For the past couple of months, I’ve not been reading enough to warrant an entire post about it. A reading wrap-up of one book is essentially a review, and while reviews are useful, I thought it best to wait until I gathered more books to write about, which is why this is my first wrap-up in two months.
Thanks to my TBR jar, I managed to read a couple of books that have been sitting on my Kindle for far too long, which I enjoyed so much that it inspired me to read another, and then another.
Without Fail by Lee Child
Synopsis: Skilled, cautious, and anonymous, Jack Reacher is perfect for the job: to assassinate the vice president of the United States. Theoretically, of course. A female Secret Service agent wants Reacher to find the holes in her system, and fast – because a covert group already has the vice president in their sights. They’ve planned well. There’s just one thing they didn’t plan on: Reacher. (Goodreads)
Rating: 4/5 stars
Recommendation: thriller, crime, mystery, action
This book was a TBR jar pick, one I’m not sure how long I’ve owned, but haven’t had any interest in reading since I bought it. I think with this one, it was a case of judging a book by its cover. Thanks to their dull covers, I often forget I’m a big fan of thrillers and rarely gravitate towards buying them unless I’ve been put in the mood.
Thankfully, Without Fail was a great read, just like other Lee Child books I’ve read in the past. As a character, I like Jack. He’s the perfect combination of aloof and invested, passionate but level-headed, and this book had me gripped from the start. The premise alone is pretty interesting, but the way it was written, the pacing, and the characters, kept me invested from beginning to end. I also appreciate that the Jack Reacher series is one that you don’t necessarily have to read in order because I hope to get to all, or most (eventually).
Fable by Adrienne Young
Synopsis: For seventeen-year-old Fable, the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home she has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one, and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father, and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.
But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him, and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive. (Goodreads)
Rating: 4/5 stars
Recommendation: YA, fantasy, pirates, romance
This is the book that took me by surprise the most. I’m always hesitant to read YA these days since it can be quite touch-and-go with my response as someone in their mid-twenties. I suppose YA fantasy is easier to enjoy because it’s usually about more than the lived experience of modern young people as it takes you on a journey and delves into the world around the main characters.
For whatever reason, I thoroughly enjoy the classic YA fantasy trope that casts teenagers as being mostly in charge of themselves, probably because I never felt like that myself. I liked that the relationships between the characters were quite complex, and particularly enjoyed the lengths each character went to to protect those they cared about while simultaneously hiding how much they cared. And what can I say? I’m a sucker for a slow-burn relationship, and even though it’s cheesy, the ‘it’s always been you’ thing gets me too. So, while Fable was fraught with tension and very serious moments, it was a hopeful story too, and I had a great time reading it.
Namesake by Adrienne Young
Synopsis: With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and the rest of the crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when Fable becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination, she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems.
As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception, she learns that the secrets her mother took to her grave are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them, then she must risk everything—including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Recommendation: YA, fantasy, pirates, romance
As always, since it’s a sequel, I’ll keep this review short. For me, Namesake was less thrilling than Fable. While there were some aspects of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed (mainly Koy, whose character development I appreciated) it fell a little flatter than the first for being heavier on the cliché. I don’t know if it was because I’d enjoyed the first one so much, but unfortunately, it didn’t really live up to my expectations, and I found myself hoping to get to the point sooner.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Synopsis: After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.
But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travellers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Recommendation: cosy fantasy, LGBT, romance
This is the only book I will keep my wrap-up for quite ambiguous because I intend to post a full, in-depth review of the book as part of a new reviewing series I want to start up and reading that will be more beneficial. Just know that I found it intriguing, though I do think I went into it expecting one thing and the experience was not at all what I thought it would be.
That’s all for this recent reading wrap-up which—though relatively short—had a couple of gems in it that I’m glad I finally got to read.
Have you read anything that surprised you recently?
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