June Wrap Up

This was an interesting month of reading. It seems that my mood took a turn for the dark and gritty and I spent most of my time reading historical fiction titles that handled some very dark themes. And unfortunately I’ve been skirting the edge of a reading slump recently- but I haven’t let myself give in to it! My reading definitely slowed – I only read two books during the second half of this month – but hopefully I bounce back a bit in July! Despite the slumpy-ness, I did read some fantastic books this month.

 This month’s favorite

THE OKAY

 

Feel Me Fall by James Morris ★★★☆☆
I flew through this book and I loved the twists it took, especially at the end, but overall the characters and the drama they brought to the story felt undeveloped to me, and it didn’t quite gel with the situation they found themselves in. Full review.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon ★★★☆☆
This book was cute and I liked the cultural aspects, but the romantic tension fell short and the plot fizzled for me in the second half of the book. Full review.

THE GOOD

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet ★★★★☆
I loved this book for its historical and psychological account of a murder in a remote Scottish town in the late 1800s, but I was hoping to be a bit more shocked by the murder itself. Full review.

THE GREAT

 

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue ★★★★☆
This book presents the mystery of a young girl who has not eaten for months, and the nurse sent to watch over her. This book had a slow pace, but by the end I was racing to the finish. Full review.

The Bells by Richard Harvell ★★★★1/2
THIS BOOK MESSED ME UP. About a castrated boy who goes on to become an opera singer, this book genuinely horrified me, but it was so compelling and such a heartfelt journey. I loved it. Full review.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent ★★★★★
About a woman who is charged for the murder of two men in 19th century Iceland, this book is dark, eerily atmospheric, and incredibly moving. The writing, the characters, the research the author put into it- all so fantastic. I loved everything about this book. Full review.

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Other posts

This month I tentatively took a hop onto a weekly book meme- Top 5 Tuesday by Bionic Bookworm! I didn’t get through all of them, but I’m definitely going to be taking part in her July topics. Feel free to join!

Top 5 Historical Fiction
Top 5 Fictional Boyfriends

**I just have to make one amendment to the boyfriends one- I realized I forgot to add Nikolai from The Grisha Trilogy! I was so mad at myself when I realized. Sadly I’m gonna have to bump off Jest. How could I forget charismatic Nikolai???

And some usual tags! I’ve got a lot backed up, and I do want to do them all, but since looking at them all can bit a bit overwhelming and I don’t want my blog to be composed of too many tags too often, I’ve decided to do one a week and post them on Fridays. Tag Friday doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue, but as you can see above, Tuesday is already taken. And tags are fun and easy, they have a nice Friday vibe 😎

The Mid-Year Freakout Book Tag
Rapid Fire Booktag
The Unique Blogger Award
Ultimate Harry Potter Tag

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Currently reading…

A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves.

A friend lent me this book recently, and while I’d heard about it, I’ve been wary of it because I’ve heard it’s crushing and life altering. BUT now that I’ve been in the mood to read the darkest and most twisted things I can find, it seems perfect. I’m only 100 pages in and I can tell this is indeed another painful journey I’m embarking on, and the characters have already hooked me.

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That’s it for this month! What did you read in June? Does your reading mood ever take you down these dark and twisted paths or is it just me? I hope you all have a great July!