Booked with Abby

 2021 has been... something. I had a good year, but I'm excited to see what 2022 brings. Book reviews: The Sweet Far Thing  by Libba Bray My rating: 2 stars Synopsis:  It's been a year since Gemma Doyle arrived at Spence. After saving the Realms from the Poppy soldiers, Gemma forges herself to the Realm's magic. Now, Gemma approaches her London debut, the Order and the Rashkanna are fighting for control of the Realms. It seems like questions follow everywhere Gemma goes. Why now is Spence's East Wing finally being rebuilt? What's going on with Pippa? My review The Night Circus  by Erin Morgenstern My rating: 2 stars Synopsis:  Le Cirque de Reves arrives without warning. It is a wonderland of imagination with all kinds of illusions. But what people don't know about the circus is there more going on backstage. Celia and Marco have been trained since childhood to compete in a magical duel. With the circus as their arena, the two battle in a game of imagination. Wit...

 In January, I challenged myself to read 12 book series this year- one each month. I'm so excited to say I completed the challenge! Here are the 12 series I read in 2021. January: My Lady Jane The My Lady Jane series is hilarious. One of my favorite things about it is it can be read in any order. I love everybody these authors write together and I can't wait for their next one about Mary Shelley. My Lady Jane synopsis: Lady Jane Grey didn't plan to get married. But she does anyway. Edward knows he's dying so he arranges to marry Jane off to Gifford (but he likes to be called G) so he can have an heir. Jane and G aren't thrilled at first. And Janes is even less thrilled when she finds out that G is an Eðian. G turns into a horse every morning at sunrise. It isn't long before Edward, Jane, and G find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that will change England forever. My reviews February: Dread Nation The civil war with zombies. What could be better? Dread N...

Emily's luck seemed to run out three years ago when her mother died. Ever since she and her boyfriend broke up at junior prom, she barricaded herself in her room, preparing for the worst summer ever. But then Emily meets Blake, the daughter of her father's childhood best friend. While cleaning out her mother's closet, Emily finds her mother's senior year bucket list. When Blake suggests that they complete the list together, it kicks off a summer of self-discovery. As they check more things off the list, Emily starts to feel closer to her mother, and Blake too. This was such a heartwarming book! There were definitely a few moments that made my heart swell with sadness. Rachael Lippincott is also the author of Five Feet Apart  which I read last January. Her third novel is so much better! I think The Lucky List  is exactly the type of gay coming-of-age teens need. In many novels, teens already know they're gay but before this book, I never got to read a novel with a ch...

 Quinn was shocked when he found out that the king wanted a map of the world. Everyone knew that eventually, one would fall off the world and into the jaws of a fire-breathing dragon. Quinn was even more shocked to find out that the king wanted Quinn to be the mapmaker. With his hidden gift, he'd be the perfect scribe. Reluctantly, he agrees and sets out on a journey he never intended to go on.     I regret buying this book. It was so boring and there multiple instances where I considered DNFing it. Honestly, I don't know why I kept reading it. I know that there is no way I'm going to finish this series.     The book had a lot of potential, but it just didn't come through. There were so many exciting things that could have happened yet the story kept a slow pace with little exciting action. When something did happen, the solution to the problem was predictable.     Quinn was a poorly written main character. He was dull and static. Nothing about him cha...

After refusing to give up the location of the Vanargade hideout, Chatine is sent to Bastille. Marcellus is a traitor to Laterre and Alouette is a fugitive on the run. The three are all enemies to a country on the brink of war. When Marcellus uncovers his grandfather's plans to take over the country, it could mean absolute destruction for Chatine and so many others. I finally finished the sequel to Sky Without Stars . At some points, this book felt so long, but I really liked it.  My favorite chapters were Chatine's and I wish I got more chapters with her. Marceullus and Alouette are cool, but they aren't nearly as interesting as Chatine. My favorite character in this book is undoubtedly Gabriel (though Chatine's a close second). He was sarcastic and pretty funny. At first, I thought he was supposed to be Grantire until a character actually named Grantire showed up. I read online that he was supposed to be Courfeyrac. No matter who Grabriel was inspired by, I hope to see...

 Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell are on their way to America after solving the gruesome murder at Bram Castle in Romania. When they set sail on the RMS Etruria , they think they're finally free from the trail of dead bodies that have been following them across Europe. But then someone turns up dead. Set to the backdrop of a magical carnival, Audrey Rose and Thomas must catch another killer before he's let loose in New York City. Escaping from Houdini  is my least favorite book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. I really liked the setting of this book. The ship was so mystical and combined with Kerri Maniscalco's enchanting writing- it was beautiful! I loved the magical carnival vibe. My favorite character in this book was Thomas. I love his sarcasm and undeniable charm. He and Audrey Rose are such a great couple. The most annoying thing about this book was the love triangle. It was small but so terrible. Mephistopheles was such a terrible character! I hated ...

 Nadya doesn't know if she still trusts her magic. She doesn't know if she can trust anyone really. As her group is torn apart the tensions between them become higher and higher- actually leave Serefin out of this because he really did nothing the whole book. So 500 pages later and basically nothing happened. I can't really remember anything from the book, but hey, we've all been there at some point or another. While I read Wicked Saints  in a physical book form, I chose to listen to its sequel as an audiobook. And let me tell you, the audio is so much better than physical. I actually wasn't as bored with Ruthless Gods as I was with  Wicked Saints . Like I said before, I was listening to the audiobook and I just found it so weird that everyone sounded like vampires. The dialogue was spoken out in a Translyvnia accent. It sounded weird and it didn't fit the book too well at first. I think after a while I got used to it though. I think Serefin's character was...