Google Play Samples: June

I thought I wouldn't have a post for this month, but then I sat through two family functions in the second half of the month and completely destroyed that thought.

When you're looking through books on Google Play, you can touch the little three dots on the right of the title, and there's a "download sample" option. The samples are actually close to 40 pages in irl copies, so they're really good! They're great for getting you into the story and creating tension by stopping in the middle of a sentence.

The books below aren't listed in any specific order. Books that are starred after their TBR number were ones I added to my Goodreads after reading the sample.

Wake by Amanda Hocking, TBR #1228

Everland by Wendy Spinale, TBR #1496

Draw the Line by Laurent Linn, TBR #1556

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch, TBR #1654*

Gena/Finn by Kat Helgeson, TBR #1339

Spark by Holly Schindler, TBR #1655*

The Language of Stars by Louise Hawes, TBR #1656*

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, TBR #1098

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (see below)

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke, TBR #1340

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, TBR #1096

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, TBR #974

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, TBR #1341

Torn by Amanda Hocking, TBR #1657*

Elusion by Claudia Gabel, TBR #782


I read Wither back in 2013, and I downloaded the sample to see if I wanted to re-read it. I'm kind of interested in finishing the series since I never made it past Wither. I think it'll depend on if I can find the books at the library.

I didn't really have plans to read Torn based on my feelings for Switched, but I couldn't add it to my Google samples shelf without adding it as a TBR, so we'll see what happens. I don't think it'll hurt to read it.

All in all, I did find some really good books! I'm especially hyped for The Darkest Part of the Forest and The Star-Touched Queen. I'm also hoping to buy Gena/Finn because of the good price on Amazon Prime, and reading the sample definitely helped me cement that decision. (Now if I can only get around to actually clicking "purchase" ...)

I definitely think browsing around Google Play and downloading samples is a really helpful way to kill time. These books got me through waiting for the bus at least once, as well as two long social events, and it's definitely pushing me into motion. I'm gonna see if the web version of Google Play is any more user-friendly, because the mobile interface isn't very conducive to downloading a whole bunch of samples at once. (Though they probably don't want you to do that in the first place. Oh well.)

Have you read any of these books? I'd love to hear about them!

Beyond the Red by Ava Jae

TL;DR aliens and humans

TBR #1046, added Oct 16 2014

finished 6/19/16

I've been following Ava Jae's blog for a while, so I was super excited to hear she was planning on publishing a book! I bought a copy from Barnes and Noble shortly after it came out but let it sit for a couple months in favor of my library books. (I really don't understand my habits tbh.)

I managed to devour the book within a day once I picked it up. I thought the premise and the execution were really intriguing! The beginning was a lot different than I was expecting but I loved how the book played out. The world was also unique and I really want to see more of it. I'm really curious about its past.

I also liked the characters, but I didn't really feel attached to anyone more than Kora and Eros. (This might also just be a problem on my end, because the other characters did have depth and motives that weren't related to the immediate plot. It might just be that I didn't see enough of these other sides to have any more than basic curiosity.)

Beyond The Red is currently a standalone, but Jae said on Goodreads that it has the potential to be a series depending on the publisher. I went into it expecting a series so I was really surprised by the open-end. I'm really hoping the publisher decides to pick up subsequent books.

(This review is so short OTL I'm sorry)

TL;DR please read it if you like sci-fi that's not just pew-pew space battles. I need more people to read it so I can talk to them about it.

Everybody Knows Your Name by Andrea Seigel and Brent Bradshaw

TL;DR characters in a singing competition

TBR #1654, added May 31st 2016

finished 6/16/16

I found this at the library first, rather than encountering it on Goodreads and letting it sit on my TBR for forever. (So the number is a little bit of a misnomer.)

This is a really good contemp portraying intricate character relationships. There's not as much focus on the singing competition itself, but I think it was done pretty well. I'm not sure I would've wanted to read through the majority of the competition. The before and after were much more interesting. I really enjoyed the various relationships that were explored, not just between Magnolia and Ford but with their families and their competition and all the people behind the scenes. A lot more characters were given depth than I was expecting.

I think the ending was a little too open, at least between Magnolia's final decision and the epilogue. I like the ending but it was also slightly anticlimactic the way it was written.

I would definitely consider this a fluffy book, and I'd most likely buy it if I found a copy. I can see myself reading this again in a year or so. This also feels pretty summer-y, so if you're looking for a good contemp to read in the next two months, here you go!

TL;DR this was enjoyable and I'm glad I picked it up from the library.

Aperture: Hart Family

It's officially been three years since I came up with Quinn!! What did I do with my life before lol I wanted to take today to talk a little bit about her family, which influenced her character design from the beginning. Quinn's family means a lot to both her and the story as a whole, and Aperture wouldn't be the same without them.

I'm also going to talk more about the magical aspect of the characters, since that's something I didn't cover in the post for the quartet. (That may be another post coming up in the future.)

This is really image-heavy, so I'm placing it underneath a cut. Click through for more!

The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

TL;DR Snow White but with cool magic and dragons

TBR #1376, added Jul 18th 2015

finished 6/14/16

I didn't think I was much of a dragon person. I am definitely a dragon person after The Shadow Queen. 

This one took me a little bit to get into (as did Rebel of the Sands and Dreamstrider) but once I got around the 100 page mark, I devoured the rest of it in a couple of hours. Once I got invested, I had no intention of stopping. (And really, the only thing that had been stopping me from the beginning was my lack of an attention span.) 

This is such a beautiful Snow White retelling. I loved how Stitching Snow blended it with technology, and I loved how The Shadow Queen blends it with more magic than the original. (Or the Disney version, at least.) The elements of the original fairy tale were so clear in the story, and Redwine made some beautiful additions. 

Especially the dragons.

All of the characters were so compelling. The narration even gave us insights into Irina's motivations, which is something I'm definitely in love with after Fairest. There was a really good balance between the character focus in the narration and I was a little too attached by the end of the story. 

(Which is a good thing, except for the fact Goodreads has no details on the rest of the series. Redwine answered a question saying there will be at least one more book, but the website doesn't have any details yet. I mean, The Shadow Queen just came out in February, so I guess I'll have to be a little more patient.) 

The Shadow Queen also works well as a standalone. I'd assumed it was a standalone until I'd checked Goodreads again. I'm really enjoying this trend of accidentally finding sci-fi / fantasy standalones. They're refreshing, y'know? You don't have to worry about cliffhangers this way. You can finish the book and be content without having to wait upwards of a year to continue the story. 

(Thus is the struggle of reading new releases.)

I'd definitely say this is a book you should sit down with when you've got a free afternoon. The action through most of the book makes it a little hard to focus on anything else. 

I'm also pleasantly surprised by my feelings towards the romance. I was dreading it at first, but I ended up on board with it pretty quickly. Like, dang, I want someone as loyal and brave as Kol. And I can only hope to be as strong as Lorelai. 

TL;DR it was a really exciting Snow White retelling with lots of magic and dragons that can work as a standalone. (And is functionally a standalone until Goodreads updates, but I digress.) 

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

TL;DR cool desert magic

TBR #1310, added Jul 18 2015

finished 6/9/16

This review is going to be really short, I'm sorry.

I had a little bit of trouble becoming invested in Rebel of the Sands, probably because I wasn't in the mood for a story that required a lot of worldbuilding, but I fell in love with it by the time I finished the story. I enjoyed reading about their world and how it didn't feel like typical fantasy stories -- I'm really glad that it wasn't just another vaguely European setting.

(I'm not sure where exactly this was supposed to be set, assuming their world is based closely on ours. I assumed it was the Sahara, but it might actually be the Arabian Peninsula.)

Amani was a compelling character and I enjoyed reading about her journey, both with Jin and her own self-discovery. The second half of the book was really good and I'm excited to read more about their adventures and the world they live in.

I'll admit that there were some stretches of the book where I got bored, though thankfully those weren't too long. The second half of the book is also significantly different than what's set up at the beginning, which can be kind of jarring. I liked the direction the book took but I can also agree that it's kind of out there in terms of plausibility.

TL;DR it's a little bit like The Wrath and the Dawn but with more action / movement. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this world.

CWs: guns, implications of sexual assault, injuries, death.

Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

TL;DR sci-fi The Wild Swans retelling

TBR #1537, added Mar 8 2016

finished 6/5/16

Stitching Snow definitely had exceeded my expectations, so I was looking forward to Spinning Starlight. I was lucky enough to nab a copy of it the next time I went to the library.

And I have to say, Spinning Starlight is just as good! In fact, it felt like even more of a unique story than Stitching Snow did. The small amount of knowledge I had about The Wild Swans was from Wikipedia (thanks to my own writing research), so I loved seeing how the story was used.

I also really loved the worldbuilding. Stitching Snow had a vaguely fantasy-like aspect of it thanks to the kingdom of Windsong, but Spinning Starlight was entirely sci-fi. I loved exploring a universe that had no connections to Earth whatsoever and how their tech was integrated into their lives.

I was definitely interested in how Liddi's implant would be handled in the story, since there are definitely some easy plot holes with that. I was impressed with how it was integrated into the story and became a big driving force in the plot. (That said, it can also be easily argued that Liddi's inability to communicate -- or lack of desire to -- stagnated the action around the middle of the book.)

I liked Liddi and Tiav. I was also impressed by how Liddi's brothers were characterized even though they were absent for most of the story -- the flashbacks between chapters were cool transitions and were good insight, and the rest was handled by Liddi's narration. I felt like the main antagonist was one-dimensional, though.

The only thing I was disappointed about was not really knowing how the technology worked. I wouldn't really expect Liddi to go into detail about it, since it's not anything special for her and she doesn't tinker for most of the story, but the conduits did come off as kind of fantastical. All I know is that they resemble the portals (which are actually organic), and that the antagonist was hell-bent on keeping them safe. The explanations that were given didn't make any sense to me.

(I was also reading really fast because I wanted to know what happened. That may be part of it. Also, my science and technology background consists of spending all my time on a Windows Vista laptop and some html coding, so I'm not the best when it comes to these kinds of things.)

I also wish that this were part of a series, or that it had been tied in with Stitching Snow's universe, because it seems like kind of a waste to have all the Seven Points and then focus on only two planets. I would've liked to see a lot more.

The top reviews on Goodreads are a little mixed; I read through some of the 3-or-lower ratings, and most of the complaints were lack of depth in the worldbuilding and the issue of communication in the middle of the book. I can agree with the arguments, but they didn't detract from the story for me.

TL;DR this is another good sci-fi standalone and is unique within the retelling subgenre (though "unique retelling" is probably an oxymoron tbh).

Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith

TL;DR war and a religion based on dreams

TBR #1373, added Jul 18 2015

finished 6/7/16

Sorry. I know that TL;DR isn't a very good one. I'm not really sure how to sum up Dreamstrider. 

I'm gonna be upfront: I was not in the kind of mood that Dreamstrider required. I had trouble focusing on it and Rebel of the Sands, and I guess it's the nature of both books. Both are fantasy and it was apparently not what I wanted to read at the time. I'm gonna admit that this most likely influenced my perception of the book. 

I think part of my issue was that I potentially mixed this book up with another one on my TBR, whether because of a similar color or because I go through books to fast when browsing Goodreads. I thought this was going to take place in modern day New York City, so I was a little disappointed when I learned it wasn't. 

The setting was still interesting nonetheless. The culture of Barstadt was unique, but I feel like we didn't get to see too much of it. (Probably the nature of the book, since they spent most of their time on missions.) The religion based around the Dreamer and Nightmare was also a good way to explore the culture as well as their interactions with Farthing and the Land of the Iron Winds. 

I ended up not being attached to any of the characters, but that might just be me. Livia's style of narration didn't click well for me. I wasn't attached to Brandt as a love interest, and I feel like none of the other characters got enough attention to get endearing development. 

The last quarter of the book felt kind of unbelievable even within the established universe. I wasn't happy with how the Farthinger and Iron Winds plot was pulled off -- it was like there wasn't enough detail to reason for everything that ended up happening. I mean, I guess this is reflective of real life, where you can get blindsided, but then the resolution was a little too easy and too final for this huge conflict. There's all this drama and then it's wrapped up really nicely. 

One thing I definitely liked was that Dreamstrider is a standalone. A lot of fantasies are part of trilogies (or multiple) which can make them pretty daunting to pick up in the first place. I disagree with the ending, but it is a nice way to end a book without cliffhangers or too many unanswered questions. The book felt pretty long for me, but once I figured out there weren't any books coming after it, I understood why it's ~400 pages. 

(I've gotten weak. I used to be able to read books this size no problem.) 

TL;DR this probably just wasn't my kind of book. The premise is really cool and I think some people will enjoy it, but I didn't like most of the execution of the ideas. 

The One by Kiera Cass

TL;DR Maxon finally picks his future wife

TBR #1246, added May 30 2015

finished 6/1/16

I checked it out a year and a day after I added it to my TBR lol

I'll be honest. I didn't have a good relationship with The Selection series. I only read past The Selection because I'm curious about The Heir. Skipping to the sequel story without reading the original seemed kind of wrong.

The One was actually the most compelling book out of the original trilogy for me. It was actually just what I needed, since I was dragging my feet with the other library books I'd checked out. (Being part of a series probably helped with that.) It definitely helped change my opinion of the series as a whole.

The Selection series is good for constant movement of the story. In The One, especially, things always happened right after another. There was never any real down time. (It made the timing of events feel artificial to me, but the story was at least always going.) I also have to admit that the characters are good role models if you look at the traits like America refusing to be bullied into submission. There were a lot of good examples of standing up for what you believe in and treating others with respect.

There was also good character development in The One, though I don't remember if it was really supported by the previous two books or not. I don't remember enough of the events from those to know if the character development was really in character or if it was slightly artificial in order to wrap the story up nicely.

I'm not very happy with how the ending was executed. A lot of the subplot with the rebels didn't feel as dangerous as it should have, and their actions in The One also felt pretty artificial. Like, that they were only present to up the ante and not to actually influence the direction of the story. There was also a lot of unnecessary drama between the girls and Maxon, and I still don't think any of these kids are old enough to be in the running to take control of a country's government. There were a couple moments of petty high school-like drama and some very wishy-washy characters who easily got mad over a misunderstanding and then forgave it all too easily.

(I hope that wasn't too spoiler-y.)

I'm planning on reading The Heir if it shows up in my library. I haven't heard many good reviews of Eadlyn, though, and the preview at the end of The One makes me wonder if America and Maxon will still be in character. I guess we'll see. I'm mainly curious about the execution of The Heir rather than the story itself. (That's probably bad to admit, but as a writer I want to know how Cass handles it.)

TL;DR The One was the best out of the trilogy and I'm glad of my decision to pick it up. I'm not happy with how it handled a lot of the details of the story, but I can admit that gave me a better opinion of the series overall.

Final thoughts: The Selection trilogy is a good dystopian-like series for people who are looking for character-driven plots and action without too much running-for-your-life adrenaline or abysmal settings. (Like Divergent or Legend, for example.)

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

TL;DR a human girl gets wrapped up in fantasy-creature politics

TBR #1108, added Nov 14 2014

finished 5/29/16

I had a little bit of a hard time sitting down to read The Girl at Midnight at first. I think it was because of the third person narration, which didn't feel as action-y as Stitching Snow's did. TGaM's narration was beautiful, but I've been busier than I was during school these past couple weeks and didn't have the attention span the book deserved. (Stitching Snow also starts out with some pretty big action, while TGaM sets up the story a little more before jumping in.) 

Once I got some good down time I made my way through the book without any issue. I think it's one of those books that demands more of your attention, rather than being able to read it in short bursts. The world and the history / lore are intricate and nuanced and I wish I had paid more attention in the beginning. I really loved seeing how the Avicen and the Drakharin interacted with our own world.

I liked all of the main characters, and I'm glad Dorian, Ivy, and Jasper had their own backstories and character development that was independent of Echo and Caius (as much as they could get, at least). I thought Echo and Caius's relationship was a little too fast, but there was also enough foreshadowing that I can see the reasoning behind it. I'm also glad for the focus on Dorian and Jasper and I'm hoping to see more of it in The Shadow Hour.

The foreshadowing was done really well overall, imo. I had my "what if" guesses by about halfway through the book, and I was surprised that I was right about one of them! There was another that I wasn't anticipating, but I think it was led up to with the right amount of subtlety. 

Towards the end of the book I realized that it has the same aesthetic / general overall idea as the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series (ie two fantasy races fighting each other, interactions with the human world, and a human girl as the main character). I think The Girl at Midnight is a great book if you're looking for something to read after finishing Karou's story. It's also a little smaller than the DoSaB books averaged.

I probably can't get my hands on The Shadow Hour until at least August due to the library system, but I'm looking forward to continuing Echo's story! 

TL;DR this is a great book for long stretches of reading and I highly recommend it if you liked Daughter of Smoke and Bone.