Like the Comet

My, oh my, July was a lengthy month.

Although I read about the same number of books I usually read in a month, I have to admit, my reading slowed down substantially after I finally hooked up my Roku lol. Ya girl had some Marvel shows to catch up on, so a couple of weekends were spent bingeing said shows instead of reading. In addition to, of course, all of the weekly tv shows that started in July - Big Brother and Love Island - that I had to prioritize before they were no longer free on On-Demand lol.

Time well spent to say the least. :)

Anywho, let’s jump into what I read in July!

*All summaries are taken or paraphrased from Goodreads.

PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary: Poppy and Alex have nothing in common. She’s a wild child with an insatiable wanderlust; he wears khakis and prefers to stay home with a book. And, somehow, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year, they live in different states, but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. Until 2 years ago when they ruined everything and haven’t spoken since. Poppy has everything she should want, but is stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together. Miraculously, he agrees. Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

My Thoughts: This book was an absolute delight and the perfect summer read. I adored Poppy and Alex. All of the personality traits that made these characters different on an individual level, also made them shine so freaking bright when they were together. Their quick, witty banter was TRULY aspirational, and the pure admiration they had for each other was genuinely heartwarming to say the least. Not to mention, living vicariously through them on each of the summer trips to the coolest destinations was so fulfilling for the travel bug in me. Poppy’s premise of not knowing what really fulfills her anymore after she achieves everything she thought would make her happy was also incredibly relatable. Especially after quarantine forcing us to slow down and re-evaluate our lives, I find myself wondering quite frequently what is it that makes me most happy, yanno? The author made it so easy for me to understand what she was going through on a mental and emotional level. This book was the perfect mix of laugh out loud moments, gut wrenching interactions, and some spicy lil scenes - it was honestly just impossible to put down. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a summery contemporary romance!

A SKY BEYOND THE STORM by Sabaa Tahir

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary: The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning. At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list is The Blood Shrike and her remaining family. Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory or an unimaginable doom. And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life and love he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save or destroy all that he knows.

My Thoughts: I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING. Bleeding Skies! Though I know this isn’t the perfect book for everyone, I feel like it was the perfect ending to this beautiful series. There is a lot of anguish, grief, and sorrow throughout, but it’s not without love, joy, and an undying trust to match. For starters, we finally get the origin stories of a few characters who, up until this point, have basically been enigmas to everyone else. It was really satisfying getting a better understanding of why some characters are the way that they are, yanno? Similar to the last book, A LOT happens in this one. We are NEVER short of any action scenes, and the amount of emotional hits I took to the heart cage in my chest was unreal. With this book covering the finale of everything we’ve worked up to in this series, I really admired that the author did not cater to the readership by keeping some favorite characters alive. Cue my waterworks. However, on the other side of that coin, I’m glad she continued to include characters from the last three books to not only pay them respect, but also help show how all of this came full circle. There was a SMALL disconnect for me related to the magic of everything, but I really can’t get into too much detail in this review without giving things away. That said, all I have to say is I really love this series, and highly recommend it.

THE UNHONEYMOONERS by Christina Lauren

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Summary: Olive is always unlucky. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world, and has managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests. Worst of all though, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man. She braces herself to get through wedding hell, but when the entire wedding party gets sick from food poisoning, the only two people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs. Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head to paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of lucky.

My Thoughts: I had heard great things about this book, and every other Christina Lauren novel I’ve read, I’ve absolutely loved. This one, although I enjoyed it for sure, didn’t necessarily wow me. I thought the setting of a Maui vacation was awesome and extremely easy to dive into for a book escape. Olive and Ethan were great main characters, their banter alone had me grinning throughout, and the endless swoony micro-moments made it easy to ship them. That said, the pacing was a little unsatisfactory in that you saw the transition from enemies-to-lovers, but it takes a while for anything to truly transpire between them. When they return from vacation in the last chunk of the book, it kind of hits an odd wall. It felt like I had been floating on a rom-com cloud while they were in Hawaii, and then once they returned home, the cloud dissipated and left me stumbling to find my footing again. It just took me from this light and fluffy experience to hard and fast drama that felt a little rushed. There was also some manufactured snarkiness that didn’t always seem necessary or appropriate for the moment. All of my critiques aside, page turning was effortless and the epilogue made it all worth it. Like I said, I absolutely adore Christina Lauren and highly recommend you give them a try if you haven’t yet! However, this was not the dynamic-duo’s best novel.

BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of teenage boys. Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made, and they travel through Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected. Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain.

My Thoughts: Whew this book was a doooozy. I’m not really sure where to start with this review because there’s so much to unpack here. This was my first Fredrik Backman book, and as a character-driven reader, I loved this style of writing. It made the many layers of this story even more complex because it gave insight into how everyone is connected in this diehard hockey town. The number of emotions that swirled through me while I experienced this community in turmoil was absolutely unreal. I’m not a crier and found myself in full blown sleeve-to-cheek-wiping tears multiple times. That said, there were also moments that made me smile, fist pump in triumph, and melt with the amount of love I felt radiating from these pages. I have to say, this is a pretty heavy book and I don’t think I’d be able to read it if I wasn’t in a good headspace. However, if you’re ready to be emotionally wrecked by a book and are confident you can handle the subject matter, then this is for you because although it made me question why I was still putting myself through its emotional wringer, I really did love the book overall. Which leads me to the last part of this review that I did not have the courtesy of knowing before going into this book. Content/Trigger Warnings: rape, rape culture, victim blaming, suicidal thoughts, violence, body dismorphia, child mortality, guns, and homophobia.

BEACH READ by Emily Henry

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary: Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire case. The only thing these authors have in common is for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke and bogged down with writer’s block. Until one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult. Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

My Thoughts: What a freaking delight! Not only does the book take place along Lake Michigan (fictional city, but still the Mitten), but the characters, pacing, and overall premise of the story were satisfactory across the board for me. After having read a few romance novels recently, I have to say, one of my favorite parts about this book was that the main characters, January and Gus, actually communicated pretty solidly. Meaning there weren’t any last-minute misunderstandings that caused unexpected fights. I would say 80% of the time, they talked it out right then and there, and that was very refreshing as a reader. It was also really cool getting insight into the process of writing and publishing a book. Obviously, what was explained via the characters was probably extremely abbreviated, but I have to assume it was at least accurate. Aside from enjoying the characters, the overall plot line was so fulfilling - there were several steamy scenes, the right amount of emotional moments, and a fair share of witty banter. This book definitely had a different type of substance to it that I haven’t experienced with other romance novels and I highly recommend it!

CITY OF GIRLS by Elizabeth Gilbert

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary: In 1940, 19-year-old Vivan Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconvention and charismatic characters. But when she makes a personal mistake that results in a professional scandal, it turns her new work upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest. Now 95-years-old and telling her story at last, Vivan recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto autonomy with which she approached it.

My Thoughts: The way I recently described to a friend how this book left me feeling was, “Reflecting back on it, I’m so thankful to have had that literary escape experience.” For starters, the writing provides an immersive experience for the reader and made it feel like I was riding shotgun in Vivan’s life as she recalled her youth with all of its pleasures and regrets. Not to mention, I was obsessed with her as a main character both as a naive 20-year-old running rampant through 1940s New York, and as the delightfully quirky, elderly woman describing her experiences so unapologetically. Vivian Morris is a character that will stick with me for a while. Plus, I absolutely adored all of the supporting characters and how each one shaped and changed the course of her life. The premise of this book alone keeps you on your toes, including how it explores the topic of female sexuality and promiscuity. For a majority of the book, I assumed I knew where it was all heading, but the unexpected plot twist put me to shame. Honestly, there wasn’t one part of this book I didn’t enjoy, and I am marinating in the feeling it’s left me with. I can’t say this book is for everyone, but it was the perfect historical fiction for me personally. To finish this review, enjoy a few of my favorite quotes below :)

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle.”
“Life is both dangerous and fleeting, and thus there is no point in denying yourself pleasure and adventure while you are here.”
“At some point in a woman’s life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is.”

THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS by Chloe Gong

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary: It’s 1926 in Shanghai, and a blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is 18-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang - a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love and first betrayal. But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing out their own throats, people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths pile up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns and grudges aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

My Thoughts: I was under the impression going into this book that it was a full-blown fantasy. What I quickly realized is that it’s more of a historical fiction retelling of Romeo and Juliet with some fantasy aspects sprinkled into it. It was a mindset adjustment to say the least. This book was a little lackluster for me. It was not a bad book by any means, but I honestly just don’t feel strongly either way about it. A couple of characters won my heart by the end - mostly side characters who made the experience much more enjoyable. The pacing of the story, though, felt kind of confusing because it was both fast and slow. Meaning, there’s a lot happening in each chapter action-wise (fast), but the time it takes for the protagonists to have a “rising action” epiphany (that I thought we had already like 130 pages ago) makes the book as a whole feel so slow. Like I don’t regret reading it, and I haven’t decided if I’m going to read the sequel or not, but this just won’t be my first historical fiction nor fantasy rec.

2021 Book Count: 55/55 - I should probably increase my goal lol.

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YOUR TURN! Let me know in the comments what type of books you usually gravitate towards!