Reading in 2024 - August!

(In which I complete 10 books in the first 11 days of the month...and then only slow down a little bit.)

1.  The Deep Sky, Yume Kitasei - This was a book spa recommendation from Skylark.  While I ultimately enjoyed this read - and felt very satisfied by the ending - I will say that a lot of it was awfully familiar.  In fact, the whole set-up - a special school/competition for children to become the ones who get to go to space to save humanity....I've read that before (although did not enjoy and DNF'd the other book).  Bad things happening to put everyone at risk and/or sabotage...well, isn't that every science fiction book?  What I can say is that it was the details which ultimately made this a beautiful book to read - some of which were so well done as to surprise and delight.  I actually went back and reread some parts just so that I could fully enjoy them knowing what they actually meant.  

2.  Voyage of the Basilisk and 3.  In the Labyrinth of Drakes, Marie Brennan (audio) - Carrying on with my reread (listen!) to a beloved series with books 3 and 4.  Perfect listen to accompany a weekend of knitting on the farm.  (I farmsit every fall while my parents are away for a conference...it's a weekend that brings me great peace.)  Lady Trent will forever be a favorite character, and the narrator does a beautiful job of bringing her to life!  

4.  Infamous, Lex Croucher - I asked for a couple of romance novels in my book spa, and this is one of two I brought home.  To be honest, it was just ok.  The main character was annoying, the love interest didn't have much of a personality, there was little chemistry, and yeah...not my favorite.  Enjoyed it enough to finish it, but it immediately went into the Little Free Library pile.  

5.  The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting and 6.  The Duke at Hazard, K.J. Charles - So craving romance novels, I turned to my favorite romance writer and picked up her most recent series.  Super fun, and exactly what the doctor ordered.  I discovered Charles via NPR's Books We Love, and she's never disappointed.  

7.  The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, P. Djeli Clark - I love Clark, and while he's not quite a must-buy author for me, he is an author I can rely on for a quality read.  I don't want to ruin any of the fun, but I will say that I love how very unique this novella is.  It felt new and fresh, and was so much fun!  

8.  Within the Sanctuary of Wings, Marie Brennan (audio) - And finally, finishing the Lady Trent series!  So glad I now own the audio to this series!  Satisfying indeed.  Did actually consider pulling out my digital copy of this book to get through it a bit faster, but the narration is so wonderful that I had to finish it out the way I began.  

9.  The Hero and the Crown and 10.  The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley (audio) - I bought my beloved copy of The Hero and the Crown at a scholastic book fair in fourth or fifth grade. I was an extremely advanced reader, and had already begun to struggle with finding books that were both challenging enough and enjoyable.  The Hero and the Crown became my everything, and I've reread both it and it's sequel countless times since.  I consider these books to be my true introduction to fantasy and the foundation on which my love of the genre was built. 

11.  Can't Spell Treason Without Tea and 12.  A Pirate's Life for Tea, Rebecca Thorne - I've seen this cozy fantasy series knocking around and decided to give it a try.  I enjoyed it so much that book 3 is preordered - although I will say it doesn't quite live up to my favorite cozy fantasy (the amazing Legends and Lattes).  Also, I really missed the book and tea shop in book two.  Things I loved, though, are the central relationship, some very real mental health struggles, found family/community building, the gryfons, all of the talk about tea (which made me thirsty! and more than once led me to get up and brew a cup of tea), the gentle romance of it all, the puns, the side characters...and so much more!  

13.  The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley, This book is all over the place right now - in part because it made Obama's summer reading list.  I found it in an article of best books from the first half of the year from NPR, and decided to give it a try when I caught it on sale.  I'm conflicted.  On the one hand, it did feel slow at times.  On the other hand, I really enjoyed the overall story and am still thinking about it days and days later.  Some of it took me by surprise, some of it left me feeling all of the feelings deeply, some of it left me in despair, and the end gave me something to hope for. 

14.  A Court of Thornes and Roses and 15. A Court of Mist and Fury, Sarah J. Maas - ...And then  I decided to go ahead and reread Maas's beloved ACOTAR books, just because.  Getting through all of Maas's books in under five or six months feels like an epic feat!  Also, I decided to listen to the Fantasy Fangirls podcast while I'm doing the reread - which is super fun.  (Seriously, their recaps that start each episode are brilliant.)  I have to say that I'm actually enjoying this a LOT more as a reread...in part because I'm picking up on so much more than I did the first time around, and in part because I understand and appreciate how much these books mean to so many people.