April Wrap Up and May CR!

Better later than never xD As I keep telling myself with everything lately haha

April Wrap Up

I was hella busy the last two or so weeks of April so didn’t get much time to read but I did finish one manga volume and the book Branded, which I gave 2 stars to even though it had an amazing start.

May Currently Reading

For May I’ve already finished Elantris (which I LOVED!) and one more manga volume which I’ll continue reading cos I’m seeing the Stage of it next month so I must be all caught up on i << that’s how my OCD works xD I’m also still working on the Japanese version of Oyasumi Jack the Ripper which I like anyay but it’s so weird!

And that’s all. How was your April and May?

January – March Wrap Up and April CR!

I have been neglecting this blog WAY too much and I sincerely apologise. If you’ve written any blogs the past three months that you’re proud of and want me to see then please let me know, cos I want to read them!! So let’s get this done!

January Wrap Up

 I read a bunch of shorter novellas in January so I could get an easy head start on my reading goal incase I feel behind (which already happened xD). I also finished the heartbreaker than is Orange and I intend to make a review of the entire series, as well as finishing Mistborn after a 3 year journey ❤ Reviews for the novellas can be found here but I still haven’t made reviews for anything else just yet – sorry!

February Wrap Up

I had some down time with in February and took my time (not really cos I was hooked) reading The Martian all month. Review yet to come sorry =/

March Wrap Up

I marathoned and finished the last 12 volumes of Gantz this past week! I am so happy I’m finally done with the series after reading it for like 4 years xD I’ll make an overall review of the series when I have time. In March I continued and caught up with Kuroshitsuji and Shingeki no Kyojin (I was about 4 or 5 chapters behind on both of them!)

Currently Reading

During March I started Elantris and I’m enjoying it a lot so far and I love how it’s one a three-character-POV-cycle and I love the world and I’m excited to know more! I also started Branded this week (it’s an ARC I’ve had for like 3 years!) and I have to say, I’m pleasantly enjoying yet another YA book. It’s even had me want to cry at least twice too! Other than that I started two manga series in March too and still reading them. They are Makai Ouji- Devils and Realist (watch the anime last week and I intend to see the stage play of it in June!), and Oyasumi Jack the Ripper (already bought my ticket to watch the stage play of it on April 22nd so had to do my research and homework before watching it!).

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And that’s my massive update done!! I am currently at 21 books out of 45 for my reading goal which is great but I understand some people would see ALL the manga and class manga as cheating but I really don’t xD Once again I apologise for the lack of updates but I’m just so busy. If I’m not working I’m either reading, watching TV, writing movie/drama reviews, translating, studying or going to concerts/stage plays/musicals/baseball games. So I am very sorry!

What are you reading this month?

Mini Book Reviews

I read a bunch of smaller kindle books at the beginning of the year so that A. I’d get through some of my 200 kindle books quicker and B. I could easily get ahead in my GR goal in case I fell behind or when months without reading a lot (like I did in February and the beginning of this month!) So here are 5 quick reviews for you!

The Circle (The Heirs of Gorus #1) by Myka Ramos – 3.5 stars
– This had me entertained and interested the entire time. It had amazing opening sentences and I loved this mystery about the wall and I also loved the political mess and the character connections. On top of all that, homosexual relationships are also a major plus and positive for me personally ❤ I really want to read more! I hope there is more! The ending too left A LOT unanswered but in a good way that I wanted to continue!

The Princess of Egypt Must Die by Stephanie Dray – 2.5 stars.
I really like the setting, because I am a huge Egyptian and Greek mythology lover, and so Acient Egypt was an ideal setting for me to be thrown into! It definitely kept me interested throughout too, but, unfortunately I really didn’t like the main character (she was far too naive), and I feel that the story ended when it was JUST about to start getting real good! But I enjoyed it nonetheless and might keep my eye on this author.

The Hero and the Fiend by Glenn G. Thater – 4 stars
This was really good!! I enjoyed the Norse mythology surrounding it (which as you can tell from my review just above, I’m into the whole mythology thing and so Norse fits nicely into it too!). This novella/short story was mysterious, suspenseful, action packed, and a little chilling! I never wanted it to end and I need more!! This author I WILL keep an eye on! There’s definitely something working in his head and I think this world he’s created will be a great thing to explore more (< I’m ill. If that made no sense then I’m sorry!). Also, I really like this cover!

A Dark Kiss of Rapture by Sylvia Day  -2 stars.
Romance really isn’t my thing, which I REALLY realised while reading this because I was so much more interested in the vampire plot line, and just skipping over the romance and sex scenes… The actual vampire part of this story was great and I’d love to know what happens next but the romance… I wasn’t in it at all and it was pretty insta and stupid but that’s me and my personal preferences talking there, you might like it! A little note: you could tell this was written by a woman as it didn’t feel quite realistic enough on the guys side. And unfortunately, there were some cheesy lines too. But I enjoyed the book while I was reading it; at least the plot vampire line I enjoyed.

Claimed by the Beast – Part One by Dawn Michelle – DNF’d/Lemmed (1 star)
I DNF’d this after the first 5 or so pages. I’m just too old for this type of teenage, unrealistic situation and talk and cliche stories. I just wasn’t the correct audience for this that’s all. Maybe if I was 6 or 7 years younger I would’ve enjoyed this (wow, how the hell was I 15, 7 years ago?! Time flies I guess…). The suspenseful writing was great though!! < I can at least give it one positive comment for DNFing it. Sorry Miss Author but just not for me personally!

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And they are 5 mini reviews of kindle books I read recently (actually ALL in January in about a week xD)

Have you read any of these? Gotten interested in any? Let me know below!

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

So my last review was way back in November which means I’m 8 reviews behind. So I best start of from where I left off!

Quickie Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I put off reading this book for SO long because I was SO worried it wouldn’t live up to book one but oh my god; the was so good!

Brandon Sanderson has such a way of weaving in little clues and things along the way and create these MASSIVE reveals and shockers at the end. Seriously, the last 100/200 pages were INSANE! At the beginning of the story I was like ‘I know where this is going’ and some things that I predicted came true straight away but in true Sanderson style, he ADDS something that you don’t expect to it and it just blows up!! I was completely hooked, so invested, loved every moment of it and holy hell – that ending!

I have to say though; I’m still not a fan of the main romance (but I seriously shipped the other couple in this book though! Y’know Zane!!) but that’s just me not liking romance in books that I read. I prefer books (and movies I think) without romance, especially when they’re fantasy and/or action.

Spoilers (and less coherent thoughts):

I’m not dead!

So I’ve been away for a while haven’t I? I’ve been SO busy with stage plays, musicals and TV/movies at the minute. I have already read 9 books this year and didn’t finish anything in February I don’t think… I promise I’ll catch up on reviews!!! I’m off work ill today so I think I’ll power through writing all my reviews xD

Bear with me!

How is everyone by the way? ^_^

Top Books of 2015!

Here is my list of top books of 2015. I only read 43 booksthis year with most of them being comics/manga so my actual book count was very low. Surprisingly, my favourites is very low too! I thought I’d had a decent reading year but right now, trying to get a top ten is really hard! (This may end up being a top 5 instead!) So let’s have a look! (In no order)

My Top Books of 2015:

1.  The Well of Ascension – 4.5 Stars (review coming soon!)
2.  The Name of the Wind – 5 Stars
3.  The Girl at Midnight – 4 Stars
4.  An Ember in the Ashes – 4.5 Stars

I didn’t even manage a top 5!! O dear xD I must read more amazing books this year!

Honourable Mentions:

1. Sourcery – 4 Stars
2. Angelfall – 3 Stars
3. City of Stairs – 3.5 Stars

I enjoyed these books a lot but they just weren’t favourites nor have I thought about them since I finished them unlike the ones above.

Disappointments of the Year:

I DNF’d two of these two. But I don’t really need to explain these right?

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There we have it! Have a wonderful January 1st!

December Wrap Up and January CR/TBR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope you had a great Eve and I hope you have a brilliant NY day! ^_^ Mine will be spent in bed which is the best thing for me!! ^_^ So onto the wrap up!

Wrap Up

Heroine Shikkaku Volume 4
Orange Volume 2
Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

I finally did it! At 10:30pm last night I finally finished The Well of Ascension! After putting off reading the book for over 2 years(!), I finally got the guts to pick it up and it was amazing! (review coming soon!)

Currently Reading

Nothing. I do want to start Hero of Ages very soon but I think I’m gunna break the 2 and 3 book up by reading a smaller book in between but no idea what that will be. Probably a manga.

TBR

The new year always brings about a new motivation for reading so I’ve been thinking that I’d like to get through these this month:

I have a quiet month socially (unlike December which was crazy!) so should be able to get more reading done ^_^

What are your Wraps Up and TBRs for December and January?

2016 Resolutions!

It’s that time of year again!! I am definitely going to try and make more realistic goals this year unlike last year xD Let’s have a look shall we?

 

1. Read 50 books – I seem to read about 45 books every year and only ever give myself like a 20 book goal, so I wanna see if I can push myself xD
2. Manga/Book ratio – It’s back this year and I really want my book total to outweigh my manga total.
3. Get Kindle Books down to 80 – I have an insane amount of kindle books (168 books)and that needs sorting!
4. Get English Physical Books down to 20 – I think I’m currently at 45.
5. Finish ALL Arcs – seriously, I need to BAN myself from NetGalley and get some reading done!
6. Finish 5 Brandon Sanderson books – A serious tone down from last year where I wanted to read ALL the books by him but like I said, I’m being more realistic this year xD. I mainly wanna finish the first Mistborn trilogy and then I am thinking of reading his earlier bookes; Elantris and Warbreaker. Also they are currently not part of a series so I think it’d be good for me to get through those two.
   
   
7. Finish a novel – even if it’s for NaNoWriMo!
8. Read 2 classics
   
9. Finish 3 series – manga is allowed!!
10. Continue #Project5Books – even though I failed it this year xD
11. Read a full-length Japanese books – I will do this!!

 

And they are my goals! I definitely have more fun making goals rather than completing them xD

2015 Resolutions Wrap Up

You ready to see my fail?

Minimum Goals

1. GoodReads Goal = 42 out of 20 Books Read = DONE! This marks my 4th year in a row completing (and extending) my goodreads challenge!! ^_^
2. #Project5Books = FAILED MISERABLY!
3. Read 5 Classics = I only read one this year= FAILED!
4. Read everyday  = FAILED but I did read a LOT more frequently this year =]
5. Keep up blog = I’d say I sorta did this. I was really good up until I moved to Japan and got a full time job = DONE!

2 out of 5 Completed!

Aim Goals

6. Read all Brandon Sanderson books pre-2015 = Hahahaha don’t ake me laugh. I haven’t read ONE book by his this year (Nearly finished Mistborn 2 though!) = EXCEEDINGLY FAILED!
   
7. Finish ALL ARCS! = Nope – FAILED!
8. Finish 4 Series/Trilogies = I finished three: Narnia, The Selection Trilogy and The Rain Duology = FAIL!
9. Terry Pratchett Read-a-Long = I only read Sourcery this year ='[ = FAILED!
   
10. Out way manga vs books = 138:132 = FAIL!
11. Complete a November NaNoWriMo (damn you 50k!) = FAILED!
12. Physical books down to at least 40 = According to my note book, I’m down the 42 physical books which I say is damn close! But still = FAILED!

0 out of 7 Completed!

Insane Goals

13. #0by16 (excluding those I get in 2015) = FAILED HOLY MACKEREL FAIL!
14. NPR’s 100 Best SF and Fantasy Books Challenge = FAILED!

 

So that is the train wreck I call my fail of 2015 resolutions…. How bad did you do? I am proud of how many books I read this year and I’m exceedingly proud that almost ALL the manga I read was in Japanese so that’s a huge accomplishment in my opinion but I only managed to complete 2 challenges and there were only 5 challenges that should’ve been possible! And not even being able to do those is just… embarrassing!

There’s always next year anyway ^_^

How did you do this year?

Top Ten Tuesday #44 – Books I Want Santa to Bring

This Week’s Theme: Books I Want Santa to Bring

I’m a day late but shhhh! I really wanted to post these 10 books and tell you all!! ^_^

Definitely my favourite in the entire Big Bang cast ❤

Followed her for years and watch all her stuff! I think she’s great!

I NEED to finish this series/trilogy!

Obsessed with this manga and need to finish and own asap!

Still dying to get my hands on this and have been dying to get it since before it was released!

Another I’ve been dying to read since before it came out!

I need to know what happens in the second book like yesterday! Give it to me!!

I know I’m missing out majorly!!

Course I need to know what happened next!!!

Need I explain this one?

What’s under your tree? Have you gotten any for Christmas that you know of?