Dearly beloved, we have finally beaten the reading slump. The answer to our problems was the same thing as always: a cute, sweep-us-off-our-feet palette cleanser. Unsteady by Peyton Corinne completely annihilated the aforementioned reading slump. In addition to the angsty hockey romance we still can’t stop thinking about, we also read Remarkably Bright Creatures so we can compare it to the movie, finally got to Direbound and were thoroughly disappointed, and read an ARC that reminded us of the famous three headed dragon meme.
Books We Finished in May ๐
Unsteady
Description
Ahhh you know me, I’m a sucker for a golden retriever MMC and โจ trauma โจ. Finally a hockey romance that doesn’t sprinkle some trauma in the third act and call it depth. Unsteady was the warmest hug AND a gut punch and pulled me out of one of my worst reading slumps ever. As a fellow eldest daughter, I felt seen in Sadie’s anger, and Rhys is going straight to the golden retriever MMC hall of fame for the way he shows up for her, the boys, and well everyone around him.
Complete summary and review here!Remarkably Bright Creatures
Description
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus
After Tova Sullivanโs husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which sheโs been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldnโt dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captorsโuntil he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tovaโs son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before itโs too late.
Shelby Van Peltโs debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
I liked it, I was charmed but not blown away.
This book is saying real things about grief, feeling lost, loneliness, and finding your people again after losing them. A cozy, slice of life mystery bundled up in a slow burn.
The last chapter with Marcellus??? Hello??? Shelby, was that necessary, I am unwell.
Especially a great time if you think you have the temperament of a sardonic, grumpy, aging sea creature, which I happen to have, apparently.
The Dragon Has Some Complaints
Description
“The dragon may have some complaints, but readers won’t. By turns silly, sweet, and subversive, this novel has all of Wiswell’s characteristic blend of tension and heart.” โCaitlin Rozakis,ย New York Timesย bestselling author ofย Startup Hell
In this heartfelt and humorous fantasy from the Nebula-winning author ofย Someone You Can Build a Nest In, a dragon whose three heads bear ratherโฆdifferent…personalities finds family in the most unexpected of places.
Garrodigh was once a four-headed dragon, among the most powerful in Kardoลกa. After an unfortunate incident, he now has three heads, one stump, and a daily whirlwind of internal bickering. Centerhead wants to rain death upon all humanity, Bottomhead is like a feral cat, and Upperhead is under the delicate delusion that he is, in fact, human.
When a nearby battle goes awry, Garrodigh sneaks into an elite dragon rider academy, pretending to be tame to get free food and a warm bed. Lucky for him, rider Rania Charvรกtovรก is desperate enough for a dragon of her own that she overlooks his eccentricities.
As Garrodigh recovers under Raniaโs care, all three heads start to turn, for the first time, in the same direction. Each wants to protect her from the invaders who killed their fourth headโthe same invaders who seek to conquer Kardoลกa. When the academy comes under attack, can this wild dragon and his wilder rider save their homeland together?
This cozy fantasy intertwines epic battles with loving friendships, sharing an utterly unique perspective on what it means to be a โmonster.โ
Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for the advanced review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4!
Have you ever seen that one meme with three yellow dragon heads and one of them looks kind of funny? Well, this book reminded me of it. If you’ve been looking for a book from a dragon’s POV (or you didn’t know and now you realize you need to read one), The Dragon Has Some Complaints should be on your TBR.
The Dragon Has Some Complaints is cozy, hilarious, and a bit absurd. It is, after all, told from the perspective of a dragon who has three heads. But it’s also wholesome and full of heart. The found family and sense of belonging after feeling like you don’t belong are strong.
However, it does feel a bit like the whole plot is built around “what if we told a story from a dragon’s perspective?” The book feels a bit too long for me, and the novelty of the unique POV wears off. The plot has a pretty steady, low stakes beat, and slice of life fantasy elements are there the entire time. That being said, it feels like it was a bit too long despite being 400 pages, and I found myself bored even though the second half has plenty of action to go around.
Overall, a fun, unique experience, and I’m sure a ton of cozy fantasy fans will enjoy this one.
Dire Bound
Description
ย
Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials.ย Sheโll risk her lifeโand her heartโto be one of them.
ย
Meryn Cooper has always hated the Bonded, elite warriors who form mental links with the massive, viciousย direwolves they ride. While they live in luxury, Meryn struggles to keep her family out of poverty.ย Whenย her little sister, Saela, is kidnappedโstolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fightingโMerynโs world falls apart.
ย
Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army and is thrown into the deadly Bonding Trials, where any mistake will cost her life.ย ย
ย
Now Meryn must survive four months of training at the castle. She isย boundย to a feralย direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her cold and beautiful instructor, Stark Therion, is eager to punish any weakness.
ย
Everything is a competition, and everyone is out to get herโeveryone except the dangerously handsome crown prince, whose attention adds another target to her back. In the castle, every smile hides a knifeโฆand the halls hide dark secrets.ย
ย
Itโs bond or bleed. Duel or die.ย Failure is ruin.
ย
Dire Bound contains mature content including depictions of graphic violence, and is therefore recommended for readers 17+. For a full list of tropes and TWs, please visit the author’s website.ย
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Readers are already falling in love withย Direbound:
โONE OF THE BEST READS OF THE YEAR! This book was insanely good.โ Goodreads reviewer โญโญโญโญโญ
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โStop it right now… Iโm actually quite feral for the next bookโฆโ Goodreads reviewer โญโญโญโญโญย
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โThe plot was THICK, the tension and banter? Flawless. And the world with the wolf bond, and trials??? NEED MORE NOW.โ Goodreads reviewer โญโญโญโญโญ
โI just finished andย still trying to mentally and emotionally recoverย to what just happened to me. You need to read itย IMMEDIATELY.โ Goodreads reviewer โญโญโญโญโญ
โIf youโre intoย dark romantasy with high stakes, fierce characters, and just the right amount ofย emotional wreckage, Direbound isย your next obsession.โ Goodreads reviewer โญโญโญโญโญ
โWhat anย incredible read!!ย โฆ I amย blown away. โฆ The romance, the anguish,ย the BANTER! I love a book with good banter and this was FULL OF IT!โ Goodreads reviewer โญโญโญโญโญ
โI. Am. OBSESSED.ย โฆย Left me spiralingย in the best way possible. Theย morally grey anti-hero? Perfection. Theย slow-burn tension? Electric. โฆ I wasย completely immersed.โ Goodreads reviewer โญโญโญโญโญ
Perfect for fans of:
- Slow burn romance
- Found family
- Morally grey characters
- One bed
- Touch her and die
- Who did this to you
- Enemies to lovers
- Forced proximity
- Vampires vs. wolves!
2.5โญ Stars but closer to 2. This is going to be ranty and somewhat spoilery.
Please don’t come at me for writing this review, but I feel like I was gaslit by the community on this one, especially the TikTok influencers. Look, if you enjoyed this I love that for you, and I’m glad it worked.
For me, Dire Bound didn’t do anything I haven’t read before, and that’s usually fine when we read as much as we do, but it didn’t do any of the things it tried to do well. It feels half-baked, derivative, and unfinished. TBH I found it almost insulting that this is marketed as the “next Fourth Wing,” when the wolves are kind of just… there???? Lean into the wolves if you got them.
Why are we sitting through a silent treatment for the first half of the book? Speaking of, how many American Ninja Warrior meets Hunger Games training sequences do we need to sit through?
The characters are very one note. Meryn is near impossible to like and none of her actions make sense. Killian is slimy from page one, did anyone count how many times he called her “kitten”??? Stark’s whole personality is just being broody and growly?? I don’t get it.
My biggest pet peeve is dream sequences tying the plot together, and there are multiple of them.
So will I read the next book? I am promised more Stark, Cratos, and Anassa, so I guess we’ll give it a go but VERY reluctantly.
Books on our June TBR
Below are our June hopefuls!
What are you reading next month? Are you just as excited about Light Wielder as we are? As always these are hopefuls meaning we’ll likely get to a subset of them ๐ Either way if you’re in a slump like we were, here is the list of what we’re considering!
Now that the reading slump is OVER we’re ready to devour some more books, true book goblin style!
What was your favorite read this month? Tell us in the comments!
And if you want to keep up with what weโre reading next, did you know weโre on Instagram?
We post all of our new reviews, reading updates, and other bookish content over there โจ๐
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