Wrap-Up: Summer

Fiction: 6

Non-fiction: 0

Short stories: 0

Graphic novels: 0

Total: 6

Page count: 2 459

Average rating: 3.79

3 Favourite Covers:

The House in the Cerulean Sea
Darius the Great Deserves Better
Aurora Burning

3 Favourite Books:

The House in the Cerulean Sea
Bone Gap
Darius the Great Deserves Better

3 Favourite Characters :

Linus Baker (The House in the Cerulean Sea)
Arthur Parnassus (The House in the Cerulean Sea)
Finn O’Sullivan (Bone Gap)

3 Favourite Relationships (Romantic):

Linus Baker & Arthur Parnassus (The House in the Cerulean Sea)
Finn O’Sullivan & Priscilla “Petey” Willis (Bone Gap)
Sean O’Sullivan & Roza (Bone Gap)

3 Favourite Relationships (Platonic):

The residents of the Marsyas Island Orphanage (The House in the Cerulean Sea)
Finn O’Sullivan & Roza (Bone Gap)
The Kellner family (Darius the Great Deserves Better)

To Be Brief…

Who’s That Girl?: An adult romcom contemporary about a woman who gets tasked with ghostwriting the autobiography of a famous actor. Sparks fly, yada yada. This book isn’t particularly original or memorable, but the story was entertaining enough despite some minor annoyances. My one main complaint, however, was the ending. Look, I generally don’t mind open endings, but there has to be some kind of meaning or point to it. In this case, it just felt like the author didn’t know how to resolve the conflicts she’d set up, and therefore decided to just…not do it. It felt lazy, rushed, and unsatisfying. Unfortunately. 2.75/5 stars

“Giving no fucks was a superpower.”

The Honey-Don’t List: Another adult romcom-style contemporary, this time about two assistants dealing with their incredibly messy bosses. Overall, I thought it was alright. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with it, but it wasn’t particularly spectacular either. I had a pretty good time, but the authors have definitely done better. 3/5 stars

“Do I need a lawyer?”

The House in the Cerulean Sea: The House in the Cerulean Sea is an adult fantasy standalone taking place at an orphanage for magical children, and it is without a doubt the most whimsical, wholesome, sweet, delightful (I think you get the gist of it), and lovely book I’ve read in a long time. The characters are fabulous, there’s a lot of focus on found family (whoop), and it will fill you with all the fuzzy feelings, I promise. 4.75/5 stars

“Why is it that I must always worry about tomorrows?”

Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2): I enjoyed reading this sequel for the most part, but unfortunately had some difficulties retaining interest in the story, which is why it’ll get a slightly lower rating than its predecessor. Some of it, I think, has to do with the fact that I don’t feel quite as connected to the characters as I should after two books and nearly 1000 pages. I’m still interested in finding out what happens next, but I’m not necessarily dying to get my hands on the last book. 3.75/5 stars

“Stop being a bastard, Finian.”
“But I’m so good at it!”

Bone Gap: Welcome to the peculiar town of Bone Gap, where mysterious horses materialize in the middle of the night, and beautiful young women disappear without a trace. Magical realism, lovely writing, and fantastic characters – everything I want in life, basically. I highly recommend this one to fans of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender and The Scorpio Races. TW: abuse against women, kidnapping. 4.5/5 stars

“There will be boys who will tell you you’re beautiful, but only a few will see you.”

Darius the Great Deserves Better (Darius the Great #2): The unexpected but appreciated follow-up to Darius the Great Is Not Okay. Though I prefered the first book, I thought this was a pretty solid sequel, and I highly recommend this series to anyone interested in a YA contemporary story about a Persian-American gay teenager trying to find his place in the world while dealing with depression, family issues, and bullying. TW racism, homophobia. 4/5 stars

“Making tea seemed to be the only thing I was good for in a crisis.”