Book Talk: June Wrap Up

June has been such a long month and I'm not even mad about it. It started out with finals week and moving out then suddenly I was free. Summer at last! I got out of school on a reading high and while I didn't feel like I was reading fast, I definitely managed to fit a hefty amount of books in this month. I even caught up to my Goodreads 2015 Reading Challenge! That'll be very helpful when I fall behind again next month.

If you're interested in seeing what I was reading in previous months, you can find all of those here. Now get comfy and grab a snack because this one's a doozy. Click the read more to get to the books!

Stats:

• Books Read: 11
• Genre:
• Science Fiction: 3
• Fantasy: 7
• Dystopian: 1
• Page Count: 3,252

Books:

The Seeds of Wither by Lauren DeStefano 

I read the Chemical Garden trilogy a few years ago and I loved them. I was, however, unaware that there was this 1.5 installment. I have to say that this feels like it was a little falsely advertised. I definitely went in expecting this sampler to be the exclusive short story from Rose's POV, maps of the mansion, and a little bit from Wither and Fever. I guess I should've read more closely, but to be fair, looking at the reviews on Goodreads, it looks like many others are in the same boat as I am. My review on Goodreads was for the short story alone, because it was really the only thing I was looking for when I decided to check it out from the library. If you need catching up on the gist of the Chemical Garden trilogy, I'm the girl to talk to. This trilogy is set in a sci-fi/dystopia where a recent attempt to perfect the human race has gone horribly wrong and now the men only live for 25 years and women don't live past 20. In a race to keep the human race alive, girls are being picked up off the street to be married to young, wealthy men. Rhine, along with two other girls, Jenna and Cecily, are sold as brides to Linden. Linden is a sweet, genuine character who really does care for his wives (although he still mourns the loss of his first love, Rose) but his father is a different story. As Rhine discovers secrets about her father-in-law (who sees the wives as nothing more than experiments), she desperately needs to escape. I loved this series (they were my favorite books for a while and I still recommend them) so I jumped at the chance to revisit this world. The short story included in this sampler is told from Rose's perspective and it truly is a short story. I finished it in about five minutes. We see how get to see how Rose and Linden's relationship blossomed and her state when she started getting sick and there was nothing anybody could do for her. It really tugged on my heartstrings. Just thinking about how she wanted Linden to remarry so he wouldn't be lonely... Did you hear that? It was the sound of my heart shattering. 

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

I have always been interested in parallel dimensions and I love Claudia Gray's work, so it was only natural that I picked up the first book in the Firebird trilogy. In this world, Marguerite's parents have developed the technology to hop between dimensions. Everything goes wrong when one of their research assistants, Paul, kills Marguerite's father and steals (and destroys) all their research. Now Theo, their other research assistant, and Marguerite set off on a journey across dimensions following and trying to catch Paul. As the (ridiculously gorgeous) cover suggests, one of the dimensions they visit lands them in London and the another is in Russia. I really appreciated how, while they were moving through space and not time, these dimensions are at different stages of development. London is far more technologically advanced and Russia still has a tsar (the parts set in Russia were probably my favorite). When dimension hopping, you occupy your body in that dimension (so if you weren't born in a certain dimension, you would not be able to visit). This lands Theo and Marguerite into some interesting situations. Besides the dimensions that whisked them off to far away lands, there were also dimensions that were almost home. It was cool seeing some of the similarities to Marguerite's home dimension Gray included. Of course it wouldn't be a young adult novel without a bit of romance. I can't say I am all in on this one. It didn't feel believable because Marguerite would only ever reference one moment where she felt romantically attracted to [spoiler!]. She would come back to that one memory over and over again without elaboration so we literally read the same scene like four times. The relationship was underdeveloped overall but that didn't stop me from getting incapacitated with feels at the end. Every emotion managed to manifest itself and smother me in the last fifty pages. It hit me almost literally like a brick. A Thousand Pieces of You was a fun and exciting read and you should definitely check it out if you haven't already. I can't wait for Ten Thousand Skies Above You where we'll be visiting Paris and San Francisco, among other places I'm sure. I already never want this series to end if only to have more of those breathtaking covers. 

First Impressions: A Firebird Ficlet by Claudia Gray

After putting down A Thousand Pieces of You, I just couldn't not pick this one up right away. It's a single scene set a week after the end of the first book. I can't say much because there are spoilers for the first book but it's an adorable, if slightly awkward, first date. It was a little bit unnecessary and I didn't love it, but it was still really cute so I liked it. It didn't give me as many hard feels as I was hoping for but I think the author might be saving some moments for book two. 

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

I love Marissa Meyer and the Lunar Chronicles so I was expecting great things from Fairest. I wanted to be able to relate to Levana, the queen of Lunar and the primary antagonist in the Lunar Chronicles, and see where she was coming from. All I got was a closer look at her greed and selfishness. Normally, that wouldn't be a deal breaker because that's her character but I was so b o r e d. I love me a good background story, especially for villains, but this provided no redeeming qualities for Levana on top of no action. I mean, things happened but the way they were written was so bland. Maybe Meyer was trying to channel Levana's cold detachment? I don't know. Fairest was ultimately unnecessary and honestly the best part was the preview of Winter. It almost felt like the publishers sent Meyer an email telling her to churn out some content so they could bind it up and make some extra money. Originally I had rated Fairest four stars because of the Winter preview but demoted it because I thought I should rate it on Levana's story alone. I'd say read it if you're into the Lunar Chronicles but don't expect to come out of it amazed. It only reinforces everything you already knew about Levana. 

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski 

I'm surprised that I hadn't heard more about The Winner's Curse before I did. Only recently had I heard it being mentioned on Booktube and it caught my attention. I'd heard it compared to An Ember In the Ashes, which I read last month, because both novels are set in a kingdom/territory of scholarly peoples that has been conquered by a militaristic peoples who have enslaved the natives. I thought An Ember In the Ashes was such a great book and I loved the concept so I decided to check this one out. When people put the two side by side, the thing that everybody seems to mention is how The Winner's Curse focuses more on the political and military strategy side of keeping control over conquered land. As a result of that, I was expecting a lot more of the behind-the-scenes action than I got. My anticipation for that was probably the only reason why I docked a star. Expectations can really change how you consume a text. The main things I want to discuss are spoilery so I can't get too into it but I love how different this book was from others in its genre. When there's a military state and a an enslaved population, there are certain things you expect to get out of the story, such as rooting for the underdogs or learning that the slaves were barbaric before they were whipped into shape, and while you get those, there can be twisted in a way that really is a breath of fresh air if you read a lot of similar stories. The romance in this book was so complex because of their situations and social standings, Kestrel, the general's daughter, and Arin, the enslaved noble. Their place in society plays a large role in the book and I really want to say more but I will have to move on to the characters. Kestrel is the general's daughter which leads everybody to assume she is a skilled fighter but she isn't and that creates tension between her and her father. Not only is her strength in her intelligence, but she also has an appreciation for the arts, which were valued by the Herani and taken away from them when the Valarians took over. And Arin. Just Arin. I can't even put into words the feelings he inspires. I'm going to be reading The Winner's Crime next month and I am highly anticipating it, especially after the ending of The Winner's Curse. This book does a great job of keeping you on your toes and is a wonderful beginning to The Winner's Trilogy.

Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

The first thing I did after finishing this book was check Goodreads to make sure there was a third book in the works. There is no way this book could completely satisfy anybody. Having said that, I did enjoy this book. There were a couple things that left this book feeling incomplete. You know when a tv show is cancelled after the season has ended so you're left with some sorta ending with loose strings everywhere? Yeah. That. Miss Mayhem is the sequel to Rebel Belle and despite the girly cover, this series would be a fun read for anyone. Harper, the "belle" in question, is quick, witty, top of her class, popular, and highly involved -- oh yeah, and she has powers. As a result of a series of events in Rebel Belle, Harper is bestowed with Paladin powers and her duty now is to protect the Oracle, aka David Stark, aka "possibly Harper's least favorite person." Everything comes to a head at the cotillion and wow things get real. Miss Mayhem takes place a few months after Rebel Belle and this supernatural group are starting to get adjusted when the Ephors (a group of immortal old men who want to control the Oracle) pay a visit and inform Harper that she's not yet a true Paladin. In order to be David's side forever she must pass the trials or suffer the consequences. It's all very dramatic only it turns out not to be. I don't want to give anything away, and while I did like most of this book, it could've been better. It's very possible that if it was longer it could've accomplished so much more. I need to know where the author was planning to go with this. I am so ready for the last book.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

First off, yes. Going into this book, I didn't know much except it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, there were fae, and Sarah J. Maas wrote it. Despite knowing next to nothing, I knew I was all in. A Court of Thorns and Roses follows the Beauty and the Beast story fairly closely, with elements of other mythology and fairytales thrown in the mix. Basically, the land is divided with the north being the Prythian and other Faerie Realms and the south belongs to the humans. (There's a map!) Feyre, our protagonist, has to hunt to keep her family alive and one snowy day in the woods, she kills a wolf that would feed her family for a couple weeks. Score. Little did she know that the animal she killed was actually a faerie and the punishment for such a crime is a life for a life. Welp, that's it. Story over. But wait, there's more. There's a loophole in this law. There are more ways than one to take a life other than killing, so Feyre is swept away to the Spring Court to live with her captor, Tamlin, a shape-shifting faerie lord (also book boyfriend material, if I do say so myself), for the rest of her days. As the tale goes, she ends up falling in love with him but is sent away before she understands the gravity of the situation. When she returns, everything is wrong and she has to go on a rescue mission. While I absolutely adored this book, I have a bone to pick with it. It was so close to being perfect (I gave it 4.5 stars but had to round up because of Goodreads so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) but the ending was too predictable. Too predictable and too easy. Everything was too convenient and usually I would just brush that off because the rest of the book was so good but this is Sarah J. Maas. I know she can do better. That being said, I'm seeing hints of Persephone and Hades for book two and I am totally down with that. I'd love to see where Maas is taking this Feyre/Rhysand story line (sorry for the late character introduction but spoilers) and she stated in a Q&A (which I am having the worst time tracking down the link for) that we would be seeing a lot more of the Night Court (Rhysand's court) in book two. I can't wait to see how Maas will weave the Beauty and the Beast and Persephone and Hades stories together. Also, thank the gods above that we have Lucien because he is an A++ side character and I want more character development for him. Somebody please read this book so I have somebody to talk to. I am ready to burst. 

Prodigy by Marie Lu

I read Prodigy in a buddy read with Allison. It was one heck of a time trying to coordinate when we were actually going to start reading and how much to read per day but we managed to work it out. Buddy reading was actually really fun and it was great being able to discuss things as they were happening instead of finishing a book and waiting for a friend to pick it up so you can discuss. Prodigy is the sequel to Legend, which I read earlier this year and included in my January Wrap Up. Picking up a week after the events of Legend, Prodigy is the story of Day and June uncovering even deeper and darker secrets of the Republic. This book was both heartbreaking and action-packed. We get to see sides of the government and the rest of the world that we hadn't gotten a glimpse of before. We also spend a lot of time with the Patriots, the rebel group, whose cause is to reunite the United States. It was interesting seeing the inner workings of the rebel group that is causing so much trouble for the government. Every single action scene is so well written and laced with emotion. This book definitely tugs at your heartstrings and toys with your emotions. There might be a love triangle brewing and the ending doesn't help anything. (AHHHH!!!) While Prodigy was really, really good, it wasn't flawless. June was ailing from this mysterious illness that hardly played a role in this book. It was blown way out of proportion if it isn't going to advance the plot in Champion. Hopefully we'll learn more about the Colonies and what ails our protagonist (I'm slick. (@ Allison)) in the final installment of the trilogy. I'm also hoping that this last book isn't a disappointment like the end of a lot of dystopian trilogies (see: The Hunger Games, Delirium, Divergent, etc.).

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

This is not the type of book I usually read but I've heard such great things, I couldn't pass it up. It reads more like an adult novel, which is probably why the author went with V.E. Schwab (the pseudonym she uses to differentiate her adult works from her young adult novels) instead of Victoria Schwab. A Darker Shade of Magic is set in London, but not just any London. Kell lives in one of four Londons -- Red London, where magic is seen as a friend. There's also Grey London, the London we know (aka "our world") with no magic at all; White London, where everything is a fight for control -- especially control over magic; and Black London, where magic was so abundant it destroyed the world. There was a time when it was easy to visit other Londons but the doors have been closed since then and only the most powerful magicians called Antari can travel between worlds. After the doors between worlds closed, their numbers have been decreasing every generation. Now the only two left are Kell, the Red Traveler, and Holland, the White Traveler. These days, the Antari aren't used for much other than delivering messages between the monarchs of the three open Londons but Kell is willing to trade trinkets between worlds even though it's illegal (that might be understating) (if Kell gets caught he could be tried for treason). This is ultimately his downfall. When a package he was meant to deliver turns out to be wanted by all the wrong people and he gets himself, and Lila, a Grey girl that implicated herself when she picked his pockets, in a whole lot of trouble. The rest you'll have to read for yourself. This was a pretty good book. I love the premise and it was executed beautifully, but it did take a while to get to the plot. "A while" as in two hundred pages. That being said, those first two hundred pages didn't go to waste. The world building was incredible and I could really visualize the worlds in my mind. Schwab set herself up for a great series. I do still wish there was some plot trickling in in the first half of the book. You can world build as you go along. The ending was satisfying enough and I'm curious to see where the second book will take us (and it's already got a gorgeous matching cover).

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

What a disappointment. I was expecting great things from this book because Rosamund Hodge's debut novel, Cruel Beauty, was such a fantastic fairytale retelling. Crimson Bound did not deliver in the slightest. I still had high hopes for this novel after finding out that it wouldn't be taking place in the same universe as Cruel Beauty but I was sorely disappointed. The world and characters is severely underdeveloped and nothing seemed to make sense. It wasn't a "I'm being being vague now but you'll get an explanation and it'll all come together in the end" type of deal. It was all so disconnected and I as left with more questions than I had answers or satisfaction. It also claims to be a Little Red Riding Hood retelling but other than the beginning where she isn't a bloodbound (Ask me what a bloodbound is. I wouldn't be able to tell you.), I see no resemblance. Did Hodge grow up hearing the same version of Little Red as the rest of us did? In addition, these bloodbounds are supposed to be bamf's but every action sequence is so anticlimactic, it nearly put me to sleep. Every time I put this book down (which happened very often) I never wanted to pick it back up, but I kept trucking on in hopes of an epic, redeeming ending. I should've left this as a DNF (did not finish). After all that poor buildup, we are left with a weak, easy, unimpressive ending. Spoiler alert: the guy that loves her and that was getting in the way of her happy ending with the guy she's in love with was left to the monster because he was compelled to stay and now she gets to love (and simultaneously despise) the other guy however she pleases. You can't tell me that wasn't a cheat (if you understood it at all). Like the author was told to have a happy ending and include no sacrifices so she slapped that together and stuck on a piece of Scotch tape for extra measure. I will most definitely be waiting on others' reviews on her next book before picking it up. 

Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano 

I absolutely adore Lauren DeStefano and the first book in her Internment Chronicles, Perfect Ruin, seemed promising. The Internment Chronicles begins on in island in the sky called Internment. They live their entire pre-planned lives with strict rules (like you have to be assigned a pregnancy and have to get put on a wait list if you want a child) that they believe are necessary to maintain and sustain their home. To those who are compliant, Internment is a utopia. All of your major life decisions are made for you (such as being betrothed since before birth) (this is possible because when they assign pregnancies, they select a gender for the child) and life is perfect as long as you don't question anything. Our protagonist, Morgan, has been wanting more recently. Thoughts of more leads to thoughts of The Edge. If you go near The Edge, you'll go mad (if you aren't already) and your life is basically over. Morgan's curiosity leads her to dangerous places and [SPOILER ALERT] she escapes the island with her best friend, their betrotheds, and a handful of others (including the princess) that will come into play later on in the series. Now in Burning Kingdoms, our Internment characters are on the ground and they are discovering more about the world than they ever thought they could. I'm disappointed to say not much happened in this book. As far as plot advancement goes, there was very little. It was all one problem that was dragged out throughout the entire book and mentioned only a few times. We did, however, get a TON of character development. We learn a lot more about the characters and seeing them in a different environment shows their true colors. The relationships between characters also grow deeper and stronger in this installment as well but as far as contribution to the story goes, this book was a bit unnecessary. I can see how Burning Kingdoms is setting up the events for Broken Crowns but it had so much more potential than acting as a segue between the first and third installments. I am still anticipating the final book in this trilogy because it can only go up from here.

Hello? Is anybody still here? Have I been talking to myself since Miss Mayhem? (Please laugh.) I wish I had a trophy for those of you that made it this far. My eyes would've glazed over by now. While this reading month might not look like the most satisfying, I still really enjoyed most of these books. I think I'm just getting more critical now that I'm taking the time to actually think about how I felt about the books so I can blog about them. I am so pleased with myself for reading this many books, especially since this month was kind of eventful. It won't be anything compared to next month, though. Fingers crossed I don't fall too far behind and I'm able to catch up in August!

Let me know what you've been reading this month in the comments below! Have you read any of the books I have? I wanna talk about them! As always, don't forget to follow this blog via email, on bloglovin, or on Tumblr! And in case you missed it, I'm going to be on a different posting schedule this summer. There are more details in this blog post.

Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette