Blogmas Day 2: November 2018 Wrap Up

Hi, and thanks for stopping by.

Today's Blogmas post is my November reading, all wrapped up!! These are the books I've read, my starred ratings for each of them and my thoughts about the novels. You can check out what I'm reading, and how I'm rating those reads, as I go throughout the month by adding me as a friend/following my reviews on my goodreads here.

It's a MUCH smaller wrap up than usual because I spent most of the month re-reading. I had planned to talk about those books here, but instead I'll direct you again to my goodreads account where you can read my updated thoughts & see my updated star-ratings!!

Kimberly G. Giarratano’s School Lies

3.5 stars

(I received this arc from the publishers for free, via NetGalley.)

This book was quite a pleasant surprise, actually. Although the two mystery elements within were quite engaging and interesting to me, the main thing I found effective was the presentation of being a gay teenager/being a gay man; there was a lot of really sad stuff about feeling unable to come out, secret relationships, shame & homophobia. I'll be interested to read more from this author in the future.

Nic Stone’s Odd One Out

3 stars

This book has to be one of my biggest disappointments of the year; when I read Dear Martin back in June, I was so stunned by it and gave it a completely solid 5-star rating. This was lacking in so many ways, in comparison, sadly. Although I did find it entertaining in places, I had some real issues with some of the plots; there were uncomfortable age gaps within sexual situations, quite a lot of sexualisation/idealisation of female characters and some biphobia from a couple of characters that really wasn't challenged enough at all.

Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys

4 stars

I still cannot believe this was written by the same person who wrote Shiver; the writing style here is so lyrical and beautiful and so, so far superior! The plot is also so much more complex and richly detailed. I won't lie, I felt a little out of my depth in places because it was kind of confusing and complicated (all this "ley line" stuff, I still don't understand) but I had a lot of fun reading it and I'll be continuing with the series at some point in the (hopefully!) near future.

Lisa Gabriele’s The Winters

4 stars

(I received this arc from the publishers for free, via NetGalley.)

If you know me well, you'll know how much I adore Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca; it's one of my top three classic novels of all time. So I was pretty nervous/excited to read this modern retelling; but I enjoyed it so much!! I think you'll appreciate if whether you've read the original or not, but if you read this having not read Rebecca, GO READ THAT NEXT, because it's amazing. This book was atmospheric, interesting and a real page-turner. I'm so excited to see what this writer does next!

C.L. Taylor’s The Treatment

3 stars

(I received this arc from the publishers for free, via NetGalley.)

This book had quite a cool concept (this freaky "treatment centre" that was brainwashing troublesome  teens into "model citizens") but I wasn't majorly impressed with the execution in the end. The characters all felt a little juvenile to me and I didn't have any emotional connection with anybody or anything. Perhaps somebody more into the thriller genre would enjoy this more.

Tamara Ireland Stone’s Every Last Word

5 stars

This book was completely stunning. Such a stunning, poignant, real portrayal of therapy, mental illness, recovery, shame and more. The mother-daughter relationship was so beautiful; I wish we had seen so much more of it!! The PLOT TWIST by the way...plot twists in contemporary are so much more effective than in any other genre in my opinion, because they're so unexpected! Completely heartbreaking and hopeful; I cannot wait to read more of this author's work.

I hope you enjoyed reading - let me know your favourite read of November by leaving a comment down below!

Katie