firewhiskeyreader

This is just a wee bit late, but since I made a specific TBR, I wanted to go ahead and wrap this up anyway. Mostly so y’all can see that I truly am awful at following a TBR. This week involved me listening to a lot of audiobooks so let’s get started.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This was my first listen of the readathon and I forgot how much I love this book and this series. I was almost in tears driving to work on the FIRST day because when Prim’s name gets called, Tatiana Maslany (the audiobook narrator and also Queen in her own right because like, have you SEEN Orphan Black??) infuses her voice with so much emotion it was OVERWHELMING. Anyway, the whole book is actually so good and I would like to continue my reread soon so that I’m ready for this untitled Panem novel we’re getting next year. I’m ready for it. I read this for the challenge to read a book and watch the movie adaptation even though (shh) I did not watch the movie.

Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues by Molly Hooper

This is an Audible Original that was free for members a couple months ago and I read it for reading a book about a non-human main character and a book with five or more words in the title. It was… fine. Despite being short it did feel complete, but I have this thing where when I know the intentions for both people, I really struggle with the whole “can’t let them explain!! can trust no one!!” thing that’s used here. We return in this book to Mystic Bayou and fortunately there’s no active serial killer now, but they are still trying to figure out what makes the… thingy activate. Our tree nymph is new in town and is starting her own ice cream store and dairy farm.

The Summer of Jordi Pérez by Amy Spalding

I read this book for the challenge to read a book you meant to read last year. This is a sapphic YA contemporary about Abby Ives, who is pretty sure she’s going to be alone forever because to her knowledge there’s no one else out in her high school. But that’s fine because she’s got this fantastic internship at a boutique she really likes and her best friend’s boyfriend’s best friend has her join him on the quest for the perfect burger. The one flaw is that she’s sharing her internship with another girl from school, Jordi Pérez, a badass photographer. But as she gets to know Jordi better, she starts to develop a crush on her. This book is cute, but honestly I was a little bored and didn’t like Abby’s best friend and was just listening to have something to listen to. Of course, I was also stuck in stand still traffic with no air conditioning, so it’s highly possible the book was not the problem. Also, Abby is apparently plus size and she talks a big game about loving her body and dressing the way she wants, but she REFUSES to be photographed for her style blog and so there’s a pretty big element of “I like me, but the world doesn’t” that can be triggering.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Taylor Kay Mejia

I read this for author’s first book and also book with purple on the cover. Mejia wrote a short story in that witchy anthology I read last year that I’m blanking on, but I really liked it and so was excited for this book. Again, I didn’t necessarily listen to it under the best of circumstances–I was driving to Charlotte without air conditioning–but I think it was just… It was good and has a unique alternative world set up. I just think it suffered a little from setting up such a huge world that the plot got lost sometimes. There are also several CWs I think. Let’s see… there’s some allusions to sexual violence and intimidation using gender dynamics, a ton of anti-immigration talk and push back, there’s a literal border wall, and also just violence in general.

My favorite read of the week was definitely The Hunger Games. Did you participate? If so, what was your favorite read?

xx