Recent Reads

 With only one week left in March, I've read 11 books but I hope to read a few more. Today I'll be talking about a few of my recent reads.

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

Dates read: February 27 - March 6

    I love that the Sherlock Holmes novels are so short so it's easy to just fly through them. So far, my favorite book in this series has been The Hound of Baskervilles. I recently got a graphic novel of The Hound of Baskervilles so I'm excited to read more Arthur Conan Doyle books.

Synopsis:

    Ten years ago, Mary Morton's father vanished. Four years later, pearls began arriving. There were six in total and she ended up with a mysterious indentation to meet the sender. Miss Morton hires Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in hopes that they will accompany her and solve her father's disappearance. The only clue she has though is a map of a fortress with the name of four strangers.

Asylum by Madeline Roux

Dates read: March 3 - March 6

    I loved Asylum. It was such a great book. The plot was constructed so well and I didn't see that ending coming at all! Everything wrapped up so nicely in the end and there were no loose strings. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I thought this book was going to be a little scary. It was still a pretty creepy book though. There were definitely times where my heart was beating faster than normal.

Synopsis:

    Daniel Crawford is spending the summer doing the New Hampshire College Prep program (NHCP). NHCP is the chance of a lifetime. When Dan arrives he finds out that the normal dorms are closed and the students are forced to stay in the Brookline Dorm, which was formally a psychiatric hospital. In other words, Dan is staying in an insane asylum. At Brookline, Dan ends up meeting Abby and Jordan. Together the three discover secrets that will change their lives forever.

Sanctum by Madeline Roux

Dates read: March 6 - March 10

    I was disappointed that there were no creepy clowns in this horror story but for the most part, Sanctum was a great book! One of my favorite things about the Asylum series are the creepy photos inside. They really bring the story to life!

Synopsis:

    After a frighting summer at New Hampshire College, Dan and his friends are back at the university to investigate its latest mystery. After arriving, the trio discovers that the college grounds have been turned into a carnival. Adding onto the events that happened over the summer, the plot thickens as kidnapped women and secret society resurface. Dan, Abby, and Jorden are all past the point of no return and each wrong move could prove fatal.

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

Dates read: March 11 - March 15

The Henna Wars is officially my favorite rom-com! This book is definitely in my top 10 favorites of all time. I felt so emotionally involved in this story it wasn't even funny. The Henna Wars seemed to be over too quickly. Nishat and Flávia were so cute together and I loved Nishat's little sister, Priti, too!

Synopsis:
When Nishat comes out to her parents, they don't accept her as who she is. They say Nishat can be whoever she wants as long as she's not herself. They also say Muslim girls aren't lesbians. Nishat can't hide who she is, but she also can't lose her family. In a world where no one else seems to except her beside her family, Nishat is running out of people she can confide in. As if that wasn't bad enough, an old friend from her childhood comes back into her life. Nishat falls for Flávia right away. When a school competition has students create their own business, Nishat and Flávia both chose to do henna, even though Flávia would be appropriating Nishat's culture.

Scarlet by Marissa Myers

Dates read: March 6 - March 18

I liked Scarlet a lot more than I liked the first book in The Lunar Chronicles. I mean, Cinder was great, I just liked Scarlet's character better. She was really feisty, stubborn, and strong. So like basically the same person as Cinder but like not cyborg. I think Marissa Myers did really well at combing Cinder and Scarlet's storylines.

Synopsis:

After escaping from prison, Cinder is on the run, trying to avoid capture as the Lunar Queen hunts her down. Meanwhile somewhere in France Scarlet's mother has recently disappeared. In a desperate attempt to find her, she teams up with the mysterious Wolf. Also, Queen Lavana is threatening war on Earth and if Cinder and Scarlet don't do something she will kill everybody so we also have that problem to deal with.

Geekerella by Ashely Poston

Dates read: March 16 - March 20

Geekerella was so cute! I loved it so much! I was never a big fan of the original Cinderella story so this is definitely my favorite version of the story. I loved Elle and Darien not only as separate characters but as a couple too. They had such good chemistry and seemed to flow well together.

Synopsis:

Elle Wittmer has been a fan of Starfield for as long as she could remember. After her dad died when she was young, it felt like the only thing she had left of him. Now, she lives with her awful stepmother, Cathrine, and her two terrible daughters, Chloe and Cal. Darien Freeman is the famous actor from Seaside Cove. He finally lands his dream role of Prince Carmindor in the new Starfield reboot. Many of the fans think he won't be able to pull off the role, including Elle. As ElcesiCon gets closer and closer, Darin starts to think they're right and he's nothing more than a dumb heartthrob until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Catacomb by Madeleine Roux

Dates read: March 20 - March 23

This was a disappointing end to the Asylum series. Compared to the first two books, it was really boring. Dan was so much of a crybaby in this book. He took every opportunity to complain and I couldn't stand him!

Synopsis:

 Dan, Abby, and Jorden have finally finished their senior year and left all the creepy events from Brookline behind. unfortunately, the past is not done haunting them. The three are off to New Orleans and are startled to learn that someone may be following them. To make things even worse, a secret gang is resurfacing and it'll take everything not to lose a limb to them.