AUGUST WRAP-UP

August was such a great month for reading! I read a lot of books, I read great books, I have new favorites, and I rediscovered the joys of the local library. Without further ado, here's what I read this August. 

I read Hunted by Meagan Spooner, and it's brilliant! Because of this book, I realized how much I love Beauty and the Beast retellings. The author reimagines the tale, adds Russian folklore, and a piece of her soul. I particularly liked the addition of The Firebird. Everything is great: the writing, the main character, the supporting characters, the love interest, the "romance," the plot, the concept, and the twist. There are times where you get frustrated with the plot, pacing, and/or characters, but I think that's normal with books. The author even directly mentions Stockholm Syndrome, which I don't recall being outrightly stated in retellings I've read, so I was pleasantly surprised. If you were to read any of the books I mention, read this one!

If you saw my previous post, you'll know I received Milk and Honey in the mail. I was very excited to see what the hype was about and take some pictures of it. My sister kind of ruined my excitement by nagging judging me, "Why are you reading that? How much did you pay? That's still a lot of money!" Sigh, they'll never understand. After reading, I thought it was a bit anti-climatic. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed many of the pieces, but I wasn't floored, or left speechless. I think it's a great book for young women to read because it's empowering and encourages self-love, but it's not as mind blowing as people say. I do however respect Rupi Kaur's bravery for baring her soul and story. It takes a lot of metaphorical balls/guts to do that. Ah, my naivety to life and love-such innocence. 

Gosh... I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson was a bitch roller-coaster! The story is compelling and dramatic, but it's so frustrating. No offense, but Jude and Noah are terrible people that made me pull at my hair and throw this book across the room. Just when I started warming back up to them, I read their questionable choices... It's entertaining, but the writing made reading quite painful. I had to power through this book because I wanted to stop and bang my head against the wall. I didn't like Grandma Sweetwine's bible, Noah's imaginary museum (the stuff in the parenthesis,) or how the writing droned on occasions. It made me say, "When will I be put out of my misery?" Yes, I'm well aware that the aspects I dislike are the characters' quirks, and what makes them who they are. 

I started reading poetry in August too. I read Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti. I've seen so many books quote this poem, so I had to read it. I really don't know what to say, other than that I enjoyed it. It exposed me to narrative poems, and it's incredibly vivid with the imagery.

All good things came to an end when I DNF'd The Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin. I hated this book. The main character falls in love with everyone, and everyone falls in love with the main character! As if that's not bad enough, the main love interest plays petty mind games. Instead of reading this book, watch Versaille, or The Tudors. Another terrible book I read was Red Riding Hood, a companion novel to the movie. 

I read a book with all types of diversity in the form of Things I Should Have Known by Claire LaZebnik. It's cute and realistic. It also has LGBTQ+ and autism awareness. These books I read this month also have diversity. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell features a gay couple. 5 to 1 by Holly Bodger takes place in India. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda also has a gay main character. 

I reread The Great Gatsby, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I used to. Rich people who don't like certain rich people because they don't have the same background. A man chasing wealth to become "suitable" for a rich woman that loves material things. A different man, who only stops his affair because his "authority" is under threat. A third man that has to witness this shit storm. This book is full of dreamers and irresponsible people. Ah, the 20s... so wonderful.

I also reread Slammed by Colleen Hoover, which I didn't like. The romance gave me whiplash. I still enjoyed the poems and the non-romantic relationships, but that's about it. I read The Taming of the Shrew, which reaffirmed my aversion towards Shakespeare. I hated this play. I was enraged with what Petruchio did to Katherine. I also read The Girl on the Train, but it wasn't amazing, or exciting either. I DNF'd Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson midway because I was bored. It's a great book-good concept and writing-but I was bored. Hopefully, I'll revisit it in the future.

Lastly, I hope this is the last because I don't want to keep editing this post, I read Vicious. Vicious was another book I purchased from Book Depository. I loved it. People kept telling me I was going to love it, which heightened my expectations. Fortunately, this book did not let me down. It's an entertaining book with a great concept. It also has great writing and characters that make you question if they're a villain or a hero. It sounds great, and it is, but I can't help but agree with another reviewer that said this book had room to be so much more.