Hi! I'm writing this at the tail end of July and I think I finally have a somewhat decent reading month? Decent for me, at least.
It probably helped that I went overseas and had a lot of ebooks on hand for when I had absolutely nothing to do on the airplane, and during my whole-trip quarantine as well.
I've started using the CAWPILE system to organize my reading, since the spreadsheet by G does a really lovely job with helping me decide on a star ranking and also it makes it very easy to see my reading stats for the year.
Books Mentioned
- The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
- The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
- Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
- Jade City by Fonda Lee
- Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater
⸺ ⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ ⸺
Genre: Adult Historical Fantasy
Trigger/Content Warnings: self-harm, bullying, gore, death, drug use, war, rape, human experimentation, torture, massacres, mentioned abortion, physical & emotional abuse
The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
Summary
Rin is on the run: haunted by the atrocity she committed to end the war, addicted to opium, and hiding from the murderous commands of her vengeful god, the fiery Phoenix. Her only reason for living is to get revenge on behalf of Nikan. With no other options, Rin joins forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord. Rin throws herself into his war. After all, making war is all she knows how to do. The more Rin learns, the more she fears her love for Nikan will drive her away from every ally and lead her to rely more and more on the Phoenix's power. Because there is nothing she won't sacrifice for her country and her vengeance.
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
This sequel was amazing. It made me fall in love with so many of the characters and their dynamic, and left me absolutely heartbroken as a result.
I love Chen Kitay! I think Kitay has got to be my favorite character. He is so smart and also so chaotic, it's great. I also just really love his friendship with Rin. I love seeing these really well-developed platonic friendships, and Kitay & Rin's relationship was beautiful. I also really loved Rin & Nezha's complicated relationship. I think the thing that really did it for me in this sequel was the additional focus on character relationships as well as the added tension of Hesperia's involvement in this power struggle.
I really loved the many layers of political intrigue in this war. There were so many different factors at play and a constant tug-of-war struggle for control that kept tensions at a high at all times. It made it so I couldn't put this book down once things started kicking off, which was pretty early in the book as well.
One thing I wish was different was the Cike. I wish they had more of a role throughout the book. I think the character dynamics that were the focus of this book were Rin's relationship with her former classmates, but I wish that wasn't at the expense of further developing her relationship with the Cike, since I adored the members of the Cike.
Overall, this was a wonderful sequel. The first book of the trilogy had me amazed, and this one met and surpassed my expectations that followed. So much so that I jumped into the next one right away because I just couldn't leave it at that.
Genre: Adult Historical Fantasy
Trigger/Content Warnings: self-harm, bullying, gore, death, drug use, war, rape, human experimentation, torture, massacres, mentioned abortion, physical & emotional abuse
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
Summary
After saving her nation of Nikan, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she sacrificed so much. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges--and unexpected opportunities. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
I really, really, loved this finale.
I thought this book was extremely fast-paced the entire time, but that made it such a fun reading experience. So many things happened in such fast succession in this book, and sometimes it made it a little difficult to keep up and events got a little muddled, but it also kept me extremely engaged the entire time.
Again, I don't want to give anything away, but there were characters that were introduced in this book that I wish we had more time with, since I really liked them and their dynamic with Rin. But also in this book (and the last, but I neglected to mention it) I really, really love Rin's relationship with Venka.
I feel like I should have seen the very ending of this series coming, but I honestly did not. And I was very heartbroken at the end of it all.
Overall, I am heartbroken, and I hope you all pick up this series because it is so good.
Trigger/Content Warnings: racism, alcohol consumption, bullying
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
Summary
Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn't easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it's always been Izumi—or Izzy, because "it's easier this way"—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father's identity... and he's none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent, Izzy is literally a princess. In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn't all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never "American" enough, and in Japan, she must prove she's "Japanese" enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after?
Rating: ★★(+0.75) (2.75/5)
I thought this was very fun and light-hearted, but it also wasn't my thing.
I don't read YA contemporaries very much since I am definitely not their target audience, but I was pulled in by the summary of this since it seemed very interesting. And it was a fun time.
I liked the portrayal of Izzy's experiences in a predominantly white neighborhood as a POC, and I also liked that she had a strong support system in her friends and her mother. I also overall really loved the love and trust that Izzy has with her mother, and I loved the relationship she developed with her father. I also liked the love interest, Akio. Or maybe that's just my love for the bodyguard love interest trope.
But, as shown from my rating, there were things that just didn't do it for me. One of the things that really didn't stick with me was the writing style. I thought it was too colloquial for my tastes. I also thought the story was a little too predictable. I don't think predictability is a bad thing, but I think something that saves predictability is execution, and I evidently wasn't a fan of the writing style.
Overall, I thought this was a good, light read, but unfortunately I wasn't able to get past the fact that the writing style just wasn't my thing.
Trigger/Content Warnings: drug use, addiction, death, overdose, mentioned self-harm, mentioned sexual abuse of a minor, mentioned suicide, gun violence, sexual content
Jade City by Fonda Lee
Summary
The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It's the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion--but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in the commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection. When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself.
Rating: ★★★★(+.25) (4.25/5)
This was my next venture into Asian inspired adult fantasy, and I'm in love.
I thought it was a little slow-paced in the beginning, but it was a good and necessary introduction to the key characters as well as this fantasy world. I think the beginning did a great job with establishing the family dynamics as well. In hindsight the beginning was very important in explaining the tension between the different generations of Kauls, as well as the tension between the siblings. I really liked these family dynamics between the Kauls and I loved each of the Kauls as characters individually. The setting itself was also made so vivid and I loved it.
I really loved the incorporation of jade in the magic system. I wish it was explained a little more though; we're introduced to different techniques that the characters can use when they have the power of jade, but I think these techniques could be further explained since I don't think they really stuck to my brain when they were going through the initial explanations. I also was a little lost when it came to the fictional folklore behind the jade, so I hope that's explained a little more in the sequel.
Overall, I really loved this book. I always love the exploration of family dynamics and I definitely see the wuxia inspiration in here, which I absolutely love since I love the wuxia genre. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for an adult fantasy read with some wuxia influence.
Trigger/Content Warnings: death, car accident, violence, gun violence
Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater
Summary
The stakes have never been higher as it seems like either the end of the world or the end of dreamers approaches.
Do the dreamers need the ley lines to save the world...or will their actions end up dooming the world? As Ronan, Hennessy, and Bryde try to make dreamers more powerful, the Moderators are closing in, sure that this power will bring about disaster. In the remarkable second book of The Dreamer Trilogy, Maggie Stiefvater pushes her characters to their limits—and shows what happens to them when they start to break.
Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)
As we all probably know by now, I'm a huge fan of The Raven Cycle and Ronan is my favorite character from that series. So I had very high expectations for this book.
This book was good, but it wasn't as good as I had wanted it to be.
I really enjoyed the latter half of the book since it was packed with so many shocking revelations, and I was left thinking about this book long after I finished it. I also really loved the character interactions; Jordan and Matthew develop such a lovely friendship, Ronan and Hennessy have such a lovable chaotic dynamic, and Carmen and Liliana's relationship development is as lovely as I had wished it to be, my only complaint is I wish there was more of them.
However, I had a lot of doubts in the first half of the book, since I couldn't tell where it was going and it felt a little incohesive. A lot of the scenes (especially in the first half of the book) felt like they did not connect, or they took a while to make sense. I also did not know where they were going with Bryde's character for the longest time because he felt a little underwhelming.
Overall, Mister Impossible was very entertaining, especially in the latter half. And I'm very sad that I have to wait a whole year until the next installment because this one left off on such a cliff-hanger, so I will definitely be picking up the third book in the series.
August TBR
I don't think I follow TBR's very often, but I do want to read Jade War by Fonda Lee since I enjoyed Jade City a lot. I'm also easily intimidated by big books, and Jade War has a lot of pages, so I've been putting it off. But Jade Legacy is coming out later this year, and I definitely want to read it when it comes out so I'm determined to read Jade War soon.
Back when I was just getting back into reading, I was trying my best to read the books that are well-known and highly lauded in the bookish community. So I definitely have to pick up The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid sometime soon. I also really want to get the hype behind this book and TJR's most recent book Malibu Rising.
Around this time last year I read Beach Read by Emily Henry and enjoyed it, and I've heard so much praise for her newest book People We Meet On Vacation, so I feel like I should read it sometime soon to keep with the summer vibe that I get from the book.
⸺ ⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ ⸺
Not going to lie, this post does not have my best writing in it 😅
I haven't made a reading plan in a very long time, since I've fallen into quite a long reading slump these past many months, but I hope to read more in the future! I honestly only anticipate reading a book a week though, since I'm quite a slow reader. But there are so many new exciting books that I've missed out on these past months, and I hope I can read those soon!
Wishing everyone safety and good health! Hope you all had a great July!
—璇
No comments:
Post a Comment