Last Week’s Reads (and DNFs), Currently Reading, and My First Audiobook

For this month, I’ve decided to avoid a set TBR and just read whatever I feel like reading.

It’s going pretty well, so far! There’s two sides to it, though. On the upside, I love not having to force myself to read a book I’m not in the mood for. When I pick up a book I’m in the mood to read, I enjoy the story so much more. On the downside, there are some days when I can’t figure out what the heck I’m in the mood to read, so I read nothing….

Last week was a bit of a doozy for me. I haven’t DNF’d a book in about a year. UNTIL NOW.

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By Your Side | Kasie West

Initial Thoughts: I thought this was a pretty cute book. I liked the main characters (their friends, not so much) and the romance was sweet with a side of fluff and hardship. It wasn’t the perfect contemporary but I like how it included a character that suffered from anxiety and another character caught up in the foster system. Both of those issues weren’t fully fleshed out, but they were present and added a bit of diversity to the story. I was also a bit surprised (and slightly disappointed) at how short the library segment was in comparison to the rest of the story. I’d still probably give the book 3.5 to 4 stars!

Bluescreen | Dan Wells

I was really excited to read this book for two reasons (1) Look at that cover. SO COOL. (2) I haven’t read a cyberpunk novel but I’m a fan of the genre because of movies I’ve watched like Total Recall (1990), Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and Matrix.

I had to DNF this book once I realized that after 100 pages, I didn’t like ANY of the characters and I could care less about their well-being. The plot was really slow and the depiction of Mexican and Mexican American culture and language/slang felt really…insincere? Caricatured? It didn’t sit right with me. Felt like the author was google translating phrases and was leaning into Mexican stereotypes pretty hard.

It’s not a total bomb, though. The cybernetic diction and world-building were pretty good. Other than that, I had to pass this one up.

Cold Summer | Gwen Cole

I’m only a few chapters in but I’m really enjoying it so far. I love time travel and I’ve always been interested in the World Wars. I’m excited to see these two elements combined!

My First Audiobook: Initial Thoughts

Red Sister | Mark Lawrence

I’ve never listened to an audiobook before and I didn’t really know where to start. I’d heard a lot about this book in particular from some bloggers that I follow but I didn’t really pay attention because I don’t read adult fantasy often. But I was at the library, saw an audio version of the book, and thought, what the heck. It’s not a book I’d buy or read anytime soon, so I thought I’d listen to it!

It’s taking me a while to get used to. I don’t know what to do while it’s playing. I can’t focus on any other activity other than cleaning while I’m listening to it, so I just awkwardly sit in bed at night. Is that weird? And the narrator is slightly ridiculous with the way she changes her voice for different characters. I really can’t take her seriously when she tries to affect a male’s cockney accent, an old woman, AND a very young girl. It’s too much. But the story’s good enough for me to look past that!

I’m only a few chapters in but I can tell the writing is phenomenal as are the characters. I think this’ll be a good experience by the end. I’ll update y’all on my final thoughts once I get through it all 🙂

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All right then! That’s all for now! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see ya soon! 

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