Ok guys, I’ll admit what you already know – I. have. been. slacking! So rather than go back and try and do big long reviews for all the books I’ve been reading, because truly I have been reading, I’m just going to get down and dirty right here. Here are some of the books I’ve read over the past couple of months and what I thought!
The Secret Runners of New York
Matthew Reilly
Oh, Mr. Reilly, what can I say. This was great. If I could describe it as anything, it would be a mix of Gossip Girl, The Purge, and Back to the Future. Maybe throw a bit of Hunger Games into there too, for fun! Now, if you read Matthew Reilly, as I do, this description won’t make any sense. He’s an action/thriller novelist who tends to write long and complex stories, usually centered around historical or mythical events and/or locations, and with a heavy military character focus. His protagonists are more often than not male, and his books are long and detailed. So imagine my surprise when I started reading about a teenage girl who accidentally travels into a dystopian version of NYC!
Unsurprisingly, I loved this book. It had all of the twists and turns and NON.STOP. ACTION. of a Reilly book, but with the simplicity and speed of something more Young Adult. Usually it takes me a while to get through one of his reads, but this one was quick and fun. There was a love story, sure, but it was not the ultimate story line (LOVE THAT). The future was bleak, yes, but the focus was not saving the world (also love – because who REALLY has the time or skill for that?). Ultimately, I thought it was a great twist on a story that’s been told before.
Shatter Me
Tahereh Mafi
The first in a [what looks like] six book series focuses on Juliette, a young girl with the 
deadly power to kill anyone just with her touch. She’s spent almost a year in a psych ward that’s more like a prison, when she’s brought back into the real world by The Reestablishment, who has taken over a dying Earth, and who’s leaders hope to use her to their own advantage. Oh, and of course, there’s a nice little love story thrown in there 😉.
This was a very different read for me! It’s almost written like a journal, with thoughts crossed out and rewritten, and more colorful language than I’m used to. It’s beautiful, to be honest. Mafi paints the story with a palette of metaphors, which initially was difficult to get through, but ended up really fitting the story and the main character herself.
Salt to the Sea
Ruta Septys
I recently joined a book club – just a small little thing with a few girlfriends – and this was the first book on our list. I recommended because I’d previously read Septys’ book Between Shades of Grey and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite live up to my hype. Based on the true events of the Wilhelm Gustloff sinking in the immediate aftermath of WWII, the book focuses on four main characters and their plight to leave Germany and get to safety.
It’s not that I didn’t like Salt to the Sea, I just didn’t LOVE it. The story line was fine, and there certainly was enough intrigue, but I just didn’t care about the characters. The chapters were so segmented, many of them just a page or two in length, that I never really got the chance to get to know any one of them. And to be honest, as much build up as there was getting on to the ship, it sank within pages and all we were left with was a hole where a few “meh” characters used to be. Not my favorite.
An Ember in the Ashes
Sabaa Tahir
Oh, oh… I’m feeling a new favorite fantasy series, people!! So this is a book I’ve seen on bookstagram quite a bit. I know it has a big following, but I’ve never really been 
compelled to read it until a friend and I swapped “must read”’s. She insisted I open up to Sabaa Tahir (while I shoved A Discovery of Witches on her), and I was not disappointed! The story centers around Laia, a slave infiltrating her Empire’s greatest military academy, and Elias, a trained student whose loyalties aren’t quite clear. With them, Tahir weaves a story of loss, bravery, and an unwillingness to surrender that really kept me wanting more. I know there are at least three more books for me to read, and I can’t wait to get on them! Plus… whether I’m supposed to really say this or not, this is a great diversity read for me! Up until this point, most of my favorite authors have been middle-aged white men, or young white woman. So far, Tahir’s perspective has wow-ed me.
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