June Wrap Up | 2021 - amyjanealice

Hello everyone and welcome to my June wrap up!

So before I started putting together this post I had no idea how many books I’d actually read in June, but after checking it appears that I got through eighteen. EIGHTEEN?! Wow I am so happy with that, I think this is my best month yet, and this brings my total to 59 books this year so far.

This month I started the new job I mentioned in my last wrap up so I did most of my reading in the beginning of June (because I’ve been falling asleep on the sofa around 7pm lately!) but it’s been a great few weeks and I’m super chuffed with some of the awesome books I managed to pick up.

Here is my June wrap up.

So I kicked the month off with a bang, finishing The Dark Artifices series with Queen of Air and Darkness. I really enjoyed this series and it was great to be back in the Shadowhunter world and I rated this 4.5 stars!

I finally got around to the latest instalment in the Heartstopper series with volume 4. Though this dealt with some hard subjects such as mental health and eating disorders, I still really enjoyed the story and how it dealt with these matters. And of course I love Charlie and Nick!

Then as part of my TBR for Pride Month I picked up Felix Every After which is a YA exploration of identity with a transgender, Black and queer main character. I LOVED this and can’t believe I wanted so long to pick up. Written in the Stars is an F/F adult rom com which was super enjoyable, sweet and steamy.

You and Me on Vacation was the perfect Summer romance read! Featuring opposites attract friends to lovers, only one bed and so many other of my fave tropes it ticked so many boxes for me. Don’t Breathe a Word is a YA thriller set in an elite school with dual perspectives 50 years apart and while it wasn’t the best thriller I’ve ever read it kept me hooked and I enjoyed seeing the plot play out.

Queer Power by Dom&Ink is a celebration of “icons, activists and game changers from across the rainbow” and I loved this! It was great to learn more about so many important LGBTQIA+ people and the illustrations were 10/10. Every Last Fear is a thriller that was on my most anticipated reads of the year list and while it didn’t necessarily meet all of my expectations, I did race through it and the twist was good.

Next I read a ton of romances, some of which were inspired by TikTok and many of which you can find on Kindle Unlimited! Last is an enemies to lovers romance, Playing For Keeps is a best friend’s sister romance and The Hardest Fall is friends to lovers. So erm, a lot of my fave tropes right there! None of them necessarily blew me away but they were enjoyable reads.

One Hot Italian Summer was my fave of the bunch, in which a Scottish author goes to stay in Italy for the Summer to find her inspiration again since the death of her friend and co-author. I really enjoyed the plot, the romance was top tier, the smut was good and this made me want to go on holiday so badly.

The last four romances featured more of my favourite tropes, what a shocker huh? The Pool Boy is an age gap romance where the woman is older and I appreciated that there was more to the story than just the romance itself. The Wall of Winnipeg and Me was a sort of enemies to lovers and boss/employee sort of thing, Beneath the Stars is a second chance romance and Pucked is a sports romance and teammate’s sister. Phew, lots of tropes there.

Finally I read two picture books. Hey You!, written by Dapo Adeola and brought to life by some of the most talented Black illustrators today, is an empowering exploration of growing up Black. Next is Look Up!, where we follow aspiring astronaut Rocket who inspires her community to take some time to look up at the comet that will only be visible on one night. I loved both of these, from the content to the illustrations, and I definitely want to read more from these authors!