What I Read Wednesday: Edition 0004 – Getting Peculiar with Victoria & Lost Tales.

As mentioned in my previous WIRW post, I started off 2017 by finishing up the Hana Kimi manga. After I finished I thought to myself, “Self, do you want to read more manga, or not?”, and I decided not. Then I asked myself, “Self, what do you want to read then?”, and I pondered that question mightily. There are so many genres to choose from, and not only that, I literally have SO. MANY. BOOKS!

Just looking at them fills me with a strange sense of bookish pride, and well as an overwhelming sense of “OMGWHEREDOIEVENSTART*screamfaceemoji*?!”

Eventually, I settled on Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children.

If you’ve not read, then AVERT THINE EYES ofc bcz spoilers bbs, but the book picks up immediately after the first, where Jacob, Emma, and the rest of the Peculiar Children are on the run from the wights who destroyed their home & time loop; the children are also on a mission to find another ymbryne to help their headmistress Miss Peregrine, who was injured and stuck in her bird form. From there ensues meeting more Peculiars, traveling with Gypsies, kidnappings, a carnival, an ice fortress, some time travel, and a betrayal unimagined. So basically, it was pretty good, and I’m ready to read the third (and final?) book…which I don’t have…yet. XD

After that I decided it was time to change it up again, and I started to FINALLY delve into the History of Middle Earth, and started The Book of Lost Tales 1 by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Funnily enough, I’m only on page 25, and getting through the first story “The Cottage of Lost Play”; not because it’s long, but actually because there’s the story itself, then ALL of the commentary. Since this was edited by Tolkien’s son after his death, the commentary shows the progress of how the story was written, along with different versions of the story itself written in various poems. So, it’s the actual history of Middle-Earth backstory, but also the history of how Tolkien created that world.

I’m a huge fan of PBS Masterpiece, and one of the shows I’m currently watching is Victoria, which is about Queen Victoria, during her teenage years when she assumed the throne after the death of her uncle, William IV. And guess what?? There’s a book about it!!

Victoria is written by Daisy Goodwin, who is also the screenwriter and creator of the show!! I have a feeling then, that the book will be very similar to the show, and I am quite all right with that, as I love the show already! 😀

So that’s all that I’m reading at the moment. As mentioned in previous WIRW posts, feel free to friend me over at Goodreads, where you can see all kinds of bookish activity! Please share any recommendations, or books you are currently reading, in the comments! ❤

What I Read Wednesday: Edition 0003 – 2016 in Review.

Hello everyone! Hope you’re doing well. Long time no see, right?! *facepalms* Long story short, had a bad reaction to my meds, which put me in a funk for a while, then it was Christmas holiday time, where I spent time with the fam & then got sick, then I had to rest & recoup, and I’m just now feeling like I’m getting back to normal. Disappointed I didn’t finish Blogmas, but it is what it is. *shrugs*

So, let’s talk about some fun things, like BOOKS!! Ah yes, books; my loves, my friends, my pathways to adventure! For 2016, my goal was to read 50 books, and just like with 2015, I FAILED AGAIN!! XD

To be honest, reading 43 books out of a 50 book goal isn’t that bad, BUT the majority of books (a good 26) are all manga, so I was a bit sneaky trying to hit the goal! XD Here’s everything I read in 2016!

I’ve read both mangas, Fruits Basket and Hana Kimi, many times. If you’ve ever been interested in manga and wanted to give a shōjo series a go, I’d recommend both of these. They are adorable and cute, but most importantly, they are both a completed series!

While 2016 took me back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with the release of Cursed Child, I think my favorite book that I read this year was actually Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The premise of the book was interesting (young boy traces the path of his grandfather’s past, meets some peculiar children, fights monsters, time travels, and learns more than he ever thought he would), and the addition of vintage photographs throughout made the story come even more alive.

Feel free to check out my 2016 Year in Books over on Goodreads for more statistical info, and links to all the books pictured above! 🙂

So now that 2016 is over, it’s on to 2017, and my goal for this year is to read 70 books! “AMANDA!!” I hear you exclaim, “you’ve failed the last two years, why on Earth would you add another 20 books to your goal?” Well peeps, if you noticed, at the end of 2016 I started the Hana Kimi manga, and only read the first three books. So, of course, starting off 2017, I just had to finish the series, and I did! The rest of the series was literally 20 books, soooooo technically I still only have a 50 book goal for the rest of the year! XD < doges > Ahhh, much logic, such sense. < / doges > Eighteen days into the new year, this is my current 2017 reading status:

*fist pump of awesomeness* Let’s hope I keep this momentum going through the year! As mentioned in previous WIRW posts, feel free to friend me over at Goodreads, where you can see all kinds of bookish activity! Please share any recommendations, or books you are currently reading, in the comments! ❤

Blogmas Day 13: What I Read Wednesday – Edition 0002 – Maintaining the Status Quo!

Well, it’s “What I Read Wednesday” time again, and I STILL have SIX books on my currently reading list…and the majority are still the same books! *facedesks* If you’d like to see my previous post about those, you can click here.

I didn’t make much progress on those, BUT since I did finish The Amazing Book is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil, I felt like starting something different, so I started to re-read one of my favorite mangas ever, Fruits Basket! This is also technically Dan’s fault, since he recently made an anime rec video, where he talked about the Fruits Basket anime (yes, I own it, and YES, it’s good too!), and I thought to myself, “Self, you need to re-read this manga!”, and so here we are!

If you’re not familiar with this manga series, let me learn you some things! XD

This is Tohru Honda, our heroine:

As the manga opens, we find out that Tohru is living on her own (IN A TENT!!), having lost her mother the previous year; (she would have been staying with her grandpa, but his house is being renovated). The land she has her tent on belongs to the Sohma family. Tohru meets Yuki and Shigure Sohma, who live nearby (and Yuki is Tohru’s schoolmate) and through a series of events, they invite Tohru to stay with them, until the renovations on her grandpa’s house are complete.

The shenanigans kick off with the arrival of Kyo Sohma, who has an intense rivalry with Yuki, and their fight leads to the revelation of their family secret to Tohru; that some members of the Sohma family are possessed by the spirits of the Chinese zodiac, and when physically weak or hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they change into their zodiac animal!!

Of course, they eventually change back into human form, but when they do, there’s a surprise…

I’ve read this series quite a few times, so I’d definitely recommend this. Overall, it’s a story about life; dealing with love and loss, friendships and family, being true to yourself by just being yourself, with a good balance of comedy and drama throughout.

This week, I’ve already read the first four volumes, and am almost done with volume five. Luckily, next week, I am on vacation *nances about*, so I’ll probably have this series finished by next Wednesday, and hopefully, maybe have one or two of the other longtime “currently reading” books completed. *fingers crossed*

As mentioned in my previous post, feel free to friend me over at Goodreads, where you can see all kinds of bookish activity! Please share any recommendations, books, or manga you are currently reading, in the comments! ^.^v

September, a very belated review.

September is one of my favorite months of the year. Summer turns to Autumn, we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and…it’s my BIRTHDAY month! XD A slightly selfish reason, but oh well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #dealwithit

Birthday aside though, I got up to a few things this month. Most were fun, but some were adult-y stuff, so let’s crack on, shall we?

The month started off with me being on vacation! w00t w00t! I didn’t travel anywhere, but had a stay-cation instead, and sometimes those are the best to have, when you truly need to wind down and just relax. That Monday was Labor Day, so my family got together for lunch, and we just visited with each other. It was a pretty chill day!

On Tuesday, I stayed at home and took care of some housework I wanted to get done, and one of those things was painting my bathroom! It was pretty ambitious for me to do in just one day, but the thing is that I had wanted it done for a while now, so I just buckled down and got it done.
It turned out pretty well, considering it was just me. The previous color was a dingy, off-white cream color; I wanted to brighten it up a bit, since it is a smaller room, so I went with a color called “Olympus White”, which is a white base, but with bluish-gray tones. I am very happy with how the color turned out. You can check that out here to see my Snapchat video of the progress that day.

The next day, Wednesday, I decided to go up to the mountains and play tourist for a bit. I started off my day by having lunch at one of my favorite places, The Wild Plum Tea Room, located in Gatlinburg. While they have some constant staples, like their Chicken Salad, Salmon Burger, and Plum Muffins, their menu does change daily, based on what ingredients are in season and available. They also offer vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options.

For this day I opted to go with their Wild Plum Medley, which contains their homemade chicken salad, and the soup and salad of the day; for that day, it was a Sherried Tomato Bisque and a Potato Ranch Salad.
– The chicken salad contains apples, celery, and almonds, with mayonnaise and heavy cream giving it the cream base, but the kicker for me that makes it a bit more special is the hint of nutmeg that is also added, giving a little spice to offset the sweetness.
– The sherried tomato bisque starts with the aromatics (sweet onion, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, tarragon, and rosemary); once those are sautéed, the chicken stock, tomatoes, and heavy cream are added. After simmering for a while, the basil pesto is added, along with sherry, and then once being served, it is garnished with some freshly shredded Pecorino cheese. This soup is so warm and velvety, and is perfect for the autumn months.
– The potato ranch salad was so flavorful, but surprisingly only uses a few ingredients; potatoes, ranch dressing, garlic powder, celery, red pepper and green onions. The salad was cool and creamy, a nice contrast to the soup; the ranch dressing was also a nice change from the mustard-based potato salads we usually have.

To top off that totally awesome lunch, I had the Amaretto Bread Pudding for dessert, and let me tell you, this dessert is divine!! The bread is soaked in light cream, while the eggs, sugar, and almond extract are mixed together, then added to the soaked bread. Almonds and raisins are added last, then it’s into the oven for baking. Once ready to serve, the dish is topped with whipped cream and amaretto sauce. It’s just so, so good!

This is just one of my favorite places to visit, and I’ll have to try to make another visit up there, before they close for the season in mid-December.

After lunch, it was such a nice and clear day, that I decided to drive up to Clingman’s Dome! Halfway up to the Dome, I took a break at the Newfound Gap overlook for a photo opportunity, and I’m so glad I did.

After my stop at the Newfound Gap, I continued on to the Dome. At 6,643 feet, Clingman’s Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it lies on the Tennessee and North Carolina state line. The last few times I’ve been, it was foggy or really overcast which can limit the views; this day however, was a perfectly clear summer day, so I decided to make the hike up to the observation tower. It’s only a half-mile hike up to the tower, however it is a steep hike; lots of pauses and breaks were taken on the way up! Lots of breaks resulted in many photo opportunities!

That last pic above just shows how steep this half-mile hike is; you can see the parking lot to the trail just beyond the tree line, to the left of the first mountain range in the foreground. However, once I got to the top, the views were totally worth it!

And of course, it goes without saying, that the walk back down was SO MUCH EASIER than the hike up! XD

Before I left the park for the day, I chose a random pull-off on the side of the road, and found a creek! The sounds of running water in creeks and rivers is one of my favorite things. It’s just so relaxing and soothing.

I have a couple of videos of the creek, glorious sounds and all, here and here. 🙂

On Thursday, it was adult-y stuff day, where I got my license renewed, took Fred and Lucy to the vet (where Fred vocalized his displeasure! XD), had a quick clothes shop, and did some grocery shopping.

Then it was Friday, the BIG day! My BIRTHDAY!!! For that day, I treated myself to a spa day; a day of pampering and relaxation was just what I needed. Before I left, Jack and Maggie, our neighborhood cats showed up for some morning noms and kitty scritches!! They are just TOO cute!!

Once at the spa, I started off with an herbal bath, that was actually caramel brûlée scented, and totally got the autumnal vibes going. There was also a strawberry rhubarb candle burning, and it smelt amazing as well.

After that, it was on to my facial, then a full body massage, followed by lunch, and finally a spa manicure.

After the spa, I decided some retail therapy would be nice, and hit up my local Books-A-Million and Sephora! Books and make-up, just a couple of my favorite things! ^.^

Then I picked up some P.F. Chang’s for my birthday dinner, and headed on home.

That weekend, I also managed to finally get my planner done, with a little “help” from Lucy. XD

The next week it was back to work! Since I wasn’t at the office for my birthday, I came back to a decorated desk. My co-workers are awesome! ❤

Trying to get caught up on work after being out of the office is always crazy. Luckily, that Wednesday, I got my Birchbox, for a mid-week pick me up! 😀

During the latter half of that week, my dad came in town, so I spent some time with him when possible. The Saturday he was in, I was already scheduled for my annual MRI, but luckily it was early on Saturday morning, so I was able to get that done and over with before noon.

The rest of the month, in the words of Rihanna, it was “work, work, work, work, work, work”.

The last weekend of September, I had my hair appointment and got my brows done. I get my hair done at the Aveda Natural Alternatives salon, and as we are going into autumn, I decided to cut back on the pink in my hair, and went with more purple, with pops of pink throughout. I must say, I really like how it turned out.

That was pretty much my September. It was busy, but a good one. I know this blog post is going up super late, considering October is practically over, but September was such a good month, that I want to have this post, to look back on for the sweet, sweet mems. XD

Huge Summer Book Haul

I have a serious problem…I buy books quicker than I can read them! A true bibliophile, I am! XD I just love walking around bookstores, and looking at EVERYTHING! I can spend a good few hours in a bookstore, and not be bored; if there’s a café attached, even better. Coffee and snacks always help when power browsing!

In this blog post, I’ve got about 20 books to share, from multiple bookstore visits over the summer. The main three categories the books fall into are fantasy, YA, and fiction, most with a historical slant. There are two books that do not fit into any of those categories, and those are Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, and Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter.

Yes, I know I am EXTREMELY late to this party, but as I always like to say, better late than never. I majored in history, but my focus was on British history, so I never really studied American history too deeply. However, when the musical came out, it peaked my interest, so of course, I got the biography, so I could get knowledgable on Hamilton the person, before delving into the libretto of the musical. I really hope they do a Fathom Events or something with the musical because I totally need to see it.

Moving on in the Fantasy genre, I have Shattered by Kevin Hearne, The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris, and Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman.

I have already read the first five books in Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles series. The series, from what I read so far, is witty and humorous, features an adorable talking dog (which only his owner & series protagonist can hear), and mashes up the supernatural, with various deities from all religions and beliefs. It’s just a smorgasbord of EVERYTHING!

For The Invisible Library, the description on the back cover grabbed my attention. Main character Irene is a spy who works for the Library, a group that collects important works from different realities. Books and time travel? I’m totes sold!

Harris’s Gospel of Loki caught my attention, because number one, it’s LOKI (thanx Hiddles! :E), and number two, it’s the story of the Norse gods, as told from Loki’s perspective.

Lastly, Newman’s Between Two Thorns is the first book her Split Worlds series. There’s the human world, the Fae world, and between them is the Nether, which is described as a mirror of the 19th century England, where Fae-touched families reside. Cathy, born in the Nether, runs away to the world of humans, only to be found and brought back to face an arranged marriage she doesn’t want; before that can happen, she is enlisted to help with recent kidnappings happening in the Nether.

In the Fiction genre, I have in the historical section, Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by Alison Weir, Wars of the Roses: Margaret of Anjou by Conn Iggulden, The Tournament by Matthew Reilly, and The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory. A common theme that seems to run through these books, based on their descriptions, are strong and fierce ladies, which we always need.

Weir’s Katherine is the first in her Six Tudor Queens series. I love Weir’s work, and am excited to start reading this, to see her depiction, as from previous readings I’ve done on Katherine, she was strong in her faith and beliefs, doing all she could to save her marriage, and ensure the future of her daughter, Mary.

Iggulden’s second installment in his Wars of the Roses features Margaret of Anjou, who is married to Henry VI, and how she watches over his interests and that of their son, during his illness, while members of the House of York try to extend their influence throughout the country.

Reilly’s Tournament centers around a chess tournament in Constantinople, where many attend, including Roger Ascham, and his royal tutee, Princess Elizabeth Tudor. On the first night of the tournament, a guest of the Sultan is murdered, and soon treachery, death, and corruption abound, with Elizabeth and Ascham caught in the middle of it all.

Finally we have Gregory’s Taming of the Queen, about Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife, Katherine Parr. Katherine was already a widow, but when she married Henry, she helped to bring all of his children together and give them a bit more of a family feel, before Henry died. She was already in love with someone else before having to marry Henry, who Gregory seems to portray as a serial killer, so it’ll be interesting to see what Gregory’s does with the plot.

Other books in the Fiction genre are Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confident: A Maggie Hope Mystery by Susan Elia MacNeal, The Tsarina’s Legacy by Jennifer Laam, and The Yard by Alex Grecian.

Basically we have a lady spy during World War II, intertwining story lines from Russian past to present, and a Victorian Murder Squad formed after failing to capture Jack the Ripper. How could I pass on these? The answer, of course, I couldn’t!

Last up, are the YA books. I may be a right proper adult by society standards, but I do love me a good YA book, and they often have lessons that apply to people of all ages, not just young adults.

First up is Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave, The Infinite Sea, and The Last Star.

I went out and bought these right after I saw the movie for The 5th Wave. I liked the movie well enough, and usually books are always better than the movies, so there you go. I’m glad that this series is already complete, so I can binge read all three in a row! YAY!

The rest of the YA books are The Heir by Kiera Cass, The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson, The Wrath & The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh, Invision by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Serafina and the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty.

I have already read the first part of Cass’s Selection Series; The Heir is the story of their daughter years later, who is going through her own Selection. Think of the Bachelor and Bachelorette, but with royalty.

The Bane Chronicles are short stories surrounding warlock Mangus Bane, from Clare’s Shadowhunters world. I’ve read The Mortal Instruments, but not the Infernal Devices, so I may hold on this, until I read ID first. However, CC’s Draco Trilogy pwns everything, amirite, y/y? XD

Next up, with Ahdieh’s Wrath & Dawn, I stumbled upon it on Goodreads, and after reading the description, I totally had to get it. It’s basically a retelling on One Thousand and One Nights, where the Caliph of Khorasan takes a wife each night, and she is killed by sunrise. Shahrzad volunteers to become his next bride in order to stop him, only to find out all is not what it seems.

Kenyon’s Invision is the seventh book in her Chronicles of Nick series, featuring a teenaged Nick Gautier, who I first came across in her Dark-Hunters series. I’ve not yet started the CoN series, but have been buying the books as they come out, cause that’s how I roll so I can be ready to binge read whenever I feel like it. XD

Last up is Beatty’s second Serafina book. I bought the first book because it was set at one of my favorite places, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. I’ve been there many times, so I am excited to read a series that is set there. Fun fact, Beatty actually did a signing for the second book at my local B&N, and let me tell you, it was a madhouse, but I loved to see so many kidlets come out, being interested in this book, and just reading in general. Although, some were playing Pokémon Go, but I can’t blame them, cause I was too! XD

So, that’s it for my massive summer book haul. It’s a good thing I have some vacation time coming up, so maybe I can get some of these awesome books read. Have you read any awesome books lately? Let me know in the comments below!

Goodreads Reading Challenge and Book Haul

It’s finally happened…I failed a Goodreads Reading Challenge! T.T

It was bound to happen, I guess! LOL I’ve done this challenge pretty much every year since 2011, so missing one out of five isn’t too bad…so I tell myself. >.>

I started off 2015 with what I always try to do, a yearly re-read of Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

This re-read started on the heels of the release of the 3rd Hobbit movie, The Battle of the Five Armies. I wanted to get re-familiarized with the book canon, since movies will always add something extra, or leave something in the books out completely. Still not over Peeves being left out of the Harry Potter movies, tbh! This year, I hope to actually tackle The History of Middle-Earth books that are chilling on my bookcase.

After these, I moved on over to The Southern Vampire Mysteries, aka The Sookie Stackhouse series, aka the books behind True Blood.

I had already read the first half of the series a few years back. I’m one of those types, where I’m not crazy about reading or watching shows in progress. I like to wait until a series is complete, and just binge read or watch it. So, after getting caught up on the 6th or 7th book, I just held off on reading the rest, until the final book came out. Kind of weird I know, but that’s me! 😀

So, I had been catching up on True Blood, since the final season had finally aired, (which is much more darker than the books, and has many more different storylines), and I decided while watching season 6, that I was gonna re-read the books before finishing season 7. *facepalms* Basically, in my humble opinion, the first 7 books are ok to great, and then afterwards, they just kind of decline. By the time I was reading the final book, I wasn’t liking the series as much as I did when I first started reading it. It affected me enough that I still haven’t finished watching the final season of True Blood, even though it’s going in a totally different direction than the books did. *shrugs* I don’t know if the book series just dragged on too long, or if the author just fell out of love with her characters, but I wasn’t crazy with the last half of the series, and definitely not a fan of how the final book ended.

Needless to say, after this let down, I was in need of a pick me up, and boy did I find it, in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

Basically, it’s fairy tales with a futuristic retelling. Cinderella is now Cinder, a half-human, half-cyborg, who has an evil step-mother, and the attention of the handsome Prince Kai, and unwanted attention of the evil Queen Levana. Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) is a girl searching for her missing grandmother, with the help of a street fighter named Wolf. Cress (Rapunzel) is a hacker who is imprisoned on a satellite by Queen Levana. All three of their paths meet in order to fight against the evil Queen Levana.

I really liked this a lot more than I though I would, and I would highly recommend it! There are two more books left the in the series that I’ve not yet read, but I will be rectifying that soon! 😀

The reason for the break in The Lunar Chronicles was Divergent!

Of course, it was because of the movies! So, after I watched Divergent, which I loved, I went out and bought all the books, and then read them. Divergent was great, Insurgent was awesome, and then Allegiant BROKE ME!! T.T I literally had to wait days before finally reading Four because Allegiant affected me THAT MUCH!

After this emotional roller coaster, I fell back into one of my favorite book series to finish out the year, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, by J.R. Ward.

This series is my exception to my little rule mentioned above. As soon as one of these books comes out, I read it. I was able to hold out on the last two recent releases, so I was able to have a nice little binge, after re-reading the earlier books for a “refresher”! Does anyone else do that? LOL

So, this series is a para-rom, featuring a group of vampires, who are basically the protectors of their race, and their fight against lessers, which are soulless humans, who are trying to kill off the vampire race at the bidding of the Omega. Sounds like your typical para-rom, but Ward goes into some deep character building, so they all stand out and are different from each other, and the storylines are just great! Lots of humor, fighting, sex, friendship, love and loss; it’s just a great series.

And that’s how I ended my reading year! I still have three books I’m in the process of reading; The Demon’s Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty by Desmond Seward, Kings & Queens of England, A Dark History: 1066 to Present Day by Brenda Ralph Lewis, and The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester.

Since it’s now 2016, that means one thing:

Awww yiss!! Starting the 2016 Reading Challenge. Since I didn’t complete it last year, I’m just going to keep the same goal of reading 50 books this year, and see how I do. If I read any manga this year, then I will totally complete this challenge! We shall see; it’s been a while since I’ve read Fruits Basket or Hana Kimi!! ❤

Because I already own so many books, naturally it made sense to go out and buy more! LOL So here’s my little book haul of what I actually picked up on Saturday at my local Barnes & Noble:

• Blood Kiss by J.R. Ward: A new series (I think?!) that is set in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Very excited to read! 😀
• Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman: I love Neil’s work, and was very happy to pick up this selection of short stories.
• Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty: I actually came across this online a while back, and what drew my attention is that it is set at Biltmore Estate, which is one of my favorite places ever, so very interested to read this one.
• Saint Odd by Dean Koontz: I grew up reading Dean Koontz books. I actually saw the Odd Thomas movie, found out it was a book series, and of course, went out to buy it. This is the final book of the series, so very interested to see what ends up happening with Odd. *crosses fingers for a happy ending*
• The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa: I read the first Iron Fey series, and this book is the last one in a continuation of that universe, Call of the Forgotten. The Iron Fey series revolves around Meghan Chase, half-human, half-fey, and her journey into claiming her place in the fey world; The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten centers around her half-brother Ethan Chase, and his part in the fey world.
• The Dark Heroine: Dinner with a Vampire by Abigail Gibbs: This was just a random browsing selection. I saw a review quote from Meg Cabot, read the description, and thought it sounded good. Later on, found out it originated on wattpad, and I’m just hoping it’s decent, as there has been other wattpad stories, that have been published that just shouldn’t have been. So fingers crossed this isn’t too disappointing.
• Color Your Own Van Gogh: A coloring book! Of Van Gogh! My favorite! YES! This was a nice surprise, since the Harry Potter Coloring Book was sold out, so this was a nice substitution. Now, the real question is, when am I going to actually color in it? Can I bring myself to do so? Should I just make copies and keep the book pristine? Oh, so many questions! LOL

Do any of you participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge? If so, how many books are you challenging yourself to read? Or have you bought any new books lately? Share your favorites, whether they’re old or new! 🙂