Monday, December 23, 2019

#AmReading YA

The Iron Will of Genie Lo
F. C. Yee
Series: The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, #2
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Amulet
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
The fate of the heavens is at stake in this hilarious and highly-anticipated sequel to the The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

Genie Lo thought she was busy protecting the Bay Area from demons. But now, as a Heaven- appointed Guardian, even the well-being of demons is her responsibility—and their numbers are multiplying. Guanyin and Quentin are doing their best to help; but what they really need is for the Jade Emperor to get off his butt and deal with the crisis. While he’s AWOL, Genie nominates Guanyin to fill in his shoes, unaware that the role will go to the god who can defeat a mysterious threat to the supernatural order. Along with a few other contenders for the throne, including a former enemy, Genie and her friends embark on a Heavenly quest to an in-between world. But when faced with true danger, the group realizes that what will save the universe this time is sacrifice, not strength.
This was bittersweet for me, as it was an ending, but I will say, it was a fantastic send off for a character, who had wiggled her way into my heart.

I fell in love with Genie in her previous book, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo. There was just something about her humor and her wit, and the way she saw and interpreted the world. I loved her ambition and her drive, and she spoke my native language, sarcasm, fluently. She was strong and fierce, and the way she sought to uphold her duty was admirable.

But, this was Genie's senior year, and her future was calling. The problem was, that she was not sure what her future held. Money, her mother's health, and her obligation as Protector of California all weighed on her, as she tried to figure out what path she should take. Would she travel out of state to college, stay local, or skip college all together? She had no idea, and that uncertainty played a big role in this installment of the series. All of this AND she had to travel to another cosmic plane in order to battle demons, while avoiding addressing relationship issues with Quinten.

Sounds like a lot, right? But, Yee handled it all so well. The same charm, humor, and action that made me love the first book were still present in this sequel. In addition, I was overjoyed that there was more Yunie and more girl power, because both elements really elevated the story for me.

Though, I did envision many additional books in this series, I am eternally grateful for what Yee gave us. The ending was stupendous! Excuse me, as I deal with these happy tears, but that's what thinking about the ending does to me.

Overall: A fantastic wrap-up for a series, which had me laughing and cheering.

How to Speak Boy
Tiana Smith
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Quinn and Grayson have been fierce speech and debate rivals for years. They can't stand one another, either in competition or in real life.

But when their AP Government teacher returns their school assignments to the wrong cubbies, they begin exchanging anonymous notes without knowing who the other is.

Despite their differences, the two come together through their letters and find themselves unknowingly falling for the competition. Before the state tournament, the two of them need to figure out what they want out of life, or risk their own future happiness. After all, what’s the point of speech and debate if you can't say what's in your heart?
After reading this book and Smith's debut, Match Me If You Can, I can state, with certainty that she writes my kind of books - super cute, filled with great characters, and adorable, swoony romance.

Quinn and Grayson seemed to always be in direct competition with each other, and when it came time to select the newest debate team captain, they were forced to share the role. It meant more time working together, and that meant lots of fun banter for me to read. I felt like Quinn saw Grayson as the enemy, but he didn't seem to feel the same way. Yes, he enjoyed winding Quinn up, but it felt more like flirting, if you ask me.

It wasn't just their banter that I loved, I adored both these characters, and though I learned some about them, as they interacted with each other, the real, deep revelations came via their anonymous letters to one another. The "You've Got Mail"-like plot line worked so well for me. I was enamored with the missives they wrote! They quickly became quite confessional in nature, and were sticky sweet to boot. I couldn't get enough of them!

Can we talk about Grayson? Grayson, Grayson, Grayson - what a great love interest! He was charming and witty, and I could feel the electricity between him and Quinn. I thought he was the perfect foil for someone like her, and they complimented each other so well. If I were a teen girl, I would have swooned from some of the things he said. But he wasn't all pretty talk. He was also a man of action, and that made me love him even more.

I was delighted by Quinn and Grayson separately, and I also loved them together, but there were many other things that kept me flipping the pages. One element, which is very important to me, is family, blood or found, and Smith gave me some wonderful examples in this book.

Quinn didn't have a ton of people in her life, but she had some high quality people. Her best friend Naomi was wonderful. These two young women were there to support one another, while still keeping it real. Quinn also had a fabulous mom. I loved the way Quinn was so invested in her mother's success, and how she worked hard to help her mother achieve her dream.  Grayson was also pretty lucky. Yes, his parents had high expectations for him, but they were extremely loving and approachable, which I thought was important.

This book had a great rom-com feel, and I was left in a state of elation upon finishing it. Seriously, it was entertaining, engaging, and enjoyable from the very first page to the very last page.

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Have you ever participated in a debate?
Let us know in the comments!

16 comments:

  1. I've heard great things about The Epic Crush of Genie Lo. It's on my Winter TBR list. One of my English professors only gave us debate assignments - to be done in front of the entire class. My first ones went horribly as I had no idea what I was doing, but I learned and grew, though I'm by no means a master orator!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you get to meet Genie Lo. She is so fabulous, and the folklore was integrated really well in the story. Debate is hard. I admire those kids, who compete in that

      Delete
  2. How to Speak Boy is so cute, I love cute ya contemporary books like this; I'm nearly 30% into it and loving it! Thanks for the review :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So cute, and Smith did such a solid job with the ending. I feel like she gave me closure for all the major characters.

      Delete
  3. I'm so glad that Iron Will was a good send off. I've waited so long and I want it to be good!

    Karen @ For What It's worth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great ending for the series, and the very ending was spectacular. So wonderful!

      Delete
  4. I'm hoping to read more YA in 2020. I mean, I read a fair amount of it but I just think there's so much good stuff in YA right now. Such an explosion of quality. As you know I read quite a bit of fantasy/SF and while there's good stuff in the so-called adult category coming out, YA just feels like it's really going full speed ahead as well with good stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My daughter is an SFF reader, and she has always preferred YA fantasy to adult fantasy. She says there is something about the way the stories read, that is better than adult fantasy.

      Delete
  5. How to Speak Boy sounds so cute! I love when relationships develop through letters/notes/emails/etc and secret identities are a bonus. And I already love the sound of Quinn and Grayson. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How to Speak Boy was adorable, and I read it when I really needed a mood boost. It totally did the job

      Delete
  6. You know me, I love a good family element in a YA novel, and I'm so glad it's so prevalent these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel like YA authors really listened to the reading public, because the number of fabulous YA families has been on the upswing

      Delete
  7. I'm really excited for The Iron Will of Genie Lo, so I'm happy you reviewed it! Like you, I was really taken with Genie's wit and humour in the first book - it was such a light, entertaining novel and different from most things I've read. I'm so glad there was more Yunie in this one - I felt like she should have been there more in the first book. Great review, Sam!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This one was about Genie's future, so a bit more serious, but Yee was able to pull it off without weighing down the story. And, Yunie plays a big role in this book and she was all sorts of fabulous

      Delete
  8. When you were talking about the first book it puzzled me for a moment trying to discern if it was fantasy or contemporary. It looked fantasy but you talked about the real world themes before bringing in the cosmic plane ones and it confused me for a moment. But I am glad you enjoyed the fantasy read! And the second one sounds like such a lovely book with great characters. I'm loving the sound of Grayson ^.^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Genie Lo is a retelling of the Monkey King folk tale. So, it has folk lore mixed with fantasy elements.

      Delete