June Wrap-Up

June was a bit of a write-off for social media – my dominant hand has been in a splint thanks to tenosynovitis, so typing, photos and all that were made much trickier. However, I did have a great reading month, and I spent some time visiting my sister and doing some lovely things with my family in the sunshine!

Reading Wrap

I read 11 books in June which I am surprised by! The majority of the month I focused on LGBTQIA+ reads for a challenge my book club was doing, but then I got side-tracked and sucked into continuing my reread for the Green Rider series. No regrets though, I love those books SO much.

From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper. Book 2 in The Witches of Thistle Grove, very cute and fun. I do recommend this series if you want LGBT witchy goodness.
Back in a Spell by Lana Harper. Book 3. I didn’t enjoy this one as much, but it was a good overall entry in the series regarding developing the history.
The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag. A graphic novel about two young people navigating their identities while also trying to untangle their complicated family dynamics. Loved the illustration style of this one.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. My favourite cover of the month for sure! This one was a short one, and a little strange – nothing really happened but it was so compelling anyway!
The Coral Bones by E. J. Swift. A cli-fi with a real punch. I don’t want to say I enjoyed it because it was actually quite sad overall, but Swift’s writing was excellent, and I loved the triple timeline aspect.
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran. I am a wimp, and apparently middle-grade horror is enough for me! This book was really great, such a page-turner and creepy without being actually scary. Another cli-fi too.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. I think everyone has already raved about this one, so all I’ll say is that I never got into vampires in books until this one! Very gripping, sexy, dark and Schwab’s writing is just perfect.
Mirror Sight by Kristen Britain. Book 5 of Green Rider. Often the outlier in fan enjoyment, but I always found this one quite fun. Read this series please!!!
Firebrand by Kristen Britain. I beg you, read this series!
The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis. Really fun, and unique take on the magic school setting. From the POV of a parent in this one, we get all the joy of watching her figure out how to parent a magical child and navigate PTA politics when all the other parents have their own magic.
A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-ran. A really touching story about a robot, a horse and some young girls. I love Asian literature for the gentle but profound messaging and this book was no different.

Reading Challenges

Not a lot changed with these, since my focus was on my book clubs thing in June.

I didn’t make any more progress in r/Fantasy Book Bingo or Friend’s Recommend.

I am still on track with The Diverse Baseline, reading three qualifying books in June, so I have checked off the monthly prompt and two extra bonus prompts.

I am also on track for reading 50% of the choices for Rewild Your Shelf, with The Coral Bones, putting me at 3/5 books.

Life Wrap

As I said, a lot of June was spent in a splint, so I didn’t even take many photos to show! My biggest achievement at the start of the month, however, was finishing a cabled cardigan for my sister! Anyone recognise it?

I saw two shows, & Juliet, which was amazing, and also the Derren Brown tour which blew my little mind haha.