Monthly Wrap-Up: September Reading 2023

Wow, it’s been exactly a month since my monthly reading wrap-up for August. Wasn’t intending to post this this late into the month again, but life happens.

Comparing last month to the one before it, I definitely didn’t read as much as I’d wanted to. I read more books in August than I did in September. I’m hoping to change that up in October, especially since we’re getting into my favorite reading season.

But yeah, without further prattling, let’s get into my states for The StoryGraph for my September Reading 2023!

September 2023 Reading

I read 4 books and 1157 pages

😐 MOODS: Adventurous was the biggest slice of pie, as it always is. There are so many Moods here, but less than in August. The other ones were: Mysterious, Lighthearted, Dark, Funny, and Dark.

👢 PACE: I read two different kinds of paced books: slow and medium.

🔢 PAGE NUMBER: Everything I read was either between 300 and 499 pages, or it sad under 300 pages. The pie graph was split during the middle.

📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction this month.

🎭 GENRES: Fantasy, as usual, was the biggest bar of the graph. Graphic Novel and YA were of the length this time, though. The other genres on the graph were Horror and Comics.

📄 FORMAT: This little StoryGraph pie chart is incorrect. Only one of the books I read was a physical print copy.

⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 2.5. It was cuz I rated four different books four different star increments.

📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I read some during the first week, but dipped down during the second week, until near the last week of September.

The Books I Read in September

★★✫☆☆ • my review

★★✫☆☆ • my review

★★✯☆☆ • my review

★★☆☆☆ • my review

Wrapping Up the Wrap-Up

As I mentioned above, I didn’t read nearly as much as I had wanted to during September. Between things popping up and getting sick, I didn’t end up having the time or energy that I needed. Hopefully October will be better. 🤞🍀

And so, the September 2023 Reading Wrap-Up comes to a close. As per usual, thank you all so much for reading and have a wonderful day/night!

What books did you guys read in September? What did you think of them? What genres did you read?

See ya ~Mar

Book Review: “Cursed” by Marissa Meyer

Stories are only half told until they’ve found a listener.

Cursed by Marissa Meyer

SERIES: Gilded Duology (Book #2)

LENGTH: 485 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Feiwel & Friends

RELEASE DATE: 8 November 2022

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer concludes her young adult retelling of Rumpelstiltskin in this sequel!

Serilda and Gild attempt to break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid’s haunted castle before the Endless Moon, when the Erlking means to capture one of the seven gods and make a wish to return his lover, Perchta, from the underworld. But as the story progresses, it becomes clear he doesn’t want just one god – he wants to capture all seven, and force them to bring down the veil that keeps the Dark Ones separate from the land of the mortals. Serilda and Gild must try to thwart his plans, all while solving the mystery of Gild’s forgotten name, freeing his younger sister who is trapped inside Gravenstone Castle, and trying to protect their unborn child.

Romance, adventure, and Serilda’s journey to finding her power as a woman, a mother, and a partner make this a retelling that Meyer fans – old and new – will treasure.

My Review

“This is the stuff of fairy tales. You are the stuff of fairy tales. Handsome princes who kill wicked huntresses and get themselves cursed inside haunted castles are the stuff of fairy tales.”

Ugh, this book. This. Book. I was really looking forward to it. I really enjoyed Gilded for all of its flaws, and I love The Lunar Chronicles. But I really didn’t like Cursed. Marissa Meyer really dropped the ball here for me.

Honestly though, I think I hated it as much as I did not only because I didn’t like it, but also because I didn’t really like any of the other books that I read in September. If I had read other books that I ended up liking, I might not have rated this reading experience so lowly. But I did read a bunch of books I didn’t like, so I did give it a low rating. Oh well.

(Also, sorry that this review took as long as it did. I just couldn’t find the motivation to write it after the amount of disappointment this book made me feel.)

Pros

The first book ▼

As much as I didn’t like Cursed, my experience reading it made me appreciate its predecessor more. This definitely could have (and probably should have) been all one standalone novel.

The prose ▼

This book was competently written. It’s the biggest reason why I didn’t end up rating it any lower.

Cons

“Are you reading fairy tales, miller’s daughter? Or are you living one?”

The characters ▼

I have a slight confession to make: I wasn’t quite as fond of our protagonist, Serilda, as much as I might’ve said. She was a very reactive MC and she made so many stupid decisions throughout the first book. And that didn’t change with this one. In fact, Serilda was even more reactive and made even more stupid decisions. She also didn’t do anything for the first half of the book (at least), which made it quite the slog to get through. It was extremely annoying.

Gild was a character that I really liked in the first novel, though. And I was anticipating Cursed somewhat in part because I expected that we’d be seeing more of him, as well as more of his interactions with Serilda, because of how Gilded ended. Nope. He doesn’t appear any more often than he does in book one. In fact, sometimes it felt like I saw less of him sometimes.

The other characters didn’t feel like they mattered. The kids were sweet, like they were in the first one, but they kind of started to irritate me after a while because they prevented the plot from moving forward. It was very annoying. And the villains – the Erlking and Perchta were also really annoying characters. Perchta was just a bee-atch and I could never quite tell what the Erlking wanted. He had weird interactions with Serilda that implied he might’ve been having character development in a certain way, but it was all for nothing.

The plot ▼

This book lost the plot. Nothing at all happens until after the 50% mark, and nothing major happens until like two thirds of the way through.

The pacing was also terrible here. Every part taking place over a couple days over one month worked in the first novel, but it doesn’t really work here. Even though Serilda has always been a reactive protagonist, but in Gilded it at least felt like she was doing stuff some of the time. Here, she doesn’t really do anything for much of the early parts, and the plot doesn’t move along. As a result, the last quarter of the book has to tumble over backwards to wrap up all of the loose ends, and even then, it’s not even close to a satisfying end to the story.

The romance ▼

Guys, it really sucks. I was looking forward to watching Serilda and Gild’s bond go stronger, and relationship unfold further here, but we don’t get that. Much of their bonding happens off-page and in descriptions. Ew. I kinda would have liked to read about their bond happening Meyer! There’s also just so much insta-love aspects happening with it too.

Final Thoughts

“Human, god, monster – we are all the victims of fate and fortune.”

Cursed by Marissa Meyer was majorly disappointing. Because of this I, unfortunately, can’t really recommend it. It just didn’t live up to my expectations.

Not that everyone who reads it will hate it like I did. I think other fans of Gilded and Marissa Meyer’s other works have a decent chance of enjoying it. So don’t just take my word for it.

What books have you read by Marissa Meyer? Which books are your favorite? What are your favorite fairytale retellings?

As always, thank you so much for reading, and have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

My Links:

Goodreads

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WWW Wednesday: 9/27

It’s been such a hot minute since I’ve done this post, and how I’ve missed it. (It’s been nearly a month!) I always love telling everyone what I’m reading, what I just read, and end what I’m considering reading next.

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Thing I’m Currently Reading

Cursed by Marissa Meyer

CURRENT STATUS: 50%

CURRENT FEELS: 🤔 (meh, so-so, unsure)

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer concludes her young adult retelling of Rumpelstiltskin in this sequel!

Serilda and Gild attempt to break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid’s haunted castle before the Endless Moon, when the Erlking means to capture one of the seven gods and make a wish to return his lover, Perchta, from the underworld. But as the story progresses, it becomes clear he doesn’t want just one god – he wants to capture all seven, and force them to bring down the veil that keeps the Dark Ones separate from the land of the mortals. Serilda and Gild must try to thwart his plans, all while solving the mystery of Gild’s forgotten name, freeing his younger sister who is trapped inside Gravenstone Castle, and trying to protect their unborn child.

Romance, adventure, and Serilda’s journey to finding her power as a woman, a mother, and a partner make this a retelling that Meyer fans – old and new – will treasure.

The Thing I Most Recently Finished Reading

Sandymancer by David Edison

My Review

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A wild girl with sand magic in her bones and a mad god who is trying to fix the world he broke come together in SANDYMANCER, a genre-warping mashup of weird fantasy and hard science fiction.

All Caralee Vinnet has ever known is dust. Her whole world is made up of the stuff; water is the most precious thing in the cosmos. A privileged few control what elements remain. But the world was not always a dust bowl and the green is not all lost.

Caralee has a secret—she can draw up power from the sand beneath her feet. But when she does… she winds up summoning a monster: The former god-king who broke the world 800 years ago and has stolen the body of her best friend.

Caralee will risk the whole world to take back what she’s lost. If her new companion doesn’t kill her first.

Sandymancer is what happens when Oz meets armageddon, with failed gods, lost magics, and murderous gigantic steel harpies. Caralee has always longed to see more of this broken world—but as she stumbles upon its secret roots, she may discover that their doomsday wasn’t quite what everyone thought.

The Thing I Might Read Next

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordon

(The first – and really unexpected – Percy Jackson book in thirteen years. Not a spin-off, or a new series that exists in the same universe, like Heroes of Olympus or Magnus Chase, but an actual book sux with the original trio that started it all! This series was huge for me growing up – of course I’m gonna read this book!)

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

The original heroes from The Lightning Thief are reunited for their biggest challenge yet: getting Percy to college when the gods are standing in his way.

After saving the world multiple times, Percy Jackson is hoping to have a normal senior year. Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him. Percy will have to fulfill three quests in order to get the necessary three letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus for college.

The first quest is to help Zeus’s cup-bearer retrieve his goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. Can Percy, Grover, and Annabeth find it in time?

Readers new to Percy Jackson and fans who have been awaiting this reunion for more than a decade will delight equally in this latest hilarious take on Greek mythology.

What books are you guys currently reading? Have you read any of the ones on my list this week? What did you think of them, if you had? How do you feel about the book(s) you’re reading now?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a fantastic day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Book Haul: Week of 11/6 – 11/12

Book hauls. Mm-hmm. Sooo… This is a book haul. Sort of. Everyone in the reading community has at least an inkling of what they are, and if you don’t, this picture above probably gives you a bit of an idea. But they’re usually kind of big – or at least bigger than this – but this is the best I can do. I just can’t commit to more than a couple books at a time, okay?

Now, I’ve gotta be honest here. I haven’t done too many book hauls, and the ones that I have done have always been a little too much. I know the reason, though. It’s cuz I read one or two, and then I feel obligated to read the rest of the books, but I’d also just gotten distracted and enticed by a new book I’ve come across, and I really want to read that one right now immediately.

So instead of doing five or six books, I’m doing three. That way there won’t be any anxieties about deciding on my next read.

So, here we go!

The Conjurer • Nick Oliveri

Length: 194 pages

Genre: Ancient Historical Fiction

Publication: Write My Wrongs LLC [December 8, 2021]

Book Description

In the thriving kingdom of Idaza, Mikalla is the adored Conjurer, the nation’s chief storyteller, using the shadows cast by the city’s glorious ceremonial flame.

But death awaits around every corner. Addiction rattles the king. Trauma haunts the nobility and their conflicting motives. Murder happens, but to find out who succumbs to it is a journey the reader must take alone through the halls and palaces of the glorious Inner Gardens.

With a beautiful family and his position as one of King Oro’s favorite courtiers, Mikalla’s life is perfect. That is, until the king commands him to deliver a deadly message—one that will inevitably end in bloodshed and a war-torn Idaza.

Why I Decided to Read This: book kind of popped up under my radar a couple of weeks ago from out of nowhere, and I just thought that it sounded interesting to me. I also like to dive outside of my comfortable science-fantasy box occasionally, and check out other books that jump out at me. So I thought that I’d give it a whirl since it’s pretty short.

This’ll most likely be the one that I read first (since it’s short), so keep an eye out for the review over the next couple of days.

Children of Ragnarok [Runestone Saga #1] • Cinda Williams Chima

Length: 560 pages

Genres: Fantasy, YA, Adventure

Publication: Balzer + Bray [November 8, 2022]

Book Description

Since Ragnarok—the great war between the gods and the forces of chaos—the human realm of the Midlands has become a desperate and dangerous place, bereft of magic.

Sixteen-year-old Eiric Halvorsen is among the luckier ones—his family has remained prosperous. But he stands to lose everything when he’s wrongly convicted by a rigged jury of murdering his modir and stepfadir. Also at risk is Eiric’s half-systir, Liv, who’s under suspicion for her interest in seidr, or magic. Then a powerful jarl steps in: He will pay the blood price if Eiric will lead a mission to the fabled Temple at the Grove—the rich stronghold of the wyrdspinners, the last practitioners of sorcery.

Spellsinger, musician, and runecaster Reginn Eiklund has spent her life performing at alehouses for the benefit of her master, Asger, a fire demon she is desperate to escape. After one performance that amazes even herself, two wyrdspinners in the audience make Reginn an irresistible offer: return with them to the Temple to be trained in seidr, forever free of Asger.

Eiric’s, Liv’s, and Reginn’s journeys converge in New Jotunheim, a paradise fueled by magic and the site of the Temple. They soon realize that a great evil lurks beneath the dazzling surface and that old betrayals and long-held grudges may fuel another cataclysmic war. It will require every gift and weapon at their command to prevent it.

Why I Decided to Read This: This was actually one of the books on my Most Anticipated Books Releasing November 2022 post. I explain why there, but basically I want to read this because Vikings.

Cursed [Gilded #2] • Marissa Meyer

Length: 496 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales & Folklore

Publication: Feiwel & Friends [November 8, 2022]

Book Description

Be still now, and I will tell you a tale.

Adalheid Castle is in chaos.

Following a shocking turn of events, Serilda finds herself ensnared in a deadly game of make-believe with the Erlking, who is determined to propel her deeper into the castle’s lies. Meanwhile, Serilda is determined to work with Gild to help him solve the mystery of his forgotten name and past.

But soon it becomes clear that the Erlking doesn’t only want to use Serilda to bring back his one true love. He also seeks vengeance against the seven gods who have long trapped the Dark Ones behind the veil. If the Erlking succeeds, it could change the mortal realm forever.

Can Serilda find a way to use her storytelling gifts for good―once and for all? And can Serilda and Gild break the spells that tether their spirits to the castle before the Endless Moon finds them truly cursed?

Romance and adventure collide in this stunning finale to the Rumpelstilskin-inspired fairy tale.

Why I Decided to Read This: This was also on my Most Anticipated Books Releasing November 2022 post. Like Children of Ragnarok, I explain my reasons there, but the gist of it is that I loved the first book, so I wanted to read the sequel.

Annnd, that’s it for the books I’ve collected for reading this week. I don’t know if this’ll become a thing or not, especially since it’s unlikely that I’ll finish all three within the coming week, but who knows! And at least it was fun the one time.

Have you had your eye on any of these three books yourself? What books are at the top of your TBR? As always, thanks for tuning in, and have a fantastic day/night!

(My) Most Anticipated Books Coming Out November 2022

You read the title right. I’m gonna give you guys a little list of the books that are coming out next month that I wanna read. And that’s a hard “I,” by the way. These may not be the most anticipated ones from all of those popular lists, these are the books that look interesting to me personally. So get ready for some fantastical and weird ones, cuz that’s the stuff I like to read.

Also, quick note. November is a good month this year. November 8th? A very good day. A very, very good one. I swear to God, I did not just look just look at which books came out on this day and call it a post. I’m just that lucky, I guess.

#3: Scattered Showers • Rainbow Rowell

Release Date: November 8, 2022

Length: 288 pages

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Excitement Level: 🌈🌈🌈🌈 • 4 / 5 rainbows

Confession time: I haven’t actually finished any of Rowell’s books. The only one that I’ve read any of is Carry On, and I think I got maybe a third of the way through it before I had decided that it was moving too slowly for my liking. (I loved everything else about it! Why, oh why, was it so glacial, though??) But this book is essentially a collection of short stories, and they all look so interesting! I’ll just pretend I’ve read the Simon Snow trilogy when I get to the Simon Snow one.

Book Description:

Rainbow Rowell has won fans all over the world by writing about love and life in a way that feels true.

In her first collection, she gives us nine beautifully crafted love stories. Girl meets boy camping outside a movie theater. Best friends debate the merit of high school dances. A prince romances a troll. A girl romances an imaginary boy. And Simon Snow himself returns for a holiday adventure.

It’s a feast of my irresistible characters, hilarious dialogue, and masterful storytelling – in short, everything you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell book.

#2: Children of Ragnarok • Cinda Williams Chima

*Children of Ragnarok* by Cinda Williams Chima

Release Date: November 8, 2022

Length: 560 pages

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Excitement Level: 🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖 • 5 / 5 (Viking) helmets

I had absolutely no idea Chima was starting another series, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover when I was looking into what books were coming out soon. And it’s a Viking fantasy to boot!

It’s been a bit since I’ve read anything by Chima, but I absolutely adored the Seven Realms series and the (original three) Heir Chronicles books. (Didn’t enjoy Flamecaster though, so never read the Shattered Realms.) So I’m really looking forward to something new by her.

Book Description:

Ever since Ragnarok – the great war between the gods and the forces of chaos – the human realm of the Midlands has become a dangerous place, bereft of magic, where most lead lives of desperation.

Sixteen-year-old Eiric Halvorsen is among the luckier ones. Between fishing, going vikingr, and working his modir’s farm, the family has remained prosperous. But Eiric stands to lose everything after being convicted by a rigged jury of murdering his modir and stepfadir. Also at risk is his half-sistyr, Liv, whose interest in sedir, or magic, had made her a figure of suspicion. Then a powerful jarl steps in: he will pay the blood price if Eiric will lead a mission to the fabled Temple at the Grove – the rich stronghold of the wyrdspinners, the last practitioners of sorcery.

Spellsinger, musician, and runecaster Reggin Eiklund had spent her life traveling from town to town, performing at alehouses all for the benefit of her master, Asger, the fire demon she is desperate to escape. Then after one performance that amazes even Reggin herself, two wyrdspinners in the audience make her an irresistible offer: return with them to the temple to learn sedir, forever free of Asger.

Eiric, Liv, and Reggin’s journeys all converge in New Jotunheim, the site of the Temple at the Grove, a paradise fueled by magic. They soon realize a great evil lurks beneath the dazzling surface, and they old betrayals and long-held grudges may fuel another cataclysmic war. It will require every gift and weapon at their command to prevent it.

Sweeping adventure, breathtaking twists of fate, and immersive worlds based on Norse mythology are woven into this first volume of the Runestone Saga.

#1: Cursed • Marissa Meyer

Release Date: November 8, 2022

Length: 478 pages

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Excitement Level: 🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵• 5 / 5 spools (of golden straw)

I love, love, love fairytale retellings. And Marissa Meyer is the Queen of fairytale retellings. I loved the Lunar Chronicles, and I loved Gilded even more. This is probably my most anticipated book all of the year.

And yes, this is a sequel – the sequel to Gilded, actually – so if you haven’t read that one, please check it out before reading this one when it comes out.

Book Description:

Be still now, and I will tell you a tale…

Adalheid Castle is in chaos.

Can Serilda find a way to use her storytelling gifts for good – once and for all? And can Serilda and Gild break the spells that tether their spirits to the castle before the Endless Moon finds them truly cursed?

These are the books releasing this November (and next week, I guess, lol) that I’m most excited for. (I’ve limited myself to three, because I still want to have time to read spontaneously.) Do any of them look up your alley? What books coming out next month are you looking forward to?