The Sunbearer Trails by Aidan Thomas

I think that this book is for fans of The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Divergent, and anything dystopian and fantasy.

The Sunbearer Trials is a fast-paced read based off of a competition with Demi-gods. The winner of The Sunbearer Trails gets to travel to all the temples and bring life to the Sun Stones. The loser of the trials is the sacrifice to bring that light to the temples. The Sun Stones use the sacrifice to protect the pole of Rhino del Sol for ten years.

We follow Teo who is a Jade and the son of the Goddess of Birds. He is also transgender. Teo has never worried about the trails. Being a Jade he is the lowest type of demi-god and therefore not looked at to be picked in the trails Only the demi-gods who go to the academy are usually picked.

But for the first time in a century, Sol chooses two Jades, Teo and 13-year-old Xio. Teo feels like he needs to protect Xio as they are taken to the trails to compete.

I found this book hard to put down. This was just the type of book that I like to read. I loved the diversity in it, the world, and the theme. I did not see the ending coming and I NEED the next book soon! I can’t wait to see what is next in this adventure.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

August wrap up

Don’t panic but there are only less than 4 months left in 2022.

I feel like I jinxed myself with my last blog post because my work-life balance was non-existent. I have had no personal time to write this month.

But! We are still going strong….ish strongish.

I feel like August-October are always my worst reading month and so far that has come true. I only read 4 books this month which I feel might be my normal average.

I read Verity by Colleen Hoover for book club and I think this was my first 1 star of 2022.

I read Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

I finished race for Impact by Gabe Montesanti and absolutely loved it. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars!

I also finished The Sun-bearer Trials by Aidan Thomas and really loved it as well. I gave this 5 out of 5 stars.

Time to make end of the year goals and get the rest of 2022 done!

Avoiding the Mid-Summer Reading Slump.

Annnnd the first week of August is over. I swear we are going to blink and it will be Christmas Day. This year has blown by so fast. I say that every year around this time but really…that’s the way the world works.

This past week I haven’t finished anything. So my reading has started out slumpy for this month. But I am determined to change that. Every August/September I feel like a broken record. These are the months I really start to get slumpy, right before the Holidays. And then during the Holidays I usually want to read all the things but am too busy to do so.

So how do we beat the end of summer slumps? Things I like to do is book shop. It sounds funny but the idea of reading something new can really pull you out of a reading slump. Browsing books in a shop and finding something that you are excited to read can help.

Re-arrange your shelves. Sometimes it’s easier to forget books that you want to read on your TBR. It can also feel good to get rid of some books that are no longer interesting and make more space for new books. Fall clean and get ready for those cozy reads coming out.

Another thing I like to try to do is read something fun, light, comedic, and short. This can be a re-read of sorts or something new. Usually it works best if it something new because then it makes me want to read more books I have never read before, which is all of my TBR.

If that doesn’t feel right then a comfort read may be the right path. Something that you like to read over and over again. For me, this is usually The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

What if none of this works? Then maybe you need a book break completely. I can get this way where I hyper-focus on Animal Crossing or a new craft project, or maybe a new TV show where I would rather be doing anything but reading. If you are burnt out then don’t force it. Take a reading vacation and do something else with your free time. You will read it again. But if you force it then sometimes you make things worse and end up hating books that you might actually enjoy.

Let me know what you like to do during a reading slump. I am always open to trying something new to pull me out of them.

Weekend Reading Update

This past week at work has been crazy! I am training a new store manager for one of our other locations so my lunch breaks haven’t been as long as usual. I usually sit at my local coffee shop to write these blog posts and catch up on my next review I want to do. But that wasn’t possible the last few days. So I missed Wednesday’s Reading update blog post. So instead am I here to present this weeks weekend reading update! Yay!

Because I have been busy at work I also have not read a lot. I am currently reading 3 books. Crazy I know. I have this awful habit of reading multiple books at once. Two of these books are audiobooks.

So far Bear Town by Fredrik Backman, has me hooked. I am half way threw and have so many theories of the ending of this book. It doesn’t help that I have also started to get into a new Neflix show while I am reading this book. I am a Killer on Netflix has me wondering what motives are going to lead us to the end of this book. I am truly a true crime junkie that refuses to get sucked into all the shows and podcasts that are out there.

I am also listening to Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle. I received this book as a ARC from the publisher after it was released. This book came out last month, I believe so it is still new. I have always wanted to read a book like this. Basically there are twin princesses but one was separated at brith. It’s like the Parent Trap of fantasy YA books.

Lasting I am still working on The Sunbearer Trails by Aidan Thomas. I am getting hunger game vibes from tis book and can’t wait to see where it goes. I want to see how The Hunger Games and this book will match. I have so many questions of what will happen.

What do you plan on doing this weekend? I am working everyday for the next two weeks so I am hoping to get in some reading time. What are you going to read this weekend?

Out of The Blue by Jason June

Jason June has been an author on my “need to read” list since last year. I was super excited to see Jason come out with a new book this year and knew I needed to read it and not let it sit on my shelf as most books do.

I saw Out of the Blue get hyped pretty well on TikTok and instagram. I think it was a good summer read. We follow Crest who has to go on a journey on land to help one human. Crest tumbles into Sean’s life and decides that Sean is the human he will help. However, Crest has never seen or been in the human world before because Crest is a mer-person, or mermaid.

Sean was recently dumped by his boyfriend and the last thing he needs is to babysit Crest. Not knowing Crest is a mer-person, Sean finds himself seeing Crest every day and can’t figure out why this kid keeps following him around. It low key stalkerish.

I liked the idea of mer-people being non-binary. In a way it just made sense. However, I struggled with the narration of the story. It was hard to follow between characters’ ideas and actions. There seemed to be a conflict between the characters’ development and narrative. I personally did not like that almost every chapter all Crest could think of was sex. This is not a smut book and I felt like it was overused and done in an uncomfortable way.It was pretty cringe when Crest would bring up the topic. But that wasn’t the only hard-to-read spot. The characters go back in forth with wanting a relationship to being just fired which I felt was done in a poor way and just needed to be cleaned up to work.

I did enjoy the story that was trying to be told but overall it just needed a little more development to be a really good novel. I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars

What are you reading Wednesday? 6-29-2022

I can’t believe this is the last Wednesday of June 2022. This month has passed so fastI have to remember to get my June wrap up together very soon.

This week I finished 1 book on audio and that was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This book has been very hyped on TikTok lately and I am here for it. It was a very deep read. However I think the ending fell threw for me. The bulk of the book was so good and toward the end I felt like the author gave up and just ended the story. There was so many different ways this book could have ended and explored and yet it was just…over done. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I am currently reading Take me With You When You go by David Levithan and Jennifer Niven. I am about a third in. I am listing to this on audiobook as well.

I ALSO need to finish the Sunbearer Trails by Aiden Thomas like I said I would finish last week and have not. My eArc on net-galley is expiring very soon. This is one of my most anticipated read for this year so I have to get this done.

What are you reading for the last week of June?

Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass

A.J. Sass is one of my instant-buy authors. I loved Ana on The Edge last year and could not wait to dive into A.J. Sass’s newest release, Ellen Outside the Lines.

I absolutely loved this middle-grade story that follows Ellen and her school summer trip to Barcelona. Ellen is excited to go with her friend Laurel because Laurel has been making more plans on the weekends without Ellen and this will give them a chance to hang out. When they get to Barcelona, Ellen is paired in a group without Laurel. Ellen has to navigate how to make new friend, in a new city. And on top of that, they have to do a scavenger hunt.

I love how diverse this book is. Ellen is autistic, discovering her sexuality, and practices a religion. A.J. Sass really captured Ellen’s emotions and process and that was an awesome point of view from someone who is not autistic. Ellen has a lot of tough decisions she has to make in this book as she tries to explore a different country.

This book was fast-paced and easy to read. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

I decided to subscribe to rainbow Crate each month. Icebreaker was the first book from Rainbow Crate that I have decided to read. This follows Mickey James who is a college freshman, and a hockey player who is promised to become a NHL legend like his father and grandfather before him. The only problem is Jaysen Caulfield, one of Mickey’s reveals now turned team mate.

I enjoyed this read. I thought it brought forth a lot of issues that we don’t usually see in books such as mental health. The author really based this book around Mickey’s mental health and his battle with depression. This is a enemy to lovers romance based around hockey. I loved the writing style and the story.

The only issue I had with this book was I felt like it was missing something. I am a drama seeker. I need a book to have a big drama spot. And yes there is drama in this but not as much as I personally liked. I just needed something big to happen and felt like I was waiting for something that never happened.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 star.

“Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league’s top draft spot. 

The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey’s infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he’s willing to risk for it.

This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.”

The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I read this book in 2018 when it was first starting to get traction. I am not the biggest fan of greek mythology but I really enjoyed this book. It started to get popular again on TikTok last year so I reread it. And it did not disappoint.

This is the story of Achilles and his relationship with Patroclus. It plays with the idea of them being more than friends even though that is not how the mythology goes. Like I said I do not follow mythology that much so to me these names and ranks really don’t mean a lot to me. But even with that I found a lot of joy in this book. Both times I read it I gave the book 5 out of 5 stars.

“Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.”