The 10 Books I Read During the Month of August

“Something calls out to him. I am different than I was. I do not want my mother’s song, my mother’s souls. I want – I do not know. But I want something more than the death that she offers me. I want something more than her voice, her power. I want something more. I want something mine.” It has been two days since I finished this book, and I still find myself somewhat speechless. I wasn’t sure Joanna Meyer could top Echo North – but this book was something truly spectacular. If I could give a book more than five stars, I would do so for this one in a heartbeat. I sat on my bed after reading the last pages, unsure of what to think or feel. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so deeply affected by a fantasy novel. I had to just sit in silence and allow the emotions to wash over me. I fought back tears for the last third of the story. Haunting. Breathtaking. Soul-shattering. Those are a few of the words I could use to describe this book. The character development is beautiful (even down to the chapter headings changing for Seren as the story goes on). It’s a true roller coaster of emotions as you fall in love with the characters and the characters fall in love with each other. There is such depth to this story, and I’ll never really get over it.

“I saw Persephone, pomegranate in hand. Dooming herself to the underworld.” This was the Twilight we deserved. I wasn’t even halfway through this book when I found myself wishing that the original saga had all been told from Edward’s perspective. However, now that I think about it, if that had been the case, this may not have felt quite as special. Edward is perceptive – clearly, with his ability to hear the thoughts of others. However, the way he perceives not only Bella, but the entire Cullen clan – and even the students at the high school – made me appreciate the characters even more. I fell even more in love with Carlisle and Esme, I was overcome with emotions when Alice would see the future, and I cheered like crazy as Jasper’s skills really came through! There was far more detail in this book than I even imagined there could be. I thought I knew Forks. I thought I understood Edward and Bella’s unbelievable relationship. I really thought Edward was a tool (haha?) but now I love him. It would still take a lot for me to switch from #TeamJacob, but that’s a whole other story. Going back to this world made me really nostalgic, happy, and peaceful. It was like meeting up with an old friend after years apart, and realizing that while a lot had changed, you still loved each other fiercely. I sincerely can’t wait for Stephenie Meyer to release more books!

Once again, I was swept up into the world of Weep and the tale that unfolded in this book. There have been many times where sequels have not lived up to their predecessors, but this book most definitely DID. It was excellent, emotional, and beautiful. Rather than primarily following Lazlo, this story centered on post-life Sarai and the struggles of being Minya’s puppet while also navigating ghost-hood, a new relationship, and the shift in her original powers. There was so much backstory in this book that I didn’t even know how badly I wanted – like the Ellens, what really happened with Eril-Fane and Azareen, and even WHY Lazlo ended up where he did. It didn’t tie everything up in a nice little bow at the end of the book, and I appreciate that. I like stories that have a little mystery and that leave a little opportunity for me to imagine the future of the characters, but I was grateful that it didn’t feel as though there were giant plotholes when it came time for the finale. I do hope there is more in this delicious, dreamy world because I am HOOKED.

Abbi Waxman can do no wrong, I swear. I listened to the audiobook for this title, and I firstly just want to say that I DO recommend it. The narrator was excellent and I enjoyed the back-and-forth of Jessica and Emily in this format. After reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill earlier this year, I knew I wanted to gobble up anything Waxman wrote – and I was super excited when I found out she was releasing this book. Each scenario in this college road trip story is told from both the perspectives of successful lawyer and mom, Jessica, as well as sixteen-year-old Emily (who is totally hiding a secret). The banter reminded me of my mom and myself when I was sixteen, and it made me really nostalgic. I think that a lot of women would be able to relate to this story, either for the mom’s perspective or the daughter’s. There’s some serious girl power in this book, and I appreciated the approach Jessica took to her long-time company when her higher-ups weren’t being fair to women in the workplace. I also loved the way that Emily – though struggling through some insecurities – had interests that weren’t the “typical” for a teenage girl. It felt much more realistic and I loved every second of it! I can only recommend this book because there was nothing about it that I could even remotely say that I disliked. It was fantastic from beginning to end.

Just… WOW. What a follow-up to Scythe. I didn’t really think the story could get any more interesting, because I was truly fascinated through the entire first book. However, I was proven wrong, because this sequel had me hooked from beginning to end. I was constantly wondering what would happen next, and I ended up flying through the last half in a matter of days. I would have finished this sooner had I not been doing a buddy-read and wanting to at least keep a similar pace to my friend. (Spoiler alert to how that went: I still finished quicker because I just couldn’t stop myself from reading). I listened to the audiobook for this, and it was excellent. So I can now say that both the physical copy and audiobook are equally phenomenal and I suggest either – as long as you READ THESE NOW. I can’t believe I waited so long to begin them. Neal Shusterman is a genius. Now onto The Toll.

A wonderful, action-packed sequel that had me itching for more! I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed after reading The Falconer, and I’ve already ordered the next book in this trilogy because I’m dying to find out how this all comes to an end. This book doesn’t keep you sitting around waiting for something interesting to occur. Nearly every chapter has something thrilling, whether it’s vicious pixies, torturous daydreams (or daymares?), and even battles of giant proportions. The ending left me on the edge of my seat. I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT’S NEXT.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve enjoyed a contemporary romance novel as much as I did with this one. It was a quick “read” (I listened to the audiobook), and remained mostly lighthearted. In the Reader’s Guide at the end of the book, the author does a wonderful job describing what the plot of this book would look like for readers vs. writers: if you’re a reader, this book is about “a disillusioned romance author and a literary fiction writer who make a deal to swap genres for the summer.” If you’re a writer, this book is about “writer’s block” (simply put). I saw – and loved – both of these themes. The characters captured my attention in a heartbeat, and I felt their longing, pain, anger, desire, and all range of emotions as I read. I loved the side characters and their progression. I certainly recommend this book if you want a *mostly* lighthearted book with a hint of melancholy and a touch of sultry sass.

My friend has been asking me to read these books for nearly as long as they’ve been released. I finally borrowed her trilogy so I could form my own thoughts. I read part of the first Mortal Instruments book about ten years ago. I wasn’t even halfway through when I chose not to finish it because the demonic themes were unsettling. I did see the movie (which I didn’t enjoy) and the first few episodes of the TV show (which I also didn’t enjoy). I was pretty convinced that I wasn’t going to be able to get through The Infernal Devices because of the same themes. However, I pushed through, and… I’m glad I did. The book has pretty typical love triangle vibes, with a bad boy and a sweet boy. I love the sweet boy. I don’t care for the main protagonist, Tessa, because I feel as though she is quite naive, haughty, and careless. That may change as I continue to read the trilogy, mind you. I really enjoyed the profound quotes. The different “downworlders” were really intriguing for me. It is a very creepy book, so if you’re someone who spooks easily, such as myself, here’s your head’s up. But if you can get through the scary elements, it’s got a great plot and ends on a pretty interesting cliffhanger.

** spoiler alert ** Well, I’m feeling incredibly… neutral. I truly loved the beginning of this book. I’m all for an insta-romance and even a love triangle, so I had really high expectations. It started out super cute, and I really adored the connections made. There was some depth with Penny’s cancer history and her insecurities with love. However, as the story went on, I felt as though a lot of it was repetitive and then I just began to get frustrated with Penny’s self-sabotaging lifestyle AND her refusal to admit her love for Francesco. I also got REALLY mad when Francesco basically became a toxic, emotionally abusive presence in her life and she STILL wound up with him. I get pretty irritated with the “having a baby fixes everything” tropes, but in this case, I would have been much more satisfied with Penny just committing to being a mother and enjoying the process of her sister’s surrogacy – rather than Francesco coming into the mix to create that “father/boyfriend figure” at the end. There were things I loved and things I hated and I just kind of wound up feeling MEH about the whole thing towards the end. So… a very enthusiastic three stars from me. (The narration was lovely as always, thanks to Carrie Hope Fletcher – one of my favorite narrators EVER).

** spoiler alert ** Dragons and politics – what’s not to enjoy, right? I think I was expecting something along the lines of How to Train Your Dragon, but designed for young adults. That was… not what I got. This book started out painfully slow. There was a lot of backstory, and while I don’t mind a good backstory (or 2 or 3), I felt as though it kind of dragged on, when it could have given us premonition for the future, and then been over and done with. As far as the relationships – they were confusing! Annie (otherwise known as Antigone) is clearly in love with Lee (also known as Leo and Leon… the multiple names thing really threw me off) but while Lee is clearly in love with her, he wastes his time on Chrissa, and Annie wastes time on some kid named Duck, and then they also decide they clearly can’t be together? But then they decide they CAN be together. Okay, it’s final, they’re gonna be together. But now they aren’t together? Alright, this was how it was the entire book, and it never really truly had a resolution aside from knowing “where they stood.” In conclusion, it’s filled with some great dragon fights and towards the end, the story picks up pretty well, but if it’s going to be a series, I probably won’t be in the mood to finish the other books because this one didn’t really suck me in quite enough.