Review of Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

3.8 out of 5 Stars

I don't know why, but I didn't love this book as much as I thought I would. It was still good, it just wasn't the oh-my-god-I-loved-this good like I tend to feel about her other books. To me, everything seemed more surface level compared to previous strong personalities and intense plot development. In all fairness, I am coming out of a reading slump which could be heavily affecting the way that I am looking at this story and reviewing it.

As a whole though, it felt almost like it was written on autopilot if that makes sense? Like, JLA is a fantastic writer, so writing on autopilot is still going to give you a great read, but a lot of phrases were overly familiar, a lot of tropes were overly familiar, and I didn't feel that connection with the book that I was going to be on a crazy fun roller coaster. I knew all the turns and all the plunges so nothing was as exciting and new.

I honestly don't even really want to get into a huge review/break down discussion of the book, which makes my heart a little sad. BUT, I don't want that to be any indication of the quality of this book. I think my not wanted to give it a full review is part of me just coming out of my reading slump so please don't read too much into that.

I think the biggest "review" I can confidently give this book is that it is a sophomore book. Now, I have read some really bad sophomore books and this was not one of those. However, I think all sophomore books have the near insurmountable task of being more than a set-up book, and I think most fail. This one certainly wasn't a failure because there was definitely a separate plot goal in mind, but for the most part it felt like a set-up book. But what a set-up. Holy cow, that was a boss ending.

Was it fabulous? Eh, not so much for me. Was it good? Yes. I can very comfortably say that and recommend to readers of the series to keep going, especially because I am so intrigued about where we are going to go in the next book.

Thanks for reading!

Summer Books I'm Looking Forward To

Summer Releases

The June-August Books That I'm Looking Forward to Coming Out

Hello! So this list is both a long list and a short list at the same time. There are so so so many books coming out this summer that I'm looking forward to, but to help support the Black Lives Matter movement, I'm only going to list the books coming out by black authors. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, and I've also thrown on a list of educational books on racism and resources to find even more literature and media to make it easier for all of us to access.

Those of us who read (and those who don't) know how impactful literature is on the individual, the community, and the larger social awareness of the world. That impact - which is a small word that encompasses a huge range of effects and emotions - is vital. Which is why it is profoundly important that diversity is represented in literature. Excellent books are getting published every week, and it is important to carry the value of diversity beyond just this moment in time into the months and years and decades after this summer. But, for those wanting something newly released and don't know where to start, well. . . here ya go. . . :)

June

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

A Song of Wraith and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

A Song Below Water: A Novel by Bethany C. Morrow

All the Things We Never Knew by Liara Tamani

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson 

Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West

July

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Baryron

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

This Is My America by Kim Johnson

August

Now That I've Found You by Kristina Forest

Luster by Raven Leilani

Cry of Metal & Bone by L. Penelope

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero by Kelly Baptist

Also, here is the list of books and resources to find more books to read and ways educate yourself about current events, history, and perspectives.

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Be the Bridge by LaTasha Morrison
• The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
• Goodreads's Anti-Racist Reading List
• Harper's Bazaar's BLM Reading List
• Vogue's BLM Reading List
• Lastly, Netflix has created a "genre" (I think they're calling it this, but I'm not 100% sure. . .) called Black Lives Matter.

Thanks for reading!
(Final editing note: I believe the pandemic may still be messing up publication dates. I know of several books from the past couple of months that have been moved, but I'm not sure if summer titles have been moved as well. These are all up-to-date as far as I know.)