June & July Wrap-Up

I missed out on posting my June Wrap-Up, so here's all of the books I read in June and July!

Books Read In June...

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

5 Stars

Will have a review up closer to the release date (September 2nd).

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Heir of Fire on NetGalley, and I simply couldn't resist reading it. I'll be rereading this in late August as part of the #ReadMaas Read-Along I'm hosting in honor of the official release of Heir of Fire. All you need to know is this book was amazing, and of the Throne of Glass series so far, this is the best. Amazing new characters, an expansive look at the world Maas has created, and a riveting plot. If you like YA fantasy, you must pick up this series!

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

3 Stars

Will have a review up for the entire trilogy on my channel soon.

Ruin and Rising was the last book in the Grisha Trilogy - a trilogy I've loved since the first book came out in 2012. While I found Ruin and Rising to be a really entertaining installment, a lot of the characters I'd invested in over the course of the trilogy were essentially ignored in this book and met undeserving ends. The ending itself, and the lack of attention to certain important characters, has tainted this book for me. Some readers might like the ending, but I found it to be very dissatisfactory. 

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

4 Stars

I've been making my way through Domingue's published works since reading The Mapmaker's War in late March and loving it. Of the three books she's released, this was the one furthest from my preferred genre. I did, however, really enjoy this. Domingue has a knack for character-driven stories with light elements of the fantastical or paranormal. In this book, our main character is a ghost - but that's not what the story is really about. As with all of her books, this does have a bit of a feminist bent. 

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

5 Stars

Will have a review up for the entire trilogy on my channel soon.

I finally got around to reading the Mistborn trilogy, and boy am I glad that I did! This first installment was absolutely brilliant. Sanderson does an incredible job of introducing readers to an incredibly complex and intricate magic systems without causing confusion. I really had no complaints with this book other than that the ending was a bit more predictable than I had hoped. If you haven't started this series yet, do it! You won't regret it.

Books Read in July

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

5 Stars

After finishing The Final Empire, I had to keep going with Mistborn. Luckily this installment didn't have too much second book syndrome, although the slight change in story made for a bit of a different experience. While the first book is more of an adventurous heist novel, this is much more about politics. As such, we spend a lot of time watching characters going back and forth with plans as the political climate evolves. The pace is a bit slower for parts of this novel, but it's still enrapturing.

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

5 Stars

Despite being 700+ pages, The Hero of Ages manages to read like one big climax. Sanderson spent a lot of time in the first two books setting up stuff that would later be tied up in this novel, so there are constant reveals or plot twists - depending on how oblivious you are to his foreshadowing. I saw quite a lot of the reveals coming, some of which I had figured out in book one, but was still surprised by a few things and was happy to see resolutions being made even if they were predictable. The ending was perfectly fitting for the trilogy - I can't imagine the Mistborn trilogy ending in any other way. While I wish this had been less predictable, I can't blame this book for the hype that made me think this book would shock me. Highly recommend this series!

The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi

3 Stars

I was highly anticipating reading this book after seeing some of the beautiful illustrations within its pages, but unfortunately discovered that the illustrations were almost all this book had to offer. The story didn't catch up with its own premise, and this book just felt meandering. For a book that's nearly 500 pages, you would think a lot would be happening... but instead we're left with endless chapters about the characters wandering around and doing nothing of real importance. The illustrations are undeniably beautiful - the writing just wasn't a match for them.

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard

2 Stars

You can read my full review here.

I've been trying to get through this book for months. After highly anticipating its release earlier this year, I was lucky enough to win an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway. The synopsis ended up being quite distant from what this book was about, and the book itself could really seem to figure out what it wanted to be. It ended up being a flat romance with some random bits of magic and political intrigue lazily and inconsistently thrown into the mix.

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

2.5 Stars

Will have a full review soon.

If I had never read a book like this - meaning a paranormal/historical fiction novel with steampunk elements, I might have been able to enjoy this book more. That's not the case however, so most of this book felt like a puzzle whose pieces were taken from puzzles I've already completed. The main character was flat. The ending was a ridiculous cliffhanger that almost seems to end mid-paragraph, right when the climax starts. Overall, this was a disappointment. I can only recommend it to readers who don't hate endings that leave you hanging and who haven't read books similar to this before.

Saga Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples

4.5 Stars

I hadn't picked up volume three simply because I didn't have the money to purchase it, but I visited my local library and realized that they had all of the volumes currently out! I read the entire volume at the library and really enjoyed it, despite having to hide the book several times as a little girl kept hanging out around where I was reading and these books are quite graphic. Just as entertaining and beautiful as the previous volumes.

Related Items monthly wrap up