Monthly Wrap-Up: September 2022

Happy Fall, everyone! Spooky Season is upon us and I COULD NOT BE MORE HAPPY!

Now I'm just waiting for the weather to cool down cause it's still in the 80s and I am not okay with that 😒 I want to wear sweaters and boots!! 😝 (Just wait, come December I'm gonna be complaining that it's TOO cold 🤦‍♀️😂)

Anyway, this month I read 11 books... well, 8 books and 3 novellas. Lol. 7 of them were re-reads and I read a total of 3117 pages, which is 1223 pages MORE than last month!! This is the most I have read in a month so far this year! 9 were adult and 2 YA, and 10 were urban fantasy and 1 was steampunk.

Review: The Girl with the Windup Heart (The Steampunk Chronicles #4) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl with the Windup Heart

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #4

Previous books in this series: The Girl in the Steel Corset (#1) | The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (#2) | The Girl with the Iron Touch (#3)

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2014

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: Borrowed from library

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books

Synopsis: In 1897 London, a final showdown is about to begin.

London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part-automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus.

Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison, and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe-especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers for long. To defeat him for good, Griffin will have to confront his greatest fear and finally come face-to-face with the destructive power he wields.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I’ve had this series on my TBR list for well over 10 years, and I only started reading it this year! And you know what, overall, I really enjoyed myself. There were some things about it that I liked, some that I didn’t, but it wasn’t a bad series.

Review: Bitter of Tongue (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #7) by Cassandra Clare & Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Bitter of Tongue

Series: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #7

Previous novellas in this series: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy (#1) | The Lost Herondale (#2) | The Whitechapel Fiend (#3) | Nothing but Shadows (#4) | The Evil We Love (#5) | Pale Kings and Princes (#6)

Previous series: The Mortal Instruments

Author: Cassandra Clare & Sarah Rees Brennan

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: August 2015

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Own hardcover

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Audible (novella only) | Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books

Synopsis: After Simon is kidnapped by faeries (why is he always kidnapped?), he uncovers rumors of a secret weapon Sebastian left behind for the faerie queen. He must escape the Fey, relying on his only ally, former Shadowhunter and Dark Artifices character Mark Blackthorn.

My rating: ★★★★☆

In this story, some students from Shadowhunter Academy go on a mission, a mission where Simon runs into freaking Mark Blackthorn! It was so sad! 😭 I hate that the Shadowhunters didn’t do anything to save him in City of Heavenly Fire. After the mission they then go to Helen’s wedding. Which, again, was sad because Mark wasn’t there and Helen is still in exile. And then seeing poor Juilan taking care of all of his siblings... it really pulled at the heartstrings 😭

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #283: Malec and Gin Blanco

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #317: Book Purses and All the Spooky Things

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Finally Fall Book Tag

It is finally Fall! My favorite time of year! To celebrate, here's a fun book tag I found over at Truffle's Literary Wonders. Lol. Fair warning: this is gonna be very Shadowhunter-heavy 😆 I'm sure no one is surprised though. Lol.

Review: The Girl with the Iron Touch (The Steampunk Chronicles #3) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl with the Iron Touch

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #3

Previous books in this series: The Girl in the Steel Corset (#1) | The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (#2)

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2013

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: eARC from publishers via Netgalley

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books

Synopsis: In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken...

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives.

With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine.

To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has...

My rating: ★★★★☆

Out of all the books in this series so far, I think this one has got to be my favorite! I just loved it! I really liked the premise of the book with poor Emily being kidnapped and being forced to do an awful thing, just because the Machinist wants to be resurrected, essentially.

Review: Pale Kings and Princes (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #6) by Cassandra Clare & Robin Wasserman

Title: Pale Kings and Princes

Series: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #6

Previous novellas in this series: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy (#1) | The Lost Herondale (#2) | The Whitechapel Fiend (#3) | Nothing but Shadows (#4) | The Evil We Love (#5)

Previous series: The Mortal Instruments

Author: Cassandra Clare & Robin Wasserman

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Own hardcover

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Audible (novella only) | Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books

Synopsis: Simon has an encounter with Downworlders and is reprimanded for not following the rules for Academy students interacting with Downworlders. A story within a story: Andrew Blackthorn, while a student at the Academy, becomes enthralled by a faerie and has two children with her: Mark and Helen.

My rating: ★★★★☆

Our guest in this story is Helen Blackthorn! It was a nice surprise, but it was also awful because she’s still in exile 😫 I absolutely hate how they’re treating Helen! I’m glad she at least has Aline though, and they’re getting freaking married! 😆

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #282: Haha What Break?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #316: I Feel Like Myself Again

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Fall-Time, Cozy-Time Book Tag

Is anyone else preparing for Fall already, or is it just me? 😆 I love Fall, and since it's just around the corner I thought it would be fun to do something a little Fall-themed today. I saw this fun tag over at a GREAT read, and it was created by Sam’s Nonsense.

Literary Nails: Only Bad Options (Galactic Bonds #1) by Jennifer Estep

It's been a minute since I last did some book-inspired nail art, but I read Only Bad Options not that long ago, and I of course loved it, but also the cover is just stunning! I knew I had to attempt some nail art inspired by it!

Review: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (The Steampunk Chronicles #2) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #2

Previous book in this series: The Girl in the Steel Corset (#1)

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2012

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: Borrowed from library

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books

Synopsis: In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him... for the life of the girl Jasper loves.

One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship.

More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley... and will risk his life and reputation to save her.

Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much...

My rating: ★★★★☆

The gang is off to the US to help their friend Jasper, who is in some real trouble. It turns out that Jasper stole some device from some thug and now he wants it back. And said thug is threatening Jasper with Mei, a girl he cares about. I’m not gonna lie though, I was not a fan of Mei as soon as we met her. I felt bad for Jasper and the situation he was in, especially because he seemed to care about her a lot, but I just did not care for their relationship 😬

Review: Only Bad Options (Galactic Bonds #1) by Jennifer Estep

Title: Only Bad Options

Series: Galactic Bonds #1

Author: Jennifer Estep

Genre: Adult, sci-fi, fantasy

Publication date: September 20th 2022

Published by: Jennifer Estep

Source: eARC from author for review

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Apple Books | Google Play | Kobo

Synopsis: Space opera meets Bridgerton in an exciting new science-fiction fantasy adventure by bestselling author Jennifer Estep. Perfect for readers looking for a mix of magic and technology and for fans of soul mates and enemies-to-lovers stories.

A WOMAN WHO SEES EVERYTHING...

Few people know the name Vesper Quill. To most folks, I’m just a lowly lab rat who designs brewmakers and other household appliances in the research and development lab at the powerful Kent Corp. But when I point out a design flaw and a safety hazard in the new line of Kent Corp starcruisers, everyone knows who I am—and wants to eliminate me.

I might be a seer with a photographic memory, but I don’t see the trouble headed my way until it’s too late. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by enemies and fighting for my life.

I don’t think things can get any worse until I meet Kyrion Coldren, an arrogant Regal lord who insists that we have a connection, one that could be the death of us both.

A MAN WHO CAN’T FORGET HIS PAST...

The name Kyrion Coldren strikes fear in the hearts of people across the Archipelago Galaxy. As the leader of the Arrows, the Imperium’s elite fighting force, I’m used to being a villain, as well as the personal assassin of Lord Callus Holloway. Even the wealthy Regals who live on the planet of Corion are afraid of me.

But everything changes when I meet Vesper Quill. I might be a powerful psion with telepathic, telekinetic, and other abilities, but Vesper sees far too many of my secrets.

Thanks to an arcane, unwanted quirk of psionic magic, the two of us are forced to work together to unravel a dangerous conspiracy and outwit the dangerous enemies who want to bend us to their will.

My rating: ★★★★★

Sometimes in life, you have only bad options.

Ever since Jennifer Estep announced that she was writing this book, I was ALL IN. Last year I fell into this rabbit hole where all I wanted to read was sci-fi, and I’m honestly still there, so this book came at a perfect time for me! Plus, Jennifer has never written sci-fi before, so I was very excited to see what she would do with the genre, and it turns out that it was amazing! I loved this world! But that should come as no surprise because I pretty much love anything this author writes 😆

Review: The Evil We Love (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #5) by Cassandra Clare & Robin Wasserman

Title: The Evil We Love

Series: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #5

Previous novellas in this series: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy (#1) | The Lost Herondale (#2) | The Whitechapel Fiend (#3) | Nothing but Shadows (#4)

Previous series: The Mortal Instruments

Authors: Cassandra Clare & Robin Wasserman

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: June 2015

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Own hardcover

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Audible (novella only) | Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books

Synopsis: All evil starts somewhere, and Simon Lewis learns how The Circle—led by Valentine Morgenstern—began.

The Shadowhunter Academy has only just reopened following the disastrous rise of the Circle. Now the faculty can finally admit to what happened when Valentine was a student.

My rating: ★★★★★

In this story we have another guest lecturer, Robert Lightwood aka Isabelle and Alec’s dad aka the Inquisitor! His story takes place in the 1980s and is about the Circle 😬 Valentine was so terrible, but we already knew that. We also got a little insight into Robert’s relationship with his parabatai Michael Wayland, Jace’s supposed dad before we found out who he was actually a Herondale. It was a very interesting, sad story. Robert said some terrible things and, just, ugh! I really liked Michael! I felt so bad for him 😢

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #281: I've Missed the TMI Gang

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #315: Why is Everything Burning?

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Finish the Series #21: Ready for Spooky Season!

Two months since my last post and I finished one whole series 😆 But hey, at least it's something. Lol.

Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles #1) by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Steel Corset

Series: The Steampunk Chronicles #1

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2011

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: Borrowed from library

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books

Synopsis: In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one... except the "thing" inside her.

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on even if it seems no one believes her.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for 11 years! And I’m only just getting around to it now! I like the idea of this series, so I was really looking forward to reading this. I’m not gonna lie though, I feel like I liked the prequel, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, more than I liked this first book in the series 😬

Review: Nothing but Shadows (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #4) by Cassandra Clare & Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Nothing but Shadows

Series: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #4

Previous novellas in this series: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy (#1) | The Lost Herondale (#2) | The Whitechapel Fiend (#3)

Previous series: The Mortal Instruments

Authors: Cassandra Clare & Sarah Rees Brennan

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: May 2015

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Own hardcover

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Audible (novella only) | Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books

Synopsis: It’s hard to be a Shadowhunter when you’ve got demonic powers.

Simon learns about the school-time struggles of half-warlock James Herondale in this prelude to The Last Hours.

My rating: ★★★★★

Another Herondale story from Catarina!

“A Herondale? Another Herondale?” Simon asked. “Herondales without cease. Do you ever get the feeling you are being chased around by Herondales?”
“Not really,” Catarina said. “Not that I’d mind. Magnus says they tend to be a good-looking lot. Of course, Magnus also says they tend to be strange in the head. James Herondale was a bit of a special case.”

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #280: Still With The Elemental Assassin Binge Read

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #314: Hair Fail and Horror Movies

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Summer Loving Book Tag

I saw this fun tag over at Monstrumology and it was originally created by Bookables.

Review: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (The Steampunk Chronicles #0.5) by Kady Cross

Title: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

Series: Steampunk Chronicles #0.5

Author: Kady Cross

Genre: YA, steampunk, historical

Publication date: May 2011

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: Borrowed from library

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Audible

Synopsis: Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I was really looking forward to starting this series. In fact, it's been on my TBR list for years! I think I’ve had an ARC of book 3 for almost 10 years 😅 Yeah, it's bad, I know. Lol. Anyway, I really enjoyed this introduction to the series!