I read a bunch of great books this month. I read my most anticipated debut, the only book I pre-ordered but I also unfortunately added a book I was really looking forward to reading to my Did Not Finish list. You can find longer reviews for each of these in my Goodreads.
Dualed by Elsie Chapman – This was my most anticipated debut. I absolutely feel in love with the concept. Everyone has an Alternate. They grow up seperately and sometime in their childhood to teenage years their number comes up and they have 30 days to kill their Alt. Only one can survive. If neither makes a kill there is a self destruct device and both die. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS. I’ll be sharing a full review later this week but it’s awesome.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Books by Jenny Han – I have heard much hype about these contemporary books. I listened to the audio books and I just fell in love with these characters. I adored watching Belly grow and love and mature. As a bonus it’s got some of the sweetest friendships I’ve read. I got teary eyed more than a few times throughout this series (both happy and sad tears). There are a few cute boys. Super sweet and cute reads.
Fragments by Dan Wells – The sequel to Partials. These are great books for those of you who read the Hunger Games. A great dystopian that makes you question like: How far would you go to save humanity? What does means to be human? And more. If you haven’t read book one check out my Partials review and my full Fragments review where I’m not afraid to give Partials spoilers ;)
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer– The sequel to Cinder which I absolutely loved and have gushed much over was the only book that I’ve pre-ordered this year. It did not disappoint. In this retelling we are introduced to Scarlet, yes as in Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother has been kidnapped and there is a Wolf, a mighty sexy wolf. And for those who worry that you won’t get your fill of Cinder and Prince Kai have no fear this book is split pretty evenly between the two story lines. See my full review.
Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff – I wanted so bad to like this. I tried SO hard. I spent two solid weeks jumping in bed HOURS early only to be bored to sleep. I’d take this with me to the eliptical and my mind would just wander off. I can’t pinpoint anything specifically wrong, I just did not click with this. I forced my way though 80 pages and I just gave up. I had spent many many hours to get that far. This was for a book club and the three people I whined to said I just had to get to chapter 10 which would be 40 pages more. I don’t know I just did not have it in me to force my way through any more. I tried skimming but each sentence is so packed with content that I couldn’t follow what was going on. Oh well. I may try and finish it on audiobook at some point but for now I’m done.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle – So I know this is right up there with Harry Potter for some of you but I was totally unimpressed. It was fine I didn’t dislike it but from all the hype I expected to be blown away. There were some interesting ideas and I absolutely adored how the mom talked to and interacted with the kids but I don’t think I was really missing much. I’m glad I read it but I think there were just way to many story holes and giant leaps that my philosopher brain couldn’t make but it was fun enough.
Even though I couldn’t connect with Paper Valentine I still really adore the cover so I was not surprised when I asked L (4 years old) to pick one of my books picked that one. Here’s her version of the Paper Valentine cover, cute right? I’ll be linking up with Sara over at Forever 17 Books for her Kid’s Cover Art fun. (Just ignore my messy house)
Sapir @ The Sapphire Queen says
Yay! I’m a huge book worm and love getting recommendations for good books! I feel like we have similar tastes in books because these sound amazing!
Thanks for sharing!
Sapir
thesapphirequeen.blogspot.com
readingdate says
Such a cute pic! The Paper Valentine cover is so pretty- sorry to hear it was a disappointing read. I have a copy of Dualed and your excitement over it makes me want to move it to the top of the stack. Glad you loved the first Summer book. That series is one of my faves.
Kristin says
I have been curious about Paper Valentine but, I have read her other book The Replacements and I didn’t like it at all so I wasn’t too sure about whether or not I wanted to read this one. I have been wanting to read Jenny Han’s series and I have also heard they are making it into a tv show, hopefully they go through with it!
Kristin @ Young Adult Book Haven
kit says
I’ve only read the first book in the Summer series so far, but I thought it was good and I really want to see how it all turns out for Belly!
Dualed sounds really interesting, I keep seeing it mentioned places and even though it’s not my usual kind of thing, I’m hoping it comes in the library so I can give it a go!
Sara @ Forever 17 Books says
Yay, you’re gonna link up! I love seeing what everyone’s kids can come up with! L’s adorable, by the way. :)
I’m glad you liked Dualed so much! I liked it too!
Sarah E. says
Most of these are on my to-read list…I need to GET ON IT. There are too many books to read out there :( So little time!
marissa | Rae Gun Ramblings says
Seriously there are so many great books that I still need to read and new ones keep being released! it’s a good problem though
Tara says
Love your book lists! Can’t wait to get to the library now :).
elena says
ooh so many good books! I need to read Partials! I’m also glad you liked Scarlet, I thought it was better than Cinder and am so excited for Cress.
Miss Courtney says
I can’t wait to read Scarlet–it’s on my list. I loved Cinder!
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard says
Can’t wait to read Scarlet! I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy A Wrinkle in Time more, but one of the things I love about reading other book blogs is that we’re all individuals, and each of us responds differently to the same book. Happy reading!
Sunnysmileqt says
I was intrigued by the idea of Paper Valentine but hated The Replacements by the same author so I was iffy about trying it. Glad you enjoyed your other reads though!!
Hannah @ So Obsessed With says
I still haven’t read Cinder (I know, I know!) but I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Scarlet. I’m really looking forward to reading both books! Also, sad to hear you didn’t enjoy Paper Valentine. I have heard mixed things about it – some loved it, some struggled to get through it. I think that makes this a library read for me. I haven’t heard much about Dualed, but I’ll definitely be checking it out now!