September/Bookoplathon Wrap Up & October TBR

Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of The CW Torch. Today, I will be talking about all of the books I read in the month of September. In September, I participated in Becca's Bookoplathon, which was a Booktube ReadAthon created by Becca & The Books based on her Bookopoly TBR game.

I surprisingly did pretty well with this readathon, considering how many books I had to read. I ended up reading most of the books that were on my TBR, with one added edition that I didn't expect to read. Unfortunately, I did DNF (did not finish) two books, which seems to be happening a lot lately. This is surprising to me because I always try to finish the books I read, even if I am not enjoying them as much. While, I did end up reading 6 books this month, most of them were Mangas/Graphic novels or very short books. Most of the books I did read last month, weren't very memorable either. In this post, I will share the books that I read last month, but I will also post a video of the spooky books I plan to read in the month of October. So, without further ado, let's get into the books.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Format: Physical/Audiobook

Dates Read: 08/29/2020 - 09/01/2020

Final Rating: 3/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

I honestly, don't remember a whole lot of what happened in this book. Part of that was because I read most of it on audiobook and I was trying to finish it before the ReadAthon began. So, I wasn't paying attention to it while I was listening to the audiobook, which happens a lot when I listen to audiobooks. However, I did remember liking the setting of this book, because it was set along the sea and all about Pirates. I find that I really enjoy these type of Seafaring fantasies, much like The Farseer Trilogy and A Darker Shade of Magic. I don't know what it is, as to why I love these types of settings but maybe it has something to do with my love of Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Yet, unfortunately, I don't think I will continue on with this series, which was a loose retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo. Mostly, because I couldn't really tell you what exactly happened in the first book, it was just not memorable to me. I thought the main character was your average Fantasy heroine, who I didn't really think much of. I liked the action and adventure of this story, but there was a little bit too much action which is probably why I didn't remember much of it. It was an all right plot-line with an interesting setting, but that was pretty much it.

Persepolis: The Story of a childhood (Volume #1) by Marjane Satrapi

Genre: Adult Graphic Novel/Non-fiction memoir

Format: e-book

Dates Read: 09/06/2020- 09/07/2020

Final Rating: 4/5 Stars

Bookoplathon Challenge: Read an Own-Voices novel (Double Roll)

My Thoughts:

This was a surprising high-rating for me, because I find graphic novels very hard to rate individually. As it is a genre I am just getting into, and I am not really sure how to rate these types of books. So, I generally rate graphic novels purely based on enjoyment, but there was honestly so much more to this graphic novel than enjoyment. This graphic novel was a heartbreaking memoir of the author's life, living as a child during the Iranian Revolution. A time of history that I don't know much about, as it was a time in history that was barely taught when I was in school. So, it was really a learning experience for me as it opened my eyes to a culture I don't really know a lot about. It was very difficult to see what the author went through as a child, during such a tumultuous time in history. While, I appreciated the story and the lessons it taught me, the art style wasn't necessarily my favorite. It reminded me a lot of newspaper comic strips, which is a style I don't really enjoy. However, there were some larger full-page spreads that I thought were absolutely stunning and very intriguing. I was very surprised with this graphic novel, and will definitely be picking up the next volumes in this series.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary/Coming of Age

Format: Audiobook

Dates Read: 09/02/2020 - 09/13/2020

Final Rating: 3/5 Stars

Bookoplathon Challenge: Read an Own-Voices novel (Double Roll)

My Thoughts:

Another book, I surprisingly did not enjoy, which is only surprising to me because everyone on booktube absolutely adores this book. However, I just didn't connect with the characters in this book, and I thought it was way too short for the story it was trying to tell. I also think the fact that it was written in verse, made it difficult for me to care for the characters. There wasn't really any development, because each chapter went by so fast since it was written in verse. I am starting to find that I really don't like young adult contemporaries, mainly because I find it very hard to connect with the characters. However, another reason why I was surprised as to why I didn't enjoy this book, was because I really enjoyed Elizabeth's Acevedo's other book, With the Fire on High. Which I feel like is rarely talked about on Booktube, and a book I think deserves more attention. That book was about young teenagers as well, but I found I had more in common with the main character in that book, which I didn't find in The Poet X. While I didn't enjoy the story of The Poet X, I really enjoyed my experience listening to the audiobook. It was formatted and told differently than most audiobooks I've listened to in the past. It was narrated in slam poetry style, which was very cool and entertaining. Yet, not enough to give this book a higher rating, unfortunately this is another book I don't think I'll remember much of in the future.

The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Format: Physical

Dates Read: 09/07/2020 - 09/18/2020

Final Rating: 4/5 Stars

Bookoplathon Challenge: Read a book with a dark cover

My Thoughts:

This was another surprising end of a series that I actually enjoyed. Sometimes I am disappointed in ends of series, because usually I don't approve of how authors end them. I find that authors tend to wrap up series too rushed or quickly and they end up not really matching to what the rest of the series was all about. However, this series was quite the opposite for me, because I didn't enjoy the start of this series but loved the last two books. Which, I feel like is a very unpopular opinion, since a lot of people didn't like the ending to this book. However, I thought it was the perfect ending, it tied both worlds of this story so perfectly. I also thoroughly enjoyed the enemies to lovers romance in this series, and usually the romance is my least favorite part about young adult fantasy series. But, I thought this romance had so much depth and development, that I found myself rooting for the two main characters involved in the romances. Since, this is the finale of a series, I can't go into too much detail about what I liked about this book, as there will be many spoilers of the entire series. But, I will definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Paranormal/Fae centered fantasies. It honestly, brought me back nostalgic feelings of reading The Sookie Stackhouse series, which is one of my favorite paranormal series. This series also makes me want to get back into reading more books written by Holly Black, because I thoroughly enjoyed her writing.

Witch Hat Atelier, Volume #6 by Kamome Shirahama

Genre: Middle Grade Manga/Fantasy

Format: Physical

Dates Read: 09/18/2020- 09/18/2020

Final Rating: 3/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

This was unfortunately, my least favorite volume of this series. Once again, I can't tell you much about it, because it is the sixth volume of a series and there will be many spoilers. However, I can tell you that I am still loving this story as a whole, I just thought this was very much of a filler book. As not a lot happened in this specific volume. However, the art style is still absolutely gorgeous, and probably my favorite style that I've seen in a manga, next to the other manga I am about to talk about. I am still very curious as to what will happen with the rest of this series. All though I might have to wait a very long time for the next volume as this is a translated series. I still very much adore the characters and the magic system of this series, and want to see how the rest of this series plays out.

I Hear the Sunspot: Limit, Volume 2 by Yuki Fumino

Genre: Young Adult Manga/ Contemporary Romance

Format: Physical

Dates Read; 09/19/2020 - 09/19/2020

Final Rating: 5/5 Stars

Bookoplathon Challenge: Read a book set in the past

My Thoughts:

Another manga, that I am absolutely falling head over heals for. The characters are both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, but I find myself caring for both of the characters just as equally. This is another surprising series that I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every book in the series. As it is a contemporary romance, but the characters are so well developed and crafted that it makes you fall in love with them instantly. I also appreciate the main plot that this story focuses on, which is impaired hearing. It is a disability that I don't find too often in books I've read in the past or in general, one that I don't see very often. Once again, I can't tell you much about this specific book, as it is a continuation of a manga series. Yet, it is one that I definitely recommend to anyone who is just getting into manga's, as it reads a lot like young adult contemporary novels.

Books I Did Not Finish

The Secret History by Donna Tart

Genre: Adult Literary Fiction/Mystery

Bookoplathon Challenge: Chance Card

Brief Thoughts:

I decided not to finish this book, because there were a lot of heavy topics within this dark academia book. While, I loved the setting, the element of mystery, and Donna Tart's writing. I just found it was too heavy for me to read at this time. I felt that I needed to be in the right mental headspace to take in this book that can be very triggering to some. However, I do hope to get back into it soon, because I did enjoy what I did read, I just wasn't in the right mindset to read it. It surprisingly reminded me a lot of the show Riverdale and one of my favorite books of all time, The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler. It is a type of book I think I will love, I just can't read it right now with all the anxiety I am currently feeling. Not only that, but while I do think Donna Tart has a beautiful way with words. I find that she repeats herself a lot, and has very long and drawn out descriptions of settings. Which, I don't particularly like and find a bit unnecessary to have one full page be completely about the particular room or building the characters are in. I am not giving up on this book completely, as I know this is a lot of people's favorites and it is a setting that I absolutely adore.

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Bookoplathon Challenge: Set in the Present (re-roll)

Brief Thoughts:

I am honestly not going to get too much into why I didn't finish this book, because it was truly a book I just didn't care about. Which, is most likely an unpopular opinion, because again it's a book that so many people love. However, I just didn't care of the writing style or the characters in this book. I found it very boring, and thought the author dragged on certain plot reveals for like 30 pages. It was just very back and forth and I really didn't care about what the characters were going through or talking about. So, I felt that I just needed to put it down, because I did not care as to how it ended. There were a few things that I did like, which were things that I found very surprising. I didn't realize that this book was set in the U.K., so I really enjoyed the British language and slang that was woven into the dialogue, as well as certain sites of London that I recognized as I did travel there while studying abroad. I also enjoyed the LGBTQ rep, which I didn't expect because it's something that wasn't revealed or mentioned of in the synopsis at all. However, these two things weren't enough to make me want to finish this book.

So there you have it folks, those were all the books I finished and did not finish in the month of September. While I did read a lot of books, I don't think of this as a successful reading month. As I didn't finish two books and read a lot more graphic novels/manga's than actual books. I also didn't find many of the books too memorable, which seems to be a trend this year. I don't know if it's because of everything else going on in the world, which distracting me from enjoying the books I chose to read, or because I am picking up books that I know I need to read, but won't necessarily enjoy. However, with that being said, I am very much looking forward to my October TBR. Which, I will be sharing in a video format, since there are a lot of books that I want to read this month. Will I get to all of them, probably not, but I definitely think all of these books will be perfect to read during the spooky season. Which is my favorite season for reading.

October TBR