Summer Reading 2022

Welcome back to school, all! Here's an update of all the books I've read since the end of May. To begin with, I finished reading The Immortal Throne by Bree Despain the first week of June. The third book of the Into the Dark trilogy, this fantasy novel is about Daphne Raines trying to escape the underworld and her betrothal to Haden's half-brother, Garrick, who is the new King of the Underrealm. Haden has been banished to the mortal realm and Daphne is the only one who can save him. The Immortal Throne is definitely an excellent and satisfying conclusion to the series, and I truly enjoyed the romance and the magic. I would recommend it to anyone who loves Greek mythology especially the story of Hades and Persephone.

Then, I read The Gauntlet, a science fiction novel by Megan Shepherd. In this finale of The Cage series, Cora and her friends are now on Armstrong, a small moon, after they escaped from the Kindred station. Although they thought it would be safe, Armstrong is ruled by a power-hungry sheriff and they're enslaved in the mines. With limited time, Cora has to figure out how to escape from Armstrong and win a competition called the Gauntlet in order to prove humanity's intelligence. Although I loved how the suspense built up throughout the book, especially during the different challenges of the Gauntlet, I thought the ending was bittersweet. I definitely felt a little disappointed with how the romance was handled. It is an entertaining book, though, if you like action and adventure.

After reading The Gauntlet, I enjoyed the The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo. This story collection features tales about the different saints from the author's novels taking place in Grishaverse. Although many of the stories in this book are dark, the illustrations are beautiful and I loved learning about all the different miracles and martyrdoms. It was definitely a fascinating read, and I would recommend it if you want to continue to immerse yourself in the world that Bardugo created with the Shadow and Bone trilogy.

From the end of June to the beginning of July, I read The Here and Now by Ann Brashares. This standalone science fiction novel is about Prenna James, a seventeen-year-old girl who comes from a future devastated by a mosquito-borne illness and has always been told that she must follow the rules. When Prenna begins to fall for Ethan Jarvis, she decides that some of the rules are worth breaking, especially if it means preventing the plague that kills millions. Like most books I've read by Ann Brashares, this one was bittersweet, but I did find it thought-provoking because of how the world has been currently dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. If you want to read a book that is both thrilling and heartbreaking, this is a great choice.

The next book I read was Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. I especially enjoyed reading Realm Breaker last year, so I was really looking forward to the sequel and it did not disappoint. After the events of the first book, Corayne and her group of companions are recovering from their battle with the Kraken and closing one of the Spindles. Needing an army, the companions decide to head north next before going back to the temple where Taristan murdered his brother to close the Spindle there. The journey is dangerous, but they find new allies even while Queen Erida and Taristan take over another country and open more portals. This fantasy novel kept me on edge and I couldn't stop reading it. Although they're the antagonists, I was most compelled by the relationship between Erida and Taristan. Despite the fact that they're destroying the realm together, I love how they grew closer on romantic level. There were victories and losses for both sides, and by the end, I was left desperate for the third book in the series. If you've read Realm Breaker, this is a must-read.

Later in July, I read Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black. In this paranormal thriller, Vanessa Adler goes to an elite ballet school in New York City to find out what happened to her sister when she disappeared three years ago. Although she feels like she's not as good as her sister, she captures the attention of the choreographer, Josef, who casts her as the lead in The Firebird. As she rehearses for the role, she grows closer to the gorgeous male lead, Zep, even as he hides a dark secret from her. When one of her friends disappears, Vanessa begins to believe that something strange is going on at the ballet school. Even though another boy, Justin, also has his suspicions about what's going on, Vanessa doesn't trust him and pushes him away whenever he tries to help. With opening night approaching, the danger surrounding Vanessa grows and she must perform the dance perfectly or she could be the next victim. I've always enjoyed novels taking place in ballet schools, and this one has got to be one of my favorites now. I love how it incorporated mystery and paranormal elements. Even though I was as enamored by Zep as Vanessa was at first, I found myself to be drawn to Justin, who seemed to really be looking out for Vanessa even when she wanted nothing to do with him. The ending left me wanting to the sequel, too, which I'm definitely going to have to read soon. If you like ballet and mysteries, this is an irresistible choice.

Last, but not least, I most recently read Undertow and Raging Sea by Michael Buckley. These science fiction novels are the first two in a trilogy about Lyric Walker, a seventeen-year-old girl whose family is keeping a huge secret. When the Alpha, a group of warriors, arrived from the sea three years ago, Lyric's hometown of Coney Island was forever changed, becoming a military zone. Then, as she begins her senior year, a group of Alpha teenagers are forced to go to her high school and she has to help their crown prince, Fathom, adjust to American life. Although he can be violent and angry, Lyric begins to fall for him. With tensions growing between humans and the Alpha, Lyric has to make the difficult decision to either run with her family so their secret stays hidden or work with the Alpha to save humanity from something worse that lives beneath the ocean's surface. Even though I immensely enjoyed the action scenes in both books and thought it was awesome when Lyric learned that she can harness the power of water, I felt the romance was underdeveloped and wasn't as torn up as I thought I would be by the time it fell apart. I'd definitely recommend this series, though, because it's suspenseful and I like the way it explores the dynamics of prejudice and unethical experimentation. I also think fans of Stranger Things would like this series.

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo and How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

Over the past month, I read Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo and How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black. Rule of Wolves continues right where King of Scars left off. Nikolai and Zoya are now planning to go to battle against the Fjerdans, while Nina is living with the family of her new friend, Hanne, as a spy. At the same time, there is a terrible blight that brings death and destruction wherever it appears. Nikolai, Zoya, and Nina, along with their allies, must find a way to bring peace to their land even when the odds are against them. Although I enjoyed reading this book for the adventure and magic, I did not love it as much as I loved King of Scars. There were things I liked and disliked about the plot, especially towards the end of the book. Although I didn't mind that the end left the story open for another book, I was frustrated how the author handled one of my favorite characters, the Darkling, after being delighted by the chapters from his point of view. Although he's supposed to be one of the villains, I can't help but like him. I find him fascinating, so I always want more of him. I've always thought he would be better used as an antihero than a villain because he's Grisha and wants the same thing as other Grisha, like Zoya and Nina, want: to be able to live without fear of persecution. With that said, it was fun seeing the characters of Kaz, Jesper, Wylan, and Inej from the Six of Crows duology again during their small cameos. I would recommend Rule of Wolves if you've read King of Scars.

On the other hand, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories was a delight from beginning to end. This book is a collection of short stories taking place in the Folk of the Air universe from Cardan Greenbrier's perspective. These short stories are tied together by his meetings with a troll woman, Aslog, who told him two tales before the events of The Cruel Prince. At some point after The Queen of Nothing, Cardan and Jude have to go to the human world where a troll is wreaking havoc. Cardon finds out that it's Aslog and decides to try being the hero. I loved reading about Cardan's childhood, moments from the trilogy, and the adventure taking place after The Queen of Nothing because the stories expanded on the development of Cardan's character. Not to mention, the art in the book is gorgeous. My only complaint is that the book was too short, and I wish more moments from the trilogy with Jude were included. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is definitely a must-read for all Cardan Greenbrier fans.

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Over the past week and a half, I read King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. This high fantasy is the first novel of a duology and the sixth book taking place in the universe that Bardugo created in Shadow and Bone.  Although it’s been three years since the civil war in Ravka, Nikolai, the young king, is increasingly haunted by the small amount of the Darkling’s dark magic still inside inside his body and unpredictably transforms into a winged monster. One of the commanders of the Ravkan Second Army, Zoya, is focused on keeping Nikolai’s secret and making sure he doesn’t kill anyone with the help of Tolya and Tamar, members of Nikolai’s personal guard. Nikolai needs to make political alliances and find a queen to produce an heir to stabilize his reign, but after an incident with the Apparat and Yuri, a young monk who worships the Darkling, Nikolai goes on a journey to the Fold with Zoya, Yuri, Tamar, and Tolya to find a cure and destroy the monster inside him. On this quest, they confront hidden dangers and mysterious forces lurking in Ravka.

Undercover on a covert mission in Fjerda, the country to the north of Ravka, Nina is still devastated by the loss of her lover, Matthias, although she soon finds a place in the woods near a factory to lay his body to rest. Afterwards, she hears voices that take her to a grave site at the top of a mountain and decides to find out what is happing at the factory because it is poisoning the river according to a group of young women in disguise as soldiers. When she is lost in a snowstorm, she discovers that the girl from the convent who saves her is Grisha and befriends her to gather information, take down the factory, and bring justice to the women and girls who died there.

I thought King of Scars was absolutely amazing. I was enthralled from the beginning to the very end. The first chapter was creepy and suspenseful, almost like a horror novel, until it was revealed that Nikolai was the monster that the boy, Dima, found in his family's barn. After reading the first series within this universe, I thought that Nikolai was cured, so finding out that the Darkling, the villain of those three books, left a piece of his power in Nikolai was quite the reveal. I was terrified that the monster would take over Nikolai and the people of Ravka would find out their king is a monster before he could be cured. I was also excited that this book focused on Zoya and Nina, in addition to Nikolai, because Zoya was compelling in the Shadow and Bone trilogy and I loved Nina in the Six of Crows duology. I would definitely recommend reading both of those series before reading King of Scars because there are many interweaving plot lines. King of Scars is split into two parts and there are five point of view characters (Dima, Zoya, Nina, Nikolai, and Isaak, the young man who takes Nikolai's place as king when he is missing). Additionally, I enjoyed the sense of adventure and the new ways of using Grisha powers that Zoya and Nina learn. The plot twists at the end left me wanting more, so I'm very impatient to read the next book, Rule of Wolves, which will be released next week. If you love fantasy, you should definitely check this series out!