Book Talk: August Wrap Up

Between the Olympics and my trip, I didn't think I would get to as many books as I did. Somehow I managed to find time for a rather heavy reading load. I guess it helped that I had the last of my summer class in the first half of the month so that freed up some much needed time to catch up. Usually I'm able to keep four or five books ahead of my Goodreads Reading Challenge but I've been in the red all year. It's a little discouraging. It averages to about two books a week though I think if I'm smart and choose my books wisely, I can make it happen.

Stats:

• Books Read: 11
• Genre:
• Superhero: 4
• Fantasy: 4
• Historical Fiction: 1
• Contemporary: 1
• Science Fiction: 1
• Page Count: 3,495 

Books:

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona 

It feels like so long since I've read a comic book that I actually struggled a little bit getting back into it. There was a page where the characters traveled across the page from underground to the surface and I realized I needed to take some time to relearn how to read comic. I read Red Son last month so I'm not sure what happened there. This volume follows Kamala as she starts getting comfortable with her powers, but her life is a little bit of a mess. Where does Kamala end and Ms. Marvel begin? Her search for her identity is aided by the new knowledge of her Inhuman nature but despite her not being mutant, Wolverine makes an appearance and briefly mentors her before she gets a partner in Lockjaw, and enormous teleporting dog. We also learn more about the evil scheme developing in Jersey City and filling in the puzzle means we're closer to finding out what it's going to take to shut it down once and for all. I like where this story is headed and I need to give myself a cushion on my Goodreads Reading Challenge for my vacation and this is a great option. 

Soldier by Julie Kagawa

In the third installment in the Talon series, most of the characters have gone their separate ways, with the exception of Ember and Riley on their mission to protect Riley's rogue underground. Unsurprisingly, trouble is never far behind for these fugitives. Also unsurprisingly, fate brings everybody back together. Now that Garret has been away for a while, Riley has staked his claim on Ember (ew) but the return of our beloved soldier means the return of the love triangle. This time around there are unexpected alliances left and right plus the introduction of some new (but in actuality, really old), interesting dragons. There's something much more sinister brewing at Talon and the leadership at St. George is secretly on the rocks so our band of misfits have a lot to tackle. I don't want to go too far into spoiler territory (I've already given away a lot) but it was an enjoyable book with some great action scenes although there were some predictable moments and the love triangle felt like it got in the way at times. The ending was kinda crazy and I'm so deep in denial that I'm convinced it's a trick but I guess we won't know for sure until Legion comes out.

Irredeemable, Vol. 7 by Mark Waid & Peter Krause 

I'm getting closer and closer to the end of the story arc and it just gets more and more interesting. This volume carried on the development of the Paradigm with an emphasis on Survivor and there was a massive turn of events on the Plutonian front. History is doomed to repeat itself back on Earth and it's only going to get worse from here on out. Avoiding spoilers is critical and very difficult at this point but I think it's safe to predict a major, nearly Earth-destroying showdown between Plutonian and Survivor at the end of this. Well, if Survivor doesn't end up teaming up with Plutonian and really giving them hell. I don't think that's going to happen though because they're too power hungry and, frankly, they're too much of control freaks to have to share with someone whose power is their equal. Alas, this is all speculation. We'll have to read on to find out what happens next.

And I Darken by Kiersten White

I just recently heard about And I Darken but I immediately knew I had to read it the second I heard the premise. I mean, doesn't "revisionist historical fiction gender swapped Vlad the Impaler" sound irresistible to you? This book is the first in a three-part Conquerors Saga so Ladislav (better known as Lada), the female derivative of Vlad, so we don't get to the impaling part just yet. We do, however, start at the very beginning. We grow up with Lada from her perspective as well as from Radu's, her little brother's, POV. She's awful to him and their relationship is pretty straightforward until they're sent away to the heart of the Ottoman Empire, their greatest enemy, as a result of a peace treaty. We spend the rest of the novel here with Lada, Radu, and the prince of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed. Radu (my sweet, sweet boy) has never been happy in Wallachia and he quickly finds his place, and later his happiness, in enemy territory. Lada, on the other hand, is not keen on letting go of her true home and giving into the riches of the Ottomans. As she gets older, things start to change but her past comes back to haunt her and life gets all the more complicated. This was such a good read. You can really tell White did her research. I'm so excited to see where this story goes. It's technically historical fiction, but obviously White has taken several liberties with it. I'm ready for some savage Lada the Impaler.

Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder

Since the Olympics are on and I watch the Games religiously, I have very little time to read. Of course, I pick up my book whenever I can find time and usually ends up being right when I wake up or during the small break between Day Time and Prime Time, but a majority of it is before I fall asleep after Prime Time ends at midnight. You can imagine how terrifying some of the visuals were. Turning the page at nearly one in the morning to be greeted with a pair of crazed eyes? It was very unsettling and it was enough for me to rush through the page to get to some safer artwork. I'm not super familiar with the Batman lore (I haven't see any Batman movies other than BvS and that doesn't even really count) but from what I understand, Dick Grayson used to be Robin and he's been promoted to the Batman of Gotham City because Bruce is off working on some other project. (I think??? I hope I got that right.) Unfortunately, somebody's been on a bit of a crime spree and it's up to Batman (with the help of Commissioner Gordon) to get to the bottom of it. This is what I expected the show Gotham to be. Obviously without the Batman part because the whole premise of the show revolves on the pre-Batman-ness of Gotham. It's dark and scary and the visuals are elegantly terrifying. Paired with a compelling story, The Black Mirror is a great read although I wouldn't recommend reading it just before bed if you're prone to paranoia. 

The Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey 

Last year I read The Girl at Midnight and it was one of my favorites of the year so it's no surprise that I was excited to get to the sequel. Again there were multiple perspectives with an emphasis on Echo and Caius. The arc of TGaM ended with Echo becoming the firebird and in this installment she faces off with her evil shadow counterpart. It was a little predictable and cliche at times and didn't seem to have the same charm that the original did. We delve deeper into Echo's past and it begins to affect her more as the story goes on. There's also a piece of the past (although it's not her past) that keeps conflicting with Echo. It adds another element to Echo and Caius' relationship, almost making it a love triangle. Speak of the devil,  I thought the Caius/Echo/Rowan love triangle was done with by the end of TGaM but it came back in full force with the addition of a second love triangle. Needless to say, there were a lot of emotions flying around. I'll be waiting for The Savage Dawn to see how this war comes to a head. Hopefully we can recapture some of that magic from the first book in the finale.  

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This was a book I have been waiting for for so long. In Verity, there are monsters who are born from crime. Of these monsters, there are three types, all created depending on the degree of the crime. The Corsai come from nonlethal acts of violence, the Malchai come from murders, and the Sunai, oh, the Sunai come from the most heinous of crimes: mass murders. Theoretically, the higher the degree, the more evil the monster but that comes into question when we meet August Flynn, a Sunai on the South side who just wants to live a normal life. That's kind of hard to do when the city is engaged in a civil war and you're in charge of gathering intel Kate Harker, the daughter of the vicious dictator of the North side. I want to keep as much information under wraps as possible so I'll jump right into my thoughts. This. Book. Is. Awesome. The world building is incredible (I would expect no less from Victoria Schwab) and the characters are so complex and also amazing I love them so much. This story turned out to be so much more than I imagined it to be. It wasn't super scary and nothing too zombie-like (thank god) but the stakes were so high and everything was just so GOOD. I promise you if you read this book, you'll love it. 

A World Without You by Beth Revis 

I was sold on this book based on the author alone. I'm a huge fan of Beth Revis so I picked up this book knowing nothing at all. When it came to deciding what to read next, I learned that this book was about mental illness and... superpowers? Bo suffers from psychosis and he goes to a special school for teens who need a more specialized care. We know going in that these superpowers are Bo's hallucinations and delusions, which was a source of complaint about this book. Some reviews say they would've preferred going into the book under the pretense that the children in these schools really did have powers but I respectfully disagree. The plot of this book revolves around how Bo believes his girlfriend (who recently committed suicide) was brought back to the past by Bo and accidentally left there so he's on a mission to rescue her from being trapped in the past. While that would've been interesting, that plot line would've gotten real tedious real quick. In fact, it didn't take long for it to get a little monotonous even being grounded in reality. The mission is so one-track mind that it would've required no more than a short story if we fully believed they had powers. In the end I really enjoyed this book but I can't say I loved it because of that very singular mission. I feel like it could've been more complex (both the plot and the supporting characters) but it wasn't as heavy as other mental illness books so it didn't end up putting me in a slump so I'm grateful for that.

Irredeemable Vol. 8 by Mark Waid & Peter Krause

I usually try to space out each installment of this story but since we're nearing the end, I'm getting more and more eager to find out how everything turns out. (I also wanted to boost my book count so I can close the gap between the number of books I've read and the number of books I should've read by now.) A handful of characters (former Paradigm members) are brought back in this volume on both sides of the war as a result of Tony's return to Earth with his new squad in tow. I found the most interesting part of this installment was learning more about Cary and Scylla's background. The bomb they dropped was hilarious because almost the exact same bomb was dropped like five volumes ago. The other thing I enjoyed was the Modeus element. He's becoming more and more of a presence. Oh yeah, and the world is rebelling again because Cary made that big ole promise he couldn't keep. 

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan 

I didn't read a single Rick Riordan book in 2015. It was a dark year. I let myself put The Sword of Summer off but there was no way I was going to do that with The Hidden Oracle. Not when I knew a Percy Jackson cameo was on the line. This new series takes place six months after the events of The Blood of Olympus and features Apollo, dumped in New York City as a mortal. Thanks for nothing, Zeus. He immediately meets Meg and they embark on adventure together (not a quest, mind you) and they uncover this sinister plot that has a great potential to destroy the world. Just another day in the life of a demigod. The Catch-88 is that nobody can formally do anything about it because in order to have a quest, there needs to be an Oracle to deliver the prophecy but they're all out of commission as a result of the aforementioned sinister plot. I loved this books so much. It brings the return of many of my most beloved characters (I literally screamed every time they showed up my brother got tired of that real quick) and I literally laughed out loud multiple times while reading (I got tired of people asking me what was so funny and having to tell them they have to read the book to get it). If you're a fan of Rick Riordan, this book is a must-read. You gotta read the first ten of Riordan's Greek mythology books but you should be reading those anyway so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm on such a Rick Riordan high right now, I can't wait for The Dark Prophecy and I'm so ready to read The Sword of Summer (too bad I'm going on vacation and I don't want to damage the book, but after, I promise!).

Pivot Point by Kasie West 

I’ve been hearing about Pivot Point for years now and it intrigued me enough to keep it at the top of my to read list, but there always seemed to be a book that edged it out of being my next read by the narrowest of margins. Since I don’t take any physical books with me on vacations, I have to hunt down some readily available ebooks on my library website to put on my Kindle. I was so excited when I realized I would finally have a chance to read Pivot Point. This book is incredible. It’s effectively two novels in one. Incredible. Addie lives in a hidden community that is psychologically advanced, granting them mind powers. These powers range from things like Telekinesis to Erasers. Addie has a rare power called Divergence which allows her to see the different outcomes when she comes to a fork in the road. This way, she can choose the path with the most favorable consequences. The inciting incident is a major life choice and the stories are told in alternating chapters, like reading two alternate universes. I feel like I’ve given enough away without giving anything away but the world building is solid and the characters are well developed. The characters are a big reason why I love this book so much. Addie and I are very similar in our personalities and the choices we make (or would make) so it made this book feel even more real to me. Trevor is the sweetest thing ever and I love him so much. Somebody find a Trevor for me. Duke is… Well, I have a deep-set mistrust of guys like Duke even though I have minimal real life experience with players (thank god) and I realize now that it’s because I read so many books. They say a man who reads lives a thousand lives. I’m proud of myself for not liking Duke right from the get-go. This is such a unique storytelling style and it’s coupled with an enthralling story as well. Pivot Point is well rounded and the perfect read the start off my vacation with. 

I honestly thought I wouldn't get any reading done in August. I didn't have many daily things to do, but there were a lot of major things taking up time this month and I thought that would leech away all my reading time. Somehow I made it happen. This may be the most I've read so far this year in terms of number of books, but don't quote me on that. It feels so good to get lost in all these new/different worlds. Let me know what you read this month! Have you read any of the books I read? I'd love to hear your thoughts on them!


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette