30. Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children book #3)

By Seanan McGuire (157 pp ebook) This one wasn't as good as #2 but still super fun. The newest arrival to the home for Wayward Children is having trouble fitting in and then gets sucked into an adventure when a traveler from another land arrives needing help. (Super vague to avoid spoilers.) As a kid I would have loved the descriptions of this world made of sugar but the current me wanted some vegetables with my sugar sky. Book 4 is loaded on my ereader.

29. Tiamet's Wrath

By James S.A. Corey (531 pp ebook) Finished Book #8 and ready for the series finale. This book is fabulous and really hard to put down. The rebels are doing their best against an empire that can out-power them, but not out-smart them. Meanwhile, the aliens are out there and mysterious. November 30 the last book will be here.

27. 28. Auberon, Strange Dogs

By James S.A. Corey (63/65 pp ebook) These are 2 novellas that take place in the Expanse universe and give some insight to part of the greater story. Auberon is about another leader the Empire sends to a developing world. These leaders are never prepared for what they have to deal with when they get there. Strange Dogs is set on Laconia at the very beginning of the Empire and features some unusual fauna. Both are excellent.

26. Persepolis Rising (Expanse #7)

By James S.A. Corey (549 pp)

Somehow I stopped keeping track of when I finish books but also my reading has been dismal due to writing more and taking a class and reprioritizing.

The final Expanse Book #9 comes out at the end of the month. I am re-reading 7 and 8 to get ready. This is the one that takes place about 30 years after the events of book 6 when Laconia invades and ruins everything that the characters have worked for. It's really good. I highly recommend the books and the TV show.

25. Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children 2)

By Seanan McGuire (109 pp)(ebook)

I LOVED this book. It's about 2 sisters who end up in a portal story that is twisted -- well their life in the real world is twisted, too. The story is more about the two sisters and their decisions and betrayal. I'm doing a poor job of describing it. It's really good.

24. Solutions and Other Problems

By Allie Brosh (514 pp) Allie Brosh wrote an amazing blog that became a book called Hyperbole and A Half that came out in 2013. Then she more or less disappeared. I checked every now and then for updates and last time I checked, I learned that her second book came out last year and I totally missed it. Allie has written about dealing with depression and her stories are honest and sometimes hit that spot between really sad and really funny. This book is darker than the first and some of the stories don't work for me but still worth tracking down if you liked the first book.

22. 23. Twilight | Midnight Sun

By Stephenie Meyer (498 / 671 pp) I read The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer last month. I was having a bad day and needed something fun and easy to read so I decided to pick-up Twilight which I last read, and loved, in 2007. I figured I'd read a few chapters and put it back on the shelf. I was wrong. I have been meaning to read Midnight Sun which is the same story from Edward's point of view that came out last year. I read Midnight Sun on my phone while concurrently reading the paperback on my nightstand. It is ridiculous how much I enjoyed these books. Midnight Sun is long and feels long but there are some fun parts to see from Edward's perspective. Teen vampire romance = a million heart emojis. Edited to add: HAHA. I found my review of Breaking Dawn from 2008 where I say the book is "mostly dreadful" and claim I would not read another book in the series! I was wrong. And at this point, I would read another book in the series.

20. 21. How the King of Elfhame / The Lost Sisters

By Holly Black (125 / 47 pp ebooks) I listed to Folk of the Air trilogy as audiobooks. (The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, The Queen of Nothing). I don't remember what led me to the first book but I enjoyed it but wasn't sure I'd continue the series. Then I had audiobook credits to use so I got the second one and the minute I finished it, I had to get the third. The story is about a mortal young woman named Jude getting involved with the High Court of Faeire. It's dark but really good. Recommend for fantasy fans. These are two novellas that I discovered after I finished the audiobooks. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is Cardan’s back story and in the The Lost Sisters, Jude’s sister Taryn explains some things that happened from her POV. Worth reading for fans of the series.

19. Acceptance

By Jeff VanderMeer (338 pp) This is book 3 in the Southern Reach Trilogy. I zoomed through this so I could give the trilogy to my cousin to read. I feel like this series is a love it or hate it kind of thing. The story is so rich in details and connections but also strange and alienating. I don't think I completely "got it" but I enjoyed immensely. In Book 3 the entity that's been investigating Area X implodes and a bunch of different threads are somewhat tied together.

18. Authority

By Jeff VanderMeer (340 pp) Book 2 in the Southern Reach Trilogy. These books are really wierd and convoluted because what is happening in the story is weird and unexplainable. Annihilation (I have to look up the spelling of that word every time) is about an expedition into Area X. This book is about Control, a new director of the entity overseeing Area X trying to figure out what's going on. Everybody is suspicious and seems to be hiding something. I love the descriptions of the environment.

17. Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir

By Amy Tan (368 pp ebook) I am a huge Amy Tan fan but this book was only medium for me. It reminds me of back in the day when a band had to fulfill a contract and would put out an album of "outtakes" and live versions that didn't add up to much. The sections about her family history were super interesting but some of it is journal entries and free-form ruminating that didn't work for me.

16. Writers & Lovers

By Lily King (324 pp) How great is it to get a book you know nothing about as a gift and end up loving it? I never would have discovered this on my own and now I have added this author to my list. This is set in the 90s and is about a 30 year old woman, who is also a writer, trying to get her life together with varying degress of success. The writing is beautiful. Great characters. The protagonist sometimes makes maddening decisions but is very relatable. Looking forward to sharing this with Mom.