Once again, I’ve neglected to write and post anything about what I was reading and suddenly an extra two months went by. So with that said, here’s my Summer reading roundup! This will cover everything I’ve read in June, July and August.
Maybe I’ll actually stick to the monthly schedule to round out the year? Who can say, really.
Completed:
- Redwall by Brian Jacques (5/16/23 – 6/4/23)
- Read an old favorite
Redwall isn’t just an old favorite for me, it’s THE old favorite. Going all the way back to fifth grade when I didn’t think I liked reading. This story of a brave little mouse and his friends defending their peaceful abbey stole a piece of my soul and never let go. I read all of the available books over the next few years before moving on to other series as I approached highschool.
It’s been twenty-three years since I read this first entry and, I’ll be honest, I was terrified. The world has changed a lot. Standards shift and, we’ve seen time and time again, that books find themselves left behind in those changes.
This isn’t one of them.
The characters are lovable and the plot is an exciting adventure. Basil Stag Hare is still one of my favorites ever and Constance the badger is an absolute unit – of course she is, she’s a badger fighting rabbits. It’s classic in the way that makes you smile. Like curling up in a warm blanket on a chilly day and sipping some warm tea.
If there was any flaw worth mentioning, it’s the writing of Cornflower. She does stuff throughout the story and helps here and there, but in the end, the book makes it painfully obvious that her role is love interest. I mean “a warrior needs a good wife” obvious. But that comes with the territory for a book written in 1986.
As a whole, I adore the book even now and will probably continue my way through the series over time.
- Dead Beat by Jim Butcher (5/23/23 – 6/7/23)
It’s common knowledge in most fantasy communities that the Dresden books take a bit to really hit their stride. Even so I always dragged my feet with the series. But by the time I rolled through Blood Rites in May, I felt like I was really feeling the series hype.
Dead Beat cemented that.
My very first note from for this book was “Fucking yes. I don’t care, the answer is yes.” which really highlights just how much I was loving it. The inclusion of necromancy was excellent and it feels like the overall series is taking it up a notch with power.
I did notice through this book that I have a bad habit of suspecting people of villainy and getting it horribly, horribly wrong (and in hindsight I did this in the past). Either way, the book was a wild thrill ride and I gobbled it up and moved right into the next.
- On Lavender Tides by Travis M. Riddle (5/1/23 – 6/7/23)
If one was to go swimming through my kindle library, you’d likely find a massive list of indie/self-published books that were free for a day. Since I am incapable of ignoring the word free, I gobble them up every time (and it supports these authors which is great). This is part of that pile.
Also, and I can’t stress this enough, it’s based on Pokemon.
Millennials hear me, this is Pokemon made fantasy!
I had a bit of trouble getting into things early on since there was a deluge of information, between the jekua and how they actually work in-world but once that slowed down, I followed a much better. The MC was a bit tough at the start because he’s a kid and is accurately portrayed as angsty. Even his friendship with the other MC felt off for a while – almost like they were strangers stuck traveling as opposed to best friends. But later in the story, they open up a bit and finally settle into the vibe I was looking for.
By the end of the book I was deeply invested and all of my criticisms above trickled back into noise. Excellent writing, a dazzling world and nostalgic battles. Plus, there’s a couple more books in the series and I look forward to checking them out!
- Vinland Saga Book #1 by Makoto Yukimura (5/14/23 – 6/8/23)
Vinland is one of those series that everyone says is a must and I just cast a glance at it in the bookstore. Not that I wasn’t interested but…It’s like One Piece in a way. When everyone says “you have to read this” so much it almost puts you off from reading it.
So. You should read this. (and One Piece but that’s a different conversation)
The art is spectacular, the story is rich and the early characterization is complex and thrilling. Thorfinn is, even in these early chapters, an amazing protagonist and I was so invested I exploded through half the book in one day.
Also vikings.
- Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (5/30/23 – 6/12/23)
To get the personal out of the way, I’m a pasty white American man who grew up The picture of privilege. As far as I knew racism just stopped in the 60’s and most of the global effects of racism were footnotes in school. I’ve spent a lot of time in the last several years deconstructing what I was taught and actually studying the world around me.
Trevor Noah’s story about his childhood in South Africa was one of the most poignant and eye-opening books I’ve ever read. As far as I’m concerned, this should be required reading and I’ll recommend it at every available opportunity.
- The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan (6/10/23 – 6/24/23)
This fits in the awkward category of “I wanted to love it”. On one hand, the setup was great. Picking up twenty years after the traditional heroes-versus-villain story was inventive. On the other, I never really felt like I knew some of the key characters.
The world itself was aggressively dark in ways that just don’t work for me and the secondary plot felt so far removed and lower in stakes that I was almost tempted to skip it. I didn’t and of course it tied itself in, but the investment wasn’t there. Then again, a malicious talking sword works so well for me. The ending also felt rushed to the point I almost lost track of some reveals.
Not bad, but I was hoping for more personally. I’ll probably check out the sequel when it comes out.
- Pines by Blake Crouch (6/24/23 – 6/25/23)
Once upon a time, I read Recursion by Blake Crouch. I loved the first half so much and then…the rest. Then I wrote a fairly scathing review and decided to keep my distance from Blake Crouch. In the time since I’ve found myself in the minority but that’s life.
Sometime recently, I was looking for a quick mystery and my local bookseller suggested Pines. I hemmed and hawed because of my past experience with Crouch but eventually gave it a shot. Then I left the book on my shelf for a few months. When I finally decided to start it, I read thirty pages before bed.
I finished the following morning.
This book was like shooting lightning into my veins. Atmosphere, tone, characters, tension, imagery. Flawless. The mystery sucked me in immediately and I couldn’t stop myself from pushing through.
If the book was a standalone, I’d probably have complained about the end feeling like a twilight zone twist, but with two more books to explore it just adds to the excitement.
- Wayward by Blake Crouch (6/25/23 – 6/28/23)
When I finished Pines, I went out and bought the rest of the trilogy without hesitation. The end of Pines left our MC with a crushing decision and Wayward has the task of exploring the morality of these circumstances while also investigating a murder. For all of the mystery in Pines, Crouch reveals just how well realized this world is in Wayward.
The only reason it took me three days to read this one was my stupid day job.
In the final moments there are two major moments that dropped my jaw. One chilled me to my core and the other in frustrated shock because I see where it’s going (and it’s my lone criticism of this book).
- The Last Town by Blake Crouch (6/28/23 – 7/2/23)
I confess that from this point on, all of the reviews are written well after the actual reading took place. However this book is wedged quite firmly in my mind.
As Wayward concluded, all hell had broken loose and much of what followed was a game of survival. Continuing from where he left off, Crouch did an excellent job of forcing characters to make devastating choices in the most horrible of circumstances. The world is well thought out and brilliantly realized and while the ending might leave some dissatisfied, I felt it was perfect for the story being told.
- A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers (7/1/23 – 7/4/23)
Science Fiction has, for decades, been used to warn against the increasingly poor decisions humanity is making. Becky Chambers got up and said, “yeah but what if the world didn’t fucking suck?”
In this world, robots became sentient and instead of creating centuries of war, they just peaced out. Now one has returned and joined our non-binary tea-monk protagonist to help people in the simplest and most wholesome ways.
It’s short, digestible and brilliant.
- Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher (6/8/23 – 7/28/23)
From the first few chapters, it was clear that certain events were on a collision course. That’s not to say Butcher is getting predictable – I’ve found that comes down to the reader – but it builds a sense of dread that hits just right when the book ends.
As far as I’m concerned, this book is Butcher absolutely cruising on brilliant momentum. The only reason I paused the series after this book was to read Sanderson
- The Midnight Assassin by Skip Hollandsworth (7/10/23 – 7/24/23)
You’ve heard of Jack the Ripper. And before you tell me you haven’t, shut up we both know you’re lying. But have you heard of the Midnight Assassin? This criminal essentially drove Austin, Texas into a state of chaos in the late 1800’s.
Hollandsworth does an excellent job of highlighting the various pitfalls in the investigations as well as the ugly realities of the racism that was very much present at the time.
- The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin (6/24/23 – 7/30/23)
I have had this book on a semi-distant TBR since it gained attention in the SPFBO a couple years ago. I dragged my feet for any number of reasons until hearing that Orbit picked up the series and was going to publish it.
Given that Alexander Darwin himself is himself an experienced martial artist, it should come as no surprise that the highlight of the book is the fighting. Beyond that, however, there are engaging characters in an interesting world and some jaw dropping moments.
I definitely had trouble getting into the book but later in the story, something clicked and I was absolutely locked in – not just for this book but the sequels as well.
- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten (7/30/23 – 7/30/23)
What do I even say about this book? In this we follow the surprisingly violent shenanigans of a little old Swedish woman who takes absolutely NO ONE’S bullshit. It’s such a short bit of storytelling that I won’t say much more, but if you like dark humor, don’t you dare miss this.
- The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (7/30/23 – 8/1/23)
I grabbed this book as a beach read for vacation. My expectations were a bit on the low side, but I figured it could be a fun little thriller right? Instead it grabbed me by the throat and dragged me through this absolute thrill ride like the train scene in Invincible. Intense, twisty and fucking wild, this book checked all the boxes I needed.
- The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay (8/1/23 – 8/3/23)
This book turned out to be one of those stories that was perfect, but I will never read it again. Tremblay introduced a brilliant conflict and compelling characters with just enough room for reasonable doubt to satisfy either side of the divide and while the ending was what I’d consider the “right” ending – fit the themes and characters and didn’t pull a deus ex cop out – it also deeply wounded me inside and I want to pretend it never happened.
Brilliant.
- The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden (8/4/23 – 8/7/23)
Despite my love for the first book, I was skeptical about a sequel. I mean, it didn’t really leave much room for the story to progress in my mind – at least not without being predictable.
So.
This book was as wild and unpredictable as the previous one. It did, in fact, build on the character and events in a satisfying way and definitely earned its place. On top of that, I’ll probably expand into McFadden’s other books
- The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (8/7/23 – 8/16/23)
I really, really wanted to love this book but honestly I struggled with it. The setting was interesting – a chaos-filled version of Victorian London where fae entities are the norm – and the characters were the highlight, but the prose and style didn’t fit my personal taste. That’s not inherently a criticism – sometimes a book just isn’t built for a reader.
Recommended for literature lovers who want a badass female lead who loves books.
- Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (8/17/23 – 8/21/23)
This book came at the recommendation of my lovely wife who read it earlier in the year and *adored* it. Our reading tastes don’t always align but she assured me that this one would be a winner.
Remember kids: Happy Wife, Happy life.
It helps when she’s absolutely right. The titular Vera Wong is an absolute pistol and the book itself was brilliant and delightful. I’ll note that I’m pasty white so I can’t (and won’t) speak to the commentary on an upbringing in an asian-american household, but that didn’t prevent either of us from having a great time with the read. Around Vera is a strong group of supporting characters that you’ll come to understand one by one as you pick apart their connections to the murder victim in this clever mystery.
Highly recommended to anyone who will listen.
- Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maerher
What happens when an accident-prone young woman gets a job as an assistant to the Villain of her kingdom? An absolutely hilarious story is what.
The first in a trilogy, it started with a laundry list of cheeky jokes, poking fun at the gothic setting and the Villainous workplace. But as the characters and their backgrounds filled out, an engaging story revealed itself.
I’m wildly excited to see where this goes!
- Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell
For both Reddit and the Booklist Queen Challenge, I used Spellslinger as the “book at the bottom of my TBR” mainly due to… well I forgot I had it. And I am FURIOUS. The idea that I’ve just been sitting on a book that was SO FUN is maddening.
It fits into some familiar tropes like the MC without power in a world dominated by people with it, but it does well to expand the effects that has on a society. And being the first of a six book series (plus some novellas?) I have every expectation that the world will continue to be explored.
In Progress/DNF
- Soulsmith by Will Wight
- DNF’d. It didn’t grab me right away and at this point I was super flighty with books.
- Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
- Preludes & Nocturnes (Sandman #1) by Neil Gaiman
- Wulf by Set Sytes
- The Man From St. Petersburg by Ken Follet
- DNF’d. I’m gonna be honest. It took me all of 20 pages to realize this is just not for me.
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Manga (catchup):
- Boruto Volumes 7-20
- I really dug into this series in earnest once I was caught up on DBS and I am so glad for it. The anime gets a lot of shit but the manga really earned its place.
- Record of Ragnarok Volume 1
- I just finished this up from wherever I stopped in May. I haven’t continued yet but that’s just because my TBR is insane
- Sakamoto Days Volume 4
- I’ll just keep filling in this series as I go. It’s still one of my absolute favorites
- Zom 100 Volumes 1&2
- One of my current reads in manga – this series is just freaking hysterical and its commentary on the workplace conditions (specifically in Japan) is unreal.
- Mashle Volume 1
- What if Harry Potter
wasn’t written by a transphobewas absolutely silly as all get out. Nothing makes sense but honestly who cares? Mash just does what he wants and I love it.
- What if Harry Potter
- Demon Slayer 16-23
- After watching all of the show I was NOT okay leaving things there so I read all of the manga from the point the show left off.
- Cat Gamer 1 & 2
- Do I really need to explain this?
Manga (ongoing)
- Dragon Ball Super
- One Piece
- My Hero Academia
- Black Clover
- Kaiju No. 8
- Martial Master Asumi
- Boruto: Two Blue Vortex
No Strong Opinions 