Month of 300 - Wrap Up

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Month of 300 was a success!!! 

For those of you who missed my beginning of June post, this idea came to me after feeling down about not chipping away at my to-be-read pile. In order to do so quickly, I decided the month of June would  aim to read books under 300 pages.

With 10 books read, I call that a blazing success!

Resenting the Hero
By Moira J Moore
Pages: 292
TBR: No

Hilarious. Fun. Adventurous. Utterly delightful. The book that inspired me to start this. Off my TBR, but totally worth the deviation.




The Lies of Locke Lamora
By Scott Lynch
Pages: 531
TBR: Yes

Ugh. Started this back in April. Hence why it doesn't follow the under 300 club. However, I needed to finish this. I was not into this story at all. Just needed it read and done with. Felt like the author had a lot of "darlings" he couldn't part with. Pretty world building.

Out of the Silent Planet
By C.S.Lewis
Pages: 187
TBR: No

My friend really wants me to love her favourite author. I refuse to read Narnia books. This was the alternative. A delightful surprise. Very philosophical.




Dream a Little Dream
By Kerstin Gier
Pages: 336
TBR: No

Definitely not under 300 pages, but library holds don't always come in at the right time. I've wanted to read this since finishing the Ruby Red Trilogy. A little jarring in writing style (perhaps translation issues). I quickly fell into this dream-like story. Review here.


Vanish
By Sophie Jordan
Pages: 294
TBR: Yes

Dragon-roaring fun ride! Perfect summer book. Review here.





Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
By Robin Sloan
Pages: 288
TBR: Yes

A fast paced mystery revolving around a 24-hour bookstore. Likeable and odd characters, curious mystery. Too much tech.




Of Triton
By Anna Banks
Pages: 246
TBR: YES

More summer fun with mythological-transforming humans. Review here.




The Martian
By Andy Weir
Pages: 369
TBR: No

After watching the trailer for the upcoming movie, I had to read this book. Worth veering off the 300 course. Fantastic!!!! Almost makes me want to go to Mars. Almost...




The Summer Prince
By Alaya Dawn Johnson
Pages: 289
TBR: YES!!


No doubt this book will be on my Top 5 for 2015. Having finished this so recently I'm still raw. Broken. In a funk. Beautiful, lovely, something more than love. Review here.

Needs to include a soundtrack to fully immerse.

Alice in Wonderland
By Lewis Carroll
Pages: 196
TBR: No

This is my third (I think) time rereading this delightful story. It never gets old. Who wouldn't want a trip to Wonderland on a hot summer's evening. A mini bookclub with my best friend.




5/10 books were on my TBR. I am very pleased with the results. This challenge didn't restrict me. Sometimes challenges restrict what the options are to read. I felt very free in all my choices.

For July, there's a Crammathon and at the very end the BookTube-a-thon will be coming up. Cannot wait for another reading month.

Waves Crashing, Mermaids Swimming

Of Triton
By Anna Banks

Back in the mermaid world for book 2! I enjoyed this book last summer ( Of Poseidon), so I decided to kick off this summer with the sequel. It is a trilogy. And after reading this one, I will most definitely finish off the series this summer.

Emma's mom has kidnapped her and they're on the run from the mermaid royals. The book starts with a pretty awesome chase scene. Then it gets complex.

I was reading this in bed and at about 11pm I thought, "One more chapter and then lights off." Next thing I know it's after midnight and I've finished the darn thing. Little did I know that the chapter I was to read kicked the story into full gear. IT WAS GRIPPING!

Same hilarious characters, great story weaving and mythology building - ultimately a great summer read. Fast paced and never dull. Recommended if you read 'Of Poseidon' first. 

I liked this one more than the first.

5/5 STARS

Where'd the Dragons Go?

Vanish
By Sophie Jordan

The second book in the Firelight series. It's impossible to write a review completely void of spoilers. So if you haven't read the first book, please read my review for Firelight and read the book.

Taking off from that cruel cliff hanger, we return to the dragon pride. Jacinda wanted to return, but now that she's back it all seems strange. She's been through things that others cannot understand. The town makes her family, except for her newly-special sister, the pariahs.

Even worse, the two 'princes' of the town have their eye on Jacinda and her sister, Tamra. It becomes apparent that they're meerly competing with each other to win the others choice ove the other. Young male dragons *ugh*.

Of those two dragons, Cassian, the Alpha-Leader's son and original guy that Jacinda was supposed to be bonded to, is the most interesting. He's in a bad spot. He truly cares for Jacinda. The unrequited lover. The reader sympathizes with him. That's the best part of this book. Sympathizing with these incredibly difficult situations that everyone is in.

I could've had more Tamra. She's off for most of the series, separated (intentionally) fom Jacinda and their mother.

Things get worse and worse, and when you think they can't get worse... they do. I kept checking the pages left, thinking the book would have to wrap up fairly quickly and then... of course... a cliff hanger! This one is a little less cruel than the first book's, however, I STILL WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!!!!

Same fun storyline, action came at the right moment, and enough frustration to keep me reading. This book is FUN. It's like candy. Incredibly addicting.

But of course, there's a third book. This is a trilogy. *facepalm* I'll probably finish it next year.

4/5 STARS

In Your Dreams

Dream a Little Dream
By Kerstin Gier

Liv Silver moves around a lot. The latest place her mom has settled in is London. Because of this, her dreams have become weird. One night she dreams she's in a graveyard with four boys. Next day at school, those very same boys are there. Something is not right in the dreamworld.

This was on my to-read-list but not for this year. However, it came in the library and I had to take it out. I loved Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red Trilogy. It was fun and hilarious.

Can I say I liked this one better? The writing improved and the humour of the main character, Liv, had me giggling out loud. Gier has this magical ability to make funny heroines and really intriguing worlds. Long since I've been a fan of Alice in Wonderland, I've been fascinated by dreams and the riddles of our psychology that they play.

There could've been confusion when writing characters wandering around in each other's dreams, however, it is written with such ease that the transitions are non-confusing and delightful. The inserts of the high-school "Tittle Tattle" blog add a little extra, but might be superfluous. I do like the idea of including a different media into a novel.

Maaaaaybe a little bit of insta love. But I didn't care. Remember what it was like in high school? To have one crush one week and then next week another. Hormone's are wreaking havoc on the teenage system and they cannot fathom why they feel so attracted to someone immediately. At least, that's what I tell myself when I come across these "insta-love" type novels. Our main character was so head-strong that I don't believe her to be completely ruled by her heart over her head, or by her raging hormones.

Fun! Stupidly fun and a perfect summer read. Yet again, Kerstin Gier creates loveable characters and hilarious dialogue. Highly recommend for a quick, fun read.

4/5 STARS

Half-Hearted Takedown

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Soooo, there was a read-a-thon that I half-heartedly participated in. The TBR Takedown marathon. From June 1-7. Yes, there were challenges. Yes, I attempted them. Silly me, thought I had loads of time this week. And then the unexpected meetings came in waves... my time whittled down... my marathoning was disappointing.



In total, I read three books.
~ Resenting the Hero, #1 Hero Series (Moira J Moore)
5 STARS
~ Lies of Locke Lamora, #1 Gentleman Bastard (Scott Lynch)
2 STARS
~ Out of the Silent Planet, #1 Space Trilogy (C.S. Lewis)
4 STARS


Here's the challenges and my squeeeeeezing success out of them.

1. Read a book you've had for over a year.
 The Lies of Locke Lamora - on my TBR for a year, and in reading this it feels like I've been reading it for over a year.

2. Read an unread sequel.
---

3. Read the 1st book in a series.
All of these were firsts in series. I will probably continue the Hero series and the Space Trilogy.

4. Read a book out of your comfort zone.
Out of the Silent Planet was completely out of my comfort zone. I never liked Narnia. So my friend's way around recommending a C.S.Lewis book was his Space Trilogy.

5. Read a book from your most recent haul. 
Resenting the Hero is brand new! Loved this one. Laugh out loud funny.

Between the Spaces

Afterworlds
By Scott Westerfeld

Darcy Patel participated in a month long novel-writing challenge (not NaNoWriMo *wink*) and mailed in her manuscript. The Publisher sends her a contract and suddenly she's off to New York to begin a bright shiny life as a writer. We read her novel in alternating chapters as she polishes and gleans ideas from her peer writers.


Coolest idea for a book. It pulls back the curtain on the methods behind writing and how life experiences can effect the writing process. I love the tidbits of writing advice.

The voice of Darcy is believeable. She is confident and insecure at the same time. There were a few eyebrow-raising unrealistic parts, however, for the most part I was able to remind myself that it's fiction and Westerfeld was having fun.

Her novel: After an attack at the airport, Lizzie can now pass in the space between worlds. The Afterworld. There she meets Yamaraj, a sort of god of the underworld... but not quite. Now able to go between worlds, she begins a quest of revenge and soon realizes the consequences.

But of course there's love in this YA novel. Not the kind you're expecting though and it is utterly refreshing. In both stories!

I enjoyed both stories, neither being in my regular comfort zone genre. And, I didn't mind jumping back and forth.

The best part about the book was being aware that Darcy was the strings behind Lizzie. Darcy would say "I need to put that somewhere in my book" and then a few chapters later in Lizzies story there it would appear.  It brought us out of the Lizzie story, but further into Darcy's.

One downside: what genre is this?!??! One story is paranormal, the other is contemporary. Love the idea of bending the genre, two-in-one.

Overall, recommended to writers certainly. It's fun. And yes, a little long, but what do you expect when an average book is three-hundred and this is really two books in one.

4/5 STARS

The cover: The abstract tear with the ink makes more sense as you read the book. Something that doesn't come across in digital form is the pearl finish of the book. It shimmers. And the purple is a deeper indigo than your eyes can comprehend. Very striking.

Words Fly on Wings of Magic

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
By Leslye Walton

Ava Lavender was born extraordinary. Born with a pair of wings, no one knows why. We read the history of her family, 3 generations of foolish love and magical realism, to tell her poetic story.

About a week ago, I finished this book in three days. It kept me up at night until my eyes were drooping, unable to read any futher. I'm still thinking about it. No words that I can put down will capture what it made me feel. It is an esquisite debut novel.

It starts with the introduction to Ava, then abruptly jumps back in time to her great grandmother and grandmother's time. I thought I'd be bored with this sudden change, however, I quickly fell in love with the style of writing and peaceful kindness in the story telling. The story flows smoothly and gently. It allows you to contemplate and absorb the characters and their journeys.

Each character is unique and completely, even with slight magical elements, human. No one is without their flaws and no one is without their perfections. Leslye Walton captures humanity at its worst, at its most tragic, its most sorrowful, and its most beautiful.

It is haunting and it made me weep with relief and melancholy. And yet, it is uplifting.

Truly, this book is made of magic.

5/5 STARS