16 book ahead of schedule – Goodreads~ (so, I may have read 10 volumes of Ouran High School Host club as well…)

As always, I would like to start this post with some resources about some of the injustices this world is currently facing:

• https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ 
• https://moreblminfo.carrd.co/ 
• https://abolish-ice.carrd.co/ There are still children and adults in cages in America. The same kind of thing is happening in China to the Uighur Muslims.
• https://lgbtqpl.carrd.co/ the safety of the LGBTQ+ community is threated by it’s own government leader.
• https://lebanonscrisis.carrd.co/
• I find Twitter an extremely useful tool in finding information about these injustices and ways to help.

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The Kpop ReadAThon was created by Noura over at theperksofbeingnourablog here on WP and her Twitter is @NunuKz (which is where there is a thread all about the prompts etc.). The official dates were 15th June – 15th July and I decided to keep going until I finished all the teams!

It’s been fun so far and it’s help me with the slump I was in ♥

This time round I chose EXO and you can check out my tbr here if you’d like~ I also made some posts about EXO during the readathon, the same as Monsta X. I would have liked to make more but I had my niece staying with us and 7yr old’s need to be entertained 😂

I am currently watching EXO Next Door, so a mini review of that will be coming eventually. And I was planning on doing a “I listened to EXO’s discography”, but wow I just did not have the time!

I will say my favourite EXO related post was the promo comeback looks. I had a lot of fun making that!

I started this “round” of the readathon on the 17th July and finished on the 17th August (today~), completing 6 books in a month! 🎉

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Wrap Up

OBSESSION: Myths & Mortals; Charlie N. Holmberg

• This fulfilled the prompt – Genre you love
• Finished: 17.08.20
• ⭐⭐⭐.5

Myths & Mortals is the 2nd book in the Numina trilogy. I read Smoke & Summons during Team Monsta X and I loved it!

This book was somewhat disappointing. While I did enjoy this book, it was far less impressive than the first. I felt that the new inclusion/link to Kolosos would play a more interesting role but it really didn’t and there just wasn’t as much anticipation or element of risk.

There were hardly any new revelations and the major one we had was thrown in at the end – in the last 2 pages. We also didn’t explore the city as much, which is something I really enjoyed in book 1.

The characters were the driving force in this and it was interesting to see Sandis navigate her feelings after the events at the end of Smoke & Summons. I will say I wasn’t as invested in the relationship between her and Rone… and I’m not quite sure why 😅

We met some new characters and my favourite is Bastien. I love that boy and his dumb puns ♥ If he dies I’m suing Charlie N. Holmberg for emotional damage 😂😝

I am looking forward to the last installment!

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NON-STOP: The Ballad of Black Tom; Victor LaVelle

• This fulfilled the prompt – Read a book in one sitting
• Finished: 24.02.20
• ⭐⭐⭐

This is such a short book at only 140 so pages, yet it deals with both interesting, captivating and important topics. Black Tom’s motivations are spurned by the injustices and police brutality that he faces in his life. These themes and set again the backdrop of Jazz Age New York was really cool, and helped elevate the mystical/magical core of the story. The writing is also very good and the atmosphere evoked is what made it enjoyable to read.

The main problems I had with The Ballad of Black Tom were my fault as I’m just not knowledgeable enough. I didn’t know going into this, that it’s an homage to Lovecraft’s Cthulhu and The Horror at Red Hook… I don’t know what those are. I’ve heard of Cthulhu, but nothing more. Therefore, I don’t think I got the full effect of the story and I’m left with far more questions than answers.

Another thing that confused me what how I was supposed to feel about Malone. He plays a large part in the story. What happens to him isn’t great, but he was complicit in the racism and brutality of his coworkers etc. and he kind of had the air of a younger Suydam…

Overall, I just don’t think I’m smart enough for this book 😅

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DAY AFTER DAY: A Thousand Beginnings and Endings; Eds. Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman

• This fulfilled the prompt – Read a chapter of a book each day
• Finished: 10.08.20

This anthology explores different Asian myths and legends and it was interesting learning through the retelling lens. These stories are mostly written by Asian Americans (I believe) and that was great to see, but I was more interested in the stories that had fantastical elements or even just historical elements because that’s what I enjoy reading in the first place rather than the more contemporary ones.

I really loved how the authors after their story explained where there inspiration came from. Even if I wasn’t a fan of the story, I was always interested in what the author had to say and the connections to their heritage.

My favourites were:

Olivia’s Table; Alyssa Wong
The Smile; Aisha Saeed
Bullet, Butterfly; Elsie Chapman
Daughter of the Sun; Shveta Thakrar
The Crimson Cloak; Cindy Pon
Eyes like Candlelight; Julie Kagawa

GROOVE: The Lady Rogue; Jenn Bennett

• This fulfilled the prompt – Read any book/genre
• Finished: 18.07.20
• ⭐⭐⭐

This was a fun romp.

The look into Vlad the Impaler from a more “modern” take (this book takes place in the 30’s) isn’t overly new, but seeing a more in depth look into the countries of Hungary and Romania and the people was a lot more refreshing. And while Theo was knowledgeable, she still learnt a lot from the locals and there wasn’t much of the “Oh I’m an American and I know everything about your country” aspect to the book that I liked.

The plot was very adventurous and did have an India Jones feel – lots of humour and action all tangled together. But I kind of wished it had been 1st person. Theo is a good protagonist, but at times I felt myself being brought out of the story by her thoughts. And I think the end “showdown” would have had more impact – it does give a needed insight into what was happening inside Theo’s head – but it was so quick and kind of disappointing.

Overall, I’m glad I finally got round to finishing The Lady Rogue. It was pretty funny, the action was fast paced and the premise of the mystery and the magic of the rings was intriguing. I will say that the magic element is amped up in the second half of the book, seemingly out of nowhere. And we were just expected to now completely believe it and not be questioning or dubious as before.

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TROUBLE: Spin the Dawn; Elizabeth Lim

• This fulfilled the prompt – Choose some books and have a friend pick the one you read
• Finished: 09.08.20
• ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was incredibly captivating and I was sad when I had to put it down to do something else, like eat and sleep – honestly so rude 😂

The writing is wonderful and the story is fast paced and intriguing. The ancient Chinese elements elevate the story tenfold.

While there were times that Maia made some questionable decisions, I enjoyed her as a narrator and I would have been useless in her place! Maia was often called the “strong one” and we got to see that in action, as well as her growth through the experiences she had in the book.

Edan is a precious man who was a wonderful character! I think I fell in love with him instantly because he has strong Howl vibes (Howl’s Moving Castle) ♥

While we mostly spend time with Maia and Edan, exploring their friendship and love, we do see glimpses of interesting characters. I look forward to seeing more of them in the next book and exploring more of this magical world.

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JEKYLL: The Comedy of Errors; Shakespeare

• This fulfilled the prompt – Read a Classic
• Finished: 23.07.20
• ⭐

This was meant to be funny?

I thought this would be pretty fun and quick because it’s such a short play… but Will, we need to chat. Nothing about this was comical. It’s literally just 2 men being dumb and mean to their manservants.

Reward

As an incentive I’m allowing myself a reward at the end of each completed team. For my first wrap up I went over my £5 per prompt and this time was no different… 😅 But this time I only bought 1 item:

I’m definitely going to try my hardest not to repeat this every single time. It doesn’t help that when I’m sad I spend more… so I’m not promising myself it won’t occur again 😂

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Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts? ♥

Thanks for reading! I hope you’re having a lovely day and staying safe ♥