PopCulture Readathon, '90s & '00s Music: Rock Alt Night Board - Wrap Up & Mini Reviews

Happy Friday everyone!  In January, I participated in another round of the PopCulture Readathon, created and hosted by Whitney @ bookswhitme (with some assistance from Lo @ Reading Parental).   The theme was '90s & '00s Music and I tackled and completed the Rock Alt Night board.  Keep reading to check out my thoughts on what I read:

sk8er boi - hockey romance

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Michigan vs. the Boys by Carrie S. Allen is a hard hitting YA contemporary sports novel that centers on high school hockey with a just a dash of romance.  I'm not a sports person at all, but I was really invested in this story.  Sure, I might not have known what all of those hockey terms meant, but I needed to know that Michigan would be okay, and better yet, succeed as a member of the high school boys varsity hockey team (after the girls team was cut).  I was so angry at what Michigan was put through by her team and coach, like seeing red kind of angry.  It's an uncomfortable read, but it's well worth the time.  There are some real punch the air moments near the end that help make it worth it.

My review is also on Goodreads.

you oughta know - comfort author

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Gallant by V.E. Schwab was one of my highly anticipated reads.  It's always good getting to read a V.E. Schwab book.  Honestly, I don't even need to know what the book is about to read one.  While I wouldn't say Gallant is a favorite, I did love the creepy atmosphere and the design.  The characters are definitely stronger than it's plot, and that's works in its favor.

My review is also on Goodreads.

numb - gothic horror

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The Hacienda by Isabel Canas is a book that I kept putting it off way too long.  I really shouldn't have because as it turns out I absolutely loved it.  It's easily at the top of my favorite reads of 2023 so far.  I know I'll be reading everything from this author in the future.  I don't want to give anything away, but if you're looking for an incredibly atmospheric gothic horror novel this is one of the best.  By the way, Padre Andrés is easily my favorite character.  This is an incredibly impressive debut novel!

My review is also on Goodreads.

scotty doesn't know - pick a book at random

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The Web (The Survivalist #5) by Jerry Ahern  was a bit slower than other installments of series. Plus, it doesn't seem like as much happens. Honestly, it could have been a little shorter than its 222 pages. Regardless, it's still a solid read.

My review is also on Goodreads.

smell's like teen spirit - ya mystery

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The Silence of Bones by June Hur was one of my most anticipated reads after reading and loving The Red Palace.  Luckily, I absolutely loved this one as well! The world-building is outstanding and the inclusion of real life historical figures is pretty cool.  The atmosphere and core mystery are both exactly what I was hoping for as well.  Plus, the author's note at the end is definitely worth sticking around for.  I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

My review is also on Goodreads and my January Update for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge.

my immortal - angel and/or demon

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DNF'd @ p. 63

A Kiss Before the Apocalypse (Remy Chandler #1) by Thomas Sniegoski sounded like it was going to be right up my alley. I mean, urban fantasy noir with angels. The hook sounds like a good one, but it was far too much telling without enough showing. Somehow I was bored out of my mind given all of it. Plus, I didn't have a good sense of any of the characters. Maybe the novel gets better, but I can't be bothered to stick around to find out.

My review is also on Goodreads.

what's my age again? - coming of age

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The Well of Ascension (The Mistborn Saga #2) by Brandon Sanderson moves at a bit of a slower pace than book one and I definitely missed Kelsier leading the story. Otherwise, this was still a great follow up. I'm glad there was a recap and glossary at the back to refresh my memory of what all happened in book one. Next up book three!

My review is also on Goodreads.

dare you to move - time travel

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The Atlas Paradox (The Atlas #2) by Olivie Blake is a solid sequel but not quite as cool as the first book in the series.  I'll admit that I was just glad to return to the world of the story.  That said, it's much more slowly paced in comparison to the series opener.  It also does not need to be over 400 pages.  My favorite characters are still Libby and Nico.  If you enjoyed book one, it's still worth reading even if it doesn't quite have the magic of the first.  I'm still looking forward to reading the third novel, even if this wasn't quite as outstanding.

My review is also on Goodreads.

mr. brightside - cozy mystery

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Movie Cat (A Big Mike Mystery #6) by Garrison Allen is the final book in it's series and I've never read and of the precious installments. After finishing this, I can say that I'm not interested in going back and starting the series from the beginning. One of the character names that stood out was *Buffy Anne* Mulholland. This book was released in 1999 and it can't be a coincidence. No matter how this Buffy is described I was always going to imagine her exactly like that other Buffy.

My review is also on Goodreads.

kryptonite - graphic novel or manga

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Goldie Vance, Vol. 4 (Goldie Vance #4) by Hope Larson  was not quite as good as previous volumes in the series but it is still a lot of fun. I love the color palette and character design. I do wish Walter got more to do in this installment.

My review is also on Goodreads.

take me away - different world or universe

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Ringworld (Ringworld #1) by Larry Niven  is known as a sci-fi classic that I thought I ought to try.  Now that I've read it, though, I don't quite get why this is quite so highly regarded.  I like the idea of this one about the title world itself.  That's cool.  But then, the way the women are written and are treated throughout the story isn't cool at all.  I had been told that this was going to be misogynistic and sexist, but holy crap.  What did early readers think of this aspect of the novel, or is this only a looking back in retrospect that it's aged very badly?

My review is also on Goodreads.

teenagers - blood in title

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DNF'd @ p. 50

The description of Youngblood by Sasha Laurens sounded like it would be a good one. As it turns out, this book is irritating enough to make me give up the ghost at only 50 pages in. Kat is hands down one of the most grating characters I've had the opportunity to read lately. Maybe I'm just getting old, but the way she talked to her mom in chapter two after expecting her mom to be proud of her for getting into the vampire boarding school that she applied to behind her mom's back when her mom specifically had told her not to was just about enough to put me over the edge.  What the heck!

My review is also on Goodreads.

Did you take part in this readathon?  Have you read any of these books?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!