July Wrap-Up (2017)

I wasn’t expecting to read that much in July, but it seems nothing can stop me haha! I spent a week and a half at my boyfriend’s family, we also went to Paris for 3 days just the two of us, and I managed to read a bit every time I could. It was a very busy month, but a very good month on all fronts anyway 🙂
I’m also proud that I managed to finally read more than just one book in French for once!

---

1) Combustion Hour, by Yoon Ha Lee
Available here
This was well crafted and true to what I was expecting from Yoon Ha Lee. Interesting concepts and delicate imagery, set in a dying world. It is confusing and beautiful, perfect for a short story.

2) Extracurricular Activities (The Machineries of Empire), by Yoon Ha Lee
Available here
I think this one might be better once you’ve at least read Ninefox Gambit! We get to follow Shuos Jedao on a mission and it was really great to have his perspective. There was just a bit too many sex jokes, but I guess it is made to be closer to the character, but that’s not the side of him that I prefer.

3) Taste of Marrow (River of Teeth #2), by Sarah Gailey
eARC from the publisher
River of Teeth was amazing and I was super excited to jump into this sequel! It didn’t disappoint, focusing more on the characters and how they end up dealing with the aftermath of the events of the first book, with some improbable duos. It worked very well.

4) City of Betrayal (City of Spires #2), by Claudie Arseneault
eARC from the author
I loved this sequel even more than City of Strife! This was an amazing follow up, a great comfort read and one I will definitely pre-order and add to my favourites shelf.

5) Shadowshaper (Shadowshaper #1), by Daniel José Older 
I got that book for my birthday in May and I’m so glad! It was amazing, with a great main character and some very cool concepts. Bringing magic and art and community together like that… I’m glad this came to be, I’ll definitely read the sequel and the novellas inbetween!

6) When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon 
While I’m not very much of a romance reader, I saw so much love for this book on twitter that I had to buy the kindle edition. It was 0,99€ so that helps!
I had a very good time with Dimple and Rishi, I loved the way they grew to know each other better, the important relationship they have with their parents, the competition they were in… A great summer read!

7) Updraft (Bone Universe #1), by Fran Wilde
I buddy-read this book with a friend and while it was interesting and not bad, I never really warmed to the main character. The world building was very interesting but it sometimes remained difficult to understand or visualise. I might read the sequel one of these days, but I don’t feel an urgent need to do so either. I’m a bit disappointed because I had heard so many good things about it, and I love the covers for this whole trilogy.

8) The Little Queen, by Meia Geddes
eARC from Netgalley
This was SO GOOD. I loved this adorable novella a lot, you can read why with my review!

9) Boudicca, by Jean-Laurent Del Socorro
J’ai adoré en apprendre plus sur cette grande femme qu’était Boudicca, mais j’ai eu du mal à accroché au style d’écriture. C’est tout de même une lecture rapide et je suis contente d’avoir eu l’occasion de la découvrir à l’occasion de sa mise en promo pour 0,99€. Pas grand chose à dire de plus, ce n’est pas forcément une lecture que je recommanderais.

10) Weaver’s Lament (Industrial Magic #2), by Emma Newman
eARC from the publisher
I liked but did not love the first instalment of this novella series, I was hoping that this one would get better since there was a lot to enjoy but it never took off like I hoped. I still will be interested to see what happens next but the things I didn’t enjoy in the first were still there. This weirdly feels like a novel that has been split into different parts for the purpose of a novella series and I find this a too bad.

11) Failure to Communicate (Xandri Corelel #1), by Kaia Sønderby
NEW FAVOURITE NOVEL. I loved everything about this, everything!!! I’m still working on trying to articulate my feelings for this one for a review, but, wow.
It’s not yet available as a physical book, only ebook, but I’ve asked the author on twitter who told me they are working on physical copies : I will buy one as soon as it is available.

12) Testing Pandora (Xandri Corelel #0), by Kaia Sønderby
Prequel novella, I think I would recommend to start with that one since we first meet most of the characters of the novel here, and it permits to understand their relationships better. Same as above, I loved this a LOT.

13) Quelque part entre les ombres (Blacksad #1), by Juan Díaz Canales, Juanjo Guarnido
Un petit tour à la bibliothèque et on s’est dit qu’il faudrait quand même voir de quoi retournait cette célèbre BD! J’adore le concept de ce monde peuplé de personnes à têtes d’animaux, leur rôle reste un peu stéréotypé (ex: rats et serpents ne sont pas les gentils forcément) mais ce n’est pas non plus dérangeant. L’histoire en elle-même n’a rien de très spécial, le personnage principal enquête sur la mort d’une actrice (accessoirement son ex) et se retrouve dans pas mal de problèmes. Pas hyper fan de l’ouverture du livre sur le cadavre nu d’une femme à tête de chat, mais bon. Je suis toute de même intéressée de lire les tomes suivants.

14) Dans les bois, by Emily Carroll, Basile Béguerie (translator)
Ohhh comme j’ai adoré ce roman graphique! Plusieurs histoires d’horreur sur une même trame de fond, tous surprenant et terrifiant. C’est gore, ça tient en haleine, c’est rempli d’illustrations sublimes. Un gros oui!

15) Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Ce petit roman célèbre est un cadeau de Teddy lors de notre voyage à Paris! Je n’avais jamais relu Le Petit Prince depuis l’école maternelle (ça remonte!) et j’ai bien apprécié cette petite lecture courte. Je pense que si je l’avais relu dans mon enfance je l’aurais plus apprécié, mais ça reste une mignonne petite histoire.

16) A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet #1), by Madeleine L’Engle
After seeing that gorgeous trailer for the movie adaptation, I had only one thought: to read this classic children book! I loved it and liked it, I loved the first part that felt super cosy, and liked the science fiction feel to the rest of the adventure. The characters are not perfect, but they feel like their age and react in realistic manner. I’m glad I read this, but also wish I’d read this when I was younger first!
If you want some nightmares, look for the cover of the french edition (“Un raccourci dans le temps“). When I saw it I understood why I’d never read it before.

17) Shutter, Vol. 1: Wanderlost (Shutter #1-6), by Joe Keatinge (Writer), Leila del Duca (Artist), Owen Gieni (Colorist), Ed Brisson (Letterer)
This is a re-read, I had read the single issues when they came out, but when I found volumes 1&2 at the library, I jumped on them, glad to be able to read them back to back.

18) Shutter, Vol. 2: Way Of The World (Shutter #7-12), by Joe Keatinge (Writer), Leila del Duca (Artist), Owen Gieni (Colorist), John Workman (Letterer)
Super weird and action packed, with some great arts. That’s a series I really want to continue reading.

19) The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
I now understand (even if I never doubted) why everyone called this book the book of the year, the book of a generation. I feel like everything has alredy been said about this amazing book, I’ll just repeat that YES everyone needs to read The Hate U Give. That’s a book I wish was on required reading lists in high schools. It managed to make me laugh and cry, and I’m glad to know a movie adaptation is in the work to bring this story to more and more people.

20) Cosmic Powers: The Saga Anthology of Far-Away Galaxies, edited by John Joseph Adams 
Let’s be honest, I bought this anthology because Becky Chambers was in it. Like all anthologies, I didn’t love all the stories, but there were more stories that I liked than stories that I didn’t like. It was a very good read and totally worth it.

DNF (A book I started but did not finished – Un livre que j’ai commencé mais que je n’ai pas réussi à finir) : L’Héritage des rois passeurs de Manon Fargetton
J’étais sûre que j’allais aimer ce roman de fantasy français, mais malheureusement je n’ai pas accroché du tout 😦 J’ai le deuxième roman de cette auteure dans ma liseuse grâce à la #GrosseOP de Bragelonne et je tenterais sans doute le coup pour voir, sait-on jamais, mais mon enthousiasme est retombé.

---

Some numbers:
20 books
8 novels, 5 novellas, 2 short stories, 4 comic books, 1 anthology
16 in English and 4 in French
4 from publishers/author

---

What I posted this month:

Book review: River of Teeth
Book review: Heroine Complex
Book review: Heroine Worship
Books review: the Holo duology
Book review: Age of Swords
Book review: The Little Queen

---

Currently reading: