Waiting on Wednesday #59!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be participating in Waiting on Wednesday, and meme originally created by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. Jill hasn't been active for a while, so Tressa @ Wishful Endings has adopted it! If you see posts by the name of "Can't Wait Wednesday," it's the same thing!

The book I'm looking forward to this week is Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra!

Kyra is the youngest Markswoman in the Order of Kali, a highly trained sisterhood of elite warriors armed with telepathic blades. Guided by a strict code of conduct, Kyra and the other Orders are sworn to protect the people of Asiana. But to be a Markswoman, an acolyte must repudiate her former life completely. Kyra has pledged to do so, yet she secretly harbors a fierce desire to avenge her dead family.

When Kyra’s beloved mentor dies in mysterious circumstances, and Tamsyn, the powerful, dangerous Mistress of Mental Arts, assumes control of the Order, Kyra is forced on the run. Using one of the strange Transport Hubs that are remnants of Asiana’s long-lost past, she finds herself in the unforgiving wilderness of desert that is home to the Order of Khur, the only Order composed of men. Among them is Rustan, a young, disillusioned Marksman whom she soon befriends.

Kyra is certain that Tamsyn committed murder in a twisted bid for power, but she has no proof. And if she fails to find it, fails in her quest to keep her beloved Order from following Tamsyn down a dark path, it could spell the beginning of the end for Kyra--and for Asiana.

But what she doesn’t realize is that the line between justice and vengeance is razor thin . . . thin as the blade of a knife.

Goodreads

My Favorite Movies of 2017!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be looking back at the movies I absolutely loved last year. Not all of these movies are 2017 releases, but they are all movies I watched for the first time in 2017 and absolutely adored. If you want more info, all the movies will be linked to their Imbd page, and if I wrote a review for it, a link will be there as well! 

With that out of the way, here are some of the best movies I watched in 2017 (in no particular order!)

Blackfish
Before watching this film, I had no idea what atrocities took place at SeaWorld. Orcas are meant to be in the wild, and while habilitation is humane and I encourage it, keeping whales in pools for their whole lives and expecting them to be okay with it, is proposterious. Out of the six I'm mentioning today, Blackfish is my favorite movie of the year and made a huge impact on me. Here is my review.  

Favorite Books of 2017!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today I'll be discussing my favorite books of 2017, whether they are new releases or old. I did posts about my worst books, my favorite 2017 releases, and coming tomorrow are my favorite movies of the year.

Without further ado, here are the 20 (20!!! A fifth of my reads were wonderful!) books that I rated 4.5 stars or higher! All links are to goodreads, and I'll leave my review, if I have one, there as well. The order of these books are by date read, from the beginning of the year to the end.

1) Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame
Genre: YA Contemporary
Series? Yes! The third in a trilogy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.09

2) Dark Tide by Jennifer Donnelly
Genre: YA Fantasy
Series? Yes! The third in a series of four books
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.36
My Review!

3) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Series? Yes! The second in a trilogy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.46
My Review!
 
4) Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
Genre: YA Contemporary 
Series? Nope!
Rating: 5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.02
My Review!

Worst Books of 2017!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be talking about my least favorite books of 2017. As always, these are just my opinions, and if we differ, don't take it personally! I would love to hear why you loved a book I hated. :) At the time I am writing this, I have read 99 books, and am close to finishing three more. Without further ado, here are the books I rated two or less stars.

All of these links are to goodreads, and I'll leave my review (if I have one) right next to the goodreads link. 

1) Never Dare a Dragon by Ashlyn Chase
(my review)
2) Winter Kisses by Addison Moore
3) Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
(my review)
4) A Thousand Letters by Staci Hart
5) Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
(my discussion on why this was disappointing)
6) Recreated by Colleen Houck
(my review)
7) Unblemished by Sara Ella
(my review)
8) Better than Perfect by Simone Elkeles
(my review)
9) The Last Virgin Standing by Tiffany Huynh
10) Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
(my review)

Looking at these books, most of of them I rated two stars. The only ones I rated one star was Winter Kisses and Never Dare a Dragon. Out of those two, my least favorite was Winter Kisses; the novella really wasn't for me and I got nothing out of it. If I were to recommend any book out of these, it would be Mask of Shadows. I was the odd man out with this one. A lot of people loved this, but the writing style just didn't mesh well with me. Also, Throne of Glass is so well loved, and I will eventually be contnuing on with the series. 

I think it's also notable that the majority of the books were traditionally published. By worst books generally weren't ones that were self-published, on wattpad, etc., so let's get rid of that stigma that books that aren't traditionally published are bad! The Last Virgin Standing (which honestly, why did I even read it?) was written on wattpad, with no editors, which is completely different than books that are self-published or traditionally published. So if you are hesitant about reading self-published books because you don't think they'll be good, don't! Most of the time, self-published books do not disappoint. 

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Favorite 2017 Releases!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today, I'll be looking back on 2017 and reflecting on all the books I read that were released in the last year. I read more new releases than ever in 2017, and it's largely because I became more active on Netgalley!

I read 32 books released in 2017, so they accounted for just under a third of my reading for the year! Here are some of my favorite books of those 32, in no particular order!

1) Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
2) Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3) Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
4) Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
5) Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
6) The Empress by SJ Kincaid
7) Run Away With Me by Mila Gray
8) When Dimple Me Rishi by Sandhya Menon
9) Hunger by Roxane Gay

Looking at these nine, all but two (Dear Ijeawele and Hunger) are fiction, which is no surprise to me, considering that's all I read. Of those that are fiction books, 6 are young adult, and one is new adult. Four of them are contemporary, two science fiction, and one fantasy! To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't love more 2017 fantasy releases. I am the most picky when it comes to fantasy though, since I read either fantasy or contemporary. I do have a soft spot for contemporary, and this year was no exception. It does seem like I should read more science fiction though, considering that The Empress and Nyxia were two of the three 2017 science fiction releases I read, and I loved them both.   

If you ask me to pick which one of these is my favorite, I wouldn't have an answer! Dear Ijeawele, Hunger, Breath of Fire, and Alex, Approximately are all up there. However, I would say that Run Away with Me and When Dimple Met Rishi are my least favorite, and yet they still got five stars! At the end of the day, I would recommend every single one of these. :)

Have you read any of these books above? What did you think? What are some of your favorite 2017 releases?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Waiting on Wednesday #58!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be participating in Waiting on Wednesday, and meme originally created by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. Jill hasn't been active for a while, so Tressa @ Wishful Endings has adopted it! If you see posts by the name of "Can't Wait Wednesday," it's the same thing!

The book I'm looking forward to this week is Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen!

Getting to Eden brought Emmett and his crewmates one step closer to their promised fortune. But surviving Eden may be the biggest reward of all. Discover book two in the trilogy Marie Lu called, “a high-octance thriller.”

Emmett Atwater thought Babel’s game sounded easy. Get points. Get paid. Go home. But it didn’t take long for him to learn that Babel’s competition was full of broken promises, none darker or more damaging than the last one.

Now Emmett and the rest of the Genesis survivors must rally and forge their own path through a new world. Their mission from Babel is simple: extract nyxia, the most valuable material in the universe, and play nice with the indigenous Adamite population.

But Emmett and the others quickly realize they are caught between two powerful forces—Babel and the Adamites—with clashing desires. Will the Genesis team make it out alive before it’s too late?

Goodreads

Music Monday #4

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni and today I'll be participating in my second Music Monday post! Music Monday is hosted by  Lauren @ Always Me. Earlier in the year I said I would participate in this more frequently, and I completely failed! However, I normally don't have a set post every week besides Waiting on Wednesday, and I thought that this fit in well!
 

Here are the rules:

Every Monday share one or two of songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).

By now, you've probably heard that Taylor Swift released a new album. While I've been obsessing over it, one of my favorite songs from the album is "I Did Something Bad."

Down below is the original that Taylor Swift released, and then a BEAUTIFUL cover of the song that just reignited my love!

Which version of the song did you enjoy more?I can't decide which one I like more. The harmonies in the cover as well as the instrumentals are amazing, so I'm leaning towards that! If you have listened to Taylor's new album, which is your favorite? The only song that I don't like that much is "This is Why we Can't Have Nice Things."

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

                                                 Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!