BOOKS I READ IN JUNE [2021]

 

Photo by Olga Tutunaru on Unsplash

June was probably one of my best reading months this year. I finally found myself excited to read again after a month of not reading anything since the Grisha universe books burnt me out at the beginning of May. I binged the whole universe; the original trilogy, Six of Crows duology and the King of Scars duology. I was also burnt out from drawing for an entire month for 'MerMay' and I wanted to catch up on my reading goal for the year. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I was two books behind schedule. I managed to read a total of 8 books (one art book amongst those) in June. So, I pulled up my socks and dived head first into the books that I've had staring at me for months. Out of those 8 books, there was nothing below a 4 star. 

CROWN OF MIDNIGHT & HEIR OF FIRE

(THRONE OF GLASS BOOKS 2 & 3)

AUTHOR: SARAH J. MAAS

GENRE: YOUNG ADULT FANTASY

RATING: ✦✦✦✦✧

'Crown of Midnight' was on my summer TBR last year and it found itself on my TBR this year. I wanted to jump back into this world because I have loved Sarah J. Maas' works since she wrote the beginning of 'The Throne of Glass' series. The first book didn't blow me away but book two was more of what I was expecting from the author. There wasn't a lot of character development in this book Celaena and Chaol continued to be stubborn and Celaena found out that she's a randy teenager. However, as much as the book was about Celaena and Chaol finding themselves flirting around their feelings, I loved how much the book's plot developed. There was a part of the book where I had to text my best with a character's name with a slew of crying and screaming emojis. It was that shocking and surprising and I loved everything that happened after that.

I think the development of Dorian was what really intrigued me the most in book 2. He had caught my attention from the first book (more so than Chaol) and I was very surprised with how his character developed.

After reading 'Crown of Midnight,' I bought the rest of the series in hardcover and once I finished the books I was reading as I waited for them to arrive, I dived straight into 'Heir of Fire' and I was reading that, my whole being was screaming... ￬

I was glued to this book (except for when Chaol was gurning over Celaena. Boy, get over yourself, you're the reason this book is a 4 star and not a five star). I absolutely loved it. It introduced me to characters that I instantly fell in love with; Manon Blackbeak, I'm looking at you! I was fully on this ride as the pace raced from beginning to end. When I wasn't reading it, I was counting down the minutes until I was back home and with the book again. I was constantly messaging my best friend with gifs and videos about my thoughts and reactions. It was unreal. I was constantly being surprised by the twists and turns that the book took. Also, I could easily see from books 2 and 3 how much Maas's writing had developed and matured from the first book. I didn't have to make a drinking game out of the amount of times she used, 'the assassin' in a sentence. I would've been paralytic otherwise. Thankfully, I wasn't annoyed by the writing. There were a few instances where I believed there were questionable word choices but that's my personal nit-picking.  

STAR WARS: DARK DISCIPLE

AUTHOR: CHRISTIE GOLDEN

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: MARC THOMPSON

RATING: ✦✦✦✦✦

If you are a fan of 'The Clone Wars' animated series, READ THIS BOOK. READ IT NOW. If you loved Asajj Ventress in the show, you need to read this book. I went down the audiobook route for this one because I wanted an audiobook for a Sunday shift and I did not regret a single second of it. One random evening when watching the Clone Wars on Disney+, I had googled Asajj Ventress and what happened to her. I was beyond intrigued by it and was waiting for it to happen in season 7. It didn't happen but instead, that plot line was turned into this book and it was amazing. It truly deserved to be an arc in the series. It would've been an incredible arc and I could just see how epic the animation would've been. I loved Asajj's character development in this book. She developed so much more in this book than she did in the television series. Yes, she had an amazing transformation in the show with the Night Sisters (LOVE THEM) but there was something sublime about her development in this book. Chef's kiss. 

The narrator did a brilliant job in bringing all of these characters to life. At first, I was convinced that some of the voice actors from the series were providing the voices for their characters but it was all Marc Thompson. He really brought Asajj to life alongside more well-known characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu and Yoda. He does a pretty dang good impression of Christopher Lee as Count Dooku. 

The icing on the cake of this audiobook was that there were sound effects sprinkled liberally. It didn't distract from the narration, it beautifully complimented it. It has been an age since I've listened to an audiobook with sound effects and/or music included. It's quite surprising at first when you aren't expecting it but it becomes second nature after a minute and it really made me feel as if I was actually watching an episode of The Clone Wars. It is a must for any Clone Wars fan. 

THE THRONE OF FIRE & THE SERPENT'S SHADOW

(THE KANE CHRONICLES BOOKS 2 & 3)

AUTHOR: RICK RIORDAN

GENRE: MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY

RATING: ✦✦✦✦✧

As with all of Rick Riordan's books, I enjoy the journey. I enjoy learning about mythology and I generally have a great time. There isn't a lot that I can say about these books and there isn't a lot that I want to say about them. They were cute, they were fun and I'm glad that I read them. I loved the characters that the books introduced and the journey that the characters went on. They went to places that are on my bucket list; Cairo, Giza and Alexandra in Egypt. 

If there is one critique of this series that I have, it is that Riordan really writes the characters a lot older than what they are. I kept thinking that Sadie was at least 17 with the way that she was speaking about boys and having crushes and with the way that she carries herself but she was only 13-14 in the books. That age is usually reiterated when she's being very bratty. With the independence that Carter and Sadie have at those ages, it seemed unrealistic to me. Yes, they're magicians but they are children, under sixteen years old, running about New York City, London and Cairo. Had they been slightly older, I would've believed it a lot more. I definitely was envisioning them a lot older than what they were; think Percy Jackson movies and those ages. 

THE BLOOD OF ELVES

(THE WITCHER BOOK 1)

AUTHOR: ANDRZEJ SPAKOWSKI

GENRE: FANTASY

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: PETER KENNY

RATING: ✦✦✦✦✧

I was painting a wall again at work and I needed something to listen to as I painted away during the night. With in-app purchases finally available for Audible, I decided to properly start 'The Witcher' series after listening to the short stories last year. To be honest, I had forgotten about a lot of what happened in the short stories but quite a bit came back to me as I continued to listen to the audiobook.

What stood out to me for this book wasn't Geralt or Ciri, although I did adore little Ciri. Instead, I found myself loving the sorceresses. Triss, Yinnifer and Philippa own my heart. I love how confident they are, I love how bold they are. I loved everything about them and I was always gripped that bit more to my AirPods whenever they appeared in the book. Their snarkiness had me nearly laughing out loud. I just loved them.

This book definitely felt like a good leaping off point for the series. It established the characters and it wasn't overwhelming with information about the world. I loved that a lot of it had a basis in Old English customs such as Beltane. Books that include Beltane always make me think of Morgause and Morgana from BBC's 'The Adventures of Merlin' and my own head-canon for those characters. I can easily see Morgause being friends (and rivals) with Yinnifer and co. 'Heir of Fire' did the same thing. I could easily see Morgause being in the Blackbeak clan. 

MALIBU RISING

AUTHOR: TAYLOR JENKINS REID

GENRE: ADULT CONTEMPORARY FICTION

RATING: ✦✦✦✦✧

This book was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I didn't even pre-order it because Waterstone's was opening back up shortly before it was to be released and I wanted to buy it in person. After reading 'Heir of Fire', I took a quick breather to squeeze this book in before the end of the month. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid has this uncanny ability to write characters that you believe to  be real people. I believed that Evelyn Hugo was real and that I could go watch her movies. I wanted to look up Daisy Jones and the Six on Spotify, But they weren't real. Just like with the characters in 'Malibu Rising'; I wanted to find Mick Riva's records and look up the photographs that are mentioned in this book. Despite how fictional all of the characters are, this book was a departure for Jenkins Reid because this book included real actors and musicians as opposed to exclusively fictional characters. The real people are merely mentioned and don't interact with fictional ones. That did not help the 'this is all real' illusion that I was trying to dispel. Everything felt so real. The spray from the sea to the diner that June's family owned. The Pacific Coast Highway has been on my bucket list since I read 'The Long Goodbye' by Raymond Chandler in university and  after reading this book, I wanted to add the diner to it. It's fictional, Kazzie!

From beginning to end, this book had me captivated. I was reading it far too late into the night. I was working at 6am and only putting the bookmark into the book at 1am. Needless to say, I was exhausted a lot of the time as I read this book. I devoured it. I sang it's praises to all of my colleagues that read and I'm singing it now. There's nothing spectacular about the writing. It's straight-forward. It's not flowery. It's not poetic. But damn it, TJR writes amazing characters and plots. 

The reason why this is not a five star read is because of the ending. It felt incredibly rushed and almost too convenient for my liking. It felt anti-climatic, like, 'that's it? That's how the fire started?' Not a spoiler because it's in the synopsis. It didn't quite match my expectations for the ending. There were things that I thought were going to happen because of the attention that the author gave to insignificant details. Those things did not happen. They were complete red herrings that annoyed me to an extent. Why mention it if it wasn't important? The ending and the amount of casual sex thrown around in the book knocked my rating down. Not that I'm a prude, I've read Sarah J. Maas's latest works so that has got to tell you something. However, for a book set in the decades of the late 50, the 60s, the 70s and earlys 80s, the casual sex and the consequent unsurprising pregnancies (yet a total surprise to the characters) annoyed me. 

THE ART OF DISNEY PIXAR'S LUCA

I watched Pixar's new movie 'Luca' the day is came out on Disney+ and instantly preordered the accompanying art book. The movie was beyond sweet. I loved the whole story. It wasn't as intense as 'Soul' or 'Coco' but the story of friendships, jealousy and having a great time together on the Italian Riviera. That being said, the movie still made me cry.

I loved the character design of this whole movie. It was so different from anything that Disney and Pixar have produced before. The characters are really quite simple in design but what makes up those characters figuratively is much more complex.

The design of the fictional Portorosso is simply stunning. It invites you in and feels like a place you would stumble across while aimlessly driving through Liguria, Italy. It reminded me a lot of Portofino, Italy, which was quite obviously one of the design inspirations for the location. Portofino is famous for it's earthy-pastel-coloured houses, the Piazzetta which is a cobbled square over looking a small beach that leads into the bay and harbour. Both features which are included in 'Luca.' The art work that went into the development of this movie is wonderful and so inspiring that I would love to go on MapCrunch and enter in 'Italy' and paint a random location.  The whole colour palette for this movie is inviting, and so warm that you felt the sun on your skin and that you could just dive into the water and become a 'monster' too. A beautifully made movie and a stunning art book to accompany it. 

There you have it. There are all of the books that I read (and listened to) in June. Hopefully July will be just as successful and that I can draw a little bit too. I haven't drawn a thing since May and it's hurting that I haven't done that. July will change that. Here's hoping. Let me know the books that you read in June and what you hope to read in July.