Saturday 31 March 2018

March Wrap Up (2018)

Hey guys, this is Abi here,
And I know that this post is a day late.
But I actually did stuff this month, so I shall post on a day that is not scheduled!
Enjoy!


BOOKS
I actually finished a total of 8 books this month! Also, all but one of them were new (one re-read, which I tacked on at the end of the month.) They were all fantastic and they'll be a ton of reviews for them in April (another review crazy month, sorry.)

1. Deception (Dark Matter #2), by Teri Terry
Although I would love to post a review about this, for some reason or other, I haven't for Contagion, the previous book in the trilogy. But let me say this, this is up there with all my favourite Teri Terry books. She's only published 7 to date, but it's probably number 2 or 3 in the ranks. There was another level of epicness in this one, and I know I always say this, but I truly don't have any idea as to how she's going to wrap this trilogy up. I can't tell you what happens, because it's the second book in the trilogy, but at the start of Contagion, tells the story of a huge epidemic wiping out 90% of the population. Meanwhile, Kai is looking for his sister Callie, and Shay say her the day she went missing. As the epidemic is spreading, Kai and Shay search for her. Their search leads them right into the heart of the epidemic. Can they survive as they search for Callie? But seriously, it goes a lot further than that. Teri Terry's remains to be better than anything I've ever read, and I urge you guys to pick up either this trilogy, or the Slated trilogy, or Mind Games or Book of Lies, because they are all fantastic.


After how much I loved the first book, I was eager to pick up the second. I wasn't disappointed. The Song sisters are still as loveable as ever. The writing is as adorable and sweet as ever, but we maybe got a bit more of a glimpse of the characters than we had in the first book. I liked this one maybe more than the first because the situations are maybe a bit more mature than in the previous books and it was nice to see that Lara Jean had grown and matured as a character since the events of the first book. If you want to see my more in-depth thoughts on this book, you can check my review, which is linked into the title.  


I have to say that even though I liked the way The Hazel Wood ended, I will for sure be picking up the second book. Anybody else think this book was a standalone? Me too. But I liked it well enough. Creepy stories in a book that nobody can find? That then start walking about the place, taking Alice's (MC) mother with them? It was so enthralling, I couldn't put it down. Hence why I read 8 books this month. Full review linked into the title.




4. A Wrinkle In Time Graphic Novel, by Hope Larson
Next review on my list, for sure. Look out for that! There's just something about this story that just grabs you right from the get go. From the point that you turn to the first page, you know it's not going to be your typical sci-fi tale. There's a surreal edge to the whole story, but once you get a bit into the book, you're turning pages so fast, it's like your fingers can't keep up. Unique characters, a totally different story to anything that I've read about before, I flew through this graphic novel. And it let me tick off one of my TBR Jar goals for 2018!


5. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
Every so often, I get the urge to read these sort of books. Not just because I'm interested in history, but this one looked super super interesting. Also, my brother has the DVD. But, because of the want to read the book before watching the film, I wanted to read the book first. So, thoughts: this was so good. There are three POV's, and you stick with each person for two chapter each time. It took a little while for me to get into the book, but once I did, I could not stop reading. Also, that's another book that I've ticked of my TBR Jar for 2018! Nailing the TBR Jar this year!



6. Love, Simon, by Becky Albertalli
Now, this won't come as much of a surprise, but I absolutely loved this. I can't fault it, except for the fact that there wasn't much to it at the start, but I love everything in this book. I characters, the quick and unexpected bursts of humour that is so common in this book, Simon's character development, all of it. If I have to get the train down to the cinema to watch this film when it comes out on the 6th, then I will do it. But at this point, I can't see how it could top how much I loved this book.



7. Tiny Pretty Things (Tiny Pretty Things #1), by Sona Charaipotra
This was everything that I wanted within this book. It was diverse, there were so many issues that were discussed within this book: addiction, the strive to be the best, no matter what you have to do to your competition, dancing with a condition, family pressures, bulimia to name a few. I read this in like a day, and after everything that happened in this book, I needed a day of marathoning 13 reasons why, just to get over the car crash of the ending of it all (that's a good thing.) The urge to buy the second book was the strongest it's ever been after finishing this book, even above the urge to pick up P.S. I Still Love You after finishing To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Unless I read a bunch of books better than the masterpiece of Tiny Pretty Things, this will for sure make my Favourite Books of 2018 list at the end of the year.


8. If I Stay (If I Stay #1), by Gayle Forman (Re-read)
This is just one of the go to re-reads that I pick up when I want to read something familiar. At 210 pages, it is such a quick read, and even though it grips my heart every time I read it, I will remain in love with it forever. It was a nice wrap up to my reading month and I'm happy I got to relive the story again.





TV AND FILM
TV
1. Thirteen Reasons Why
Yeah, I marathoned this in less than a day. There were a bunch of issues, like showing no way to prevent suicide as opposed to just acknowledging that it exists, and wishing they could have done more to prevent what happened to Hannah Baker. But it was so good. Dark and scarring, if you have been through any of the events in this series, but so addictive. And it was just in time because SEASON 2 COMES OUT TODAY.

FILMS
Okay, I haven't actually seen anything this month.
But there are so many good films coming out soon, so I'm going to list the ones I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO SEE.
1. Peter Rabbit- This wouldn't actually be on the list, except I'm conveniently going to see this film later today.
2. Love, Simon- Not only did I read this this month, but Keiynan Lonsdale is in this film and I love him from Dance Academy. They're just the only reasons.
3. Blockers- A film about kids losing their virginity. Comedy. And the parents try and stop them. It looks decent, and it's showing up everywhere.
4. Ready Player One- This came out on the 29th, and I would love to go and do this, because I read the book a couple of years back.


WRITING
So here's some news:
I FINISHED MY SECOND DRAFT.
POST ON THAT SOON.
I'm not disclosing any more than that.
But new post soon. I promise.


So that was my wrap up for March!
We are now 1/4 of our way through the year, and I cannot believe how quickly it's been going (through this month went at a snail pace for me, because I've been waiting for the Love, Simon film.)
But I am currently 18/60 books into my Goodreads Reading Challenge, and am 4 books ahead of schedule.
How are you doing with your Goodreads Reading Challenge? Let me know in the comments!

So that is all I've got for you today! I hope you enjoyed it, and I will see you all on Monday, with my April TBR (2018)!
Byeeee!

-Abi xxxxx





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