Throwback Thursdays: I’m taking a look back at some of my reviews and discussion posts from the past to see if I still feel the same way about them now as I did then.
I missed last month’s thanks to a hectic work schedule but I’m back with another edition of Throwback Thursdays!
How does this work?
For each Throwback Thursday Post, I pick a particular blogging year to go back to. Within that year, I search through my old posts and pick 5 that I think are worth a look back at. Before I read my old reviews, I share my thoughts about what I remember. Then I summarize my original review and then I share my updated thoughts/comments.
I’d love it if you would share your thoughts as well with a comment below!
This month’s featured year is:
2015
What do I remember about my 2015 reading year?
Well, clearly I still found a lot of time to read despite being in the midst of my post-post-secondary career. According to my Goodreads Challenge that year, I read 233 books! Which was the most I’d ever read in a year up and to that date. It was a great year for books, I read a lot of big blockbusters. Oh, and it was the year I joined Netgalley! So I really got into reading ARCs and discover some new authors that I continue to review for to this day.
As for the blog, I started to include more discussion posts in my posting schedule. I used to do a Meme-ful Monday post where I would find a bookish meme and write a discussion post about it. I also used to do a lot of those blog award posts that were all the rage back then. (Do people still do those?)
Throwback #1: Alienated Series by Melissa Landers
Opening Thoughts: I remember this book being a lot of fun to read! It reminded me a little of a Meg Cabot book for just being purely entertaining. And aliens weren’t a common occurrence in YA at the time; I’d only read the Lux Series by Jennifer Lynn Armentrout. I can’t remember how I learned about this series but Melissa Landers quickly became a must read for me when it comes to YA SciFi reads.
Original Review Summary: I adored the banter between the logical Aelyx and the sensible Clara in the first book. It was just a great blend of everything you like in a YA novel (first love, humour). I enjoyed the second once I got into it; it definitely is more plot than romance though. I didn’t love the third book though with its complicated plot.
Throwback Reflection: I often think back fondly on Alienated(#1) as a great book. I loved Melissa’s next series, Starflight, and I’m waiting to see what her new release this year will be like because it has been too long since I’ve read her workds.
Worth a Reread?: No.
Throwback #2: The Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole
Opening Thoughts: Kresley Cole’s adult novels were always popping up at my library but they didn’t interest me. So when her new YA series was being released, I was really intrigued. Oh boy, did I HATE the first novel though! Poison Princess (#1) was everything I detested in a YA story with its cliché heroine, love triangle allusions, and a misleading synopsis. But I decided to read the sequel and I immediately fell in love with this series and its subsequent sequels!
Original Review Summary: These books have their moments of greatness and their moments of dullness. But overall, I enjoyed the series once all the groundwork was laid in the Poison Princess. All the books in the series are now published but I have yet to read the last two so I’m not sure how everything will wrap up!
Throwback Reflection: This series is one of the best examples for why I write reviews for entire series. Reading the first book in a series can be like watching the pilot episode for a TV. You may or may not like what you see in that first episode but it’s really the second episode that will determine if you press on now that the groundwork is laid out.
Worth a Reread?: No.
Throwback #3: The Vincent Boys Series by Abbi Glines
Opening Thoughts: I think I read this series after binge-reading everything else Abbi Glines had wrote to that point. I don’t like reading about love triangles but I wanted to give it a shot since I had enjoyed her other romances and melodrama.
Original Review Summary: So I had actually marked this books as a pass before I ever read an Abbi Glines novel because of the love triangle but I decided to give them a shot after I read some of her books. Maybe I shouldn’t have. The immaturity of these characters inspired by their raging hormones was a little too much melodrama for me. They were all selfish and vain but I suppose that’s what you get for reading about 17 year olds.
Throwback Reflection: Looking back years later and having read more Abbi Glines novels, she has a flare for melodrama so this is definitely par for the course. Some people really love the angst, I don’t enjoy this type of angst in my novels.
Worth a Reread?: No.
Throwback #4: Marked Men Series by Jay Crownover
Opening Thoughts: Rule(#1) was on the list for many New Adult recommendations so it was obvious that I would read it at some point. This series really got me invested in the romance series that follow a group of friends and not just the same couple for all the books. It also showed me that both characters could be flawed and find love.
Original Review Summary: I adored all the characters in this series (well, maybe not so much in Jet [#2]) but I loved the strength these characters had. And when the romance blossomed, WOW! I also liked that we get hints of what’s to come in the next books. Every book had its own unique spin, yet they all still shared the same underlying tones that made the series so special.
Throwback Reflection: After this series, Jay Crownover become a must-read author for me. I have a few of her new releases on my TBR that I hope to get to by the end of the year.
Worth a Reread?: Yes! Not all of the titles but some for sure!
Throwback #5: Where Rainbows End (aka Love, Rosie) by Cecelia Ahern
Opening Thoughts: I remember my friend and I being so excited to see the movie Love, Rosie. I chose not to read the book until after I watched the movie because I didn’t want it to be spoiled. I remember loving the movie, hating the book. It’s one of those rare instances where I think the movie is better than the book (or at least, the movie characters are more likeable).
Original Review Summary: My friend had read the book and warned me beforehand that Rosie becomes really annoying so I knew that going in. I probably would have stopped reading the book if I hadn’t had that in the back of my mind. Rosie is just incredibly selfish and I didn’t like that at all. And it overshadowed the romance of two friends who are clearly something more if life didn’t get in the way all the time.
As for the movie, the characters are more likeable and I enjoyed watching the drama unfold. I preferred watching things unfold in front of me instead of having them be described through letters like they are in the book. It just played with your emotions more in the movie.
Throwback Reflection: An entertaining movie, a so-so book.
Worth a Reread?: No. (Would I rewatch the movie, maybe)
Agree to Disagree?
Did you love (or love to hate) any of these reads? Share your thoughts on my throwbacks below!
