It’s July! This month my baby brother is getting married and we’re going on vacation and I only have one five-day-week at work! But let’s talk about some books…

Here’s the reviewing system:

★- terrible | ★★- I finished it but it was a struggle | ★★★- not bad, not my favorite | ★★★★- a good read that kept my interest | ★★★★★- I’ve already bought the book for my collection & I’m recommending it to everyone

I’ll also tell you why I read it, what it’s about, and whether or not you should read it. The book images link you back to their GoodReads pages.

This month I finished two books and two short stories. That’s waaay better than last month 🙂

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer || ★★★★★/5
This book is the second in the Lunar Chronicles and I bought it because I loved the first so much! (I finished Cinder in March.) This story takes us to France where we meet Scarlet Benoit who’s trying to run her grandmere’s farm after her sudden disappearance. She soon comes across Wolf and their quest to find grandmere sends them to Paris, where she eventually runs into characters from Cinder. (I don’t want to spoil this book or Cinder…) I loved this book- mainly because I loved meeting the new heroes and heroines and having more character development from Cinder characters. I could predict some of the twist while others caught me completely off guard. Be warned, this book has a little more violence than Cinder. I spent two hours reading the final +150 pages in one sitting… I don’t know the last time that happened. If you liked Cinder, chances are you’ve already read Scarlet. If you haven’t and you’re into fairy tales or Once Upon A Time or anything fantasy, I would recommend this series to you!

The Queen’s Army & The Little Android by Marissa Meyer || ★★★/5
Similar to Cinder & Glitches, these were mini stories written to give a little background to the Lunar Chronicles. (The order to read them, as suggest by Meyer, can be found here. And a free copy of both stories can be found here.)

I think that Wolf/Ze’ev/Z and Cinder have very similar stories of how they came to be orphans and then how they were turned into something they had no desire to be. It adds depth and reason to their decisions. The Queens’s Army is pretty violent and icky, but I think it’s necessary to understanding the story of Wolf.

I didn’t necessarily care for The Little Android, though I think it was a (bitter)sweet little story that fell right in line with the other Lunar books. This short story didn’t have much to do with any of the main books (as far as I can tell), but it gave insight to some androids’ “faulty” personalities. (Also, it took half a beat but I realize this novella is a play on The Little Mermaid. Duh, Audrey.) If you’re reading the Lunar Chronicles, I’d suggest reading these little stories, too.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs || ★★★/5
I bought this book years ago because the cover caught my eye in a bookstore. I’ve tried to start it multiple times, but it never held my interest or met my expectations. With the film coming out in September, I finally had a little extra motivation to create the characters in my head before Hollywood did it for me. (I’m not the only one who hates that, right? Book-Hermione and film-Hermione are very different.)
This book is about 16-year-old Jacob and his quest to first understand his grandfather, then decide what he path he will take in life. The cover of the book suggests a haunted, creepy vibe (IMO) but the story doesn’t really go in that direction. Overall, once I got into it I enjoyed it. It didn’t blow my mind but it kept my interest so for that reason I would recommend it if you’re a fan of the YA fantasy genre. The jury’s still out on whether I’ll read the second & third book in the series.

. . .

Today kicks off Erin 5.0’s Summer Book Challenge! In case you forgot, here are my picks for the next four months:

| 5 points | Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages: Cress by Marissa Meyer *
| 10 points | Read a book that starts with the letter “R”: The Royal We by Heather Cocks
| 10 points | Read a book with five words in the title: The Taming of The Queen by Philippa Gregory
| 15 points | Read a book that has a (mostly) blue cover: The Selection by Kiera Cass
| 20 points | Read a book with twins as characters: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
| 20 points | Read a book from this list of books made into movies: Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda *
| 25 points | Read a book set in a country you have always wanted to visit: Death Wears a Mask by Ashley Weaver (England)
| 30 points | Read a historical fiction book: March by Geraldine Brooks *
| 30 points | Read a music related book: Wicked by Gregory Maguire *
| 35 points | Read a book originally published over 100 years ago: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott *

(The * marks books that coincide with the private challenge I’m doing which ends Aug. 31st.)

Right now I’m finishing up The Help, then diving head first into some of the challenge books!

Are you participating in Erin’s Challenge? It’s not too late to join! What books are you reading this month?

I’m linking up with Michelle, Cat, and Alison for Reading Lately!