I was fortunate to receive an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher and author through Netgalley in exchange for feedback and my honest review. These are my opinions, uninfluenced.
Meet Me At The Summit by Mandi Lynn follows Marly as she embarks on a hiking trip around the country after her parents death. As Marly sinks deeper into her grief, her family forces her to borrow a revamped VW bus and explore the country with her camera as her companion. On her journey, Marly meets new people, including Dylan, who forces Marly to lower her defenses. It is a young adult, coming-of-age story releasing on August 31st 2021.
My favourite aspect of this book was the descriptions of nature. Wherever Marly went, I felt like I was right there with her. I could picture every little feeling, from what it looked like to how the wind felt. Mandi Lynn put a lot of effort into researching these places and it really shows. I enjoyed the sense of adventure and considering I’m in lockdown, it really eased my cabin fever.
Marly’s grief in this story was handled really well. You could really see the impact of losing her parents and also how she learned to cope. From the panic attacks to defensive mechanisms, it was really well-executed. It didn’t feel forced or fake, and I really felt for Marly.
Beyond Marly’s grief, I couldn’t tell you much about her (exception: photography). Marly, like the other characters in this book, felt very two-dimensional. There weren’t any layers and they felt flat. I couldn’t relate to them and I didn’t feel attached. Dylan, the love interest, is very sweet and caring. He was really supportive of Marly and I appreciated that. It was enjoyable to read. But beyond that, he once again felt flat. The supporting characters also felt like they were only there to serve as Marly’s support system and didn’t have lives of their own.
The romance between Marly and Dylan was very quick to develop and ‘insta-lovey’. The extent Dylan goes for her, and how Marly responds to him, made no sense to me. It was really hard to believe their love story due to the quick development. There were definitely aspects that had potential. I’m a sucker for growing and healing with the support of another person, but this didn’t hit in the right spot.
I found the pacing to be quite slow as well. It took a long time for everything to happen. Though I loved Mandi Lynn’s description of hiking, I don’t think everything needed to be detailed. We spend a lot of time with Marly’s internal monologues. Like a lot. The massive paragraphs of monologue were really intimidating for me.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. If you’re looking for an adventurous books in the outdoors to compensate for your quarantining, this is for you. Ideal for those that enjoy slower books.
I was fortunate to receive an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher and author through Netgalley in exchange for feedback and my honest review. These are my opinions, uninfluenced.
Good Girls Don’t Make History by Elizabeth Kiehner is a non-fiction, historical graphic novel that amplifies the voices of female legends from 1840 to the present day. The graphic novel takes you on a journey with key historical figures through time and the suffrage movement in United States. It is set to release on August 31st 2021.
No one’s ever ready to be ‘the first,’ Susan. But someone always has to be.
Good Girls Don’t Make History, Elizabeth Kiehner
I usually stay away from non-fiction books of any kind. However, the cover and title intrigued me, so I decided to pick it up. I’ve never been more glad to have picked up a book.
The novel switches between different times, from 2020 to 1918 and so on. We see glimpses of young women today voting and the struggle that it took to get there. I can imagine the switches between different periods of time may seem confusing for some. Personally, I had no issues with it. I found it super easy to follow and keep up with. The differences in time and history was clear and trackable.
The graphic novel is a quick read, I flew through it. It doesn’t bore you with too many details and the story keeps moving. It was definitely fast paced and exciting.
The illustrations were so beautiful. I’m not sure if this the correct term for it, but it definitely had a watercolour type of feel to it. And it worked so well with the concept.
I can’t comment on the historical accuracy of the novel. I’m more familiar with the movement in New Zealand. I must say, I was so shocked to see that the right to vote took so long in America. It made me so much prouder of New Zealand for being the first self-governing country to introduce equal rights for voting. Go Kate Sheppard!
My favourite thing about this was that it didn’t just focus on the history of white women, but also considered POC. It frustrated me so much knowing it took so much longer for Black women and Native Americans to gain the same rights.
I don’t think this is a novel for historical experts who are looking for an informed read. This seems ideal for someone like me, who’s interested in an introduction or a skim through the timeline. I felt so empowered after this.
This was a compelling and empowering read that everyone needs to pick up. If I could afford it, I’d buy this for every young female out there to read, so we can be more grateful for the rights we have today. It’s super quick and an easy read, so there’s no excuse not to. Just do it.
In Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim we join Shiori, the princess of Kiata. In this YA fantasy, Shiori’s biggest problem seems to be avoiding her betrothed, until her step-mother curses her and turns her brother into cranes. Without money and her voice, Shiori has to not only survive without the perks of her title but also find a way to save her brothers and free them from the curse.
The fairy retelling was an excellent concept that was executed really well. I fell in love with the culture, the tales and the song. Lim had created a wonderful world that I was able to be dive into.
The characters were so interesting, especially Shiori, Seryu, Raikama and Takkan. Speaking of Takkan, he is such a cutie! I loved these characters and felt like there were so many dimensions and layers to them. My only issue with the characters were probably her brothers, I couldn’t tell them apart except maybe two? They all seemed the same and I hope we get to know them a bit more in the upcoming books.
I loved the romance in the book, it wasn’t overwhelming or in your face. Subtle, and slowly burning in the background.
There were some bits I found to be a little predictable and other bits that caught me off guard. I don’t want to say too much and spoil it, but I love the direction this book went in.
I haven’t quite made up my mind on the pacing of this book. It was fast paced and kept me hooked but there were some bits that gave me whiplash and felt rushed. This felt jarring and would bring me out of the book, and it would take another few chapters to get back into it.
I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I stayed up to read more of it. And I’ll be eagerly waiting for the next book in the series.
I highly recommend this for anyone that loves an action-packed book.
I was fortunate to receive an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher and author through Netgalley in exchange for feedback and my honest review. These are my opinions, uninfluenced.
The Endless Skies by Shannon Price is a standalone, young-adult, fantasy releasing on August 17th 2021. Not long to ago!
In the sky, floats Heliana, the city of winged-lion shapeshifters (Leonodai). A day before Rowan can pledge to become a part of the elite warriors to keep Heliana peaceful and safe, a disease spreads amongst the children. Once her closest friends are sent on a risky mission to get the cure from their enemies (Humans), Rowan is left behind. As time starts running out, Rowan learns something that could save Heliana, but the truth comes with a price.
The story is told from three point of views: Shirene, Rowan, and Callen. The first chapter is Shirene’s introduction, creating a sense that either she’s the main character or a really important factor for the story. Shirene was an interesting character, she seemed strong and badass. From get go, as she is put in a position of power by the King’s side, I liked her. Even though there seems to be a lot to her, from her love interest, role in the hierarchy and perspective, she doesn’t seem to play as key of a role as I had expected. She doesn’t have a character arc through which she grows and develops. In the end, she is simply Rowan’s sister and someone with a high position in the system.
Rowan, the main character was brave and a character that I could easily root for. But beyond that, I didn’t feel too much for her. Callen, her best friend slash love interest and warrior, was another character that I didn’t dislike nor did I love. To me, the characters felt under-developed. The multiple point of views could’ve easily been simplified to a single narrative or even two point of views.
A love triangle between Rowan, Callen and Ox brews in the story. Typically, I’m not a fan of love triangles, and it’s very rare that I make an exception for that and even rarer that I enjoy them. I was really excited for this book due it’s incredible premise so I decided to give the love triangle a go. This is one of the rare times, where the love triangle didn’t anger me, which is a plus. In saying that, I didn’t enjoy it either. The best way to describe the love triangle is: rushed. Time was split between Callen and Ox, not going into either the feelings either were evoking well enough. Due to that, I didn’t care who Rowan ended up with. I feel that if we had just had one romantic line going on, it would’ve had a chance to expand and thrive more.
The world was really interesting and one of my favourite parts of this story. It was a really interesting concept. Winged-lions? How cool is that? As if, lions and wings weren’t badass enough on their own. I loved everything about it, from the role everyone played in it, the animosity between humans and Leonodai. If this was a series, I would’ve liked to see the world explored more, especially the other kingdoms that we catch a glimpse of in the first chapter.
The first thing that I noticed about this book and possibly the most disappointing, was the writing style. It felt like there was too much telling going on and less showing. Usually, I see this in the descriptions and dialogue tags, but I picked up on this through the dialogues, too. It seemed like the dialogues were also a bit ‘info-dumpy’. I think if this had been fixed, I would’ve probably felt more attached to the characters. There was a lot of ‘I care about this person a lot’ and not actually showing me the relationship between the characters. This made it really hard to believe any of what was going on.
The overall plot and concept was the highlight for me. I liked the idea of the disease threatening the peace of Heliana and their only hope lying with the humans. I enjoyed reading about the stakes and how the plot progressed and questioned everything Rowan knew. This was a great adventure as we moved between different settings.
As the story wrapped up, I was left a little confused. The ending seemed all too convenient for me and there wasn’t enough of an explanation to justify it. The Leonodai don’t believe in luck, but the ending felt exactly that. Perhaps, that was the point, but I still wish we had explored that a bit more.
Another positive for me would be the messages in the books. I especially enjoyed the importance of individual’s morals and values, and how that shapes a person and their actions. Cruelty of human actions was also weaved well into the story, which was very thought provoking.
I was completely surprised by the betrayal portion of this book. It played into the ‘messages’ part of this story, and I ate it up. That was well done!
I know, I dissected this story quite a bit, but I did enjoy reading this. It was fast, thought-provking and a great standalone. But the issue with standalone fantasies will always persist – it’s hard to create such intricate worlds, characters and stakes without rushing them in only so many pages. Please also keep in mind that I received an ARC, which means changes could’ve made for the finished copy.
If you’re looking for an action packed, adventurous fantasy that doesn’t require commitment and takes you to a novel world of warriors, I highly recommend you grab yourself a copy when it comes out in a few days.
The Knockout by Sajni Patel/ S. A. Patel is a young adult standalone following Kareena Thakkar, a high school student and Muay Thai fighter. When Kareena gets a chance to enter the competition of her life, she’s more than excited. But reality is quick to check in with a really unwell father and even more severe financial debt. Kareena struggles with the challenges of being a female athlete in a time and cultural society that judges and ostracizes her for it. Through it, her saving grace comes in the form of Amit: a genius who strangely needs tutoring from her.
Female athletes are a power move and this book really showed that. I loved entering the world of Muay Thai, learning about it and reading about Kareena’s fight scenes. They were absolutely badass. Sajni Patel’s writing was vivid and easy to imagine. My heart raced through it all. One of my favourite aspects of this book was watching Kareena’s confidence with her body grow.
Kareena is easy to love and relate to. At times, she’s frustrating but even then it’s consistent with her background and history. I loved seeing Kareena grow and become the best version of herself despite her struggles.
Kareena’s relationship with her family is goals! Their dynamic was sweet and refreshing to read. Young adult books tend to skip over familial aspects but Sajni Patel dove right in. Amit, the love interest, has to be one of my favourite love interests from a contemporary novel. He was so supportive, sweet and perfect for Kareena. Amit had his own life and problems, making him feel quite real. I wish Kareena’s best friend, Lily had been developed a little more like Amit was.
Kareena’s story resonated with me more than I had expected. The Indian rep and culture was executed so well, I couldn’t have asked for more.
When we join Kareena, she has a very complicated relationship with Indian culture and society. She has a more ‘Western’ approach to things and I expect other readers who are more religious or involved in society may feel attacked by some of Kareena’s early thoughts and approaches. Personally, this made it more satisfying to see her grow into accepting her culture. I do wish that we got to see her become more accepting of the people around her as well.
The only thing that would take this book up a notch for me were that some of the high school drama felt a bit juvenile to me. But in saying that, I probably would’ve enjoyed it if I were younger.
This book frustrated me, made me cry, laugh and smile in all the best ways. I felt so much reading it. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for more South-Asian and/or female athlete representation in books. If you’re a sucker for underdogs, this one’s for you!
Hasnita Singh 