My July Wrap-Up
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I love the months in which I read some true gems that I can share with you and recommend in the hope that you heed my recs and pick them up. But like every other month, July came with its literary disappointments and alas, those too I must share with you. So without further ado, here are my highs and lows in books - enjoy!
The Love that Split the World
- by Emily Henry
4.5/5.0 stars
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There's no doubt that Emily Henry has a mesmerising, enchanting writing style. A sweet blend of romance, mystery, and magical realism, The Love That Split The World is a dreamy read that will pull at the heart strings of hopeless romantics.
Natalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves.
Natalie's last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start...until she starts seeing the "wrong things". They're just momentary glimpses at first - her front door is red instead of its usual green, there's a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn't right.
That's when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls Grandmother, who tells her:
"You have three months to save him"
The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it's as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau
I can't say anything plot-related because the beauty of this book lies in letting it unravel in your own mind as Emily Henry takes you on this magical journey. But it's as intriguing and mystical as the synopsis promises; magical realism is a genre I just don't touch, but the cover of Emily Henry's debut captured my attention and I couldn't resist the mysterious, magical feel to its synopsis.
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| Sometimes the most beautiful moments in our lives are things that hurt badly at the time. We only see them for what they really were when we stand at the very end and look back - Natalie, The Love That Split The World
As expected, the romance in this book is pivotal to the plot and so it very much concentrates on our two love interests, Nat and Beau but entirely from Nat's perspective. It's also no secret that it's pretty much an insta-love situation but whilst I loathe the existence of this trope in fiction, I didn't mind it so much, if at all. Because I think it actually kind of worked. It worked with the fantastical element that Emily Henry brings into her story and I connected with Natalie enough to feel what she did for Beau. And Beau himself is an enigmatic, multi-dimensional young man carrying enough mysterious baggage to reel me in with his story and the developing relationship between himself and Natalie.
The sad truth is also that I'm a self-confessed hopeless romantic. Not as much as I probably once was as a teen, but some habits die hard. I believe that you meet people from all walks of life, from classmates to colleagues to random strangers, forming perfectly platonic relationships as you walk your own journey, and I believe that those relationships can be built on and nurtured with time. You can even convince yourself that you're falling in love with someone as time ages your relationship with them. But I also believe that you can meet certain people in life with whom you feel an instant connection. I believe that you can lock eyes with a person and know that they are home. Destiny, fate, the other-worldly concept of soulmates - I believe it exists. Maybe that's why I was so quick to buy into the deep connection that runs between Nat and Beau. Maybe there's just something beautiful in believing that such a thing exists.
Natalie was a wonderful protagonist; her quick wit and quirky attitude made her narrative refreshingly compelling as she navigated the confusing complexities of her situation. I was so hooked by her story-line; the suspense was almost addictive and the plot twists - coupled with that bitter-sweet ending - it threw me. An original, quirky read with some remarkable themes, illuminating introspection, and rich in its beautiful, whimsical story-telling, Emily Henry has created a love story that knows no bounds. I felt lost, almost dazed when I closed the book, a part of me still buzzing with that magical energy that seeps through the pages and entices with the power of words.
The Fixer // The Long Game
THE FIXER DUOLOGY
- by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
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Oh, man, I love stumbling upon random books for which I have zero expectations that take me wholly by surprise and keep me turning the pages late into the night - books that make you want more and crush your heart when you find out that more doesn't exist. The Fixer duology has to be more than a duology because this story is far from over. I mean...it can't be over. I just - please let there be a third book. Please?
I don't know what exactly I was expecting from The Fixer when I read its synopsis because it's pretty ambiguous, but it definitely wasn't what I got. I felt like I'd almost been blind-sided and in a way, it was the best way to experience this book.
Tess lives with her grandfather on his ranch and is hiding his biggest secret - one that even he is unaware of - from the rest of the world, and from himself. A secret she tries to hide from herself too. But when her estranged sister, Ivy, turns up on the ranch one afternoon after three years of no contact with full knowledge of what Tess has tried so hard to hide, she is uprooted from the life she knows and thrown into a completely different one in Washington DC, the heart of her sister's job. A job that Tess is in the dark about, but has everyone paling in fear when her Ivy's name is merely mentioned. Ivy is a fixer. And so, by extension, is Tess - according to her new classmates anyway. Just like their parents run to Ivy to cover up family secrets and political corruption, they run to to Tess when they find themselves in way over their head as they navigate high school. But when a national conspiracy involving murder, corruption and a hierarchy of power threatens the safety of her and her friends, Tess finds herself swept up by a world far crueler than that of high school - one where if the problem isn't fixed, lives are at stake.
| Power is currency in Washington. And you don't always know who's holding the card
The Fixer - and its sequel, The Long Game - had me, hook line and sinker. It was a spur-of-the-moment read whilst I was staying over at my grandparents', and it ended up being a book that I stayed up till 3am to finish because I simply couldn't put it down. Jennifer Lynn Barnes has done one hell of a job in master-minding this political thriller. The narrative is engaging, the plot is well-written and the writing is fast-paced, so much so that I had to sometimes slow down my reading for my mind to catch up with the drama that was unfolding between the pages. The plot-twists messed with my head and the intensity of mystery and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat through to the very end. The character cast, family dynamics, and the originality of the story makes it a no-brainer 5-star read. I couldn't fault it in all its 372 pages. The exploration of politics, power and corruption amidst murder, mystery and the secret lives of America's elite is wildly addictive and holy shit I wish I stumbled upon books like this more.
The Air He Breathes
- by Brittany C. Cherry
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The Air He Breathes is one of those books that is terribly written yet has a consistently high rating on Goodreads, and I'm left wondering how in hell why. Because from start to finish, it was torture. I actually gave up on it around 25% in, then forced myself to plow on, and lived to regret it.
It tells the story of Liz and Tristan, two broken souls who are left floundering in the world after having lost everything and by sheer chance, their lives collide. Tristan is the town monster; cold and cruel with something dark festering within him as he deals with the heavy loss that life dealt him. Liz is trying to re-build her own life, just her and her little girl, as they try to move on from the tragedy that plagues her past. And despite the warnings of the townsfolk, she sees something of her broken self reflected in Tristan and treads a dangerous path as she tries to fix herself - and him. But sometimes, putting the shattered pieces back together does more damage than the shattering itself...
The plot is a used one; there is nothing new in the recycled cliche of two broken souls finding some solace in one another but I needed an easy read and I had this book on my Kindle so I thought what the hell. I would have been better off not reading anything at all. The characters were awful. The prologue had me slightly interested. And after that, it all went downhill. I couldn't connect with either of the characters but what's worse is that their characterisation was flawed, flat, and utterly unlikable. I didn't care for them throughout the entire course of the story. The plot was badly executed with predictable plot twists, some of which were clearly thrown in the works for the sake of drama. And drama for the sake of drama never works. The plot holes were gaping. The dialogue was cringe-worthy. The ending was rushed and convenient. The epilogue was kind of cute - I'll give it that. But other than that the whole thing was a mess.
Snow Like Ashes
- by Sara Raasch
3.0/5.0 stars
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I tried so hard to like Snow Like Ashes. It's been on my TBR pile for what feels like forever and it's had so much hype, that I almost bought all three books in the trilogy because I thought I had to have it on my bookshelf. (I've been trying to limit my crazy book buying lately though so I held out). Then I went on holiday and I figured it'd make the perfect holiday read, so I eagerly downloaded it on my Kindle together with its sequel, Ice Like Fire, and tried to immerse myself in it. The only problem was, I couldn't. As much as I tried to ignore them, there were major downfalls in it that acted like a barricade, forcing myself to not enjoy this book as much as everyone else seems to have done.
Meira is one of eight survivors of the war that destroyed her Kingdom, the Winter Kingdom that is one of four Season Kingdoms, and one of eight Rhythm Kingdoms. Though each Kingdom possesses a conduit filled with magic, the survivors of Winter are on the search for theirs; a locket that belonged to their Queen but was snatched away after her murder by the oppressive ruler of Spring that in turn led to Winter's downfall. Meira and the few left of Winter have been on a desperate quest for their conduit for sixteen years, wanting nothing more than to restore the magic of their Kingdom with their rightful heir on the throne. For sixteen years, they have failed. Until whispers of its location reaches Meira's ears and before she knows it, she's thrown into a world of gruelling battles, nasty trades, and the ultimate betrayal - and sacrifice - that she has to welcome with open arms if she has any hope in saving her lost Kingdom.
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I got to the end and realised that I didn't care what happened next. I considered forcing myself through book two, then I read its spoilers only to find that my favourite character - the only character that kept me turning the pages of this book and redeemed it oh so slightly - is torn to shreds. That's the only excuse I needed to not carry on with this series. It's not an awful book, I know so many readers out there do/will love it, but it just wasn't for me. It was so boring, so easily forgettable that I'm writing this review two weeks later and am struggling to recall what I read. All I can say is...I'm counting my lucky stars that I didn't rinse my bank account to invest in it.
Red Queen // Glass Sword
RED QUEEN SERIES
- by Victoria Aveyard
3.5/5.0 stars
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Red Queen was another of those should-I-shouldn't-I-buy books. And again, it was one that I took on my Kindle and read on holiday. Am I glad I didn't buy it? Yes. It's a shame that I have to say that it's another over-hyped, cliched, unoriginal book in its genre. My feelings are pretty mixed; I liked it...but not enough to recommend it. It was an okay read for when there was no other book in sight.
RED QUEEN
This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.
But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
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I can't put my finger on it, but there was just something that stopped me from loving this book and fan-girling over it. I kind of just felt meh. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it and if you're going to read it because of the hype, forget it - your expectations won't be met. It's a solid read but I have a feeling that by the time book three comes out next year, I'll have forgotten the entire plot and cast and I'll likely be so disinterested in it that I won't even bother picking it up. Forgettable and underwhelming, it lives in the shadow of other fantastic books in its genre.
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