Dark Academia September Wrap Up

 

Welcome To my Dark Academia September Wrap Up!!

I spent the month of September getting lost in stories unfolding in rooms like the one above. I ventured to locations I may never see in real life. I met characters I liked, loved and down right wasn't sorry to see go. I read as mysteries were finally solved or unfolded with every page I turned. I tackled my reading list and let the collegiate world take all over the place. So, how did I do? Did I get every book on my list read? Did I like them? Let's see.....

 This gem is the only book I didn't get to. I was really looking forward to it, but I never cracked it open. If I'm honest, this book is a little intimidating for me. I've heard lots of thoughts and opinions on it. I don't think I've heard anyone dislike it, but numerous people did say the Shakespeare chunks were hard to understand. 

I do plan to read this sucker, just not when I'm on a time crunch. That way, if I need to take longer I can.

I went into this book under the impression that everything happened in the library- murder and fall out. It doesn't. And while I was curious how the writer would pull that off, I'm not sorry to be wrong. I liked this one. Not all the characters were who they appeared to be and I enjoyed their unfolding. The plot was captivating. Once I was hoked, I was hooked. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next and what character secret would be unfolded within the pages. 

This was another one I really enjoyed. College friends meet back up at the Homecoming (reunion). It doesn't take long to discover one of the group was murder in college, but no one ever figured out who did it. This was another plot that kept me coming back for me. Once again, characters had back stories that pulled me in. Very few of them were as squeaky clean as you go in thinking. You learn about the skeletons in each one's closet and how it connects to the murder. I loved reading it all and seeing if my guesses were correct. Hint: a few were, but mostly not. I can see why this book has gotten rave reviews. It was worth the hype, in my opinion.

This was the last book I read from my list. Another highly buzzed about book. I loved the different take on solving a cold case: a senior student tackles the case for her senior project. Originally setting out to prove her hypothesis: the person charged for the murder wasn't the guilty one, turned into solving the case. There were parts of the story I loved and one part I didn't. It was interesting to see this senior dig into what the police missed. I liked the discoveries she made and how they played a part in her project. One of my favorite things was that the victim wasn't a good girl, but a girl with heavy issues and problems. As the uncovered info is discovered, you really try to figure out who did it. There were numerous twists throughout the story that kept me coming back. 

I don't see me reading the other 2 books in this series, but I enjoyed this one.

Another highly popular book on my list. Another one worth all the hype. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was hooked and gone. I was blown away with how the story unfolded and things played out. I was blown away by who the murderer ended up being. This was a well crafted thriller that had so many different aspects to it. The author threw me for a loop because not all of them pertained to the murders, but you didn't find that out until the end. Well worth the hype and acclaim this book has received. 

This is the second time I tried to read this book and it's the second time I DNF'd it. The plot was moving too slowly for me. I think I threw in the towel around the same place last time, too. The story sounded interesting and I wanted to get lost in the story, but it never was able to pull me in. Maybe I gave in too soon both times, but I just stopped caring to find out what would happen. I'm disappointed, but I tried. I may try to read a different book by Ruth Ware at some point, but I'm not in any rush. I'm glad there are readers who loved this book and I'm bummed I wasn't one of them.

Overall, I'm pleased with my results. I got most of my list read. I enjoyed most of them. It was fun. It was a blast to read out of my normal genres and see what I thought. I can see myself reading more thrillers in the future. I just have to start making a pile of books for next year.