July Wrap-Up

    Hey everyone!  It is officially August which means we are officially on our way out of summer (thank GOD).  I am obviously not a huge fan of summer for obvious reasons (sunlight, heat, destroyed kidneys, etc.) but if I had to pick a favorite month of summer, it would probably be August.  I always have a lot going on this month and this year is no exception.  We just got back from our vacation up north and it was AMAZING to just unplug and unwind for a week.  This week is the Yankee Homecoming Festival in Newburyport, MA, which is where my family is from.  We usually make time every year to go down, peruse the shops, eat food, and watch the parade at the end of the week.  It's a really great family weekend and I'm looking forward to sharing that with my nephew for the first time.

(inbeon.com)

    Next weekend the hubs and I will be in Boston for Boston Comic Con (8/12-8/14) and we'll be tag-teaming the Inbeon Studios booth with a few of our favorite people.  If you're attending Con this year, stop by our table and say hello!  Then, at the end of the month is St. Anthony's Feast, which is also in Boston.  It's one of the oldest Italian festivals in America and it's packed with people, food, Italian goods, and music.  I love going because it gives me an opportunity to explore that part of my culture, while also stuffing my face with cannolis and sfogliatelle (Google it, they are THE BOMB).  This year I actually have an opportunity to go to both St. Anthony's Feast and the Fisherman's Feast, which is the weekend before (8/20 and 8/21).  Similar feast, different saint, same sort of fun.  It's a great experience and if you're Italian I guarantee that you'll enjoy yourself.

    On to the books!  Unfortunately, I think I set myself up for failure last month with so many books.  I didn't spend as much time reading as I did last summer while we were on vacation, so I only managed to finish three books and start a fourth, which I hope to finish soon.  My August TBR is pretty daunting, so I'll try to get through as much as I can, but that's a blog for another day.  These are the books I finished last month.

(goodreads.com)

    I believe in my last post I had started Six of Crows, but hadn't finished yet.  I really enjoyed this book, far more than the original Grisha trilogy.  The characters are so much more complex and the story is so much more engaging that I literally had trouble putting the book down.  I enjoyed seeing the world from an alternative perspective from a different slum city and the problems that setting causes for our characters.  I'm a sucker for multiple points of view, so this book was right up my alley.  My favorite character was probably Kaz (I'm sure many of you would agree) because his character is so guarded and mysterious, but as the reader we get to see inside his head a little more to understand why he is the way he is and it's just heartbreaking to understand the truth and the severity of what he's been through and how it cripples him not just physically but mentally as well.  As the self-proclaimed "leader" of this band of thieves and criminals, this is something I think he'll end up having to deal with at great cost in the second and final book.  I also really enjoyed the back-and-forth from Nina and Matthias because they were so annoyed with each other it made me laugh at times.  The banter in this book was great and very reminiscent of (almost) Infernal Devices for me, but maybe a little darker.  I ended up giving this book 4.5 our of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

    The second book I read last month was Rick Riordan's first book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series The Sword of Summer.  What originally drew me to this book was the stunning cover, but I've also never read any of Rick Riordan's books before this one (GASP).  I know, I'm a horrible person.  I was also drawn to the idea of Norse mythology over the Greek mythology of the original series, so I ended up choosing this one as my first Riordan novel.  This book did not disappoint me at all.  I was hooked from the chapter titles and it just got more interesting from there.  I loved all the characters, the protagonist's back story, the setting, etc.  Knowing that Riordan lives in Boston, the setting definitely showed his love for the city and his attention to detail.  He made me want to go into town and try to find all the landmarks he created from Norse influence.  I also really liked that he had a diverse cast of characters and portrayed a character with a disability.  He was probably one of my favorite characters too, and it was great how well they all worked together.  The only thing I didn't really like about this book was the main villain.  He seemed like the main villain for most of the book and, although he was quite menacing, I feel like he didn't live up to his obviously heinous reputation.  The REAL main antagonist was also a little bit underwhelming as well, although the last battle was pretty brutal.  All in all it was a great fun read and I'm curious to see what happens in the second installment.  I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

    Last but not least, I read Hollow City by Ransom Riggs, which is the second book in the Miss Peregrine's series.  I hadn't picked this book up yet and I read the first one last year almost a year ago, so I wanted to refresh my memory while also prepping myself for the movie coming out later this year.  This book is a continuation of the events that happened in the first book, so I'll try not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet.  The book starts out incredibly slow, so I almost gave up on it in order to read another book because I had no idea where they were going to end up for about five chapters, but eventually it got more interesting and their travels.  Their survival was the key story line in this book and the troubles they face are many.  There are some real-world issues from history going on in this book due to the time loops, so it's interesting to see these historical events portrayed in this story.  None of the characters stood out to me that much since they have all worked together in a cohesive group since the beginning, besides Jacob.  The relationship he has with Claire is tested as they come to terms with the finality of their situation.  Overall I'd say this was a good second book to a series, but it wasn't anything I would read again eagerly.  I gave this book 2.5/3 out of 5 stars.

    Those are all the books I read in the month of July!  What did your July reading log look like?  Have you read any of these books and, if so, what did you think?  Let me know in the comments!  I'll be posting my August TBR shortly, so stay tuned!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.