I went into June feeling really hopeful. I was feeling better, both emotionally and physically, and had ended May with both the funeral for my Nan and a break from work that resulted in me really working on making sure I did something to make me smile all day rather than mourning. As a result, June started with a bang. I was in a good mood! I had a bunch of great books lined up to read! And the sun was out which added to the mood (though I really miss sleeping!). What a good month… So let’s have a look at what the reading line up ended up being!
Here is what I read in June
I read some really good books this month, and I am very grateful for that! However, I did find myself struggling to read toward the end of the month. This was partially because I had a chunky book on my kindle that I was finding it hard to convince myself to actually read it and partially because I’ve been off work and have been enjoying some time with my Fiancé.
Reading Stats for June
Stats about the types books I read
| # Physical Books off TBR | # of Days Read | # of Pages Read | # of Kindle Books | # of Audio Books | # of Books Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 24 | 4,098+ | 4.5 | 4.5 | 10 |
Stats about the Spice level in the books I read (a 🌶 in the review list indicates a spicey book – if it’s followed by /ish it’s more steamy than spicey)
| W/ Spice | W/ Steam | Without |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 3 |
Stats about the Ratings I gave the books I read
| Joined 6⭐Club | 5⭐ | 4.5 ⭐ | 4 ⭐ | 3.5 ⭐ | 3 ⭐ | Less than 3⭐ | DNF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Book Bracket Entry – Favourite Book of the Month
book of the month
city of gods and monsters by kayla edwards
Darrien Cassel!! DARRIEN CASSEL! Guys, if you haven’t met Darrien yet, you should meet him. I totally understand why this man is labelled one of the top book boyfriends now. But Loren, our sweet and soft Loren held her own as an amazing FMC. This was everything I had wanted it to be, and so I am excited to continue the series. I know people are saying the next books are better than the first, so I am SO ready to read them.
runner up
Empire of storms by sarah j. maas
I loved this, and it became the book where I absolutely fell in love with Manon. I understand why people love her now. On top of that, one of my main complaints (the jumping around of story lines) was mostly solved in Empire of Storms as finally everyone was together! I was very glad for this! Ultimately it was beaten out for top spot because Queen of Shadows was better, and I take issues with Aelin’s plans for solving the shit she’s in… But still a damn good book and brilliant installment!
Biggest Surprise of the Month
the ballad of never after by stephanie garber
Believe me, nothing surprised me more than how much I enjoyed The Ballad of Never After! I was listening to it, and so it could partially be the narrator that drew me in so much that it meant that I really enjoyed the ending and dove straight into the third and final book in the trilogy!
General Reflection
Apparently June became the month of Audiobooks! Of the ten books I read, I did 4.5 of them as audiobooks (four full audio (reading one or two chapters in tandem), one was a tandem read with the kindle book). That’s unheard of for me these days! This mostly kicked off as a result of me being obsessed with Stardew Valley during my week off work but also wanting to read books so I used some of my audible credits to get some of the books on my TBR! And I actually, rather surprisingly, had a damn good time with it! And it encouraged my Stardew Valley obsession (reached year 3 for the first time since the game released!) which was a great way to spend my holiday.
I had a couple of surprises this month, some good and some bad, in the books I read which is nice because it does mean that I’m trying to read books outside of my usual genres. Sometimes it works out, others it doesn’t but at least I am trying. An example of this being When Haru Was Here; I picked this up in Waterstones because the cover was gorgeous and the blurb (the little bit of it that I read) drew me in immediately… and then it got lost on my shelf. Thanks to the Haribo Prompt Tub, it was picked as a read for May – out of my comfort zone and usual reads, but it was easily the best surprise (not biggest, as we’ve established that went to The Ballad of Never After) of the month.
Review Dates
On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn – Already Available – 4.5⭐🌶
A Curse Carved in Bone by Danielle L. Jensen – Already Available – 4⭐🌶
City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards – Already Available – 5⭐🌶
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas – 8th July – 5⭐🌶
The Exorcism of Faeries by J.L. Vampa – 14th July – 2.75⭐🌶
Broken Bonds by J. Bree – 16th July – 4.5 ⭐🌶
The Ballad of Never After by Stepahnie Garber – 18th July – 4⭐
A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber – 22nd July – 4⭐
When Haru was Here by Dustin Thao – 24th July – 5⭐
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin- 28th July – 4⭐🌶/ish
Reading With Tyler 
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