I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to share my current reads, and I think I will do a monthly blog post highlighting what I’ve been reading and my thoughts. Come along for the ride, and let me know if you have read any of these books, or if they are on your TBR lists, and what you thought about them!
Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros (re-read + Onyx Storm)
I really enjoyed Fourth Wing when I read it the first time, and tolerated Iron Flame in hopes that Onyx Storm would redeem the series for me. When I re-read the first two my feelings didn’t change much and I struggled with getting through Iron Flame because I found the FMC so annoying. Onyx Storm definitely made it worth the re-read, and I found Violet more tolerable in this book. Overall, I give the series 4 stars, but I will be reading it again when the next installment is published.
The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce (audiobook with the kiddos)
Tamora Pierce is one of my all time favorite authors for kids/middle grade readers and I was so excited to share this series with my boys. We have been listening to them in the car and both of them seem to really enjoy them. I love their enthusiasm about characters that I grew up with and love. One of my favorite parts of being a mom is sharing things that are meaningful or special with my kids, and this has been a great experience for us all. I enjoy the narration in the audiobooks. This is the 100th time I have read this series, but the first time listening to the audiobook and I was not disappointed at all.
The September House by Carissa Orlando
I was encouraged to read this one by a colleague who told me that several of her friends had read it and she wanted to know what I thought about it. I listened to the audiobook version of this on Libro.fm and enjoyed it. Its one of those horror/thrillers where you’re not sure how reliable the narrator is so you don’t really know what is actually happening until the end which is always fun for me. I really pictured this as a film the entire time I was listening to it, and I think it would make a great haunted house movie/show. It gave me American Horror Story season one vibes, for sure. If you’re into paranormal horror I would definitely recommend this read.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Susanne Collins
Honestly, I went into this one pretty skeptical because I didn’t love The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I devoured the original three novels when I was younger, and love those movies, but it was hard for me to get into Songbirds and I found the characters to be underwhelming. Upon reading Sunrise, I want to go back and reread Songbirds, as I think there is a lot of overlap within those two stories. Also, I struggle with prequels like this because you already know what happens, you just don’t know how/why. I think with this particular series that is even more pronounced. You know its bad, and everyone dies, but you don’t know HOW BAD and somehow Susanne Collins managed to surprise me with her creative deaths. I think this would be a great bookclub read in conjunction with Songbirds & Snakes.
The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville (with the kiddos)
Into the Land of the Unicorns was the very first chapter book I was allowed to checkout of the school library when I was a kid and it has become an integral part of my personality over the years. I read the second book, The Song of the Wanderer, as a child as well and then waited…and waited…and waited for more. Then I “grew up” and forgot about them for a while. When my boys were babies, I looked them up and was DELIGHTED to find out that Bruce Coville had released not one, but TWO more books to finish the series. Since then, those last two books have be rereleased in shorter installments and now the four book series has become seven volumes. Luster is probably one of my favorite fantasy lands and I love the characters in this series. I highly recommend this to any kid (or grownup) who loves fantasy.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this first installment of “Whatcha Reading, Paullina?” It’s been fun to share my thoughts and feelings about this books, but hard to write without spoiling anything.
Have you read any of them? Do you plan to?
Let’s talk about them more in depth!
Until the next chapter,
