July 2017 Wrap-Up

First things first, I failed the read-alongs. I read three books from each. So, I didn't even complete one whole one either. Oh well. There's always next time. I'm sure if I'd actually read the entire week instead of just doing whatever random things I was doing I would have completed one of them. Better luck next time!!

Anyway, I read 7 books in July. Here we go!

Book #1: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay. Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. Yet she spares Cas's life. 

It is not a habit of mine to buy full price books from Amazon. I rarely pay more than $10 for any book...but I thought I would treat my shelf since I did get paid and it's been on my to buy list for a while. The catalyst for this purchase was a friend said we should do a buddy read of this, so I grabbed it. Found out that not only did he already read it, he doesn't even have a copy. He's lucky I wanted it anyway. Moving on to the review proper, I really liked the book. I feel bad for Cas. He's finally started ingratiating himself with normal society and he suddenly has his whole world turned upside down by something he thought he knew well. Poor kid. Somewhat saw part of the plot coming from a mile away. Everyone should have. Cas was a little too stuck up for my tastes, but it worked well for the story. One of my biggest gripes is that Ms. Blake should have used the term "bolline" for Cas's weapon instead of "athame" as athames are never used for any actual cutting. Bollines are. It's something all witches and wiccans know. I liked how aware of herself Anna was and how she regrets the things she's done. She understand she did something wrong. I can't wait to see how it concludes in Girl of Nightmares.  I rated this 5/5 stars. 

Book #2: The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population. But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilising the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging. Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it…

I borrowed this from a friend after finishing her copy of The Mime Order. These books were fantastic. I love the way that Paige doesn't let anything stop her from getting a job done. Not even a bullet knife wound that would have us "modern" humans down for a few days/weeks at a time. I couldn't believe some of the stuff I read, you just don't see any of the clues in the previous books until you hit the big event and then you start going back and realizing that you should have known the entire time. I cannot wait for the fourth installment (apparently of SEVEN?!) to come out so I can find out what happens next in the life of Paige Mahoney, the Black Moth, Underqueen of the Mime Order of Scion London. I rated this book 4/5 for some minor issues that were more grammatical than anything else.


Book #3: Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning, which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was sealed the moment she drew her first breath. So, at just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace. The lone survivor, Mariko narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love—a love that will force her to question everything she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.

This was the group book for Biannual Bibliothon. Which is what I read it for. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. Rated this one 5/5 stars. (I'd totally do 6/5 if I could). Most of the time people who aren't from a specific culture don't get everything right. I understand that. I know I wouldn't get everything about Feudal Japan correct myself. I'm not Japanese or something like 800 years old, so there is no way. I'd have to rely on records. Ms. Ahdieh did a fantastic job though recreating the scenes that she would have gone through. It was great. I finished it in a day and will definitely be rereading the entire series when it's out.

Book #4: Coming Out to Play by Robbie Rogers

Robbie Rogers knows better than most that keeping secrets can crush you. But for much of his life Robbie lived in paralyzing fear that sharing his big secret would cost him the love of his family and his career as a professional soccer player. So he never told anyone what was destroying his soul, both on and off the field. While the world around Robbie was changing with breathtaking speed, he knew that for a gay man playing a professional team sport it might as well be 1958. He could be a professional soccer player. Or he could be an out gay man. He couldn’t do both. Then last year, at the age of twenty-five and after nearly stepping away from a brilliant career—one that included an NCAA Championship, winning the MLS Cup, and competing in the Olympics—he chose to tell the truth. But instead of facing the rejection he feared, he was embraced—by his family, by his teammates, and his fans. In Coming Out to Play, Robbie takes readers on his incredible journey from terrified teenager to a trailblazing out and proud professional soccer player for the L.A. Galaxy, who has embraced his new identity as a role model and champion for those still struggling with the secrets that keep them from living their dreams.

I don't know why exactly I thought I'd buy this. It was a fascinating read. Especially when I learned he went to (one year of) college at the same place my ex did. That was fun. I even had to tell her about it and she asked what his major was. I don't think he had one. I rated this book a 4/5 stars and I read it to fulfill the challenge "Read a book with an LGBT character" and this is Robbie Rogers's memoir about coming out as a gay footballer. I liked it. It was good. You felt right along with him, that worry about what would happen if he told his teammates, who were saying all kinds of negative things about having a gay/lesbian sports player, that he was one of those people. I'm glad I've read this.

Book #5: My Darling, My Hamburger by Paul Zindel

Four friends,

Two couples,

One year that will change their lives.

Liz and Sean, both beautiful and popular, are madly in love and completely misunderstood by their parents. Their best friends, Maggie and Dennis, are shy and awkward, but willing to take the first tentative steps toward a romance of their own. Yet before either couple can enjoy true happiness, life conspires against them, threatening to destroy their friendships completely. 

It was too short, it was dumb. I gave this book 2/5 stars. I regret even that. I don't know how people like this. I suppose I would have to be a high school student in the 1950s to really get it though. I would have liked to find out what happened with Liz, but it's fine. The story made no sense. I think I might be taking this one to the free little library. I'm too "meh" about it. I didn't really like it. I don't think I even have it any more. If I do, I've hidden it from myself. 

Book #6: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter

For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their warrior ancestors. But the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and the sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying-- and some deaths are more mysterious than others. In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty...who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all. 

I read this for the challenge "Read a book with non-human characters." I figure since it is about cats, told by cats, and I'm pretty sure the only mention of humans actively taking part in this is when one drove on a road and another poured kibble in a dish. I gave this book 4/5 stars. It was decent. Just barely not worthy of a re-read though. It made me appreciate my cat (who is currently sleeping on my desk) a little more. I think I might grow to like this series. We'll see after volume 2. 

Book #7: A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison

When a tsunami rages through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her 15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless. With almost everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the girls set out for the convent where they attend school. They are abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner, beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade. Halfway across the world, Washington, D.C., attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crisis-and makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers. There, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it. Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals.

I read this for the BookTube-a-Thon challenge "Read a book with a person on the cover." It was very good. I've been meaning to branch out in my reading and this was set partly in Washington DC, India, and France. The main characters were Indian though and I enjoyed seeing it from their perspective. I only wish it could have been an own-voices book, but you win some you lose some. I rated this 4/5 because some of it seemed a little far-fetched. The likelihood of some events happening are a million or more to one. It just didn't seem plausible to me. However, I did like the outcome of the story and how everything worked out for the Ghais and the Clarkes. I am glad that I had no self-control at the Dollar Tree when I bought this.