A Review on the First Half of the Year

Hey guys, this is Abi here,

And today I will be talking about all the things that I've done so far this year- and everything I want to accomplish in the rest of the year.

This includes series I've finished, TBR jar challenges, series I want to start/finish, and what I'll be focusing on for the remainder of the year.

Enjoy!

January-June 2020

1. Series' completed

(I will be including The Illuminae Files, even though I only technically only finished the final book at the start of July- because it counts as a series' completed!)

1. The "This Mortal Coil" trilogy, by Emily Suvada

If you like Teri Terry's books, this trilogy is next in line. I've read the new This Mortal Coil books three years in a row (except This Vicious Cure because that book came out the following January, instead of the September before, like the first two) and I loved every new instalment. This Mortal Coil starts with a virus, which is spread by pigeons, and Catarina, who is lying in wait for her father to return after being taken by the Government. It may be a dystopian novel, but it's also amazing- due to it's crazy and unpredictable chapter endings, which makes you want to keep reading- even if it's 3am and you have to get up in 2 hours. These books are all as good as each-other, none of them are any worse, and they're all wonderful. If you like books about uncontrollable viruses, secrets and DNA- this is the trilogy for you.

2. The "Darker Shade of Magic" trilogy, by V.E. Schwab

I love this trilogy. It totally deserves the hype it's built up over the years. As much as I wish I'd joined the train earlier, as the books were released, I'm glad I was able to read them all at once. My only critique is that I wish there were more books in this world, because I want to read about these characters more! I have to keep hold of the hope that V.E Schwab will release another book with Kell, with Lila, Rhys and everyone else because they I love reading about them. If you haven't read this trilogy yet, please do.

3. "The Call" duology, by Peadar O' Guilin

I read The Call a few years back, and even though I enjoyed it, because it was different to anything I'd ever read before, with the strange description of where the children go when they get "Called" unlikely to survive, it wasn't my favourite book I've ever read. I heard that there was a sequel a few years later, but I didn't feel motivated to pick it up... until I saw it in Waterstones last month, and I decided, why not finish the full story? After reading both of them, I'll say that all in all, it's a decent duology. I liked the direction The Invasion took, I think it added a lot to the first book. If you have a week spare, and you like horror/ magical realism, I recommend this duology. A fast and solid duology.

4. "The Illuminae Files" trilogy, by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

The Illuminae Files will definitely make my favourites list at the end of the year. There, I said it. I loved everything to do with this trilogy, the characters, the plot, the need I felt to read more, to savour, yet race because something crazy was happening basically every page, and more than any of that- the way it was created- with reports and text messages- was the icing on the cake. The first word I would use to describe this series is explosive. And I'm waiting until next year, but there's no doubt that this will be a series that I'm going to re-read many, many times.

2. Goodreads Reading Challenge

So far I've read a total of 42/60 books (60 is my reading goal), but because of the incredibly successful reading month I had last month (I read 9 books!) I'm now 9 books of ahead of schedule.

So, I guess it's pretty much a given that I'll finish this Goodreads Challenge before December (I always try and finish it with at least a month left.)


3. TBR Jar Challenges Completed

1. The Shades of Magic trilogy, by V.E. Schwab
It was embarrassing how long it took me to get to this series, because the whole of the Booktube community absolutely loves this trilogy. But I loved it, it absolutely deserves the hype. (I do however wish there would be more books because I love the characters so much. Like it's been months since I finished the trilogy, but I still miss them.)

2. Alice Oseman books (Solitaire, Radio Silence & Heartstopper Volume Three)
I finished this challenge back in February/ March I think, and as an answer for how much I loved these books- Loveless is now on my Anticipated Releases post- and my TBR for August. Alice Oseman is now one of my favourite YA contemporary authors.

3. Twin Ambitions, by Mo Farah
Inspired by Paula Radcliffe's autobiography that I read at the end of last year, I decided to include this on my TBR Jar Challenges for 2020. Unfortunately, it's out of print, so I had to listen to the audiobook instead. Surprisingly, although it's not recorded by Mo Farah, it was a very good listen. A solid four stars. Although I haven't read an athlete's autobiography in a few months, I'm still excited to read more at some point.

4. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This was the first one I completed out of all of them, and again, it's just as good as everyone says it is. If you're going to give it a try, I highly suggest listening to the audiobook because each character has a different voice actor, and it's just so well done. I can't fault it, hence why I gave it 5 stars.

5. This Vicious Cure (This Mortal Coil #3), by Emily Suvada
I think I put this as a TBR Jar Challenge so I wouldn't let myself skip over it. This Vicious Cure is the third and final novel in the This Mortal Coil trilogy, and it's crazy, and explosive, and it has to do with DNA and tech, and it's absolutely amazing- so you should check it out if you're interested in tech savvy sci-fi novels.


For the Rest of the Year
1. Series' I Want to Start/ Finish
-The Chronicles of Alice duology, by Christina Henry

This is my remaining TBR Jar Challenge and I'm hoping I'll be able to read both in October. I know I'll get to this at some point this year, so I'm looking forward to picking up a book as dark as Alice is. (I've heard it's dark and creepy and I'm living for it.)

-The Nevernight trilogy, by Jay Kristoff

At the moment I'm working through my Series TBR from last year, because somehow I didn't manage to get to any of those series last year, but I think Nevernight will be the next series I reach for, after finishing The Toll this week. I don't know a whole lot about this trilogy, but the hype for Nevernight is huge in the book community, and I've heard it's different to other series'.

- The "Saga", series by Brian K. Vaughan

I don't know why, because it's been years since I first heard about this graphic novel series, but for some reason I've yet to pick even the first volume up yet. But I'm going to, because out of the series' TBR I posted at the start of last year, Saga and Nevernight are the only series left, so I definitely want to get to this by the end of the year.

So those are the three main series that I want to try and get to by the end of the year, but there are certainly a lot more that I want to pick up (which will be on my new series' TBR for 2021!)


2. Standalones That Stand Out
-Loveless, by Alice Oseman
Loveless came out in stores just last week, and it's going smack bang at the top of my TBR for August. I fell in love with Oseman's storytelling with Heartstopper, and my love for her writing has only grown when I picked up Solitaire and Radio Silence. Oseman's stories have so much representation included in her books, if I were to list them, I would be here all night. If you want more detail into what Loveless is about, check out my anticipated releases post from last month.




-Grown, by Tiffany D. Jackson
The same with Loveless, you can check out the in-depth details of what this book is about in my anticipated releases post. But to cut it short, this is about the allegations against R. Kelly. There are a number of trigger warnings: rape, abuse (mental, physical, and emotional), child endangerment, drug use, sexual assault, mental health, suicide, so if any of those are triggers for you, then this might not be the book for you. But ever since I heard about it, I haven't been able to get it out of my head.
Grown is released 15/9/20.



-The Lightness of Hands, by Jeff Garvin
The Lightness of Hands came out in the last couple of months, and even though it's quite a wait to get here, I can't believe I haven't ordered it yet. It's got Bipolar II representative, which I don't think I've seen in a book ever, a road-trip, and a chance to redeem a magic trick that went wrong. I don't know what it is about this book, but I just love the premise. And I know I'll get to this in 2020.

Okay! That took a while, but I definitely had fun writing this!
That's going to be it for now, but I hope you enjoyed reading it!
I do love writing wrap ups and making plans!
Let me know in the comments what your favourite reads have been so far, and what you're looking forward to reading in the remainder of the year!

I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you all soon!
Byeeeeee!

-Abi xxxxx