March Wrap-Up and April Goals

March Reads

 

March Wrap-Up

• Finished: 5
• Started/continued but not finished: 3
• Total pages read: 2,320
• Average rating: 4.1

I finished five books in March, and two of them were novels. I read the final two books in Stephanie Garber’s Caraval trilogy, Legendary (4/5 stars) and Finale (also 4/5 stars). They were nice reads, but I admit I didn’t love them as much as I had expected. They didn’t have the same magical effect on me as they seem to have had on other people. You can click the links to read longer reviews.

Book Review: Finale by Stephanie Garber

Finale by Stephanie Garber

Book title: Finale
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: Young Adult fantasy
Published: May 7, 2019
478 pages
My rating: 4/5

“Every story has four parts: the beginning, the middle, the almost-ending, and the true ending. Unfortunately, not everyone gets a true ending. Most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, when the situation feels hopeless, but that is where hope is needed the most. Only those who persevere can find their true ending.”

Two months after the Fates were released from a magical deck of cards, the lives of everyone in Valenda are at stake. Scarlett and Donatella Dragna must destroy the leader of the Fates, the Fallen Star, with the help of friends—and potential foes. In the process, they uncover unexpected truths that threaten to upend their lives.

Finale is the third and final book in Stephanie Garber’s young adult fantasy series Caraval. Unlike Caraval, which was told from Scarlett’s point-of-view, and Legendary, which was told from Tella’s, Finale is told form a dual point-of-view. We get both Scarlett’s and Tella’s reactions and viewpoints in the same book, although Tella’s point of view is more prominent. In this book, the stakes are higher: the Fates are threatening the lives of everyone, and the sisters have to come up with a way to destroy them.

A Week in My Life: Working on Two Projects and More

Want to know what my week looks like as a self-employed indie author? I filmed a week-long vlog where I show everything I did in a week. Last week, I was working on two projects: editing the fifth draft of Project Prehistory and revising the third draft of a literary fiction short story that I plan to submit to literary magazines soon. I also entered a first page writing contest where I will get feedback on the first page of Project Prehistory, read a bunch of books (although I only finished one of them), and baked a delicious blueberry cheesecake. Check out the vlog below for more!

Say Hello to My New Book Nook

 

Eternal Bookstore Book Nook

I recently got the Eternal Bookstore DIY Book Nook as a gift and spent a few days building it. I love this miniature bookstore with all its little details, like the sleeping dog, the posters, and the folding books you can flip through.

I'm a little sad that I had to glue the books in place, because now I can't reorganize the bookstore. But at least I don't have to worry about the books flying every which way when I move the book nook around. It's now on my favorite shelf right next to my Jane Austen collection.

Book Review: Legendary by Stephanie Garber

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

Book title: Legendary
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: Young Adult fantasy
Published: May 29, 2018
451 pages
My rating: 4/5

"Your future can be whatever you wish. We all have the power to choose our own destiny."

Donatella Dragna has saved her sister Scarlett from an arranged marriage and escaped her father. But now she must pay her debt to a mysterious criminal and find out Legend’s true name. Her only chance of uncovering the secret is to join Caraval again and win the game – or else she might lose everything, including her life.

Legendary is the second book in Stephanie Garber’s young adult fantasy trilogy Caraval. I enjoyed Caraval, but I must admit it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The same can be said about Legendary. My feelings are conflicted: on the one hand, Legendary was better than Caraval, but simultaneously and paradoxically I also found it more boring. I liked the plot and the expanded worldbuilding, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care about what was happening. I think that was because I didn’t connect with Tella even to the little extent that I did with Scarlett.

February Wrap-Up and March Goals

February Reads

February Wrap-Up

• Finished: 4
• Started but not finished: 4
• Total pages read: 2,012
• Average rating: 3.75

I finished four books in February, and two of them were novels. The first was Stephanie Garber’s Caraval (4/5 stars). It was an enjoyable young adult fantasy, but I admit I had expected a lot more from it. It didn’t quite reach my expectations, as you can see from the four-star rating. Click the link to read a longer review.

Desk Makeover! Setting Up a New, Functional Writing Space

If you've watched my writing vlogs, you may have noticed that I rarely work on my desk. I mostly write in the living room, and the main reason is that my office space is not ergonomic or inspiring place at all. But recently, I did a little desk makeover and upgraded my office to hopefully be a more productive and functional writing space. Check the video below to find out what I did and how I transformed the place.