Reviewing GoodReads Choice Awards Winners

 

Remember that time that I decided that my book challenge for 2017 was to read and review all finalists in a Goodreads category and see if I agreed with the line-up and winner?  If you forgot, you can catch up here!

I chose the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award Category of YA Sci-fi/Fantasy.  And I did it.
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Man oh man was that a bigger undertaking that I imagined.  In order to review the finalists, I had to read all prior books in series so that I knew what was going on.  49 BOOKS!! In one category. Whew!!  But I want to let you guys know how it turned out.

My original theory was that the popular books were those books with bigger budgets, which leads to bigger marketing campaigns.  Bigger marketing campaigns lead to more readers reading those books.  With more readers, some books were more likely to win a popularity contest whether or not it was actually a good/better read. 

Here are my thoughts in a nutshell:
1.  I'm never doing this again.
2.  YA fantasy/sci-fi has gotten even darker.
3.  YA books have TONS of great writers as authors.  So much has changed since the Twilight Saga.
4.  Some of these books are separated by the smallest of margins.
5.  I'm not telling my favorite.  YET.

I'm going to do a coundown putting the books in the order that I think they should be.  And I will finish with my favorite. Stay tuned!

The finished voting order by Goodreads readers is below (and my order is definitely not the same):

Mini-Reviews: The Twilight of Avalon, Requiem, and The Things We Cherished (DISAPPOINTMENTS)

Here are a few reads I've been reluctant to share.  Each have disappointed me one way or the other so I decided to just group them.




Source: e-book shelf

The Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott
Series: Twilight of Avalon #1
Genre: Fantasy, Medieval, Historical Fiction
Pages:  448 (ebook)
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

In Twilight of Avalon, Anna Elliott returns to the roots of the legend of Trystan and Isolde to shape a very different story -- one based in the earliest written versions of the Arthurian tales -- a captivating epic brimming with historic authenticity, sweeping romance, and the powerful magic of legend. Source

Review:  While grieving the death of her husband, King Constatine, Queen Isolde must also watch her back as she is sure Constatine was murdered.  A power struggle as erupted as many want both Constantine's thrown and Queen Isolde as a wife.  In the mean time, a different betrayal is brewing and the Queen must work to unveil the truth to save the lives of many.

This read was just okay for me.  It was longer than I wanted and I didn't get all the way into it.  I love historical fiction but I've always struggled with this time period.  The back-stabbing and mystery was interesting.  I expected this to be similar to Game of Thrones (which I've only seen and not read) so maybe that's why this one didn't meet expectations.  Here the drama was depressing and not exciting.  I wasn't rushing to get to the end and a few parts dragged.  This is one where the end doesn't matter as much as the path to get there.  If you like fantasy, you might like this one.

Review: The First Phone Call From Heaven

Source: TLC Book Tours

 The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom
Genre: Christian Fiction, Inspiration, Adult Fiction
Pages: 323 (ARC)
Author's Website | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief--and a page-turner that will touch your soul--Albom's masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.

My Rating:

My Review:

Review: A Shade of Vampire

Source: Review Copy from Author in exchange for an honest review

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forest
Series: A Shade of Vampire #1
Genre: Vampires, YA, Paranormal
Pages: 149 (ebook)
Author's Website | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake. A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood. She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine. An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains. Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince. Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night. Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

My Rating:

My Review: