#Armedwithabingo Quarter 3 Check-in

This year, one of the challenges I’m participating in, is #armedwithabingo hosted by Kristi and Ariel. All the details for the bingo are here, and you can check out my first post about the challenge here.

For the first quarter, I read these books:

Poetry collection – Ink Knows No Borders

Book in the middle of a series – Blizzard of New Moon (Magic Treehouse Series) by Mary Pope Osbourne

Book published in the last decade – A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahareh Mafi

A YA novel – Heart of the Moors by Holly Black

A memoir – Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

Friendship/family – Drama by Reina Telgemeier

Fantasy – Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Bestseller – The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Meant to read last year – Final Girls by Riley Sager

Nonfiction – You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time by Patricia Marx

Second quarter I added these books to my bingo board:

Book published in 2020 – Straight on Till Morning by Liz Braswell. This is my favorite read of the year so far, and you can check out my review here.

Book with multiple POV’s – Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reed

Book with a number in the title – The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie. This one was also enjoyable and though not one of Christie’s most popular series, I find I’m really enjoying the Superintendent Battle series.

Book a friend recommends – Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto.  I read this book as part of the Book Gizmo Book Club on Instagram.

A dystopian novel – The Jewel by Amy Ewing.

Not third person POV (first person POV) – Something She’s Not Telling Us by Darcey Bell

Book by an indie author – A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan

Book with a Beautiful Cover – Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel. As soon as I saw the cover for this book, I wanted to read it, even without reading the premise. 

And for the third quarter, I added these books:

Book with a color in the title: The Silver Cobweb (Nancy Drew mystery story #71) by Carolyn Keene. I’m a huge Nancy Drew fan and I read for a prompt another reading challenge – it was published the year I was born. 🙂

Book I chose: The Companion by Katie Alendar. I read a sample of this book and was immediately hooked. This is one of my top reads of the year, and you can read my review here.

A book I was gifted: Roaring by Lindsey Duga. Another great read for the year, you can read my review here.

I have three squares left, and I have already picked my reads for those prompts!

What about you? Are you participating in this bingo challenge or some other reading challenge this year? Let me know in the comments!

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The Companion Book Review

I first found out about The Companion by Katie Alendar through Bookishfirst (a site I talked more about here). I read the first four chapters and was hooked. I bought the book immediately, but of course had to wait for release day, which was last Tuesday (August 25th, 2020). And it didn’t disappoint! I’ve added to my “Top Reads of the Year” list.

About the Book

The other orphans say Margot is lucky.

Lucky to survive the horrible accident that killed her family.

Lucky to have her own room because she wakes up screaming every night.

And finally, lucky to be chosen by a prestigious family to live at their remote country estate.

But it wasn’t luck that made the Suttons rescue Margot from her bleak existence at the group home. Margot was handpicked to be a companion to their silent, mysterious daughter, Agatha. At first, helping with Agatha–and getting to know her handsome older brother–seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated, gothic house begins playing tricks on Margot’s mind, making her question everything she believes about the Suttons . . . and herself.

Margot’s bad dreams may have stopped when she came to live with Agatha – but the real nightmare has just begun.

My Review

I was immediately hooked, and I loved so many things about this book.

The characters were a big part of what instantly drew me in. Margot has a strong voice and was so relatable. Laura was well-developed and intriguing, and Agatha tugged at the heartstrings.

The setting was awesome – the exact type of thing I love in a book. A creepy, old house with mysterious, locked rooms. A beautiful, but haunting garden. An unexplainable tension hanging in the air. And the pacing was perfect – I was on the edge of my seat until the final page.

The plotline was also strong. Some things I knew fairly quickly, but there were others that took me by suprise. I loved the nods to classic literature as well. There was a bit of a Secret Garden vibe, as well as a Jane Eyre vibe.

Have you read The Companion yet? Let me know in the comments

You can find out more about the Katie Alendar on her website or follow her on Twitter.