Trope-ical Readathon - Team Contemporary/ Literary/ Historical Fiction - August 2024 Round Wrap Up & Mini Reviews

Happy Sunday everyone!  Today I'm sharing wrap up and mini reviews of the August 2024 round of the Trope-ical Readathon which is hosted by @jenjenreviews and @bookrob13.  It ran the entire month of August and I was on Team Contemporary/ Literary/ Historical Fiction for a nice change. 

As usual, there were fifteen total challenges to complete - two team challenges and thirteen common challenges and then your choice for the Team Book as well.  I managed to read 14 of the 16 total books on my original tbr so I'd say I did a pretty great job. My total points earned for the challenge comes to 5,931 - wow! If you'd like to see my original tbr, you can do that here.  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I completed for this round:

Team Book:

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A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur ranks up there with my favorite reads of 2024.  I'm glad I started reading this author because she has quickly become one of my favorites.  I don't want to spoil anything, but the mystery and suspense is great, the political intrigue is off the charts, and the characters are fascinating.  The author does a fantastic of world-building as the story is quite atmospheric.  I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.  I feel like I should go watch a historical K-drama series now.    

My review is also on Goodreads.

Team Challenges:

1. Read A Book With The "Breaking the Mold" Trope

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I was looking forward to Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee and I ended up really enjoying this piece of YA historical fiction. The characters and family dynamics are very well written. Of course I couldn't resist the setting on the Titanic which was well researched and I learned some things I didn't know before. There were a couple of anachronisms that took me out of the story for a minute, especially the CPR thing but overall they didn't really hurt my enjoyment of the story.  That said, if you're at all interested in this time period or the Titanic and enjoy YA historical novels, you can't miss it.

My review is also on Goodreads.

2. Read A Book With The "Small Business" Trope 

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It's not often that I read a YA novel set in the 1970s but Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina was a good one.  It's a bit different than what I expected, but the story really worked for me.  I'll have to read more from this author in the future and maybe look for more YA set in this time period while I'm at it.

My review is also on Goodreads.

Common Challenges:

1. *Absent/ Dead Parents OR More Than 1 Author 

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Sky's End (Above the Black #1) by Marc J. Gregson - I don't know about you, but this sounds like it will be awesome.

2. *Heist OR A Book From Someone Else's TBR 

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I feel like I don't have a whole lot to say about A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea #1) by Hafsah Faizal except that I'm a bit underwhelmed.  It's a solid read for sure and the maps are pretty cool to see but it didn't really stand out to me.  Maybe my expectations were too high for this after hearing it compared to Six of Crows and Peaky Blinders with vampires.

My review is also on Goodreads.

3. Boarding School OR *Takes Place In Another Country 

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It was good jumping back into this series even if I am reading it out of order. I wasn't quite as hooked by the international element of The White Lioness (Kurt Wallander #3) by Henning Mankell, but still solid and well worth picking up if you're a fan of the series. It reminds me that I need to get caught up, and would like to rewatch the British tv series that got me into this in the first place, try the Swedish tv series, and Young Wallander too.

My review is also on Goodreads. 

4. *Multiple Timelines OR Previously DNF'd 

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Playing Indian by Philip J. Deloria is an eye opening piece of our history, I wish it focused more on certain time periods or people than covering such a broad range. This book is also more dry and academic than I was expecting it to be. It's almost tough to step back into that style while reading nonfiction.

My review is also on Goodreads.

5. Love Triangle OR *Followers/ Friends Choose Between Books 

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It took me a bit longer than I hoped to really get into The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson, but it definitely stuck the landing.

My review is also on Goodreads.

7. *Mixed Media OR Audiobook or ebook 

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I didn't really have expectations for Follow Me Back (Follow Me Back #1) by A.V. Geiger given that I got it for 99¢ at a thrift store, but I was enjoying it more than I thought I would. It does very much read like fanfiction, but most of the time that works in its favor. I appreciated that we got Eric's POV, but honestly what did he expect would happen? It was fun though seeing it play out except for the last 6 pages. What the heck was that? The way it ended backfired on me and made me bring my rating down from 3 to 2 and go from considering reading the sequel to not interested at all.

My review is also on Goodreads.

8. *Apocalyptic/ Dystopia OR A Comfort Read 

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Dead Things are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley is easily one of my favorite 2024 releases so far. It's a hidden gem and definitely deserves more attention than it has. I can't recommend it highly enough except to saw I absolutely need to read everything else this author I'll ever write and I definitely wouldn't mind revisiting Wellsie again in the future. If you're a fan of The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater and found families, I have a feeling that this will be right up your alley too.

My review is also on Goodreads.

9. Found Family OR *Book In A Series 

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Doctor Who: The Price of Paradise (Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #12) by Colin Brake is a solid Doctor Who adventure, but I wish I get a better sense of Rose in this story.

My review is also on Goodreads.

11. Revenge OR Banned Book 

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Fail-Safe by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler - I've seen the movie adaptation of this book and I loved it.  It's easily one of Henry Fonda's best performances - and that's saying something!  Anyway, the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English show that it was challenged in 1963 by a public school librarian in Wisconsin because it "undermines America's confidence in their defense system" and "objected to on ideological grounds". It was removed quietly to avoid controversy.

My review is also on Goodreads.

12. *Bookish Themes OR Blurb Name-Drops Another Book

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Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) by Heather Fawcett is a great example of why historical fantasy is one of my favorite things.  This blends the two genres together well and both Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby are both pretty cool to get to know - although I wasn't as interested in the romance element as I probably should have been.  If you're a fan atmospheric cozy fantasy as well, this is also great in that respect.  If you're a fan of both Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, you might have as much fun with this as I did.  I can't wait to read the rest of this series and anything else from Heather Fawcett at that.

My review is also on Goodreads.

13. Retelling OR *Book With A Movie Or TV Adaptation 

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Blood Trail (Vicki Nelson #2) by Tanya Huff was another fun installment of what's been a pretty great series so far. I'm liked this author's take on werewolves.  I  got a kick out of the historical flashbacks from Henry in this, especially his story about how he met the pack and part of his involvement in WWII. I'm definitely looking forward to book three.

My review is also on Goodreads.

Did you take part in this challenge?  Have you read any of these books?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting below!