5 Books(and Reviews) in a Week

Dear Reader,

Here is a list of summaries and reviews on the several books I read this last week. I also included a short list of the things you'll need to make the time as relaxing as possible. Check out our Instagram highlights for a list of reading supplies to enhance your reading experience.

Checklist 

• Weighted Blanket 

• Coffee 

• Several Books 

• Relaxing Playlist 

• Wine (optional)

Book 1: Vicious by V.E. Schwab 

10/10 

A story of two college best friends who discover the equation to superpowers. A multi timeline and multi point of view narrative that tells the story of good and evil, and the morally gray. Eli and Victor, once best friends, now arch nemesis. It seemed like they had been competing with each other since the day that they met, for top spot at school, for Angie, and somehow their teamwork led to the discovery of what makes EOs(ExtraOrdinaries). Eli and Victor become so obsessed with the project, that they take matters into their own hands and decide to become the heroes of their stories. However, things take a turn for the worse when they come back from their NDEs(Near Death Experiences) and aren’t the same men they were before. 

This was my introduction to V.E. Schwab and it was a genius piece of work. I inhaled this book. It was face pace, and interconnected in all the most beautiful ways. Getting the point of view of both the hero and the villain(and the in between) really added some weight to this book, in a good way. It was hard to not understand the rationale in some of the characters, they made their plans seem so unbelievably just. 

Book 2: Twisted Lies by Ana Huang 

6/10

The final book in the Twisted series follows the story of Stella Allonso. Stella is a social media influencer with goals to start her own fashion brand, hit a million followers, and secure new brand deals. In order to do that she fake dates CEO Christian Harper, going viral for their relationship posts. Their fake relationship leads to the return of an old stalker, and they’ve only gotten bolder since the last time Stella heard from them. 

The slow burn was good, frustrating, but good. I enjoyed watching their walls fall and slowly they started to care for each other. Christian’s inner monologue was a little annoying and repetitive. Honestly, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first three books in the series, it dragged on and some plotlines were forgotten about until they were conveniently tied together in the end. 

Book 3: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

8/10 

Carrie Soto is defending her title as the greatest tennis player of all time. She is 37 and well into her retirement, but with her father as her coach again, she just might stand a chance. Carrie begins a long training session with the intention of winning four Slams, beating her own record and defeating the great Nicki Chan. 

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was Carrie’s relationship with her father, Javier. The tension between them, a father who put too much pressure on his daughter to be the best, and a daughter who strives to win because of it. This was probably my favorite part of the entire book, other than rooting for Carrie Soto to win. Whenever she didn’t, I felt like I was losing with her. It’s one of those books where it’s not the ending you hoped for, but the ending the characters deserve. 

Book 4: The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling 6.5/10 

In this charming little sequel, we’re back in the town of Graves Glen following Gwyn Jones. This book can be read as a standalone, in my opinion, you don’t need to have read the first book to understand what’s going on in this one. Wells has moved back to Graves Glen to set up shop and restore his family’s legacy in the town. Wells decides to set up his magic witchy store right across from Gwyn’s starting a harmless rivalry. 

This book was a little disappointing. It wasn’t nearly as spooky as I hoped it would’ve been, and the romance lacked tension. Wells and Gwyn fell for each other too fast and too easily. The plot also moved somewhat slowly, by the 70% mark you still don’t have a clue as to what the “bad guy” is even plotting against the town. In my opinion, the ending is a bit rushed too, everything’s revealed and problems solved within the last twenty or so pages. 

Book 5: We Do What We Do In the Dark by Michelle Hart 

5/10 

This was a short novel about a young girl’s exploration of her sexuality and a very toxic relationship between her and a college professor at her school. Mallory, a freshman, starts an affair with one of the professors on campus. However, it’s not the first time Mallory has had bad luck in love. We see throughout the story, Mallory’s failed relationships and how most of them are relationships she has in secret. Eventually, with age, Mallory grows more comfortable exploring her sexuality.

Honestly, a whole lot of nothing happened in this book. It was the longest and boringest diary entry I had read in awhile, at least that’s what it felt like. I didn’t hate the book, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it either. I found myself unable to connect with the protagonist in the slightest bit either.

-Grace Sofia