Hello, fellow book junkies! Well, August was filled with lots of good books (including one 5-star read) and, apparently, many yellow book covers (see picture above).
“Girl” Books
Yes, I am a sucker for any book with “girl” in the title. Here are two more.
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey This adult, zombie horror/sci-fi story was a thrilling and unsettling ride. The little girl is. . . unlike any character I’ve ever read. Warning: this is no shiny-happy book. Highlight: Unconventional, strong-willed, kind-hearted Miss Justineau is now one of my all-time favorite characters. 4.5/5 stars
Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes YA contemporary. As a young girl, protagonist Maguire escaped unscathed from a car accident that killed her brother, dad, and uncle, so she now believes she’s a jinx. If you’re in the mood for a very sweet romance, this is the book for you. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but it’s solidly written with a lot of heart. 3.5/5 stars
Netgalley ARCs
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedotti Main character Hawthorn Creely comes across as a bored, annoyed, teenage Amelia Bedelia, with a first person POV that didn’t quite work for me. Hawthorn believes popular girl, Lizzie Lovett, disappeared because she turned into a werewolf. Or maybe Hawthorn doesn’t believe that. Or maybe that whole story line falls by the wayside. Highlight: Hawthorn’s mom’s old hippy friends decide to camp out in her backyard. 3/5 stars
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia– Honestly, it took a few chapters for me to get into it, but by chapter 14 I didn’t want to leave this well-written, well-researched YA paranormal set in near-future Mexico City. Though I’m not into vampires (I’m more of a witches gal), Moreno’s clever take on vampires is so compelling. The Revenant vampire was UNFORGETTABLE. 4.5/5 stars
Hype-Worthy Books I Finally(!) Read
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater At last, I am not the only YA book lover in the world who hasn’t read The Raven Boys. The rating I give it is (*drum roll, please*). . . FIVE STARS. Yes! Fully realized characters, friendship, magic, an Old Virginia setting that’s a character in itself, eccentric fortune tellers/witches–I just loved everything about this book and cannot wait to read the rest of the series. 5/5 stars
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski – The Winner’s Curse is a winner! It’s got everything–flawless writing, strong world-building, and the ultimate in star-crossed lovers. 4.5/5 stars
Audiobook
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Highly entertaining and action-packed, I had so much fun reading this book. The world building is fantastic and main character Wade/Perzival is really likable. James Halliday is a futuristic Willie Wonka who promises his $2 billion fortune to the first gamer to finds the Easter egg in Halliday’s virtual reality world. Narrated by Wil Wheaton (“Wesley” from Star Trek Voyager). 4.5/5
Others
Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King. How could I resist reading a book with this amazing title? King’s excellent writing style did not disappoint. The plot wasn’t always strong, but this book paid off big-time by the end–such thought-provoking ideas! Overall, I preferred her book Reality Boy but am addicted to King’s writing and will absolutely keep reading her books. 3.5/5
Summer Days and Summer Nights– In this entertaining and varied short story collection edited by Stephanie Perkins, YA writers–including big names like Leigh Bardugo, Libba Bray, and Cassandra Clare–contributed stories with a summer love theme. The story that blew me away was Nina Lacour’s The End of Love . It was flawless and made me definitely want to check out Lacour’s other work. (I think I’ll start with Hold Still.) 4/5 stars
Happy reading, everyone!
Eve Messenger
Great reading month! I’m so happy you enjoyed The Raven Boys!!!! I adored the series!
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Yay, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the Raven Cycle. I can honestly say I loved everything about The Raven, and I’m really looking forward to reading all the books in the series! I heard the last installment, The Raven King, is really great.
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Books 2&3 were my favorites 😊. The Raven King fell short for me, however I still adore the series!
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I still have The Raven Boys on my TBR list…. 😮
I did a summer reading wrap up on my blog – so many great books, it blew my mind! Love it!
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Oh, good, so I wasn’t the ONLY who hadn’t read The Raven Boys. 😉 it’s really well written. I think you’ll like it, Madeline.
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Glad you enjoyed The Girl with all the Gifts. I loved that book and reviewed it on me blog. In fact I just re-read me own review as a reminder which is the main reason I started me blog. That and reading other people’s awesome reviews of course!
x The Captain
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Absolutely, The Girl with All the Gifts was such a unique read. It IS nice to be able to refer back to posts we’ve made on our blog, each like a mini-time capsule. 🙂
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Nice list! You really do seem to like yellow covers, don’t you? I can never seem to find any!
I LOVED The Winner’s Curse and The Raven Boys, so I’m glad you finally read them! XD I still need to read Ready Player One, though… Everyone’s been nagging me about it lately.
-Amy
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Ready Player One was a blast. It verged on overly so slightly techie a couple of times but other than that it was a total joy ride.
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Oh, good! I can’t wait! 🙂
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I enjoy your reviews here. Have you read Shadows and Glooms, by Laura Amy Schlitz?
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Thank you, Deby! I just looked up Schlitz’s book on Goodreads and it does seem really interesting. Lifelike puppets = instantly creepy.
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When I first glanced at the “Netgalley Arcs” subheading, I initially read it as “Naughty Arcs.” I guess you can see where my mind is. 🙂
My daughter has been trying to get me to read The Girl with All the Gifts.
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LMAO, yep, I’m the queen of naughty ARCs. 😉 The Girl with All the Gifts is definitely a unique read with a strong writing style. You might like it.
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