Book Talk: March Wrap Up

What a month. My March was broken up into two distinct parts. The first half seems like years ago and the second half was a turbulent combination of finals week and spring break. Personally, I feel like I branched out a little bit this month. I mean, they're all books I was already planning on reading, but a couple of them are not the genre I typically reach for. Regardless of genre, I enjoyed reading every single book in this post. I got to revisit some familiar worlds as well as introduce myself to some new ones.

Stats:

• Books read: 7
• Genre:
• Fantasy: 4
• Science Fiction: 1
• Non-Fiction: 1
• Mystery: 1
• Total pages: 2,564

Books:

Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

I'm going to be frank with you, I only picked up this book because I was one recommendation short for my Beauty and the Beast Recommendations. I was hoping that this book would be good enough for me to be recommending to people (on the internet, no less!) so I wouldn't have to push back that blog post. Turns out I made a really good choice. Of Beast and Beauty was more than I could ever ask for. On this far-off planet in the distant future, there are two types of people. The Smooth Skins are people who look like humans as we know them and the Monstrous are people who've been mutated. One can imagine the type of discrimination these Monstrous face, especially when they all arrived on this planet, everybody was a Smooth Skin. Fortunately, their mutations are adapted for the climate of this planet so, while they are shunned from society and their domed cities, they are able to survive out in the wilderness. From what I've summarized so far, it seems like it's going to be pretty clear who's going to be playing the roles of Beauty and Beast. That'd be boring, wouldn't it? Thankfully, Jay put her own spin on the story. While Gem, the Monstrous, is the physical "Beast," he is Isra's, the Smooth Skin's, prisoner. Through his imprisonment, Isra, sheltered and blind, learns more about the world she lives in and begins to question the ways of her people. Isra is in a unique position as she is a princess, but she's also Tainted, meaning she's a Smooth Skin with some traits of the Monstrous. She's been locked away in her tower most of her life to hide her Monstrousness and her interactions with Gem are more than what she's experienced in years. The story is beautifully told and the romance is well-crafted. Of Beast and Beauty follows the original tale of Beauty and the Beast pretty closely with some hints of Rapunzel thrown in there (with the tears and the tower and whatnot) but what makes this story is the characterizations of the key players. Not everyone is who they seem and that's what makes this book such a great retelling. I would highly recommend this book (and I have) because it's so lovely. I, for one, have reread the last couple chapters and the epilogue many times. I'm just so in love with their love. This book is a fresh take on a story that is heavily incorporated in our pop culture and it definitely does it justice. 

Wandering Star by Romina Russell

Life is hard. Rho has fallen from grace (lol bc her name is Rhoma Grace) but danger is still hovering around the Zodiac. Rhoma is one of the only people in the galaxy talented enough to see the signs of impending doom and since she's the only one, not nearly enough people heed her warnings. As things start getting out of hand, she is left with no option but to take matters into her own hands, but not without the help of her dear friends as well as her loyal followers. This time around, she's dealing with an army of Risers, which are people born into the wrong House. When these Risers change, they go through a physical and internal transformation. No surprise, there are plenty of prejudices against these people and it's understandable that they're resentful. This isn't a new problem for the galaxy, but there have never been so many at once and they've never come together to take down the Zodiac. You can kinda see why it's an issue. There was a lot going on and the stakes were high enough to make me feel anxious for our protagonists and the future of the Zodiac. And then there's the twist that I technically did see coming but I was so deep in denial. The reveal didn't catch me off guard, it was more of an "I'm not angry, I'm disappointed" moment but at the same time, I was a little bit shocked??? That doesn't really make sense. It's like I had all the pieces but I refused to put them together because I knew I wouldn't like the picture. This whole book was an emotional roller coaster. Speaking of emotions, the best romance in Wandering Star happened in about the second third of the book and I was loving it. Rho and Hysan were working so well as a couple. Their romance was so sweet and adorable and I don't know how to break it to you, but [SPOILER] the love triangle is back. In the grand scheme of things, it's not the worst thing in the world, but I was doing just fine before it was resurrected. Why must you toy with my emotions like this?! So far, I'm not seeing a reason to employ this plot device except to confuse Rho and complicate her life even further. Give the girl a break! As I said before, there was a lot happening in this book and there's going to be many loose ends to tie. Going in, I was expecting this series to be a duology and as I was reading, I was getting the impression that two books would not be enough. I had resigned myself to an unsatisfying ending when a quick Goodreads search showed me that there is in fact a third book and I was filled with relief. Wandering Star presented more mysteries and problems than even Zodiac did so Black Moon is a much needed sequel. Hopefully we'll resolve this love triangle and get some closure for this whole thing with her mother, which hasn't been making any sense up until this point.

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Some of my favorite things in life to contemplate are history and time travel. This is fantastic news, considering Passenger combines the two into a beautiful adventure. In Etta Spencer's seemingly normal world, there's a secret society of sorts that has the ability to time travel. These time travelers are dying out and their leader is the ruthless Cyrus Ironwood who is willing to do anything to get the coveted astrolabe that has mystical powers (as if the ability to time travel isn't mystical enough). In a chaotic turn of events, Etta is launched back in time and wakes up on a (pirate) ship where she meets Sophia Ironwood and Nicholas Carter. (I have the strong need to point out the male lead's name is Nicholas Carter... Like, "Please welcome to the stage current member of the Backstreet Boys, Nick Carter!" Nick Carter. If Miss Bracken is an NSYNC girl we're going to have some problems.) It's important to point out that Nick was born a slave and that really influences his actions and affects the way he's treated in this book. I appreciated that aspect of the story because it was true to the time period and gave the character something to grow from. While the pair (Etta and Nick) are on their scavenger hunt across time and space, they begin to fall for each other and it's the cutest, most innocent romance. It's also very difficult because they know that in the long run, they can't be together because their home times are literally centuries apart. This is especially apparent when Etta was searching for something on her hands and knees and Nick was checking out her ankles because, in his time, that was not something women would expose. If I were to give them an otp tag on Tumblr it'd be "otp: how 'bout a kiss, hey?" because that is such a thing for them and it's so adorable -- it makes me want to explode with happiness. The world was fairly well developed, it definitely left me wanting more but I didn't feel unsatisfied with how much I got. There was just enough so that it'd make sense, but it didn't give too much away. I mean, Etta doesn't know anything either so we're on the same page as her. One of the interesting parts of this world was learning about how changes made in the past can shift the timeline. Cyrus Ironwood is greedy and power-hungry and it should come as no surprise that he has altered the timeline to one where he will benefit the most. When the timeline is altered that drastically, those born after the changes kick in are displaced and no longer have a home. These people have banded together and call themselves Thorns, and, while they're supposed to be another antagonist, it's difficult not to sympathize with them. It certainly makes me wonder what the original timeline is, especially since Etta's present seemed to be pretty much our world today. The more I think about this book, the more convinced I am that I really need Wayfarer, but knowing that there won't be as many Etta/Nick moments kills me. However, it does sound like we're getting a different pairing, so I'm down for that. I can't wait to see where it takes us since we went to Colonial Virginia, wartime London, and Paris just after the French Revolution in Passenger. (Note: If you like A Thousand Pieces of You you're going to have a blast with this one. They're similar enough that you're guaranteed to enjoy both, but different enough that you're not reading the same story.) The hype for this book was definitely worth it and it was enough to get me through finals week. That's a testimony if I ever heard one. 

We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story by Josh Sundquist

What a charming book. We Should Hang Out Sometime is a non-fiction book detailing the ghosts of girlfriends past... in a sense. Josh Sundquist, at the ripe old age of 25, realized he had never had a real girlfriend in his entire life and he decided to find out why. All in the name of science, of course. He'd had kinda-girlfriends in the past and he'd certainly had crushes, but not a single one of them had worked out. He detailed his relationships with about six girls from his perspective, throwing in graphs, charts, and footnotes, making it feel very personal. I didn't know what I was expecting from this book, but I'm very pleased with what I got. The story was awkward by nature and there's a little bit of second-hand embarrassment but it's an overall enjoyable book with a happy ending. 

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Naturally, I've heard plenty about Agatha Christie's work, but I didn't know if I would ever pick it up. Thankfully I put it on my Popsugar Reading Challenge this year and that was the extra push that I needed to pick up her best-selling novel (and the best-selling mystery novel of all time). I can definitely see why this is such a classic. And I can't think of any specific example, but it feels like it has influenced a lot of pop culture in years following. You know, the whole "the killer is among us" and "isolated on an island" thing. It was a little slow to start, mostly because I was unused to the language, but once people started dying, the story really picked up steam. (Isn't that awful to say?!) Every character was suspect and I honestly thought it could've been any one of them. Christie framed each character perfectly, all the way up until they died. I also loved the reasoning for this sick, twisted game. Every good villain thinks they're doing the right thing. The way this mystery was written was so captivating and there is no doubt in my mind that I'll be picking up another novel of her's in the near future.

Night Study by Maria V. Snyder 

Slipping back into this series felt like coming home. I've spent so much time in this world that I no longer have to think about the world building or the politics between the two territories. Reading this book caused me a great deal of stress (on top of the stress I had about school in the real world) because I can see this headed for a devastatingly dangerous scheme. The stakes are higher than ever, what with Yelena's multiple conditions and now Valek has a condition, too. They were in some pretty tight spots in this book. It's all too much. Thankfully they entire cast of characters is working in a cohesive team and the second half of the book introduced some new characters that I am happy to see more of in the next installment. Valek had great character development in Night Study. He's got to take a day off or something to process all the changes in his life over the course of this book. I really cannot reveal anything about the plot because everything is tied together so well but I mostly just want everybody to be happy. They have way too much peril in their daily lives. Something needs to change. Currently, I don't know how they're going to come out victorious. The odds are so stacked against them in pretty much every possible way. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved in Dawn Study and I am eager to find out what's to become of our team. 

The White Rose by Amy Ewing

This was a book I've been highly anticipating since I read the first novel in the series while on vacation last year. Logically, I knew that we would have to leave the treacherous, glamorous bubble of the Jewel but I was still a little surprised when they actually put the escape plan in motion. The first half of the book was their escape and the second half was character development and plot advancement. Like with any dystopian novel, this series is headed towards revolution and while that isn't a surprise, I like the way they're going about it. The magic in this world is more fleshed out in this book and we get to know some more characters. (They also won't stop talking about Carnelian so I'm going to be very disappointed and slightly annoyed if she doesn't become a key player in the next book.) As far as characters go, I like how they're all flawed but still manage to be good people. Well, the protagonists anyway. Each person brings a different strength to the team and I really appreciate that. This story would be interesting to read with alternating perspectives since each character has come from such a different background and they're separated so often. I don't know what it was about this book, but I literally read the entire thing in four hours. And that was with the romance taking a back seat. Usually the reason I fly through books is because I am so enraptured by their romance. The pace was quick and there was never a dull moment, making this a good series to marathon. The White Rose picked up pretty much the exact moment where The Jewel left off. I'm hoping the same happens for The Black Key what with the personal stake Violet now has in the overthrow.

I've been doing such a good job on my Popsugar Reading Challenge this month. Four of the seven books I read this month were books from that list! I think at this point I have already surpassed my progress on last year's Popsugar Reading Challenge... Whoops.

I had a lot of fun reading these books and I want to hear what you thought of them if you've had the chance to read them. Be sure to leave any mystery recommendations in the comments! Reading And Then There Were None reminded me of my Boxcar Children days. Don't forget to let me know what you've been reading over your spring break! I love talking about books!

Talk to you soon! 

xo, Yvette