Welcome back to Midnight Manuscripts. I spent this summer getting lost in many fantasy worlds, and I am here to share the hits, the misses, and the obsessions.
However, when it comes to my type of reading, I am someone who rates purely on vibes. Did I have a great time? Did I laugh a lot? Did the enemies take steps closer to becoming lovers? Did the plot twists make me break the fourth wall? If yes, then chances are that book became a new favorite.
That doesn’t mean every book I read leaves me staring at the ceiling at 2 am. There are levels to how much a story consumes me. Some books are simply a good, fun time, while others take up all mental space in my brain. That means that not all my “5-star books” look the same inside the pages.
So, let’s take a little trip through my summer in books- I want to revisit the stories that made me laugh, scream, cry, and the stories that made me say “just one more chapter”.
The Ones That Moved In…
Starting off with a bang, Nightshade by Autumn Woods. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
This book caught my attention because it’s a different flavor than I normally go for; it is strictly a mystery romance and doesn’t have any fantasy elements. However, it does have a dash of murder, which always spices things up. The main characters, Alex & Ophelia, are mostly a chaotic mess. As the name Ophelia might suggest, the book has a darker tone, with a mix of sadness, grief, and a strong representation of mental health.
The characters would be much better off in therapy full time, but instead they attend a Hogwarts-esque castle school in Scotland. Where they indulge in curious activities such as swimming, espionage, blackmail, attempted murder, successful murder, and an odd love for stockings. BUT the romance is super sweet, and the book is quite witty, so everything else is justifiable. I ended up really loving it and devouring the whole book in one sitting.
And then there was Conform by Ariel Sullivan (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Someone alert the media, dystopian love triangles are back and better than ever. Because who doesn’t love a complex female character, Emeline, trying to reform society while simultaneously trying to decide which man is worth her last rose? It’s like Sophia’s choice…except there’s an obvious answer and, spoiler, it’s NOT the random blonde man, Hal. I was team Collin from the get-go, and no, not just because he has darker hair and is supposedly the “bad guy”. *(though I do have a weakness for that category of paper men)*.
This book does a really great job of showing a softer version of feminine rage. These days, most FMC’s are fierce, loud, and the strongest leader in the room, which is amazing, but it’s not always the case. Emeline is proof that one can be soft, yet no less strong in their gentle demeanor. It’s set in a futuristic society where people are figuratively and literally set apart depending on a person’s level of physical perfection. And it truly knocked it out of the park for me. There was an insane amount of plot twists and “betrayals” that keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
Because I Killed Him by Edith Birde (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
This book soars high above the clouds. With its political dystopian romance set in a futuristic elite society where your blood color determines who you are in life, but also it’s the 1920’s and flappers are still a thing. It has every emotion: horror, anxiety, sadness, grief, angst, and yearning (forbidden yearning, even better). I genuinely flung my book across the room a couple of times just to avenge the pain it caused me.
The plot twists were less twist and more full-body pivots. At no point did I truly know where this book was going to go, and I LOVED it. The writing was really well done, and the romance went above the status quo. Lore and Edmund are a different type of forbidden lovers, mostly because Edmund has taken up reisdence in the kingdom of yearning, population 1. And he has an oddly specific addiction to green ribbons (if you know, you know). The found family is so special in this book; the side characters aren’t just names to move the plot forward; they add a unique spice to the book that allows it to stand out.
And last but certainly not least for this category, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
This book is officially in the running for best read of the year. It doesn’t get much better than this. The buzz on this book is honestly still underhyping just how good it is. Does it have a lot of information dumping? Yes. I have to be honest and say my brain hurt just a little bit while reading it. It has some heavy elements and a smack-ton of world-building. BUT I was simply too swept up in the plot to care. It was not only hilarious, but filled with a family I would like to personally adopt and raise as my own.
This book was an ode to every ultimate book-girly who absolutely fell in love with her favorite fantasy worlds and would like to be promptly kidnapped and held for ransom by the “villain”. It hits every cliché fantasy trope on its head but adds enough pizzazz to make it work. Somehow, after all this time, “she is mine” still makes my knees weak. I fall for it every time, and I can’t say I’m mad about it because it was just that good.
Our FMC, Maggie, is a breath of fresh air. She creates a family out of a bunch of misfits and stumbles her way into falling in love with the “villain”, every fantasy lover’s dream. In short, she doesn’t just make lemonade with the lemons she’s been given; she makes a cocktail. And I just have to leave an honorable mention for our MMC, who quite literally ran away with the story like he wrote the dang book himself.
The Ones I’d Recommend…
The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
This book is for every person who watched Harry Potter and said: “Draco is misunderstood….and oh yeah, he should date Hermione.” Well, welcome to a world where that is possible, except her name is Aurienne, a self-righteous healer who must have perfection, and Osric, a grumpy yet witty assassin who has an incurable disease *if only there was a hot healer to help*. There is so much more than a dash of murder, with gobs of witty banter and unresolved tension.
Heir of Illusion by Madeline Taylor (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
Great books always start with something compelling, and what’s more compelling than two people who hate each other and are forced to work together? But they definitely don’t find each other attractive at all, so absolutely nothing is going to happen. This book takes typical romantasy tropes and flips them on their head, with a new twist on its magic system and a (hot) grim reaper as the love interest, you can’t possibly pass this book up. With names like Thorne and Ivy….they couldn’t possibly fit well together in any romantic capacity! It was fast-paced, with plot twists that threw me for a loop, and an MMC who had me desperate for a date (😉) with death.
Prince of Swords by Elise Kova (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
This was the much-anticipated second book in the Arcana Academy series, and it definitely lived up to the hype. With a perfect magic system built on tarot cards, a magical academy with a broody, powerful headmaster who has never known love, and a sarcastic, arrogant girl with quite the chip on her shoulder, what can go wrong?
This book emotionally tortured me, and I turned around and thanked it anyhow. Kaelis and Clara are perfect and adorable and would live such a cute, sweet, quiet life… sadly, that is just not in the cards (😉) for them. Not only was the plot perfectly well-paced and intriguing, but the character development was sparkling. The only bone I have to pick is the ending, which, as previously mentioned, really wrecked me. Read at your own risk.
The Ones I would Like to Discuss with Management…
Silversmith by L.J Claren (⭐️⭐️)
Where was the plot? I have read restaurant menus with more plot twists than this. If you are someone who likes ZERO mystery about where the plot is going, a completely predictable romance, the wildly popular amnesia trope, and about 300 useless pages, then this book is for you! It’s not even enough information to be an email; it could have been a Post-it. The MMC was possessive in an oddly unsettling way and the FMC was relentlessly whiny, in fact, I know 8 year olds with better conflict-resolution skills than her.
Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter (⭐️⭐️.5)
I really wanted to love this book because of all the hype, but sadly the vibes did not survive the plot. It was like trudging through mud while the plot sprinted circles around me. I didn’t connect to any of the characters, and by the end I was utterly annoyed by the weirdly sexual, semi-uncomfortable friendship between Skylar and Astrid. At this point, I wasn’t reading because I cared what happened, but because apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment.
Gild by Raven Kennedy (⭐️⭐️)
This book was genuinely so unbearable that I briefly considered putting it out of its misery and using it for papier-mache. As a quick side note, this book should be called “the book where everyone in the kingdom has STDs“. To make matters worse, they don’t just abandon hygiene in this kingdom; they also abandon all morals and basic human decency. Auren, our FMC, spends the entirety of this book deep in the trenches of Stolkholm Syndrome. They should just rename it to Auren-Syndrome because she is where it orginated.
However, don’t let the first book deter you from the Plated Prisoner series because, as the series goes on, it gets to be really amazing; only the first book is a test of patience and suffering.
And with that, we have finally reached the end of my summer reading report card.
In total, I read 32 books between June and August, but because it would be rather a lot for someone to read 32 mini book reviews, I chose to pick the ones that left an impression, good or bad. I will be doing a deep dive review into some of my favorites from the summer, but for now, I hope you enjoyed taking this little trip through my summer in books as much as I enjoyed getting lost in them.
What have you been reading this summer?
Until my next midnight read…🌙
Leave a Reply