Recent Reads | June/July 2020

After reading more than even in April and May, my brain decided to get into a reading slump that lasted about a month. That is why I never made a June wrap up (didn't feel like I had enough books to talk about) but I'm back now to talk about the few books I read in this past couple of months.

1) Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins

I finally finished listening to The Hunger Games trilogy. As I've said previously, I'd read the first book back before the films came out but had never carried on and everyone rereading these in preparation for the prequel was the thing that pushed me to finally finish reading them. I will say, this was my least favourite. There's something about it that quite missed the mark. I feel like the story wasn't as detailed and, most importantly, there was a lot of things that happened only to impress the reader but, in my opinion, only got us angry. A lot of pointless deaths whose only purpose was to shock and made absolutely no sense to the overall story/characters. I also disliked the ending (which I knew from watching the films) and was quite disappointed. I know I'm only talking about negative things here and that isn't to say I didn't enjoy this, in fact, I really did. But, having strongly disliked the Mockingjay films I thought I'd like these more and it was just a bad adaptation (it isn't. This is one of the best adaptations actually, incredibly true to the books). Overall, a bit disappointed and angry but I'm happy I finally read these. 3.5/5 ⭐️

2) For Every One, Jason Reynolds

I recently discovered Jananie's YouTube channel, This Story Ain't Over, and, after binging loads of her videos, I decided to read this and I loved it. Incredibly short and sweet, I read the eBook but wish I had gotten the physical copy because this is one that I want to reread throughout my life. It found me at the perfect time and I highly recommend for anyone who's struggling with their dreams/future. It'll stay with me for a long time. 4.5/5 ⭐️

3) The Safe Place, Anna Downes

I was kind enough to receive an ARC of this from NetGalley and have a full review of this book up on my blog, which you can read right here. This is a story about a woman whose life is falling apart until she gets an irresistible job offer to work for a wealthy family and help them with their estate on the coast of France. This is a mystery/thriller and, although I did guess the main twist, I still really enjoyed it. Make sure to check my review for more in-depth thoughts. 3.5/5 ⭐️

4) Party Princess, Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries book 7)

So, I feel like the more I read these books the less I like them. I did love the plot of this one, with the play and Clarice involved in everything, I adore John Paul Reynolds-Abernathy IV and am really glad he joined the gang because, to be honest, Michael isn't cutting it for me anymore. I feel like since he started dating Mia he stopped being the Michael we used to know (although, if I had a girlfriend as annoying as Mia Thermopolis, I would start being rude too). I just feel like, even though Mia is a princess and has been studying how to be a princess for over two fictional years, she can't seem to grow at all and this is getting on my nerves. 3/5 ⭐️

5) Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert

This was a book I never expected to read, but after I found the eBook on Scribd, I decided to give it a go. With everything going on and how I've been feeling recently, this was like catching up with a friend and having a warm comforting hug. I took my time with this one, reading a bit every day because I didn't want it to end. It left me restless to take control of my life and to travel everywhere (and sad that we just can't do that yet). Especially in the part of the book that she goes to Italy, a part of me was hurting for not being able to go there, after doing Italian lessons for a year and a half and needing desperately to practice it for real. I will say, I felt that a lot of Gilbert's visions were really stereotypical (I can't say for every ethnicity she mentions, but being Brazilian, I was quite annoyed with how my people were portrayed). Elizabeth also annoyed me sometimes, but I ended up really enjoying this as it felt like exactly what I needed at the time. 4/5 ⭐️

6) Love and Other Words, Christina Lauren

Before everyone I follow started reading romance books, this one had already shown up on my radar, I just never prioritised it. But when I decided I wanted to read some Christina Lauren I finally picked it up and it was a beautiful ride. The audiobook is incredible, the narrator just feels spot on and I was sucked in from the beginning. One of my favourite romance tropes (in films specifically, I don't read that much romance) is second-chance romance and this is the absolute perfect one. I saw the twist coming to some extent so I didn't cry, but I felt it nonetheless, and at the end, I might've shed a tear or two of happiness. Will absolutely read more Christina Lauren in the future, I'm just hoping I didn't start with the best one (although that is a very popular opinion from what I've seen). 4.5/5 ⭐️

7) Nevernight, Jay Kristoff

YES ladies and gentleman, I FINALLY read this book *cheers loudly*. I bought this ages ago and took so long to pick it up because, sadly, the UK hardbacks are out of print and I hate it when my series don't match. I finally came to terms with this fact, started reading this and immediately regretted waiting SO LONG. Nevernight is gory, badass, enthralling, amazing and everything I wanted it to be. I will say it was slow at times (the ending especially, I felt like it dragged for a bit too long) and sometimes the footnotes take back from the story, but they're so sarcastic and funny that you start adoring them. I cannot wait to get the next two books in this series and see where this fantastic story goes. 4.5/5 ⭐️

8) Princess on the Brink, Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries book 8)

This was my least favourite of them all so far. I will definitely finish this series, I only have two books left, but I do feel like I'm too old to read them. I just find Mia annoying and there's no real conflict besides her entitlement. Michael has also been getting worse with every book, doing things that don't feel in character at all. My favourite person in these and the one that genuinely brings conflict to these books is Clarice, and she barely shows up in this one. I did like that Mia didn't get what she wanted at the end of this, she needs to do a lot of growing up for me to like the next two books. 2.5/5 ⭐️

9) One Day, David Nicholls

My sister owned this book until it somehow ended up with me, though I don't think she ever read this. I didn't plan on it either, having seen the movie, as I generally tend to like the book less if I'm too familiar with the story. However, after reading Us by the same author earlier this year, I decided to pick this up. I adore the way this story is told, how you follow Dexter and Emma's lives throughout so many years and how their relationship evolves (again second-chance romance IS my favourite trope). David Nicholls' writing is beautiful, I loved the characters, especially Emma (I connected to her a lot), although most times I just wanted to smack Dex in the face and yell at him. My favourite parts were obviously whenever they were together and I longed for those chapters. However, because I knew what happened in the end, I wasn't completely and utterly shattered, and I wish I was. If you're at all interested in this story, PLEASE read the book first, it'll hit you in all the feels and leave you devastated. 4.25/5 ⭐️

10) Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid

This is one of those books that lew up as soon as it came out and I finally decided to pick up the eBook. I am planning on making a full review of this on my blog (I'll link it here as soon as it goes up) so I won't go into too much detail, but I will say I adored this. Kiley Reid's writing is incredible and she's perfect in talking about heavy topics in a lighthearted and funny way. I actually want to have the physical copy of this and reread it because I don't think I was able to fully absorb it since I read it so fast. Absolutely stunning and I highly recommend. 4/5 ⭐️

For someone who was in a reading slump, that was a LOT of books. Honestly, if I can say one good thing that came out of this year, is how much I'm reading. What have you read this month? Let me know in the comments!

Love,

N.

Xx