[Review] Reading Roundup - May 2024

[quillpunk]

I read quite a few things as part of a reading challenge in a discord server I'm in. Part of the challenge is reviewing what you read in order to prove you read it, so you can get those sweet fake internet points. And I figure I can share these with you! :D

These are pretty short reviews, since the purpose was just "hey I read this book!"

Forget-Me-Not (May 3)

Author: E.M. Lindsey
Book Genre: Romance
Finished Page Count: 236
Review: Had a great time, 10/10, would go again. This is an M/M romance, sugar daddy + amnesia + mutual pining + a stalker that is the bad guy and who is the sole reason it took me so long to finish this book. I just. I liked Elijah! And once the book started telegraphic Shit Is About To Go Down vibes with the stalker, I was terrified something would happen to Elijah :(((

Thankfully, once that plot-point started, it was over pretty quickly. Once I, you know, actually got the courage to read through it....

Anyway, overall this book was fun. The relationship between Elijah (sugar baby + gets into a car accident and gets amnesia in the book) and Mason (sugar daddy + billionaire + pining loser (affectionate)) was sweet and lovely and the pining was just what the doctor ordered.

I thought the way that the sudden amnesia was written was very well-done, and the emotions were lovely, both the angst and the fluff and the pining. I had a good time.

Mickey7 (May 5)

Author: Edward Ashton
Book Genre: Sci-Fi
Finished Page Count: 317
Review: This book was infuriating.

I have a lot of strong feelings about it, and they all suck. Every single character sucks. I was rooting for everybody to just die. Like just... what assholes. Such assholes. Who the hell thought this crew could build a colony together? I didn't see a single inclination they wouldn't all kill each other for an extra cup of coffee if given the chance. Assholes.

(And no, Nasha, Mickey isn't cute. He's spent years being dehumanized and treated like shit by the only people in range, and he's sympathizing more with the alien creatures than fellow humans because why would he *not*? How could that treatment ever lead to another outcome?)

This book seems to operate under the assumption that all humans fundamentally suck, fundamentally want to kill each other and will readily fuck each other over if given half the chance. I hate it. 0/10, I'm never reading another book by Ashton again.

Also, Berto saying he didn't save Six and then lied about Six's fate and the creepers' sentience to *everyone* because he was scared of them... I don't buy that for a second. Berto is a lying dickwad who should never have been allowed to go on that ship in the first place. He's a liability, I hate him, and I sincerely hope he chokes on his own bullshit.

The science was interesting. The idea of the Diaspora was interesting. I like the info-dumping about worldbuilding; that was the only parts I could read without wanting to strangle the book.

Overall, cool ideas but terrible characters and non-exist characterization beyond 'asshole'.

He Who Fights With Monsters 1 (May 8)

Author: Shirtaloon
Book Genre: LitRPG Fantasy
Finished Page Count: 680
Review: In which Jason is accidentally summoned into a different world, gotta fight his way through a cult with nothing but a shovel, and the fights never really do let up, do they? (It's mostly his fault. He just has a very particular way of making enemies, lol.)

I thought this was really fun and interesting! The worldbuilding is cool, and Jason is certainly a Character™ (I do like the socialist rants, lol) and the way he just bamboozles his way through this world is very fun to read. Lots of likeable side-characters, and unlikable antagonists, and a sense of expansion of the world. It was enjoyable, and I can't believe they killed (SPOILER), but also hopefully she actually stays dead and it doesn't cheapen it for shock value or whatever.

Overall I liked it and will definitely be reading book 2.

The Andromeda Strain (May 9)

Author: Michael Crichton
Book Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Finished Page Count: 295
Review: A probe drops back down to the earth, carrying with it an alien organism. Soon, a whole town simply drops dead. What's the connection? How did they die? And why were the only survivors a literal baby and an old man?

I found this book really cool. The writing style worked well for me; it had good flow, with a pacing that meant I was never bored, and I enjoyed the Science-ing™ and watching them slowly figure things and connect the dots. It went fast enough I didn't get frustrated they didn't figure it out faster, lol. And though I do think the ending could be a bit anti-climactic ||(the dangerous bacteria simply mutates and is no longer dangerous)|| I do also think it works.

And I don't think the book lingers on the anti-climatic ending so long as to make it annoying, and it does show that the (SPOILER) still has bad effects in the epilogue.

Yeah, overall I enjoyed it and I would like to read more Crichton books.

Deephaven (May 11)

Author: Ethan M. Aldridge
Book Genre: MG Fantasy Magic Historical Adventure Thing
Finished Page Count: 277
Review: Out of the blue, Nev gets a scholarship to a fancy private boarding school, and off they go. But something seems off. There's a whole wing of the school that's forbidden, and Patience, one of the prefects, is dabbling with things New doesn't understand. And when Nev and their new friend Danny almost gets killed by something in the forbidden wing, they know they need to find the answers and fix things, or they might never be able to come back to Deephaven.

I really enjoyed this. It has such a lovely atmospheric vibe from start to finish, really selling that subtle horror-y 'something's gone wrong' thing without tripping into outright Something Is Up. A lot of low-key spooky imagery, really well-written characters who shine and get that sense of... yeah, very atmospheric, this is basically what I wanted to Gallowgate to be but a hundred times better, lol.

I wonder if there's going to be a sequel or something, and how that will play out with the dynamics that were left at the end of the book. It doesn't seem like there were any consequences for Patience, even though she's the whole reason for like... all the things. And Nev ends the book staying alone with basically just Patience at the school over the winter holidays, so like it's ripe for Patience escalating things. She really doesn't seem like a person who cares about consequences, or has any of what 'responsibility' actually means. Patience literally (SPOILER) so I am rooting for a sequel. I think there's lots left of the school to explore!

Declared (May 12)

Author: Sam Burns & W.M. Fawkes
Book Genre: alien sci-fi romance
Finished Page Count: 202
Review: This is the sequel to *Submitted* which I read (squints) not that long ago, surely. This is about Jax and Wesley, side-characters in the first one, the star show now! They've crash-landed on Zatkhi, the home of Jax's people's most horrific enemy. And... wait they might not be that terrible? They're the ones who gave the technology to make thorzi/human hybrids to Crux, but then Crux betrayed them, and claimed to have come up with it all by himself! And because of that he's venerated and admired and nobody does anything about him and all the objectively horrifying things he does—it seems like he still operates without any oversight at all until special new the humans come around and reveal all his schemes, yikes.

Anyway, while trapped on an ice planet together with Jax's greatest enemies, Wesley and Jax hook up, romance-novel style, and they get figure out they've got stuff in common with their enemy, and that they were *both* deceived. And then they get rescued, go home and reveal it all! Happy ending!

Overall this was a very easy read. Not particularly deep, not particularly trying to do anything, and the romance wasn't... I mean, it wasn't great, but that's more due to the fact that Jax and Wesley doesn't feel particularly distinct to me from Lucas and Kal from *Submitted*. It felt pretty beat for beat, and there was no real conflict; as with *Submitted* when they figured out how to solve it, everything was kind of glossed over and rushed, and boom, it ended.

I probably will read the last one, because I feel bad for Vorian, he really doesn't deserve how he's treated 😦 and he'll undoubtedly get a somewhat good, glossed over ending in the following book, if that follows these. Which is not a bad thing if that's what you're looking for! It's not a bad book. It accomplishes what it wants to do. But it's not anything more.

Something Unintended (May 12)

Author: Rory Maxwell
Book Genre: Romance
Finished Page Count: 102
Review: This is a really sweet novella. Book 3 in a series, Eli is dumped by his boyfriend on their graduation day, and he goes on his trip to Split Rock on his own for pride week. Hunter owns a bar there, and they instantly hit it off. This is an age-gap, m/m romance with a very quick burn, and Eli's cheating ex-boyfriend does get his comeuppance in the epilogue. It's very quick, but it's nice. The characters are likeable—except for the ex-boyfriend, lol—and it features characters from earlier books in the series (which, unlike this novella, are mostly full-length). It was entirely understandable as a standalone read though. I've read the first one but not the second one and I look forward to reading it. Overall it was nice, and I enjoyed my short but sweet time with this story.

Guardian Vol. 1 (May 14)

Author: priest
Book Genre: Supernatural/Romance
Finished Page Count: 328
Review: Having seen enough of the drama adaptation to roughly know what goes down there, I was not expecting the novel to feel so different. Like, I knew the drama changed it from supernatural to sci-fi, but still.

Anyway, I've had fun with it so far! In Vol. 1, Zhao Yunlan coincidentally runs into Shen Wei during a case and is instantly in-lust, flirting recklessly and relentlessly, which makes it all the more awkward when he finds out that Shen Wei is, in fact, the Soul-Executing Emissary, a legendary, fear-inspiring being from the Netherworld that he's been working with years. In Vol. 1 there's two cases, and I think they were both pretty interesting. The interactions between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan were fun, and it was really interesting to spot the differences between the drama and the novel. (I've never read the novel before.) I enjoyed it a lot; the side-characters were fun too. I'm looking forwards to picking up Vol. 2 when my TBR list allows, lol.

Something Unexpected (May 14)

Author: Rory Maxwell
Book Genre: Romance
Finished Page Count: 330
Review: Just flew through this! Absolutely adore Nick, Micah and Ryan, they're absolutely lovely together. All the side-characters were fun, and it super interesting watching Micah, Nick and Ryan fall together into one unit.

So this is the prequel to *Something Unintended* (yes, I'm reading these out of order orz). It's M/M/M romance. Nick arrives at his Aunt's ranch for the first time in 20 years with bad news; his father is selling the ranch. But the more he gets to know the people living/working there, including Micah and Ryan, the more Nick realizes he doesn't want these people to lose the ranch. But how is he supposed to stop his father?

Nick's relationship's progression with Micah and Ryan was absolutely a delight to read. I enjoyed this book a lot, and I appreciate that there wasn't any drawn-out drama when the truth about Nick's arrival comes out.

Unhinged (May 15)

Author: Onley James
Book Genre: Romance
Finished Page Count: 293
Review: This was a reread; I'm not quite as in love with it as I was the first time I read it. I just fundamentally disagree with the notion that a billionaire spending his considerable assets to, instead of trying to make any kind of systemic change, train kids to be killers on the notion that's what their 'place' in society is for because they're psychopaths/sociopaths is in any way an admirable thing, which it really seems the text wants me to think. Like, it's all very playground vigilantism logic to me, and it isn't cute.

Anyway, this book is the first in the series. It's Adam (the psychopath) and Noah's (the not psychopath) romance, in which they meet when Noah attempts to kill Adam and Adam is like 'I pick you' pokemon-style. Cue insta-obsession and a super-fast developing relationship. I do think the book accomplishes what it sets out to do; it's self-indulgent insta-obsession romance with a psychopath that would of course never actually hurt you. Noah and Adam's relationship is cute, and they're sweet, and occasionally a bit kinky, together.

I do find the trigger warning for *mentions of past child sexual abuse* to be plainly insulting; it's not mere mentions, it's the whole plot of the book. The plot *is* Noah getting revenge/justice for the abuse he suffered as a child, and true it's never shown or referenced in any details, but it is present throughout the entire book, it is *the plot of the book*.

Beat of Their Own Drum (May 18)

Author: K.M. Neuhold
Book Genre: Romance
Finished Page Count: 397
Review: This is an M/M/M romance, in which Jude, eternal fuck-up of the rock band Downward Spiral, finds himself saddled with a baby-sitter after their manager, Archer, finally decides enough is enough. Bennett, the baby-sitter in question, is Archer's ex, and a Dom, and he finds himself quickly drawn to Jude's bratty attitude. He clearly needs control, in Bennett's opinion.

Overall this is a very sweet romance; Archer and Bennett (who do *not* have a d/s relationship, and it is in fact because of that they broke up---Archer just isn't into it, but also he's kind of judgmental about it for large parts of the book) gets their second chance at love together with Jude, who's been suppressing his pining for Archer via drugs and booze, and together they're greater than the sum of their parts, so to speak.

I do wish the clear impact of Archer's treatment of Jude had been explored more, especially after Archer found out, because like, Jude literally only started doing all that stuff because he thought that's what Archer wanted him to do/he was acting out for Archer's attention, because he was floundering and needed something solid and *real* or he was going to, like, fly away on the wind like a balloon, and Archer clearly dropped a lot of balls there. But it was pretty much entirely glossed over 😦

I liked the characters and I liked the romance; it was sweet, and I thought they were all cute together.

Beware of Chicken 2 (May 20)

Author: Casualfarmer
Book Genre: Xianxia/Cultivation
Finished Page Count: 685
Review: The continued adventures of Jin Rou (or was it Rou Jin? idek lol) and his farm full of spirit beasts, breaking the boundaries of living that sweet, relaxing, cozy life with family and friends.

It just has really good flow, so it's easy to get lost in it, and before I knew it I looked up and had spent the whole day reading this, lol. Anyway, I really liked it! It's a refreshing take on the cultivation genre/tropes, and it builds nicely onto volume 1, expanding the worldbuilding and the characterizations nicely. It was nice to see more development, and I enjoyed all the different story-lines (though I really wish the whole thing with Lu Ban doesn't get dragged out much more, as the longer it goes... like this, the more worried I am something horrible is going to happen.) Overall it was a very enjoyable read and I am excited to read vol 3!

The Amazing Alpha Tau Self-Improvement Project (May 21)

Author: Lisa Henry & Sarah Honey
Book Genre: Romance
Finished Page Count: 194
Review: Absolutely lovely, I smiled the whole way through. This book features chaos gremlin Marty, my beloved. Marty needs a tutor to help with his grades, and he needs to get gay to help him in his goal to be more like Trey, who's got it all under control. Because what's the best way to get your grades up? Go gay. Hey, it's working out for Trey, and Trey is doing great grades, so why not give it a shot? So he hits up Dalton for both; 2-for-1 is a *great* deal.

This was a super fun read, with lovely main characters and a really fun main relationship. I loved Marty and Dalton together; Dalton is so good at just rolling with Marty's chaos without letting it get out of control, and Marty is like. Yeah. Chaos gremlin. I adore him. I've had Marty for like five minutes but if anything happens to him there will be *riots*, okay.

I had an absolutely great time, highly recommend this book (and the first one! This is book 2 in the series!) and like honestly I just wanna hug this book. It's so nice. So lovely. So fun.

Dark Rise (May 31)

Author: C.S. Pacat
Book Genre: Fantasy
Finished Page Count: 451
Review: Will is on the run from the man who killed his mother, and when he's at last caught things rapidly go sideways and a whole new world opens up--a world he might be meant to save.

Truly, a *ride*. I accidentally read a few lines of the end of the book before I started it, so I basically knew Will's identity the whole time. Still, the way it was revealed and the how and why's and all that was a surprise. Also, I was not expecting so much death.

I feel like the book was very atmospheric. It leaned into the imagery of all this old, legendary, mythological objects and locations, and especially the *feel* of it, and I thought was that really cool. I do like atmospheric writing~ It felt really rich with history, and yeah it was just very delicious.

Overall I really enjoyed it; James and Will are my favorites. I'm incredibly curious to know what happens in book 2 now, though. I really can't even begin to guess, LOL.

Comments

[einhornmaedchen]

Wow, 13 books, that’s amazing! Well done!
I read 11 books in May 😃

[quillpunk]

Thank you! Things really got out of control in May, lol.

11 books in a single month is no mean feat, congrats! :D

[einhornmaedchen]

Thank you :)