Bout of Books 10 TBR!

Twas the night before Bout of Books 10, and all through the house / We're getting excited for reading, claiming a comfy spot on the couch...

I am so pumped for Bout of Books to start! May is just the month for read-a-thons and I am so pumped to be participating in them ALL!

I have a fairly hefty TBR for this week, so I'm not sure how much will actually get read, but I'm thinking a realistic goal will be 3-4 books, considering most of them are pretty short. They are:

If I somehow miraculously finish all of those, I might try picking up a Brandon Sanderson book to get my fill. I think the four books will be challenge enough though, so I'm probably just going to stick with those. We'll see though. 

All together those four books make up 1,281 pages, which means I'll be reading an average pace of 183 pages a day if I want to complete my goal. 

Also, I want to try and participate in a twitter chat at least once and maybe even some of the challenges that can be found HERE.  

It should definitely be a fun week and like last week, I shall try to do an update at least every other day, just to share my progress and all that jazz. 

As for now, I think a nice cup of tea is in order as I get ready to start with Vicious by: V.E. Schwab!

Happy reading everyone!

 

#AYEARATHON Update #1

My #AYEARATHON got off to a bit of a slow start, but here we are at the halfway point and I've finished two whole books, so that's something.

I started off finishing The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson. I had about 150 pages left to go in that by the time Monday rolled around, so I was able to finish that thankfully. Then Tuesday I was able to start The Ask and the Answer, which was nice and all, but only about 130 pages got read in that. Wednesday was by far my most successful reading day with me finishing The Ask and the Answer, which was 389 pages.

This brings my total page count up to 669 pages! I'd say that's a pretty good accomplishment, considering my lack of reading at the beginning.

I suppose today I'll start Monsters of Men. Hurray for finishing series, which is the whole point of this month's theme I think. If I can at least do that, I'll consider this read-a-thon a success.

Books Completed:
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Currently Reading:
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Four days left to go! High hopes.

Now back to reading!

#AYEARATHON - Finish/Catch-Up on a Series

For those of you know aren't aware, #AYEARATHON was created by a group of booktubers who decided it would be cool to have a read-a-thon every month centering around a specific theme. I participated in the theme for February, which was Harry Potter, and it gave me a cool chance to re-read one of my favorite series. This month, I decided to participate again for the theme of Finishing/Catching-Up on a Series!

There aren't  any rules and you don't even have to stick to the theme. It's just a fun way to get the book community reading together and discussing, which I whole heartedly support. If you want more information you can go HERE to the Goodreads group and join in!

I thought this was a really good theme for this month considering I recently purchased the final two books in the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness. I read The Knife of Never Letting Go last year and wasn't completely blown away by it, however I did enjoy it enough to want to continue with the series so this week shall be the week that happens.

If I somehow manage to finish both of them, I might go on to read Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead, which is the fifth book in the Vampire Academy series. I've been in the middle of that series for longer than I can remember so, it's about time I finish it up. 

I'm really excited at the prospect of finishing so many books this month and catching up with some series that I probably wouldn't have the drive to read otherwise. 

The #AYEARATHON starts TODAY and ends Sunday the 11th, so get to reading everyone! It's going to be a great week!

Book Review: The Blood Cloth Syndicate (A Relics Novel) by Joseph Racconti

Title: The Blood Cloth Syndicate
Author: Joseph Racconti
Published: April 11, 2014
Pages: 344
Genre: Suspense/Action/Adventure

I was not expecting that.

I have been reading a lot of fantasy here lately mixed in with some YA and some historical fiction and while those stories are great, I wanted a break. Something different.

I've read a decent amount of thrillers and when I was offered a chance to review this one, I took it. Timing seemed perfect. I was just in the mood for this kind of book.

I didn't have many expectations going in. I was hoping for a good story, something that could hold me over while I was trying to decide what to pick up next...

I was not expecting to be totally engrossed in the story. I was not expecting to have my heart racing, fearing for the character's lives. Simply put, I was not expecting this at all.

The story starts out with a flashback of sorts which really sets up the entirety of the novel. You have a character being summoned by Queen Elizabeth, who is then asked to protect.... it. Very vague. You learn a few key points such as the French involvement and IT'S obviously something they don't want the French to have... Basically it just throws you in and you HAVE to keep reading to put the pieces together, because it's just so intriguing not to.

You then go on to meet the main characters. There are quite a few of them, so it does take a while to really get the story rolling, but the in between is so action packed, it doesn't drag. The main idea is you have a group of normal guys just living their lives, until they find out that their ancestors were wrapped up in some crazy shizz and now it's their turn. I don't want to give too much of the plot away because half the fun of this book is reading and figuring out everything for yourself. I will say that keeping the characters straight did get a little confusing. There are quite a few and their names range from Paul and Pete, to John, Jimmy, and Joe. The more you read, the more these characters really become their own, so this was only a problem for a short while.

This story was very fast paced and action packed. It's the kind of story that keeps you wanting more and on edge until it's resolved, which I really enjoyed. Also, you have an author who isn't afraid to kill off his characters so take that as you will.

It also has a resolution. As I was getting closer to the end, I found myself getting nervous because there didn't seem like enough pages for what I thought needed to happen. I ended up pleasantly surprised (as seems to be the theme for this book) in how everything wrapped up and was left with a very satisfied feeling.

Racconti is a natural. He had a great idea and executed it very well. His writing flowed, his characters were more than just words on the page, and the entertainment value was definitely there. I can't wait to see what else this author has up his sleeve.

If you like suspenseful, action packed thrillers I definitely recommend picking this up. You won't be disappointed.

Overall rating: