Reading in 2024 - June!

 1.  That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon, Kimberly Lemming - Look, sometimes you just have to have fun.  This book is completely ridiculous, and I enjoyed the heck out of it.  In fact, I have the next two books in this series in my queue for the next time I need something lighthearted and sexy and silly.  

2. Jack the Giant Killer & 3.  Drink Down the Moon, Charles DeLint (published together in Jack of Kinrowan) - This is the book that made me fall in love with urban/contemporary fantasy.  It's also the first DeLint novel I ever read way back in college.  I think this is my first/only reread.  So why now?  When I first found Chares DeLint, it became quickly apparent that there was no Charles DeLint without MaryAnn Harris, his wife.  To my complete and utter delight MaryAnn and I eventually became internet friends thanks to two small groups on Facebook and an introduction by the mutual friend who just happens to be my fairy godmother.  Sadly, MaryAnn passed recently, and in my grief I went back to my first DeLint book for comfort.  This book will always hold a special place in my heart, and I'm so glad that I revisited it as it proved to be exactly what was needed.  (Incidentally, I've been considering diving into my collection to reread other long ago favorites....it may become a project.)  

4.  Sunbringer, Hannah Kaner - Sequel to Godkiller, read last month. This is painful.  I finished it, but I came really close to DNF'ing.  Godkiller started out so strong with one of the best prologues I've ever read, and had some amazing worldbuilding and characters.  BUT, that book still fell a bit flat.  At the end of Godkiller Kaner did something that annoys me from time to time - she divides up the main characters.  I felt the story in Sunbringer suffered as a result.  This book was just a drag, and although there's still another book coming in the series, I won't be reading it.  Super dissapointed.  This could have been an amazing series.  (I'm cranky about it...in all honesty I can't quite figure out why it was a disappointment.)

5.  Elusive, Genevieve Cogman - Truth, I like Cogman's Invisible Library series better.  I will continue to read and enjoy Cogman's take on the French Revolution, vampires, and the Scarlet Pimpernel, but at least with this second book it doesn't live up to her other series.  I've typed and deleted a dozen comments, all boiling down to some frustration over what I see as some confusion around central ideas and some general wishy-washyness of our female main character.  Truly hoping that the books improve with time.   

6.  Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas - Having so recently enjoyed Maas's Crescent City series, I decided it was time to dive into Throne of Glass.  Absolutely you can tell that this is the author's first book.  It's YA (no shade to YA, it's just a departure for Maas), and the writing is sometimes a bit iffy, and the main characters do dumb things all of the time despite the fact that they are supposed to be the best of the best.  Having said that, it was still a very engrossing read, and I did very much enjoy the plot and the fact that we start with characters who are already experts in their fields and so are already well into their own hero journeys.  Excited to start the series! 

7. One Dark Window (audio and print) & 8.  Two Twisted Crowns, Rachel Gillig - Normally I wouldn't interrupt a series once I've started, but One Dark Window finally became available through my library in audio, and I waited so long to get it that I jumped right in.  This is a booktok/bookstagram discovery, and I've taken to checking them out through the library because, well, such recommendations can be iffy.  Well, I loved the first book so much I bought a copy half way through, and then immediately bought the second so that I could read straight through!  So much to love about this duology - from the relationships to the magic system to the action.  Good fun that's more than a little bit gothic!  

9.  Crown of Midnight, Sarah J. Maas - Book 2!  I stumbled on reels from Between Pages and Friends a little while ago, and was really entertained by their content.  When they announced a book club style podcast with the two best friends and their husbands reading through The Throne of Glass series, I decided to check it out.  Kind of love it, and it's been fun so far to read along with them.  I'm following their reading order - which is the recommended reading order by the author - and by the end of this book had caught up so that my reading is timed with their episode releases.  What will be interesting is whether or not I stay reading at their speed or if I decide to just blast through the series like I normally would.  Given how I felt reading this book, I suspect I'll just blast through as per usual because I found myself feeling impatient and wanting to know EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS.  Also, it's interesting to be able to see the author start to improve with her writing.  

10.  Bitter Waters, Vivian Shaw - I tumbled onto Shaw's Dr. Greta Helsing novels a while back, and fell absolutely in love with her stories about a doctor who serves fantastical creatures.  I was delighted when I discovered that she'd written a new novella, and eagerly preordered the book.  Such a delightful read!  I highly recommend the entire series.  (And another book about a reader...interesting that this is a mini them this month!)  If you like cozy fantasy books, this is probably the series for you.  If you are someone, like me, who LOVES classic horror/gothic novels, than this is also the series for you!  Bonus...it was written in a way that leads me to believe that more is on the way....

11.  Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid (audio) - I watched the series on Prime, and really enjoyed it, so I borrowed my youngest's copy shortly afterwords.  However, it's just been sitting for a while.  Then I heard that there's a full cast for the audiobook version, and I immediately reserved it at the library.  I love, love, love audiobooks that use different voices for different parts - and a full cast!  Wonderful!  The nature of the book - being a collection of interviews with rare interjections from the 'author' really benefits from having a full cast, and I have to say I loved this listen.  

12.  A Ruse of Shadows, Sherry Thomas, book 8 of the Lady Sherlock Series.  - I can't believe I almost missed this one.  It just happened to come up in iBooks recommended list on the home page (since I have all of the earlier books), and I immediately purchased and read it.  While it didn't sparkle as much as the earlier books, and honestly the plot may have been a bit overly-complicated, it was still a fun read.  I'll forever love Thomas's take on Sherlock, and her relationship with Lord Ingram had me swooning this time around.