Friday Reads: August 24, 2018

Happy Friday! On the downside I have a cold, but on the upside I get to spend time with my dog and some great reads!

As of today I have completed my Goodreads reading goal of 35 books for the year by 209% by completing 73 books so far! And most exciting is that I am nearly done with one of four books that I have had marked as currently reading on my profile for three months! They are The Queens of Innis Lear, Godsgrave, Winter, and Assassin's Apprentice. For some reason these books have been the biggest struggle to get through in the past few months and I keep putting them down after ten pages at a time. It would make sense if I didn't like them but I genuinely am enjoying each of them! It makes no sense. But being stuck at home sick I finally pushed through and was able to read nearly 200 pages on Godsgrave and am finally getting really into the story! I'll talk more about Jay Kristoff's writing below.

Check out the two books I plan on reading for the rest of today and see what my thoughts are so far! Happy reading.

Title: Godsgrave

Author: Jay Kristoff
Page Count: 419
Progress: 358
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: Assassin, loyalty, gladiators
Kid Appropriate: Nope

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A ruthless young assassin continues her journey for revenge in this new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff.

Assassin Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo, or avenging her familia. And after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.

When it’s announced that Scaeva and Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end them. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between loyalty and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.

Set in the world of Nevernight, which Publishers Weekly called “absorbing in its complexity and bold in its bloodiness,” Godsgrave will continue to thrill and satisfy fantasy fans everywhere.

My thoughts so far:

I struggled with this book for the first third of the story! I did not want to read it, I was avoiding reading it, for some reason I just was not connecting with Mia. It was rough and I was reading anything and everything else that I could find. It bothered me so much too because I genuinely LOVED Nevernight when I read it last year. I thought maybe it wasn't as good as the first one or I had outgrown the story. But then I remembered my reading experience with Nevernight. I did the same thing with that book! For some reason every time I read a book by Jay Kristoff I have to start the story at least three times before it begins to click and I am suddenly obsessed with the story.

Now that I am 61 pages from the end of this story I am having so much fun. The action scenes are well written and the brutality of the gladiator life is executed perfectly. Morally ambiguous characters are some of my favorite and there are several present here. It is more emotional than I was expecting and around the halfway mark I have cried a few times.

I have about an hour left to finish this book and I expect it to end up being somewhere between a 4 and 5 star rating on Goodreads.

Title: Sweet Little Lies

Author: Caz Frear
Page Count: 341
Progress: 25
Format Read: BOTM Hardcover
Genre: Mystery
Keywords: Family, murder, detective
Kid Appropriate: Nope

Synopsis from Goodreads:

WINNER OF THE RICHARD AND JUDY SEARCH FOR A BESTSELLER COMPETITION.

WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW

In 1998, Maryanne Doyle disappeared and Dad knew something about it?
Maryanne Doyle was never seen again.

WHAT I ACTUALLY KNOW

In 1998, Dad lied about knowing Maryanne Doyle.
Alice Lapaine has been found strangled near Dad's pub.
Dad was in the local area for both Maryanne Doyle's disappearance and Alice Lapaine's murder - FACT
Connection?

Trust cuts both ways . . . what do you do when it's gone?

FOR FANS OF ERIN KELLY AND BELINDA BAUER, GET READY FOR THE SUSPENSE NOVEL OF THE YEAR.

My thoughts so far:

This is my August Book of the Month pick. I haven't read much on this one yet and plan on really getting into it once I finish Godsgrave. So far it is an easy to get into book with some gory murder details and flashbacks. In my experience most BOTM books are highly readable. I expect to be able to finish it this weekend or early next week.