My Summer 2017 Wrap-Up!

 Neven Krcmarek

Hey guys! This is a bit late (it’s the seventh already?!?), but I thought with everything that’s happened over this summer, it would be fun to do a wrap-up! I don’t believe I’ve ever done one of these, as usually I feel like most of the content I would mention is already on my blog, but I think a lot of things have happened recently and I’d LOVE to share them with you. 🙂 Let’s get to it, shall we?

In June:

I read four books. FOUR. I had just finished school, and basically I was trying to get in my entire summer in the three weeks before my surgery. I didn’t read any books in the hospital, so 2 1/2 of the 4 books I read were on vacation. But I digress.

I read one 4-star book and three 5-star books. Two were from the library, one I bought myself, and one was borrowed from a friend.

One was a 2016 release, and the other three were 2017 releases! Hoorah for keeping up with the times!

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas- ★★★★★ This book was set up really well, and I’m really happy with the way Sarah took this one! The beginning fit in very well with the ending of of the previous book, A Court of Mist and Fury. A lot of things happened in this book and it actually took me TEN DAYS to read it, but it was definitely worth it! However, I do have to say that some of the steamier scenes were over-the-top and unnecessary. I really could have done without them. I also felt that the ending was a bit of a cop-out. Still, I can totally understand why she’d do that! If I’m not mistaken, I believe that she’s extended this series beyond a trilogy. If so, I’ll definitely plan on picking up the next book!

Time in a Bottle by Kathleen D. Tresemer- ★★★★ The premise of this book was super interesting, and I was extremely pleasantly surprised with how this one turned out! Basically, it’s about a teenage girl who’s an alcoholic, and how this affects her and her family. I did actually write a full review on it if you’d like to check that out. 🙂

York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby- ★★★★★ I LOVED this book. SO MUCH. It has such an interesting premise, with all of it’s puzzle-y, mystery, near-death-experience-y glory. I read Bone Gap by the same author earlier this year (or was it late last year?) and ADORED it, so when I happened upon this book in a bookstore, how could I NOT buy it? It is middle grade, but I would definitely say higher middle grade, and I had so much fun reading this book. I can’t wait for the next one to come out!

Literally by Lucy Keating- ★★★★★ This was my first book by Lucy Keating, but I thought it was super cute and hilarious. The idea of the characters in the book meeting the author writing their story and REBELLING against that idea? GENIUS. And she did it so well! I thought that Annabelle’s life and reactions to different things seemed very realistic, and I genuinely didn’t know what would happen next. The guy she ends up with, btw? PERFECT.

In July:

I read fourteen books. YAY! I got out of my reading slump and participated in a million-bajillion readathons. Yup, that pretty much sums it up.

Of those 14 books, I rated 9 five stars, 3 four stars, and 2 three stars. I read a LOT of good books!

11 came from the library, 2 were received (one as a review request, the other in my Fairyloot subscription), and 1 was an e-ARC from Edelweiss.

5 were published in 2017, 4 in 2016, 3 in 2015, 1 in 2012, and 1 in 2011.

6 I read on my own, 5 were for the 24 in 48 readathon, 3 were for the Biannual Bibliothon, and 1 was a buddy read. (One book overlapped for both the Biannual Bibliothon and 24 in 48.)

Seven of the books were for readathons, which I plan to talk about in a readathon wrap-up in the near future, and one was a buddy read, which I plan to post a joint review of, also in the near future. Therefore, I’m only going to talk about the other six.

A Tyranny of Petticoats (Edited by Jessica Spotswood)- ★★★★★ I LOVED this anthology. It’s a historical fiction anthology by women ABOUT women who are AWESOME. I believe it was my first anthology ever, and I will definitely be picking up more. I really enjoyed the experience. I normally don’t like historical fiction all that much, so this was a great way to get into it, and I’ll definitely be checking out some of these authors.

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon- ★★★★★ This book was so sweet. I loved the concept and DEFINITELY did not expect it to end the way it did. I’m super excited to see the movie, especially as it just recently came out on DVD! I know some people have issues with this book and I can see why, but it didn’t come across badly to me and I definitely don’t think it was meant to hurt anyone. I personally thought it was a fun, fluffy contemporary about someone who could die at any second! (Ah, the joys of being a crazy bookworm)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seannan McGuire- ★★★★★ I have been recommending this book left and right ever since I finished it. It’s super short, at just 170 pages, but so much goodness and cuteness and murder-y things are packed into it! I loved how quick of a read it was, and the entire concept was just so intriguing. I will definitely be picking up the prequel ASAP, and hopefully the sequel after that!

The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne- ★★★★★ I picked this one up from the library on a whim. Mostly because the cover was pretty. I had no idea what it was about and was expecting a fluffy romance. Instead, I got this contemporary about politics, grief, family, and okay, a romance too. It was SO not what I expected, and it’s definitely worth a go. It gave me serious Designated Survivor vibes, too. Must be the president thing.

Every Day by David Levithan- ★★★★★ I believe this was my first David Levithan book, and I had a FANTASTIC time reading it. The concept of a person waking up in a different body every single day is just so interesting and foreign. I couldn’t possibly imagine what that would be like, but David Levithan definitely made me believe it. The ending was perfect, the heartbreak was perfect, THE WHOLE THING WAS PERFECT AND CRY-WORTHY. Plus, it might be made into a movie. YES. I AM THERE.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus- ★★★★ I definitely really enjoyed this book. It had such an interesting premise, and I thought it played out very well. I was definitely surprised at parts, although I did guess a few of the reveals. I don’t want to give too much about this one away, as I think you should go into it blind, but I do recommend it!

In June:

I posted a lot of Down the TBR Holes! And not much else. Whoops? In any case, you all seemed to LOOOVE the second week, as well as my reviews of Time in a Bottle and Always and Forever Lara Jean!

In July:

I had my BEST blogging month of views ever! I also passed 700 followers. SEVEN. HUNDRED. WHAAAAAAT. I can’t even believe it! Thank you all so much. ❤ 🙂 July (and okay, August is too) was the month of the readathons, so my #MakeMeRead poll and 24in48/Summer Bibib announcement got a lot of views. Other than those, my most popular posts were my sixth Down the TBR Hole, my host day for the Biannual Bibliothon (in which I talked about a book I rated 3 stars and what the rating means to me), and my guide on how to get out of a reading slump!

As far as other blogs go, I definitely visited a few, but I really haven’t kept track of any. However, I’ve really enjoyed all of the conversations I’ve had on Twitter and elsewhere recently! I feel like I’ve made so many new friends. 🙂

For the first three weeks of June, I basically crammed in my entire summer. I went indoor skydiving with a couple of my best friends, to a trampoline park with another best friend, to Chicago for my brother’s birthday, camp for a few days (a church camp; we painted houses for people who can’t afford to do it themselves), and then an awesome, relaxing vacation with my family to top it all off.

I did all of this because I knew I was going to have spinal fusion to correct my scoliosis on June 21. Well, I’m here to tell you that it went really well, and I’m in full recovery mode! I’ve talked about it a bit on here and just mentioned it occasionally other places, but I definitely want to do a full update post soon. I did do a post a while ago explaining how I learned about it and the basics of my situation, but I definitely have a lot more information now than I did then, and so many more stories to tell! While it may not be the greatest thing in the world, it was still a good experience, for the most part. I went to an excellent hospital and had an amazing surgeon, not to mention wonderful support from all of my family and friends. I feel like as unlucky as I was for that to happen to me, I’ve learned so many lessons about disability, hospitals, people, what I really love to do, and who I want to be as a person. So even though I might sometimes be having a bad day and I’m wishing it never happened to me, I’m here to tell you that I made it, I survived, and I’m going to be okay. I already am okay. And hey, maybe it’ll make a great book someday. 😉

AGH, that was depressing! In other news, school starts for me in 10 days. TEN. DAYS. And my brother goes to college the same day! Ack! I’m excited and nervous (as I’ll have to have accommodations since I can’t currently carry more than five pounds), but mostly excited. I hope that I can continue to read and blog throughout the school year, even though I know it won’t be quite as much! Wish me luck!

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Whew! That was long! I really hope that you guys enjoyed this! Let me know what your favorite statistics are to see, or what your summer’s been like! How are you all doing? I miss talking to you! Tell me about your life! (I’M LONELY OKAY) Alright, this is long enough. G’BYE!

Lots of Love, Amy ❤

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