiobook (so I technically listened to it) but when Books-a-Million had their buy a book by the page count sale a couple months ago I picked up this collector's edition of the book! Guys it is beautiful! Even though this book wasn't my favorite I had to have this thing. It is the 20th anniversary edition and it looks like the copy below, which from the cover it doesn't look all that special but it has those golden end pages along with illustrations. I love it! I guess a book that I got purely based off of the cover was Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincolt, I mean look at this cover guys! Even though I love this cover the reviews definitely pushed me over the edge and made me feel like I had to have this book! I think it even ended up being a 5 out of 5 star book for me too. It was a really good read.

 

10. Name a book you're embarrassed to admit you've read.

Hands down Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is definitely the only book that I've ever regretted reading! This series means so much to me and I would love to see more of the books because I would've loved to see how Harry's life went after the books. But guys this book was not it! I went in with a very open mind but it was so hard to get through it, so many different things contradicted the books! Even though I hate the book so much I did like seeing some of the kids after the books ended, I just wanted more of the world I love and even though this was apart of that world it wasn't the story we wanted. Would I watch the movie if they made one? Yes because I am a die hard Harry Potter fan and I can't get enough, plus a movie could be better than the screen play we got. I would even love a prequel where we follow James or Lilly, particularly Lilly's journey because she came from the muggle world like Harry did. I would just want more of this world and what we got was very disappointing.

11. Name an unknown book you wish more people know of.

There are so many different books that I love so much that I feel like no one even knows about! So I'm narrowing it down to just one is really hard so I'm just going to mention two! JD Robb/Nora Roberts writes one of my all time favorite series! I think a lot of people avoid the In Death series because it is such a huge series, she's actually about to release the 50th book in February and I cannot wait! Another book that I absolutely love that I never hear anyone talk about is Evernight by Claudia Gray. This is a series that I think might be too young for people my age to really know about but I was OBSESSED with this book growing up.

 

12. Name a favorite villain.

Even though my favorite book is detective series it's hard to find a favorite villain. I love to hate Umbridge because she comes off so sweet but she is seriously more evil than Voldemort. One of my favorite tropes is when the main character is their own villain. Another some what villain that I think would actually qualify as my favorite villain is the guy from Things to Save in a Fire. I think in this book there is definitely the unsuspected villain! There are so many guys in the book that you think is the villain but the actual bad guy has such a sad back story. Seriously not going to go into too much details because this book is so good and I do not want to spoil it!

13. Name a book you enjoyed that you read that is outside the norm of genre you usually read.

I feel like today's Shayna would definitely say Harry Potter is outside of my normal genre because I really do not read fantasy anymore. I used to love vampire books such as Twilight, Morganville Vampires, and Marked. But I think I read so much in this genre that I just burnt myself out. I haven't really picked up a book that is in this wheelhouse in a long time. Now I really enjoy reading about crime, drama, and romance. I think these really pull me in. I love the hard hitting stuff too. I like to think I'm a well rounded reader but I will definitely pick these types up first, and with Book of the Month help I do venture out of these specific types a lot. I would say that the book type I avoid the most is sci fi, it's the hardest for me to get into lately. But the In Death series is based in the future so I guess it is technically a little sci fi, but it has romance and the main story is following the police in New York City. If you can't tell already this is one of my favorite series. 

14. Name tropes you actually enjoy reading.

If a love triangle is done right and not just thrown into the book I love it. The detective troupe never gets old for me. I hate instalove! When the bad guy is actually the good guy will always be my weakness! But it has to be something I don't see coming, I hate how it eludes to it over and over so you just know it is going to happen that way. I don't know if this is a troupe, or if it is what it's called, but I love when the book goes different directions instead of how I expect it too. Books get so boring when you read it and just know how it is going to end, give me something that keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time.