Melting Pages
Book Reviews and Recommendations
September Wrap Up
For todays Blogtober post, I’m talking about all the books that I read in September. I definitely went for quality over quantity this month, as I only finished four books but of those four, three were five star and one was a four star! Not my best reading month for quantity though, but as I’ve hit my Goodreads goal already I’m taking it easy.
Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
I read and loved Illuminae in September! I was a little nervous about reading it because I knew before going in that it was in a mixed media format, and I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to connect with the characters and that it would feel like there were things missing from the story that you would get in a traditional novel. But I’m here to tell you that that is certainly not the case! I finished this book in one day, and I have no idea how Kristoff and Kaufman managed to make these characters really pop with this format, but holy crap did they hit this one out of the park! I knew I liked their writing together because I read and loved Aurora Rising, but that was nothing compared to this book. I still haven’t gotten around to posting a review for it, but just know that I still think about this book and these characters!
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
I was apparently really in the mood for science fiction this month, because the next book that I finished was Old Man’s War! This is another one that I just haven’t gotten around to reviewing (I’m falling so far behind it’s ridiculous). I listened to this one on audio at random because I had heard others talking about how good this book is, and when I say it on Scribd I decided to take a chance on it. I think this book really solidified for me that I enjoy military style science fiction, because I loved the action scenes and the training and all the fighting moves! It’s been the thing I enjoy most in sci-fi, so clearly, I need to read more of it. This book was also incredibly funny because our main character is so sarcastic and witty which is something else that I love! This was the book I gave four stars to, only because I wish that we got to see more of this world and more character development, but it was still a fun quick read!
Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
After finishing Illuminae and Old Man’s War back to back, I was struggling to connect with other books which clued me in to the fact that I was in a book hangover from Illuminae, so of course the only way to fix that was to pick up Gemina! Like Illuminae, I finished this one in about a day which should tell you that I really freaking loved this book because I hardly ever finish books in one day, especially when they are over 600 pages long! This book follows a different set of characters than Illuminae, but I think the third and final book will have all four characters in it. In this book we see the evens of the first book from a different perspective in a different location that is also under attack, and it made it so much more suspenseful because we know what everyone went through in the first book and just knowing that they still aren’t safe was nerve-wracking! Since I seem to have a connection with these books I clearly need to finish Obsidio ASAP, but I’m so scared for this series to end!
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Finally, a book I actually have a review on! I completely loved this book and these characters, Reid and Lou were fantastic and really brought out the best in each other (after they finished being enemies, of course). I loved the character development both of our main characters went through, and the friendships were so amazing and wholesome! I loved the way that the witches used magic, although I do wish we got a little more detail and background on it but I’m sure it will be expanded on in the next book. I’m still in shock that this was written by a debut author, because it certainly didn’t feel that way! I just have no clue how I’m going to be able to wait until book two comes out because I need to know what happens!
Melting Pages 
So glad you loved illuminae. Great wrap up
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Thank you! I’m hoping I can get to Obsidio soon to finish the series!
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Your welcome!💖
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Illuminae and Gemina are very unique and engaging books! I think Illuminae was the best of the trilogy, but the 2nd and 3rd books were very good as well 🙂
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So far I think I agree, but I haven’t read Obsidio yet so who knows!
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Yay! I’m glad to see you’re enjoying the Illuminae Files! These authors work so well together!
Wishing you the best for October 🙂
– Emma
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Thank you! They do work really well together!
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ahhh I still haev to read Illuminae! And Serpent and Dove!
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They were both so good! I would love to hear what you think when you read them!
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