I know I know. It has been an insulting two weeks of silence. I was on vacation, and then dawdling about in airports while they decided whether or not I was worthy of going home (only after a long layover).
But here I am, returned and officially on summer break! Hooray! These are the books I read in snatches during the end of the school year, and during the long sunny hours of my vacation.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
I loved the idea and world of the book. Riding dragons is my jam, and I would love to go to school for it. But maybe a different one, where I have a better chance of survival… I enjoyed the main character, she was interesting and funny. I thought it was such an interesting author choice to make the characters spirit hard as a brass, but her body weak. It made for very good tension throughout the book. But then we got to the spicy scenes… I know some people really love them, but they are not my favorite.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
I plan on doing a more in depth review of this book, so stay tuned for that! I loved this book, the characters, the prose, and the setting all blended together into a harmonious whole. The only thing I have against the book is it is marketed as a thriller, so I was prepared for ghosts and scary things. There are no ghosts, and I was vastly disappointed.
Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
I tried to read a different book by this author earlier this year, but couldn’t finish it because there was time travel. My preference is a bad reason to ditch an entire author, so I gave her another try. I am glad I did! This book is an adult fantasy, full of subtle magic and intertwining relationships that are at once helpful and harmful. I felt that most of the relationships, between parents and children, friends, and lovers, was realistic. I could see real people acting that way. And then we add spells and old magic and voila, we have a twisty-turny plot where nothing is guaranteed until the last page.
All our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
I liked the idea of a world similar to ours, but with significant differences. The world was interesting, and made me look at my own in a different way. Which was the point I think. It was not my favorite book of the month, occasionally the moral was a little too hard hitting. Also, my personal preference is quotation marks around dialogue. This book only had this -, to mark dialogue. Which made the whole book sound very muted in my head, and halfway through the book I wanted someone to scream and make some noise! I realize this is a very personal, possible crazy preference, so if you don’t mind this, go ahead and give the book a try!
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Partly, I read the book because I was in the mood for a cozy mystery. Partly, I read it because I wanted to compare it with the recent movie. Let me just say, it ends happier in the book. It was a very fun mystery with Poirot, and I enjoyed it very much.
A Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden
This is a nonfiction book, the nature diary of Edith Holden during the early 1900’s. She lived in the English countryside, and throughout an entire year kept track of the weather and the flora and fauna she saw during the different seasons. Her diary inspired me to learn more about the flora and fauna right outside my door. She knew all of the names of the plants, and I can only tell you the names of what I planted in my garden. Already I have gotten nature books from the library, and I hope to expand my knowledge of the world outside!
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
I think this was my favorite book of the month. The entire book felt like worlds within worlds. Moscow inside of Russia. The hotel inside of Moscow, and the main characters rooms inside of the hotel. I loved the cozy feel of the hotel and his rooms in particular, put in stark relief against the tumult of post revolution Russia in the outside world. The book is about an aristocrat under house arrest in the hotel. He is a wonderful character who is a realistic optimist. He takes the world as it is, and then makes the best of it. I could read a whole series about him!
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There you go, my month in books. A good month overall!
Have a beautiful day,
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 