Week #107 of Reading Like A Maniac

Happy Sunday, everyone!

I hadn’t been posting any content because of the holidays and some health issues that I’m still going through, it will be a long journey to get better (likely 6 months of treatment) but I’ll remain constant with my uploads and avid reads since the most unlikely book got my interest back in reading. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish my Goodreads’ 2017 Reading Challenge but I’m definitely going to finish this year’s.

The first book I read was the first one in the new godly Rick Riordan series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, named The Sword of Summer.

Magnus has been living in the streets since her mother’s mysterious assassination, afraid of his own family and trusting nobody but two kind homeless new friends he made. He learnt to survive and avoid danger, until his obscure uncle tries to convince him on a Nordic quest that drives our new hero to his grave, literally, only he’s not really dead Dead but in Valhalla with people that claim his estranged father is a god.

A LITTLE TOO ‘MEH’ FOR ME.

I tried really hard to get attached to the story line and some moments were fantastic, the characters felt real and fantastically ingenious to the core but there were just so many preludes in between good scenes that I got bored in little time and wanted to move fast forward. Then I knew technically nothing about Norse mythology other that what you can find in Wikipedia about Thor (the movies) and that there was a goddess named ‘Freya’ so… I wanted to learn about the gods and the magic involved and the brutality, I was clearly interested however I got a feeling of being totally excited and getting half of what I was expecting, I know this book was not meant to give me some religious/mythical lessons but still I needed more. I really hope the next one is better, cuz besides my inner issues I felt the writing pace was a little slower compared to the PJ books.

The second book I read was the funny new-adult stand alone named Smut by Karina Halle.

Amanda is just learning who she truly is in the world, until now she has broken up with her high school sweetheart, living with a eastern European beauty school roommate and dedicating herself to become a legitimate author by going to college against her parents’ wishes. But if there’s one thing she’s sure of is that Blake Crawford is a shameless troglodyte/manwhore, so when their teacher makes them write a manuscript they discover that they only aren’t good writing but in more than one extracurricular activity.

THE FINAL RESULT WAS EXHILARATING.

There were flaws and weak spots but none of them made the book awful, it was entertaining and lovely. The character development was exquisite cuz it was one of those times you don’t realize when the character started changing but you’re amazed with the results, that’s what I felt with Blake such a progress from generic broken hearted bad boy to loving and appreciative friend. I know one’s not supposed to learn things from smutty novels unless is Colleen Hoover but I did found out a lot about kindle options and Amazon self publishing online, so thanks Karina.

The next one I read was the one that brought me back to life after fail attempts to ravish two contemporary novels unsuccessfully, I’m talking about Darker by E. L. James.

After seeing Ana leave his apartment with tears covering her face in fear and blueness, Christian knew she wasn’t like the rest and that she actually meant something for him. That he would change, that he had changed for her sole presence near him, so he’ll do whatever it takes to get her back in his life dealing with his inner twisted demons and the same reason why they couldn’t be together for good.

I WISH I HAD FINISHED READING THIS SOONER.

It was interesting and surprisingly needed to get Christian’s perspectives in this sequel because of the many easter eggs we were given like his relationship with the ancient troll “lady” or his confrontation with Grace about his involvement with her since he was a trouble teen. I was absorved into his insta brotherly love for Mia when she came into his life, which was sweet as hell and as his interactions with his grandpa Theodore.