5 Books That Will Get You Through a Reading Slump

** spoiler alert ** What a finale! I feel as though my reactions to this book were entirely different than the previous two. I like to say I’m incredibly picky with my faerietales because they’re my favorite fantasy sub-genre. The Folk of the Air trilogy as a whole is something that I now wholeheartedly appreciate. While the first book felt boring and repetitive, the second book captured my attention, and this third book wowed me! All the loose ends were wrapped up. I didn’t feel as though there were plot holes or missing details. From Jude and Carden’s relationship, to the Bomb/Roach/Ghost trio, to Nicasia and the Undersea, and even to Vivi and Heather – everything settled into place. I’ll admit the plot felt predictable to me, and I wasn’t necessarily hanging on the edge of my seat, because I assumed everything that would happen next, which is my reasoning for 4 stars. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable end to this series!

Kinsella does it again, friends. Her way around whimsical romantic comedies is like no other. This book was exactly what I needed it to be: cheesy, predictable, and fun. It was the most “scandalous” of all the books I’ve read by the author, but I honestly enjoyed how it played out. Keeping the new bride and groom from having sex for days on end became absolutely hilarious, if not a little frustrating even as a reader! Overall, I quite enjoyed the story and how it concluded. It would definitely be an excellent beach read!

Initial thoughts when beginning the book: “Wow, this is basically Crazy Rich Asians.” Final thoughts when finishing the book: “Wow, that was basically Crazy Rich Asians.” Okay, hear me out – I ADORE Crazy Rich Asians, and I even wanted more books in the series. I was excited to read another book that had similar tones. Set in Singapore, tons of rich people, catty relationships, dramatic romances, sex, revenge, the works. I enjoyed each and every one of those elements in Last Tang Standing – and if I hadn’t read CRA, this book would’ve gotten five stars from me. It was quirky and upbeat and interesting. It just felt… already done. The actual plot itself wasn’t identical to CRA, but the themes were just SO alike, it almost felt as though it was copied. That is really the only thing keeping me from giving absolute raves all around. I feel torn, ya know?

I love a good heist story. Oceans 11, Now You See Me, Tower Heist, etc. However, one of the things that differentiates a movie from a book is that when you’re watching the backstory, you’re entertained. You get to see the whole plan come to fruition. All those tiny details that would seem inconsequential in a book are way more thrilling to view. I had to keep reminding myself of this while reading Six of Crows. I think, had it been a movie, I would’ve been truly entertained. The concept was brilliant and the characters were really intriguing. I just wished it was a little more fast-paced. I found myself getting sleepy each time I sat down to read, and it wasn’t because of a lack of interest, but because it wasn’t quick enough to keep my attention. Apparently I also did things backwards, because you’re supposed to start with Shadow and Bone and read that trilogy before reading the Six of Crows trilogy. I didn’t know that. I think I was missing a decent amount of information from the original books in the Grishaverse. My plan is to now go back and read those before moving on to Crooked Kingdom. Hopefully that will sort things out. If you like a slower read, this will be ideal for you. It’s great when you want to take your time and just really dive into a longer, darker novel. If you’re like me though, you may want to choose something that’s a bit snappier.

** audio-ARC provided by Net Galley ** I’m currently wiping tears from my eyes as I finish up this book. What an emotional ending! However, it would be silly of me to begin at the end, so let me head back to the opening of The Switch: We meet a tired, burnt-out Leena Cotton, as she struggles to meet work expectations and experiences panic attacks due to the stress of living in high-stakes London and constantly being on-the-go since her sister’s death. In sweet, rural Yorkshire, Leena’s grandmother, Eileen, is feeling stagnant in her later years, after a nasty divorce. She wants love and passion and something more than what she currently has. They decide to swap lives. Not “Freaky Friday”-style, but truly move into each other’s homes and even switch mobile phones. Leena is tossed into the quirky neighborhood watch, and I found myself bubbling over with laughter as she dealt with her grandmother’s cranky, elderly friends. I also cackled many times as Eileen tried to dive into online dating and figuring out a smartphone. There were comical mishaps aplenty. However, the real reason this book hooked me was because of the emotion. Yes, there’s a beautiful, loving bond between grandmother and granddaughter. However, a lot of that strength is tied to their loss of Carla, Leena’s sister, and the difficulty Leena has relating with her mother, Marian. O’Leary did an incredible job depicting life after loss, the mess of family relationships, truly working through grief, and more. I found myself tearing up more than once, and was really impacted by how well these themes were handled. Nothing felt sugar-coated. There were also the fantastic romantic elements that had me squealing for joy, but I didn’t feel like they completely ruled this book, which I actually ended up appreciating more than expected. There was some appropriate cheesiness, but overall, this book was like a warm mug of coffee: comforting and energizing. It made me want to hug my mom and move to the country. Props to O’Leary for knocking another one out of the park!

I shocked myself, finishing this book so quickly – but once I began, I couldn’t put it down. In Five Years totally surprised me. The story wasn’t anything like I expected it to be. When it started out with a fancy proposal and a somewhat sexy dream of what the future could hold, I wasn’t sure whether to expect magical realism or a totally predictable and cheesy romance plot. In my opinion, it was neither. Rather than focusing primarily on Dannie’s romantic relationships, it morphed into a beautiful platonic love story – with her childhood best friend, Bella. There was so much depth throughout the plot – from Bella’s diagnosis to the DUMBO apartment, to the wedding planning, and more. This book continued to surprise me in the best ways possible. “I saw what was coming, but I did not see what it would mean.” This quote really sums up the content in this book. Grief entwined with love, from the past – and into the future. This story was excellently written and poignant.

This book has done what few rom-com books have done before: it told the story primarily from the male lead’s perspective. I was pleasantly surprised by the how much I enjoyed this. I think I expected more raunch (there was plenty of it, but it didn’t show up until much later than “usual” for a book like this) and for it to be way too cheesy. Instead, it was hilarious, witty, and even insightful. I leaned over at one point while reading to tell my husband, “maybe you should read this too.” The concept of a grown man joining a book club full of his baseball teammates to read romance novels in hopes to save his marriage was truly brilliant. It had me cracking up on plenty of occasions, and the totally feminist quotes from his peers were excellent too. Very well-done!

I am all about a powerful female lead, and this book had THREE of them! The moment I finished this fantasy novel, I wanted to read it over again, just to find all the hidden messages I may have missed the first time around. It was beautiful and haunting, with a great plot twist towards the end. There’s action, romance, magic, and MORE! Something for everyone to enjoy. Do yourself a favor and pick up this novel to support a self-published author + dive into a fantastic new world!

In the past, I’ve found it challenging to connect with dystopian stories, or find them exhilarating rather than depressing. However, that was certainly not the case with Scythe. I experienced my first reading slump of my entire life during the month of July. None of the fantasy/sci-fi books I read were resonating with me, and that was really disheartening, considering those are my go-to genres. When I picked up Scythe, I worried that I would deal with the same thing all over again. However, after a few chapters, I realized I was SO intrigued by the chemistry between Citra and Rowan, the teachings of Scythe Faraday, and even the tales told about the mass gleanings and beyond. The story picked up really quickly, and I found myself 100% HOOKED. There wasn’t just one major plot twist – there were several – and I loved it. A few of them I sort of saw coming, but there were moments that had my jaw dropping straight to the floor. Every second of this book kept me on my toes, and I can’t WAIT to read Thunderhead next!

Oh, how I wanted to love this as much as The Bromance Book Club, but alas, I did not. Not only was it my least favorite trope in the world: enemies to lovers – but it also felt forced throughout the entire story. I was immediately on board with the takedown of Royce (TW // sexual harassment), but then quickly became frustrated with the way Liv was responding to the other women who were victims. Naturally, it all “worked out” in the end, because… happy endings… but it didn’t feel real to me. I was also totally turned off by the way Liv completely railed on stuck up, arrogant men the entire time, yet whenever Mack showed any signs of being soft or gentle, she would complain or roast him for being less of a man. Like… pick a stance and stick with it, sista. It was filled with steamy sex scenes – including one that was… PATRIOTIC? Excuse me? No one wants to hear how the rockets glared and bombs burst in air and all that crap, while people are having sex. So weird. Needless to say, this fell beyond flat for me. It was practically inverted. The only saving grace was The Russian. I felt like I was five years old, laughing at fart jokes.