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On my blog, you will find:

About me:

My rating system:

★★★★★ - Either an instant addition to my favorites or an incredibly well written book, with stellar prose, intricate world building, and well-developed characters.

★★★★☆ - A very enjoyable novel which lacked the extra spark or had a few issues regarding the content or execution.

★★★☆☆ - A book which I liked and disliked in equal measure, leaving me very much on the fence. While it had praiseworthy elements, some aspect of it was lackluster enough to cancel out my enjoyment.

★★☆☆☆ - The negative parts of this book completely overshadowed any enjoyable parts.

★☆☆☆☆ - I reserve one-star ratings for books with exceptionally poor writing or blatantly problematic content. These novels took away all of the enjoyment of reading and took all my will-power to get through.

Favorite books:

Socials:

come watch me review all the books I read this summer (and inevitably devolve into ranting)

cover art colors -> blue

covers -> I - II - III - IV - V

cover art colors -> maroon

covers -> I - II - III - IV - V

cover art colors -> yellow

covers -> I - II - III - IV - V

cover art colors -> purple

covers -> I - II - III - IV - V

cover art colors -> gold

covers -> I - II - III - IV - V

cover art colors -> pink

covers -> I - II - III - IV - V

cover art colors -> silver

covers -> I - II - III - IV - V

REVIEW // Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

// Scythe //

★★★★★

Shusterman continues to deliver with this incredible series. Whenever a series starts off with such a strong entry as Scythe, I'm always wary about the sequels. Will they live up to their predecessor and continue building on the foundation it created, or will they pale in comparison? Shusterman definitely shows that he knows what he is doing.

// image: official cover art by Kevin Tong //

REVIEW // The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher, narrated by Hillary Huber

★★★☆☆

Honestly, I was not really that spooked by this novel. I picked this up specifically because I was in the mood for a spooky audiobook, and that is definitely not what I got. There were definitely a couple moments when I could feel my skin crawl, but overall I did not feel like I was gripped by the folk horror elements of the story. I know this is a sequel of sorts to the 1904 short story "The White People" by Arthur Machen, which I have never read. I am also unfamiliar with this stage of the horror genre so I cannot say that I got anything from the references to this earlier tale.

// image: official cover art //

July 2021 Book Wrap-Up!

Total books read in June: 16

Total books read in 2021 so far: 110

Average rating in June: 3.39

Average rating in 2021 so far: 3.77

Favorite book of the month:

Least favorite book of the month:

Biggest disappointment:

Biggest (pleasant) surprise:

Hidden gem:

REVIEW // The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies #1) by K. J. Charles

★★★★☆

// A Case of Possession // Flight of Magpies //

TW: sexual assault (not shown, before the events of the book, implied), suicide (several before the events of the book, attempted during the book)

This is a really strong start to the series. I love the magic system and underground world of magicians that Charles introduces in this novel. The tension between Lucien and Stephen's family history, their actual personalities, and their attraction is really intriguing. I do wish we had seen a bit more of their respective thought processes regarding the events that had brought their families together. They come up a bit throughout the novel but I feel like Charles could have expanded on them more. I know that the point of the book is the romance between Stephen and Lucien, but there are so many interesting elements beyond that which feel somewhat underdeveloped since they get pushed to side in favor of the love story. Still, I think out of all the books in the series, this one definitely has the strongest plot.

// image: official cover art for the Thai edition //

REVIEW // A Case of Possession (A Charm of Magpies #2) by K. J. Charles

★★★☆☆

// The Magpie Lord // Flight of Magpies //

One of my biggest issues with this novel is that I feel like Charles completely left behind the conflict between Lucien and Stephen introduced in the first novel in favor of the very formulaic issues that always pop up in romance stories. Firstly, the plot definitely takes a back seat to the romance, which, granted, isn't so strange in a romance novel, but still. Secondly, we learned in the first novel that Stephen's family was heavily affected by Lucien's brother and father, and while this does come up quite a bit in The Magpie Lord, it barely appears here. Keeping in mind that this takes place a very short time after the prequel, it doesn't really make much sense that the pair would have moved past this entirely. Especially paired with the dynamic between them, their shared family history should have played a much more crucial role in their conflict rather than the basic "honeymoon stage is over" subplot.

// image: official cover art of the Thai edition //

REVIEW // Flight of Magpies (A Charm of Magpies #3) by K. J. Charles

★★★☆☆

// The Magpie Lord // A Case of Possession //

I'm really torn on this series. The Magpie Lord is a really strong start, which introduces an interesting setting and magic system, but after that the series really drops off for me. All of the main conflicts from the first book are cast aside and the ones presented afterwards are pretty run of the mill and very neatly wrapped up in time for a final love scene at the end of the novel. The more I read these books, the less I see the chemistry between the pair, apart from the time when they are literally declaring their love for each other. I'm not one to play the woke police, and I won't make any accusations here, but a lot of this series really feels like it's trying to toe the line between acceptable and, dare I say it, problematic. The fact that (SPOILER) Stephen's mother is heavily implied to have been raped by Lucien's brother (SPOILER END), something that comes up during the first of their romantic encounters, paired with their sub/dom dynamic and the slightly too frequent "I'll have you when and how I choose" comments is a bit uncomfortable, sure, but that's all consensual play. It's a bit more strange, however, that an 18-year-old and a man two and half times her age (which by my count means Merrick is 45), although technically their both adults, so I suppose its fine. But see what I mean? Jenny is just shy of legality, so technically the romance is fine! I'm not a huge fan of the word "technically" in these situations, but oh well.

// image: official cover art of the Thai edition //

cover art colors -> jade

covers -> I - II - III - IV - V