6 Month Book Dump

The first six months of the year have FLOWN BY! Does anyone else feel this way? I had planned to do a reading update or book reviews earlier but I just never got around to it. So now you get a 6 Month Book Dump!

Last year I did my 50 in 52 weeks challenge, but with working more this year I decided to cut it down to 45 books for 2022.

The count as of this first week of July, I have read 23/45.

I am slightly behind what I thought I would be at but am not too worried. As not to overwhelm with 22 separate reviews I am going to review one book for each month. A complete list of the books I’ve read will be at the end of the post!

*Indicates a reread

January

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

"That’s the thing, though. You always think you want to be noticed. Until you are."

The story follows Sydney, a girl who has always felt invisible. Her older brother Peyton always being the focus, especially when his self-destructive tendencies land him in jail. Sydney struggles to understand her place within her family dynamic and her own life. When she gets drawn into the Chatham family and their semiordered chaos and is now being really seen.

What I enjoyed most about this novel is how Dessen creates such natural dialogue. Her characters never feel like they are trying too hard to say something. It makes me as the reader feel as though I am in the room eavesdropping on the characters. I enjoyed the book overall though I feel there were certain aspects of the storyline that fell by the wayside and could have been explored more. 3.75/5

February

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

"I like an audience, I must confess. I am vain, you see. I am puffed up with conceit. I like to say: ‘See how clever is Hercule Poirot!’"

Detective Hercule Poirot is on holiday, but when the rich newly married beauty Linnet Ridgeway happens to be murdered on his cruise, well… what kind of detective would he be if he didn’t solve it.

I read Murder on the Orient Express which I wasn’t a fan of, but Death on the Nile was much more enjoyable. The plot was more intricate for the reader to discover alongside the characters. I had fun trying really hard to figure out the mystery. But as per usual, or so it seems with Christie’s novels, the ending is a surprise partly because the specific needed details are not available to the audience. A fun easy murder mystery read. 3.5/5

March

The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

“No 'Glory shall be your reward' for me. Oh, no, for me, it is, 'Stop whining' and 'Go to bed'.”

The Third installment of Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series is told through poor naive Costis the guard. He knows his kingdom is in jeopardy of a steep decline now that the Thief of Eddis is King of Attolia. Costis is sure the crown is just another thing the Thief has stolen. Until slowly his contempt for Eugenides turns into something like.. respect.

Eugenides the Thief, in this book the new King of Attolia, is one of my favorite characters I’ve read about. This book is probably my favorite book of the series too because there is so much more that you get to find out about him. Especially in the way in which is perceived from the outside. The world of The Queen’s Thief is intricate and well thought out and I really could read a whole book of just these characters in their day-to-day lives and not be bored. 4/5

April

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”

The reimagined telling of The Illiad through the lens of Patroclus. The awkward young prince is exiled from his home where he meets Achilles destined to be “the best of all the Greeks.”

Unpopular opinion. Personally, I wasn’t enthralled with this book as everyone else seems to be. I enjoyed part of it, but the story seemed to drag. Even found myself almost skimming through some parts because it didn’t seem to be moving forward. I can see why many love the book. The prose has its moments, but I didn’t like Achilles and I really didn’t like Patroclus and books tend to not do well when the narrator’s voice is irritating. I much prefer Miller’s Circe. 2.75/5

May

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

"Since kindergarten, my mind has been a story bank. I read and read, and I remember."

Darcy Wells is a literary genius who spends her time living in the worlds of the books she reads. All as an escape from the reality that is living with her mother’s hoarding. The small stability she has tried to create beings to collapse when a new active property manager plans to work on the upkeep of the building apartments. In the midst of her struggles appears Asher Fleet. Can Darcy survive the weight of keeping her home life intact and add in potential romance?

I didn’t think the story as a whole was anything special. There were moments I just wanted to yell at Darcy to open her eyes and stop being a bad friend. It reads like a Hallmark movie. Romance is filled with cheese, and I will be the first to admit I don’t at all mind the cheese. It was a quick read, I finished it in one sitting book. 3/5

June

The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen

“There's an old saying in Avenia that goes, "Just because it's calmer than a hailstorm doesn't mean it's calm.”

Book one of a trilogy. A kingdom in the midst of an ever-nearing possibility of civil war. Unity needs to be had and Conner, a nobleman of the court, has devised a plan. The only issue is this plan “borders” on treason. He wants his own puppet prince to convince the court he has found the long-lost younger prince and he has tasked a few boys to prove they could be the one to do it. Is Sage up for the task?

I enjoyed this book and plan to read the next one to see how the story progresses but I’m not over the moon about it. I guessed the plot twist a few chapters in and it made part of the rest of the book fall a bit flat. The main character began to grow on me towards the very end but for most of the book felt like a thorn in my side. 3.25/5

Currently in the middle of:

The Return of the King by JRR Tolkein

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Complete Lists of Books

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
The Two Towers by JRR Tolkein
The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
Go to Heaven by Fulton Sheen
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Latin Mass Explained by George J. Moorman
St. Joseph, Fatima, and Fatherhood by Joseph A Cirrincione
A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
The Return of the King by Megan Whalen Turner
*The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey
Saint Philomena the Wonderworker by Paul O Sullivan
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
*Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I still have 22 more books to read before the end of the year and my ‘to read’ list is running worryingly low. So please help me out and let me know what your all-time favorite book is and I shall add it to my list!