July Wrap Up

I did pretty good with my reading this month.  I didn't do so well with my reviews, but I got the ones done I needed to.  I'll add and update links to reviews if and when I get additional ones posted.  I read some really great ARCs, I checked off a few reading challenge prompts, and listened to several good audio books.

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• I was going to use this for a book about mental health for my reading challenge but I ended up using it for my book about a real person prompt.  This was a pretty interesting read.  Sylvia Plath wrote much of this about her own mental health and her recovery.  I understand she didn't want this published in the US as she didn't want to offend the people in the novel that were part of this time in her life.  I can see why so many people recommend this and why it is an important mental health read.
• The Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
• Review
• This was a fairly original retelling.  It isn't at all what I expected, but in a good way.  I loved the writing.  Its a bit slow paced, but stick with it, the ending is worth it.  I loved the mythology and history that is woven into this beloved tale.  This is out July 31st.
• Nyxia Unleased by Scott Reintgen
• Review
• This was awesome!  The story continues on the planet of Eden, with the teenagers who fought in a Hunger Games like tournament of sorts to make it to the planet.  The winners get to mine nyxia for the corporation they are working for and build ties with the planet's inhabitants.  This story is full of politics, action, adventure, friendship and so much more.  
• Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart
• Review
• This  is another ARC releasing at the end of July.  This follows 2 sisters on a brutal planet suffering from female oppression.  One sister is being groomed to be the heir's subjugate while the other one is rebellious.  The Heir picks the handmaiden not lady in waiting, and the story kind of takes off from their.  Both sisters end up in the opposite place of where they intended and they both have to fight for what they believe is right.  I couldn't put this down.
• Sadie by Courtney Summers
• Review
• I received a paperback ARC of this from Wednesday Books.  It is so captivating.  It is told in mixed media format in the form of traditional novel style and in podcast format.  I picked it up and couldn't put it down.  There are going to be actual podcasts to go with it and I highly recommend it.  This is another one I was drawn in and couldn't put it down.  I really loved this.  This comes out September 4th and you should definitely pick it up.
• Beard in Mind and Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid
• DSB Review
• BIM Review
• It is no secret that I love Penny's books and the Winston Brother's series is no exception.  Beard in Mind follows Beau, one of the twins, while Dr. Strange Beard follows the youngest Winston Roscoe.  I've had Beard in Mind on my TBR forever so it was fitting I read it prior to Dr. Strange Beard.  I used BIM as my mental health prompt book for my reading challenge as the female main character suffers from OCD and it is discussed at length in the book.  Highly recommend Beau and Shelly's story.  I received an ARC of Dr. Strange Beard for review and I love Roscoe and Simone.  This is out as of today and so many unexpected things happened in this installment.  We learn some things about some of the side characters, and as always the Winston family is there to provide comic relief and lots of love and support. 

Audiobooks

• A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
• Review
• I think this is the best book in the series by far.  I loved where this one ended and how the story progressed.  I can't wait for the next book.  This picks up where the last book left off and we follow 3 perspectives, Laia, Helene, and Elias.  We also get a cameo of the Nightbringer.  I loved how the story moved along.  Helene is one of my favorite characters.
• The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
• This was a little slow for me.  It was a good detective story, but I found the pacing slow and found myself losing interest frequently.  I just wasn't interested in the story or the characters.  I figured out who did it early on, and the build up to the reveal just wasn't exciting enough to keep my attention.  This completes a reading challenge for a book written by a woman using a male pseudonym.
• Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
• This took me forever to get through.  It was pretty long.  I think I need to go back to reading Clare's books vs listening to them.  I read them much faster than I listen to them.  The narrator was great, but there is so much going on in this with the different plot lines it was hard for me to follow on audio and the timing I had for listening to this wasn't good.  I just didn't have the time to give this good attention.  It is a good followup to Lady Midnight and the plot is progressing nicely.  
• 39 Clues by Rick Riordan
• I was going on a long drive with my kids in the car so I needed something elementary/middle grade appropriate to listen to on our trip.  It isn't very long, but I enjoyed it.  It has good humor, and is perfect for young readers.  While I don't think I'll carry on with the series, my 8 year old has picked it up and I'll hopefully get updates from him.

Review: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.  This comes out on July 31st.  If you are into retellings as much as I have been this summer and you want something a little different in the mermaid realm go check this out.

I really enjoyed this retelling of The Little Mermaid. This is more of an origin story than a retelling, though the end of the story ends where the story most of us know picks up. Where this retelling differs from most of the other ones I've read recently is that is the story about how the Sea Witch came to be, not about the mermaid. This isn’t at all what I was expecting. It isn’t a fast paced, dark mermaid story. It is heavy on the romance, and more focused on the friendships and betrayals that happened on land that eventually lead to the formation of the Sea Witch.

I also really appreciated that this is set in Denmark with Danish history and mythology woven into the story. This does a really good job mixing the original Hans Christian Andersen tale with the historical witch hunts and fear that occurred all over the world. I loved the originality that this brought to the story. I love mythology and I loved what this tale brings to the table.

The story follows childhood best friends Evie, the royal fisherman’s daughter, and Nik, the crown prince of Ørseund. They had a third friend Anna who drowned several years prior, and with her passing Evie and Nik have only become better friends. Evie is disliked by the townsfolk because she is a commoner, but she gets to spend all of her time with the prince. She is also a witch, but it is her most closely kept secret as witches are killed on sight in her kingdom. Her mother was a witch and used her dying breath to save Evie’s life, her aunt Tante Hansa is also a witch and only teaches Evie a little magic here and there. Hansa works as a healer so her magic is hidden well. Just before the annual festival, a strange girl appears out of nowhere, but she looks just like Anna and her name just happens to be Annamette. She is our mermaid and she must fall in love after a few days or forfeit her life. She teaches Evie a few things about magic. The two girls become instant friends as if Anna had returned from the grave. Its clear from the start that Annamette is hiding something, but you arne’t sure if it is her magic, her true identity, her intentions, or all of the above. Evie so desperately wants her friend back, she feels so much guilt from the day Anna drowned. Nik also feels guilty, but much to Annamette’s dismay he simply will not kiss the girl in time to make her human. There are several romantic plot points in the book, but the romance was not my favorite part of the plot. It was OK, but the mythology and magic is what drew me in.

I wanted more from the magic system. Henning kind of glosses over the magic system and Evie never really learns about it. She has books she borrows from her aunt, and the little bits she picks up from Annemette. I just wanted it to be a bit more developed; it was just kind of there. I think Hansa was trying to protect Evie by not teaching her, that part just isn’t explained well.

This is a bit slow paced for my tastes, but there is a huge twist about 70% of the way in that I didn’t see coming. From that point on I had to know what happened. I did like that this isn’t at all what I expected, but in a good way. I thought it was going one way, but it took some turns I didn’t expect and ended up somewhere I never expected. I really liked the ending and loved the writing.


View all my reviews

July TBR

I've got a bunch of ARCs that I've had for a while that come out in July that I need to read.  I'm actually really exited to read all of them.  I've either just been busy with other review copies or just reading other things for my challenge prompts or overwhelmed by life.  Once I get through my July  ARCs I have some challenge books I want to read but I don't want stress out about it. 

What are you planning to read in July?  Any recommendations for me?  I've been reading thrillers and retellings as of late. 

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• I'm reading this for a book challenge about mental illness.  I picked it up at my library sale and it isn't terribly long.  I hope to get through it fairly quickly.  I've heard nothing but good things about this book.  I started it this past weekend and so far so good.   
• The Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
• This is the 3rd Little Mermaid retelling I've got on my docket.  I've had the ARC for a while and the book comes out in July.   I think this is the 3rd month it has been on my TBR.  I actually it today and the first chapter looks really promising.  This one tells the origins story of the Sea Witch so it is a little different than the others I've read.  I'm really excited to get to it. 
• Nyxia Unleased by Scott Reintgen
• I really loved the first book and I'm excited to see how the story plays out.  There is kind of a Hunger Games/Avatar kind of storyline where a bunch of teens compete for spots to go to a new planet to interact with the native lifeforms because they won't hurt children. The "crew" is supposed to mine Nyxia a new and awesome compound with endless possibilities.  At the end of book 1 they were headed to the planet.  This releases in July as well.
• Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart
• This  is another ARC releasing at the end of July.  This follows 2 sisters on a brutal planet suffering from female oppression.  One sister is being groomed to be the heirs subjugate while the other one is rebellious.  Sounds really interesting.

Audiobooks

I have a couple of things on hold but who knows what will come in when.  I have a fairly long wishlist on Hoopla and there is always something interesting available to listen to in the available now section at the library if none of these work out.  The waiting list is pretty long for a couple of these since they are new releases and popular books.

• War Storm by Victoria Aveyard
• I'm using this to fill a challenge prompt with a weather element in the title.  The last 2 books kind of dragged on for me so I'm hoping audio will help with the pace.  I really like this series and I'm anxious to see how it plays out.  This should be a pretty epic conclusion and I really have no idea how its going to end.
• A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
• This is another new release, and I've only listened to the books.  I love the narrator and I can't imagine reading it any other way.  I really like this series and how it has progressed.  I'm excited to see where the characters go from where they left off in the last book.
• The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
• I listened to The Thief in June and really liked it.  I loved the mythology, the characters, and the politics.  Hopefully the rest of the series is just as good.
• Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
• I recently picked up Lady Midnight and having read all of the previous Shadowhunter books, I'm looking forward to continuing in that world.  It seems to have a very similar story line from the original series with a few new twists.  I've started this one already and it picks up pretty much where Lady Midnight leaves off.  It is fairly long so it will keep me occupied for a while.
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• I love Greek mythology.  I've heard a couple of reviews that this book is a bit slow and I find that audio helps with slower paced books sometimes.  I've also heard really great reviews about this so I'm excited to get to it.  
• Warcross by Marie Lu
• I've read most of Lu's other books, and I've been meaning to get to this one for a while.  I need a cyberpunk book for my reading challenge and this one should fit nicely.  I've heard mixed reviews, but I'm hopeful.

June TBR

I have a couple of ARCs I want to get to in June, and a couple of Popsugar Challenge Prompts I want to get to.  I'm not going to put too many things on my TBR this month because I just don't know what I want to read.  I need to get my ARCs read and reviewed, but I don't want to put too much pressure on myself and find myself in a reading slump.

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• The Fragile Ordinary by Samantha Young
• I received an ARC of this via Edelweiss+.  Sam is one of my favorite authors, and while contemporary isn't my favorite genre, I'll read it if she wrote it.  I just love the way she writes and develops her characters.  This will be out on June 26th.
• Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
• I have a physical ARC of this.  Its a perfect family thriller.  It sounds awesome and creepy.  This comes out July 17th.
• Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
• This comes out in July as well, but I've had the ARC for a while and I want to get to it.  It is a Little Mermaid retelling and it looks amazing.  
• Attitude by Jay Wright
• We are hugh NCAA basketball fans in my house.  We've been to the tournament several times, and there is a game on atleast one TV once the season starts each fall.  I admire Jay Wright, I watched a documentary about how he develops his players on and off the court at Villanova.  He said he's developing young men not just basketball players, and I really respect that mentality.  His book was recommended to my son.  The reading challenge this year has a prompt for a book involving sports, and I can't think of a better book to fill it with.  

Audiobooks

I'm taking the same approach I did last month, I'm going to see what is available and what I'm in the mood for.  I have a ton of  challenge books I want to get to, and audio seems to be the best way to get to my challenge books and the other stuff I want to read.  If only there were more time in the day to read.

• The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
• I've heard great things about this series, and I just got the book in from the library, so we'll see how it goes.  It is narrated by one of my favorite narrators so I'm sure it will be great.
• Till Death by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• This is another book I have a copy of but haven't gotten to yet.  Hoopla has it so I'm hoping to get to it in June.  I'm a fan of Armentrout's thrillers.