Weekly Reading Update: 07/29 - 08/04/16!

Another week, another update… As always, click the title for more information!

I started my week off by reading The Matchmaker’s Playbook by Rachel Van Dyken. You might have seen my review of book two, The Matchmaker’s Replacement, earlier this week. I couldn’t just read the second book without the first! And I’m glad I did - I actually think I liked the first book more. It was told entirely from Ian’s perspective, which felt new and different. And all the characters had a fantastic sense of snark and humor.

Then I moved on to Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton. This is my first book by this author, and if this is any indication - I can see why she’s so popular! The book was funny, the characters were awesome (I’d love to be Natalie’s friend!), and I totally dug Natalie’s mental soundtrack. I can’t wait to go back and read the first book, and/or start her Cocktail series! I reviewed this one for Romance Reviews Today, so make sure to check it out - appearing in August 2016.

Then I moved on to a graphic novel binge. I got several in the past few days, and just hoarded them until I had a free evening to go through them all. I started out with Hawkeye volume 6: Hawkeyes by Jeff Lemire. While I do love Jeff Lemire’s work, usually, this one just didn’t feel as good as the first few volumes. The Hawkeye series went from four star read to three stars. But I’ll keep going. Then I moved on to Grayson volume 2: We All Die At Dawn by Tom King. If it wasn’t for the fact that I love Dick Grayson, I would drop this and never look back. I don’t enjoy reading this. And while Dick still has some good moments, they’re not enough to make reading it worthwhile. I’d read the next volume, maybe, if I was bored enough.

After that, I went on to Teen Titans volume 2: Rogue Targets by Will Pfeifer. Another series I wouldn’t mind dropping. Some of these characters are interesting, but we don’t get enough about them to really connect to the Titans. I generally really like DC titles, and I love following all the little Batlings (what I call all the Bat-sidekicks) - but not even Red Robin can make this title worth continuing.

Last, but definitely not least, I read The Motherless Oven by Rob Davis. This one is weird, guys. Very weird. The kind of weird that throws you for a huge loop at the beginning, but as you continue reading, you find yourself just sliding into the world as-is, and going with the flow. This was a recommendation from a friend of mine (he loves the odd ones!), and I’m glad I read it. But that ending… I’m still not over that ending! Grrr.

That’s it for me this week, reading-wise. Friday night, I get to meet Colleen Hoover as part of her It Ends With Us tour. I can’t wait!!!

Happy Reading!

~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~

Weekly Reading Update 6/03 - 6/09/16!

Another week, another update! As always, click the link for more info about each book!

It’s the first week of the library’s summer reading program, so I have gone a bit crazy. But hey - I need to rack up those points so my library can win a pizza party for staff! So let’s get started.

I was looking into the cast of The Defenders, a Marvel show that should be airing next year on Netflix - and I noticed they list the Iron Fist. This is a character I know almost nothing about, really. I haven’t even read comics where he’s been featured, at least not that I can remember. So I figured I’d give him a shot. I picked up The Immortal Iron Fist: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 by Matt Fraction. I have to say, I enjoyed it. I’d gladly read more - if I can find some more.

Next up, I finally picked up Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. This book made me ugly cry. I have to say, I always feel really betrayed when a book makes me cry, because I expect a happily-ever-after every time. Real life is depressing enough - I want happy fiction! But my cousin recommended it to me, and I needed a book that was adapted into a movie for two separate reading challenges, so I went with it. However, I can’t imagine myself ever reading this again. And I’m definitely waiting until the movie comes out on DVD before I watch it. I’m so not seeing it (and crying!) in the movie theatre!

For the library’s summer reading challenge, I have to read a book from our digital audiobook service, OneClickDigital. So I chose Doctor Who: Orbis, which features the Eighth Doctor.. One of my favorites! I was always so sad that he only had the movie, so imagine my excitement a few years ago when I discovered all the Eighth Doctor audio adventures. Unfortunately, they can be hard to come by in the U.S., and I don’t have the money to keep buying them. Thank goodness my library got some on OneClickDigital!

Next up was Freefall by Jill Sorenson. I reviewed a book by this author several months ago, and loved it. So I’m working my way through this series, which got some rave reviews. Book 1, Aftershock, was amazing. Freefall was just as exciting and suspenseful. I have to take breaks between each book, because otherwise I think Jill Sorenson might just give me a heart attack. That said, I’m super excited for the next book.

Lastly, I finished my week off with a graphic novel - Robin War by Tom King. This is the follow up to We Are Robin, which I thought was interesting.. But Robin War knocked it out of the park. I’m a fan of all the Batlings (my pet name for all the sidekicks), Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Red Hood (Jason Todd) being my all-time favorites. I will admit that Red Robin (Tim Drake) really grew on me.

See you next week!

Happy Reading!

~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~