Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! I must say that I am very proud of my reading month in June. I feel like I definitely got my kick back in the reading game lol! So without further ado, let’s get started!
What I Read:
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas ★★
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
I have a full RANT review here. The review has a lot of spoilers so I wouldn’t recommend it if you haven’t read the book. Let’s just say that I was very disappointed and will not be reading more from this author.
Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab ★★★★★
Genre: YA Paranormal, Fantasy
Amazing conclusion to the Monsters of Verity duology. I am still in my feelings and can’t quite believe it’s over. I have a non-spoiler review for it here. The review does however contain spoilers from the first book, please be cautious.
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia ★★★★★
Genre: YA Contemporary
Ugh I absolutely loved this book and will recommend it for days to come! It is contemporary but it talks about some very important things like mental health, family dynamics’s, and friendships. I also loved how the author inserted some of the webcomic in the book. I have a non-spoiler review here.
soft magic. by Upile Chisala ★★★★★
Genre: Poetry
I’m not sure if I’m going to do a review on this one. But definitely a FOREVER FAVORITE!! Wow this book should be read by all women, especially Women of Color. This one was amazing.
Goodreads Synopsis:
‘soft magic.’ is the debut collection of prose and poetry by Malawian writer, Upile Chisala. This book explores the self, joy, blackness, gender, matters of the heart, the experience of Diaspora, spirituality and most of all, how we survive. ‘soft magic.’ is a shared healing journey.
;recovery by Jasmine Smith ★★★★
Genre: Poetry
For anyone who likes break-up poetry, I would recommend this one. The author takes us through the ups and downs of a relationship and her thought process.
Goodreads Synopsis:
a collection of modern poetry surrounding the most vulnerable time – post-breakup. follow the journey of hurt on the road to recovery
lavender petals and a wild heart by Cheyenne Raine ★★★★★
Genre: Poetry
Such a beautiful written collection. filled with curiosity, color, and wonder. I cannot wait to read more by this author!
Goodreads Synopsis:
A lavender sky of words, thoughts, poetry and prose written with love and curiosity. A collection inspired by the emotions that flow from the heart due to the gentle presence of a wild and adventurous soul. This book dives into the mixture of warm and lovely feelings that blossom when adoring another’s heart.
Poetry Posted in June:
a letter to the moon
some kind of self-love
for my short poetry, you can check out my instagram! link is at the end of this post ❤
I did a few memes this past June but the two that I will be featuring are the Top Ten Tuesdays since the others were WWW’s and Friday Reads.
TTT: Series I’ve Been Meaning to Start But Haven’t
TTT: Best Books You’ve Read in 2017 So Far
that is all for this monthly wrap-up! have you heard and/or read any of these books? let’s chat in the comments!
Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @ChicNerdReads
Loved the wrap up definitely looking forward to the next one! Keep up the great work!
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Thank you!
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6 books! *woot woot* I’d say you’re def back in the swing of things lol 🙂 & I’m so happy that ACOWAR didn’t throw you into a slump cuz that thought did cross my mind. Overall though, looks like you had a quality reading month twin 😉
Def looking into Soft Magic, my Poetry TBR is getting fatter & fatter cuz of you lol <3! Happy reading in July bestie!!!
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Thanks twin!!! I’m so happy that ACOWAR didn’t put me in a slump either, especially with how little I’ve been reading this year lol. I really would love for you to read Soft Magic. I think it’s a poetry book that Izzy can read when she’s older as well. It’s amazing and beautiful. I feel like you would really love that one for sure.
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Oh Wow! now you’ve def spiked my interest & curiosity *adds to Amazon cart* thanks for the rec twin, you know you’re my one & only trusted poetry pusher 😉
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whoop whoop!!!
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You have had a great month. I read ACOWAR too and was not so impressed. I need to pick up Dark Duet and Savage song
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I hope you like This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet! Worth every page read!
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I also read our dark duet and loved it! Oh no you didn’t like ACOWAR, I’ll check out your review
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Yay!!!! Our Dark Duet was just so great!
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Great recap Gretchen, it seems like with one exception you had a great reading month throughout June which is great to see. 🙂 It’s a shame ACOWAR wasn’t as good as you’d hoped it would be, but at least the other books you picked up were better right? I’m so glad you loved Our Dark Duet, that was amazing and one of my favourite reads from last month as well. Also I’m really excited to pick up Eliza and her Monsters after all the amazing reviews I’ve been seeing for it. 😀
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Thanks so much Beth!! Regardless of ACOWAR, I feel like I had a successful reading month. And I’m also really happy that ACOWAR didn’t throw me into a slump! Because that happens rather quickly with me after reading a book I didn’t like lol. Our Dark Duet was amazing and I am so happy to be back into Schwab’s writing with ADSOM. I cannot wait to read your thoughts on Eliza!!
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That’s all right, and that’s good to hear as well. 🙂 I get what you mean because sometimes bad books can throw me into a slump as well. Glad to see that wasn’t the case with ACOWAR!
Thanks Gretchen, I can’t wait to read your thoughts on ADSOM. 😀
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You had a great reading month! Our Dark Duet and Eliza are really wonderful reads. I loved Acowar but I’ve also seen so many people got disappointed with it. Anyways, I hope you have an awesome July! 🙂
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Thank you!! I’m happy you had enjoyed Our Dark Duet and Eliza! ACOWAR has been getting more mixed reviews than I thought. I hope you have a great July as well!
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I’m gonna take your recommendation on Eliza and Her Monsters, I’d never heard of it but it seems pretty good so I’ll give it a shot.
I have ACOWAR on my July TBR but so far the comments I’ve read haven’t been reassuring so we’ll see how that goes…
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Oh I really hope you like Eliza and Her Monsters! ACOWAR has a lot of differing opinions, I would say read it and form your own. You never know! Happy reading and thank you for stopping by!!
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I hope so too!
I will give ACOWAR a sporting chance; right now I’m half way with ACOMAF, I’m not impressed cause I feel it’s more of the same but still enjoying it.
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yeah i get it! ❤
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With the exception to ACOWAR, it seems you had a pretty fantastic reading month! So many four and five stars! It’s always wonderful when you pick up some really amazing books that live up to the hype 😀 I really hope you have an amazing time reading for this month, too! I’d love to see more four and five star reviews 😉 ❤
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Thank you so much Azia!! So far it’s looking like a win for this month and I really hope to keep it that way lol.
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I do hope you decide to review soft magic. It sounds lovely and you are my go to source for poetry. I have a few books to pick up thanks to you 😉 It seems like the new schedule is working well. I really hope so ❤ xx
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The new schedule is working up rather nicely, slowly but surely getting there. I’ve also learned not to work myself so hard. Thank you for stopping by my friend ❤
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I’ve really gotta read This Savage Song and Eliza and Her Monsters. Definitely adding soft magic. to my TBR!!
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OMG Lauren I hope you love soft magic. it’s just sooooo amazing! I also hope you like This Savage Song and Eliza! Happy reading ❤
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This Savage Song is on my TBR, but that’s about it from this list. I love that your books are so different from mine! I get so many great recommendations from you. I haven’t heard of Eliza and Her Monsters yet– but it sounds adorable and educational.
As far as Sarah J Maas goes, I’m on the fence about her writing. I have only read Throne of Glass (book 1) and about half of her short stories which proceed book 1. Her writing doesn’t really captivate me and I find most of the characters to be flat and inconsistent. So, you’re not alone. 😉
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Thank you Jackie!! After reading 9 books from Sarah J. Maas and finding just so much problematic content within her books, I’m pretty done with her. I just rather spend my time reading other books, I don’t even care on finishing up the series at this point lol.
I really hope you like This Savage Song, I would be really curious to know you’re thoughts on that one. Eliza was super cute and definitely educational. A lesson within the whole book and the relationships were greatly represented.
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It’s so frustrating to find problematic content when you are mid-series. So much effort was put in already and then I can’t stop seeing it. At this point in my life I totally give up mid-series now. Oops!
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Lol same here!! So many books and so little time. I refuse to force myself into finishing a series when I no longer am in love with it.
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Yay! I feel like far too many people force themselves to keep reading. I used to be a completionist- no longer!
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Yay for getting your reading mojo back! Whooooho! Seeing all these 5 star ratings for Our Dark Duet really makes me want to being this duology. I took advantage and bought This Savage Song on ebook when it went on sale for $1.99 last month for kindle. I absolutely LOVED her Shades of Magic trilogy, so I’ve been wanting to read some of her other books. Have you read Vicious? Didn’t know if you would suggest starting with Vicious or This Savage Song…
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OMG YAY!! Funny enough, I am currently reading A Darker Shade of Magic and I am loving it! You can read either Vicious or This Savage Song in whatever order because they’re nothing alike. Also, Vicious is adult and This Savage Song is YA so whichever you want…..wait now that I think about it…Vicious is going to have a sequel (not sure when it comes out) sooo maybe you can wait that one out if you want too marathon it. Happy Reading!
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I started This Savage Song! I am really enjoying it, but I didn’t expect anything less from Schwab. I think I’ll probably read Our Dark Duet next, then start Vicious. I can’t wait to see what you think of the Shades of Magic trilogy! If you like the first book, you will fly through the second & third. The first book was a little more slower paced & more about the world building & setting up the plot for the 2nd & 3rd books. One of my favorite series of all times 🙂
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I just finished it today and totally agree with you on everything! I loved ADSOM! I can definitely tell that Schwab was really creating the world and letting us see the characters for who they are. I look forward to reading the rest of the books sometime in September, I had to put the series on hold due to ARCs.
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They are worth the wait 🙂
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Ah, I’m desperate to read soft magic., and you’ve read some amaaaaazing books this month. Happy reading!! ❤
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thank you so much Alice! i really hope you like soft magic. it is soooo amazing!
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