I had a good reading month in November, I managed to read 10 books. So here's what I read and some of my thoughts and opinions on them...
Mirage by Somaiya Daud - This is the first installment in a trilogy, that focuses on Amani, a girl forced to become the stand in for a hated princess. I thought that this was a decent first book in a series, it's well written and I really liked the world building. But I think that too much of the plot revolved around the romance, when there were other, more interesting relationships that the author could have focused on.
What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera - This book follows Ben and Arthur, who have a chance meeting while Arthur is living in NYC for the summer. I have been looking forward to the book from the moment it was announced, I love the author's friendship and I was really looking forward to see how their writing would work together. I absolutely loved this book, I really loved the characters and their experiences. It was also interesting to see the parts where it was stylistically obvious which parts were written by whom, and other parts where I wanted to second guess myself on.
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang - This is a graphic novel that revolves around a prince who likes to wear dresses, and a dressmaker who wants to design unexpected looks. I absolutely loved this graphic novel, it's such a great story of friendship and identity.
The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli - This is the sequel, spinoff to
The Last Namsara, which was one of my favorite reads last year. It's really hard for me to rate this book because I didn't love it as much as the first book, but I also read it one sitting. I struggled to understand the characters, and I found this book to be a little predictable, but I also loved the world building and the writing. Overall, I did really enjoy this book, and I'm interested in the sequel coming out next year.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Screenplay) by J.K. Rowling - I mentioned previously that I've seen the new
Fantastic Beasts movie three times, and I loved it. I really like reading the screenplays for the films, because it's amazing to see how it's brought to life and I love the little extra hints I picked up from reading this.
The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare - This is a collection of short stories about Magnus Bane from the Shadowhunter universe. I originally read all the Shadowhunter books two years ago, and I wish that I had read this then, because I think I would have enjoyed this more and picked up on more of the references. That being said, Magnus is one of my favorite characters in Shadowhunters, and I found it a little difficult to reconcile the Magnus from this collection, from the Magnus that's in the other books, probably because it's been a while since I read the other books and also because he's younger in these. There were several short stories that I really enjoyed, but I didn't love this as much as I was expecting.
Archenemies by Marissa Meyer - This is the sequel to
Renegades, Marissa Meyer's superhero inspired trilogy. I absolutely loved this book, there's so much crucial slow burn development, which in all honesty is some of my favorite content. I really loved exploring more of the powers that exist in Galtan City, and I love how the author has created so much tension leading up to the final book.
Check, Please! Vol. 1 by Ngozi Ukazu - This is the first in a graphic novel duology, that revolves around Bitty, a hockey player/vlogger/pie enthusiast, as he starts college. I absolutely loved this graphic novels, I loved the characters, I love the friendship between all the teammates, and I can't wait for the sequel to come out.
Lady Midnight and
Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare - These are the first two books in
The Dark Artifices trilogy, which takes place in Clare's Shadowhunter universe. This was a reread for me in anticipation of the final book,
Queen of Air and Darkness. My favorite thing about this reread, was that I loved this series even more the second time. I listened to the audiobooks and they both have excellent narration. I'm so happy that I reread the series, because I had forgotten so many crucial elements, and I got to revisit some of my favorite characters.
And those are the books I read in November. I just finished
Queen of Air and Darkness today, and I loved it (but more on that later), and I'm resuming my
Harry Potter reread this month. Plus there are a ton of other new releases this month, that I'm hoping to get to, and not enough time in the day to do so... - Jessica
