or, a touch more accurately, first impressions?
I've been recovering from surgery for the past week, and as cabin fever set in and I started getting more and more stir-crazy, I also started reading a bunch of different books at once. Why do I read multiple books at the same time instead of sticking with one and finishing it more quickly? I don't know. But since I am, here are five (and a half) of my first impressions for you:
On the Come Up - Angie Thomas
I love that it's set in the same world as The Hate U Give, and I'm enjoying the alternate perspective of growing up in Garden Heights. I'm reading this one out loud to my husband, and we're both into it so far, although as an incredibly white person I should 1000% not be reading this book aloud. Joel literally claps his hands with glee every time I get to a part where Bri raps because he can't wait to laugh at me.
Queen of Air and Darkness - Cassandra Clare
Fine, this is a re-read, so it isn't actually first impressions, but when I read the series before it was first book when it came out...wait a long time...second book when it came out...wait a long time...finally, third book! So this is the first read through where I actually remember all the details from previous books. That said, while I love this series (Ty has my heart forever), this might be my least favorite of the trilogy. I have theories, though. One theory, specifically. And I need more books to come out so I can find out if I'm right.
Sidenote: There have been multiple uses of "fire wants to burn" which is also used in the Magisterium series, which Clare writes with Holly Black. Irrelevant to the story and my enjoyment thereof, but interesting nonetheless. Also, bonus "review" since I recently finished the audiobook of the The Silver Mask...that series is a little more meh for me. Character development is lacking, the plot meanders and nothing much actually happens. I've read Holly Black before, and obviously I've read Cassandra Clare, and the Magisterium series just doesn't stand up against their other work. So uh...there you have it. End of tangent.
Mirage - Somaiya Daud
This book is making me stay up past my bedtime. The world-building, cultural detail, themes...ugh, just endlessly glorious. Read this, it's a good one.
Shadow of the Fox - Julie Kagawa
This one is a bit of a slower burn for me, but I'm intrigued by the Japanese mythology and looking forward to getting deeper into the story.
Saints and Misfits - S.K. Ali
Into this story, not into the narrator of the audiobook. I'm powering through because I need to know what happens, but I wish they had picked a reader who varied their tone and inflection based on what was happening in the story. If you're interested, go with the book, not the audio.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Grace and Fury - Tracy Banghart
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From the cover:
"In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.
Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace - someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.
Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything."
I've had this book sitting on my nightstand for months, and for one reason or another (aka other books that demanded to be read) I kept putting it off. Now that I have finally read it, I'm glad I did. Why? Because the second half of this duology doesn't come out until FRIGGIN JULY, and I don't know if I can wait that long.
That's right...after months of delaying picking this book up, when I finally did, I read it in two sittings. I wanted to finish it the night I started reading, but I had to work the following day, and the smart part of me that didn't want to be a zombie running three programs finally forced the rest of me to put the book down halfway through. Even after I did, though, it took me forever to fall asleep because I could not stop thinking about Serina and Nomi. This book stays with you.
In the kingdom of Viridia, it is illegal for women to read. If they want work, they can find it in a factory working as a seamstress, as a wife or a housekeeper, or they can work to become a Grace, one of the women chosen to serve as companions to the Superior, ruler of Viridia. Serina has trained her entire life to become a Grace. She is demure, gentle, and polite, and she has a plan--become the Head Grace, spare her mother from difficult factory labor, and keep the rest of her family safe. Nomi, Serina's headstrong, rebellious younger sister, makes the journey to Bellaqua with her to serve as Serina's handmaid. She also has a plan--find a way to escape Viridia and live somewhere with more freedom.
After a run-in with the Superior's heir, both sisters' plans are turned upside down when the Heir, choosing his own Graces for the first time, selects Nomi, not Serina, to serve as his companion. Both young women are still reeling from this decision when Serina is caught holding a book and sentenced to Mount Ruin, a prison for the kingdom's most dangerous, violent women. Within hours, each sister finds herself alone, thrust into an environment she is unprepared for, in completely over her head.
Will Serina, dubbed "Dead Girl" by one of the guards upon her arrival at Mount Ruin, live up to the name, or will she toughen up and learn to fight for her survival? Will Nomi's fierce spirit be tamed and broken by the Superior and his Heir, or will she succeed in navigating the intricacies of being a Grace and find a way to save her sister? If you react to this book the way I did, you'll get some answers pretty quickly...but maybe learn from my experience and wait until a little closer to July to find out.
From the cover:
"In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.
Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace - someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.
Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything."
ðŸ’ðŸ’ðŸ’
I've had this book sitting on my nightstand for months, and for one reason or another (aka other books that demanded to be read) I kept putting it off. Now that I have finally read it, I'm glad I did. Why? Because the second half of this duology doesn't come out until FRIGGIN JULY, and I don't know if I can wait that long.
That's right...after months of delaying picking this book up, when I finally did, I read it in two sittings. I wanted to finish it the night I started reading, but I had to work the following day, and the smart part of me that didn't want to be a zombie running three programs finally forced the rest of me to put the book down halfway through. Even after I did, though, it took me forever to fall asleep because I could not stop thinking about Serina and Nomi. This book stays with you.
In the kingdom of Viridia, it is illegal for women to read. If they want work, they can find it in a factory working as a seamstress, as a wife or a housekeeper, or they can work to become a Grace, one of the women chosen to serve as companions to the Superior, ruler of Viridia. Serina has trained her entire life to become a Grace. She is demure, gentle, and polite, and she has a plan--become the Head Grace, spare her mother from difficult factory labor, and keep the rest of her family safe. Nomi, Serina's headstrong, rebellious younger sister, makes the journey to Bellaqua with her to serve as Serina's handmaid. She also has a plan--find a way to escape Viridia and live somewhere with more freedom.
After a run-in with the Superior's heir, both sisters' plans are turned upside down when the Heir, choosing his own Graces for the first time, selects Nomi, not Serina, to serve as his companion. Both young women are still reeling from this decision when Serina is caught holding a book and sentenced to Mount Ruin, a prison for the kingdom's most dangerous, violent women. Within hours, each sister finds herself alone, thrust into an environment she is unprepared for, in completely over her head.
Will Serina, dubbed "Dead Girl" by one of the guards upon her arrival at Mount Ruin, live up to the name, or will she toughen up and learn to fight for her survival? Will Nomi's fierce spirit be tamed and broken by the Superior and his Heir, or will she succeed in navigating the intricacies of being a Grace and find a way to save her sister? If you react to this book the way I did, you'll get some answers pretty quickly...but maybe learn from my experience and wait until a little closer to July to find out.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Holding Up the Universe - Jennifer Niven
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From the cover:
"Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours."
From the cover:
"Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours."
YES, Libby! I was a touch nervous going into this book because of how much I loved All the Bright Places, but there was no need to be. Once again, Jennifer Niven has delivered.
Libby Strout is starting her junior year of high school, returning to public school after being homeschooled and ultimately ending up housebound following her mother's death when she was 10. Starting high school is a lot for anyone, so Libby is understandably nervous, but she's ready. She has a plan. She's prepared for the anxiety. And she's not going to let anyone stop her from living her life. Because Libby? Is a badass.
Jack Masselin is one of the popular kids at school. Everyone wants to be him, but nobody knows that he has a secret. Jack can't recognize people by their faces, and his prosopagnosia has become the defining feature of his life. Everything, from what he does during the day to who his friends are, all centers around keeping his face blindness a secret. He has engineered a life he can live in survival mode, but this carefully constructed existence is about to be shattered.
After Jack, in a misguided effort to spare her humiliation, drags Libby into a shitty high school "game" his friends cooked up and the two of them find themselves in group counseling together, the two are shocked to find themselves drawn to each other. Libby is confident, fearless, and speaks her mind, which is exactly what Jack needs. Jack turns out to be introspective and creative, and Libby is realizing that the boy she wrote off at the beginning of the school year might actually be someone she could fall for. Will their burgeoning relationship survive the tumultuous waters of high school? Or is this a relationship that is doomed to fail?
Seeing Libby and Jack blossom alongside each other is a delight, but if you ask me the real MVP of this book? Dusty Masselin, Jack's youngest brother. This little dude just...my heart. He is such a beautiful soul, and being totally honest, I could read a whole book just following him as he goes about his day being a sweet, kind, heartwarming tiny human. Dusty deserves all the happiness in the universe, and if I could meet any character in this book and give them a hug or a high five, it would be him. If you don't read this book for anyone else, read it for Dusty.
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