June Wrap-Up
Hey bookworms!
Once again another month has flown by! I was super busy this month with school and work so I didn’t have much time to read, but I’m so happy I got to read so many great books! My absolute favourites this month were The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton and Lifetime Passes by Terry Blas! I highly highly recommend those books! In the end, I read a grand total of 8 books and didn’t finish a single audiobook this month, which I think makes this my worst reading month so far. I’m 7 books behind on my Goodreads goal so in July I’ll probably read a few manga to catch up 😂 Anyhoo here’s my wrap-up!
My Library
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo *SOME MILD SPOILERS BEWARE*
Review:
Ooook so with the show and all the hype that has been surrounding this series lately, I decided to give this book another go. I had read this first book about 5 years ago and never continued with the series, but I want to read this before watching the show so here goes. I thought this book was ok. Regarding this plot, I feel like everything was happening just to further the plot, and the second half of the book was super predictable because of this. Alina also had a moment where she was an absolute imbecile and revealed her location to the people she was trying to avoid, even though she could have totally avoided it if she used some good ol’ hand-to-hand combat like she was taught. Regarding the relationships, oh goodness. I did not ship her with Mal or the Darkling because I thought Mal was an ass and the Darkling’s actions were just so random, I can’t believe she even feel for him. He literally kisses her totally at random near the beginning of the book and she immediately falls for him, even though she was extremely wary of him earlier because of his dark reputation. I did enjoy the worldbuilding though, and Bardugo’s descriptions of the Little Palace and the Grisha was very magical. I want to read the next book to see what happens so I can watch the show already.
3.8/5🌟
Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola and Emily Carroll
Review:
This was such a fun graphic novel and I really enjoyed reading it. I like how it blended old Russian folklore with modern day and added a twist of magic. Baba Yaga’s story was always fascinating to me as a child, so it was fun to see a retelling of it. In this book, Baba Yaga is such a feisty old lady and such fun to read about. I really wonder what Masha’s grandmother’s relationship was with Baba Yaga because they seemed so happy together, or at least tolerant of each other’s company LOL. Masha’s father on the other hand was such an ass. I get that he was grieving for his dead wife and Masha reminded him of her, but that is no excuse to basically abandon your child. I can’t believe he didn’t even tell Masha about his new wife until he proposed to her and brought her home for the first time. The ending was pretty satisfying but I think the reconciliatory conversation between Masha and her dad was a bit rushed. Overall that was a pretty interesting book with beautiful illustrations.
3.5/5🌟
Netgalley eARCs
Lifetime Passes by Terry Blas
Review:
This graphic novel was perfection. There are so many good life lessons in there especially that time is precious so don’t waste a minute doing anything that doesn’t make you happy. The characters were all really great and well-portrayed. I hated Berke and Nikki and thought they were rude and self-absorbed a-holes. There is a plot twist at the end of the story that gave me a mini heart attack but I thought it was very poetically just 😅 Jackie was such a sweet character and I love how she stepped up and ran the activity program for the seniors. The characters in this graphic novel were so diverse and there’s some BIPOC, immigrant, Jewish, possibly gay, and adoptee representation. This story just gives you all the feels and I was crying at the end from how emotional and touching everything was. Such an amazing graphic novel and everyone needs to read this. This graphic novel is a literary work of art.
6/5🌟
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
Review:
Thank you Berkley and India Holton for the eARC. I enjoyed this book immensely and will recommend it to everyone I meet. It was so entertaining to read and the characters all had superbly written personalities. Constantinopla was a whole other level of cunning with the way she convinces Tom to do stuff and even though Lady Armitage is basically a granny, she still has the sexual brain of a horny teenager 😂 I laughed a ton while reading this book because the banter and the characters were just so great. The running joke of Lightbourne and his house was so funny and I love how the ladies never explicitly say they stole something. They’d say something like, “The black velvet [cloak] that Madame Yurovsky would have gifted me on the opening night of the opera, had she been in the room at the time.” I love how the ladies are so cavalier about discussing violence, murder, and assassinations. The old ladies in this book are the best and are a whole other level of sassy. The romance was so steamy and it takes a while for the love interests to get together, but even their flirtatious banter was just. so. sexy. Enemies to lovers written in the best way possible. The worldbuilding in this book was also so fascinating with how pirate society operates and how instead of ships, they have flying houses. It's not very logical, but it's a highly entertaining concept. Overall I loved this book so much and need to add it to my library.
6/5🌟
The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night
Review:
Thank you Stories Untold and Netgalley for the eARC. This was a really interesting story. I heard that it was similar to Harry Potter and I totally agree. There were so many elements that reminded me of Harry Potter but with D.E. Night's own twist to things. I thought the concept of scaldrons was fascinating but I would never want to eat food cooked by a scaldron since it's cooked inside their mouth. The concept of glanagaries was so neat and it would be so cool to experience that magic in real life. There is a ton of worldbuilding in this book, but there were so many elements about the magic system and world that I felt overwhelmed and at times didn't know what was happening. It is a LOT to take in especially in the first 100 pages. There was also a lot happening that I ended up skimming a bit and found it hard to focus on the story. This book is marketed for middle-grade but if an adult is having a hard time navigating this book, then I imagine it would be even harder for a child. It's a very imaginative story which is great and the bare bones of the plot is super interesting, but mix it in with all the descriptions and dialogue and it turns into a very confusing book. I also didn't see Ivy as a 16-year-old girl because her tone was a lot more childish. Also I don't see her relationship with Fyn happening because he literally just appears out of nowhere whenever it's time for them to have a moment to interact with each other.
Overall this story has a ton of potential, but it's a little too jumbled and overwhelming with all the info-dumping and Night's writing style, so I don't think I'll be continuing with the series.
2.8/5🌟
Other (e)ARCs
Gild by Raven Kennedy
Review:
TW: Sexual Content, Rape, Violence, Gore, and Child/Human Trafficking
Thank you R&R Book Tours for the eARC! This book is DARK. So I’m warning you now lol because this book literally starts off with a sex scene and there are numerous graphic violent scenes throughout the story. I had some mixed feelings about this book in the beginning regarding relationships and Auren’s crush on Midas, but the more I read, the more I fell in love with this book (key word ‘book’ and not their relationship) and I couldn’t stop reading. I think Midas is a huge, misogynistic ass and I couldn’t understand Auren’s romantic pining towards him. I think it’s lowkey Stockholm Syndrome, but if you read the book I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. We learn some backstory as to why she’s so obsessed with him, but still… With the way he treats his wife, it’s hard to imagine any woman falling for him once they look past his handsome looks and see his misogynistic, selfish personality. Auren also goes through so much in this book and I enjoyed reading about her character development, especially regarding her relationship with Midas’ other saddles. (I can’t believe they are called ‘saddles’ but the description works well in the context 😅)
That ending was so wack though. We find out more information about why Midas is so anal about protecting Auren in her cage and I’m so excited to learn more! I would have liked to get more information about the other kingdoms, but we might learn more about them in the following books. One thing I liked about this book was that there weren't a ton of sex scenes, and the ones that existed actually worked with the story and weren't just there for the sake of smut.
4.5/5🌟
Needle and Thread by David Pinckney
Review:
TW: Toxic parent child relationships
Ooh this was such a great graphic novel about following your dreams and being who you are no matter what. I really appreciate the friendships in this book and how the main characters don't end up in a relationship together. I love how Noah's parents end up doing what's best for their son and letting him do what makes him happy, even if they don't agree with him. I like how even though they have their struggles, their son's happiness is their priority. Azarie's family on the other hand omg I hated her dad. He was a worldclass a-hole and he frustrated me so much. I didn't really like how the story ended for Azarie because her dad was a bit too much of a toxic parent and I don't think it should've ended the way it did. Also Margo was such a terrible friend, but you could also argue that she was just doing what she thought was right and she may have been sad her friend was spending less time with her, but that still doesn't excuse her behaviour when she basically spies on Azarie for her father. Noah's friend on the other hand is super supportive of him and even though they have different interests, they still support each other's goals and dreams. Overall this is a really great story and you might rage a little while reading it but it's totally worth it!
4.5/5🌟
A Man’s Skin by Hubert and Zanzim
Review:
This was such an interesting graphic novel and I loved all the messages in the plot about gender equality and the link between religion and the oppression of women. It was interesting to see how some women accepted the patriarchal status quo, some complained about it but did nothing about it, and some, like Bianca decided to take a stand against it. The revolution in this book happens in a way that it's still profound(?) but it's not too extreme that people will resist change completely. Bianca leads the revolution as Lorenzo who is a man so it was interesting to see how women actually instigated change but from the background. One thing I didn't really like was how Giovanni ended up in the book, because Bianca lets him have his relationships with men (since he's gay), but when she wants the same thing, to be able to love freely, then he is very much against it and jealous. Either way, I liked the ending because it was happy and everybody got what they wanted. On a side note though, holy crap Angelo was a whole other type of human my god. Ooh and I really liked a part in the story where someone says that bodies are not dirty, it's the men projecting their views and lust onto them that is bad. Overall this was a great story and very thought-provoking!
4.5/5🌟
Audiobooks
Due to the summer season, I’ve been listening to more Spotify than Audible, so I still haven’t finished an audiobook for this month. I’m currently listening to Jade City by Fonda Lee which was recommended to me by a friend. Even though I’m going through this audiobook super slowly, I’m obsessed with the story and loving every moment of it so far! It’s full of action and all the characters are hella well-written. I can’t wait to finish it and listen to the next book!
So that’s a wrap on my wrap-up for June! I got quite a few ARCs from publishers so I’m going to do my best to read all of those in July. If you have read or want to read any of the books from my wrap-up, I’d love to hear what you think! Let me know in the comments 😊
Happy reading!
