April was a weird reading month for me for a variety of reasons! I did not finish anything before the 11th, or after the 24th, before the 11th I was finishing my last grad school applications (procrastination queen speaking) and the 26th was when I found out I got into grad school (more on this on a later date) and also my last week of the month was various kinds of stressful. I also had a much broader range of how much I liked each book than is typical. I had three three-star books (some of which I am low key considering bumping down) a four-star and two five-stars, I typically have a more enjoyable batting average.
Now to dive in!
The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu - YA Urban Fantasy
5 stars! I loved it while I read it and I love thinking back on it now. The only bad thing about this was now my Cassandra Clare collection does not all fit on one shelf. By 2025 this woman is going to have two whole shelves of mine. Back to the book. This was a wonderful place for a series to start, I do not think you have to have read the rest of the Shadowhunter Chronicles to dive into this series, though like all her books it is a richer experience if you have all 14 other books for context. I loved the inclusion of Wesley Chu as a coauthor, he seamlessly writes in the manner one expects from Magnus and Alec (and perhaps a surprise POV?), and now I am deeply curious about reading his other books!
Read if:
You are a Cassandra Clare fan (Do you LOVE Magnus? Do you want more love for Alec?)
You want LGBTQ characters
You want a fun adventure across Europe (the travel was done very well)
You want to fly through an action packed fantasy (so much danger)
Naturally Tan by Tan France* - Memoir
3 stars for me! Just the first half would have barely scraped out a 2 and the second was more of a 4, so I settled on 3. I found the writing very not book like in a way that made it quite hard to focus on the book, and I was irked by some of the opinions, primarily how women were spoken too and about. But this book does have redeeming qualities! My theory and the theory of many who have read this already is that the audiobook would be more engaging and not jarring. The writing seems far more suited to patterns of speech. And many of the stories are touching and interesting. Tan France has had an exciting, eventful life, I particularly liked reading about his businesses, his love story with his husband, and the love Tan has for Salt Lake City.
Read if:
You LOVE Queer Eye
You are interested in the fashion industry
You are looking for LGBTQ memoirs
You are looking for memoirs by South Asian people
All interested parties, this is released on June 4th, 2019
Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi - YA Dystopian Fantasy
Also a 3-star situation for me! I was quite bummed that I was not in love with this story. I really enjoyed the original Shatter Me trilogy (4 stars straight across) and will tell anyone and everyone to run not walk to the nearest bookstore and get a copy of A Very Large Expanse of Sea, but Restore Me was just not for me. I knew the twist before I was 50 pages in so I did not really feel any tension waiting so so long for the reveal. I was not interested in the characters interpersonal problems because I thought no one was handling governance seriously, and I think that the type of romance that Warner and Juliette have is a relationship dynamic that I have liked less and less as I have aged. This is not to say this is a bad book, or that you should not continue with this series, just that I will not be. I’ll check back in with whatever Tahereh Mafi writes outside this world!
Read if:
You have read and loved the Shatter Me Trilogy!
Please Send Help by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin* - YA/NA/Adult (It is a transitional novel) Epistolary Fiction
3 star read strikes again! I was just super meh about this book. I loved a few things, it was funny, and I love a strong female friendship, and I hated a few things, catfishing not being treated as horrendous and the massive time jump creating a lot of distance, but most of it was just fine. If you liked I Hate Everyone But You or you then totally pick this book up to continue reading Gen and Ava’s communication! They are still funny, still figuring out how to interact with the world, and they are still full of gossip.
Read if:
You are looking for LGBTQ content (bisexual author/character)
You loved I Hate Everyone But You (though I think you could read it as a stand alone with minimal confusion)
You love Gaby and Allison! (go watch Just Between Us, I LOVE this channel)
You are interested in books that fall on the YA/Adult line but aren’t explicit
You want a funny epistolary novel
This one comes out July 16th, 2019.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi - YA Fantasy (secondary world based on Nigeria)
4 stars! I am SO late to this party, but I am so happy to have made an appearance. This book was great! The writing is excellent and engaging, the plot is so FAST and high stakes, I loved Zelie and Amari, and think their character voices are so strong. I am so excited for Children of Virtue and Vengeance! I didn’t like the romance in this book, I felt like some of the plot required a character get a lot done too quickly for me to really be on board with so much change so quickly, and that made parts of the book frustrating. But I love the idea of a potential romantic prospect set up, even if it isn’t romantic I love some of the characters that I hope get more page time in book two! This book functions excellently as an allegory for police brutality and institutionalized racism against black people in America, and as a kick-ass fantasy adventure story.
Read if:
You want kick ass fantasy adventure
You are looking for an African OwnVoices fantasy
You want to be completely sucked into a world and become obsessed
You are a person who reads? This book is so good.
Tell Me Everything by Sarah Enni - YA Contemporary
5 stars! I really really enjoyed this book! I was slightly wary approaching it, because I love Sarah Enni’s podcast, First Draft, so much, but I did not need to worry. This book is so beautiful! It is about the differences in the way we act and the way that is perceived, the perils of being too invested in a digital space, and the value of digital spaces. I loved Ivy, she was so full of contradiction, the intense want of privacy and also desire to find out exactly who other people are, and I just really was with her character journey the whole time.
Read if:
You love YA contemporary
You want a book the focuses on our relationship with digital spaces (and was written by someone who actually seems to understand using them)
You want to explore the way artists relate to each other as people and how the interact with their own and others art
*Link to full review will be added once it is posted!
