SeasonAthon Academy Semester Five - Wrap Up & Mini Reviews

Happy Thursday everyone!  Today I'm sharing my wrap up and mini reviews for the SeasonAthon Academy Semester Five which was hosted by Completely Melanie, with cohosts BookAndBuJo and AStar Reads.  It ran all of September and I completed all of the prompts on my original tbr.  I meant to share this earlier, but time got away from me.  Without further ado, here are my thoughts on each book I read:

Group Book:

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Half City (Harker Academy #1) by Kate Golden has a lot of potential to be a fun dark academia/ urban fantasy story, but it was hit and miss for me. Viv isn't a bad character, but she could be very grating at times. Reid is a character that I wanted to get to know outside of Viv. I wasn't interested in their romance or the spiciness of the story. Personally, I could have done without that element all together. The world-building is interesting and I liked the idea of it, but it should have been much more fleshed out to really grab me. That said, the story can be repetitive and it didn't need to be over 450 pages.  Overall, this series opener was fine, but I wanted more out of it in terms of the characterizations and world-building. I'm still interested in seeing where the sequel will go.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Required Courses:

ENGL 3340: Shakespeare - Read a book written in verse

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Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough is a YA historical novel in verse that I had been eyeing for awhile.  I'm glad I finally decided to pick it up.  Novels in verse can be hit or miss for me, but this one definitely was a hit.  It's very unapologetic and it isn't afraid to pack quite an emotional punch.  I know a bit about the real life painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, but I'm going to have to learn more.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

SOC 2500 - Social Statistics - Read a book with STEM

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Dead Iron (Age of Steam #1) by Devon Monk is a fun steampunk series opener that I've had on my shelf for far too long.  I'm glad I finally had the chance to get to it, as it is also my first book by the author.  It's not often I get to read a story from this genre set in America, but the style was a refreshing change of pace.  I'll be back for the sequel and others from Monk in the future.  

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

FLNG 4210 – Advanced Foreign Language 4 – Read a book set in a different country from your own

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The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester was given to me by one of my friends to check out.  It's a decent piece of WWII historical fiction, but it didn't need to be over 400 pages at all.  It bogs itself down in the middle, but it has a strong opening and a solid ending.  I wasn't expecting to like the fashion scenes quite as I did.  

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

BIOL 1050 - Life on Earth - Read a book set in our real world

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The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle is a YA mystery thriller that had been on my shelf for too long.  It's my first read from the author so I didn't know what to expect.  It's solid, but I wouldn't call it a favorite of the genre.  The storyline isn't terribly complex, but the cast of characters is probably the weakest link of the novel.  I wasn't particularly interested in or rooting for any of them.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

ANTH 1400 - Archaeology - Read a book that came out before you were born.

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The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton wasn't at all bad, but I definitely was hoping for something else with it.  I had it in my head that this was going to be written as a thriller set in the past. I knew going in that it's based on a true story and everything, but this being written as more of a true crime dramatization or history book didn't quite work with me.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

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