Gaston Library discussion

It’s time for the next Monthly Reading Wrap Up! And don’t forget our Summer Reading Program has officially kicked off! Check out the link below for more information.
bit.ly/2023GastonAdultSummerReading

This Month I Read…

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord- I LOVED this. I’m a bit of a theater nerd so all the references to that in this book definitely found its audience with me as a reader. There was even a reference to a personal favorite, Darren Criss! The story overall was excellent as well. There are a lot of moving pieces between Millie’s hunt for her possible birth mothers, her relationship with her best friend, and the enemies to lovers storyline with Oliver but it all came together really nicely. I enjoyed Millie's character growth too. She’s one of those characters that is a lot, and still is at the end, but I thought her journey throughout the story was well done and believable. Highly recommend, especially if your a Broadway fan.

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Mass- I was told this was a fluff addition to the series before I read it, and that was definitely true. Especially fluffy on the romance end, which isn’t my favorite aspect of the ACOTAR series to begin with. I can remember if I’ve mentioned that before, but it’s true and I know it’s an unpopular opinion. There was some interest and depth with Nesta, but that was about it. So overall a meh book for me. I’ll be taking a good break before tackling A Court of Silver Flames.

We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz- This was an interesting premise. Two besties that end in unthinkable situations while traveling abroad, but it starts to feel like not a coincidence. Overall the pacing was good and the story kept me interested. Kristen definitely threw up all the creepy person red flags and I was invested in figuring out the puzzle of all the craziness. Emily was a meh and forgettable narrator as well, but on I read to see if I could get the answers I was craving. Then I didn’t. The whole storyline just kind of stopped with not being resolved it seemed? I know the author intended it that way, but it just didn’t work for me and ended up leaving me unsatisfied.

Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger: A Novel by Beth Harbison- I listened to this one on Audiobook and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t choose this book for the title alone. However this was a pretty disappointing read overall. The main problem being that I didn’t really feel any spark between the main romance (Quinn and Frank) at all. When you read a romance where the romance falls flat, so does the story. There were some cute moments and some funny moments, it definitely falls in the romantic comedy realm, but overall it was just not great. The ending seemed like it was setting up for her to choose neither brother for a second, and I thought that might be enough to redeem it but that ended up just being a tease. Oh well. Still all the stars for the title though, haha.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuestion- This was an adorably fun enemies to lovers romance read! The two main characters, Henry and Alex, were great. The story is told from Alex’s POV, but I would have loved some from Henry’s as well because his circumstances and thoughts would have been just as interesting to read from I’m sure. Alone, the romance between these two along with the storyline of Alex discovering his identity was enough to make this book intriguing and heartfelt. Then add in that they are the sons of an English Monarch and the President of the United States and it just makes it that much better, at least for me.

What did you read this month? Be sure to share down below!

Happy Reading!

If you didn't like the romance plots in ACOFAS then ACOSF may be rough for you too. It really changed my opinion of Nesta, though! What I read in June:

Weyward
I loved this book. It's one of the few that I actually give 5 stars to! Lots of strong FMCs.

Gild
I thought Gild was okay, but I don't like it the way the BookTok does. I don't think I'll be finishing the series any time soon.

Maybe Someday
I didn't like this one very much. The ending really bothered me.

Maeve Fly
I REALLY didn't like this one. It was dark and I should've known it would be from everyone comparing it to American Psycho. It didn't feel like there was much in the way of plot until about 80% of the way through. Even then, it wasn't much. Definitely only suitable for adult audiences.

Electric Idol
I love a good plus sized main character. I loved reading Psyche's story and I'm excited to finish the rest of these stories. (another adult romance)

Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Another 5 star book! I love this one. If it's any indication, I usually take notes while I'm reading and this book had me so engrossed that I forgot to write anything down. It reminded me of The Book Eaters even though the plots are really different.

Mr. Nightmare
This book read like a reddit r/nosleep series. It was good, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it because I didn't like the ending.

Empire of Storms
I did the tandem read of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. I highly recommend reading them this way. It made the whole experience so much better. It made all the little plot twists really exaggerated because I would often finish a chapter on a cliffhanger and then switch to the other book!

Tower of Dawn
Same thoughts as above about the tandem read. I forgot to mark this as read until yesterday (oops, haha)

Casey wrote: "If you didn't like the romance plots in ACOFAS then ACOSF may be rough for you too. It really changed my opinion of Nesta, though! What I read in June:

Weyward
I loved this book. ..."

Oh, there are a couple of interesting looking Magical Realism titles (which also happen to be your 5 star books). I feel it's been a while since I've read any Magical Realism so I added those to my TBR. The tandem read does sounds interesting. I'm a bit of a stickler about reading things in order, so I haven't tried one yet. haha.