Sunday, June 30, 2013

June in review

Wow, end of June already. I feel like both the year and especially June has passed by incredibly quickly. Instead of being sad about it though, I'm really quite excited about July. July is my birthday and lots of special things are planned. I can't wait.

Books Read in June 2013:

If I Should Die by Amy Plum
Kite Spirit by Sita Brahmachari
All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
Entwined With You by Sylvia Day 
Faking It by Cora Carmack
Pride and Pleasure by Sylvia Day 
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Dark Secret by Marina Anderson
The Juliette Society by Sasha Grey
Just Remember to Breathe by Charles Sheehan-Miles 
The Taming of the Tights by Louise Rennison
Callum and Harper by Fischer Amelie
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning (re-read) 
Ninety Days of Genevieve by Lucinda Carrington
Mouse Bird Snake Wolf by David Almond
The Naughty Girl's Book Club by Sophie Hart
After Iris by Natasha Farrant
The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale

Total: 19
Total for 2013: 130

I think this is the first month this year in which I didn't break the 20 book mark. But you know, at 130 books read so far this year already, I really don't think I have anything to complain about. 19 books is still an incredible reading month.  I was worried though that the books  I was reading wasn't exactly blowing me away and that I might struggle to pick a book of the month ... and then, just in these last few days of June, I've read two of my favourite books of the year so far.

B what was the best of the bunch though?

June Book of the Month:



There is no question about it, it has to be The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale.  I absolutely loved this book. It's been a long time since I've read a book that had such an emotional impact on me. I loved that while The Bone Dragon does contain some darker elements to it, it is still very much a book about healing and about love. I loved how fantasy and reality twined together in this story, I loved all of Evie's relationships with friends and family, I loved that I was able to connect to it in such a fierce way. I really recommend that you find yourself a copy of The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale sooner rather than later...


Books reviewed in June:

The Night Itself by Zoe Marriott
Confessions of An Almost-Girlfriend by Louise Rozett
The Truth about You and Me by Amanda Grace
NA mini-reviews (Wait For You, The Fall Guy, My Favourite Mistake and Double Clutch)
This Northern Sky by Julia Green
Ink by Amanda Sun
After Eden by Helen Douglas

Guest Reviews

Debutantes by Cora Harrison
Swim the Fly by Don Calame
Call Down Thunder by Daniel Finn
Dear Dylan by Siobhan Curham

What would I do without my lovely guest reviewers, Hayley and Kulsuma?! For me, June was the month that I tried to catch-up on writing my reviews for Netgalley! I did my best, but I definitely wasn't writing as many reviews this month as I'd have liked to...Oh well. There's always next month.


Non-review posts during June:


UKYA in 2013

UKYA in June

The Night Itself by Zoe Marriott - a blogger reading





Celebrating British Bloggers


Lucy from Queen of Contemporary (Celebrating British Bloggers)
Julianne from This Fleeting Dream (Celebrating British Bloggers)

A really big thank you to Lucy and Julianne for taking part in the final two interviews for this feature! I've had an amazing time getting to know all of the bloggers who took part but now it is time to move onto something else here on the blog...


Waiting on Wednesday

Hurt by Tabitha Suzuma
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud


Bookshelf Requirements

Arthurian Literature Guest post by Hannah Love

A massive thank you to Hannah Love, the lovely publicist from Walker Books for taking part in my Bookshelf Requirements feature! If you would like to write a guest post sharing your own bookshelf requirements, please do leave me a comment or send me an email! I would love to hear from you.

Books I've read this year that have made me cry
Books that I'd Love to Re-read if Only I had the Time
Summer reading pile 
Books I'm Intimidated to Read
Book Tagline Quiz 
Top Ten Books of 2013 so far...  
Like Dystopian Books? Try these books by British authors... 
What I'd Like to See More of in YA

As you can see, instead of focusing on reviews this month, there were lots more bookish posts on the blog. I hope you don't mind this slight focus change. Some months I just prefer writing non-review posts.

Film Adaptations I've Been Watching Lately
Suicide (Mental Health Awareness)
No Books Allowed (3)

And I do like to bring you more personal posts as well.  I will always posts like the ones above in which I tell you all something about myself or my life that doesn't include books.


British Books Challenge update in June

Kite Spirit by Sita Brahmachari
The Taming of the Tights by Louise Rennison
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning (re-read)
The Ninety Days of Genevieve by Lucinda Carrington
The Naughty Girls' Book Club by Sophie Hart
Mouse Bird Snake Wolf by David Almond
After Iris by Natasha Farrant
The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale

Total in June: 8
Total in 2013: 40

Hurrah! I'm doing slightly better at this challenge than I'd thought. I am glad about that.

Personal challenge to read 10 non-review books a month:

Pride and Pleasure by Sylvia Day
Dark Secret by Marina Anderson
The Juliette Society by Sasha Grey
The Ninety Days of Genevieve by Lucinda Carrington
The Naughty Girls' Book Club by Sophie Hart


Total in June:5
Total in 2013: 36/120

I'm failing miserably at this challenge :( I need a solid two months in which I read normal amounts but only ever read my own books.  Or to give up on this challenge? Lower my goal? I don't know. 


What was your favourite book that you read in June? 

6 comments:

  1. I'm incredibly indecisive so I can't narrow my favourite down to one, but I will say that I loved The Moon and More (obvs), Is It Just Me? and Shipwrecked.

    Also, I totaly need The Bone Dragon in my life.

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    1. I really liked The Moon and More .. but it wasn't one of my favourites. Glad you liked Shipwrecked so much though, I'm hoping to read that pretty soon.

      You totally do need a copy of The Bone Dragon in your life! :)

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  2. My favourite book in June was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, definitely! I love her writing so, so much.
    I'm definitely going to add The Bone Dragon to my wishlist now. Best of wishes for July!

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    1. I'm so sad that I was declined for Fangirl on netgalley! Oh well, will have to buy it and Attachments soon. Maybe if I end up with any birthday money...

      I hope you love The Bone Dragon as much as I did, Lucy :) And thank you!

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  3. I really want to read The Night Itself- I have it on order though.
    June still looks like it was a great month for you!
    (And I know exactly what you mean about writing up reviews for Netgalley- I am so far behind...)

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    Replies
    1. June was a pretty good month, thanks. Netgalley is a wonderful resource, but I fall behind with it SO OFTEN.

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