June & July Reads + Mini Reviews

 Oops! I think the last time I posted was over a month ago! Gosh, I'm bad at this blogging thing.

I've been really busy lately because I'm attending a super intense summer opera program. I've been spending most of my time in class, in rehearsal, and learning my music. Next week is tech week for our performance, and if you've ever performed in a stage show, you know how crazy tech week (or "heck" week, as many would call it) is! Luckily, I have been to get a good amount of reading done lately. I read eight books in June, and so far, this month I've read three. I'm currently only eight books away from completing my Goodreads reading challenge, which is amazing!

Since I don't feel like writing any full reviews right now, I thought I'd put together a couple mini-reviews to discuss the last few books I read. I've actually had excellent luck lately, as I've enjoyed all of the books I read recently! So here are a few I'd like to talk about:


The Winners Crime & The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

4 stars for both

I read The Winner's Curse back in May and enjoyed it, so I finished off the trilogy in June. In terms of the quality of writing, I think this trilogy is excellent. The characters are suberb and the writing is beautiful and unique. Kestrel has quickly become one of my favorite YA protagonists of all time. The romance develops slowly over the course of the trilogy, but by the end it's absolutely sublime. I also really liked the supporting characters and the many complicated relationships between them. The worldbuilding improved greatly in the second and third books, and I think it really stands out from other YA fantasy books. Speaking specifically of the final book, it was the perfect conclusion to the series.


Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

3.5 stars

This was the first space opera I've read in a long time, and it was great to get back into that genre. I don't think I'll ever love science fiction as much as I love fantasy, but I think I'm slowly becoming more interested in it.  

This definitely a fun read. While the worldbuilding could have used a bit more development, there were a lot of ideas that I liked. One of the most valuable elements of this book to me was the discussion of racism and racial profiling. One of the characters, Alyosha, is a refugee from a race that has been demonized by other planets and used as scapegoats by politicians, stoking fear and hatred. Even though he's a TV star, Alyosha faces a lot of racial prejudice, and is framed for killing the empress because of his skin color.  Obviously, politicians demonizing refugees and certain races is something that is happening right now in the real world, which makes this book's themes very current and important.

My biggest complaint about this book, unfortunately, is the romance. It was a typical lame YA romance that occurred at random, with little development and no chemistry between the characters.


The Young Elites by Marie Lu

 4.5 stars

This book KILLED me. Goodness, it was heart-wrenching. It was terrible, but stunningly amazing at the same time. I loved nearly everything about this book! Great characters, great worldbuilding, excellent writing and an engaging plot, but the ending completely broke my heart. I think I need to take some time to recover before starting the next book in this series. This is YA high fantasy as its best: it wasn't too complicated and had some familiar ideas, but it had with enough depth and intensity to keep me interested.


This was my first time reading a book by Marie Lu, and I instantly connected with her writing style. I'm quite impressed, so I'll definitely be checking out some of her other work.


Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

4 stars

This book made me really miss Harry Potter. I'm dying to reread it now, but I can't seem to find my copy of the first book...

Anyway....

Carry On was simply cute and fun. Honestly, "adorable" is the best way to describe a lot of this book. I loved the friendships. The characters were all well-written. Simon and Penelope were such a cute pair! Platonic friendships between male and female characters often don't get enough attention in YA, so I just loved reading about them together. Plus, the romance was simply amazing.

This book was obviously heavily inspired off of Harry Potter, but it had a lot of new ideas. It my first time reading a book by Rainbow Rowell, and I think I'll definitely look into her other work.


 The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

 4 stars

This book was definitely challenging for me to read, as I've never read adult fantasy before. It was deeper, more detailed, and more technical than any other fantasy book I've read. But it was worth the effort, because it was so original, innovative, and quite simply unlike anything I've ever read. Honestly, it kind of terrified me. I can almost see our world becoming like the chaotic, dangerous world of The Stillness.

I loved the diversity in this book! It's great to see a fantasy novel with POC as leads and LGBT representation. Not to mention the characters were all so interesting and well-developed. They weren't always likable, and at times were morally grey, which is something I always appreciate in fantasy books. 

It did take me a while to get into this book, because of how slow the plot was, and how complicated the world is. Luckily, there's a handy glossary in the back of the book, which I highly recommend reading through before you start the book. I'm looking forward to starting the second book soon, which I've heard is even better than the first. I will definitely be looking out for more of N.K. Jemisin's work, as she's a very talented writer!


The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May

5 stars

This was the third and final book in the Falconer Trilogy by Elizabeth May, which is one of my favorite series ever. I LOVED this book, but it also broke my heart. I don't want the series to be over. I still can't believe there aren't going to be any more books in this world or with these characters.

This book was the most emotionally painful of all the books in the trilogy. After the tragic events of the second book, we're flung back into the world to face new drama and high stakes as Aileana battles evil fae and struggles to save the world. Everything about this was epic: the characters, the romance, the action. So many things got deeper in this book. The worldbuilding grew more expansive, which makes me REALLY want another book set in this world. Alas, Elizabeth May has said that she doesn't want to write any other books in the Falconer universe. Honestly, I wish she'd hire ME to write it, because I just love her world so freaking much.

Though I am glad that this series had a happy, albeit bittersweet ending,  I'm not totally in love with the ending. I just don't feel it did some of the characters justice, after all they went through.

I plan to write a whole series review for this trilogy, so stay tuned if you're interested in giving this series a try!


Julia Defiant by Catherine Egan

5 stars
 

Oh my goodness! I loved this so, so much! I think I may have found one of my favorite YA fantasy series ever.

Julia Defiant is the sequel to Julia Vanishes, the first book in the Witch's Child Trilogy. I loved Julia Vanishes, but dare I say the second book was even better! The worldbuilding and characters grew so much deeper. The author was just throwing cool concept after cool concept at me. I loved the developments with Julia's power, as more of her background came to light, as well as the increasingly complicated politics of the world. Julia is a fabulous heroine. Though she makes some questionable decisions at times, she is turning out to be a formidable protagonist.

Besides Julia, this series contains an endearing cast of distinctive characters. They are not all likeable, but they are fabulously written, and I love them all. 

~ ~ ~

That's all the books I'm going to talk about now. I really hope you enjoyed this post and that you're also reading some great books this summer!

See you later,

Kitty