Hello lovelies! How has your summer been? Are you excited for school (if you still go)? I am! I read quite a few books over my summer break and I can’t wait to share them with you! I can’t wait to get back to blogging on a regular schedule and making awesome new content!
This Book Is Gay, by Juno Dawson
This book talked about all things gay. I read it during June, for Pride month, and I was really happy with it. I loved how it tried to be inclusive and explain many things to teens of the LGBTQ+ community. That being said, there are parts of this book that are not PG. There is an entire chapter on sex. It there is a big, bold warning, but if you are not comfortable with that, then there is your warning from me. Juno was very funny and relatable. I loved this book so much and I wish that there was a sequel for it.
Uprooted, by Naomi Novik
This book was one of the most fast-paced fantasy books I have read. I really enjoyed it, but it caught me by surprise. Agnieszka was a relatable main character and I enjoyed how she developed throughout the book. She and the Dragon (the lord of the local area) have to use magic to fight the Wood, which is trying to corrupt everything and take over. There’s magic lessons, political intrigue, and a confusing romantic sub-plot. I would recommend this book for people who read and enjoy fantasy on a regular basis.
Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik
Of course, once I realized that Naomi had published more than one book, I had to read her next one. I loved this book even more than Uprooted. We had 3 main characters, Miryem, Wanda, and Irina. All of them were feminists and powerful in their own way. They worked together to defeat a common evil and I loved their chemistry. Spinning Silver was just as fast paced as Uprooted, and I have just accepted that as her writing style by now. The world was splendidly well built and I can’t wait to read her next novel.
Aurora Rising, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
I grabbed this book while I was in Wisconsin after it came out, and I am so glad that I did. I really liked how this book based itself on friendship and found family. There was definitely romance in it, it just wasn’t front and center. I loved all of the space action and sort-of magic. I loved all of the characters and wish that they didn’t have to go through what they did. The plot was original and I loved that a lot. I can’t wait for the sequel to come out so that I can learn what happens to these guys.
Tithe, by Holly Black
I got The Modern Faerie Tales containing Holly’s whole Faerie series. Don’t hate me if I say that I definitely prefer The Folk of the Air series. The romance in this just felt creepy and off. I liked Kaye, Roiben, and the rest of the characters a lot. They were very complex and individual. I have not read a plot like the one in Tithe in a while, so it was pretty nice, except for a couple of scenes. I really liked the magic aspect of this book and how I could discover everything with Kaye. Even though I didn’t agree with some of the things in this book, I still enjoyed it (for the most part).
Valiant, by Holly Black
Valiant sort of takes place after Tithe, so I would recommend reading that first. Lucky for you, this mini-review will not be spoliery. We are introduced to a new cast of characters (but we see our old friends once or twice), who have their own issues and problems to deal with. I liked this book a lot better because the romance aspect of the book seemed a lot less problematic to me. This book took place in NYC, so all of the Fae there weren’t doing very well due to the iron. That interested me a lot and I was glad that it was part of a side plot. Valiant was a lot better than Tithe, at least to m
Ironside, by Holly Black
This book was okay. I liked that we got a really good culmination to the story that tied everything together really well. Kaye and Robien worked on their relationship, sort of, but I still don’t completely ship them. We saw Luis a lot in this book, which was pretty nice, but we didn’t see as much of all of the other characters in Valiant. I loved the magical/bargain aspect of these stories. I really liked how real all of the characters seemed so real. The plot was pretty interesting, but I’m not get into it because I don’t want to spoil anything. I would put this book right between Valiant and Tithe, rating wise.
I enjoyed most of the books that I read this summer. Because I read the The Modern Faerie Tales, I got a bonus short story called The Tale of Lutie-Loo. If you want to hear about that, don’t hesitate to tell me in the comments and I will work on it. Thanks for Reading!!! Have a Great Day!!!!
XOXO
Annalee
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? How was your summer? Tell me in the comments!