Hot Girls Read Podcast

Julia

I might have mentioned once that I love reading books that take place in the region I am visiting (when travelling), and as it would happen, I had the perfect occasion to do so today. I am currently on a little trip to York, a very lovely city in the middle of England, and whilst wandering among the town’s bookshops, I picked up a copy of Weird Woods: tales from the haunted forests of Britain. Whilst I’ve been quite occupied exploring every inch of town, during the train ride to and from Knaresborough (highly recommend a visit if in/near York), I cracked open the spine of Weird Woods. Seeing as the train journey wasn’t so long either way, this short story collection of gothic, botanical tales was the perfect companion, especially being surrounded by so many ancient trees and woodland in the area. It might be the height of summer right now, but these chilling tales make for a great way to cool down (check out our latest episode on Hot Girl Summer Reads for more summer reading recommendations!). I’ve been intrigued by the forests of Britain ever since I fell in love with the stories of Winnie the Pooh as a kid and so this book, despite its haunting premises, makes for some fun and atmospheric reading so far!

Ayesha 

I finished two ARCs recently! I finally finished Artificial Wisdom last night. This was certainly a creepy, futuristic read and a timely story with the rise in AI-usage. While I liked the story, I think it was too long…especially as it’s set up to have a sequel. There were definitely parts where I think the author should have ended on a cliffhanger to set up book two.

Another ARC I finished was To Cage A Wild Bird. I’ve been following the author and the literary agent and I’m glad I snagged a digital copy from Netgalley! This is a romance dystopia and it’s clear that dystopian reads are so back. Set in a unique post-apocalyptic world, To Cage A Wild Bird made me think of The Hunger Games and The Prison Healer with the prison setting and hunting games. While I think the world was developed well with its credit system and social hierarchy, one thing didn’t work for me: the romance. Simply put, it didn’t make sense and it didn’t evoke any positive emotions for me. I actually think the romance subplot hurt the FMC’s characterization and made her boring and flat. Sorry but some spoilers here…I refuse to believe that Raven and Vale were in love. It was purely lust – wanting what you can’t have. If you’ve listened to our latest episode on romantasy, we talked about how authors need to stop with the insta love or making everyone in love…it’s not believable. Absolutely have two characters interested in each other and liking each other. But there is no need to make them full on in love…especially if they haven’t spent intimate time with each other because she’s a prisoner, and he’s, well…a prison guard!

What am I reading next? Well, I’m still in the middle of reading Orbital. I’m hoping I can finish it before the end of this month. Fingers crossed!