Tuesday, July 3, 2018

June Wrap Up + Updates!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni and today I'll be talking about the books I have read in June as well as share some updates! 

June was a pretty great reading month for me (11 books!) and now I'm only three books behind my goodreads goal! I also enjoyed all the books I read last month. All of them were 3.5 Star reads or more! I've only reviewed three of the eleven so far, so be on the lookout for some more reviews this July!

1) Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Save the Date is Matson's newest release, and I really enjoyed it! It wasn't my favorite, but it was entertaining. There was just a bit too many antics for me, and the book seemed much longer than the couple days it took place in. 

2) Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Review
 
Breathe is the first in a dystopian duology. Though I didn't love the book, it was good enough for me to continue on with the series. I'm planning on reading Resist this first week of July. The characters verged on one-dimensional, but the setting itself was intriguing.


 3) 180 Seconds by Jessica Park

 Review
180 Seconds is a new adult romance that I sped through. It wasn't my favorite, and there are a ton of dramatics (as there are in NA), but it was a quick and fun read. The characters had a conversation on consent, which I really appreciated. 

4) The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson


The Beauty of Darkness is the third and final book in Pearson's Remnant Chronicles. I do think it was weaker than its predecessor, The Heart of Betrayal. The book was much longer than necessary, but the ending was satisfactory. I'm looking forward to Pearson's Dance of Thieves, which takes place in the same world.

This book was so weird...in the best way possible! I had no idea where the plot was going, and it was such a fun ride. The audiobook was wonderful, and made the book much for amusing than if I were to have read it in print. I'm very excited for the spinoff about Felicity, Henry's sister! 

6) Roomies by Christina Lauren

After reading fantasy and historical fiction, I really wanted a fun romance, and Roomies delivered. In fact, I enjoyed the writing style so much that I read another book by the author duo shortly after (see number 8)! My problem with Roomies was my own mistake: I skimmed ahead! I tend to get impatient when it comes to romance, but this was a case of self sabotage.

7) From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon


After reading and adoring Menon's debut novel, When Dimple Met Rishi, I was ecstatic to read an e-ARC of her next novel, From Twinkle, With Love. Though it wasn't my favorite contemporary, the relationship was adorable and I appreciated that all of Menon's characters were complex. 
 
8) Hating You/ Dating You by Christina Lauren

Like Roomies, I wanted another adult romance that fun and didn't weigh heavily on my mind. As I did with Roomies, I skimmed ahead, which once again, led me to not enjoying the book as more. I know, I have a problem! Hopefully with my next romance I don't make the same mistake. 

9) Hunted by Meagan Spooner

 After reading and loving Meagan Spooner's Starbound trilogy, which she co-authored with Amie Kaufman, I was interested in reading something she wrote on her own. Though I didn't like the Beast's narration most times, the other protagonist was amazing!

10) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

 

I finally read The Hate U Give. It's worth all the hype, and I cannot wait until the movie. I've seen the trailer twice, and cried both times. The Hate U Give is now a staple in the YA community, and I understand why people say that everyone should read it! 
 
11) Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

The last book I read this June was Stay Sweet. I listened to the audiobook, and it was lovely. I'm currently writing my review of it now, and it should be up by Thursday. Though I had a couple problems here and there, Stay Sweet is a perfect summer read, and really left me craving ice cream.

Updates!

Blog Aesthetics!  
This month I redid my whole blog look! Though I liked my green theme, it was time for a change. I've come to realize that I like blogs with white space and tend to gravitate towards them, so I wanted to incorporate into my own blog. I redid the header, the background, and made my own graphics in replace of the star system I've used since the beginning of the blog! It's a huge change, but I'm glad I decided to go through with it. I think my blog looks more polished, and I'm therefore more proud of it! The only thing that I think I messed up on was my header It's a tad too big in my opinion, but I really don't want to go back into canva and restart it. I think with time I'll get used to it! 

Goodreads Challenge!  
I've been thinking about lowering my goodreads goal. I set it to 100 books, as I have since 2013, and I've been behind all year. I'm more busy now with college. I'm reading a lot more, but it's normally chapters of books and getting 3/4 of the way through required reading. Because of that, what I'm reading isn't translating the best into goodreads. I've started to feel pressure to read more, and it makes reading feel much more like a chore than a hobby. I want to maintain my amazing relationship with reading, so if I continue to feel pressured, I'll be lowering my goodreads goal to 90 or 85. 

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

18 comments:

  1. Awesome titles, a couple I have wish-listed. I loved Save The Date though and loved the antics, so I guess to each his own. :-) Happy July!

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    1. Thanks Freda! I liked the antics as well, but eventually they got to be a bit much for me. :D

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  2. I’ve been meaning to read The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice & Virtue for ages. I think I even pre-ordered my copy last year. And yet, there it still sits on my bookshelf. I’ve heard awesome things about the audio version! I actually just ordered a physical copy of Roomies yesterday and I should have it on Thursday. Can’t wait to read that one! I’ve read two by Christina Lauren now (Autoboyography, Love and Other Words) and loved both. I like the new blog look! Like you, I find the clean, white backgrounds appealing. I did the same when I updated my blog last year.

    P.S. Stop skimming ahead! LOL

    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
    Http://girlplusbooks.blogspot.com

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    1. I do that with books all the time. Now that the companion novel is coming out relatively soon, you can read them back to back! If that is your taste, though. Ooh I hope you like Roomies! It was a lot of fun. :) Thanks Tanya! It's great to get some feedback.

      Haha, I know!! It's a curse. :D

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  3. I love your new blog look! I adore purple and lilac ;)

    Hope July is an equally awesome reading month! I'm dying to read Hunted because I love the cover and I love retellings - will u be reviewing it on your blog? I'd love to know your full thoughts on it.

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    1. Thank you Amy!!! Recently I've been really into purple, and it definitely translated here.

      I don't love retellings, and I really liked it! If all goes well, the review will be up either on Friday or Saturday.

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  4. I thought I noticed a change in your blog's look! I like it! I want to read Stay Sweet soon, so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!

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  5. Your blog looks amazing! I love the color scheme! I took a long break from blogging so I haven't been able to keep up as much as I have wanted to, but you read some amazing books this month! I'm currently listening to A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and it is weird like you said, but in a good way! haha I can't wait to see where the story is going to go.

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    1. Thank you!! I noticed you took a break and are back. It's great to have you back. :) The story takes some twists and turns that I was definitely not expecting. I hope you are enjoying it!

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  6. Looks like you read some pretty great books this month. I still need to get around to reading The Hate U Give, especially since they're now releasing a movie. Hope you have a good July.

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    1. The release of the trailer was really what pushed me to read it! I've had it on my TBR for so long, and I'm glad I finally sat down and read it. Thanks Abby! Have a great July as well. :)

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  7. I just finished up The Gentleman's Guide and I loved it. I bet the audio book would have been awesome.

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    1. Well if you ever reread it, I would highly recommend the audiobook! That is, if you reread! XD

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  8. It sounds like you've had quite the interesting month, Genni! I'm so glad you enjoyed THUG! I also read it recently and I was kind of worried because it was so hyped (ah that universal problem of books not living up to hype...) but I found it as equally amazing as you :) I love your new blog design! <3 You kind of inspired me into doing my own blog redesign this summer (I think it's been two years so it's about time!). I don't really have a vision yet but I'm hoping to just play around with different colors and seeing what I like.

    Laura @BlueEyeBooks

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    1. Thanks Laura! I, too, was worried about the hype. I'm actually reading a book right now that everyone seemed to love, but that I'm not clicking with (Everless by Sara Holland). It's a bummer when books don't live up to the hype, but amazing when they do!

      Thank you so much!! Yes, two years sounds about time! :D I think I had mine for a little over a year, but I had grown tired of it around two months ago. I didn't have a vision either, and then suddenly I was making a purple header, haha!

      Thanks for stopping by Laura!

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  9. I love the new look!

    What a great month of reading! I've been really impressed with Christina Lauren's newer stuff like Dating You/Hating lately. I've yet to read Roomies but it's on my list.

    I know what you mean about Breathe. I didn't particularly like any of the characters but the concept had me hooked so I continued with the sequel. I'm just glad it was a duology and not a trilogy.

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    1. Thank you!!

      I actually just finished another Christina Lauren today! I got an ARC of Lauren's next release (Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating) and it is my favorite of the three I've read. I'm interested to see what the author duo's earlier work is, especially the Beautiful series.

      I'm also glad it was just a duology! I started reading Resist, and then just put it down. I still have it checked out from the library though, and I hope to finish it this month.

      Thanks for visiting!

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