September/October Wrap-Up & November TBR // A bump after smooth sailing

Greetings readers!

It has been a while since I’ve wrapped anything up! September and October were incredibly busy months for me! I had lots going on, in terms of reading and school which really brought down the hammer on me. And while another hammer is coming soon…I am very excited to see what books I can get to this month!

So let’s get started!

What Rendz Read!

September (1st-15th) Wrap-Up

The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson (5/5) Review
Ciel by Sophie Labelle [ARC] (4/5) Review
The Wedding Date Disaster by Avery Flynn (DNF) Review
Fable by Adrienne Young [e-ARC] (5/5) Review
Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz [ARC] (4.5/5) Review + Fan Art!

Latinx Heritage Month Wrap-Up

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (5/5) Review
Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez (5/5) Review
You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria (5/5) Review
Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro (4/5) Review
Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (5/5) Review
Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera (4/5) Review
Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez (DNF) Review
Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno (5/5) Review

October (16th-31st) Wrap-Up

The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi (4.5/5) RTC
A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (4/5) Review + Fan Art
Holiday Home Run by Priscilla Oliveras (3/5) Review
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade (4/5) Review
The Sky Weaver by Kristin Ciccarelli Rating and Review to come

Highlight Book(s): Wow I read so many books these past weeks it’s so hard to choose!!! But if I must: The Barren Grounds, Furia and Don’t Date Rosa Santos are the top top top!

Lowliest Book(s): Two DNFs really disappointed me: The Wedding Date Disaster and Lush Money were just not good. I wish I could get that time back….oop, I said what I said!

The Haul

Let me tell you all lovely people. THE BOOK MAIL HAS BEEN STRONG THESE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AND I AM VERY HAPPY!

Publisher Sent

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

The Ikessar Falcon by K.S. Villoso
Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Charming as a Verb by Ben Phillipe
The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Fat Chance Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

Giveaway Wins

Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica
Like Home by Luoisa Onomé

Other Going-Ons

Recreating Silvia Moreno-Garcia Covers with my Sisters

Oh the things I do for my love of books and oh the things my sisters do to please me! But anyways, please enjoy the following images!

Certain Dark Things ft. The Eldest Sister, M (yup that’s her face in there 😂)
The Beautiful Ones ft. The Middle Sister, K (fun fact: she donned her quinceañera dress for this silhouette)
Mexican Gothic ft. The Youngest Sister, aka Rendz (I’m wearing the only red dress I own!)

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An Amazing Latinx Heritage Month

Oh my wonderful friends, I had so much fun during LHM this year! Not only did I read a ton of amazing books (though not all the ones I had originally planned), I had so much fun participating in the LHM BookFest prompts on blog and on Instagram! I had to be really brave for some of these posts XD, but it was so worth it!

It was an incredible 30 days, and I cannot wait for next year! Here are some special posts I made!

Happy Latinx Heritage Month!! | We are celebrating all the books!! Day 1 of #LHMBookFest!

Latinx Food in Books | I don’t cook, I don’t clean, but let me tell you…all about these delicious books!

If You Liked this Telenovela, You’d Love this Book| Reminiscing on the ole’ days!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rendz (@readingwithrendz)

I Figured I’d Up My Love for SMG on Insta

I had already written a blog post on my love for SMG, but I decided to take it to Instagram too and it was a hit! I love getting people onto my band wagon!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rendz (@readingwithrendz)

The Beautiful Ones & Untamed Shore Paperback Cover Reveal

This came as a total surprise to me and both were only a week apart! I must say that I love both of them so much! I plan on doing a full comparison soon because I do love them BUT I STILL HAVE THOUGHTS. For now I will leave you with these stunning covers and remind you to pick them up in the new year!

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Posts Of the Month

You Should read Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s work and here’s why | A stan account’s mission

A Golden Fury | Blog Tour Excerpt // New Historical Fantasy sure to make our shelves even more magical!

A Touch of Death | Review // A Post-Apocalyptic Quest

TBR

People I really have no idea what I’m doing this month! Seriously, it’s already halfway through. I took a rather unannounced hiatus from blog because school got intense and it is getting even more intense as we near the end of the semester!

That being said I still have to get some reading done so here is what I propose to you all!

Pine Island Home by Penny Horvath
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson
Historically Inaccurate by Shay Bravo

Joining in on Indig-a-thon late, but maybe enough to get a bingo!
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Pemmican Wars: A Girl Called Echo by Katherena Vernetto
Surviving the City: Vol 1. Tasha Spillett
Those Who Run in the Sky by Aviaq Johnston
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

Will I be getting to all of this with only half a month left? No. I just feel like giving myself some choices for these next two weeks. I feel a slump coming on, but that is not an option so I hope to find something to love this month!

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Let me know what you think! What have you read this month? What books did you get? What books are you looking forward to reading!

*Please Share and/or Donate = Link to a master list of how you can help/educate yourself on Black Lives Matter and other humanitarian movements across the globe*

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

September Wrap-Up and October TBR // Wow school really slapped me this month and it’s about to backhand me too

Greetings readers!

Well, hi. It’s been a while, hasn’t it. We are well into October and this is my first post of the month. Huh. Well the reason why is pretty much in the title of the post.

It’s that time of the year, it’s the mid-term time of year when readings, assignments and tests all start piling up and try to drown you. Then there is this very small grace period where you can breathe until the pile starts growing again. That grace period just so happens to be this week.

So I have to get in all my blogging in nowww.

That means starting by wrapping up last month!

What Rendz Read

The Zeppelin Deception by Colleen Gleason
It was a lovely conclusion for a series I have been waiting for! Review to come!

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
God, I loved this duology! I absolutely adored it! My Full Review.

The Brilliant Dark by S.M. Beiko
Another finale to a series! I thought it was great even though it broke me a little! My Full Review

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez
I have ~thoughts~ on this very highly anticipated book, it did not go exactly as planned. Review to come.

It was not that bad a month considering I started school, so I’m very proud I was able to finish one series and read another entire one.

The Haul

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth

Simon & Schuster CA
Zero Repeat Forever by G.S. Prendergast
Cold Falling White by G.S. Prendergast

Posts of the Month

MINI REVIEWS! | Library Reading Round Up! // Dealing in Dreams & Kingdom of a Blazing Pheonix (These are long overdue)

6 Series That I’ve BEEN Meaning to Read (and very much feel the need to do so…like…NOW) | The Power of Fan Art

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month |The books I’m reading and the pictures I’m taking

Books I Liked But Perhaps Over-Hyped | We about to get SCANDALOUS

Other Going Ons

3 Year Bloggaversary!

Aug 31, I celebrated 3 years on WordPress. Can you believe it! I’ve been doing this for three years already and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon! I am so very thankful for each and every one of you who follow and read my posts! For those who comment and send me so much love, I thank you! To the publishers who entrust me with books, I thank you! To the authors who send me requests and grant my requests, I thank you! I have learned a lot over the three years and I look forward to seeing what the next year has in store.

Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations

I have slowly been making my way through my TBR for HHM. I have gotten through 2 of the 4 books I have planned! I’ve also added a lot more Latinx books to by Want-to-Read list! There are so many good books coming our wayyyy!

I have also been posting a lot on Instagram lately…And if you follow me you’ll know that I had a little reveal….I’ll post it here to, just for my lovely blogger frens.

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Ready???

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Ta-da!

IS THAT ME????????????????????????????????????????????????????

yes. 🙂

An Ember in the Ashes Graphic Novel

via Goodreads

I screamed when I saw the news! You all must know how much I love Ember and the fact that we are getting a PREQUEL GRAPHIC NOVEL TRILOGY is the highlight of my month. I am actually gonna get to see baby Elias!!!!!!!!!!! It comes out next July, my birthday month, so happy birthday to me!!

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HHM TBR (The End Game)

Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal
Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano
Prime Meridian by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Regular TBR–My Dedication to Penguin Teen CA

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh
Grave Maidens by Kelly Coon
A River of Royal Blood by Amanda by Amanda Joy
Fireborne by Rosaria Munda
Song of a Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao

Am I being overly ambitious again? Absolutely. Am I still gonna go for it? Absolutely.

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Let me know what you think! How was your September? What were your favourite reads? What do you have planned for October?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

September Wrap Up and October TBR |Read some books, giving some thanks, trying not to be such a mess after only one month of school

Greetings readers!

This post is coming to you today from a blogger who is currently dressed in week old pyjamas and hair that looks like a wasps nest and who procrastinating instead of writing a French assignment by being here.

Well hi.

This has been a month. For Real-life Rendz it has been a month. I mean it wasn’t bad, I’m just so tired and to be honest it hasn’t been my best blogging month. My stats have been getting lower since I’m posting less frequently and I have had a low track of interaction with other bloggers. The one thing to blame: school. It’s always to blame. It’s just….I’m so tired. I could be more tired and eventually I will be getting way too tired, but it is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada so I will be taking this time to relax and do some catching up!

Anyways…you are here for bookish news and I am going to get into that right now.

Reading wasn’t so bad. I have been optimizing my time on commutes to get through books, which even though it sometimes to crowded, I get in some good reading time!

What Rendz Read

Confessions of a Teenage Leper by Ashley Little
This was part of a blog tour in partner with Penguin Teen CA. This book was a lot of fun. It’s not one of my typical kinds of reads, which is surprising considering how much I liked it. If you are a fan of unlikable MCs, I definitely recommend! My Full Review!

Children of the Bloodlands by S.M. Beiko
This was a really fun read. It’s the sequel to Scion of the Fox which I read last year. I thought this one was a lot better than book 1, so I am definitely excited to get to book 3!!! My Full Review!

Wildcard by Marie Lu
One of my most anticipated sequels of the year! I had a lot of fun with it, though I did have some *thoughts* about the ending ending. My Full Review!

The Demon Race by Alexandria Warwick
This was such a surprising read. I had such a good time with it! Review to come!

And while I did not finish it, I started reading Le Voleur de Foudre, which is French for The Lighting Thief. That’s right, I’m jumping on this PJ train, while simultaneously trying to advance my French :)! It’s going to be a slowwww process but so far I am finding it quite entertaining!

The Haul

I was lucky enough to get some publisher love this month, courtesy of Simon & Schuster CA and Raincoast Books!

Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows by Ryan Calejo

The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson
Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll
Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

I didn’t buy anything (but I really want to…) Since this winter is going to the be the season of all releases and I couldn’t be more ready!!!

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Featured Posts of the Month!

Egyptian Mythology Book Tag

Two Year Blogiversary | Oh my goodness what have I been doing for the past two years???

I celebrated two whole years on WordPress and I wrote a nice big Thank You post for all my supporters and that means all of YOU!

Other Going-Ons

Narnia is Going to Netflix

You best know that I flipped my sh*t when I saw the news. Read the EW article.

Kim’s Convenience

Watch it. It’s A) Hilarious B) Set in Toronto C) Set in Toronto, Ontario. D) Set in Toronto, Ontario, CANADA **Patriotic Rendz take over mwahahahas (in Canadian). Seriously though, it is an amazing show and I cannot wait for season 3!

Thanksgiving and I am thankful for all of you!

Yes we celebrate it in October, when it is supposed to be celebrated. Just kidding, it’s a colonial holiday and thus will always hold the dark narrative even though we need to be grateful…so it doesn’t really matter when you celebrate it. BUT STILL I am totally thankful to be a part of this wonderful blogging community and to have made such wonderful friends over these past two years! Thank you!

I’m Going to the Ballet!

It has been a life long dream of mine to go to an actual ballet. I mean I watched and re-watched episodes of Angelina Ballerina throughout my entire childhood. My mom indulged me once and put me in a ballet class one summer, which was fun (I was 7 in a room with 4-5 years old so I had the best understanding/coordination of the moves *feels smug*) ANYWAYS, I have been begging my sisters to go to see the Nutcracker ballet in December since A) We all had past love for  ballet B) It’s an iconic show C) Watching Barbie & the Nutcracker will only give us so much feels.

This year they said yes and we are going!!! I am sooo excited. This will be my first time at a real ballet so you best know that I will me an anxious and excited mess!

It’s ambitious and it probably won’t get done…

I am going to try my best to participate in #Spooktober or The Nightmare Before Book Princess Reviews Read-a-thon. There are 15 prompts but I am going to be completely honest with you…I’m hoping to at least make it to five! Possibly get a bingo? Well anyways, I am excited to get my reading on this fall. I have some spooky books lined up and some not so spooky ones just because I have some ARCs that I need to get through!

The Witching Hours: The Vampire Knife by Jack Henseleit – Halloween Town

Lulu the Broadway Mouse by Jenna Gavigan – Dr. Frankenstein

Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadsow by Ryan Calejo –  “What’s This”

The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth – “Jack’s Lament”

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – The Citizens 

The Sisters of Winter Wood by Rena Rossner – Mayor of Halloween Town 

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd – Zero (85% sure this book has ghosts?)

The Magic of Melwick Orchard by Rebecca Caprara – Santa Claus

This is all I can fit into this month. Seeing as we are already more than a week in, I don’t know how far I’ll get but I will TRY!!! (Plus TV is going to be really distracting with all the great Halloween movies that are going to be on!)

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Let me know what you think? What was your favourite read from this month? What was your favourite new release? What books are you looking forward to this month? Are you happy that it is finally spooky season?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

September Wrap Up, Haul & October TBR

Greetings readers!

September went by in such a blur. I can barely recall most of what I did this month…oh wait! Yes I can. School. School and some more……wait for it…..school.

-_-

Yeah, it’s been fun guys….*fake yay* September has been tough on Real-life Rendz and it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. Starting university this month has been a roller coaster of emotions. Excitement, self-doubt, fear. These are all things I feel on a daily basis.

My reading month was good. I actually got a lot more done than I thought I would. Things are starting to slow down and I’m trying my best to keep up, but school is a priority and it’s taking over my life. That’s why I’m sporadic a lot of the time on blog, I take some breaks to blog-hop or write but most times I just need to sit and relax and do nothing.

Enough about me, let’s talk about bookish things!

Wrap-Up

What the heck did I read this month? Seriously I kind of forgot….bless the creators of Goodreads for keeping track for me!

This month I read…

Poison’s Kiss by Breanna Shields

I buddy read this with the amazing Mandy @ Book Princess Reviews. It was so much fun reading with her, even though this book didn’t quite meet our expectations. I ended giving it a 2.5 / 5 stars. You can read Mandy’s amazing review here because I’ll be honest the story is kind of a blur to me now….

Colorless by Rita Stradling

This was a Netgalley and it also turned out to be less than what I hoped for! It had such a cool concept and so much potential but it just fell flat to me. The beautiful cover definitely deceived me. My Full Review

Warcross by Marie Lu

I reviewed my ARC that I won in a Goodreads giveaway and I LOVED it! Hello! It’s by Marie Lu and she is my idol, I expected nothing but an intense and twisty read! She delivered perfectly and I cannot wait for the sequel! My Full Review

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

A long awaited book. A book all about my baby Chaol! I wrote a rather long and ranty review because I had thoughts and I needed to vent! My Full Review

All The Wind In The World by Samantha Mabry

I am read this while I commuting to school, but sometimes I got dizzy reading on the bus so I have to do short reading bursts. Still I am enjoyed it, the ending left me feeling many things though! Review To Come.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This is actually a book I’m read for one of my classes. And wow, I loved it. I will be honest, reading this book made me nervous. It is super hyped and deals with such an important topic that sometimes I would get overwhelmed even just by thinking about picking it up. But I’m so glad I did. It’s so important, heart-breaking and inspirational! Review To Come.

*I’m so sad I missed Angie while she was here in Toronto on tour! But SCHOOL is messing with me!!!*

That’s a total of six read books! A success, I would say!

Other Fun Blog Posts!

One Year of Blogging (The Thank You) 

You Asked, I Answered! (Blogoversary Q & A)

A Moment of Fangirling: Winter

Book Series I Want to Give A Second Shot

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The Haul

What did I get this month? The Month of Releases! Did I even go to the bookstore? No. Well I did go to my school bookstore, but that doesn’t count!

I did, however, send Kez to buy me Tower of Dawn from Indigo because they had a special edition!!! Oh and Strange the Dreamer came in the mail earlier in the month, which I won in a lovely giveaway hosted by Laura @ TheBookCorps

And I also pre-ordered Marissa Meyer’s Renegades and Wires & Nerve Vol 2. because I had a gift card to spend and I of course spent it on the Queen! Le duh!

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The TBR

Well it’s going to be a long one, but I will definitely not make it to all of these reads. *Sad face*

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Scion of the Fox by S.M. Beiko
Captain Guinevere by Clara Bennet
Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (This will hopefully happen, as I want to buddy read it with Mandy @ BookPrincessReviews!)

I still have Gemina from the library…oh gosh I think it expires soon?? I will have to either return it or renew it…but it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting to it any time soon. *sad face*

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So that’s my October. It looks like it is going to be quite busy for me in terms of school and blogging responsibilities, but I rather enjoy blogging so it’s not too much of a hastle (yet).

Let me know what you think! What was your favourite read from September? What did you buy during September: The Month of Releases!? What book are you most looking forward to this October (Another month of insane releases!)?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz