50 Book Challenge - Progress Check

Hi everyone! I've been so disappointed in the weather lately. Just when I thought spring was on the horizon, the temperature plummeted and it started snowing again. I blame it on the stupid groundhog. Who gave it the right to declare six more weeks of winter? We should really reconsider the authority of groundhogs in meteorology.

As I've mentioned in my blog before, my overzealous resolution for this year is to read fifty books! I've made some substantial progress (10 books completed!) and I'm excited to share some of my hot takes on recent reads (spoiler free!). I'm also fully open to recommendations, so feel free to comment some of your favorite books and I'll totally check them out!

The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

★★★★★

The first 5 star read of this year and the only one so far. This book is for the yappers! I loved how many complex themes it tackled, primarily the value society puts in beauty and how that shapes how we view happiness and life. The corruption of Dorian Gray's mind was so compelling throughout the story, and I genuinely had no idea where the plot was going. I'm also currently taking an ethics class, so reading this alongside learning about different frameworks was kind of mind-boggling.

It definitely took me a while to read (more than a week) since I also annotated my copy. It's totally worth your time, though! Whatever you do, do not watch the 2009 movie. I beg you. No matter how much you may like Ben Barnes, it is not worth it. It's so terribly off that they should genuinely add a rage bait warning label in the opening credits. They added a new character, Lord Henry's daughter, and completely ruined the ending and (in my humble opinion) the meaning of the work overall. Again, please do not watch the movie.

The Naturals Series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

★★☆☆☆

I have so much to say about this series that I honestly don't know where to start. I genuinely can't believe I read all four books. To preface, I read Barnes' other series, The Inheritance Games, when I was in high school and thought it was decent. But this was an entirely different beast. I think something about her writing style is just very unsatisfying to me, since it feels like she's over-explaining her characters instead of writing them. It's hard to explain, but the entire series felt like I was being told facts instead of being shown emotion and tangible character development. This could be because it's written in the lens of Cassie, who's a 'natural profiler' and breaks people down based on their behavior and personality, but I think that the depersonalization ruined all of this series' potential.

I will say that the mystery aspect is pretty good, and it's definitely what kept me reading. The first book, The Naturals, is strong overall plot-wise and the last book, Bad Blood, literally broke my brain. I was easily able to guess the killers in the second and third book, so they didn't do much for me. If you're a fan of true crime or Criminal Minds, you might really enjoy this series. For me, great characters are the foundation of any good book, and all of the storyline potential was lost for me because of the lack of depth.

The Legend Series by Marie Lu

★★★★☆

This was a re-read, but I genuinely forgot the entire plot so it was like reading it for the first time again. Middle school me knew ball. This series was so nostalgic and such a devastating read, I was genuinely holding back tears on the bus. The characters, Day and June, are so emotionally complex and show so much growth throughout all three books. The dystopian society is also really well thought out and none of the books felt like "filler" because each of them was jam-packed with action. I'll probably read these all over again in a year or so, if I'm being honest.

I'm usually not a fan of alternating POVs, but Marie Lu is an artist and does it in a way that adds so many layers to the characters and plot overall. I'm really looking forward to reading more of her work, like Wildcard, which I've owned for at least four years and never read (I really need to stop buying more books).

Side note: While I was looking for images of the book covers to add to the blog, I found out there's graphic novels for the entire Legend trilogy. I will most definitely be adding to cart and reading them expeditiously. Fourteen year old me is beyond thrilled.

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