Joy is found in the pages of books.

Last week's Joys and a wrap up of what I have read last month with some short reviews.

Joys

I would love to hear what brought you joy last week-here are mine:

Reading:

• I started an audiobook of an ARC I received called His Face is the Sun. I am not sure how I feel about this book and have actually paused it. I’ll be honest, it starts with a cat and I loved that and then it skipped ahead time and mentioned some spicy scenes…and that in YA (even if off the page or mild) just makes me feel odd. So I got the “ick”. I’m not sure if I will continue reading.

• I am on a street team! This is a group of readers that are there to hype up the release of a new book and it’s been awhile since I’ve been on one. I am really excited. I actually talked with Keshe Chow last summer-and now I get to help boost her newest book, No Mortal Creatures! Read more and preorder here.

• Continuing reading Let Them Theory with my mother-in-law. We have a little book club going and have had a lovely coffee date too.

Social

• I got to have a swim day with my friend and it was LOVELY. It was so needed. We had sushi first, then soaked up the sun. We talked books, friends, life, all the things. I also made her a crochet bow!

Crochet

• I tried out some 3d crochet granny squares- a donut and a rose. They are so fun.

• My family had a get together for the Fourth and we also celebrated some birthdays, so I decided to make some crochet gifts for everyone. I made a frog keychain, cherry pie bag charm, rose keychain, and a Yoda coaster.

Other Joys

• Went to Costco and found some huge pies :)

• Baked chocolate chip and sugar cookies.

• Saw the Live Action How to Train your Dragon movie (amazing) and I didn’t cry! I will definitely cry in the next two though.

• Hibiscus plant is blooming and is gorgeous. The blooms do not last long, but they are wonderful to look at for the short time they are here.

• Lots of cat snuggles (and hanging with my twelve year old).

• We bought a robot mower…named Reginald.

• I got a new planner/memory book and am so excited. It is a Hobonichi Avec Cousin and has monthly, weekly, and daily pages. I am excited to use it to bring up my productivity and help me remember things to do…and also to have a place to save my memories and be able to look back on fun days. Notebooking is coming back into my life and I am so ready.

June Reading Wrap Up

(Storygraph plug here…just go and download)

• 11 books finished.

• 4,568 pages read.

• 21 books picked up.

• 3 books “paused”.

• All fiction.

• 2 Five Stars. 5 Four Stars. Great reading month.

Brief thoughts and reviews: (links to Bookshop)

• Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix: I was sucked in immediately and I quite enjoyed it. I am really feeling the witchy, angry woman vibe.

• Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz: This is the second book in a series and I think I liked this one better than the first! I really liked how the author told you to forget everything you knew about Hitler and WWII and the Holocaust…because people during that time also didn’t know much. The way it all unfolded and the twists at the end were so good. It is a great spy novel that has a lot of heart and is an important read.

• His Mortal Demise by Vanessa Le: This is another sequel and I just loved how this series was developed and plotted out. The first book ends on such a cliffhanger that picks up in the second and I just loved it so much. It’s a very different story, and that’s really all I can say. I feel like you should just go into this series blind…

• In the Likely Even by Rebecca Yarros: I read this with my book club and I don’t think I was in the mood for contemporary romance or these characters just didn’t connect with me because I struggled…but we had good talks and got to hang out, so it’s worth it.

• After We Burned by Marieke Nijkamp: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire. I really liked this book, even though it was really sad. I liked the mystery and honestly kept wanting SOMETHING CERTAIN to happen even though I knew it couldn’t…

• My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine: I was laughing this entire book and even though the ending was kind of ridiculous, I quite enjoyed this rom com.

• The Leaving Room by Amber McBride: If you love poetry and dark topics/characters-you would like Amber McBride. Her books evoke such emotion and are so beautifully written. This is one that you just read and figure out what is happening later. It’s worth it.

• The Pay Back Girls by Alex Travis: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher Sourcebooks Fire, but it is definitely a book I would have wanted to read based on the description. It was a little slower than I thought it would be, but it picked up in the halfway mark and then kept going. I really liked this thriller.

• We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer: I really liked this horror/thriller! It definitely creeped me out and I was wondering what was going on the whole time.

• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins: This was a reread and man…I forgot how much I loved this book. I knew it was my favorite of the series, but I didn’t remember exactly why. This book was everything…Katniss is going through so much and we meet so many cool characters.

• The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose: This is a sequel to the thriller Perfect Marriage and it was a good time! You don’t have to read it because I felt that Perfect Marriage ended completely, but it was a really interesting ride and had me guessing and wondering the whole time.

Join the Chat

I’d love to talk books more often, so join me in our chat and share some books you’ve read recently.

Thanks for reading and stopping by! I hope you have a great week and don’t forget to look for those joys. Talk to ya soon!