May Wrap-Up
Hey Bookworms!
Yet another month has flown by and I think I ended up spending more time hiking than reading! It’s officially hiking season so stay tuned for all the nature backgrounds on my Insta posts at @nessas.lair! Don’t forget to check out my Redbubble shop (lochnessness) as well, where I post all of the beautiful scenery and cute animals I see when hiking. This month I participated in @readwithsam’s #sparkjoyreadathon and I ended up reading 11 books and finally finishing 1 audiobook. I think I’m still on track for my Goodreads goal so I just need to keep it up! I am super behind on my reviews though so I gotta catch up with those asap. What does everybody have planned for summer aside from reading? I’ll be hiking and hopefully not getting eaten by a bear…or ticks. Don’t need a repeat of last year 🤣 Anyhoo here’s my wrap-up!
My Library
Of Shadows and Elves by Emma Hamm
Review:
After the greatness that was Of Goblins and Gold I was so excited to continue reading Freya and the Goblin King’s story. However, I didn't think this book was as great as the first one, but the worldbuilding was amazing as always. I love how Emma describes the setting because I can always imagine the story beautifully! Regarding Freya and Eldridge’s relationship, I felt like it was pretty unsteady in this book and Freya kept flip-flopping between her feelings for him. She couldn't make up her mind or just accept her feelings and it was driving me nuts 😅 I also didn’t feel like there was much chemistry between them like there was in the first book. Plot-wise this felt a bit like a filler novel, but I can't wait to read the third book because there was a big cliffhanger at the end of this book — you totally know it's coming though, but I want to know what happens so badly!
3/5🌟
Netgalley eARCs
Girlfriend, Girlfriend, Volume 1 by Hiroyuki
Review:
** mild spoiler alert ** This sounded like a very interesting manga and I was excited to read it. However, I found it to be quite problematic and it portrays poly relationships in a very toxic way. Naoya basically forces Saki to let him date both her and Nagisa and you can see she's uncomfortable with it for practically the entire manga. She also finds Nagisa cute but it feels more like a friendship and she's definitely not comfortable with Naoya dating both of them. Both girls have moments of insecurity about the relationship and Nagisa even snoops through Saki's phone to find dirt on her. Both girls turn dating Naoya into a competition where they have to be better than the other so that Naoya won't choose one over the other and leave them. They even want to keep their relationship at school a secret and Saki wants to pretend that they don't know Nagisa which is such a mean thing to do. I have to give some credit to Naoya though because he works extra hard to make sure that both girls feel loved in the relationship and he does his best to soothe their insecurities and make them better people (like helping Nagisa study), but if he really was that concerned then he wouldn't force them into the relationship to begin with. It's his fault that they are all in this relationship so he better make sure he's treating them all well. I'm really curious to see if this improves in upcoming volumes. I didn't know this, but the authour also created "Aho Girl" which I was a huge fan of so I was a little disappointed with their latest work. If this book portrayed poly relationships accurately and respectfully then I would have loved this series and seeing Naoya’s relationship with Saki and Nagisa growing and working through their insecurities. However, there are elements in this relationship that are definite “don’ts” in the poly community.
2.5/5🌟
Elle(s) by Kid Toussaint
Review:
Ok this was such an interesting story and I love the concept. I also really loved the artwork and how each of Elle’s personalities were portrayed in a different character aesthetic. The main character of this book has bipolar disorder I believe which is great because you don’t see much representation of that in books. It was really heartwarming to see how supportive Elle’s friends were of her and stuck with her through her episodes. Also the backstory about Elle’s parents is so fascinating and I must know more. Gimme volume 2 soon 🥳
3.75/5🌟
Nina the Starry Bride Volume 1 by Rikachi
Review:
I absolutely loved this manga! I need volume 2 asap because it’s so cute and I need to keep reading! I love all the head pats in the story because those are just a whole other level of precious 😍 This is such an interesting story but so sad in the beginning. I really enjoyed the storyline and lots happen including court intrigue and drama! Muhulum is also so freaking cute! The costumes and world building in this manga was splendidly done and the star festival is just so magical. I love the idea of the wish lanterns. I can’t wait to see what happens in upcoming volumes!
4.5/5🌟
The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden
Review:
This was essentially a retelling of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett without much of the India backstory that is in the original book. I thought it was a fun retelling though and I enjoyed reading it. I don’t think anything particular really stuck out to me in this book and since it was a pretty similar plot to the original, there wasn’t really anything new aside from it being in graphic novel format. The artwork was beautifully done though and the font was easy to read which was great! I think this would be a nice story to read to a child or even just a nice way to reminisce on favourite stories from your childhood. Reading this book made me want to rewatch the 1993 version of The Secret Garden. Oh and I also appreciated the authour’s note regarding Marsden’s choices on including or cutting out parts of the original story.
3/5🌟
The Honey-Blood Beauty & Her Vampire Volume 1 by Toma Fuyuori
Review:
This was such a cute and entertaining manga but there is a small bit of violence as well. It reminded me a lot of Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead because of how there’s vampires and then feeder humans going to the same school and co-existing in the same world. I also like how this world has human food and special vampire food. The concept of humans who have special honey blood added an interesting twist to the plot. Character-wise, Ryotaro has such random actions sometimes, like I don’t know what’s going on in his mind. He definitely enjoys tormenting Kagari which lowkey reminds me of my own boyfriend 😂 This manga has lots of things happen which sets the stage for events that could happen in upcoming volumes.
3/5🌟
The Springtime of My Life Began with You Volume 1 by Nikki Asada
Review:
I loved this manga and it was so refreshing to read about after the disappointment that was With the Sheikh in His Harem. I thought that Takasago was persistent in pursuing Suehiro but in a cute way that wasn’t too stalkerish. They have a very interesting meet-cute. As a bookworm it was such a relatable moment when Suehiro fell in love with a boy because he wants to read the same book as her. I also thought it was so cute how supportive Takasago was towards Suehiro and how he tried to get her out of her shell and go live her dreams. The whole club situation is just so precious and OMG there’s head pats 😍 We all know how much of a sucker I am for head pats. I was basically squealing the entire time I read this and I would love to read volume 2 ASAP.
5/5🌟
With the Sheikh in His Harem Volume 1 by Rin Miasa
Review:
TW: Child abuse
Ok so I had mixed feelings about this manga. It was an interesting story but I felt no attachment to the characters and I thought Sheikh Lui was low-key creepy. The Sheikh’s country also reminded me a bit of Dubai and the name “Armadia” just reminded me of Arabia. I can’t explain exactly why but the portrayal of Arabs in this book just seemed a little…wrong? Lui is also very wily with how he gets Sanagi to stay in Armadia. I did like how resilient Sanagi was though and how she’s such a great haggler. Also the fennec fox translator was hella cute! There’s lots of royal drama in this story so I’m a bit intrigued in how everything will work out but I don’t feel invested enough in the characters to continue reading future volumes.
2.75/5🌟
Like Two Peas in a Pod by Gorou Kanbe
Review:
I loved the concept of this manga and thought it was just the cutest! Such lovesickness and heartwarmth. Tanaka and Nakata were such a great pair and their similarities added a fun element to the story. The side characters were also lots of fun and I loved how Futaba was a bookworm because obviously bookworms are the greatest 😂 Tanigaki was also very sweet and I think she handled the situation with grace considering what happened. The festival scene was also one of my favourites and the ending was so satisfying. There was one scene that just set my heart aflutter and omg the authour even used the word “twitterpated” from Bambi! Overall this is such a cute manga and y’all should check it out.
4.5/5🌟
Other eARCs/ARCs
The Diviner by Brynne Weaver
Review:
TW: Abuse, emotional abuse, and slicing into arms for rituals.
Thank you Brynne for the ARC! I honestly was not sure if I would enjoy this book because I was a bit confused with the synopsis and how the Diviner concept worked. But omg this turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year. I thought the worldbuilding was pretty well done and I thought the concept of Diviners was really neat! Also I was so happy that there was a queen with a commander ranked husband because yasss queen 🤣 I was so invested in the characters and I loved the camaraderie between all the Diviners (except she who shall not be named). All the little quips the characters make about their Diviner family is so cute and just makes their bond seem that much stronger. I thought the friendship between Adri and Quinn was so strong and a great example of a sisterhood friendship. The way they support each other is so admirable. I also totally shipped Adri and Rolfe. Ansel was also so fun and such a mood. It was also really nice to see a relationship between Kiran and Quinn develop and not be so insta-love. (Sidenote: I love how they actually mention contraception and have consent in their lovey scenes.) Also what happens between Kiran and Quinn when she has to reaffirm her bonds to the Queen omg I just died. Such heartbreak. I love how supportive Kiran is of Quinn though, it’s like unconditional and beautiful. Ooh and the battle scenes were so detailed and epic! Plot-wise there were some bits that didn’t really make too much sense logically but it was such a great story overall and I need the next book now thanks 🤣
4.8/5🌟
The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff
Review:
TW: Holocaust related atrocities
Thank you so much Harper Collins for the ARC! I haven’t read any historical fiction in a while so I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this book, but boy did I love it! This book is a beautiful and emotional story about a forbidden friendship between two girls and a story about the struggle to survive. Jenoff throws you into the story right away and does not hold back from writing hard-hitting heartbreaking moments in the first couple chapters. I was on the verge of tears for a generous portion of this book and I think Jenoff portrays the atrocities of the Holocaust very well. The friendship between Sadie and Ella was so touching and I love how they still had that innocence of talking about boys and making jokes despite the horrors they were facing. Also that ending omg. I did not see that coming at all. When I got to the epilogue I had to reread the final chapter because I though was like “whaaaat… what just happened…how?!” I thought Jenoff’s writing style in the final chapter was so clever and really helped with the cliffhanger ending. Overall this is an amazing book and I would highly recommend everybody check it out!
5/5🌟
Audiobooks
Three Keys by Kelly Yang
Review:
I’m so glad I finally managed to finish this audiobook. My Audible app was being such a pain and cutting out every time I listened to this audiobook, but it got fixed when I redownloaded the app. Anyway, I have been loving this series by Yang and every book is just as emotional as the last. This book focuses more on when Proposition 187 passed in 1994, the election that led up to it, and how it affected the immigrants and undocumented immigrants of California. There were so many events in the book that are parallel to events happening now which is so heartbreaking. Every single hate crime that was depicted in this book actually happened during the time of Proposition 187. The authour’s note was also very educational and was very hard to listen to because of the injustices that happened to anybody who wasn’t white, specifically the Latinos. Yang put in extensive research to write this book and it definitely shows with how well-written this book is. I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait to read the next one!
5/5🌟
That’s that for my wrap-up! Hopefully you found some books to add to your June TBR 😜 If you’ve read any of these, let me know in the comments so we can fangirl together. I’m going to try to read more novels in June and less manga so I can get through more books on my shelves. I will also be participating in the #flattenthenetgalleys challenge on bookstagram, and this is a readathon to tackle all your unread eARCs and ARCs. Check it out at Sabrina’s Instagram here. Finally I wish you all happy reading in June and crush your TBRs!
