Holiday Break Reading Challenege Finish Line

I continue to fail majorly. I got so caught up in reading for this challenge that I forgot about the writing reviews and blogging portion. I ended up reading a total of 24 books (way more than my original goal of 15), and I doubt I'll write reviews for all of them (correction: I KNOW I won't write reviews for all of them because I have a tendency to be a lazy ass). So, instead I'm going to write a couple of sentences about each, and will pick my favorites when I decide to get around to full reviews. Let me know if you want to hear more about any of these!


1. Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe - I read this for the 1 ARC Tours, so you'll definitely be getting a full review of this one. It took a bit of time before I really got into the book, but once I did I loved it.


2. Where There's a Witch by Madelyn Alt - The fifth installment of Alt's Bewitching Mysteries series. This murder mystery wasn't quite as interesting as the previous ones (it takes way too long to get to the exciting part), but I loved the development of Maggie's personal life and the ending was great, so it all balanced out nicely.


3. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - I really rushed through this when I read it back in September for the B&N discussion, and just knew I had to reread it since I was missing so much. This book was such a creative blend of fright, friendship, mystery, and romance, though I think readers will either love or hate it. Lucky for me, I loved it and really liked the writing style -- so much so that after the first 50 pages or so, I couldn't put it down.


4-6. Moonlight, Full Moon, and Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne - Though a bit formulaic, I truly enjoyed this trilogy (though I hear now a fourth installment is due out this spring, so I suppose it isn't a trilogy anymore). I've always enjoyed the romantic lines Hawthorne writes, and I like that she tackled werewolves and made them a whole lot more complex.

7. The Hollow by Jessica Verday - This was just as awesome as I expected it to be. I admit that I'm not always the best at guessing what will happen, but I never would've guessed the truth behind this story. The Haunted can't come soon enough.

8. Larceny and Lace by Annette Blair - Another cute mystery that's the second in Blair's A Vintage Magic Series. I really like how the series has developed so far, so I'll definitely continue to read them.

9. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - So freakin' good. I really loved how magic and history came together, and all of the puzzle pieces resolve so wonderfully in the end. There absolutely must be a sequel.

10. Shadowland by Alyson Noel - This is the first time Ever started to get on my nerves. I stayed interested because the plot was really engaging, but sometimes she annoyed me so much that finishing seemed like a challenge.

11. Bad Apple by Laura Ruby - Interesting concept, but I didn't really like this. The characters felt flat and I didn't like the format very much (Tola's narration is broken up by quotes from other characters in the novel, but they didn't actually add to the story).

12. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink - This book was incredibly moving and some parts even gave me chills. As the narration was so key to the novel's success in my mind, I'm interested in watching the film adaptation now.

13. Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson - I've loved Maureen Johnson ever since I got an ARC of The Key to the Golden Firebird. This return to Scarlett's life was thoroughly enjoyable, and I love the new characters she brought in. The ending really left me hanging, so this is another book where there better be a sequel.

14. The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols - Cute and fun new SimonPulse RoCom. I could certainly relate to the stubborn protagonist.

15. Slept Away by Julie Kraut - This wasn't what I expected (I think I went into reading expecting a sweet summer romance), but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. The novel was longer than it needed to be, but the emphasis on friendship and message that appearances aren't everything/the clothes don't make the man was really nice.

16. At Face Value by Emily Franklin - An interesting adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac that had me laughing. It was longer than it needed to be, and I was a little disappointed by the happy ending, but still enjoyed it.

17. The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner - I liked this sequel more than the first book (The Red Necklace). I think that's because there was more action and the older, mature Yann was a more intriguing protagonist.

18. The Season by Sarah MacLean - This reminded me a lot of Marissa Doyle's books, and that's a good thing. I loved the strong females, sweet romance, and mystery and I always fall for Regency Era fiction.

19. Geektastic edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci - Some stories were great, others not so much. Still, an enjoyable collection of stories about a wide range of geeks. I'll admit that I didn't understand some of the geek language (I suppose I'm not geektastic enough), but they were still fun and I liked seeing the elevation of the geek.

20. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me by Louise Rennison - A disappointing conclusion to the Georgia Nicolson series. The majority of the book just felt like a jumble of what had already been written in early installments, and the only good part was getting to finally know who Georgia ends up with.

21. A Pearl Among Princes by Coleen Paratore - Absoultely darling story that you can read in a couple of hours. The character's actions didn't feel too realistic, but it was still a sweet fairy tale.

22. Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund - I liked this more than I expected to. I originally read it because I was drawn to the cover and enjoyed Osterlund's writing style in Aurelia, but the story really held its own.

23. Fairest of All by Serena Valentino - I never thought I'd feel sympathy for the Evil Stepmother/Witch in Snow White, but I did. I liked this backstory and it was fairly well-written.

24. Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri - I loved this Faust retelling. It was absolutely creepy and while I hated some of the characters, I'm pretty positive that was intentional. Even hours after finishing, I'm still wrapping my mind around some parts.