This was a pretty busy month book-wise! It started off with just a bunch of okay books, but The Scorpio Races and Fire were finally two books that got me excited to keep reading! Hopefully I will have many more good books next month. :)
The Summer I Turned Pretty
by Jenny Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I thought this was a fun, light read -- would've been a perfect summer read! I liked the coming of age story, though I think there's definitely some more growth that needs to happen with the characters. Hopefully we'll get to see that in the next book. I liked the characters, but didn't love them, except for maybe Jeremiah. And I don't love who she ended up with but I am looking forward to reading more in the series.
Across the Universe
by Beth Revis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a pretty good book. There were things I really liked, but things that I didn't like. It hooked me at the very beginning, but then got a little slow before it picked up again. In some ways it reminded me of Inside Out
, by Maria Snyder and The Maze Runner
, by James Dasner -- two excellent books -- but this one fell just a little short of those books. It was a very interesting concept but I just never really felt attached to the main characters. And I will admit some of the "Season" stuff was a little weird and uncomfortable. I still enjoyed it enough that I can't wait to read the rest in the series.
I Know This Much Is True
by Wally Lamb
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I admit I didn't make it very far into this book. But far enough for me to know that I would not enjoy it. I really didn't like the way the author jumped back and forth between the past and present -- it was very confusing. I also felt like there was too much information that wasn't pertinent to the story, that things were too drawn out; the author just seemed to ramble at times. There was also a lot of sexual content and language that was thrown in randomly and it's just not something I felt like continuing.
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Based on reviews and recommendations I expected to be blown away by this book. Instead I was a little disappointed. While some of the anecdotes the author shared about her life were interesting, to say the least, the overall tone of the book was a little .... bland. I was sad for the kids -- their parents were definitely a little crazy -- but I wanted to feel some emotion, any kind of emotion, from the author. I didn't want to know what happened, I wanted to feel it. There was a sort of disconnect I felt that I missed.
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Really enjoyed this sequel. I just love Sohpie and all her sarcastic thoughts and comments! The beginning was a little slow but then it really picked up and there was so much happening. The one thing I didn't like about this book was the love triangle. Honestly, I barely remember Cal from the first book and having him as a potential love interest just seemed a bit forced and not really necessary to the story. Also a huge cliffhanger at the end, but well worth it. Can't wait til the next one comes out.
It's Not Summer Without You
by Jenny Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I flew through this book. It was such a quick read - I actually finished it in a day! I felt sad a lot in this book and I hope there is more happiness in the next. I liked the few chapters from Jeremiah's point of view and wish there were more. He is definitely my favorite character!
The Scorpio Races
by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was such a unique and beautiful story. When I first started I thought it was just okay, nothing special. But maybe about 100 pages in I fell in love -- with the story, the island, the characters. It suddenly felt so real to me. Puck & Sean were two perfect characters. I loved how different they were and I loved how different their voices were. It was easy to distinguish who was speaking; I can't say the same for several other books I've read recently. It was such a beautifully told story and it left me longing for more -- more Puck & Sean, more Corr, more Thisby, just more everything. I loved this book!
Fire
by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Having love Graceling, I was very excited for this sequel. The story was completely different from Graceling, but not in a bad way. I enjoyed this just as much as the first! The only thing really tying this to Graceling was the back story of Leck, which I really enjoyed learning about. There wasn't a lot of suspense or action, but I loved the slow way the story and especially the characters developed. This whole idea of "monsters" was so unique and so intriguing. Fire was the perfect main character and I really came to love all the people in her life and felt every joy and pain she felt for each of them. I can't wait to read the next in the series, though these characters will be missed!
totally with you on across the universe I've got those other two on my too read lists I'm glad you liked them and I had forgotten I wanted to check out scorpion races
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