Hi there! Long time no see! *nervous gulp*
Well, y’all are gonna thank me for my (unannounced) hiatus in the long run. Because it gave me time to think.*
And … I decided that I needed to take Reveries Reviews in a new direction. (Sort of.) From now on, I’ll be doing monthly reading wrap-up posts (like this one). And every year I’ll do a yearly reading wrap-up post (like this one) as well.
I’m always going to try to post twice a week regularly and balance my reviews with posts of other sorts. Though *coughs* you’ve heard that before.
*not that I’m not always thinking … just that this time I thought even more than usual. #superthinker
Well. Let’s jump into the post!

2017 Reading Round-Up

In the year 2017, I read 181 books!
Now, I originally started out wanting to read 200, but I fell behind in the fall and lowered my goal to 180 … so I did technically accomplish my goals! Kinda! Even though they changed halfway through the year to make up for my failings.

Notable Reads …

Classics: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (5/5 stars), A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (3/5 stars), Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (5/5 stars), Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (4/5 stars), and North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (DNF 35%).
Semi-Classics: When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke (5/5 stars), Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (3/5 stars), The 39 Steps by John Buchan (3/5 stars), A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers (3/5 stars), Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (5/5 stars), The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (2/5 stars) … and other books about the Civil War, but I won’t go into them.
Published in 2017: A Question of Honor and A Question of Courage by Jesseca Wheaton, To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander, Disowned by Sarah Addison-Fox, An Inconvenient Beauty by Kristi Ann Hunter, Dandelion Dust by Faith L. Potts, Hannah’s Moon by John A. Heldt, When Tides Turn by Sarah Sundin, and others which I’m not willing to list.
Favorites: I actually put together a vlog this year detailing my top eight books of 2018 as well as eight honorable mentions (so sixteen total)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRYz7-5zXE0

Disappointing: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Davenport House by Marie Silk (DNF), To the Farthest Shores by Elizabeth Camden (2/5 stars), North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, and A Lady Unrivaled by Roseanna M. White (4/5 stars).
Next year, having prepared for this moment, I will probably do a better job. But, for now, that’s as good as it gets. 😉

2018 Reading Goals

• Read 99 books.

  • At least, that’s what it says on my Goodreads reading challenge.
  • In reality, I just want to read less books than I normally do.
  • #qualityoverquantity

• Read at least five (really big) classics.

  • I’m talking Dickens, Austen, and Bronte!
  • Except I’m tired of Dickens and I’ve read everything by Austen.
  • BRONTE, HERE I COME.

• And lots of really good books.

  • But not any depressing teenage books.
  • You know, those ones that were wrote for people to think.
  • But are just depressing.

• Enjoy reading!

  • After I finish off the ARCs I have, I’m going to try to read more for fun and less because “I promised I would do this three months ago whoops.”

Books I’m Looking Forward To

• The next Sarah Sundin book.
• The next Carrie Turansky book.
• The next Jesseca Wheaton book.
• The next Kristi Ann Hunter book.
• *honestly can’t remember any others at the moment*

You’re right; I don’t really want to read the books. I just want to read anything by these authors. 😛 Same difference …

December Reading Round-Up

I didn’t read a lot this December between Christmas and a reading slump, but here’s what I did read.

And … yes. Two of those are my own. A lot of books were really disappointing this month. I did enjoy Disowned by Sarah Addison-Fox and Kate Willis’s short story Red Boots. However, I was disappointed by To Wager Her Heart, A Lady Unrivaled, and Cries of Grace.
Reuben’s Choice was pretty good and Rebecca made it to my 2017 Best Books list despite the fact that I still have no idea what to rate it. 😛 I didn’t finish Escape from Colditz, but through no fault of the books. It was really good; just not my thing.\
Favorite Book of the Month: Disowned by Sarah Addison-Fox
The Runner-Up: Red Boots by Kate Willis
Least Favorite Book of the Month: Cries of Grace by Angela Beach Silverthorne
The Runner-Up: To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander

Thanks for reading,

~Kellyn Roth~

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p.s.

What books did you enjoy in 2017? Which were you disappointed by? What are your reading goals for 2018? What novels are you looking forward to reading?