— blog event, calendar girls —

Calendar Girls (#5 / May 2017): Best Sequel

May 1, 2017

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It’s time for another Calendar Girls post, and our theme for May is best sequel! This should get quite interesting. I was under the impression that I read a lot of series, but when I actually had to sit down and think about it, I had a very hard time thinking of any sequels, other than Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers…and I don’t love those two books enough to pick them for this theme. I don’t think that Chamber of Secrets is the best Harry Potter book, and The Two Towers definitely isn’t the best Tolkien either. So, I took to Goodreads and literally scrolled through all of my “read” books. There were a few which I kind of set aside, until I found the one! Continue reading to find out which book I picked!

(Also, if you’re confused about why this Calendar Girls post went up on the 1st Monday of the month, in stead of the 1st Wednesday, please check out the updates we have made to the reading event here!)

For those of you new to Calendar Girls, it’s a new blog event which I am co-hosting with my friend Melanie, and is inspired by Neil Sedaka’s 1961 song Calendar Girl. Just like in the song, we decided to use a specific theme for each month and choose a book based on these themes! The event is meant to incite discussions with other bloggers about books we’ve read and loved, is meant to help bloggers meet other bloggers, and also for bloggers and readers to find out about blogs which they normally may not have come across!

If this sounds like your cup of tea, please check out Melanie’s or my launch post for more info, and sign up if you are still interested after reading everything. Also, if you would like to see examples of past posts, you can look at Melanie and I’s January posts here and here, where the posts of other participants will also be listed. We’d love to have you join in the fun!

And now…without further ado, here is my choice for May’s theme…

– Best Sequel –

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

And for those of you who have been following me for a while, this should come as no surprise! I cannot believe that I didn’t think of this sequel off the top of my head! Bad Flavia. But anyway, I loved A Court of Thorns and Roses for its own story and style, and then loved the sequel for an entirely different story and style. If that makes sense. I won’t say any more, because there are MEGA spoilers even in the description for this book, so beware if you click the link I provided. Don’t spoil things for yourself. Trust me. But yes, the third book in this series is being released TOMORROW, and I CANNOT WAIT!

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Other Participants:

Melanie -> Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Matxi @ Matxi Books -> Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Deanna @ Deanna Writs About… -> Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty

Mandy @ Book Princess Reviews -> A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

Lauren @ Two Birds, One Blog -> Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Thai @ Read Breath Repeat -> Unleashed by Sophie Jordan

Shanah @ Bionic Book Work -> Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Darque Dreamer Reads -> Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Sophie @ Beware of the Reader -> The Rose and the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh

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And now for the first theme which
you picked through the use of the poll

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the June theme is

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– Best Shakespeare Play –

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Yes! And I am super excited about this! For those of you who don’t know, I have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in English, and while getting both of those degrees, I tried to take as many courses to do with Shakespeare as possible! I was not sure if any of you would vote for that option at all, and was kind of saddened that this theme would get voted out of Calendar Girls, but lo and behold…the majority picked Best Shakespeare Play! I cannot wait for it to be June now, as I am eager to see which plays you all pick, and for us to also discuss all things Shakespeare!

Also, I hope that you can all join us for the Calendar Girls Books chat on Twitter (#CGBChat) on the 3rd Monday every month (this month specifically on May 15th)! I will sadly be unable to join the chat this month as I will be in Japan at the time, and due to not traveling alone and setting my own schedule, will be unable to get online at the time when the chat is scheduled. But Melanie will be there to host the chat, and I look forward to reading about all of the awesome things you all chatted about afterward!

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bcd9fe86d963e85d6894868f56c48a3bTHANK YOU FOR READING MY CALENDAR GIRLS POST! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT ABOUT THE PREQUEL? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? IF YOU ARE A CALENDAR GIRLS PARTICIPANT (AND EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT), YOU ARE WELCOME TO COMMENT ON ANYTHING REGARDING MY POST BELOW! ALSO, WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT ALTHOUGH THE EVEN HAS THE WORD “GIRLS” IN THE TITLE, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT ALL GENDERS, SEXUALITIES, ETC. ARE NOT WELCOME! ALL ARE WELCOME! I LOOK FORWARD TO READING ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS!

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0 thoughts on “Calendar Girls (#5 / May 2017): Best Sequel”

  1. Sara J Maas!!! I’ve heard so much about her and this series… and with the latest one getting published this week you must be over the moon!!!
    I’ve mostly heard that this one is superior to its predecessor!!

    My post will be up in an hour… what could it be?¿?hehehe

    2. Yessss I’m quite pumped! I still need to read her other series, but this one is very good. In my opinion the sequel is not superior just because the atmosperes of both books, as well as the plots, are very different. I don’t think that a comparison could be made. But I did enjoy the second book just a fraction more than the first (a very small fraction), and this is one of my favourite books, so I HAD to pick it 🙂

  3. This was definitely on the list for me as well, but as I told you ladies, I had a hard time choosing. D: So I went with my most recent read. But I SUPER agree that this one was definitely super best sequel material. I enjoyed it farrrrrrrrrrrrrr more than the first (perhaps all the Rhysand additions? XD) Wonderful choice, and I know right away which choice I’m picking for best one this month. (sorry ladies!!)

    1. Just saw your pick and actually squealed! I was definitely choosing between ACOMAF and your choice near the end! And yes, Rhysand is love! <3 <3 <3

  4. I am so going to be doing this each month! I already have something planned for this month so I look forward to participating in June (I may do this months but it will be late!)

    1. Yaaay! So glad to have you join us! And no worries about posting late, especially since it’s your first month. You can post anytime in May, but the sooner you post, the more likely you are to be included in the poll for best pick of the month 😉

      Looking forward to seeing what you will post!

  7. *glances at unread bookshelf* Oops! This series is totally there and untouched. It’s so hard trying to pick and choose and this series has gotten soooo much hype that I’ve actually been quite deterred from reading it. I mean, I only JUST got to Throne of Glass after all the hype. Who knows when I’ll make it to the Court series. :p But glad to see it gets better as it goes along. Always something nice to know when starting a new series. 😉

    1. Hahaha I’m getting deja vu, because I think I’ve brought this series up to you like a million times, and I knew you had it on your shelf. I’m kind of excited for you to read it, AND scared…in case you totally HATE it. And when it comes to Throne of Glass, I am the opposite from you, haha. I have the first 3 books on my shelf, but haven’t had the time to read them yet! I started reading the 3rd book in the Court series last night, and the writing feels different from what I remember, but the plot….I have a feeling it’s going to be an EPIC conclusion!

    1. Sorry I was already in bed when I saw this, and can’t properly edit posts through my phone. I shall edit my post to include your Calendar Girls contribution now though!

      Thanks for continuing to participate in Calendar Girls, Lauren!

    1. Ahhhhh so glad you agree! Sometimes this series gets some hate, haha. I’m happy to find another lover of ACOTAR out there! 😉 Also thanks so much for reading!

    1. YAY! Glad to find another lover of ACOMAF through this post hehe. I also like your choice as well!! Although I haven’t read that series yet. Illuminae has been sitting on my shelf since around March of last year. Fail. I need to get to it soon! No more ARCs for a while so that I can get to my TBR hahaha.

      Thanks so much for joining Calendar girls!! 😀

    1. Not to worry! We’re just so happy that you’re joining us! And I cannot wait to read that book and its prequel!

      And I didn’t hear about any of the controversy until very recently. I read the first 2 books last year and had only heard good things. In either case, I’m hooked on it now and am working on reading book 3 as we speak 😉 I hope that you end up reading them!

      1. I definitely will read them. I try very hard to not pay attention to the negativity because books are meant to form different opinions and images to different people. I want to be brought closer to like minded people, not influenced by rumors and negativity. Which is why I am so excited to join this group and participate! <3

        1. Yes, I really try not to join the “witch hunts” that have been happening lately. I didn’t know about some of the issues involving The Traitor’s Kiss until I was part-way in, and I wanted to finish it despite that. I acknowledge the issues now, but it does not make me blind to the fact that it was well-written and that the plot was very well thought-out.

          I look forward to hearing what you think of the ACOTAR series!

          And yaaay ❤

  13. Haha Flavia I wanted to choose this one too but did not know if a sequel was meant to be part of a “duology” instead of a whole series. Excellent choice as I think the sequel was even better than the first. Now I’m waiting impatiently on the third one that has been delayed for me!!! Grrr

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