It’s time for another Summer Reading post! This week’s theme is Favorite Found Family! Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and I cannot wait to share some of my favorites.
Here are my recommendations:
Skyward by Marie Lu
Thoughts: Skyward is an interesting fantasy-dystopian story, with action and rebellion, as well as a wonderful found family. Talin was a wonderful, strong character, and her friends, Adena and Jeran were also wonderful. All of them had a strong bond, and worked well together, and as their story progressed, they grew together.
Rating: 4 stars
Summary:
In a world broken by war, a team of young warriors is willing to sacrifice everything to save what they love. The Karensa Federation has conquered a dozen countries, leaving Mara as one of the last free nations in the world. Refugees flee to its borders to escape a fate worse than death—transformation into mutant war beasts known as Ghosts, creatures the Federation then sends to attack Mara. The legendary Strikers, Mara’s elite fighting force, are trained to stop them. But as the number of Ghosts grows and Karensa closes in, defeat seems inevitable. Still, one Striker refuses to give up hope. Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in a country that considers their people repugnant. She finds comfort only with a handful of fellow Strikers who have pledged their lives to one another and who are determined to push Karensa back at all costs. When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. Is he a spy from the Federation? Or could he be the weapon that will save them all?
One for All by Lillie Lainoff
Thoughts: One for All is a historical gender-bent retelling of the Three Musketeers. The female cast of this book were training to be Musketeers in a secret school, and they become like sisters and were really there for each other. The story was unique and the found family aspect was a wonderful addition!
Rating: 4 stars
Summary:
An OwnVoices, gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love. Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone in town thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl”; even her mother is desperate to marry her off for security. But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion. Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for a new kind of Musketeer: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a swordfight. With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels for the first time like she has a purpose, like she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her first target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming, and breathlessly attractive—and he might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to lean on her friends, listen to her own body, and decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
Thoughts: A Tempest of Tea is reminiscent of Six of Crows! There is a group of people who come together to complete a heist and they bond throughout the course of the story. There are also vampires and secrets! Two of the characters were orphaned at a young age and choose each other as family, which was so sweet and I loved that part of the book! This book is absolutely wonderful, and I love all of the characters, especially Arthie and Jin!
Rating: 4 stars
Summary:
Why save the world when you can have tea? On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone. Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. From the New York Times—bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance and revenge, led by an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.
A Dance of Silver and Shadow by Melanie Cellier
Thoughts: A Dance of Silver and Shadow is an interesting Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling with a marriage competition as the premise. All of the girls in the competition come together to complete the tasks and survive the dangerous, magical competition. These characters are very interesting, and I love how they came together! The author also did an incredible job of setting up the characters to tell each of their stories in future books!
Rating: 4 stars
Summary:
When Princess Liliana and her twin sister set sail for new lands, Lily hopes to find adventure and romance. But the people of Marin live under the shadow of a curse—one powerful enough to destroy entire kingdoms. To protect them all, Lily and eleven other princesses are forced to participate in a mysterious and secret tournament. Lily spends her nights competing in a magical underground realm and her days unraveling the dangers of this new court. Although she needs the help of the Marinese prince, Lily knows she can’t let herself grow too close to him. There’s no time for romance when the duchy is about to fall to the encroaching darkness and the winner of the tournament faces a terrible fate. But Lily and her twin have a secret advantage. And Lily grows increasingly determined to use their magical bond to defeat the tournament, save the princesses, and free Marin. Except she might have to sacrifice true love to do it.
Reviews:
The Bibliophile's Bookshelf 
Leave a comment