Q2 (April - June) Book Recap
A very belated Q2 readcap reporting for duty! This blog covers my reads and reviews for all the books that got their spines cracked April through June. Not gonna lie, this quarter was a bit rough for whatever reason. I had some slower reading times and also didn’t finish all books in the months I started them in (only by a couple of days) so this timeline is a little bit fast and loose. I also skipped reading a non-fiction book in June and instead focused on reading books on my list that would help me catch up with my reading challenge for the year. (Don’t worry, since I’m writing this in August I made sure to do two this month to make up for it.)
My book club took a little pause in beginning in June due to some major moves happening, so we’ll resume those picks in September once everyone is settled and back in their routine!
Now as a reminder from last time - some reviews may contain spoilers (but also some of these books have been out for like 100 years so I’m not super sorry about those).
April
Vow of Thieves: 5 stars - book club pick for the month! Piggy-backing off of my review of Dance of Thieves (book 1 in this series), this duo just continued my love for this storyline, Kazi, and of course Jase Ballenger. It’s just such a great world and this type of I-would-die-or-kill-for-you romance is top-tier for me. Will be re-reading this series again and again.
A Room with a View: 2.5 stars - my non-fiction pick for the month. I may need to read this one again eventually because I feel like I didn’t quite grasp some of the coming of age/coming into your own and romance storylines. Not my favorite classic novel but will give it another shot in the future.
Mindspeakers’ Call (The Ghatti’s Tale #2): 3 stars - the second book in a series I thrifted about mind-speaking cats called Ghattis and their truth-seeking humans. I feel like this one took a while to ramp up (I think I was a little over halfway through before I started to get more into the story) and then really rushed the ending. I like how it continued to build out the world into a whole new part and the existing conflict developed a new layer - made me curious to see how it’s all going to come together in the final book!
may
Macbeth: 4 stars - womp womp, this was my only book for May and technically I finished it like a day into June but I’m counting it for May because I don’t want this month to be empty. This was a really fun one! I haven’t read a play since probably high school and I just found this really enjoyable and I loved the witches. (Maybe it’s a little out of place to call a play that’s technically a tragedy enjoyable?) I would absolutely love to see this as the play in a theater.
June
Coraline: 5 stars - always always and forever one of my most favorite stories. I love the book and in a rare turn of events I also very much love the movie adaptation of the book. It’s the perfect amount of creepy and whimsical.
Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales #1): 4 stars - last time I read this series was in high school and even reading it 15+ years later, this one still holds up for me. I love the density of the world Holly Black has created (I was inspired to add these to my list this year since I read The Cruel Prince last year) and while Kaye isn’t my favorite main character ever, I was thoroughly entertained throughout the story.
Valiant (Modern Faerie Tales #2): 3 stars - this book is wayyyy darker than I remembered and tbh I had no business reading this in like 9th grade. There’s a lot about drug use (even if it’s made up drugs) and a scene of SA so reader beware before diving into this one. I do like how it adds a new “story within the story” but I do think it could be skipped and you wouldn’t miss out on much.
Exile’s Return (The Ghatti’s Tale #3): 3 stars - first off, I did not enjoy the “let’s make Doyce pregnant for character development” trope. Definitely knocked my rating down a bit. This one heavily mirrors the second book pace-wise - very slow in the beginning, ramps up halfway through, and all the action happens in the last 10-15 pages. I do like how the author left a little tidbit that could launch a new story out of this series if she chose to do so, or just let the reader imagine the next conflict in this world. Overall, an entertaining fantasy series as a cat lover, but I’m not sure at this point if I would choose to read it again.
Trying to keep reviews short is just as hard this time as it was last time, so if you’ve read any of these I’m always down to share more of my thoughts (and hear yours of course). I’d love to know what you’ve been reading lately and any recommendations you have!
I hope you enjoyed!