105 degrees outside, you say? Might be better to stay inside on the couch with a good book and some sangria, you say?
Well, you don't have to tell me twice.
This week's selections run the gamut - we've got a twist on an old classic, a dystopian, some historical fiction, and a few thrillers. When I was choosing which books to include this week, I noticed an alarming trend towards murder mysteries and novels about assassins. I swear this means nothing. I switched a few out. But I think you'll enjoy the final selections!
1. The Wrath & The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh -
Publisher's description:
In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?
My Thoughts:
This may sound familiar! The tale of Scheherazade and the One Thousand and One nights she spun her stories (Middle Eastern folk tales such as Ali Baba) to stay alive has been told and retold many times over the years. I've read several versions and enjoyed them all - there's bravery, magic, love. And stories within stories! Who could ask for more. This version tends a little more on the magic/romance side than most others I've read, and develops much more backstory concerning Shahrzad's family and friends. Technically classified as young adult, but to me a good story is a good story, and I enjoyed this! Good light reading for the summer, and the first in a series. Two thumbs up.
2. Scythe by Neal Shusterman -
Publisher's description:
Thou shalt kill.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.
My Thoughts:
Such an intriguing concept! This book does not shy away from some gritty realities, but doesn't cross the line into overly morbid (shockingly). The author does an excellent job of establishing a society in which this is possible. Dystopian novels, however far-fetched the plot, will always catch my eye - there's just something so interesting about our world being shown in an alternate circumstance. In this version of our world's future, the digital cloud has evolved into a greater being, known as Thunderhead, a self-aware creation. Immortality is a possibility for any person. The characters are both likable, which poses as problem as they battle literally to the death. Loved this! All of the thumbs.
3. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly -
Publisher's description:
Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this debut novel reveals a story of love, redemption, and secrets that were hidden for decades.
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France. An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences. For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power. The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
My Thoughts:
First of all, that cover is completely misleading. I saw this and thought, 'Oh, some fluff'. Lovely, friendship! Yay.'
No. No, no no. This is brutal, intense historical fiction that will keep you captivated with hope and horror. The three characters are separate for parts of the novel, but their lives intertwine in disturbing ways during the course of World War II; the author does an incredible job of writing in the three vastly different voices, including making a character that inspires nothing but hatred on the part of the reader absolutely come to life. You must read this - it is not light reading, but it is important reading.
4. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware -
Publisher's description:
Isa drops everything, takes her baby daughter and heads straight to Salten. She spent the most significant days of her life at boarding school on the marshes there, days which still cast their shadow over her now.
Something terrible has been found on the beach. Something which will force Isa to confront her past, together with the three best friends she hasn't seen for years, but has never forgotten. Theirs is no cosy reunion: Salten isn't a safe place for them, after what they did.
At school the girls used to play the Lying Game. They competed to convince people of the most outrageous stories. But for some, did the boundary between fact and fantasy become too blurred? And how much can you really trust your friends?
My Thoughts:
Secrets upon secrets! As such, I can't tell you much about this book other that what the description has already disclosed, but I can say that my experience reading this was enjoyable. Not an incredibly shocking plot - the exposition is slow, but I love tales about friends and their pasts. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants this is not, however. Not my absolute favorite but worth a read - one thumb.
5. The Dry by Jane Harper -
Publisher's description:
When Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to Kiewarra for the funerals, he is loath to confront the people who rejected him twenty years earlier. But when his investigative skills are called on, the facts of the Hadler case start to make him doubt this murder-suicide charge.
And as Falk probes deeper into the killings, old wounds start bleeding into fresh ones. For Falk and his childhood friend Luke shared a secret... A secret Falk thought long-buried... A secret which Luke's death starts to bring to the surface...
My Thoughts:
Australia! The setting is in Australia! I knew I'd like this book for that alone. This is more of your classic crime novel - clues popping up, misdirection, past coming into present, that sort of thing. But it's so well written, and while it isn't difficult to follow it isn't simple enough to feel like an 'easy' read. Hits right in the sweet spot, and the little details peppered in about rural Australian life are fascinating. Two thumbs up!
This concludes this week's literary roundup - if you have any questions or recommendations, please let me know!
- Taylor
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