[WRAP UP] November 2018

On By MelissasFandomWorldIn MONTHLY WRAP-UP

Aaaaaand that’s a wrap, folks!

November has been a busy month, even though I don’t feel like having accomplished much on the reading part. But when looking back into my reading archive, it turned out I’ve read more books than I thought haha so that’s good.

I also published quite a lot of articles on the blog so I’m happy with that as well. I put down some fellow blogger articles in this month’s wrap-up, I’ll show you guys my reading stats of November and I’ll be looking forward to December. All that and more in this month’s wrap-up…Here we go!

post-divider

  • What did I read in November?

I started November by reading Archangel’s Prophecy by Nalini Singh, #11 in the Guild Hunter series, one of my – if not THE – most favorite paranormal romance series out there. This read was everything I hoped it’d be and more. Nalini keeps surprising me, in the best way possible, with every new book in this series. This one had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It had me laughing, ooh-and-aahing and it had me crying on several occasions. It left me craving more after that sort of cliffhanger at the end… I really hope she’s writing #12 as we speak because I can’t endure waiting so long, sigh… *starts sobbing.

I also received my pre-order for the Mortal Instruments graphic novel Volume 2 and decided to read it right away the day it came in. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first one and this second volume was yet again a really great read. I love Cassandra Jean’s artwork so so much and I think these graphic novels capture the essence of the story in the original books really well.

I decided to re-read Where I found You by Brooke O’Brien which I’d read and reviewed for the author back before its release. I loved this book so so much and especially knowing this is Brooke’s debut novel; the writing is so good! So when I got my printed copy of the book this month, I decided to do a re-read practically right away haha. It was a wonderful in-between read and I loved returning to this world and read about Callum & Ellie again as well as their friends.

J. Daniels surprised us with the release of All we Want, book #6 in the Alabama Summer series, out of the blue so I couldn’t just not buy and read it immediately, lol. This one focuses on power couple Luke & Tessa, whom we’ve had the pleasure of reading about in book 2 as well (as well as them being minor characters in the other books). I was expecting a really emotional read considering the synopsis of the story and I got all that and more. This was a really heartbreaking but heartwarming story all at once and I am so glad Jessica decided to write it for the fans of this series. It’s a great addition!

And re-reading Lady Midnight & Lord of Shadows, book 1 and 2 in the Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare was my primary goal this month since I wanted to be prepared for the release of Queen of Air and Darkness on December 4th. Re-reading these books has been such a joyful but also saddening experience. I was prepared this time around to come across some really intense happenings, or so I thought. In the end I, was crying like crazy as hard as I did the first time reading the books. That ending of Lord of Shadows killed me yet again and very thoroughly. I’m legit scared to read Queen of Air and Darkness. Legit scared folks…

Since I was still completely obsessed with the Shadowhunter world I decided to start reading the first 2 novella’s of Ghosts of the Shadow Market, Son of Dawn and Cast long Shadows. I enjoyed these novella’s so so much! They’re a terrific addition to the shadow hunter chronicles in general and are must-reads in my opinion.

In between, I also finished reading Becoming Dragon by Eve Langlais, the first book in the Dragon Point series. This was an enjoyable book. Nothing majorly spectacular but enjoyable and at one point or another I’d definitely want to continue reading this series.

the Highlander’s Touch by D.K. Combs was up next. This was so incredibly enjoyable! I had some remarks here and there, but overall I really loved reading this book because the author’s writing is so enthralling – and her Sex scenes are to die for, seriously… sigh – and this book gave me all the Outlander feels! If you’re into Outlander/Historical Scottish Fiction, this is definitely one I’d recommend reading.

At the end of November, the 29th, I received an ARC of HOTSHOT DOC by R.S. Grey and of course I had to read that one right away. I loved this book so insanely much that I finished it in one sitting haha. I stayed up late into the night and walked around like a zombie the day after, but that was so worth it, lol. Matt & Bailey have become my new favorite RS Grey couple! A link to my review is to be found down below.

And I also finished reading Seasons of Sorcery; a fantasy anthology by Amanda Bouchet, Jeffe Kennedy, Grace Draven & Jennifer Estep. This contains 4 short stories written by 4 amazing authors. 2 of them were already known to me and well loved by me and 2 were new-to-me authors. I loved reading new stuff from fave authors as well as getting to know new authors because now I have books written by them I got to add to my wishlist and I can’t wait to read more by them. My review article, in which I review all 4 stories, is going online tomorrow so keep an eye out! If you like reading fantasy romance, then these short stories are so worth reading! And I normally don’t read much anthologies/short stories because I’m wary of them, but these stories are so good!!

⇒ BLOGGER IN THE SPOTLIGHT ⇐

I love getting replies from other readers/bloggers/etc. so of course I want to repay the favor as much as I possibly can. Even before I was blogging myself, I really liked discovering new blogs and I thought it would be a good idea to highlight a couple of the articles/bloggers I’ve enjoyed reading this month and include it in my wrap-up.

  • What were my Reading Stats in October?

reading stats.jpg

  • What was published on the Blog?

This is the first month since I’ve started blogging again that I can re-cap an entire month of published posts, since I started mid-October and I couldn’t recap an entire month at the end of October. I’ve posted quite some articles, often two per day – but not always in the weekends – so I’m happy my blog has gotten some more content. So, here’s what I published in November! Feel free to read any missed articles and leave some replies to the ones you like. Love to hear from you.

[ABC BOOKCHALLENGE] ✰ E
[ABC BOOKCHALLENGE] ✰ D
[ABC BOOKCHALLENGE] ✰ C
[ABC BOOKCHALLENGE] ✰ B
[TOP TEN TUESDAY] Thankful for…
[TOP TEN TUESDAY] Bookish merchandise I’d like to own
[TOP TEN TUESDAY] Backlist books I want to read
[TOP TEN TUESDAY] Platonic relationships in Books
[WISHLIST WEDNESDAY] Fantasy #1
[WISHLIST WEDNESDAY] Christmas Wishlist #3
[WISHLIST WEDNESDAY] Christmas Wishlist #2
[WISHLIST WEDNESDAY] Christmas Wishlist #1
[WWW WEDNESDAY] #5
[WWW WEDNESDAY] #4
[WWW WEDNESDAY] #3
[WWW WEDNESDAY] #2
[TAG TIME THURSDAY] End of the Year Book Tag
[TAG TIME THURSDAY] My Life in Books Tag
[TAG TIME THURSDAY] Tropes Books Tag
[TAG TIME THURSDAY] A-Z Book Tag
[DOWN THE TBR HOLE] #2
[DOWN THE TBR HOLE] #1
[FRIDAY FIRSTS] a Sorrow fierce and falling by Jessica Cluess
[FRIDAY FIRSTS] the Highlander’s Touch by D.K. Combs
[FRIDAY FIRSTS] Seasons of Sorcery by A. Bouchet, J. Kennedy, J. Estep & G. Draven
[FRIDAY FIRSTS] Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
[FRIDAY FIRSTS] Archangel’s Prophecy by Nalini Singh

[BOOKHAUL] November 2018
[BOOKISH ARTICLE] Romance author & reader event a.k.a. RARE
[COVER REVEAL] HOTSHOT DOC by R.S. Grey
[COVER REVEAL] LINES by Anna B. Doe
[MONTHLY RELEASES] December 2018 young adult edition
[MONTHLY RELEASES] Looking forward to December 2018
[RELEASE DAY BLITZ] All we Want by J. Daniels (Alabama Summer #6)
[UNBOXING] the Darkes Star & LUX inspired pre-order box by TheBookishbox
[UNBOXING] Faecrate Kingdom of Ash hangover recovery kit
[UNBOXING] Flick the Wick October 2018: <ERROR> Illuminae Files
[WRAP UP] October 2018

[BOOK REVIEW] Fighting for Everything by Laura Kaye (Warrior Fight Club #1)
[BOOK REVIEW] Fighting for what’s His by Laura Kaye (Warrior Fight Club #2)
[BOOK REVIEW] Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet (Endeavour #1
[BOOK REVIEW] HOTSHOT DOC by R.S. Grey
[BOOK REVIEW] All we Want by J. Daniels (Alabama Summer #6)
[BOOK REVIEW] Blood Laws by Lexi C. Foss (Immortal Curse #1)
[BOOK REVIEW] the Hating Game by Sally Thorne
[BOOK REVIEW] the Rival by Megan Green
[BOOK REVIEW] the Cleanup by Megan Green
[BOOK REVIEW] the Off-Season by Megan Green
[mini REVIEWS] #1 and #2 of Ghosts of the Shadow Market by C. Clare and Others

  • What am I looking forward to?

In my monthly releases articles I talked a bit more about December releases I’m looking forward to but aside from December releases there are also some other books I’m looking forward to reading next month. I really hope to finish some of the books that I started reading this year but haven’t gotten around to finish yet. But I’m also really looking forward to all the blog articles I’ll be writing and publishing in December. There are Christmas hauls coming your way at the end of the month, which is always an epic one over here so I’m really looking forward to see what I’ll be receiving this year hihi.

In just a couple of days, Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare is being released and I am so frigging excited! This is easily my most anticipated 2018 release next to Kingdom of Ash. So it’s safe to say I’m looking forward to reading this book in particular, in December haha.

BOOK BOX HEAVEN

Aside from books and reading, there is more to be looking forward to; BOOK BOXES. I’m waiting for the Illumicrate November box to arrive, I’ll be receiving my Flick the Wick November box inspired by Shadowhunters and I’ll be hopefully receiving my Faecrate Queen of Air and Darkness book-hangover box – it’s a possibility it won’t arrive until January though but we’ll see. I am so frigging excited to receive these boxes! Faecrate already revealed some of their items and suppliers and I couldn’t be happier with what I know I’ll be receiving like; a WILL HERONDALE plushie! Flick the Wick is really never disappointing so I’m positive this Shadowhunter themed box will be amazing. And I already spoiled myself by looking at Illumicrate unboxings and so I already know I love that box! Can’t wait to receive the box and show you guys the items in an unboxing article.

  • DECEMBER TBR

As I said in one of my articles recently, I believe it was a WWW Wednesdays one, I don’t know how much more I’ll be able to read throughout December since my reading pace isn’t what I’m used to and December is just a busy month in general. So I haven’t been focusing a lot on what to read next since I have a feeling it’s going to be problematic lol. I feel like it’s going to be a month in which I’ll pick up a lot of books, to then put them down again after a chapter or so. But okay, for the sake of just creating a TBR stack because it’s fun, here’s what I came up with for December when it comes to my physical tbr:

These are some of the books I started reading this year but haven’t gotten around to finish yet, so hopefully I find the time and right mindset to finish a couple of these before it’s 2019 and otherwise some of them will end up on my Beat the Backlist 2019 tbr.

Unknownkopie

How has your November been book-wise? What was your favorite read? What are you looking forward to in December? Any particular release or just a book you’re excited about reading or a book box you’re receiving? Love to hear from you!

With Love,
Melissa ♥

14 thoughts on “[WRAP UP] November 2018”

  1. dominds

    You’ve read some great books, I haven’t read any of those but Where I Found You sounds lovely. I cannot wait to see your unboxings, those (book)boxes sound amazing. Happy reading in December!

    Like

    Reply

  2. Awh, you have an amazing month, love! Cries in Cassie Clare THREE MORE SLEEPS! Hahaha! But… thank you so much for the shout out, love. You are always too damn kind to me. But I’m forever thankful for you and your friendship! Happy reading, love! 💖xx

    Like

    Reply
  3. boekenwormmam

    You’ve read a lot of books this month! I’m always jealous of how many articles you seem to post. I struggle to post a article a day most of the time haha.

    Like

    Reply

    1. I didn’t think I’d finish that many books this month because it felt like I was struggling so hard! I have to say that there are like 6 short stories of the 12 things I’ve finished reading. But Lady Midnight & Lord of Shadows are both around 700 pages so that compensates hahaha. And I indeed managed to write and publish a lot of articles! I plan certain days to blog a couple of hours and even though it sometimes takes some time to link back to books and create images and all that, I still manage to compose them rather quickly so that way I can publish a lot. I have to fit in my study as well, but since I only blog on certain days and hours, I find it really helpful to finish lots of articles instead of how I used to do it; every day and everything being quite chaotic haha. Whenever I come up with a new blog idea I quickly write it down in a note concept on the blog and then I’ll focus on it more on the day I blog.

      Like

      Reply
      1. boekenwormmam

        That’s a great way of working on your blog. I find it hard to find the time now that our youngest sleeps less haha. I just have so much to do!

        Like

      2. For me, Sept/Oct/Nov have been the busiest months of the year so far so it’s definitely quite a challenge to fit it all in. But I spend less time on reading nowadays – mostly only read in the evenings now – and I spent like 6 hours divided throughout the week on blogging I guess? but I really don’t have any other hobbies or so. I have a study going on as well and more and more appointments regarding Milan and school – I’m helping out there a lot – and household chores, lunch appointments that come in between haha, stuff like that so during the day there isn’t really any time for me anymore to blog or read – sometimes there are exceptions and I can sneak in an hour or two though. It really depends on how to use the free time you do get as efficiently as possible. As I said; I spent less time reading now so I used some of that time to blog and I really don’t do anything other for myself in my free time. We have game nights once per several months but other than that, most nights are almost always free for example and so on.

        Like

      3. boekenwormmam

        I suck at planning haha so that makes it harder to plan my time haha. It’s always busy here with three kids and we’re really struggling with Eline. But I’ll get there and I love it when I do blog and that’s the most important thing I believe!

        Like

    1. haha I was shocked actually to see the amount of books I managed to read in the end because It felt like I barely finished reading anything, lol. And I don’t know what qualifies as young folk seeing I’m turning 30 in 2019 haha so I consider myself not that young anymore hihi.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. jenchaos76

        I’m going to be 43, so I feel old. Everyone seems so young to me. I used to read five books a week now I’m at four

        Like

      2. I think 4 is still a lot though! I know many people, young ones mostly even, who don’t even finish 4 per month since a lot of them have to focus on their study a lot for example. I only read in the evenings most of the time – although I could squeeze in a couple of hours during the day in November as well, when Milan was at school – so I didn’t think I’d be able to finish as much as I eventually did haha. I don’t think it’s really age related though but more as to how much time you can spend on reading 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  5. ericarobyn

    My favorite reads of November were The Broken Girls by Simone St. James, The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion, and Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia! 🙂 Happy December!

    Erica | <a href=‘www.ericarobynreads.com’>Erica Robyn Reads

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.