*Whew!* October is almost over and it is HALLOWEEN! Does anyone else feel like the year flys by but then you get closer to HalloThanksMas and it seems to slow down? I just want to celebrate some holidays and read some books! My son is dressing up as a giant inflatable T-Rex for trick or treating tonight, and he looks mighty adorREXable if you ask me. He’s been asking if it was Halloween yet for the last month so I’m gonna be glad when that part is over. However I’m sure the “is it Christmas yet?” question will start first thing tomorrow. Kids, man.
This month I delved into the world of audiobooks *oooooh…. ahhhhh…..*. I had never been one for audiobooks before because I like to actually see the words as I’m reading them, it helps me focus on the story. However I recently started a new job that keeps me confined to a desk. In an Office. By myself. Watching sitcoms on Netflix took away too much of my attention from my work, so I thought audiobooks might help me focus on work while also being able to hear something other than my fingers typing away. I was worried about having to rewind constantly if I got too focused on my work, so I started with a book I have read before but it had been a while, Marked by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast (it is currently being adapted into a TV show! Details here).
It was an ehh experience. I remember loving this series in high school and since it is about to be adapted for television I thought I would refresh my memory. But TBH I was pretty disappointed in how juvenile the writing was. That is to be expected for the target audience though, and I can still see why I loved the series 10 years ago. Also the narrator had a really annoying voice and I had to pause it every once in a while just because I needed a break from her whining. I will say that I am still pretty excited for the TV show though. I’m a sucker for teenage supernatural drama type shows.
Next up I tried the audiobook version of one of my all time favorites, Throne of Glass. This one was SO MUCH BETTER. I have always been on team #HookedOnTOGFromTheStart. I know a lot of people didn’t really get into the series until Heir of Fire, but I just love Celaena’s introduction and her relationship with both Dorian and Chaol. I also have loved Chaol from the start *hangs my head in shame*, I feel like his actions were mostly justified or just basic human reactions to certain situations, and the ones that weren’t he made up for later in the series. I also liked the narrator a lot better for this book. I’ve definitely found that the narrator can make or break an audiobook. I listened to a sample of the ACOTAR, and I knew there was no way in h-e- double hockey sticks that I would have lasted 12 hours listening to that voice. But for ToG I think the narrator really nailed Celaena’s attitude and that is truly an impressive feat.
The third audiobook I got from the Libby app, connected to my local library. I never knew it was possible to borrow audiobooks from the library without having to go inside and leave with a bunch of CD’s. Do CD’s even exist anymore? I know my car has no spot for them…. Anyway! My library only had 78 audiobooks available on the Libby app, so most of them have a waitlist. I got lucky and managed to snag Delirium by Lauren Oliver pretty quickly and I think it was my favorite audiobook experience so far. The narrator was Sarah Drew (some may know her as Dr. April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy!) and I loved how animated she was in her reading, making different voices for every character and trying her best to actually sound out all of the emotions that Lena was feeling. I also loved the dystopian story as it had been a long time since I had read one of those. If you haven’t read Delirium, it is set in the United States at some point in the future, when love is not only outlawed but CURED once you turn 18. So all the adults are emotionless zombie a**holes. MC Lena meets Alex a few months before she turns 18 and will recieve the cure, and you guessed it! She falls in love with him. I think what I liked most was how innocent Lena was and how it wasn’t an automatic wsitch from innocence to defiance, but a very gradual one that she fought internally the entire way. I would give it a solid 4.5 stars.
Now for physical books I finished both Ash Princess and Lady Smoke this month! my review for those can be found here. But I will admit that I am still thinking about that story even as I have written this entire post about other books. I just really need to know what happens to Theo. Laura Sebastian left me on a cliffhanger and I don’t know if I can ever forgive her for that. Obviously a lie because I’ve already got Ember Queen pre-ordered. I NEED IT.
Total I finished 5 books this month, and 2 of them were re-reads. Also none of these were technically Halloween themed even though I know its October, blah blah blah.. But I am not about that creepy life. I’m a kid at heart, I watch Halloweentown and Hocus Pocus and feel happy inside. Though aren’t fantasy books a little Halloweenish by default since they typically include magic and witches and elves and such? I’m going to ride that one to the end here.
XOXO
ReaderOnAMission
ReaderOnAMission 