Series: The Mortal Instruments

Item: City of Fallen Angels
Rating: 4
Author: Amanda Marie

May 2016 in Review

Posted June 1, 2016 in Life, Reading / 8 Comments

Things that Happened in May

We have had one of the craziest Mays ever. It was over 70*F one day, and the next is was snowing so bad that we almost lost power and cars got stuck on the road. Yep, this is simply life in Montana.
My little sister graduated from her undergrad program (BA in Psychology, if anyone is interested).
My little sister also happened to move home with me… with her cats (whom I am allergic to a lot more than my cat).
My family and I drove to visit our family in Wisconsin. We got home late yesterday. I had forgotten about this trip which means that my monthly wrap-up was not scheduled ahead of time.
The school year ended. This really is bittersweet. I love my job and I enjoy working with the students. However, summer is much appreciated.
My favorite book of the month was The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh.

My Favorite Tweets of May

You know what made my day? Listening to most of my students seriously trying to convince me #CincoDeMayo is really Day of the Dead. #teacher

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) May 6, 2016

❄️🌨❄️🌨❄️ Welcome to spring in Montana! ❄️ It’s only been snowing for 24 hours! ❄️#lifeinMT #SnowInSpring #MaySnow 😕 pic.twitter.com/iUEGXRXvNU

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) May 10, 2016

When driving long distance, a book book AND an audiobook are necessary.📚
One for daylight & one for dark.
The struggle is real!#amreading

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) May 27, 2016

Three wide on a two lane highway? Forgive me, but something about that doesn’t sound right. #traveling

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) May 27, 2016

Books I Read in May

Tagged as Monthly Wrap-Up, School

Back to New York City and More Drama – City of Fallen Angels {Review}

Posted May 26, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #4
Publisher: McElderry Books (2011)
Hardcover (424 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass
Also in this series: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass
Reading Challenges: 2016 Backlist Books, Read 2016

Synopsis

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.
But nothing comes without a price.
Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.
The stakes are higher than ever in the #1 New York Times bestselling fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments series.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Find the author: Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram

Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016

April 2016 in Review

Posted April 30, 2016 in Life, Reading / 6 Comments

Things that Happened in April

My birthday on April 1st. I don’t exactly like my birthday, in fact, I have nine whole reasons I hate the day of my birthday! I shared them on Twitter.
9 Reasons I Hate the Day of My Birthday!

Reason #101 I Hate April Fools Day: No one believes me that it is, in fact, my birthday.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) March 31, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #102: No one takes me seriously ON MY OWN BIRTHDAY!

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #103: People expect to be able to act mean and rude without any consequences. This is not okay.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #104: It turns into a time for bullies to pick on EVERYONE. Again, this is NOT okay.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #105: I work in a school. Enough said.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #106: My birth was not some joke. I am not a joke. I am ME and it IS my BIRTHDAY!

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #107: Let me just have my birthday and stop turning everything into a joke.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #108: For once, I’d like to be able to go somewhere and do something on my birthday without it being a joke.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #109: I have NEVER had a birthday without at least a few derogatory comments about my birthday being April 1

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016
I GOT ACCEPTED TO GRADUATE SCHOOL!! It is for a Masters in Catechetics and Evangelization. I am SUPER excited about this. It is an online program that I will begin in August.

Favorites of the Month

My favorite book of the month was The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. I was basically in tears (meaning I would have been crying if I were one to cry about books) by the end of the novel. Such a fitting ending to an amazing series!
My favorite reread of the month was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling. I love this book so much!

My Favorite Tweets of April

Knowing how much I don’t exactly love my birthday, my mum got me some great flowers. ❤️ Sometimes moms are the best! pic.twitter.com/bHZBdEz5x9

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 2, 2016

380 miles round trip? Ain’t nothing like a day drive to the city when you live in Montana. 😄 And now I’m home. #lifeinMT

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 3, 2016

I GOT ACCEPTED TO GRAD SCHOOL!! 🎉😃🎉😃🎉

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 8, 2016

🎉 I’ve done it! I’ve caught up on reviews! 🎉 For the 1st time ever my Feedback Ratio on @NetGalley is 100%! #books #bookreview #netgalley 🏻🎉

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 15, 2016

Books I Read in April

Tagged as Monthly Wrap-Up

2015 in Review (& End of Year and Statistics Surveys)

Posted December 31, 2015 in Life, Reading / 10 Comments

Big Things That Happened in 2015

I mentioned the school talent show in which the teachers sang Yellow Submarine.
I worked at a Catholic summer camp for the summer and had a blast. I wrote about it and shared some pictures.
I survived over a week of blinding smoke due to forest fires. It was insane. I talked about that here.
I had my very first ever Blogversary which was exciting.

Analysis of Books I Read in 2015

This was the very first year that I ever kept track of the books that I read. My stats have amazed me.

I read 141 books.
Almost all of the books I read this year were 4 or 5 stars. I must be pretty good at choosing books I know I’ll enjoy.
Over two-thirds of the books I read this year were from the library or books I own.
Over half of the books I read this year were hard copied (Paperback or Hardcover) while over a quarter were ebooks. Audiobooks made up the rest.
About a quarter of the books I read this year were debuts.

I made some pretty nifty looking pie charts in Excel (you can just pretend they are totally awesome).

Tagged as Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge, Birthday Month Reading Challenge, Catholic Book, Color Coded Challenge, Fairytale Retelling Challenge, Finishing the Series Challenge, Mythology Reading Challenge, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Read 2015, Rereading Challenge, What's In a Name Reading Challenge, You Read How Many Books Challenge

September 2015 in Review

Posted September 29, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 6 Comments

Things that Happened in September

It is so strange that September is already over! This month has been so overwhelming!!
The first weeks of the school year have dragged and yet they have also gone by so quickly.
I was dragged to the city to try on dresses for my sister’s wedding next summer. I think we found one that everyone liked. That itself is an accomplishment. 🙂
This month has seemed to go by so fast when I wasn’t at the school. Just crazy fast.

I have decided to start reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer in Polish in hopes that it will help my Polish vocabulary. So far, it is very slow going.

I watched the Pope in Philadelphia on EWTN. I love Pope Francis so much. He is so inspiring and so full of joy. What a great representative of God’s love for all people, especially families, at the World Meeting of Families.