My time spent reading took a little dip in May but the reading bug came back strong in June. I was really in the mood for romance/YA books this month, but managed to sprinkle in some mystery books in too. My reading ability this month was greatly boosted by my new kindle setup – a freestanding kindle holder with a page turner that has a ring-style remote. I don’t even have to hold anything! I’ve reached maximum reading efficiency.
I discovered a 5
read this month AND added another author to my “I’ll read anything they write” list. It’s Kristin Dwyer. I love a good in-your-feels book and she delivered. How does she only have two books out!? Well, I read both of them and I’m already ready for some more books to cry about (in the good way).
Speaking of “I’ll read anything they write,” Rebecca Ross is also on my list, but I’m pacing myself going through her bibliography. I picked up Dreams Lie Beneath this month. I thought it was a bit slow to start and the main character was a tad annoying, but still thoroughly enjoyed it. Zach found me an OwlCrate version secondhand so it’s now proudly on display in my library room.
I finally finished The St. Ambrose School for Girls by Jessica Ward. I started reading this book in April, got about half way, and then put it on the back burner. I almost DNF’d it, but came back and finished it this month. The premise was really interesting but it was so incredibly slow. I completely understand why it was written the way it was and it was a great portrayal of how the main character struggled, but goodness it was a drag to read.
I also finished up some series this month. I breezed through the last two books in Karen McManus’ One of Us is Back trilogy after reading the first book almost a year ago. I was still in my distracted from reading stage this time last year so me taking forever to finish this series has nothing to do with how interesting it is, but I did find myself wondering why I liked the first book so much as I was finishing up books 2 and 3. I almost felt guilty for how long it took me to get to book 2. They’re still enjoyable reads. I just can’t tell why I had the wrong impression stuck in my head for so long.
Next, I finished up Laura Thalassa’s Four Horsemen series. This series caught my eye after they redesigned the covers (even though the version I read was with the old covers 
). I love how each book was a contained story and could stand on their own. Only the last book’s story, Death, really relied on reading the first three. I enjoyed the first two books more than the last two, but all were decent. I took a 3 month break in between books 2 and 3. Public consensus based on reviews is that 3 and 4 were the better ones in the series so perhaps my 3 month break lessened their impact. I’ll never know!
Lastly, after much hemming and hawing on my end, I finally started Powerless. I always have a bit of anxiety reading hyped up books. I’m always worried they’ll disappoint. Lindy recommended the tandem read with the Powerful novella and I will forever recommend the tandem read any chance I get. This is the only way to read these two books and I will not accept any arguments otherwise. Powerful was much more impactful and emotional when read alongside Powerless and in turn it provided really nice breaks in Powerless. I devoured these books because I needed to get ready for book 2’s release on July 2nd. I’m (as usual) very invested in this story, despite being annoyed a couple of times and wanting to slap some characters silly. SO excited for another release day read!
