June Bookish Wrap Up
ID: Graphic with a grey background. The words June Bookish Wrap Up are in the centre and surrounding them is a picture of some books, a cup of tea and some gold stars
Hello friends,
I know it’s been a little while since I published a post here and that’s because I decided to take a little writing break. After managing to publish two articles a week during May, I really needed some time out but due to obligations, I couldn’t take a break until mid-June. But I’m back, feeling ready to get writing again and what better way to start than to tell you all about the books that I read during June!
This past month was definitely a good reading month, not only with the number of books I read but also the books themselves ~ I managed to read 4 physical books and 1 audiobook. So let me tell you about them…
The World is at War, Again by Simon Lowe
This book was gifted to me by Literally PR for review and to join the book tour for it at the beginning of June. I’m not going to go into my thoughts on this one in this wrap up, as I’d only be repeating what I wrote in my review. If you’re interested in knowing more about this book and what I thought about it, you can read my review here.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
I’ve had this book on my TBR for quite a while and I decided it was time to read it. So I loaned the audiobook from my local library and listened to it over the course of a couple days, as it’s not a long story.
I’m sure most of you will be familiar with this story; Peter Pan, the boy who lives in Neverland and never grows up, comes to London and takes Wendy, John and Michael back to his world with him. Adventures ensue and poor Wendy is left to mother all the lost boys while trying her best to make sure her younger brothers don’t forget their actual parents. They eventually return home and grow up and then we see Peter arrive back to Wendy when she has a daughter of her own.
I did like the story in general, Peter Pan is an interesting character, his relationship with Wendy was very endearing at times and Neverland is such a whimsical place. However, this story, like most classics, is definitely a book of it’s time ~ I found the language around the Native Americans a little problematic and it’s also a little brutal when it comes to Peter and the eventual demise of Captain Hook. I also struggled with the audiobook for this one ~ the narrator was wonderful but there was added music and sound effects at times and being sound sensitive, I found it difficult to cope with and they definitely distracted me from the story. I do have a physical copy of this book and I may in time, read it again with the hope of enjoying it more without any distractions.
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
This was the first book of a few “first books in a series” that I wanted to try and read during June and it did not disappoint! Before I share my thoughts on why I loved this book so much, let me tell you the synopsis from the back of the book…
“The world has been under attack for hundreds of years.
An alien race called the Krell leads onslaught after onslaught from the sky in a never-ending campaign to destroy humankind.
Humanity’s only defines is to take to their ships and fight the enemy in the skies.
Pilots have become the heroes of what’s left of the human race, and Spensa has always dreamed of becoming one of them.
But the chance of that happening were slim to none… at least until the Krell doubled their attacks. It’s possible that humanity’s desperation to survive will finally take her skyward.”
Once I began reading this, I knew it would be hard to put down until I finished it ~ I may have had a few very late nights and I somehow read the last 100 pages in one sitting, something I can rarely do! But this is the kind of Sci-Fi I just love ~ well written action scenes, beautiful quiet moments, a great cast of characters that compliment the main character really well and a wonderful AI with an obsession with Mushrooms! Well okay, that last point is only found in this book, but still, it’s a great addition!
ID: The book Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. The book has a black and gold cover with a picture of a girl stood on a planet surface with debris falling around her and a ship flying to the stars above.
As main characters go, Spensa is the kind of character I absolutely love ~ she’s determined, intelligent and sassy. Due to circumstances related to the actions of her father, she’s grown up dealing with accusations of being a coward and a traitor. But she’s also grown up listening to her grandmother tell stories of the warriors and heroes of “old Earth”, like Beowolf and Sun Tzu. It’s these characters, along with her father’s words to “Claim the stars”, that give her the strength keep going, to keep fighting to achieve her dream no matter what obstacles others put in her way.
At the story goes on, Spensa begins to question and learn the truth of the world around her and the war they’ve been fighting for 100 years and all I’ll say is… things are not what they seem to be and because you’re reading from Spensa’s point of view, as the reader you’re figuring things out with her as the story takes some twists towards the end.
Brandon Sanderson’s writing is just brilliant and for a first book in the series, I felt that none of the characters really lacked anything and the found family element that develops throughout the book is very believable. There’s also a little hint of maybe a romance towards the end of the book but it’s not in anyway the focus, there are more important things going on and it just simmers nicely in the background.
I’ve already got the second book in this series, Starsight, sat on my bookshelf and I’m hoping to pick it up this month.
Warcross by Marie Lu
This was another of the “first book in a series” I picked up this month and again, this was not a disappointment! I only regret not picking it up sooner as it’s been on my radar for a long time! In fact, as I began to write this mini review, I soon realised there was a lot I want to chat with you about this book and my mini review was starting to turn into a full review.
So I’ve decided to write a full review not only on this book, but as I’m currently reading the second book, Wildcard, I’ll do a double review of the series overall ~ like I did for Ready Player One / Two. So keep an eye out for that later this month.
So while I’m not going to share too much about this one or my thoughts, I will put the blurb on the back of the book below to give you an idea of what this book is about and will also just say that if you love video games, virtual reality with some action and a decent plot twist, then I think you might like this book.
“Teenage hacker Emika Chen makes a living catching illegal warcross players.
But the bounty-hunting world is a constant struggle, and when Emika takes a risk, and hacks into the opening game of the Warcross Championships, she becomes an overnight sensation.
The now-famous hacker is whisked off to Tokyo to meet the game’s creator, the elusive billionaire Hideo Tanaka. He needs a spy in this year’s tournament, and wants Emika for the job.
But it’s not long before she uncovers a sister plot - one that could shatter the entire Warcross empire…”
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Like the previous two books I read, this was also the first book of a series that I wanted to read and again, I really enjoyed it. It’s very much what I would call a “True Sci-Fi” in that the entire story takes place in space, mainly aboard a ship called the Wayfarer and the crew of that ship are the main focus of the story. We follow them on their journey to a, yes you guessed it, a small, angry planet, where they will then literally punch a hole in space and create a tunnel back to the main system in which this story is set.
The crew and this universe are made up of multiple species and, although the Captain of the ship, Ashby Santoso is human, along with other members of his crew, Humans certainly do not play a pivotal role in the universe. This was such a refreshing change from the Sci-Fi I usually read, as more often than not, Humans are the main focus even if there are other species mentioned. In fact, I think I would describe this book as a unique, breath of fresh air for the Sci-Fi genre and here’s why…
ID: The book The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chamber. The cover has a picture of the night’s sky on it, with the silhouette of a person stood in a hill towards the bottom of the cover.
This is a very quiet book, with the first bit of action only taking place at around the 150 - 170 page mark. In comparison to say Skyward, which has action and threat within the prologue. So this story is focused mainly on the Wayfarer’s crew; Who they are, how they interact with each other and how they feel about what’s going on in the universe around ~ especially related to the dangerous job they’re being tasked with. This means that over the course of the book, you really see each of them grow and gain more depth as characters, especially Rosemary, who is a new addition to the crew and has lived what could be seen as a sheltered life on Mars. You see her adjust to life in space and when the first action scene happens, she becomes the calm in the storm and how she handles that situation really shows what type of person she is.
Becky Chambers has created a beautiful universe to live in, I mean, okay there are wars and threats simmering within it. But overall, the general impression is that it doesn’t necessarily matter what or who you are, what your background is, what your gender is, everything is just acceptable. The only stigma was related to AI’s and clones and that stigma comes from outside the Wayfarer’s crew, not within it. For example, one of the Wayfarer’s technicians is a Woman. In our world, that profession could be seen very much as man’s world but never once does Ashby, the Captain of the Wayfarer, question her ability or right to be in the engine room and neither does the other technician. We even see the Humans within this book remind themselves that their opinion is from their own perspective and they then adjust their view.
The only negative thing about this book, and it’s more of a personal thing but I do want to mention it as I know some people feel similar to myself about this, is that it’s bit sweary but it is an Adult Sci-Fi and I find they often are.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and will be picking up the next book soon. Though I will just say that the way this one ends means that you could pick this up and not feel the need to continue with the series as it’s not really left on a cliffhanger. So if you don’t really want to get into a new series, you could read this and be satisfied I think.
So there we have it, all the books I read during June and my thoughts on them. Have you any of them? If so I’d love to know what you thought in the comments. Also if you have book recommendations for me, then please feel free to leave those in a comment as well, I’m always happy to add books to my ever growing TBR.
Stay Safe. Read a Book.
L x
