NEWTs Magical Readathon 2020 TBR

This is the second part of the amazing magical readathon created by Book Roast on Youtube. 

The first part of the readathon happened in April this year and the idea is that you can take any of the subjects in the NEWTs readathon that you completed in the OWLs readathon. Once again Gi has gone all out and not only created reading prompts for each subject but has also created wizarding careers to choose from. If you want more information then I'll leave her explanation video here so you can check those out as she explains it far better than I could! You can also find all the reading prompts and career paths in that video too. I will just note that this year will be the last NEWTs readathon due to J.K. Rowling and her anti-trans opinions. Next year Gi will be creating a new readathon to replace it!

The NEWTs readathon starts on August 1st and lasts the whole month (until August 31st) and during this time everyone will be taking their 'NEWT Examinations'. In my OWLs I managed to pass every subject which means I could take any of the subjects I want and attempt to complete them all. However, there are 33 prompts so I'm definitely going to narrow it down to a more do-able TBR! I've decided to choose Magizooligist career path and also Animagus Training which means I will need:

E - Arithmancy

O - Care of Magical Creatures

E - Charms

E - Herbology

E - Potions

O - Transfiguration

This means I will need to read 14 books in the month of August, which feels very do-able as I've been reading around 20 books a month lately. If I surpass the above then I'll also try to fit in other subjects as well but we'll see how it goes! (Also, note that you have to complete the prompts in order so you can get the NEWT, e.g. you have to complete the Acceptable, then Exceeds Expectations, and finally Outstanding).

So, without further ado, here are the prompts and my TBR for the NEWTs Magical Readathon.

Arithmancy

A: Precision is Key - Read a non-fiction

The Story of English by Joseph Piercy

E: A Book that ends on an uneven page number

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Care of Magical Creatures

A: Salamander - A book with fire on the cover or in the title

Finder's Keepers by Stephen King

E: Flobberworm - Lazy is fine! Read something short

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

O: Hagrid's Hut - Start a book with a snack

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Charms

A: Cheering Charm - Read a humorous book

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

E: Glacius Freezing Charm - Read a book set in winter

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

Herbology

A: Puffapods - A book with flowers on the cover

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

E: Nettle Plant - A book that might be impactful

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Potions

A: Flying Seahorse Ingredient - A book with the word "sky" in the title or on the cover

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

E: Doxycide - Author name that starts with the letter D (first or last name)

The Governess Game by Tessa Dare

Transfiguration

A: Lapifors Spell - Animal on the cover or in the title

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

E: Draconifors Spell - A book with dragons or fire in the title or on the cover

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

O: Duro (hardening spell) - Read a hardcover or a book you thought would be hard to read

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

As you can see, part of my TBR is to re-read the Twilight Saga so I can read the newest book, Midnight Sun. I last re-read them about 5-6 years ago and I know they don't hold up. They do hold some nostalgia for 13-year-old me though so I'm definitely interested in seeing how I feel when reading them again now.

So, that is my NEWTs TBR! If I read all of these, I will attempt to complete more NEWTs prompts so I pass more exams. Let me know if you've made a TBR for the final NEWTs, and what career you're hoping to complete!

Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Books to Read on My TBR

This week's Top Five Wednesday is the top five 'books on your TBR'. These are the books you’ve been meaning to read this year but just didn’t get to in the first half of 2020. This is a slightly belated post but I love discussing the books I want to get around to reading. I've picked a couple of backlist books from my TBR and also some newer purchases. Here are my top five!

1. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I've owned this book for a few years now and I just know I'm going to enjoy it so it's about time I got around to reading it. Especially since the entire trilogy is now out and I own all of them. This book is set in a world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. The book follows Citra and Rowan who are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. Very excited to read this twist on a utopian novel.

2. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

This is a recent purchase for me and I know it's being hyped all over booktube right now. Contemporaries aren't something I read too often but I do enjoy the occasional feel-good contemporary, so I'm looking forward to this one. Leah Johnson is also an own-voices black author and I'm so excited to read more black voices in books, because they are so underrepresented in publishing! This book follows Liz Lighty who is in high school and wants to go to college to study medicine. Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough money for tuition so she enters the Prom Queen competition in order to win the money to go to college. Another positive is that this book also has a sapphic romance!

3. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

This is a series that I've been desperate to read since I first heard about it. I now have the majority of the series and I adore a long high fantasy series so I'm excited to start it. I'm aware this has been on a few TBR's now so this year I'm determined to get to it! In this book, Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart. The magic system in this book sounds incredibly unique so I'm looking forward to picking it up.

4. The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

I would like to get to this entire trilogy this year realistically, although I've heard very mixed things about this first book. This is a YA fantasy that includes dragons and, in all honesty, that's all I needed to hear to sell me on this book. I adore dragon fantasies but finding one that's done well for me has been so difficult, so I'm hoping to enjoy this one. Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up hearing in hushed whispers of the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

5. Different Seasons by Stephen King

And finally, we have Different Seasons by Stephen King. If you've been following my blog for a few years then you'll know that Stephen King is one of my favourite authors and I try to read at least one or two King books a year, as I'm slowly making my way through his backlist. My then-boyfriend/now-husband bought me this book about 7 years ago and I haven't got around to reading it yet so I want to change that! This book is actually 4 short stories: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body, and The Breathing Method. Since two of these have film adaptations that I love, I need to get this book so I can finally read the original text. Stephen King is fantastic at creating characters and small-town situations so I'm looking forward to diving back into his writing.

So, those are my top five books that I want to read before the end of 2020! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run by the Goodreads Group so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. The people in the Group create weekly topics each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag 2020

Welcome to another Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag! I've read 92 books so far this year, which I'm very happy about, but it does mean that it was tough to narrow down the choices for my answers. This tag as it's one of my favourite tags to see on Booktube/Book Blogs. So, without further ado, let's get on with it!

1. Best book you've read so far in 2020

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

I actually just finished this today and it immediately became my favourite book of the year so far. Usually, this spot is taken by a fantasy book so this is pretty unusual for me, but this book was just surpassed everything I expected. With the Fire on High follows Emoni, a senior in high school, who is also a mum to a 2-year-old girl. She is juggling school, being a mum, while also trying to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. This book was so pure and wholesome, but it also delved into so many deeper topics such as race, sexuality, absent parents, disability, slurs, shootings. Emoni was such a wonderful character and she honestly felt so real to me. I also adored her 'Buela and Malachi. If you want a diverse contemporary that will warm your heart then definitely pick this one up.

2. Best sequel you've read so far

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

The Stormlight Archive is fast becoming my favourite Brandon Sanderson series that I've read so far. As this is the second book in the series, I won't say much about it except that the world and characters in this book are fantastic. I especially love Kaladin and Shallan, and it was so good to see a lot of characters finally meet and start interacting with one another. Yet another Sanderson series I recommend, especially if you like high fantasy!

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

In all honesty, I don't know a whole lot about this book and I kind of want to keep it that way. I'm highly anticipating reading this book as I read N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy a couple of years ago and loved it. I'm so excited to see what this new book from her is like!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

This book sounds amazing: Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the colour of impurity and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. This fantasy sounds so unique and I believe it's a west-African-based fantasy, which I just haven't read enough of! I'm highly anticipating this book.

5. Biggest disappointment

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I've sadly had a few disappointing reads so far this year, but I think the most disappointing in terms of how much I was looking forward to them was Infinity Son and A Discovery of Witches. Infinity Son sounded like an incredible X-Men-type sci-fi and it was written by Adam Silvera, whose books I've enjoyed in the past. Unfortunately, this book was just so lacking in world-building for me and the characters fell so flat. A Discovery of Witches sadly felt like an adult Twilight and the characters were so bland. The main love interest was horrendously possessive and, honestly, not much happened in a book that was nearly 700 pages long. Overall, I found both of these books a bit of a chore to read and I'd expected to give both of them 5 stars.

6. Biggest surprise

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

This is an Adult Contemporary novel about Lydia Bird whose fiance is killed in a car accident. The book then follows Lydia dealing with grief, but when she falls asleep her life continues as though her fiance had never died. I honestly didn't expect too much from this book and I was so pleasantly surprised by it! This book deals so so well with grief and loss, as well as friendships and sibling friendships. I will say that I didn't particularly love the ending, but overall this was such a compelling contemporary that I do recommend.

7. Favourite new author (Debut or new to you)

Nic Stone and Holly Jackson

I've read so many new-to-me authors that this was difficult to choose, so I've narrowed it down to two. One is Nic Stone who wrote Dear Martin, a fantastic contemporary that deals with racism in America, as well as being beautifully written. Another author is Holly Jackson who wrote both books in the series that starts with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Her thrillers are fantastic and the plot twists were so unexpected that I just couldn't put the books down. 

8. Newest fictional crush

Meh, I don't usually get these and I don't have any love interests in mind from any of the books I've read.

9. Newest favourite character

All the characters from House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas, but especially Bryce and Danika.

10. A book that made you cry

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Of course, I had to mention this book on this list. I really enjoy Sarah J. Maas's other books so I was highly anticipating this book this year and I wasn't disappointed. Despite this book being a little bit too long, everything in it contained was amazing. Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths. This urban fantasy was incredible. The characters were so fleshed out and the world was absolutely fascinating and unique. Honestly though, the best thing about this book was the last 300 pages. I pretty much read that final part of the book in one sitting because I could not put it down. If you like adult urban fantasies then pick this one up!

11. A book that made you happy

Nyxia: Uprising by Scott Reintgen

I read the first book in the Nyxia Triad series a few years ago now when it first came out and it was easily one of my favourite books from that year. This year I finally continued on with the trilogy and Scott Reintgen did not disappoint. This is a YA sci-fi series that follows Emmett who is recruited by a corporation to enter a competition to be the chosen humans who will go down to a newly discovered planet, called Eden. This is a fast-paced, unputdownable thriller sci-fi that constantly surprises the reader. The characters are all diverse and very realistic. This is the third book in the trilogy and it was probably one of the best finales I've read. If you like sci-fi mixed with a Hunger Games-like contest, then I recommend this book.

12. Favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year

I haven't seen any yet.

13. Favourite review you've written this year

I don't have any favourites for this year!

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)

Complete Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson and Run Rebel by Manjeet Mann

Both of these books are just stunning 😍

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

SO MANY BOOKS. I have a very large TBR Pile. To name a few I definitely want to get to soon though, I'll limit it to the top five I want to read this year:

1. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

2. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

3. The Passage by Justin Cronin

4. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

5. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

So many books! Let me know if you've done this tag and if you've read any of these books! :) 

OWLs Magical Readathon 2020 Wrap-Up

So, the OWL's Magical Readathon is officially over now and I'm extremely happy to say that I passed all of the OWL exams and completed all the prompts to get 12 OWLs! Not only this but I actually managed to complete 22 books instead of the 12 needed. This means I can definitely do any career but I will be aiming for Magizoologist and Animagus Training in the NEWTs in August. I also passed the prompt for the Dragon Tamer course as well.

Anyway, as I said I completed all 12 prompts and received an OWL in every subject, although what I read did differ slightly from my original TBR (which can be found here). I found that some books fit different prompts better than others in the end, and some books didn't end up fitting any prompts at all. So, without further ado, here is my OWL Readathon Wrap-up!

Ancient Runes - Heart Rune: A Book with a Heart on the Cover or in the Title

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Star Rating: 5 stars

This stayed true to my original TBR so I re-read the graphic novel Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman. As I said, this was a re-read for me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it for a second time. This graphic novel series follows Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson in a UK Secondary School, and their experience with coming out.

Arithmancy - Balance/Opposites: Read Something Outside Your Favourite Genre

Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman

Star Rating: 5 stars

Again, this book stayed the same and I manged to read the second volume of Heartstopper!

Astronomy - Night Classes: Read the Majority of this Book when it's Dark Outside

Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman

Star Rating: 5 stars

And then I read the final Heartstopper volume that's out right now. Again, this stayed the same as my TBR and I managed to read it all in the evening. I loved all three of these graphic novels and I highly recommend reading them! They're all available online from the author too!

Care of Magical Creatures - Hippogriffs: Creature with a Beak on the Cover

Our Zoo by June Mottershead

Star Rating: 3 stars

For this prompt, I read Our Zoo by June Mottershead which is non-fiction book about the creation of Chester Zoo. This was really interesting and it's fascinating to see how zoos were run in the mid-1900s. My only issue with this book was the animal deaths and lack of animal care that happened by certain people in the book (not by Chester Zoo). If you're interested in the history of Chester Zoo then I'd definitely recommend giving it a read!

Charms - Lumos Maxima: White Cover

Ink by Amanda Sun

Star Rating: 2 stars

For this prompt, I read a book that I've had on my ereader for about 5 years. Unfortunately, this YA book really hasn't aged well. It follows a girl who moves from America to Japan and ends up meeting a mysterious guy. In all honesty, it felt like another Twilight romance but with the difference of it being set in Japan with Japanese mythology, rather than vampires. The characters felt bland and two-dimensional and the only character I liked wasn't really in the book that much. It also wasn't an own voices book (although I initially thought it was), which made me a little uncomfortable as I can't say how accurate any of the representation is. I think if you like paranormal romances with a broody love interest then you might like this.

Defence Against the Dark Arts - Grindylows: Book Set at Sea or at the Coast

The Iliad by Homer

Star Rating: 3 stars

For this subject, I was initially going to read both The Iliad and The Odyssey, but I only ended up reading The Iliad. This epic poem follows the Trojan War and some of the battles that occurred. To be honest, I think I would have enjoyed this more if I'd had a different translation. The translation I had was a bit strange and used the Roman names for the Gods, even though the characters were Greek? The story itself was interesting but I just didn't enjoy the translation of this.

Divination - Third Eye: Assign Numbers to your TBR and Let a Random Number Generator Pick Your Next Read

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Star Rating: 3 stars

This prompt stayed true to my TBR and it's also the first Sylvia Plath book I've ever read. Before this, I'd only read her poetry and found it okay. This book was really fascinating and explored some truly unlikeable characters. I will say that it wasn't too memorable for me but it was definitely worth the read.

Herbology - Mimbulus Mimbletonia: Title that Starts with an M

Marley & Me by John Grogan

Star Rating: 2 stars

For Herbology, I ended up reading Marley & Me by John Grogan. This book was on my TBR for about 10 years and I'd always looked forward to reading it. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I love animal stories, don't get me wrong, but this is also a part-biography of the people and it focused a lot on their lives. I also really really disliked the use of choke chains and certain training techniques (like kicking the dog when he tried to jump up?), and it just made me very uncomfortable. I know this book is beloved so it might just be me, but yeah, it just didn't sit well for me.

History of Magic - Witch Hunts: Book Featuring Witches or Wizards

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Star Rating: 2 stars

This is the first prompt I actually ended up changing fully. So, because I didn't read The Odyssey, I didn't want to read Circe yet. So, I changed this prompt to A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I've heard mixed things about this book and the TV Show that came out a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, this book wasn't really for me. I really liked the description of settings, but that's about it. It's mostly a paranormal romance, but I didn't really like many of the characters. The male love interest felt very toxic and to excuse that, it was just repeated that he was a vampire so that makes it okay? It was also very slow and nothing really happened. I loved the main characters Aunts and their house; that was probably my favourite part of the whole book. Sadly, I won't be continuing with the rest of this series.

Muggle Studies - Book from the Perspective of a Muggle (a Contemporary)

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews

Star Rating: 3 stars

For this prompt, I read a book I received in an Illumicrate box a couple of years ago. This book follows Beck, a young concert pianist, and what happens when he meets August, who turns his life upside-down. I really liked that this wasn't really a love story and that it's more a story of family and family interactions. I also liked that this wasn't a book that just wrapped up easily because it felt so much more realistic. I will say, the abuse in this book was horrible and difficult to read, so if you can't read about physical/mental abuse from parents, then I wouldn't read this book as it's quite dark. I ended up giving this 3 stars in the end and I'll probably end up unhauling it; it was fine but it wasn't anything spectacular for me, unfortunately.

Potions - Shrinking Solution: A Book Under 150 Pages

Shadow by Amanda Sun

Star Rating: 3 stars

This book is a prequel to Ink which I read for the Charms prompt. I actually enjoyed this prequel more than the actual book, but it still wasn't the best. I only really liked the chapters from Katie and found the chapters from Tomohiro a bit boring. I won't be reading anything else from this series.

Transfiguration - A Book that includes Shapeshifting

Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

Star Rating: 5 stars

Again, this stayed true to my original TBR and I read Crescent City/House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. This is her first adult fantasy series and was easily my most anticipated book of the year (for good reason). This book was definitely slower-paced than her previous books but it definitely paid off with the last 150 pages. Absolutely amazing and I highly recommend if you enjoy urban fantasies.

I also read Temeraire by Naomi Novik in order to complete the Dragon Tamer additional qualification!

Other books read this month that weren't used for the readathon:
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary - 4.5 stars
Death Note Volume 1 by Okba & Obata - 5 stars
Timeshock by Timothy Michael Lewis - 2 stars
Beach Read by Emily Henry - 5 stars
Death Note Volume 2 by Okba & Obata - 5 stars
Death Note Volume 3 by Okba & Obata - 4.5 stars
Scrublands by Chris Hammer - 3.5 stars 
The Bromance Bookclub by Lyssa Kay Adams - 4 stars

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen - 5 stars


So, those were the books I read for this readathon and all of the OWLs I passed! Let me know if you took part and feel free to share your blogs/videos with me! As I said in my TBR post, this amazing readathon was created by Book Roast on Youtube. The readathon took place between April 1st and April 30th and will happen again next year! Keep an eye out for August when the NEWT Readathon will start!