I completely forgot to write last months wrap oops! So here is my reading update for June. It was a slow start to the month as I was distracted with playing Fantasy Life – anyone else like to play cosy games? I remember playing it on my old red Nintendo 3DS (which I still have!) and loved it so much. But then I picked up so many good books I couldn’t stop reading!
What were my highlights?
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is one I got an ARC of a few months ago. I loved it. I love V.E. Schwab. I had this book on pre-order for its release in June and had to re-read it and cover my edition in my scribbles. I’m not sure it beats Addie LaRue for me, but it was such a great book and I wrote a spoiler-free review here if you’re interested to know more! But think, toxic lesbian vampires with stories that move through time. Choices made and people formed. It was so good!
Mistborn has been on my list forever now. I’ve only tipped my toes with Brandon Sanderson after falling in love with Tress of the Emerald Sea. Mistborn was as brilliant as others have said previously. Well written, complex characters, intricate plot line, it was great. I have book two waiting for me this month, but I do admit that starting this series is rather daunting that I have a reading order picture to keep me knowing which book to pick up next – there are so many!
Written on the Dark was the quarterly pick from Inkstone. I’ve never read any of his work before but a fantasy influenced by medieval France.. very interesting. I loved the writing and the characters, especially the relationships between them. Guy really excels at writing relationships, not just romantic but platonic/ familial. This book let me down a bit as I didn’t get the detail that I enjoy from a typical fantasy. This story skips a lot to get to the main pieces of action. The ending destroyed me and that is what pushed this to a 4 star for me. Review to come!
Illuminae was a random pick for me. I saw the trilogy on Vinted for a couple of quid and I knew I already loved Kristoff’s writing from his Empire series, so I bought all three and gave it a shot. I really loved this book. If you’ve ever read Janice Hallett who formats her books like emails and post-it notes, this series is the same. Made up of emails, cctv, messages and decrypted files this book was an experience. It was also a great, fast-paced, emotional plot. Again, I have a spoiler-free review here with some pictures of inside the book!
A Wizard of Earthsea was a great opener to Ursula’s writing. Short, sweet, sad and very well-written. I got the illustrated edition of all completed works in the Earthsea world for Mother’s Day this year. I thought it was one huge novel so was pleasantly surprised to have it filled with shorter novels that all weave together. I’m making my way through this edition so should get on to the next story in July!
My favourite read this month?
Us Against You – this book is fantastic. I remember buying Winners a while ago and when I sat down to read it, it was book three in the series. Can we bring back numbers on the book spines for those in series? They are very useful.. Anyway I picked up Beartown, loved it. Immediately purchased Us Against You, read it in a day I devoured it with my heart and soul. I sobbed. My heart broke a bit. It was so much better than the first book by far. And now I’m reading Winners and I feel a very emotional ending on the horizon.
Such a good series!!!
Physical TBR update!
I have been reading a lot of books that I own (which is great!) and also not buying any new ones (also great for me and my bank balance). I’ve de-stashed a lot of books I just won’t get round to reading either my taste in genre has changed or I’m just a different person to who I was when I bought certain books. I also admit I purchased books that was heavily advertised on TikTok, and now years later I don’t use TikTok anymore (hello, healthier mental health) and I’m sticking true to what I like versus what’s popular!
It’s nice to see the books on my shelf are mostly read and the ones that are staying at the ones I rated highly. Can I get this down to 60 for the end of the year? Who knows! I’m going to try.
| Currently Reading | Books Finished | Still To Read | Did Not Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 171 | 87 | 4 |
Upcoming..
This month I’m starting off by finishing Winners, I’m both excited and sad to finish this series.
I also want to read the next Earthsea story The Tombs of Atuan – this is another short story so should be nice to break up some larger novels!
Depending on my mood there are a few fantasy, science fiction and crime thrillers that I have my eye on! The Well of Ascension, The Silverblood Promise, Harbinger of Justice, The Samaritan, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and Gemina!
We’ll see how ambitious that is next month and how much time I get to read!