Reading Log: May to June
Updated: Oct 22, 2021
Hi friends! I unintentionally took a break from this blog as I was playing catch up with a lot of things in life with some changes, vacations, and other things. However, I am slowly finding a new rhythm and I have many things in store for this blog that I can’t wait to share with you.
May to June had a lot of interesting reads. This was when I had started my unplanned Greek Mythology reading theme. I had also finally started reading books by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I’ve heard a lot about her and have seen her works everywhere. I’m glad I started going through her backlist. To further diversify these few months’ reading, I also binge-read a few contemporary romance books that were fun and easy to read.
MAY
Lord of Shadows | Cassandra Clare | YA Fantasy | This freaking book stabbed my heart multiple times, broke it into a million tiny shards, and then set those pieces on fire. Book 2 of Dark Artifices. This series gets better with each book, and it gets darker and even more painful but in a good way. The growth of each character and their individual and collective journeys were wonderful to read. I love that we also get to read from different perspectives. Overall a brilliant installment to this series!
Queen of Air and Darkness | Cassandra Clare | YA Fantasy | While book 2 gave me the most rollercoaster of emotions in this series, QOAAD had its fair share of emotional scenes – good and bad. Clare is so great at making us so invested in her character’s stories and the lore/plot of her books only gets better and better.
Enchantress | James Maxwell | YA Epic Fantasy | This is the first book in the Evermen Saga. My friend encouraged me to read this book. The concept and plot were intriguing and the writing itself was poetic, but more often than not, the writing seemed excessively flowery and lacking in substance. I like the plot and the character development and might still pick this series up somewhere down the road.
Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller | Historical Fiction Mythology | Oh man, I’m probably going to disappoint a whole lot of people by saying this since this is a HUGE fan favorite, but I wasn’t in love with this book. I 100% blame all the hype for setting my expectations way too high to an unattainable level. I think it was a good take on this classic mythology. While the writing itself was beautiful I sadly wasn’t attached to any of the characters with maybe the exception of Briseis at times. I still like Miller’s writing and would love to read more from her.
The Goddess Wars | Kendare Blake | YA Fantasy Mythology
The gods are slowly dying and no one knows why. The Goddess Series is an addictive and fun series. Even if the prose isn’t the best, the concept itself was so intriguing. It also has many wonderful characters that kept me hooked till the end.
Antigoddess (Goddess Wars #1) | Book 1 was a good start. I’m fascinated by how Blake took the basics of Greek Mythology and spun them to make it her own. I didn’t like one of MC’s, (she grated my nerves more often than not) but I ADORED the other characters and mainly stayed for them. Despite not liking the MC, the concept and side characters kept me hooked and curious about what will happen next.
Mortal Gods (Goddess Wars #2) | Book 2 of the Goddess War series. As previously mentioned, I didn’t particularly like one of the MCs for this series but the others characters, both old and new, were so fun and interesting that I stayed for them and their stories. It’s no surprise that Athena and Odysseus are my favorite. Although the pacing was a bit slow, it picked up in the last quarter of the book and was an improvement from the first book in a lot of ways. And the ending? Left me broken and I refused to accept it.
Ungodly (Goddess Wars #3) | I was incredibly curious as to how this story would end especially with the cliffhanger (pun unintended but appreciated. Ha) from the last book. I wish there were more fight scenes especially between the gods, but I overall enjoyed this book. My favorites didn’t change. I still adore Athena, Odysseus, Hermes, and even the newly added member to the “crew”, and I still couldn’t care less about Cassandra. 🙃 The Goddess Wars series has been a fun, unique read and I thoroughly enjoyed Blake’s take on Greek Mythology.
JUNE
Ariadne | Jennifer Saint | Historical Fiction Mythology | This was a wonderful debut novel. This wasn’t an easy read but how often does Greek Mythology not end in a tragedy? I wasn’t familiar with the entirety of Ariadne’s story before reading this but I adored Saint’s writing and her take on this story. It’s thought-provoking, inspiring, heartbreaking, and so many other things. Ariadne’s story was one of loss, sacrifice, and disappointment from the very beginning with some light in between. It also explores the unfairness of treatment that women have had to face as a result of men’s actions.I won’t get into detail as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but Saint writes loss and the fear of loss in a realistic and harrowing way. I can’t wait to see what else she comes up with.
Circe | Madeline Miller | Historical Fiction Mythology | My second book from Miller. As per usual, writing is beautiful, brilliant, and poetic. I related more to the characters in this book compared to The Song of Achilles and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Miller’s take on Circe’s story.I loved reading about Circe’s growth from being a very sheltered and naive girl to becoming the strong, wonderful woman she has always been. Circe is about finding yourself and carving out a place for yourself. Miller also so wonderfully depicted motherhood and my heart could burst. I can confidently say that this is one of my favorite Greek Mythology retellings thus far.
Normal People | Sally Rooney | Contemporary Romance | I don’t know if I could call this book a favorite because it was a difficult read because it was one wrought with frustration (at least on my end) and pain, but it was brilliant. I love how accurately Rooney portrayed the inner struggles and turmoil of these characters. The MCs and most of the characters in this story are very broken and hurting people. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The book also tackles the stigma surrounding mental health even in the times we are living now. Rooney depicts how broken, insecure people are prone to hurting others and be so unaware of it. I don’t know if this is something I would re-read in the future but it is for sure a book everyone should read at least once if only to learn from it.
Isla & the Happily Ever After | Stephanie Perkins | YA Contemporary Romance | Set between Paris and NY, Isla and the Happily Ever After was a wonderful story about two teenagers trying to figure out who they are and what they want their futures to look like. Had I read it when I was younger, I think I would have loved it more. I appreciate that the themes in this book were heavier because of the characters’ inner turmoil, insecurities, doubts about their futures, and everything else. These were things that made them relatable, and we get to see them navigate them and grow in the midst of them.
The Off-Limits Rule | Sarah Adams | Contemporary Rom-Com |
The Off-Limits Rule was a very cute and fun story, and at times somewhat cringe that I got really bad secondhand embarrassment, but all in all, I was rooting for Lucy and Cooper the entire time.
The Temporary Roomie | Sarah Adams | Contemporary Rom-Com |
Oh, I so badly wanted to like this at least as much as its prequel, The Off-Limits Rule. And I’m naturally inclined to like stories like this because I am a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers trope. However, the main characters had the tendency to be extremely immature that toed the line between acceptable and not. But still, I rooted for Drew and Jessie very much.
Blood and Ash Series | Jennifer L. Armentrout | YA Paranormal Fantasy
This is my first series from Armentrout and I’m so glad I took the plunge. I love the brilliant take on the classic vampires and werewolves story and takes it a notch further with the inclusion of Atlantians who remind me of Elves/Faes. The Blood and Ash series has fun characters and great world-building.
From Blood & Ash (Blood & Ash Book #1) | I enjoyed the characters a whole lot, especially their banter and dynamic. The angst and relationship development in this one was top-tier too and might be my favorite from the series. And while it is saturated with cliches and overused tropes, it was very addictive and done very well.
Kingdom of Flesh & Fire (Blood & Ash Book #2) | While the progress, plot-wise moved at a snail’s pace for me, we got to meet a bunch of new characters in this book who have ended up becoming a favorite. Book 1 is still my fave in the series but this was still a thoroughly enjoyable book and kept me completely hooked.
Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood & Ash Book #3) | This book had me stressed out from Chapter 1 to the very end, and I loved it. The characters were wonderful. The twists and turns gave me whiplash but it was a great wild ride. I appreciate the character development of these people and the humorous scenes strewn all over the story. However, it was a somewhat unnecessarily long book, and in my opinion, there were some scenes and dialogue between the characters that could have been cut as they become a bit too repetitive. I still thoroughly enjoyed and loved this book and I am scared for the next one.
