Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a fabulous June! Honestly, where did the month (really the year) go?
I don’t know about you guys, but I had a FANTASTIC reading month this month. I successfully completed most of my reading goals. I did complete the Emojiathon Reading Challenge, I read all but one book on my TBR, and I read 11 books! This is probably the best reading month I had in a long time!
How was your reading this month?
What was your favorite read this month?
Here are the books I completed this month:
Awakenings (Dreamkeepers #1) by David Lillie
Flight to Starfall (Dreamkeepers #2) by David Lillie
Intentions Entwined (Dreamkeepers #3) by David Lillie
The Dreamworld is a plane parallel to our own, where there is a Dreamkeeper for every living human. They hold back the Nightmares, extra-dimensional beings who wish to enter our world and destroy us. For every Dreamkeeper they kill, they can enter the mind of their human, driving them mad. The Dreamkeepers can fight back, however, with Powers, magical abilities that are indicated by a glowing halo. In the thousands of years since the last Nightmare attack, they have fallen into myth, and Powers have subsequently been demonized and outlawed. The Nightmares are still there, however. Waiting.
I thought this story was gripping and intriguing. The first graphic novel (and webcomic) series I’ve read since Scott Pilgrim and it was great to get back into reading a graphic novel. I definitely recommend this story, it was a quick read (the beauty of graphic novels!) and incredibly creative! Also, the art work was stunning!
If interested, you can read the Dreamkeepers story here.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (listened to the audiobook)
I’d be shocked if you haven’t heard of this book yet, as I have seen readers discuss it on every platform. This book is inspired by the Black Lives Matters movement. The story is about sixteen year old Starr Carter, a black girl living between two worlds. She lives in a poor neighborhood, but goes to a fancy prep school in the suburb where she is one of the only students of color. The balance between these two worlds is threatened when Starr is the sole witness to the shooting of her childhood friend, Khalil, who was unarmed at the time. The story details the legal process that follows and Starr’s struggle to live between the two worlds.
This was a powerful story that is too real for far too many people. I highly recommend this one to everybody. It’s a necessary critique of our current society and allows us a fresh, authentic view, especially those outside of the communities of color.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Cath is not just a fan of Simon Snow. She’s the fan. Her fanfiction has allowed her internet fame, but her world begins to change when she gets to college. Here she’s away from her family (her twin wanting more space and her father miles away), thrust into a new world where fanfiction is considered plagiarism, her roommate may not like her, and where finding the cafeteria is a feat in itself. This story is a great coming of age story, especially for those who are just entering college.
Cath is such a relatable character, as her struggles are some that many people (myself included) faced when making the transition from high school to college. I think the problem I had with this story is that I read Eliza and her Monsters first and although the two were similar, I felt that Eliza did the premise a bit better (full blog post coming soon!). I just wanted more from Fangirl. The positive tone of Fangirl came through, even in moments of struggles. Don’t get me wrong, this book is good, just not as good as Eliza. I honestly think that reading Fangirl first would have resulted in me enjoying it more.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli
Becky did it again. This book was everything I was hoping for and more. I though it was a great coming of age story with a loveable MC. This book had me laughing before coming down and worrying with Simon. Trying to figure out who “Blue” was was so much fun, especially since we weren’t given that many hints.
Becky is AMAZING at writing authentic teenagers and this book is no different. Just a heads up, there was a part where a character is outed followed by some slight homophobic remarks (not as bad as it could have been, but still pretty bad). Some readers have found this part problematic. Personally, I did not have an issue with this part, but I am not speaking for ANY experience, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I did LOVE how the actions were handled in the story, though. I still recommend this one, especially to those who love contemporary books!
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
I’m so so happy I finally read this one. It’s a great read for fans of Alice! This story is an unoffical prequel tale for the Queen of Hearts. This was one of the best love stories I’ve read in a long time and boy…that ending.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (full thoughts in my review, linked above!)
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
Francesca can write mental health into her books so well, oh my gosh. I’ve put off reading this one for a while, but I’m thrilled I finally picked it up. This book was following a character with schizophrenia and visual hallucinations. This made our MC (slightly) unreliable, making several aspects of the story unique and interesting. There were some aspects of the overall narrative that were incredibly far-fetched, but if you suspend your disbelief the story was very well done. Although I am a psychology major, my knowledge of schizophrenia and other psychotic spectrum disorders is limited. I found the portrayal of the mental illness fairly accurate (the age of onset was suspiciously low, but it’s been known to happen) and was thrilled that the schizophrenia was not the main focus of the story (though it did play a prominent role).
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I highly recommend it!
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Outsiders by S. E. Hilton
This one was a reread for me. I’m glad to know this book can still break my heart. If you haven’t read this one yet, I honestly think you should. It’s a quick read (180 pages) and will introduce you to some great characters.
Stay gold.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (listened to the audiobook)
The hype for this book was strong. I’m not sure if I over-hyped the story in my head or went in expecting something else. The story itself is beautifully written and is incredibly unique. The pace is incredibly slow and the story slightly jumps around time periods, which may be confusing for some. I did listen to this one on audiobook and was able to follow the story fairly well. I was hoping for some more action or a slightly faster moving plot. For some, this slow pace allows you to become engulfed in the world, while others may become bored.
I enjoyed reading the story, but it’s not one of my favorites. I guess I was just hoping for a bit more. I do recommend this one for others, just because it wasn’t my taste doesn’t mean that I can’t see why so many others love it.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Who doesn’t love a Cinderella retelling about fandoms?
Honestly, I’m a sucker for retellings and the thing about Cinderella stories means you know exactly what milestone needs to get crossed and when. This one was super cute. I love the idea of having the MCs be into geek and nerd culture. This book also makes great comments about how fan culture changes with reboots and is great for lovers of fandoms!
I’m not going to lie, I picked this one up primarily because of the hype. I’m thrilled it was worth it. If you’re in the mood for a feel good book that’s a quick read, this one’s for you!
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Coffee Cocktails & Books 📖 