So if you read my summer goals post, you know that I had a stack of books that I was trying to read over the summer. Well I have been reading...just not necessarily those. So. Here's the list so far from late May to July.

One on my list that I did actually finish. It was okay. Not great, but okay. It didn't provoke rage in me or anything. I'd read some spoilers and went in thinking it was a very different book than it was.

What I expect: Light fantasy romance where a dragon gets turned into a man and copes with human awkwardness while the girl and him fall in love.

What I got: Fantasy romance where a dragon and a young woman make a cross-cultural connection and fall in love. Evil demon-summoning baddies. Dragon politics. Telepathy. The goddess/great winds or something intervening and turning the dying dragon into a dude at the very end.

The romance, despite being strictly emotional/intellectual and not physical, because, well, *gestures to dragon who is not yet a human* was too fast for my taste and I think it had wayyy more POVs than necessary but I did like the lead, Lanen. The girl just...wanted to see some dragons, man. No dark revenge, no quest for greatness. She just wanted to see dragons (and who could blame her for that?). I also liked the fact that because she's outmatched in strength and magic, she had to rely on her words, her diplomacy and her own good intentions. She didn't come charging into the dragon island with a sword and a snarky remark. She came respectfully because she genuinely wanted to learn about them and their culture. I thought that was really nice. Some of the world building was decent too. Not a favorite but I didn't hate it. Maybe someone else would like it better.

Another on my list that I completed. A semi-gritty low fantasy with not a lot of magic isn't my usual cup of tea but I enjoyed it none-the-less. The action scenes were fast-paced and fun. The characters, including the lead, Aaron, were enjoyable and the concept of the magic orbs was interesting although since this is the first book, not everything is explained.

I liked the romance between Aaron and Adina, but I'm a sucker for emotionally hurt guys and gals who try to get them to open up. They reminded me a bit of Sedgewick and Feyla, actually, if Feyla was a dethroned princess and Sedgewick was a six foot tall mercenary. The book wasn't a revolutionary all-time favorite and the ending felt a bit rushed, but it was a very fun read different from my usual tastes.

Brief content warning: As I mentioned above, it's a "gritty" fantasy. There's some cursing and some blood and Aaron basically lives in the fantasy version of the Mos Eisley Cantina so there's references to prostitution, sex, etc. The author also has the rather annoying tendency of many male fantasy authors of spending too much time describing and comparing the bodies of attractive female characters. Nothing shockingly explicit but I wouldn't want my younger siblings reading it.

I think I liked this one better than the first. The ending was stronger and we got a better look at the world and the magic. Aaron's character arc felt stronger as well. Also, some of my favorite side characters, May and Leoman, get bigger roles, which was great.

I was worried in the first few chapters that the author was going to pull the "separate the lovers for the whole book" trope but despite Aaron's attempts otherwise, Adina shut it down.

Content warning: Same as the last one but add in a fade-to-black scene and a description of women's breasts.

Funny story about this book. I actually picked it up from a shelf at B&N and took it to a table in their cafe to cover the fact that my friends and I had finished our cheesecake (from the cafe) and and smuggled McDonald's (definitely not from the cafe) and didn't plan to buy any books. The title and description intrigued me and after reading the first few pages, I had to go back and buy it during the sale they had the next day.

A half-goblin, half-elf who has been rejected by the elf half of his family his entire life? Can you say Hobrin anyone? I had to read.

The similarities ended there. Maia is a very different character from Hobrin. After reading (and writing!) books with snarky, abrasive heroes, it was surprisingly refreshing to follow a character so genuinely...nice. The Goblin Emperor essentially asks the question of "What happens when a well-meaning but inexperienced person suddenly has the power to make a difference?" The answer is an optimistic one. Over the book, Maia grew more confident and began to move past his insecurities and childhood fears while still not letting the power get to his head and I loved watching it happen.

It's a book I would recommend getting a physical copy of because if you're like me, you're going to be flipping to the appendix a lot. If you like world building, you'll like this. The author has a whole system of titles and ranks and names for the elves and the fantasy + airships combination worked well. There's a lot of minor court characters and remembering which is which and who is connected with who can get confusing without it. I wouldn't want to be scrolling through an ebook to remember whether this is the nice courtier who's on Maia's side or the snooty one who works for someone else.

I kind of wish that we'd spent more time with Maia and the woman he ends up in an arranged betrothal with but the book isn't a romance and the two had cautiously warmed up to each other by the end so Maia's love life isn't hopeless.

If you like world building, kind main characters, and a slower pace with limited action the you'll like this book. In fact, I'd recommend reading it even if you don't.

This is actually a reread because I read it the first time the moment it released. My favorite book of one of my favorite series. I reviewed this on Goodreads already so I'll just copy paste my review from there:

"This is a tale of blood. And love. And the many rereads that lie in between."

It's a rare thing for me to reread a book and I've often considered it an unofficial test of how much I truly like it. Shadow Hand passed that test. I read it for the first time in high school just before transitions, life events, and the looming threat of college began dragging me away from my main hobby, reading. I remembered liking it, but not as much as some of the others. I don't believe I quite "got" Daylily and the wolf. Despite this, out of all the Goldstone Wood books that I've read, the ending of this one remained the most vivid to me. Foxbrush clutching Daylily and the Bronze, Daylily standing at his side and snarling at her father—these images stayed vibrate. 

Perhaps that's why when a friend of mine picked up the series recently, this was the one I decided to reread. I was a bit apprehensive. These books were an old favorite and I feared they wouldn't live up to the memory.

Thankfully, I was wrong. In fact, this might just be my new favorite of the series. The beginning remains one of the best book openings I've ever read. It feels like the beginning of a very ancient story and the quote I butchered above is just...so perfect. It captures the very heart of what good stories should be. The book does the same. I couldn't quite appreciate (or understand) the symbolism of Daylily and the Wolf the first time but now I do and what Stengl does with her is brilliant and touching and feels true.

Because of how vivid the beginning and ending remained, I didn't realize how much I'd forgotten. I forgot how funny it was. I forgot how beautiful the depictions of faith were. I forgot how unique the tone. How intricate and creative the setting. How lovable Foxbrush and Daylily were.

Some part of me must have remembered, however, because I could see the ways this book echoed through my own writing years after reading it. Foxbrush's awkwardness and his struggle with his own self-worth. Daylily's cool mask and the fierce, vulnerable creature under it. This book sticks with you and I think that's why I love it.

I was thrilled to get an ARC copy of nightwraith17 's debut novel, The Book of Secrets. I didn't get to read it on Wattpad but I had tons of fun reading it now. Go preorder it, guys (preferably from her publisher's site, Black Rose Writing).

Copy pasting my Goodreads review:

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately where I've struggled to finish books. The Book of Secrets was not one of those. From the very beginning, you're flung into this wild, zany world filled with purple cats, trolls with briefcases, swords and radios, men who vanish into thin air, and a family of siblings that run as wild as all kids wish they could.

The Dravens are dripping with secrets and I had to force myself to read slower because I was missing things in my haste to see what big family secret would be revealed next. Some of them were explained while others left me grumbling over having to wait for the next book. All of the Dravens were distinct and memorable and the depiction of sibling relationships had me laughing and rolling my eyes at their accuracy.

The Book of Secrets reminded me of all the best parts of the books I read in middle school or early high school. Adventure, fantasy, siblings, humor, all of it. It wasn't just cotton candy fluffy-fun, however. There's an emotional depth to this book that I didn't expect from the tone at first, but was pleasantly surprised to find. Little isn't afraid to dwell on the reality of how life-changing (and even scarring) an adventure can be. Gabriel at the end was a boy who had taken a big, sudden leap in growing up compared to the boy he was in the beginning. The whole ending had a genuine bittersweetness that I loved. This book was everything and nothing like I expected and I'm looking forward to seeing what other secrets the next book will have.

Annnnddddd that's my summer reading so far! I also read a couple short novellas but I'm too lazy to type up something for those. Here's hoping I can finish a couple more before the end of August!