The highest monthly total yet this year!

It’s rare that I go out and buy a brand new hardcover unless I’m going to get it signed.  I get a lot of new books through OwlCrate, but to actually drop money on a new book in a bookstore?  Very rare.  But The Language of Thorns was so beautiful I couldn’t help myself.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf3veayF6sK/ 

Isn’t it pretty???  And the fairy tales inside were so unique, both familiar and strange.  I absolutely loved it.

Aside from The Language of Thorns, I also read the second book in the Six of Crows duology, Crooked Kingdom, which was just as good as the first, as well as the ebook-only prequel to the Grisha series, The Demon in the Woods, which was about the Darkling’s childhood.  I think the only book left of hers that I haven’t read is the Wonder Woman book.

Got some good books at my library booksale.  I had a few days between incoming holds at the library, so I sped through Inexcusable.  This was a mildly disturbing read that I have mixed feelings about.

I probably would have been more disturbed if I hadn’t just read The Children and the Wolves, which was even shorter and quite troubling.  I found the character voices and the writing to be amazing, but the content had me wondering who exactly the book was written for.  Not for the faint of heart!

I had picked Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore up from Annie’s Book Stop a couple of years ago.  About three times I have placed it on my kitchen table as part of that month’s TBR stack, and each time I had to put it away as more and more books came in from the library to read.  This month I was determined to finally read it and I’m so glad, because I loved it!  If only there was a 24-hour bookstore.  I’d love to work the night shift there, especially if it meant I could write when there were no customers.  Having worked overnights myself, I feel like the main character didn’t suffer from enough sleep deprivation, but that’s my only criticism.  Definitely a must-read for bibliophiles.

There have been so many books this month that made me want to stay up late reading!  I was about 50 pages into The Ritual before I knew it (I had meant to read only a chapter or two before bed…).  The pacing in this book was pretty incredible, I had to keep going!  I then immediately watched the movie on Netflix, which was a mistake.  I generally like to wait a few months before watching a book-to-movie adaptation, because the time softens my memories of the book.  A lot of changes were made to the story that I didn’t like, but might work well for someone who had not read the book.  Oh, well.

• Best Overall: The Language of Thorns
• Least Favorite: Solitary
• Most Disturbing: The Children and the Wolves
• Coolest Concept: Donners of the Dead
• Fastest Read: The Demon in the Woods (1 day)
• Slowest Read: Solitary (17 days)

The full list (links take you to my Goodreads reviews):

1. 1. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
   2. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (ebook)
   3. The Demon in the Woods by Leigh Bardugo (ebook)
   4. Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo (ebook)
   5. Saint Iggy by K.L. Going (audiobook)
   6. Strange Weather by Joe Hill
   7. The Ringmaster’s Wife by Kristy Cambron
   8. Chasing the Ripper by Patricia Cornwell (ebook)
   9. The Children and the Wolves by Adam Rapp
   10. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (Wattpad)
   11. Donners of the Dead by Karina Halle (ebook)
   12. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane
   13. Solitary by Travis Thrasher (audiobook)
   14. Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
   15. The Ritual by Adam Nevill