Monday, February 29, 2016

ARC Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1)
By Alwyn Hamilton
Publisher:
Viking
Format: Print ARC
Source: YALLFest
Publication Date: March 8, 2016

To Sum It Up: Amani dreams of a life far away from her home in Dustwalk and hopes that her sharpshooting skills will help her obtain the money she needs to escape. Her plans get set into motion with some unexpected assistance from a mysterious stranger named Jin, with whom Amani finds herself fleeing across the desert from the authorities. The pair must not only evade their pursuers but also the dangerous otherworldly beings that dwell in the sands. While Amani doesn’t entirely trust her new companion, she also isn’t sure she wants to strike out on her own, either.

Review: This is one of those instances where I’m going to need to talk through what did and didn’t work for me about a book because I’m really torn over what to rate Rebel of the Sands. Overall it’s a solid debut novel, but there were also a few key things that I thought could have used some fine tuning, like the pacing. One rating seems like it gives too much weight to these items, while another feels like it doesn’t take them into consideration enough. So let’s see if we can sort this out.

Rebel of the Sands can best be described as a Western set in the Middle East. Our heroine, Amani, is a feisty gunslinger who’s banking on her sharpshooting prowess to get her the hell out of dead end Dustwalk. Although it took a while for me to buy into the world, I give Alwyn Hamilton a lot of credit for coming up with an intriguing mash-up that also tosses supernatural elements into the mix. In this world, beings such as djinni, ghouls, and skinwalkers are not just myths. Again, I did think that it took some time for the separate components of the world to cohere. By the end of the novel, everything had meshed together nicely, but I can’t help wondering what the effect would have been if this had happened earlier on.

My primary issue with this book boils down to the difference in pacing between the first half of Rebel of the Sands and the second. When we first meet Amani, her sole focus is on putting as much distance as possible between her and Dustwalk. Once she leaves the town behind, though, the plot wanders for a while until the “rebel” part of the title fully moves to the forefront of the story. Yet even as I found myself asking what was next for Amani beyond Dustwalk and waiting for something big to happen, I didn’t lose my investment in the book because the prose is engaging throughout. The plot definitely picks up again when Amani and her traveling companion, Jin, meet up with a set of lively characters and the fantasy aspects are much more tightly integrated into the story.

I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about the development of the romance in the book. While there’s undeniably chemistry between the two characters involved, the relationship proceeds to the romance stage a bit fast. But then I love a good slow burn, so perhaps my bias is showing here.

Although I thought the first half of Rebel of the Sands felt a little light on plot, at no point did I want to put the book aside because the writing kept me turning the pages. I really enjoyed the second part of the novel, when the world and the fantasy clicked into place for me. If the series carries this momentum forward, it’s going to be a good one.

All in All: This is worth a read if you’re looking for a fresh spin on fantasy, though you may need to be a bit patient with it waiting for the world to gel and the pacing to gain its footing. But the second half of the book really soars and demonstrates the series’s strong potential.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Fandom Mashups (43)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
You're doing a buddy read with all of your favorite bookish characters! What are you reading and who are you reading with?

Hehe—another opportunity for me to plug Alison Goodman's The Dark Days Club, because that's what we'll be reading! And here's who will be participating in the buddy read:

  1. Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice): The Dark Days Club is set in Regency England, so I'm curious to see what Lizzy would think of what would be a contemporary novel (with supernatural elements) for her.
  2. Alexia Tarabotti (The Parasol Protectorate): Alexia hails from Victorian London, but I think she'd still enjoy reading about Regency times and would definitely get a kick out of Lady Helen's snark.
  3. Tessa Gray (The Infernal Devices): Another lady from Victorian England; do you spot the trend here? LOL. Plus Tessa LOVES books, so she'd totally be up for joining in the group read.
  4. Celaena/Aelin (Throne of Glass): Besides being a badass heroine, this girl loves to read! I have a feeling she'd like Lady Helen and cheer her on.
  5. Blue Sargent (The Raven Cycle): Because I just want her to be in my little book club. :D

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (118)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows Reviews. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
Which Books Would You Recommend to Luna?

With her free-spirited personality, I feel like Luna would be open to reading anything, really. So I'm going to take this opportunity to push a few of my faves on her, lol.

  • Harry Potter Coloring Book: I think that she would just have a ton of fun with this and would be extremely creative!
  • The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater: The whole series. All of it. Luna would totally understand and appreciate the friendship here.
  • The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman: Because I'm pushing this book on everyone, fictional characters included, lol. Plus it's a book that I genuinely believe Luna would enjoy.
  • A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: My excitement over this week's release of the sequel, A Gathering of Shadows, reminded me of this phenomenal novel. I think Luna would find a kindred spirit in aspiring pirate Lila. :D

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

NYC Reads: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

This is a feature that I've wanted to do for a long time and which is very, very close to my heart. As some of you know, I grew up in New York City and spent a good part of my life there, and it will always be special to me. I still feel a thrill whenever NYC plays any kind of part in a book, whether it's just a brief mention or the whole novel is set in the city. I really don't have a set format for these posts; basically I'm just going to talk about the NYC-ness of a particular book and maybe throw in a few relevant anecdotes if I've been to a real-life place in the book, etc.

Our inaugural NYC Read is Alexandra Bracken's Passenger, which I would have read just because of this fantastic cover:

I LOVE the design of this cover so much, from the beautiful skyline shot to the clever juxtaposition of the skyline and the ship with the bottle. This is a cover that completely ties in to the story beneath it: Etta, one of the two main characters, time travels from present day NYC to its colonial past, as well as to other locations around the world. Before her life is upended, though, violinist Etta is preparing to make her debut as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. She has a pre-debut performance scheduled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where her mother works, playing at a fund-raising event.

The scenes described in Etta's New York definitely brought back some memories. I've been to the Met once, and it's as amazing an experience as you can imagine, to be under the same roof with all of those exquisite works of art. Back when my friend and I were students at New York University, we saw the New York Philharmonic. She had to attend a classical music performance for an assignment, and we went to what I think was called a Casual Saturday concert. I admit that I'm not a classical music buff, but I'm so glad that I didn't bypass this opportunity. I still appreciated the beauty of the music, even if it wasn't the kind that I'd normally listen to.

When Etta travels back to 1776 NYC, she tries to visualize where some of the famous skyscrapers and other landmarks would be in her time. The East River is mentioned, and that really struck a chord because the Brooklyn neighborhood I grew up in was right on the East River. You could walk down to the pier and look across the river to Manhattan. When I traveled up to NYC in 2013 for my friend's wedding (the same friend I went to the Philharmonic concert with, lol), I stopped by my old neighborhood and was surprised to see how much the pier had been built up in the four years since I'd last been to NY. There's now a ferry that takes commuters from Brooklyn right into Manhattan—skip the subway—along with walkways that allow you to take in breathtaking views of the NYC skyline. I took the photo below while I was there; that's the Williamsburg Bridge in the background. The other pic is a throwback photo of me, probably around 1980 judging by the unflattering hairstyle I'm sporting, lol, on the old pier:

To close out this post, here's a quote from Passenger, where Etta, now in 1776, tries to conjure an image from the New York of her day, something that I found myself doing, too, when I read this:

"She closed her eyes, picturing Brooklyn Bridge stretching over her head, the fanned-out cables, the sturdy stone arches."

Monday, February 22, 2016

ARC Review: Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor
Into the Dim (Into the Dim #1)
By Janet B. Taylor
Publisher:
HMH Books for Young Readers
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: March 1, 2016

To Sum It Up: Grieving over the loss of her mother, Hope Walton accepts an invitation from her mother's sister, whom she's never met, to escape for a while to the Scottish Highlands. Almost at once, Hope suspects that there's more to this visit than connecting with family. Everything that Hope's mother has hidden from her all these years begins to come to light, including the fact that her mother belongs to a group of time travelers. Hope soon finds herself following in her mother's footsteps as part of a dangerous mission that is about to take her back to medieval England and the court of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Review: Into the Dim was the second of back-to-back time travel books for me, and I went into it fairly optimistic that it would make two winning reads in a row. The blurb intrigued me very, very much: time travel + Scotland + medieval England. Into the Dim is being touted as a YA Outlander, and while I'm always skeptical of such comparisons, of course the Outlander mention still caught my attention. I also love medieval history, so I was fully prepared to fall hard for this book. Sadly, things did not work out this way.

For anyone who's curious, Into the Dim bears little resemblance to Outlander aside from the time travel and part of the novel taking place in the Scottish Highlands. The time travel in Into the Dim doesn't even occur until about a third of the way into the book. It's given what I found to be a muddled explanation as well, involving ley lines, lodestones, and Tesla-built machinery. I couldn't wrap my head around how these things were connected, and after a while, I gave up trying.

It wasn't too long after beginning the novel that I started finding protagonist Hope's character problematic. She tries to be snarky, but her efforts come across as condescension. This is especially evident in a few disparaging comments she makes about other girls her age. Hope judges everyone, all while being the girl who's beautiful and extraordinary because she's completely, utterly oblivious to how beautiful and extraordinary she is. As we are frequently reminded throughout the book, Hope has a photographic memory, so again—she’s special. The novel works hard—too hard, I think—to demonstrate how indispensable her talent is in helping her escape trouble.

For someone who believes there's a solid head on her shoulders, Hope makes some rather unwise decisions. She gets a weird vibe from a guy she meets soon after arriving at her aunt's manor in Scotland but dismisses it and meets up with him again. When she and her companions (finally!) journey back to 12th century England, she makes enemies with Thomas à Becket, future Archbishop of Canterbury, within about five minutes of arriving. To make up for this, though, Eleanor of Aquitaine, on the verge of being crowned Queen of England, takes a shine to Hope because, lest we forget, Hope is a phenomenon.

Even a trip back to one of my favorite historical periods, the Middle Ages, couldn't help me rally some investment in this book. The details of the era felt minimal, sufficient to establish that the story had shifted centuries but not nearly enough to create an immersive experience. Whenever I read about the past, I want to be pulled back into that time, too, and not just be a casual, distant observer of someone else's adventures.

Overall, this was a tough book for me to get through. I really didn't care for Hope's narration, which makes heavy use of similes. None of the secondary characters particularly stand out, either. There's also a whiff of insta-love and possibly a love triangle down the road. I won't be checking in on its development, however, because I'm not continuing with this series.

All in All: I was at odds with Hope's character and narrative voice from the very beginning, which naturally is a huge obstacle to overcome when you're reading from a first person POV. Other readers might have better luck with this than I did; it definitely wasn't what I'd expected or hoped it would be.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Fandom Mashups (42)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
Free Week! Make up your ultimate Fandom team!

This past week was rather meh, but at least it gave me an idea for this week's free topic, lol. Which characters would I want to hang out with if I needed a really good laugh?

  1. Fred & George Weasley: When you require some humor in your life, you call the pros, of course! XD
  2. Cole St. Clair (The Wolves of Mercy Falls): Cole's snark/antics made me laugh out loud several times throughout the series, and I think he'd be more than happy to oblige in supplying some amusement.
  3. Alexia Tarabotti (The Parasol Protecorate): Another character whose wry observations and saracasm made me LOL through six books.
  4. Sokka (Avatar: The Last Airbender): I love Sokka! I still LMAO at the memory of him and Momo getting loopy after drinking cactus juice. XD
  5. Tony Stark: I'd just sit back and watch the snarkfest between Tony and Cole erupt—and be highly, highly entertained by it!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (117)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows Reviews. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
Favorite Charm

Without a doubt, it's the Summoning Charm, Accio, for me. It would just be so, so, so useful in real life, especially for someone like me who sometimes needs another person to call her phone in order to find it, lolol. And let's say you're sitting upstairs, all comfy on the couch curled up with a book in front of the TV, when you fancy having a snack. Well, the fridge is downstairs, and you're feeling pretty lazy. How nifty would it be to just Accio your food and drink to you? Not that this thought has ever occurred to me before, mind you. XD

Monday, February 15, 2016

Review: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Passenger (Passenger #1)
By Alexandra Bracken
Publisher:
Hyperion
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Violinist Etta Spencer is on the verge of making her debut when’s she’s pulled back in time to 1776. There she finds herself on board the ship of Nicholas Carter, who’s been tasked with bringing Etta to the powerful Ironwood family. Etta is the key to the Ironwoods’ absolute control over time itself, and they’ll stop at nothing to obtain it. Until now, Etta knew nothing about the existence of time travel, but it seems that she’s been destined for this path and to try and save her future.

Review: As a huge fan of Alexandra Bracken’s The Darkest Minds series, I’d been eagerly awaiting the release of Passenger. That anticipation was not unwarranted; within the first few chapters of Passenger, I was hooked.

Passenger is really the story of two characters: Etta Spencer, a gifted violinist preparing to make her debut on a New York City stage in the present, and Nicholas Carter, captain of the captured ship Etta wakes up on after her sudden and unexpected trip back to colonial times. Nicholas’s heart belongs to the sea, and he yearns for a ship to call his own one day. First, however, he must complete his mission to deliver Etta to the Ironwoods, an extremely powerful family of time travelers that has almost obliterated other traveling families in order to obtain total dominance. The Ironwoods need a single object to fully control time itself, and Etta is their means of locating it, even though she’s entirely new to this world.

What makes Passenger so refreshing to read is Etta’s handling of her situation. She goes from modern day NYC to 18th century Revolutionary America in a heartbeat, bringing her 21st century attitude with her. She’s not afraid to use it, either. Etta speaks her mind, social expectations of the day be damned; her fire quite endears her to some of Nicholas’s crewmen. Etta’s spark perfectly complements Nicholas’s own determination, and although what starts as an impromptu partnership isn’t without its obstacles and differing agendas at times, you cannot finish this book without needing the Etta/Nicholas ship to sail off happily into the sunset.

Alexandra Bracken’s take on time travel is absolutely brilliant. It’s explained in enough detail without feeling shallow, yet it doesn’t require the assistance of someone with a PhD in astrophysics to understand. Each historical period is recreated with so much vividness that you truly feel you’re right there alongside Nicholas and Etta in colonial New York City, World War II London, and 16th century Damascus, among other places/times. My favorite scenes, though, take place in Nicholas’s own time, 1776, on board the ship carrying Etta that he helps capture at sea. There’s an awesome pirate-y atmosphere to these chapters of the novel, and if the whole book had been set on the high seas, I think I would have been just as happy.

I will say that the pacing lags in a few spots, but this didn’t turn into a big issue for me. There are plenty of thrills and narrow escapes to be found within the pages of Passenger, along with a sweeping romance that utterly convinces you that love transcends all, including time. And the ending is guaranteed to leave you demanding the sequel, Wayfarer, ASAP.

All in All: A fantastic start to a new series. The time travel is excellently done, and the two main characters will not only win you over individually but especially when they’re together. Swoon factor: very high.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Fandom Mashups (41)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
It's Valentine's Day! What's your Fandom Crush Team? -OR- Who are your favorite Fandom Couples?

I have to admit, I'm not really into Valentine's Day, but I'm totally fine with the idea of eating chocolate all day! XD

My brain has been occupied by too much real-life stuff this past week, so I know I'm probably forgetting some of my all-time favorite Fandom Couples, but these are the ones I'm going with today:

  1. Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice): At first they don't like each other, but they eventually fall madly in love. Precisely my type of romance!
  2. Princess Leia & Han Solo (Star Wars): The "I love you. I know." scene from The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite quote from any movie ever. EVER.
  3. Grace & Sam (The Wolves of Mercy Falls): Defining "epic romance," they made me fall in love with their being in love, LOL!
  4. Aang & Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender): These two are so. Cute. Together.
  5. Molly & Arthur Weasley (Harry Potter): How can you NOT love Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? They're the heart of their family, which includes Harry.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

V-Day Recs for Non-Romantics

So tomorrow is Valentine's Day, which, like Halloween, is the kind of "holiday" that gives me a valid reason to eat copious amounts of chocolate. XD

I've never been a big romance reader; sometimes I think my brain is too wired for logic. It takes the right kind of book to move this icy, stony heart and make it swoooon. I think a lot of us are completely over insta-love, love geometry (triangles, squares, octagons, etc.), and other romantic tropes in books. I'm always very wary of books in which the romance is very prominent and won't pick them up unless I've first seen that other blogger friends have enjoyed reading them.

There are, however, a few books/series that I recommend unequivocally, even if romance isn't necessarily your thing:

  • Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion by Jane Austen: Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy! Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth! Two of my literary couples ever! The sparks fly between Lizzy and Darcy from the very start, and Anne and Wentworth's reunion is one of the most poignant love stories I've ever read.
  • The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater: Sam and Grace's EPIC love totally floored me and made this soulmates skeptic believe that such a thing just might be possible, at least in fiction, lol. And Cole and Isabel's combustible chemistry just launched this series into the stratosphere for me.
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas: Oh. My. God. The slow-burning romance in this one is simply exquisite. No surprise there, though, because it's SJM!
  • Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: It took reading a ton of positive reviews on Goodreads to convince me to read this a few years ago, but I recommend it now without hesitation. A sweet but not cloying story, a beautiful Paris setting, and the charm of Étienne St. Clair (no relation to Cole St. Clair, haha!) all won me over.
  • The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare: I make no secret about how much I LOVE this series, and I don't say the following lightly: it's the best love triangle I've ever read about. Can three people possibly all love each other? Yes, yes they can.

Have you read any of these? Are there any other books you'd recommend? And Happy Valentine's Day- love you guys! ♥♥♥

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Fandom Mashups (40)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
Movie night! You're headed out to the theatre to take in a film. Who are your fictional dates (friends or romantic) and what movie are you seeing?

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS! WE ARE GOING TO SEE STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS! Sorry for all the caps, but I heart that movie soooooo much! Ahem. And now on to my fellow attendees:

  1. Harry Potter: I think Harry would have a lot of fun seeing a film from another epic fandom.
  2. Blue Sargent (The Raven Cycle): Because I love her and I just want to hang out with her. I'd buy 4 extra tickets . . . just in case she wanted to bring 4 extra guests. ;)
  3. Celaena/Aelin (Throne of Glass): Because I love her too and and just want to hang out with her too. I'd also love to see what she thinks of light sabers and whether she'd ever want to try wielding one.
  4. Cole St. Clair (The Wolves of Mercy Falls): I just have this feeling that Cole would be a lot of fun at the movies, like he'd be the type of person to do a running commentary during the movie, and it would be hilarious.
  5. Tony Stark (Iron Man): Tony would probably have a lot of thoughts on the technology, and he would probably be very vocal about them. XD

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (117)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows Reviews. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
Rename the Books from Dumbledore's Point of View

Renaming the books from other characters' perspectives is incredibly fun, and trying to come up with titles from Dumbledore's POV was especially fun this week!

  • Albus Dumbledore and the Ear Wax Flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean
  • Albus Dumbledore and the Flashback Wherein I Suspected That Riddle Boy of No Good
  • Albus Dumbledore and the Best DADA Hiring Decision EVER!
  • Albus Dumbledore and the DADA Hiring Decision That Backfired
  • Albus Dumbledore and the Most Badass Escape
  • Albus Dumbledore and That Moment That Must Not Be Named
  • Albus Dumbledore and the Brilliant King's Cross Cameo

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

January 2016 Recap

I hope everyone is off to a great start with 2016! January was on the meh side for me personally and with reading, too. As sadly detailed in this post, I missed my January goal to read 3 books by 1. *womp womp*

I've decided to change things up a bit with the monthly recap posts by spotlighting both my favorite book read in each month and a favorite quote. So January's pick for book of the month goes to:

This was such a haunting, beautifully written read. I don't typically read World War II historical fiction, but this story was absolutely absorbing.

My favorite quote of the month is from Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, which I'm currently reading and loving. I've already written down quite a few favorite quotes from this time travel novel, so it was a bit hard narrowing the choices down to just this one:

"Know this, pirate," he said, his hands gripping the railing, "you are my passenger, and I will be damned before I let any harm come to you."

And finally, the absolutely PHENOMENAL The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman released in January. I cannot recommend this book enough, which is why I'm plugging it once again, lol. Seriously, though, everyone needs to meet Lady Helen Wrexhall and Lord Carlston!

Reviews Posted:

Featured Posts:

Monday, February 1, 2016

The Reading Games: January Excuses Post/February Goals

So we decided to hold a little contest among ourselves to each set a number of books we'd like to read every month. Anyone meeting her target number would receive a sticker on our poster board tracker. Well, here's what the board looks like after updating for January:

Yep, no stickers for anyone because we all fell short of our goals. Hence, we've all written excuses for our failure:

Ally: Unfortunately, I did not reach my reading goal for this month. I had set my goal to read three books and I only managed to read about half of one book. I'm super embarrassed about my lack of reading so I'm going to hide behind some excuses lol. A new semester of classes started for me this month and I've been struggling to stay on top of my new workload. I'm also in the process of transferring to a new university, which has also been a time monopolizer. Next month I'm going to set my standards lower and try to read one book. Hopefully I can at least accomplish that lol.

Ally's February Reads:

Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Lee: I came very close to making my goal of three books, but alas I came up one short—I'm still in the process of reading Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. Most nights I just found myself too exhausted to read; I'd try but I'd fall asleep after reading a few sentences. This was totally not the fault of any of the books I read; my body simply refused to cooperate with staying awake. We also finally had a stretch of cold weather and it put me in the mood to knit, which also cut into my reading time. But I did knit two scarves! I'm aiming for three books again in February.

Lee's February Reads:


Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

Melissa: Welp, I probably should have seen this one coming. Needless to say, I did not meet my monthly reading goal. I was delusionally ambitious and thought I would somehow be able to read four books in addition to allllll of my other school related reading. I did finish The Fifth Wave and The Infinite Sea, both of which I enjoyed immensely. Two out of four isn’t too shabby. On the plus side, thanks to all of my school books, I’m ahead on my Goodreads Reading Challenge for this year! Whoop whoop!

Now that I have more realistic expectations of my free time, I think I will set this month’s reading goal a bit lower. This month’s reading goal is only one book, The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco. I was going to add in my school books to my goal, but I thought that might be cheating. I will get my sticker this month!!!! Happy reading!

Melissa's February Reads:

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

We'll report back next month with how we did and what we hope to read in March!