Mini Summer Reading Reviews

Is it wrong to read an entire okay book just hoping to see a character get what’s coming to them?

I mean probably not right (that’s probably half the success of ASOIAF) but I still couldn’t help feel a little weird…

Random Mini-Reviews Below:

We Are the Wildcats

By: Siobhan Vivian

This book about a field hockey team’s celebration night and their toxic asshole of a manipulative coach was good. I mean it was a bit too long and could have done with one less POV at least.

But they did do a great job with laying out the destructive underhanded relationship with the coach and it did leave me wanting to see him get his.

I also think Vivian pulls off a good enough ending that keeps the focus on the girls to make it worthwhile.

Recommend: Yes.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

By: Chris Grabsenstein

Okay immediately I just have major differences with anyone who would want to escape from a library- especially one this cool. Hell even for fame and fortune…

Okay I could use the fortune right now but that’s a whole other story.

But this Willa Wonka like audible book was a fun little read. It’s about a bunch of kids who get invited to the opening of this grand library complete with all kinds of goodies and then they find themselves locked in and competing in a library based scavenger like event to be the first one to break out and win the prize.

Like I said it was a lot of fun and I really, really enjoyed the library setting. Plus the audio book was pretty good the narrator had a good vibe for the story.

Recommend: Yes.

Tweet Cute

By: Emma Lord

Me actually enjoying a book about two teens having a Twitter war seems a bit unbelievable but it happened!

I think probably because it involved a lot of food (they represent their family restaurants and one has a baking blog) and also because importantly even when it started getting romantic like it never went into schmaltz (looking at you Beach Read!) which kept it real. They had real problems (eek her mother!) and really liked each other but their lives never revolved around their relationship.

Recommend: Yes.

Plus Tweet Cute is a super fast read if you’re ever looking to pad out a readathon!

The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle

By: Rick Riordan

This was cute. It’s about Apollo being thrown to Earth in the body of a teenage mortal and having to make his way and deal with the take over of the Oracles at the same time. It’s been sitting on my Kindle for I don’t know how long and I finally read it.

It’s fun. It’s honestly I think a bit too young for me at this point- if I read it even ten years ago I might have liked it more. Apollo’s a funny character but I didn’t see the need for Percy to appear at all but especially not at the end. That kind of annoyed me.

Recommend: Eh.

I’m not sorry I read it but I likely won’t be continuing the story.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter

By: Theodora Goss

I’m a little more torn on this one about Mary Jekyll investigating a mystery with Sherlock Holmes and the daughters of several other famous characters of the time period. (There’s even a Poison Ivy-ish character!)

I like the characters and I actually weirdly was kind of shipping Mary and Sherlock but the whole book is being written by one of the characters and it does this thing where the others are constantly breaking the fourth wall and interrupting bickering back and forth with each other. I did get used to it after awhile but I wish they would have pulled it back there.

I thought the mystery of the dead girls started off well and creepy and kind of went off the edge at the end. But still the book had enough going for it that I probably will give the second one a go.

Recommend: Yes.

Especially if you don’t mind the fourth wall breaking stuff or like supporting character Sherlock.

So overall not a bad batch of books for some summer reading!