Book Talk: September Wrap Up

Are you ready for a sad Wrap Up? Not sad because of the books I read or anything, but because I only read six books... and two of them didn't even hit 300 pages. It's the price you have to pay to travel, though, so I can't complain. I'll just have to work extra hard in the next three months to make up for lost time and catch up to my Goodreads Reading Challenge. There's still hope!

Stats:

• Books Read: 6
• Genre:
• Contemporary: 3
• Fantasy: 2
• Sci-Fi: 1
• Page Count: 2,119

Books:

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry 

Remember how I was lamenting about how I hadn’t read enough cutesy contemporary this year? I figured there was no time like the present to hop on a series that everybody in the YA book community cannot get enough of. Pushing the Limits has some darker tones than a true cutesy contemporary but Echo and Noah are so compelling both apart and together. The two of them are dealing with their demons while trying to survive high school and after a few encounters, they can no longer deny their attraction. At first their relationship is strictly business but the more they realize they understand each other as much as any two people in their situations can, they decide to take a chance on a relationship. Their lives are too complex to sum up in a blog post (you’ll have to read the book) but the way they support each other is, for lack of a better word, #goals. I’m having a hard time finding words to describe this story because it’s something you have to experience. I appreciated how every single one of the characters felt real. These are people you could probably find in your own high school and/or life (maybe not in exactly Echo and Noah’s situations but who knows). It grounds Noah and Echo’s plights and makes you think about what the people around you might be going through. From what I understand, the subsequent books in the series follow secondary characters in Pushing the Limits but have been promoted to protagonist to shine in their own novel. 

Soundless by Richelle Mead

Soundless was one of those books that I only heard about here and there but never seemed to get that much attention. The premise was promising enough, I mean, who wouldn't be intrigued by an isolated village in the mountains of China where everybody is deaf except for one person who magically gets their hearing back? I know I wasn't able to resist. While the premise was super original and even included Chinese culture and folklore, the execution was a little lacking. Overall the book was slightly predictable and the ending was a smidge too easy for my liking. I did love the childhood romance aspect and how Fei, the protagonist, was driven by both her love for Li Wei and her love for her sister. I wish I could say I enjoyed it more but it took me so long to get through and the more time I spent in the world (which had very little world building to begin with), the more I realized how similar it was to the first couple chapters of Red Rising. I wish another author could have a go at this concept and see if they fare any better because there potential is certainly there.

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Just looking at this cover makes you long for Halloween and the contents of this novel will make you feel the same way. It's a story about family, friendship, and, most importantly, magic. Witches, to be exact. Nadia has to move to a new town halfway across the country after her mother leaves her family in the dust with no explanation and she's left without her mentor in both life and magic. It gets even more unfortunate (to put it lightly) when she discovers that the foundation of this town is saturated with black magic (not the Little Mix kind). I think as you read this book, you'll realize all the girls captioning their selfies "darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream" have it all wrong. If that lyric can be applied to anything, it's to Elizabeth. When I read Spellcaster, I was under the impression that this was a stand alone novel so I was confused but intrigued when it ended on a cliffhanger. Not gonna lie, I was totally okay with that. It left something to the imagination and cliffhangers in stand alones are not something you see very often, but I'm not going to say no to more Claudia Gray books. I'm not dense. Also, side note: Mateo? *swoon* (I don't want to leave Verlaine out either because lord knows she gets left out of everything so here's my shout out to her, you go gurl!)

First & Then by Emma Mills

First & Then was a novel I really enjoyed not just because of the romance (although that was cute too) but because I could relate to Devon. Maybe "relate" is too weak of a word. It was more like I saw my high school self in her. There were times when she was immature and she was judgmental throughout most of the book but I was surprised to realize those were qualities I could identify in myself, especially when I was younger. I surely didn't have a hot all-star boyfriend, though, even if she didn't get that until the very end. I'd say it was worth the wait. One of my favorite moments in this novel was in gym class (good luck hearing "favorite" and "gym class" in the same sentence ever again) when Foster, Devon's awkward cousin, kicked the football an impressive distance and Ezra, the aforementioned star of the football team and hottie soon-to-be boyfriend, was so shocked. The exchange went a little something like this: "Kicker." "It's Foster, but you were close!" My heart. So, this book has a bunch of complex characters and you might not like it (because I can totally see how they could be annoying) but it was just the right amount of everything for me.

Tandem by Anna Jarzab

Parallel universes. Doppelgangers. Royalty. Are you sold yet? It was certainly enough to reel me in. I haven't been getting as much science fiction in as I'd like and this was the perfect book to do just that. Doesn't just thinking of the prospect of parallel worlds excite you? So here's the rundown: Sasha is just living her normal life when out of nowhere Grant, a guy she's kinda known all her life, starts getting real friendly then kidnaps her!!! To another world no less!!! Turns out he's not Grant (the real Grant is forgotten for most of the book, poor thing) but a KES (King's Elite Service... more like Kingsman...?) agent named Thomas who just happens to be the bodyguard for Princess Juliana who has been kidnapped herself!!! And oh yeah, Sasha is Juliana's "analog" and she needs to stand in for her as to not cause mass hysteria!!! So yeah. Kinda a mix between A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray and Pawn by Aimee Carter, among other books. I can't quite put my finger on it but it felt like this book was missing a little something. I know for sure I wasn't totally convinced by their romance. He literally kidnapped her... I think it was just that Thomas was the person who knew Sasha's secret and was a familiar face in an unfamiliar world. Pretty sure there's a term for that... There were plenty of enjoyable parts of this book and I had a real good time with Dr. Moss and all the science pouring out of his mouth. It reminded me how much I missed this genre.

P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

At the end of the month I realized just how measly my Wrap Up would be this month so I picked up P.S. I Like You as soon as possible. I'm known to fly through cutesy contemporary novels just like these and since reading (and loving) Pivot Point by the same author last month, I couldn't wait to get into this one. While it turned out to be a quick filler, it didn't end up being as good as I thought it would be. Not to give spoilers or anything, but the two have been mean to each other since the dawn of time. Am I to believe that it was sexual tension all this time? I liked the anonymity of it all, but, um, hello? Ever heard of catfishing? I think these two put too much trust in each other, like how did they trust each other to not tell everybody each others' secret?! I won't deny that it was a little too immature for me at times but once they started realizing their feelings for each other it was really cute. I was totally squealing (quietly, as to not wake my roommate) and I loved how letters became their thing. I also really liked this other part that's a mild spoiler so remind myself, I'll end with this: knowledge is power.


Just a few months ago I was lamenting about how I hadn't read nearly enough contemporary this year and here I go reading a half month haul's worth of them. Not that that's saying much considering the kind of reading month September turned out to be. What did you read this month? Have you read any of the books I have? More importantly, do you have any spooky recommendations for October? I've got Miss Peregrine's on deck but that's about it. Fingers crossed I get more reading done in the coming month!


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette