Monday, March 12, 2018

Quicks Reviews | What I've Been Reading Lately

This is quick catch up of the books I've been reading lately.


Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1) by Maureen Johnson

Truly Devious is a new YA mystery series. I realized about halfway through Truly Devious that it was the start of a series. I wish I had known that before reading it. I probably would have skipped the series altogether. As soon as I realized, I became petrified I was reading a mystery with no resolution. I was mostly right. Thankfully, I did get a mystery that had a resolution, but Truly Devious was not a good fit for my reading style. If you love YA books that arc over the length of a series, this could be a fun mystery for you. I probably won't continue on.

6/10: Good Read




The Listener by Robert McCammon

Is there anything better than a favorite book by a favorite author? I loved The Listener. The characters were awesome, and McCammon's writing was as great as ever. If you’ve never read McCammon before, I am absolutely OK with The Listener being your first experience.

9/10: Highly Recommended




Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

Mapping the Interior will likely be my favorite novella of the year. It packed a huge emotional punch for me, and I had trouble getting it off of my mind. It's about a 15 year old boy who begins seeing the ghost of his father. It just won the Bram Stoker for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction, and it was a well deserved win.

8/10: Great Read




Bird Box by Josh Malerman

I can't imagine any book for the rest of the year topping the experience I had with Bird Box. I put off reading it for so long because the premise didn't sound like a book that would be a big hit with me. With the upcoming release of Unbury Carol (which sounds amazing!) and the upcoming movie release of Bird Box, I knew the time had come to see what Bird Box was all about. I'm calling it right now - Bird Box will be my favorite book of the year.

10/10: Awesome Read




Summer of Night by Dan Simmons

Summer of Night is a must read for fans of coming of age horror. If you are a fan of Stephen King's IT, you will probably love Summer of Night, too. I found there to be a lot of similarities between the two. I highly recommend going with the audiobook for this one. It's a chunky read, and the narrator does a great job.

8/10: Great Read



I think that covers most of what I read last month. It was an amazing run of books!

20 comments:

  1. Adding Summer of Night to my wishlist right now - I love Dan Simmons' horror, but somehow this one slipped my radar even though I thought I was familiar with most of his older works :)

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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    1. I've only read a couple of Dan Simmons' books. I need to make sure I put another one of his books in my jar next year.

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  2. I’m reading Bird Box because of you and I’m starting to be convinced to try The Listener.

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  3. Seems like a good run. I have Truly Devious out from the library right now but don't know if I'll get to it. I have a copy of Mapping the Interior which was sent in a book box subscription so I can easily pick it up. I remember reading Summer of Night a long time ago and don't remember much about it except that I enjoyed it. Might be time for a re-read.

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    1. It was definitely a great run for me. I hope I can keep picking the right ones this year. :) You should give Mapping the Interior a try. It's a super quick read, and I think you will be surprised by it!

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  4. If I'm reading some kind of mystery thriller, I'd want a resolution in the book, not an endlessly long story over a whole series.

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    1. My one wish for every book I pick up is for it to be a stand alone book. That's not too much to ask, is it?

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  5. Oooh. I want to read Bird Box now! You and the cover make it sound so good!

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    1. I hope you love Bird Box if you wind up reading it!

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  6. I didn't know Truly Devious was a series either?? I won it in a giveaway and was gonna read it one of these days, but now I'm less enthused. I'm kinda sick of YA arcs that take forever...

    Bird Box- wow. Need to give that a try methinks...

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    1. Seriously. I don't think there was any indication it was a series. (Other than it being YA, and I fall for it every. damn. time.) I was apparently the first person to put a hold on it at my library so I got the day it was released. There wasn't any chatter to warn me about it being a series until I was already halfway in. :'( It was a fun book. You may love it. I think it will be a popular series, but I have so many things I really want to read instead.

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  7. I'm torn between Bird Box and Summer of Night. Guess it's good I don't have to choose and can read them both! :D It's just deciding which to try first.

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    1. Read Bird Box! I read it in two sittings. Then you can tackle Summer of Night. :)

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  8. Wow, so many awesome reads. Summer of Night is still one of my all time favorite Simmons books, and I am DYING to read The Listener! I've had a copy of Bird Box for several years, but now I need to squeeze it in soon since you gave it such a high rating😁

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    1. I sure hope you all wind up loving Bird Box like I did! It is very rare for me to give a book a 10, but Malerman's writing worked extremely well for me.

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  9. That is quite some glowing praise for Bird Box! I haven't read it yet, but I have the ebook, and I'm looking forward to it! I've heard great things about Mapping the Interior too, glad you also liked that one!

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  10. I've owned a copy of Bird Box for so long - you've convinced me to bump it up the list.
    Lynn :D

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  11. I loved Truly Devious, but yeah that ending! I wasn't prepared for it either. I don't mind waiting though. Summer of Night sounds wonderful!

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  12. You had an amazing group of reads! I hope your good reading streak continues though it may be bad for my wallet!

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