Reading Challenge - 50 to 55

One of the goals I had with this challenge was met: I managed to write proper reviews, instead of small ones, for the entire Challenge post! Hurray for me!


50 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games is a dystopian young adult novel, and, even if I'm slowly moving away from young adult literature, I love dystopias.

I know I will read the next two in the series, even if I'm expecting to be somewhat disappointed (from what I could gather from skimming the reviews for Mockingjay). With a more definite ending, The Hunger Games could easily be a standalone book – an a very good one at that.

(4/5)

[Full Review]



51 - The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma

I was expecting great things out of The Map of Time, after reading my friend's review of it. What I was not expecting was that it would be so good and marvellous – a strong candidate to The Best Book I Read This Year.

(5/5)

[Full Review]




52 - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
I'm of two minds concerning Catching Fire. On one hand, it felt like a disappointment, on the other it pressed all the right buttons to keep me reading until the wee hours of the morning.

(3.5/5)

[Full Review]



53 - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay is the last book on the Hunger Games series, a series which, in my opinion, had its peak on the first book.

Mockingjay was entertaining at first, but lost all of its appeal midway when the angst became too much – to the point that I lost all interest in it.

(2.5/5)

[Full Review]



54 - Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Graceling is a very good fantasy book, that seemed almost impossible to put down. And that smile that I had when I was reading stayed on my face long after I finished the last page. Truth be told, it comes back every time I think about this book. A fun read, and most importantly a great read.

(4.5/5)

[Full Review]


55 - Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire is the companion book of Graceling, a sort of prequel set in the same universe, but not on the same lands, with different characters and different elements. In short, if it weren't for one character in common and some references to the Graceling world, it could have been a totally different book.

I liked this book, but kept comparing it to Graceling, which is not really fair. The book stands well on its own, it is very enjoyable, with a good plot, good characters and good worldbuilding.

(4/5)

[Full Review]