The OWLS are complete! I am both very happy and very bummed out. I truly had a wonderful time reading for this readathon, G did a wonderful job creating it. I am happy because I am very happy with the OWLs that I have passed. In total I passed 7, which I did not expect to happen in the slightest because the last few months I have not been reading like I normally do. It seems like this readathon was the kick in the butt I needed.
-My Results-
OWLs Passed: 7
Required OWLs:
- Potions: Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
- Herbology: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
- Care of Magical Creatures: Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill
Bonus OWLs:
- Muggle Studies: Elevation by Stephen King
- Charms: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
- Transfiguration: The Things I Would Tell You edited by Sabrina Mahfouz
- Arithmancy: Classic Penguin
Final Score: Exceeded Expectations
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This being the third book in a series I adore, I was expecting to finally hit a point where the story was going a little blah. I finally found that point in the series. I am not saying that this is a bad book, I still enjoyed it quite a lot. I just found it very different from the others and not in a good way. I would rather explore a single world specifically not see a glimpse of a few without really seeing anything.
The timeline used was interesting and I was happy about what happened to a particular character. Thew writing like the others was very poetic and the story was fast paced as the others. I just kinda found myself not as invested because we were jumping around so much.
Like I said, still a good reads, but so far is a “low” point in the series.
Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover by Paul Buckley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a very lovely look at all of the editions penguins has come out with for the classics. Not only did I enjoy looking at all of the artwork, but I also really enjoyed hearing the backstory behind design elements and the creators thoughts in some cases.
I think my favorite section was a look behind Penguin Threads. I loved seeing what the other side of the cover was in the original needle point/embroidery.
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
While I did enjoy reading this book, I was very neutral about it. I am having a hard time pinpointing why I am so neutral about it. The plot was fun, I enjoyed the characters, and while it is large it is not slow paced.
Maybe it is just because I am not in a fantasy mood like I thought I was?
If you want to see my reviews in full, please see the post, Middle Mark | #OWLsReadathon2019 Update. On that post I detailed the books I read in the first half of the month.
- The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write by Sabrina Mahfouz, Rating: 4 stars
- Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by. Nikita Gill, Rating 5 stars
- The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, Rating 5 stars
- My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, Rating 4 stars
- Elevation by Stephen King, Rating 5 stars
- The Englishman who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects by John Tingey, Rating: 5 stars
Current TBR: 30 books
Current Backlist TBR: 11 books
Bookish Luna 
Glad to hear the O.W.Ls Readathon helped you get back into reading this month! Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy Beneath the Sugar Sky as much as you’d hoped, I was never able to get into that series, sadly, despite Seanan being one of my favourite authors. I love the look of that Classic Penguin book – I need to pick that one up! 🙂
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I found that with her work you like that series or her other works I have not seen much overlapping. Classic Penguin was such a lovely book to flip through.
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Yess for completing your OWLs!
My favourite read of this month was definitely Do you dream of Terra Two? It was amazing!
I’m currently also reading My sister, the serial killer, It is quite interesting so far ahah
(www.evelynreads.com)
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I feel like this month flew by! I will have to look up that book, I have not heard of it.
My Sister, the Serial Killer is very out there for sure, but it was a quick and enjoyable read for me.
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