Literally Lenny

Welcome to day FOUR of the Red Skies Falling book tour! Thanks to MacMillan for asking me to participate and share my love for the book!

Published: September 3rd, 2019
Pages: 432

Quick synopsis: In this thrilling sequel to Black Wings Beating, twins Kylee and Brysen are separated by the expanse of Uztar, but are preparing for the same war – or so they think.

Kylee is ensconsed in the Sky Castle, training with Mem Uku to master the Hollow Tongue and the Ghost Eagle. But political intrigue abounds and court drama seems to seep through the castle's stones like blood from a broken feather. Meanwhile, Brysen is still in the Six Villages, preparing for an attack by the Kartami. The Villages have become Uztar's first line of defense, and refugees are flooding in from the plains. But their arrival lays bare the villagers darkest instincts. As Brysen navigates the growing turmoil, he must also grapple with a newfound gift, a burgeoning crush on a mysterious boy, and a shocking betrayal. The two will meet again on the battlefield, fighting the same war from different sides―or so they think. The Ghost Eagle has its own plans.

Goodreads Rating: 4.37
My Rating: 3.5 stars

Would I recommend?: Yes!
Why?: This series continues with Kylee and Brysen, opening with Kylee training with the mother owl on the mountain. Immediately you fall in love with Kylee again and her I-don't-give-a-shit-what-you-tell-me-to-do attitude. She's badass to her very core and this second book in the series just proves that even more. I appreciated the more main-focus on Kylee in this book, which emphasized her independency and intelligence as a woman - WHICH I LOVED.

Brysen is just adorable and I love how massive his heart is, but I will say that I didn't enjoy his portions of the storyline as much as Kylee's. He can be kinda daft and childish at times, and I don't feel like his story added much to the overall book.

I feel like there are more tangents to backstories in this book than the first, which is quite frustrating when you just want to get on with the current storyline. Almost like "AND THEN THE GUY SWUNG HIS SWORD AT THE MAIN CHARACTER AND THEN....oh btw this and this happened before this." (This exact scenario didn't happen, but you get the point.)

I really enjoyed this book, but honestly nothing will beat the first one. I liked the action more in the second, but the storyline in the first was carried out a lot smoother.

Go pick up the book yourself and let me know what you think!

Published: April 23rd, 2019
Pages: 304

Synopsis: Five years ago, Lexie walked home from school after her older brother failed to pick her up. When she entered her house, her brother sat calmly, waiting for the police to come arrest him for the heinous crime he had just committed.

Treated like a criminal herself, Lexie now moves from school to school hiding who she is—who she's related to. She struggles with loving her brother, the PTSD she now suffers from, and wanting to just live a normal life. But how can she be normal when she can’t even figure out how to just live?

This is a powerful look at the assumptions we make about people. Lexie's emotional journey to separate her brother's horrific act from herself is stunning and heartbreaking. This is Lexie’s story and journey—not her brother's—and it will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

Goodreads Rating: 3.61
My Rating: 3.00

Would I recommend?: It's complicated.
Why?: What I enjoyed about this book was that it was very raw and real about people living with PTSD and depression. At times, it was very emotional and could be seen as a trigger I’m sure for some. However, I loved that Lexie in the end faced her fears and demons in order to start living her life. I also found it very refreshing that this technically didn’t even have a “happy ending." I wouldn’t say that it abruptly ended, but it wasn’t like she ran off into the sunset with a boy. That is something I haven’t seen in a book in a very, very long time.

Now the things I didn’t enjoy so much: This book was a contradiction within itself and I’m left so confused as to how I actually feel about it. Lexie said that SHE was the one who asked her parents to leave town and take on a new identity to hide from her brother’s past. And it’s HER plan to lay low and not be noticed by anyone, not to let anyone know who she truly is. But then not even a few pages later she’s fighting with her aunt when she tells Lexie that joining drama club isn’t such a great idea because it’d put her in the spotlight - literally.

In the end, I’m left so confused. I enjoyed parts of the book, but others I just could not stand! I guess if you’re willing to, give this a go, but you’ve been warned that it could be a bust.

My Rating: 4.50

Would I recommend?: Yes!
Why?: After being disappointed with both Batman and Catwoman, Superman:Dawnbreaker blew me away. Its character development and story line were so well done and it blew the others out of the water. The action left me on the edge of my seat, and I felt personally invested in Clark Kent’s life. This was a coming of age story for Clark Kent, one done quite well without being too painfully awkward, as many tend to be when you’re watching a teenage boy/girl figure out the meaning of life at age 16. I was also astounded by how real the conflict in the story line was. The author spun today’s immigration problems into Smallville’s world, in such a way that was unfortunately completely believable.

Overall, this was an phenomenal book that even non-DC Marvel fans will enjoy (as I did).

I don't have anything negative to say about it actually, other than wanting MORE from the falling action and resolution. There could have been more of an explanation to why the murderer did what they did, because it seemed more like "Yup, I killed them. The End." Like...oh....oh okay.

Would I recommend?: Depends.
Why?: I received this book in a monthly OwlCrate box but I was reluctant to read this book since it didn’t sound like something up my alley. Eager to reach my Goodreads goal before the end of the year, I picked it up since it was “relatively short.”

I will say, I liked this book more than I had expected. And I now understand all of the hype around it, I just don’t necessarily agree since I still didn’t LOVE it. If you’re into fantasy and action books, then yes, I would definitely recommend. I loved the unique time period of this book as vikings are not a common culture focused upon in YA literature.

My problems with this book were generally in the beginning, when things happened that didn't quite make sense. My biggest problem was when the main character brought on her own downfall (and she had PLENTY of time to fix it). Then there was the ending, which for me, just kinda…ended. It was strange because it seemed to just end very abrupt. Kind of like, “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! ….Ok we’re done.”

Apart from there being a few things that didn’t seem to line up properly, it was a good book. And if you’re into the YA fantasy genre, I’d definitely give this a go. If you’re not so into that, I’d pass.

Goodreads Rating: 4.2
My Rating: 4.75

Would I recommend?: ABSOLUTELY

Why?: This book gave me everything I've been waiting a year for and more. 

The plot and story line was epic, which is no surprise coming from Marissa Meyer. In a way, I really enjoyed how subtle the development was because when the climax finally occurred, it hit you like a brick wall since you were already so invested in the story line.

The ONLY issue I had with it was that due to the development being so slow in the beginning, the character development in turn was also slow, especially for Nova and Adrian. I feel like no value had been added to their characters until the book was almost over. Their relationship in general has been like the wheel-of-death on a Macbook...you're just waiting for SOMETHING to happen. Thankfully, something did this time. ;)

I won't say much more about how the story unfolded since I don't want to give away any spoilers if you haven't read the first (which you totally should...)

Overall, this book was an epic sequel to one of my favorites and is definitely something everyone and anyone should be picking up on November 6.

Thank you to MacMillan Publishers for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

Goodreads Rating: 3.83
My Rating: 3.75

Quick synopsis: Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

Would I recommend?: Yes!
Why?: This book was wonderful. Pride and Prejudice is my all-time favorite book, so imagine my excitement when there was to be a YA contemporary adaptation. SO EXCITED.

I love the parallels to the original Pride and Prejudice, the romance, the diversity, and I love Ibi’s representation of the harsh reality of living in the hood.

The reason I didn’t give this book an easy 5-star review is because Zuri got on my nerves. Obviously, she’s supposed to have tons of pride and be prejudice against the Darcy’s, but it was almost taken too far. I got annoyed with how pretentious she was. Elizabeth of course does the same thing, but Zuri held onto her pride for far too long. She was pushing people out of her life, including her own sisters, instead of accepting others in.

Would I recommend?: If you loved the movie, definitely. If you hated it, steer away.

Why?: So let’s start out by noting that I read the first in this series August 2017. I really was not a fan of the first book as it was quite dull and it definitely did not need to be a whole series. It could have stopped after book 1. However, when the movie came out this past August, I gave the rest of the series a go and was pleasantly surprised. Lara Jean is a naive child sometimes, but other times my high school self could really relate to her.

P.S. I Still Love You was by far my favorite of the three books. It was fun and lovey-dovey, and you got to see Lara Jean develop more as a person with and without Peter. Book two was everything I could have hoped for.

Forever and Always, Lara Jean was definitely my second favorite of the series. Lara Jean is finally figuring her life out and realizing that life is not all about boys and falling in love. It’s about finding out who you are and what you want out of life. I really appreciated that coming from a Young Adult book. I know that 16 year old me would have seriously benefited from reading about Lara Jean. The only thing I wasn’t a fan of in this book was that there was barely any romance in the novel. It was mostly about finding out who Lara Jean was, and I would have liked to see an equal mix of both.

Now, I absolutely adore the movie. It was probably my favorite movie of the year thus far, and that’s saying a lot. Obviously there are significant differences between the series and the movie, some of which are quite aggravating. And personally, I like the movie more than the book (Yeah. I know. No one ever says that…). I just found the character’s were more relatable in the movie and Lara Jeans and Peter’s development as a couple made more sense.

Overall, a cute series, but I’d only recommend reading it if you loved the movie. If it wasn’t your thing, then I’d pass on this series for now.