Monthly Wrap Up: June 2023

If you’d like to look at the June TBR I set for myself, find it here. I can save you some time and tell you I did not read many of them. I read whatever my mood dictated, and my mood changed often this month.

Before I begin, here’s a table of contents to help you navigate easily.

1. Reading
2. DNF Books
3. Blogging
4. Around the blogosphere

Reading

I read six books in June:

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I had a 50:50 split between speculative and contemporary fiction this month, which worked well, since I did not have nearly as much time to read. A few years ago, I read so many thrillers that I got saturated, and nearly all of them felt repetitive. Now that I rediscovered my inclination for them, I might spend a bit of my reading time on them.

SONS OF DARKNESS by Gourav Mohanty is out today (I think), and you absolutely need to grab a copy. I liked many aspects of it, despite wishing for more originality in some places.

YELLOWFACE by R. F. Kuang needs more work. It reads like it was written in one pass, and I’d be very surprised if it went through an editing process. I recognise this is a very polarising book, and I fell on the “not a fan” part of the spectrum.

BOOKSHOPS AND BONEDUST by Travis Balder is absolutely lovely, and if you haven’t read LEGENDS AND LATTES, get on it! It is short, cozy, and very well-written, and this prequel ticks all the same boxes too.

THE BURNINGS by Naomi Kelsey had me all over the place. It took me a long time to read it, since it pushed me to look up quite a bit of European history, but the writing style put me off in the first half. Nevertheless, I recommend it, for it did what it set to do well.

I don’t see why Ali Hazelwood’s books are so huge. THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS had an absolutely charming male lead, but despite the positives, there were glaring issues, but not enough to detract me from picking up her next book. It was great brain candy, so if you’re a critical reader like me, it is crucial to go in with the right expectations.

DEATH OF A BOOKSELLER by Alice Slater is why I am planning to pick up more contemporary fiction soon. It was unsettling, and I highly recommend it. Full review to come.

DNF Books

So this book might be a bit of a mood thing. But the execution of the fake dating trope in this felt so forced and unconvincing, that I had to put it down. Might or might not pick it up some other time.

Blogging

Here’s a round-up of all the reviews and blog posts I put up last month:

• Book Review: Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty
• Book Review: Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
• Book Review: The Evergreen Heir by A. K. Mulford
• Book Review: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
• Book Review: The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller
• Book Review: The Burnings by Naomi Kelsey
• Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
• Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

In addition to these reviews, I had the opportunity to interview three authors:

• “The best historical fiction effortlessly transports you to the past. I had no idea how hard this was until I started writing The Revels. It’s a constant balancing act between making the period come alive, but also wearing the research lightly so that your story doesn’t read like a textbook.” – Stacey Thomas, author of THE REVELS
• “I do still find it silly that after months spent piecing together dead organs and limbs, it’s only as the creature comes to life that Victor realizes the horror of what he’s done, and runs away to mope; except, of course, as I realize now, that’s kind of the whole point – no creature deserves to be spurned by its creator, but sometimes it happens anyway, because we as humans are irrational and prone to reject others for things they cannot change.” – C. E. McGill, author of OUR HIDEOUS PROGENY

Around the blogosphere

• A lot of you might be aware of Demetrious Polychron and the surrounding issue, the Tolkien Estate has sued him for ripping off LOTR
• I read STARTER VILLAIN by John Scalzi last month, and really enjoyed it. It’s due publication in September, but you can read a free excerpt on the Tor/Forge blog here
• Ksryta @ Pages Unbound wrote about When Writers Seemingly Don’t Trust Their Audience
• Most of us must have seen review-bombing happen at least once in the last few years, the New York Times talks about how it can tank a book before it is published

How was your reading month? If there are any posts you loved, feel free to link them below!

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View my monthly wrap-up for May 2023 here.

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