july reads.

Warrior of the Wild, by Tricia Levenseller
This book was on the New YA Releases shelf at our library, and I liked the last Vikings-inspired book I read so much that I thought, Why not?  Before I got into the book though, I thought that the author name looked familiar.  After a quick Goodreads search I discovered she was the author who wrote Daughter of the Pirate King, which was a DNF for me.  So, I started this book with pretty low expectations, and I think I'm glad I did.  I thought the story was solid, and I actually liked it.  The second half of the book was MUCH better than the first, and Rasmira is an easy character to root for (especially after you find out everything that works against her).  But the prose was a bit boring, and Rasmira's continued talk of how she'd never trust a boy again seemed a little too contrived for me at parts.

Furyborn, by Claire Legrand
I saw that a couple of authors I follow on IG were excited about the release of Book #2 in this series, so I added Furyborn to my TBR list.  This is an exciting adventure that follows two young women who live very different lives 1000 years apart from each other.  Rielle and Eliana are both so interesting and compelling; protagonists whom you can't help but root for, in spite of flaws or tendencies that err on the side of, well... NOT ideal.  Switching back and forth between their perspectives was a little obnoxious for me, but I think that's just something I personally struggle with in books and eventually (hopefully) I will get over it.  Half the excitement of reading Furyborn is finding out what on earth the connection is between them, and now that we know I am very eager to read Kingsbane, which I am currently on a waiting list for.  Also, Simon.  Simon forever, more stories about Simon, PLEASE, Legrand, don't you dare hurt Simon.

Legend, by Marie Lu
Prodigy, by Marie Lu
Champion, by Marie Lu
So even though I was really disappointed last spring in how the story of The Young Elites ended up turning out, I wasn't willing to give up on Marie Lu as an author and wanted to read some of her other works.  I finally got around to reading Legend, Prodigy, and Champion all within a few days, and I love this series.
These books were published nearly ten years ago, right around when the Dystopian genre was blowing up.  I haven't read many books featuring dystopias because they aren't really my jam, but I really liked the world/US that Lu has established.  Her main characters, Day and June, are so amazing and well balanced with their virtues and flaws, and I devoured their stories and journeys.
At the end of Prodigy I really felt like my heart was wrecked, and I was eager to read Champion so that my sadness would be remedied and everyone would be happy.  AND THEN.  At the end of Champion I really actually was indeed wrecked, and the thought that went through my mind was: if 'death by book' was a thing, Champion would the the culprit.  I was ACHING with sadness and welling with tears at the whole ending, even with that teeny tiny bit of hopeful happiness at the end.  Basically, I closed the book and sat in silence with my sad feelings and I wanted to die.  I knew that Champion was published in 2011, and I was like, dammit this is really the end of the series, this is actually how she ended it, I am going to be sad FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
AND THEN.  I went on to Goodreads to give it my rating (still gave it 5 stars even though it murdered me), and saw that Lu is giving the world (ME) a book #4 in October.  YOU GUYS, if the end of Champion killed me, then seeing "Rebel (Legend #4)" on Goodreads full-on resurrected me, and I nearly wept with relief.  I am so excited for at chance at some happiness for some characters I really became invested in.  But also, I'm not holding my breath because obviously Lu was willing to end it the way she did 8 years ago.  But okay, maybe I am holding my breath a little.  Okay, A LOT.

Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson
I have an upcoming project at work that involves this book, and I have been eager to read it for months now.  I was a little apprehensive because it turned out that I did not care for Rogerson's other book, but I thought maybe it was a good thing that my expectations were lower.  Well I'm not sure if it was due to low expectations or not, but I really loved this book.  I couldn't put it down, and I was annoyed at anything that came up that made me stop reading.
This book had everything: Strong Female Lead!  Magic!  A non-obnoxious love interest!  Excellent supporting characters!  LIBRARIES!!  SO MANY LIBRARIES!  And a gorgeous cover to boot!  It is a standalone, which is a slight letdown because I would love to see more of these characters' lives, but the story is also just right as it is.

Nevernight, by Jay Kristoff
Godsgrave, by Jay Kristoff
If you ever read Throne of Glass and wondered what it would be like to read about Celaena in an adult novel, this might just be your answer.  It's intense, violent, brutal, and AMAZING.  I love Mia, the supporting cast in these books is *chef's kiss*, and the competitions and action events in both books are *chef's kiss*.
My warning to you: it would appear that Kristoff takes the advice "Kill your darlings" to an insane level.  Mia's constant advice to herself of "don't get attached, they are not your friends they are your competition" is, in fact, advice to you.  Don't get attached, they are not your precious babies to live happily ever after, they are ASSASSINS and as such are subject to high risk of death.  Devastation awaits!
Lastly, if Champion was my figurative "death by book," Godsgrave was nearly my literal "death by book."  The last few chapters had me progressively going

what!
and then
whaat.
and then
WHAAAT!!

AND THEN, the very very end made me deeply gasp out loud, only the breath wasn't smooth so I actually ended up choking.  Then I was hacking while yelling OH MY GOSH and then hacking again, and this was in front of my family and they probably thought I was insane.  Anyway.  Book three can't get here fast enough, come on September!!!

The Kingdom of Copper, by S.A. Chakraborty
OOOF.  I was very excited to read this, but I have to admit that it did not end up anywhere near where I expected.  I loved seeing Nahri exert herself against Ghassan (or anyone, really), it was good to see her being as confident and self-assured as she was at the very beginning of The City of Brass.  It was frustrating that see again all the times that something Ali said was misconstrued, especially when it came to Nahri.  It happened over and over again in Book #1, and I was annoyed to see that repeating itself here.
As for the ending... sheesh, where does it even go from here?  Manizheh gives off serious Queen Maeve (may she writhe in hell) vibes, which makes for an excellent antagonist, but also does not bode well for my faves.  (LEAVE DARA ALONE!!)  I have no idea what is in store for Book #3, but the only thing I really want to see at this point is Nahri's relationships with Ali and Dara mended.  Is that too much to ask??  Probably.

Wicked Saints, by Emily A. Duncan
I really liked the angle that Nadya's powers were divine and that she could speak to the gods and goddesses who gave her abilities.  I also liked Serefin's character, one who was acutely (if not bleakly) aware of his station in life.  Once he decided to put down the bottle and tried to do something about his situation was when I really started to root for him.  I did not love Malachiasz, though.  I get the point of Malachiasz, he teaches Nadya some things that are important for her growth and world-view shaping, but on his own I was not a fan.  There's something significant that happens at the end (vague, but gotta be spoiler-free), and the shock factor did not find me.  Like, it shakes one character pretty deeply and that person was really rocked by the change and I just... was not rocked.  I would have liked to have been rocked, but I just wasn't extremely surprised by the turn of events.  At this point in time, I don't see myself continuing the series, which was unexpected and disappointing, but c'est la vie.

The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh
The Rose and the Dagger, by Renee Ahdieh
I have always wanted to read this after I heard it was a retelling/expounding on the legend of Scheherazade and the One Thousand and One Nights.  It's the best of the Hate to Love trope, one where you know there's a reason behind one character's awfulness and you and the other character are dying to figure out what it is.  Because of this, it's easy to connect with Shazi because both her and the reader are on the same quest to get the complete story.
My main issue with Wrath was Khalid.  Even though I am firmly on Khalid's side as far as the love triangle goes, I actually feel pretty "meh" about him.  I find him to be pretty one-dimensional, and more characterization for him would have been greatly appreciated on my part.  He was just a kind of nothing character for me, a blank piece of paper.
The Rose and the Dagger I did not care for.  I didn't love the new conflict, the new setting, any new characters introduced (except for Shazi's sister), I was disappointed with how certain family relationships ended up, and, and, and.  If Rose had been a standalone book, it definitely would have been a DNF for me, and now I really wish that Wrath had been a standalone book.

A Darker Shade of Magic, by Victoria Schwab
Okay, so the reading hump took me a while to get past in this book.  It wasn't until about 150 pages in where I finally could start reading at a breathtaking speed because I was fully into the story and could not get enough.  The first 150 pages were not bad, it was just a lot of world-building and the reading was just a bit slower going there.  I loved the concept of the different Londons and what remained constant about each.  I LOVED Lila and wish that she had been in the book more.  And I can't not give a shout out to Holland, my DDNB, who does so many bad things but dammit I want things to turn around for him.  Fingers crossed.