Monday, September 12, 2016

Monday Reads: A Hodgepodge

Alas, my reading has slowed down a bit lately. I have to keep telling myself it's not a race- I don't have a reading deadline (not counting library due dates). Sometimes I feel this insane urge to hurry and I don't know why.

Anyway, here's what I read:

LONGBOURN'S SONGBIRD by Beau North


 This was a Pride & Prejudice retelling which takes place in the South after WWII. There were so many things I loved about this book- the setting, Elizabeth's backstory, the twist on Colonel Fitzwilliam, the change around Bingley and Jane... Some of the characters were developed so fully that it really brought them to life, more than the original. My only pet peeve was that because of this- some of the other characters were kind of left in the dust. P&P has a huge cast so obviously you can't fully realize everyone, but I felt some were started and then left behind and I would've like a little more there. Otherwise, excellent read.

FLIRTING IN ITALIAN by Lauren Henderson


So, this is the kind of book where I'm dying to talk to somebody who has read it. I have a lot of opinions, most which I will bottle up until I can talk to someone about it (lol). There were some really fun things about this book, and I automatically love an Italian setting. However. My biggest pet peeve was that it ended on a cliffhanger- so obviously there are sequels, but this was a YA contemp romance and having no end to the plot really drove me bananas.

OUTRUN THE MOON by Stacey Lee


I loved like crazy Stacey Lee's first book UNDER A PAINTED SKY so naturally I picked up OtM. It didn't disappoint. Stacey Lee is easily one of my fave historical YA authors. She writes beautiful stories with the kind of characters you want to be besties with. OtM isn't only about Mercy's survival of the earthquake, but also about her journey to be seen and heard as a person, a woman, as being just as good as anyone else despite the way the world saw her. I have no gift for eloquent reviews, just read the book because it is excellent.