Hi everyone, welcome or welcome back to my blog! At the start of the month, I decided to do something a bit different that I never usually do since I’m a mood reader, I let a tbr jar decide what I read! This was originally meant to be a week-long challenge but I ended the week in a reading slump so you’re just seeing the first 4 days lol. I really enjoyed this experiment and I got some VERY mixed results!
Also, on my notes that I put in the jar, I also put quick explanations of what I already knew about each book along with the length of the audiobook, which is what you’re seeing next to the book covers whenever I talk about the books in this post! Some I definitely knew more about than others! 😂
here’s what i read ↓
DAY ONE [AUG 1ST]
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon – ⭐⭐⭐
Last month I read Rachel Lynn Solomon’s new adult 2022 release See You Yesterday which I absolutely loved, so I was really hoping that I’d pick this up sometime this week. I wasn’t expecting it to be the first book I picked out but, I couldn’t be more excited to read this one!
Okay, so disappointingly this wasn’t a favourite and it also wasn’t very memorable. I found the scavenger hunt really interesting but, that was pretty much the only thing I liked about it, other than RLS’s writing which I always enjoy. I just never grew attached to the characters, unfortunately. But, I do think this would make such a fun movie, so if Netflix hasn’t already snagged the movie rights they should absolutely get on that because I can see this being a total hit on a streaming service!
tropes: enemies to lovers, scavenger hunt
Wolfsong by T. J. Klune – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan Austalia for sending me a review copy!
The next book I picked out of the jar was Wolfsong, a book I’ve been seeing everywhere on fanart Instagram lately! I read The House in the Cerulean Sea a few years ago and fell in love with it, so I’m excited to finally read more of T J Klune’s books!
I managed to get 8 hours into the audiobook, which is just roughly under 50% of the way throughout the book. I’ll be honest, I actually think this was the perfect place to stop reading (chapter 20) because it felt like the book could have stopped there, and now I’m reading part two of the story. I’m really intrigued to see where the story goes, especially since I know so little about pack dynamics so I feel like I’m starting from scratch in that regard. I’m really enjoying this one so far and I’m so intrigued to see what happens next!
DAY TWO [AUG 2ND]
“You smell like candy canes and pinecones and epic and awesome.”
I am blown away right now. It’s 10:30 at night and I just binge-read the rest of this book in like, 3 hours because I absolutely could not put it down. I love T J Klune’s writing and I adore every single member of the pack and I honestly did not see any of this coming. I mean, I knew I already liked the writing but, I just love Joe and Ox’s relationship so darn much and I loved how they played off of the other characters so much. Do not be surprised if you see me reading the rest of the series asap! I really think Ox Matheson might be one of my favourite book characters of all time. If you’re looking for a really addicting and easy read that feels like The Raven Boys and The Wicker King read this, and no I cannot actually explain those recommendations, I just really think they’re the same vibes.
Also, I just wanted to make a note here about the age gap. All I’d seen or heard about this romance was that it was an age gap (5-6 years, if I’m remembering correctly) and that Ox meets Joe when he’s 16 and Joe is literally a 10-year-old kid. But, Ox never so much as thinks about him in any other way than a platonic best friend way until Joe turns 17 and then it’s suddenly like bam, I think I like like him, but he doesn’t act on that until Joe turns 18, and then really nothing happens for a long time after that. So, you can rest assured that there is 100% no grooming in this book. I just wanted to quickly mention that because it was a concern I had going into this book and oh boy, am I relieved now!
tropes: small town, found family
DAY THREE [AUG 3RD]
A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone – ⭐⭐
I had my online lecture this morning so I got off to a much slower start than usual, reading-wise and life-wise and I’ve just realised I’m busy for the next three days but, I’m hoping I’ll still fit in another book or two just because I’m really loving how I’ve been picking up a bunch of books that I’ve had on my tbr for a while but haven’t made time for.
Okay, so it’s actually the next day when I’m typing this and I have 2 minutes before I need to leave the house to catch my bus but I’m going to quickly write up my thoughts on A Lesson in Thorns! I gave this one a two star rating when I’ll be honest, I really thought this was going to be a four or a five. This book was trying to do too many things all at once. It’s hard to have that many characters + romance + character development & well written/ flushed out characters + a good plot. So, the mystery aspect and the romance, along with getting to know all of the characters in under 400 pages just didn’t allow for a good story to be written. Everything felt a bit too silly, especially with the ritual which was clearly just a weird excuse for voyeurism. This book could have been amazing with the dark academia rainy day vibes, but unfortunately, it was a huge flop. I’ve also heard that the next book is trash and I know what the big plot twist is at the end of the series and let me just say, I am appalled and disgusted!
tropes: friends to lovers
DAY FOUR [AUG 4TH]
A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn – ⭐⭐
It’s a sad day for me right now. I love opposites attract and I’m an absolute sucker for the marriage of convenience trope but this book was genuinely awful. This is a perfect example of how the hate to love & marriage of convenience tropes can go wrong. And oh boy, usually I can find something about the main couple that I like, individually and together but Lottie was annoying and Huxley was an utter arse. Also, for two people who really don’t get along, they sure do have a lot of sexy times which made for a very embarrassing bus trip experience since I was listening to the audiobook. Lottie was mean and just honestly plain rude and SO UNPROFESSIONAL! And, another thing while I’m here, this book was so slow-paced! This takes place in just a few weeks/days (I honestly don’t know) and yet this is a 400-page book. Why? It was too long, too slow paced and too cringey. I think the author was going for a rom-com vibe with this one but, it absolutely didn’t hit, I don’t think I laughed once. I just know that if I hadn’t had to spend 3-4 hours on a bus today, I would never have finished this one.
tropes: marriage of convenience, opposites attract, grumpy x grumpy, billionaire romance, forced proximity
Overall thoughts:
I definitely read a whole bunch of books I had been putting off (*cough* Wolfsong) and found a new favourite that way. But, I also found so many total flops which is such a shame! I honestly think I had some bangers in my jar that I could’ve picked out, I just somehow managed to pick all of the worst books in a row! 😂🤦♀️ Even though this week was a bit of a disaster and ended with me in a mini reading slump (which I fixed with Matthew Reilly novels!), I absolutely think I’ll be doing this again in the future, so if you’d like to see more experiments like this from me, let me know!
If you’re enjoying the experiment and/or have any ideas for blog posts you’d like to see me do in the future, let me know! I currently have two planned that should go up sometime next month! I hope you enjoy the new direction I’m taking my blog, I’m having a blast doing these experiments!
& as always, if you want to keep up with what I’m reading while I’m reading it you can follow me on Goodreads or The Storygraph!
Do you use a tbr jar?
Have you read any of these books?
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Instagram & Bookstagram | Letterboxd | TV Time | Twitter | Tumblr | Libro.fm
allonsythornraxx 
I’m so sorry this experiment didn’t really work for you, but I am THRILLED you loved Wolfsong, bc I adored that book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really think that I somehow just managed to pick all of the bad books out in a row because I know I had some good books in there! I absolutely loved Wolfsong and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! Have you read all the books?
LikeLike