Book Talk: June Wrap Up

I am warning you now: grab some snacks or a drink and warm up your scrolling fingers because this is a long post. Situate yourself in a comfy chair and keep your library card in reach in case any of the books I read in June strike your fancy. There are a couple really good ones in here. I actually read more stories than books this month, which may sound strange, but totally possible. Click that "read more" to see what I'm going on about!

Stats:

• Books Read: 9
• Genre:
• Fantasy: 4
• Science Fiction: 3
• Contemporary: 2
• Page Count: 3,439

Books:

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas has really outdone herself with this one. I finished A Court of Thorns and Roses feeling satisfied and excited for the next installment, but also like it didn't live up to the greatness that is the Throne of Glass series. I don't want to give too much away since it's the second book in the series and I really, really, really want you to read it. Keeping that in mind, I will try to give you my thoughts without slipping up and revealing more than I should. (If you haven't read A Court of Thorns and Roses yet and don't want spoilers, I would advise you to move on to Starflight at this time. Even if you have read ACOTAR, I'm still going to try to avoid giving away too much.)  At the end of the first book, Rhys makes a bargain with Feyre entitling him to one week a month with her. It's basically like getting your period, but you get a hot guy instead of pain and mess. The hot guy is your supposed enemy, but that's semantics. I frickin love Rhysand and the Night Court. I knew there was something unsettling about Tamlin in ACOTAR but I couldn't put my finger on it. He's abusive and manipulative. That became very clear in this book. Thank god for Rhys. I'm gonna explode because I love the Night Court so much. I think Rhys calls his closest advisers and second through fifth in command his Inner Circle but I could just be making that up or it could be from another book. I will call it that for now. I love every single one of them for different reasons. His second in command is Amren, which I choose to believe is a typo of Amreen, which is coincidentally the name of one of my roommates. She's a viper. Not literally, but kinda literally. I would mention the others, but I want to keep it short and Amre(e)n is the standout of the bunch. The romance in this book was done perfectly. It was a slow build leading up to the best climax (*ba dum tss*) that I've read in a long time. They're such a good team I ship it to the moon and back. #relationshipgoals for real. Every part of this book was exciting (turns out there are a lot of ways to do exciting) and very memorable. We've departed from the fairytale retelling aspect so I have no idea what to expect moving forward other than some angsty spy work from the lovely Feyre. Iam absolutely dying to know what becomes of Feyre's sisters and all my beloved Night Court children. They are all mine. Nobody gets to touch them. Gotta go bounce around and squeal for a while. This book is that good.

Starflight by Melissa Landers

It's been so long since I've read a book set in space proper; this was like a breath of fresh air. There is no fresh air in space, of course, but you know what I mean. Solara is an outlaw and Doran is the heir to a very powerful corporation. They weren't the best of friends in high school. In fact, let's call them enemies. Solara's only hope is to get off Earth and away from the cops to start a new life. The most accessible way for her to get out there is to indenture herself to a passenger on the voyage. Too bad nobody will hire her because of her tattoos signifying she's a felon. Being the only option left, Doran reluctantly hires her and for the next month or so, Doran takes every opportunity to take advantage of her servitude (but not sex, he has a girlfriend for that). In a turn of events, the two end up on a tiny ship called the Banshee. It only gets wilder from there. There is an eccentric crew on board the Banshee, we have an encounter with space pirates, and a conspiracy that would change their lives forever. This was an adventure that I didn't know I was craving. It's one of those books that I haven't stopped thinking about since I put it down. The romance alone had me obsessed. (I try to repress how horribly he treated her in the past and just move forward because they are so cute with each other now.) Now that I think about it, the basic plot points are similar to this Thai drama my mom and I have been watching called Full House. I seem to enjoy the "I love to hate you oh wait I love to love you" story lines. 

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

The cover will probably tip you off to the fact that this book has jinn in it, but did you know it's inspired by Aladdin? I don't know if I'd call it a retelling, per se, since, from what I understand of the original story, the only similarity is that Aladdin is poor, finds a lamp, and wishes to be a prince. Sure, the basics are there enough to make this story identifiable as Aladdin, but everything else departs from canon. One of those departures is the romance. Zahra, the jinni, knows that loving a human is an impossibility but we need a story, don't we? Their romance supposedly takes months to develop, but the time jumps made it feel so rushed that I found it to be unbelievable. Imagine insta-love over the course of months. That's what happens in this book. The way the narration was structured made for a strange reading experience. It's first person (from Zahra's POV) but she seems to be speaking to her dear friend from centuries ago in her head. This made me, the reader, feel a part of the story, but very aware that I was not a part of the story. Like, yes, I'm being addressed directly, but it's not me she's talking to. That wouldn't have been so much of a problem if it were consistent. In the beginning it was all talking to her friend, but then it stopped for a long time. Then out of nowhere she addresses her friend again. It did a bang up job of pulling me out of the story. The Forbidden Wish wasn't all bad, despite my gripes. There was this girl group of assassin/warriors that protect the princess (of course the princess is their leader so she can kick butt as well) and that was very interesting. I'd love to see their dynamics explored more. Honestly, a story focusing on them with this Aladdin storyline in the background would've been much more interesting. Their story would also include the customs of the court and that's the sort of thing I love. I can totally picture them getting suspicious of Aladdin and spying on people... Ooh this is exactly what I want. I also appreciated how strong the bond was between Zahra and her friend from centuries past. I'm all about strong female friendships. I know I said I was done talking about things that bothered me about this book, but I can't not mention this one. Throughout the book, I was very aware that I was reading a story with Middle Eastern origins told by a Caucasian author. That fact may not bother as many other people, but it just didn't sit right with me. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being overly PC. It was an enjoyable read, but forgettable overall. Looking back and trying to write this book talk, it's easily confused with events from The Wrath and the Dawn and The Rose and the Dagger, which I had read last month so it was still fresh in my mind. How unfortunate for The Forbidden Wish.

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

I tried to hold off on reading Stars Above for as long as possible because I believe it's our last bit of new material from the Lunar Chronicles and I really am not ready to let go. Stars Above is a collection of short stories from the Lunar Chronicles, five (out of nine) of which have been published elsewhere. (Apparently only four have never been previously published but I know I read "The Princess and the Guard" before. I know what I've read.) Those are the five that I had read in times of desperation. A girl's gotta get her Lunar Chronicles fix. Of the stories I haven't read, all of them were fan-tas-tic. I didn't rate them indivually like I did with the other anthology in this Wrap Up because they all get five stars.

"The Keeper" 

The story of Michelle Benoit when Cinder arrived at her doorstep and when Scarlet became a permanent fixture in her life. It makes me love her all the more and we were also given a glimpse into Scarlet's childhood. Between all the sacrifices she made and how genuine of a person she was, it's no surprise that Michelle Benoit is a lady I greatly admire.

"After Sunshine Passes By" 

The hope and optimism in little Cress breaks my heart. She thought she was in for a treat but she was instead locked in her satellite where even her hair wouldn't be able to rescue her. I hate the cold cruelty of the Lunars. I mean, you all knew that already, but to see it inflicted on a child is truly awful. This novella strikes deep. 

"The Mechanic" 

Kai's and Cinder's first meeting from Kai's point of view. He gets all flustered and it's the cutest thing. It's even cuter in hindsight reading "Something Old, Something New" right after. This is the moment that started it all; how could you not love it? 

"Something Old, Something New" 

Wolf and Scarlet's wedding!!!!!!! Enough said. Other things happen as well and it's a happy reunion. The boys have to do some not traditionally manly things and that's the kind of thing I live for. I can't think of a better way to close out this series. 

We have been so blessed to have so much content in the Lunar Chronicles world but it's hard not to wish for more. I get whisked away every time I dive into this series and I honestly could live out the rest of my days there. I know there's at least one person who hasn't finished this series so I will read vicariously through them when they get around to it. 

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes 

Maguire is extremely lucky. Whether it's good or bad luck has yet to be determined. Whenever Maguire is around, the people around her get hurt or die while she gets out of every predicament without a scratch. This has happened enough times that she's developed survivor's guilt and has retreated into herself because if there's no one else around, no one can get hurt "because" of her. Living in this bubble has been working for her so far so she hasn't been making it very easy for her therapist. It isn't until Jordy shows up that things start changing. He's in therapy as well and the two of them start working on their therapy challenges together after running into each other outside of their therapist's office. Life happens and relationships develop and my shipper heart beats out of control. I chose a very poignant time to read this book. The subject of PTSD and survivor's guilt comes up a lot in GAtU and the I finished this book at around the time of the Orlando shooting. It was actually the day after if not the day of. There were articles online with interviews with the survivors and they were experiencing survivor's guilt and PTSD as well. I never thought of survivor's guilt as a thing before. I just assumed it was just there, you know? It was a weird moment to have just read about it in a book then to see it affect real people who went through this awful, hateful incident. It was like one of those TV moments where the students learn something in class then it's automatically applicable in their lives outside of school only a lot darker. In times like these, we all need an escape and this book is a great way to go about it. 

Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Last month I finished the final novel in the Lux series, but after a series like that, how could I not grab hold of any novellas that would help me ease my way into saying goodbye? Thankfully, the publishers made it easy by including Shadows at the end of the book. That saved me a visit to the library website and the agonizing wait of the holds line. Shadows is a prequel novella telling the story of Bethany and Dawson. It was sweet seeing how the two of them met especially after having read about how far they've come as a couple. Having read this novella after the series end, I obviously knew what was coming before it happened and that made it all the more heart-wrenching. When we finally meet Beth and Dawson in the series, they're kind of lost and not really themselves. I could see a spin-off trilogy or duology of their stories before they were reunited with the rest of the gang. Their life was much harder for much longer than it was for any of the other characters in the series. Seeing them go from their bright personalities to the broken people they ended up being when Daemon and Katy found them would be a sad but compelling story. I still have a couple novellas to go so my time with the Blacks are not entirely over just yet. 

Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins

I absolutely love reading anthologies. This is Stephanie Perkins' second yound adult anthology; her first being a Christmas/holidays-inspired one, My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, published at the end of 2014. These twelve stories give a nice sampling of different writing styles from various authors. There were no repeat authors aside from Stephanie Perkins (understandable) which was nice because I hadn't read many of the authors in this anthology. In fact, there were a few that I hadn't even heard of. I'm going to give very brief reviews of each short story along with their individual ratings. I'm really going to try hard to keep it short. There are twelve stories. I'll also do my best to avoid spoilers. It's harder than you think since each story is so short.

"Heads, Scales, Tongue, Tail" by Leigh Bardugo 

[4 stars] I liked the fantastical elements for the most part but the whole prologue was kinda ???. It was cute and sweet otherwise. That "summer town" feel is always a great setting for these types of stories. 

"The End of Love" by Nina LaCour 

[4 stars] Adorable LGBT story (it's actually just the L and B) about love and friendship. The whole math-during-summer thing was frightening but other than that it was a really sweet story. A nice cutesy contemporary. 

"Last Stand at the Cinegore" by Libba Bray 
[2 stars] The concept for the film they were watching was cool and I was totally down until the zombies happened. They weren't actually zombies but they were close enough to give me the heebie-jeebies. The romance also wasn't super convincing.

"Sick Pleasure" by Francesca Lia Block 
[2 stars] The first page or so had me thinking it would be some sort of boys versus girls turf war or something like Teen Beach Movie (West Side Story, even) but it turned into something so not my style. The writing style just didn't do it for me and I did not appreciate the subject matter at all.

"In Ninety Minutes, Turn North" by Stephanie Perkins 
[5 stars] Of all the stories in the holidays anthology, Stephanie Perkins' was the one that stuck with me the most. Her installment in this anthology is a continuation and I am so so so happy we get to see these characters again. The two of them make my heart soar.

"Souvenirs" by Tim Federle 
[3 stars] This was a very meh story. It's another LGBT story (G this time) and the boys didn't seem to understand each other very well. There was just something about this story that didn't do it for me. Not terrible, but not something I'd choose to read.

"Inertia" by Veronica Roth 
[4 stars] I didn't care much for the girl but the guy definitely gave me feels. Like, the painful kind. My heart breaks for him. This story definitely would've gotten three stars if it weren't for the cool technology. I can see the concept turned into a movie. That would definitely get me in the theater.

"Love is the Last Resort" by Jon Skovron 
[5 stars] Most of the anthology up to this point has left a lot to be desired but this story alone could've redeemed them all. There were a lot of characters everybody had a pair, which was really fun because two of the characters played matchmakers and devised a plan to get everybody together. I haven't seen The Grand Budapest Hotel, but this story is exactly how I imagined it. Do yourself a favor and pick up this anthology if only for this story.

"Good Luck and Farewell" by Brandy Colbert
[5 stars] This is your standard contemporary with some extra depth. It wasn't love at first sight (more like hate at first sight, actually) but the more they learned about each other, they more they started to like each other more. It felt very natural.

"Brand New Attraction" by Cassandra Clare 
[5 stars] This story was so. Much. Fun. It was a little dark because it's set in a dark carnival with demons and all-around spooky things but also because there are some sketchy characters wielding sketchy magic. Think Night Circus but darker. That's enough to sell me. Add on a cute boy (who was described with the coloring of Percy Jackson but I couldn't stop picturing Lucas Till because his name is Lucas and I had just seen X-Men: Apocalypse) and some creepy carnival attractions and there's nothing that could stop me from getting my hands on more of this story.

"A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong" by Jennifer E. Smith 
[5 stars] Another cutesy contemporary with no fantastical elements or anything extra. Simply a girl and a boy who happen to like each other at the same time. Oh, and he has Asperger's. Just Jennifer E. Smith doing what Jennifer E. Smith does best.

"The Map of Tiny Perfect Things" by Lev Grossman 
[5 stars] What if you weren't the main character of what you thought was your own story? I guess it's not so bad when the story you're in is interesting. A heartbreaking and tragic story that manages to be somewhat whimsical and magical at the same time. This is another one of those short stories that I can see being turned into a movie. It also has inspired me to live in the moment a little more and try to find my own tiny perfect things.

Overall, this anthology got better as time went on. Looking back, I don't blame myself for having a hard time getting into it. The constant stop-and-go of switching to the next short story really broke up my momentum but it's easy to see that the not-so-great stories were put in the first half. I mean, six out of the twelve stories were 5 star in my opinion so I wouldn't skip this one. Do read My True Love Gave to Me first though. I love Stephanie Perkins' characters too much to have only the second part of their story read.

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

In the wake of Red Queen, there was a lot of praise floating around but there was also a lot of criticism. The main talking point was that RQ recycled a lot of tropes from other dystopian novels. This happens with pretty much all books in every genre so that alone wasn't a big deal. The kicker was the hype for this book. When I read it, I wasn't too bothered but as time passed, it started nagging at me more and more. Come time for me to read Glass Sword, I was really feeling it. It was as if this story was dragging on and on. Picking up right where RQ left off, I was very bored. Things were happening but things weren't really happening. Parts of this book reminded me of the recruitment process Charles and Erik went through in X-Men: First Class which was really exciting for me but other than that, I was just trying to get through it. I really loved Mare's brothers, though. They are such bros and so caring for their sisters and family. I'm hoping Mare goes dark in the next book because that's the only way I can see this series becoming less predictable and by the book, so to speak. Become a villain. Be worse than the current antagonist. This won't happen. (I know the book ended on a cliffhanger but writing this now I cannot for the life of me remember it. That's a testimony to how unforgettable I found this book to be.)

Return to the Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

I was so happy to be able to pick this book up after Glass Sword. I needed something fun and easy to ease me back into reading. I mean, it's always a good time to sate your Disney fix, right? Some of the references were a little over-the-top (forced, even) and it was definitely cheesy at times but I have no problem giving it a pass. It's all in good fun. In order to get the most out of this franchise (?) I would advise consuming in this order: (1) The Isle of the Lost, (2) Disney's Descendants (film), (3) Descendants: Wicked World (Season 1), (4) Return to the Isle of the Lost. The second book wasn't as well developed as the first but I think that was because there was less developing that needed to be done. I love how you can see their pasts still influencing these characters and how what they've gone through recently has shaped them. Another interesting thing I noticed in this book was the theme of fitting in. The four haven't been completely embraced in Auradon but going back to the villains, they're shunned for leaving. This is something I see everywhere. Two examples kept coming to mind while I was reading. The first was how mixed race children struggle to identify with their multiple ethnicities. They're forever floating in that in-between where they have to find their place within their communities. The second was when someone from a lower class gets the chance to attend college, their community feels like they think they're too good for their roots but they can't fully keep up with other college students. This is probably more relevant to this book, but either way I think I'm getting too deep. I loved this book and each character had their chance to shine. There were a handful of new characters and characters that were introduced in Wicked World so I would definitely call make that mini series required watching. (Fun side note: Grumpy's son's name is Gordon and my dad was definitely a Grumpy-type back in the day. Is the Grumpy/Gordon thing merely a coincidence? Or does Melissa de la Cruz have eyes on us?)

Are you still with me? Props to you! That was a lot. The anthology really did a number on the length of this post. Have you read any of these books or series? Are you planning to? I'd love to hear your thoughts! I am very pleased with the progress I made this month but I still have a ways to go to get back on track for my Goodreads challenge. I haven't been this far behind for this long in years. Never fear! I will read my butt off and get ahead of my reading challenge by the end of this month. It's out in the world now. I can't take it back. Please excuse me as I get to reading.

Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette