June Wrap-Up

Happy Canada Day my bookworms!

I’ve been so busy this month that I’ve hardly read a single book 😂 I managed to read 5 books and listen to a single audiobook. I’m glad the books I did manage to read were all pretty great, especially Black Sheep and You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. I highly recommend y’all check those out if you need any additions to your already endless TBR 😂 Aside from reading, I’ve been editing a ton. I’ll be taking a break in July when I go on my trip to Alaska, but I’ll be back in August ready to edit all of your Camp NaNo manuscripts 😉 Be sure to email me if you’d be interested in any of my editing services 😊 Also, if you have any sightseeing spots or recommendations for what to do in Alaska, let me know in the comments below and I might add it to my itinerary! Anyhoo, here’s my wrap-up!

My Library

Black Sheep by Alexa Harlowe and Brynne Weaver

Review:

Content Warnings: A full list can be found on Brynne’s website.

OMG Y’ALL. THIS BOOK. I CAN’T EVEN. I had the honor of editing this masterpiece, so I might be biased, but y’all seriously need to check this out if you’re into cults, murder, and dark, kinky romances. Also, keep some tissues handy because you might cry a little from all the emotional damage these authors put you through. I’m not even kidding, there’ll be a part that’s so sweet and emotional and then there’s so much pain, and then back to emotional sweetness, and then doom. Literally an emotional rollercoaster that you definitely won’t want to get off of. I LOVED Bria’s character…and Eli’s character…and Samuel’s character…and Fletch’s character…and Duke. I just loved everybody! All of the good guys anyway. Caron Berger can go f*ck himself. Bria has so much sass and her character growth throughout the story was beautiful to experience, especially how she learns to love and be loved. Be forewarned, when you get to the final Opus scene, you will freaking BAWL. Her relationship with Samuel is just so precious and I just love them so much and never want any harm to come to them. That goes for Bria and Eli as well, but OH BOY THE SMUT. Their relationship was super hot and the sexual tension was absolute fire. I loved how Eli took care of Bria, especially after their sex scenes. Also yay for safe words! Eli was such a lovesick puppy for Bria and I was totally here for it. He had one moment where he was a total asshat, but I guess it was low-key understandable…😅But still—how could he treat my baby like that 😭 Anyway, I’m super happy with how this book ended and I need more of Bria and Eli, so please don’t let this be the end. THANK YOU FOR WRITING A SPECTACULAR STORY YOU TWO 💗

6/5⭐

Netgalley eARCs

Goblin Market by Diane Zahler

Review:

Content Warning: Physically abusive father

I'm half Polish, so I thought this Polish folklore book would be super interesting to check out, especially since I never see any Polish rep in books. It did not disappoint! The MC Lizzie can see sounds as colors which adds a unique element to the plot, especially since you don't see much synesthesia rep in books either. The story itself was beautifully written and I loved the worldbuilding! The imagery of the zduszes (goblins) was pretty spooky too! I felt like the plot had a bit of a slow beginning and a quick end. I thought Minka would get taken by the goblins sooner and Lizzie would have to spend most of the book trying to get her back, but she only really spends the final quarter trying to save her sister. Overall a wonderful MG story!

4/5⭐

How to Draw Adorable: Joyful Lessons for Making Cute Art by Carlianne Tipsey

Review:

Oh gosh this is such an adorable book! I love doodling pictures at my workplace but I usually just copy pics I find on the internet. After reading this book, maybe now I can draw something original 😅 I think this is a great reference for learning how to draw cute things. There’s a chapter for each aspect of drawing adorable things like poses, expressions, the basics, etc. There’s pages at the end of each chapter where you can practice what you’ve just learned, which I think is really helpful and a fun way to practice. There’s also full-page illustrations of adorable doodles which I tried to copy on my workplace doodles. I think this book would be a great semi-beginner’s guide to drawing cute things. I feel like you’d need some drawing experience to make full use of your new cute-drawing knowledge, but you could also learn lots even if you have no experience at all. I can’t wait to try drawing some of my own cute things now!

4.5/5⭐

Other (e)ARCs

From HCC Frenzy

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

Review:

Content Warning: Vomiting, sexual content, parental abuse, purity culture, gore, cannibalism, sexual abuse. Also mild spoiler alert.

This book is a vibe. A dark, folktale, gory, ethereal vibe. I was not expecting the content written in this book AT ALL. To clarify, I didn’t expect how dark the content was going to be. This book covers topics like sexual abuse, a possible eating disorder, mentor/mentee abuse, and more. Nothing is really explicitly stated, but Reid does an amazing job of implying what happens. The MC ends the first chapter touching herself and I didn’t realize it was going to be that graphic of a book lol. The imagery in this book is just so matter-of-fact. So many scenes in this book just left me in a state of shock. I mean this in the best way possible because this is a book I didn’t know I needed in my life. The worldbuilding is so beautiful and the description of the garden is so ethereal. I love Reid’s writing style and am considering checking out her other book just because I want to experience more of her writing style. This book gives you the creeps while also making you feel for Marlinchen and Sevas and everything they have to experience at the hands of her father and his ballet master. Also, I definitely teared up a little bit for the spine-tailed monster. The ending was quite satisfying and very morbid. Highly recommend if you like books that are written like a folktale and have some heavy content.

4.5/5⭐

From Simon and Schuster Canada

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Review:

Content Warning: Age-gap romance, death of a spouse, car accident, PTSD, trauma.

Oh my goodness. THIS BOOK. I don’t know what was with me this month with reading books that made me cry, but this one had me near bawling by the end of it. This is an extremely emotional story about grief, coping with grief, and finding love again. I was hooked from the beginning of the book and never wanted to put it down until I finished it. I loved Feyi’s character and really loved how she was so self-aware. Her character growth throughout this book was just so emotional to read about and I was rooting for her the entire time. I could also relate to how Feyi felt like there was a noose tightening around her with Nasir, because it’s hard to fall for someone naturally or make a decision naturally when you know the other person is already expecting a certain outcome, no matter how often they tell you they can wait or they are fine with the way things are. There’s always a silent “for now.” Her friendship with Joy was so inspirational and they really seemed like they had each other’s back 100%. One thing I loved about this book was how it explores many different kinds of sexual relationships and platonic relationships. Feyi first has sex with Milan and they have a FWB-type situation before she moves on to Nasir. We learn she also slept with her bff, Joy, and I just thought it was great how Feyi can separate her feelings and be aware of how she feels about each person. My absolute favorite thing about this book was how people TALKED ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS. Like there were DISCUSSIONS about feelings and how they could make things work and how they could make the other person feel better while still maintaining healthy habits and boundaries. I love how Feyi suggests another character talk to their therapist when they are dealing with heavy stuff, and she makes sure he has a support person to turn to so they aren’t relying on each other to essentially be the other’s therapist. Also, the discussion of grief was beautifully handled and you really feel for everything Feyi goes through. When I read about her art installation, I cried because it was so raw and heartbreaking. When I read the final 50-ish pages of the book I cried because of how Feyi was working through her relationship and finding love again. This book just gave me all the feels and we all know that if a book makes me cry, it’s an automatic 5-star read. However, adding in all the other elements of the plot and all the characters and how well-written this book was, I’m definitely going to have to give it 6 stars. Everyone should read this book. It’s just so good.

6/5⭐

Audiobooks

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry

Review:

I am a huge fan of Greek mythology, so I was excited to listen to this book. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed Fry’s narration, and the stories were told in such a casual way that it felt like I was listening to a play. I loved the narration! I thought this was one of the most enjoyable retellings I've ever read before. This covers everything from the family tree to myths based on certain themes like Crime and Punishment to famous myths related to each god or goddess in the Pantheon. Fry's retelling style of the myths is so fun because he adds in casual, fictional dialogue for the characters in the myths and retells the myth in a unique way. There's also a lengthy appendix for more information on the history etc. I'd definitely recommend this if you enjoy Greek myths!

4.5/5⭐

That’s it for my wrap-up. Super short, right 😂 I hope I convinced you to read at least one book from my list. Also, don’t forget to check out my editing services if you’re interested in having your manuscript edited or assessed 😊 I have a few spots available for August so shoot me an email before they fill up!

Happy reading!