Gaston Library discussion

Hello and welcome to another reading wrap up! As a reminder, this year I’ve decided to partake in the PopSugar Reading Challenge, which is a set of 50 prompts which you read a book to match, so I’ll be including those prompts and my progress in these wrap ups. For more info check this website: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen....
I’m currently at 37/50 for the PopSugar Challenge.
Now onto the Wrap Up!

This month I read…

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
This was super fun and cute. I loved the world Adien created while using already existing traditions of Dia de Muertos. Please forgive me if there are brujo/a in a culture that I am unaware of. I definitely got swept up into the magic of the story. The characters were super believable and lovable as well. It really left me wanting more and I’m glad for that because a lot of the books I’ve read recently have left me feeling a little meh.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book by a Latinx author

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
This book wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either. Pretty much your standard Victorian romance novel. It was interesting to the Suffragette elements brought in, just not enough to set it apart from other books I’ve read. I found the romance, chemistry, and characters to be fairly lackluster as well.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book set in Victorian times

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub- I LOVED this one. It was so poignant in the way it examined relationships with parents as they age and the relationships between fathers and daughters. I really enjoyed the way the sci-fi/fantasy elements were down. It was evident and an important part of the story, yet subtle and didn’t distract from the characters or plot. I will say, there were some parts of the plot that were hard to keep up with and figure out, especially when it came to keeping up with what was going on when she would return from her time travel trips. I was so invested in the characters and the emotions that it didn’t bother me much though.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: Two books set in twin towns, aka “sister cities” (NYC, planning a London read later)

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Sivera- This one has been on my TBR for a while and I’m glad I finally read it. It was cute and I enjoyed the romance, but also the friendships. I appreciated the ending as well and really liked it other than it just didn’t seem to fit. It would have worked better had other means been used to get to it though. Lots of the drama seemed childish and a little unnecessary (especially from Arthur, honestly Ben deserved better) but it served the plot I suppose.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book with two POV’s

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson- I listened to this one on Audiobook. I enjoyed this a lot more than the first one, probably because there was more focus on the old Ellingham mystery and it got solved (kinda?). Audio tends to make books easier to take if there are aspects I don’t like too. I still didn’t really care for Stevie or the other modern day aspect of the story and David was just awful in this book. I still have unanswered questions (Where is Alice?!?!) but after reading reviews and possibly some spoilers I may skip the third. We’ll see, haha.

What did you read this month? Be sure to share down below!

Happy Reading!

Hi, Jessica! I was wondering about This Time Tomorrow so I'm glad to see you loved it. I was also thinking about reading Bringing Down the Duke but those types of books can be really hit or miss with me. Sounds like that one was a bit of a miss!

I have now finished school (yay me!) so I had much more time to read this month:

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James. This was better than I thought it would be. I don't normally like paranormal stuff but this was well done. Loved the whole atmosphere too.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley. I absolutely love this series about an extremely precocious 12-year-old, Flavia, and her attempts to solve local mysteries. She is charming and the audiobooks are just as good as the books.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. This book used every trope you can think of for a thriller but it was still great. Kept me reading way past my bedtime each night!

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel. I love WWII historical fiction so this was right up my alley. It was like a female book version of the movie Defiance about a large group of Jews who hid in the dense forests of Belarussia during WWII.

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King. This was our book club pick and it made me wonder why I haven't read more of King's books. This was a collection of short stories about the monster that can be within people. The second story, Big Driver, was particularly disturbing.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I listened to this one and it was pretty good. Modern fantasy-type stuff.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. I listened to this one as well and it was charming. I'll be reading the rest of this series soon.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I loved this book and how it made me think about life's choices and how we're all really as happy as we decide to be.

A Cold Nose for Murder by Jennifer Hawkins. Cozy mysteries aren't normally my thing but we read the first one of this series for book club earlier this year. I have to say, I really liked it. But, this is still a genre that has to be very well done for me to enjoy as I've tried others since then and didn't really like them.

Happy Reading!

Cadi wrote: "Hi, Jessica! I was wondering about This Time Tomorrow so I'm glad to see you loved it. I was also thinking about reading Bringing Down the Duke but those types of books can be really hit or miss wi..."

Congratulations on finishing School! That's awesome!

You've got something good looking titles this month. I've been thinking about picking up The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel (Same author as The Forest of Vanishing Stars that you read) soon. Have you read it?

Jessica wrote: "Cadi wrote: "Hi, Jessica! I was wondering about This Time Tomorrow so I'm glad to see you loved it. I was also thinking about reading Bringing Down the Duke but those types of books can be really h..."

No, I haven't read that one but it's on my TBR list. And, I'll definitely check it out since I enjoyed The Forest of Vanishing Stars.