Halfway through Reading Harder

As it transpired, packing some of my books paid off. I read Peter Darling in one day, in between doing touristy things in Paris, and while I wasn't sure it would hook me (ha, pun), I thought it was bittersweet and a fascinating twist on what Neverland actually was. I also finished That Self-Same Metal on the plane ride back home, and while I didn't like it as much as Peter Darling, it was adventurous and unique. 

Once we got home, I ended up having massive amounts of free time due to my husband traveling to Texas twice within about a week and a half (thanks, work!). I finished Do You Dream of Terra-Two?, which while I got what it was going for ended up feeling kind of meh by the end. Everything building up to the end was slow, and then the end felt so...incomplete. Eh. I also finished, in quick succession, These Ghosts Are Family, which was so, so sad in so many ways, Deadly Ever After, which could have used a lot more show and a lot less tell, Dear Medusa, which was sad, sad, sad, but also beautiful, Too Bright to See, which was very bittersweet and emotional, and Beyond the Red, which was meh. Parts of it were interesting, but I felt like there was a lot of talking about things but not a lot of actual action, and then the ending was kind of fast-forwarded in a way that didn't feel earned. Hey, similar to my complaint about Do You Dream of Terra-Two! Two books with very different vibes but similar pacing and development issues.

I finally started on Uncommon Grounds toward the end of the month, which I'm sure will take me some time to get through, and I'll be working on Warrior Girl Unearthed and my To All the Boys trilogy reread (finished the first one, two to go). All in all, a pretty productive reading month!

For July, I'll be working on challenges #4, read a novel with a main character who uses they/them pronouns, and #14, read a work of magical realism or fabulism. For #4, I chose Where You'll Find Us by Jen St. Jude and Worst-Case Scenario by Ray Stoeve, and for #14, I'll be reading The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue by Zoulfa Katouh and Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemure. Four hopefully great books to look forward to!