It’s the end of June but hey… better late that never right lol? I read a lot of books in these two months and I feel like I’ve read a good chunk of books from different genres.
A Couple of Main Highlights:
I think that if I took the time to go over each of my reads from April and May, this post will be the size of an almost novella so instead, I’m going to walk through three books from each month to cover the highs, the lows, and the okay reads.
I didn’t have many low ranking reads in April and May so when I talk about “lows” I only mean that I had at least one complaint more about the book than the ones that ranked above it. Honestly, I enjoyed all of the books I read in April and May.
The middle grade books were the real winners for this month. I read the last two books in the Nevermoor series and I cannot wait for October to bring the release of the fourth book. I know that this is a popular middle grade series online but I still don’t feel like it’s popular enough outside the online communities. I still count it as an underhyped middle grade series that really needs to get pushed out because I genuinely feel like this series can be the Harry Potter for the current and future generations. I love how this series balances deeper topics with the general wholesomeness of a middle grade fantasy. Hollowpox especially didn’t bite back in its real world allusions as it covered how being divisive against people that don’t fit the “norm” pushed by a certain group of people is harmful and dangerous. I also really enjoyed reading “The Swifts”, a middle grade murder mystery that follows a group of sisters who have a large cast of family members to rule out as suspects all while hunting for a secret hoard of treasure buried deep in their almost sentient house. The pictures in the book also are beautiful and reading this book was the perfect cozy getaway on a rainy day.
This was an okay read. I really loved Alexandra Bracken’s previous release “Lore” so I went into this one with high expectations. Unfortunately, I didn’t really care for it. I didn’t feel like much happened plot wise and the pacing felt a bit off for me. The one thing that this author does best is writing really interesting female leads. One of the reasons I loved “Lore” was how Lara Croft like the main female lead was. I always love reading about a female main character who does the rescuing rather than the male lead. “Silver in the Bone” delivered that aspect of “Lore” for me so I enjoyed reading from another strong female lead. I liked this female main lead especially because she wasn’t always likeable but always someone you could relate to. She carried a lot of anger and I liked reading how while everyone around her was more forgiving and optimistic, she remained with her feet on the ground and her anger wrapped around her at all times. Feeling angry after what she went through is realistic and prioritizing her and her brother above saving a group of people she just met is also realistic.
I apologize for the controversial ranking of this book. I think that this book did a lot of things right but there was just one thing that constantly occurred that stuck out enough for me to drop this book in the ranking. Let’s talk about the good stuff first. I loved the friend group aspect, and a friends to lovers trope. Emily Henry talked about how this book is different from her other books because she’s trying to branch off into general fiction and I think she delivered on that front. This book was a great character study on the female lead and her coming to discover what she wants from her life. I strongly could relate to playing the peace keeper role in almost every social situation one can find themselves in. I also understand how it feels to feel burnt out by work and external expectations and finding oneself in a life path they don’t really want anymore. So as I said before, there’s a lot that I did like from this book but the one thing I didn’t like was the writing. I felt like while the author was trying to veer into a genre that isn’t purely romance, the writing didn’t really move with it. There were so many metaphors and analogies to black holes and space comparisons. I believe once I read something like “she looked into his eyes and she could see the event incident of a supernova/blackhole”. It was just too much for me lol. There were too many space themed analogies and it really pulled me out of the writing.
I won’t talk about these books too much because I already talked about them in my recent post which you can check out here. These are two very different books with very different vibes that will end up on my favorite books of the year list. One will leave you a bit broken and in a small existential crisis while the other book will remind you why life is worth living and loving and why love is lovely to love and how romance is an important part of our society that we should all embrace and not be ashamed of. Read the Pinnochio inspired book and read the romance book about a romance author reminding us just how fun and precious romance books.
This was just as wholesome and nice as the first book in this series. There were important lessons in this book, just as there were in the first. In this book, we follow the two as they venture off into different pockets of humanity and work their way towards the end of their journey. I love how Becky Chambers can encapsulate the uneasy feelings that come with finding oneself and finding a way to blend purpose and joy. The first book was all about finding joy in the things around you while this book focused more internally and how this journey these two set off on isn’t one that you can just finish and tie up in a single knot, it’s one that’s never ending and unexpected turns and unexpected answers. I didn’t have a problem with this book but I didn’t feel like it’s a new favorite so I had it ranked in the middle.
I absolutely loved this book which may raise the questions why I have it ranked on the bottom. My only complaint with this book is that I wish the romance was a bit more slow burn. I loved the tension between the two main characters but I feel like towards the end, the male main character gave in a bit easily. I think that’s just me being picky lol. I also liked the first half of the book more than the second. I loved reading how Violet defied the odds and proved everyone wrong but as the plot got thicker and we started to get deep into the middle, things started to feel a bit convenient for her. But other than those two things, I loved this book and I gave it a 4 or 4.5 stars. It had the same magic as Hunger Games, Divergent, and the other old school YA books did. The world building, the war politics, the military academy setting… the DRAGONS… I can’t wait for the next book.