my52tbrchallenge

[my52tbrchallenge]

OK, so we fell back off the wagon a bit, but playing catch up is becoming a great skill of mine 😂

Review Time!

The Ravenboys by Maggie Stiefvater

I did not realise this was one of four books when I picked it up a few years ago, but now the length of it makes some sense. It took a while to properly get going, and I was over halfway through the book before the real action happened, but the actual plot has me hooked enough that I'm now going to see if I can pick up the other 3 online!

7/10, a great story once it got going, would recommend for teens looking for their first foray into fantasy :)

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

3 in 1 week, now that's a personal achievement in this challenge!

Review Time!

Hard Knocks by Ruby Lang:

Well I struggled a bit with this one to be honest. It was a good story idea, having a hockey romance but not college kids is a nice change, but this one felt a bit weirdly paced at times. Personally I didn't think the main characters had much chemistry, but maybe that was the point of the story, or maybe I missed something? Either way, it was a nice easy read to break up the emotional torture some of the previous books have put us through :)

5/10, not one of my favourites, and I don't think I would recommend this to anyone, especially as a first book in this genre.

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Review Time!

My Vampire Plus One by Jenna Levine

Yet another nice little story with a fake dating trope (my favourite 😍) that has a decent pace and some interesting characters :) I wasn't too emotionally pulled by this one, but definitely a good read!

6/10, would recommend to someone who wants to dip their toe into a fantasy style story

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

So it turns out that when moving books around to make room for more, it is entirely possible a person's tbr order to get mixed up 😂😂

I have just finished Icebreaker, which is Week 25's book instead of My Vampire Plus One, Week 21's book 🙄🙄

Hopefully I can get through these books quickly to get back on track (not think about you 'The Flatshare'!), and as always, reviews incoming!

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Review Time!

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

We finally made it to this booktok classic, and I'm not ashamed to say that I enjoyed this one, and I am glad to finally have background on the characters in the other books in this series that I've already read 😂

Icebreaker is a cute love story filled with ups and downs between the main characters and a sprinkling of spice every now and then. Stassie and Nate are both likeable characters who show development throughout their story, and it was nice to read about characters with flaws that they are aware of and actively work to fix.

Solid 7/10, not as emotionally moving as others I've read, but still a great story. Would recommend to anyone wanting a college hockey story that doesn't focus too much on the actual hockey :)

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Review Time Part 2!

Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert:

Another hit from Katee Robert! I'm pretty sure I missed one as there were a few confusing things (I have definitely learned my lesson about these books 😂), but reading about Aphrodite, Hephaestus and their friends/lovers was a nice flip from the last book I finished. Katee is such a good author, and by the end of the book I just wanted to keep reading!

9/10, would definitely recommend to anyone into greek myths and gods!

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Review Time!

Lost Boy by Christina Henry:

A wonderful retelling of the story of Peter Pan from one of the lost boys perspective, and it really put the whole idea of being a child forever into a realistic view. I will admit that it took me far too long to get the plot twist (usually I clock twists like this much earlier than the last few chapters 😂), but I was not bothered as the story was gripping enough to keep my attention. Definitely worth reading whilst getting tattooed, a nice easy read that distracted me well :)

8/10, would definitely recommend to anyone who love tinkerbell or Peter pan and wants a different perspective!

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

We are now half way through my challenge year, and week 26 lines up perfectly with my birthday!

For my birthday I took a lovely trip across my home country to see the sights, and gifted myself a new tattoo as my birthday present. I have found that reading a good book is distracting enough that I don't feel much of the pain from a tattoo, so I took week 26's book with me for this purpose!

Week 26 brought us Lost Boy by Christina Henry, and due to it being the only book I had on hand, the review is coming very soon!

Cruel Seduction has not been forgotten, and is in my bag right now waiting for me to finish typing this out 😂

See you for reviews!

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

So if you haven't noticed by now, life likes to kick me in the back and throw me as many curveballs as it can, including reducing motivation down to zero every few weeks apparently. So we are still a few weeks behind, but I promise we will get there!

Quick update on current list:

Week 20 brought Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert

Week 21 brought My Vampire Plus One by Jenna Levine

Week 22 brought Hard Knocks by Ruby Lang

Week 23 brought The Ravenboys by Maggie Stiefvater

Week 24 brought Electric Idol by Katee Robert

And Week 25 has gifted us with the Booktok Classic, Icebreaker by Hannah Grace!

Cruel Seduction is coming with me to work today, so hopefully we can make a decent start on this one, and of course, reviews coming as soon as they are finished!

See you next time! 💜

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

We are catching up, I promise!

Review Time!

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iacobis:

Well, I had to wait for the tears to dry in my eyes before I could write this one! A beautiful story following the tale of Stella and Will and the struggles of living with Cystic Fibrosis, with enough twists and turns that I couldn't get enough and just had to keep reading.

This one had me in tears less than halfway through, and they continued in full force throughout the rest of the book 😢

To give you a little bit of insight into my personal life, I lost my best friend when I was fifteen to a battle with Cystic Fibrosis, and this book gave me the chance to understand how she must have been feeling all those years ago. This one will remain close to my heart and will probably have me bursting randomly into tears over the next few days, but I will always remember her and keep her in my memory 💜

10/10 (if I could give higher I would, but we have to keep this fair 😂) will recommend to anyone I know, with the warning of it being a proper tearjerker

See you once I can see properly again 🥹

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Yet another Review Time!

The Risk by Elle Kennedy:

I swear I'm going to get bored of writing that I should have read these books in order, but even with that aside, yet another cracker from our dear Elle! With a wonderful view on misogyny and toxicity in the workplace, this one brings a whole new take on a classic hockey romance story :) Add in the forbidden romance and the fake dating and you've got a brilliant book!

10/10, would definitely recommend!

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Review Time!

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan:

Yet another hit from the amazing Rick Riordan! As a fan of the Percy Jackson series (and I can't wait for the next one to be announced!), I truly love the way Rick writes his stories, and this one was no exception. With a wicked twist that I didn't see coming and an ending emotional enough to bring a tear to my eye, this is one book I'm so glad I put into this challenge, and it's been nice to have an easier read than some of the more 'adult' books we've had in this challenge.

10/10, will definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys Rick's books :)

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Week 21 brings us a whole new author with My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine.

Based on the blurb, it looks like it's another fake dating (which we all know by now is a guilty pleasure of mine 😜), so I cannot wait to to get around to this one!

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Review Time !

The Mermaid by Christina Henry

What a weird and wonderful story! As a lover of The Greatest Showman, I was fully prepared for a pre-circus tale with a potentially sad ending, but instead got a commentary on the treatment of woman and others during a time when men were considered superior, and the view from a being that doesn't understand why it is that way. The emotions that the Mermaid goes through throughout the story are so compelling, I couldn't stop reading this one!

Solid 8/10, would definitely recommend and I can't wait to read everything else Christina Henry has written 💜

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Review Time!!! (And I definitely didn't have to re-read the last few chapters of this one to remind myself what happened 👀👀)

Daydream by Hannah Grace:

What a cracker of a book! As an eldest daughter with people-pleasing tendencies, I totally get where Halle is coming from, and it was lovely to see her character progression throughout the story. Henry was another brilliant character, with perfect ups and downs that show that no one is perfect and that's OK:)

9/10, would recommend, but again, I probably should have read them in order 😂

I will catch up, I promise!

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

OK, time for another honesty hour!

Mental health sucks, and when it all piles up around you, simple pleasures get lost in the fray, and unfortunately for me, that includes reading. I am now 5 weeks behind (plus 1 review) but I am pushing myself to continue along with seeking help so this doesn't happen again :)

Week 15 was Daydream by Hannah Grace (review incoming)

Week 16 was The Mermaid by Christina Henry

Week 17 was Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

Week 18 was The Risk by Elle Kennedy

Week 19 was Five Feet Apart by Racharl Lipppincott

And Week 20 is Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert

Phew, we have a lot to work through, but with any luck, we can crack through a couple of these before next Thursday!

See you on the flip side!

-TC

[my52tbrchallenge]

Week 15 is upon us, and it brings Daydream by Hannah Grace!

We've already read Wildfire, so I have high hopes for this one 💜

Catch you at the end of the week with a review!

-TC