August Wrap Up

I can't believe summer is over.  This summer felt really long, but it was over way too soon.  It was a busy reading month with everything being released at the same time.  I got a bit overwhelmed and a little slumpy with my reading.  I'm a little behind with my ARCs but I'm getting there.  I think I still had a pretty good reading month.

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• The Point by John Dixon
• Review
• This is an urban scifi fantasy.  It deals with troublemaking teens and young adults who have an aptitude for the unnatural.  Each of them has some sort of supernatural ability, but they can't stay out of trouble.  This lands them at The Point, a school within a school at West Point Army Academy.  Here they can hone their powers, while also working towards a career in the military.  It was OK.  The characters were a little too immature for my liking.  I think its a great book for young readers, I just had a hard time connecting to it.
• As Dust Dances by Samantha Young
• Review
• This is a follow on to Play On, but this standalone follows a different couple associated with the arts and music community.  This follows a broken musician and an equally broken record executive as they both try to figure out what they want out of life and how to navigate through fame and success.  If you are a fan of Sam's contemporary writing this is a must.
• The Prince by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Review
• I was surprised with an ARC of this and I loved it.  I sort of continues where the Wicked Series left off, but it isn't a continuation.  It is a companion to the series, but like the original it left me without closure.  Rumor has it there is another installment coming and I hope it gives us some answers.  Great for new fans of JLA and diehards alike.
• These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch
• Review
• This is full of political intrigue.  The magical system is based on botanical elements from the plants found on the island setting of the story.  The pirates are stream raiders who harvest and trade the plants on the iland of Grace Loray.  In some places the magic is legal in others it is forbidden.  The 3 main characters find themselves questioning everything they know about loyalty, magic, and peace in an effort to save those they love and their home.  It is fairly slow paced and more political than action packed.  
• Crew by Tijan
• Review
• I wasn't sure if I was going to get an ARC of this one, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was on the review list.  This is a new young adult contemporary series by Tijan.  It is very mature, and follows a group of kids in a crew.  They aren't a gang, but they kind of are in the way they protect each other and don't take crap from anyone.  They are dangerous and violent and it makes for a pretty unique storyline.

Audiobooks

I got through several audiobooks I've been waiting on

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• This totally lived up to all of the hype.  This isn't normally the type of book I go for, but I throughly enjoyed it.  It was a captivating memoir, or atleast it felt like you were listening to a memoir about a real woman.  It was wonderful, highly recommend.
• The Diviners and Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
• This was another unexpected surprise.  I didn't realize this was a paranormal read.  I loved it.  I loved the historical aspect to it.  I loved The Diviners so much I quickly went on to continue the series.
• War Storm by Victoria Aveyard
• I've been waiting for this for quite a while.  It picks up shortly after King's Cage with Cal and Mare forming alliances to fight Maven.  I'm really happy that I chose to finsih off the series on audio.  This is quite long, and a bit slow paced but the audio really helped me stay engaged.  There are several persepectives that add to the flow of the story that would have taken away from my reading experience but on audio they were quite good.  It kept me engaged and I'm quite happy with how the series ended.
• The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
• I really enjoyed this.  It is full of political intrigue and has a couple of twists and turns that I didn't see coming.  It is a great follow up to The Thief and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.  
• Final Girls by Riley Sager
• I've been on a thriller kick lately and this book has gotten alot of hype lately.  I see why, it was quite good and I really enjoyed it.  It was one of those books where you weren't quite sure where it was headed until the very end and I surely didn't see the end coming.  I love that in my thrillers.