Sunday News #56

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
Feeling

I’m finally over my sinus infections. However, I’m feeling kind of meh. It’s probably because I’ve been isolating while I’ve been sick.

Blogging

Here’s what I posted on the blog for the past two weeks:

Reading

I read THE INVOCATIONS by Krystal Sutherland this week. I really enjoyed the dark, mysterious atmosphere. I’m nearly finished with THIS SPELLS LOVE by Kate Robb.

I finished listening to the CATCHING FIRE audiobook and also listened to the MOCKINGJAY audiobook. They got me through my dizziness and nausea.

I’m slowly making my way through THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO audiobook. I can only listen to an hour at a time because the narrator’s driving me insane. He’s British, which is great, but he’s reading the book with a very thick, nearly perfect French accent. Don’t get me wrong. I love French. I took it for five years in school. I’m just the type of person that if you’re going to read a translated work in English, then read it in English. If I wanted to read it in French, then I’d be reading the French edition.

Listening

I actually listened to one of my favorite movie soundtracks this week, ST. ELMO’S FIRE. I haven’t listened to it for a long time, but I started watching THE FLOOR, hosted by Rob Lowe, and seeing him made me want to listen to it. Here’s my favorite song from the soundtrack. It’s the instrumental version.

Watching

As I said above, I started watching THE FLOOR on Hulu. It’s a gameshow hosted by Rob Lowe. It has sucked me right in.

I also started watching PRETTY LITTLE LIARS on Max. I’m already in season 2. The show’s really addicting and I’m curious who A is and what’s going on. I’m also curious if the books are as good as or better than the tv show?

Corey and I are still watching THE TUDORS, but since I started PLL, we haven’t made much progress.

Loving

I love my kitties, Izzy and Luci. They kept me company as I recovered from my sinus infections, by cuddling up with me while I watched TV or sat in my recliner or bed listening to my audiobooks.

Wanting

I want to start working on my mood afghan again. I started it on my last birthday (April 19, 2023) and will go to April 18 of this year. I was really gung-ho about working on it in the beginning, but as SAD settled on me around November, I stopped working on it. I’ve been keeping track of my moods each day so I can still finish it. I’ve figured out that if I crochet 3 hexagons a day, then I should be caught up very soon and finish it on time.

Needing

I need to get out and be with my friends. As I said above, I can tell isolating has been taking its toll on me emotionally.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?

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Review: The Invocations

Review: The InvocationsTitle: The Invocations
Author: Krystal Sutherland
Genre(s): Horror, YA
Pages: 400
Source: Library
For: Recommended
Rating:
Sexual Content: 0.5 Flames

Add to Goodreads

There's content in this book that may be triggering to some readers. I've tried to include the possible triggers in this book at end of my review.
Goodreads Synopsis

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear--that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. Jude Wolf might be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul is now slowly turning necrotic. Enter Emer Bryne: the solution to both Zara's and Jude's predicaments. The daughter of a witch, Emer sells spells to women in desperate situations willing to sacrifice a part of their soul in exchange for a bit of power, a bit of magic to change their lives. As Zara and Jude enter Emer's orbit, they'll have to team up to stop the killer--before they each end up next on his list.

My Thoughts

I really enjoy reading horror, but I don’t read it very often because fantasy and romance have my heart. When I read Ellie’s ARC review of THE INVOCATIONS, I knew I had to read it right away. I immediately put it on hold at the library and waited for its release and my turn.

I finished reading THE INVOCATIONS last night and I’m so glad I decided to read it right away. I was not disappointed in the least. I loved the idea of witches and witch hunters, and the use of invocations to grant women borrowed power from demons for a small piece of their soul. The story was dark, tense, mysterious, and full of paranormal goodness. It reminded me of an episode of Netflix’s THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, which is what I think Krystal Sutherland was going for since she mentioned the show a couple of times in the story.

I did not come this far to only come this far.

I loved the three main characters in THE INVOCATIONS. Zara Jones is smart, determined, and grieving the loss of her sister. Jude Wolf is trying to find a way, any way, back into the good graces of her billionaire father’s heart, if he has one, and the life of luxury that represents. Emer Byrne is simply trying to exist without being tracked by those who want witches dead. Together they make an unstoppable team.

I really enjoyed THE INVOCATIONS. It gave me exactly what I was looking for. It ends in a way that doesn’t demand a sequel, but open enough if Sutherland wants to return to this world.

Have you read THE INVOCATIONS? If so, what did you think?

Trigger Warning

There is a trigger warning for loss of a parent, corpse mutilation, and blood drinking.

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The Series Series: Part 3

Last week I posted Part 2 of The Series Series, discussing series I haven’t finished and whether or not I’ll continue reading them. Two weeks ago I posted Part 1 of The Series Series, discussing series I’ve read from start to finish and whether I’d recommend them to other readers. It was a lot of fun taking a deeper look at the series I’ve read, finished, and unfinished.

I have a very large TBR–1500+ books. This TBR mostly only counts the first book of a series because I believe a series has to make me want to continue reading it. Because my TBR is so large, I feel like I need to be selective of the books I read. It makes starting a new series hard, especially when I have so many that I haven’t even finished yet. Despite my huge TBR, or maybe I should say because of my TBR, there are so many series I still want to read.

Part 3: Top Ten Series I Want to Read

Let’s get started with part 3 of The Series Series. Today I’ll be discussing my top ten series I want to read. (If I don’t set some kind of limit on this, my post will be unmanageable.)

The Dark Artifices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare

Number Books: 3

Why I Want to Read it: I’m a huge fan of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter universe.

The Last Hours Trilogy by Cassandra Clare

Number Books: 3

Why I Want to Read it: I’m a huge fan of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter universe.

The Chronicles of Castellane by Cassandra Clare

Number Books: At least 2 are planned, probably more. Only SWORD CATCHER is currently out.

Why I Want to Read it: I’m a huge fan of Cassandra Clare and I’m excited to see what other stories she has in mind.

Dragon Star Trilogy by Melanie Rawn

Number Books: 3

Why I Want to Read it: I love the Dragon Prince trilogy and this is a companion trilogy. It continues the story with the main characters’ (from the first trilogy) son, Pol.

Dust Trilogy by Philip Pullman

Number Books: 3 (only 2 are out)

Why I Want to Read it: I love His Dark Materials trilogy and this is a companion trilogy. It delves deeper into the phenomenon of Dust and how it influences Lyra’s and Will’s worlds.

Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson

Number Books: 7

Why I Want to Read it: If I didn’t put this on my list, I think my friend and her kids would disown me, lol. They’ve been trying to get me to read this series for years. It’s not that I don’t want to. Other books just keep getting in the way.

Mary Trilogy by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Number Books: 3

Why I Want to Read it: I loved MY LADY JANE and I expect I’ll love the other two as well which will make me want to read this trilogy too.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J Maas

Number Books: 4 (possibly more)

Why I Want to Read it: I mean who doesn’t want to read this series if they haven’t already.

Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard

Number Books: 4

Why I Want to Read it: I’ve heard so much good about this series and it seems right up my alley.

Seven Realms Series by Cinda Williams Chima

Number Books: 4

Why I Want to Read it: I’ve heard so much good about this series and it seems right up my alley.

Conclusions

I thought this would be a lot harder to narrow down. It really wasn’t because of the tie-ins with the other series I’ve read and because I own most of these books already, lol.

Well, that’s it for The Series Series. I hope you’ve had as much fun reading my posts as I did putting them together. Maybe, I’ll check in next year to see if I’ve made any progress on the series I’ve already started and not finished. We’ll see.

What about you? Have you read any of these series? Which one do you think I should move to the top of my TBR? Are you surprised by any of my choices? Would you recommend any other series I should put on my TBR? What are some series you haven’t started yet but you want to read?

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Book vs. Movie: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Book vs. Movie is a feature here at JenniElyse. I do a side-by-side comparison of the book and adaptation. Afterward, I reveal which I like better.

As I said in my review of THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES, I actually saw the movie before I read the book. I loved it so much that I decided to listen to the audiobook as soon as I was done with the one I was listening to at the time. And, so this is more of a Movie vs. Book post.

I saw THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES in the theater with Corey, my friend Kami, and her daughter. As I watched the movie, I had no idea what to expect other than it being set in Panem and in The Hunger Games universe. It made the movie more suspenseful and exciting in a way.

I thought that Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler were fantastic in their roles as Coriolanus and Lucy Gray Baird. I loved Peter Dinklage as Dean Highbottom, Viola Davis as Dr. Gaul, Hunter Schafer as Tigris, and Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus. I also thought Jason Schwartzman was a fantastic Lucky Flickerman. He definitely gave me vibes that he could be Caesar Flickerman’s (aka Stanley Tucci) dad.

As soon as I finished reading THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES, I watched the movie a second time. During this second watch, I noticed all the little details that were left out of the movie. While I do think the details add to the story, I think the director, actors, and screenplay writer did a great job of including what was most important to the movie. I also think seeing it on screen, hearing / seeing the actors’ emotions within each of their roles added to the story and experience a lot.

Verdict

I bet you know the verdict before I even say it. The movie may not have everything and be a little different from the book, but the spirit of the story’s still the same. Most of the time books are way better than their movies, but in this instance, I think both the book and movie are equally as good.

Have you read THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES? Have you seen the movie? Do you like the book or the movie better?

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Sunday News #55

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
Feeling

I’m still feeling a little bit dizzy and now nauseated because of the compounded antibiotic I’m on for my mega sinus infection. I can tell it’s working because I’m not as congested as I have been, so that’s something to be grateful for.

Blogging

Here’s what I posted on the blog this week:

Reading

I haven’t made any progress on THIS SPELLS LOVE by Kate Robb this week. I can’t read when I’m nauseated and dizzy.

I did finish listening to THE HUNGER GAMES audiobook and I’ve started the CATCHING FIRE audiobook. It’s been nice to relax and listen to both of these while I’ve been sick.

I haven’t made any progress on THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas. Before I started feeling super dizzy and nauseated, I tried to read it but it started to put me to sleep. (Please don’t hate me.) I decided to check out the audiobook and I like it a lot better so I’ve switched over to it. It’s also the unabridged audio to boot. I probably won’t finish by the end of February since it’s 52 hours long. I’ll keep at it, though.

Listening

I haven’t really listened to any music this week. But I did watch the new WEST SIDE STORY on Disney+ this week. Here’s one of my favorite songs from both movies. Which one do you like better? Personally, I like the new one better. Sacrilege, I know.

Watching

Corey and I are still watching THE TUDORS. We’ve only watched a couple of episodes in season 2 so we haven’t made much progress this week.

We watched THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES again because I wanted to see it after reading the book. And, since I finished listening to THE HUNGER GAMES audio, we also watched the movie. I love watching the movies right after rereading the books.

We also checked out the new Mark Wahlberg movie on Apple TV+. It’s called THE FAMILY PLAN. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it a lot. In one scene Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan rap along to “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice and it was pretty cool to see Wahlberg rap again. I was sad they didn’t play any of his music back from the day, lol.

Loving

I think there’s never a time I love my husband more than when I’m sick. Corey’s always so good about taking care of me. He makes me food, gets me drinks, goes to the store to pick up my prescriptions, etc. He’s a good guy.

Wanting

I want to see ARGYLE in the theater. Hopefully, Corey and I don’t miss it because I’m sick.

Needing

I need to be more careful when I warm up the water for my sinus rinses. Friday night I accidentally heated the water too much and didn’t realize it until I shot it up my nostril. It was one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced in my life. I felt like the left side of my face was on fire and the nerves in my top teeth were screaming at me. Fortunately, I didn’t burn myself too badly as the pain went away about 10 minutes later.

P.S. I may not respond to comments today. It may not be until a little later in the week since I’m not feeling well. Thanks for your understanding.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?

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