June was a very busy for me with a lot of social obligations and events, and while I’ve tried my best to keep up with my reading I did fall behind a bit. Whoops! Still, I managed to get quite a lot of reading in. I’ve managed to read fifteen books but only seven of them fantasy novels. (I took a bit of a detour into Romance-landia for a couple of weeks–thanks, Tessa Dare!)

As far as SFF reading, I spent most of the month catching up on sequels to series I’ve started (chugging right along with The Dresden Files) and taking care of a couple review requests. I did manage to read one new release though!

Favorite Reads of the Month:

• The House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. So, this is technically the third book in the Howl’s Moving Castle series, but it’s a series of standalone works that take place in the same fictional universe so you could read them each on their own as they also feature different protagonists. I loved this book and found it quite charming. The main character is a young girl that just wants to be left alone to read so I could empathize with her a lot. 🙂  For fans of Sophie and Howl, they do make an appearance and they’re always fun to see.
• Starless by Jacqueline Carey. I really did like this book, despite any negative points in my review. Carey’s prose is always a joy to read and the story was, ultimately, one of hope and optimism–something I think we could all use a little of these days.

June’s Book Reviews:

Here are all the book reviews that went up in June in case you missed them.

 

 

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

4/5 Stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

Witchmark by C. L. Polk

5/5 Stars

 

 

 

 

 

A Warden’s Purpose by Jeffrey L. Kohanek

3/5 Stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Timeless by Gail Carriger

3/5 Stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demon Haunted by Ashe Armstrong

4/5 Stars

 

 

 

 

 

Call of Fire by Beth Cato

4/5 Stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starless by Jacqueline Carey

4/5 Stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan

5/5 Stars

 

 

 

Plans for July:

I fell a little behind by the end of the month in my reading so I’ll be spending July trying to catch up with review requests as well as trying to read some new books that were just released in June. I’m also still participating in the Kushiel’s Dart read along over on reddit’s r/fantasy forum, which should be wrapping up some time in August. Outside of fantasy reading, I’ve also got to read the latest book for my Tea Party Book Club since we’ll be meeting again at the end of July or the beginning of August. Outside of reading I have a lot of events to attend this coming month as well so I’ll have less time to read than usual–Summer’s in full swing! Phew! Feels like a lot. Hopefully I’ll be able to at least keep up with my reading commitments as it looks like July will be another busy month for me.

What are your plans for July? Hope you all have a great month. Happy reading!