Hi everyone!
I'm so excited to be doing a proper monthly wrap-up for the first time. Usually, my wrap-ups consist plainly of reviews and ratings of books I read that particular month, but after being inspired by the more casual update-style of other bloggers, I thought it'd be fun to try it once for myself as well.
Table of Contents-
Favorite Reads of the Month
General reviews
June TBR-
Other posts I enjoyed
What I've Been Watching
Favorite Reads-
1) The Quarterback by Tal Bauer- A book so perfect if you're in the mood for a wholesome, heartwarming queer romance, that it feels like it was made to order.
We follow two main characters- Wes and Justin. Wes is a college football player who's under immense pressure to lead his team and get drafted into the NFL, and to sort of protect himself, he keeps his a secret from his teammates.
But when he meets Justin Swanscott, a fellow college student when he's in Paris, it's a slow and soft yet inevitable love that they try so hard to hold on to when they get back to the harsh life back in college.
CW for homophobia, sports violence, bashing, anxiety.
The characters are so well-written, and the most special thing about them to me is the lack of toxic masculinity in the author's characters. He creates them to be unapologetically gentle, swooning over their partners, sobbing and laughing.
The reading experience moreover is amazing, so I highly recommend checking this book when you're in the mood for a good romance.
2) The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali-
A book recommends to me by my IRL bestie, the Stationery Shop is a beautiful, heart-wrenching, and moving story of love, family, politics, and tragedy like no other.
The setting captivates you with the rich and unfamiliar (to me, at least) culture and history of Iran. Some of the customs were recognizable and others new, and it felt great to discover this in a story.
It was very easily one of the TOP 3 books I've read all year. So, so incredibly written- the characters, their trauma, the antagonistic forces that you can't help but feel for, the political situation, and the commentary. Just perfection.
3) Loveboat, Taipei + Loveboat, Reunion by Abigail Hing Wen-
The book that very successfully got me back to YA contemporary and reminded me why I enjoy it so much, Loveboat, Taipei was a refreshing break from the adult fantasy books I had been reading.
The characters are flawed, rebellious and so relatable. The book deeply explores the complicated relationships parents have with their kids, more so in the case of immigrant parents pressurizing their kids for a particular job or field.
Check out my full review plus mood board here.
General Reviews-
1) Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney-
I haven't been able to pin down my thoughts on this book yet. Because even though I have mixed feelings, I do get the reasons for the hype, but the book just failed to get that strong an emotional reaction from me.
Right now all I can say is that craft-wise there were a lot of things that were notable, especially the character work. It just was not the most appealing to my tastes.
I'll probably talk more about it in a full review on Goodreads, so keep an eye out for that.
2) Everything for You by Chloe Liese-
Among other books that I've read by Chloe Liese, this has got to be one of my favorites.
Everything For You is an enemies-to-lovers, grumpy x sunshine, real slow burn sports romance.
This was an adorable, tension-filled romance story that focuses on character-development as much as the beautiful journey of the development of their relationship. Gavin, the MC, also suffers from chronic pains because of a sports injury, and that is represented very well.
It's an incredibly written story and I will definitely be thinking about it for a long time.
*full review available on Goodreads, click on title*
3) Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty-
I read this for a Book Tour and that post will be going up soon with my reactions, but for now, all I'd like to reveal is that this was a pretty fun read. I have a strange fascination with all kinds of books about serial killer mysteries, so there was that element in this book. Plus the magic system and how it was incorporated were very intriguing and white different from what I'm used to.
4) Belladonna by Adalyn Grace-
A book that did not disappoint at all, with its beautiful cover and intriguing synopsis, Belladonna was an exceptionally well-done murder mystery-fantasy story. It truly delivered on its promise of a setting infused with a dark, gothic atmosphere. A lavish manor invaded by ghosts, the dead wife of the owner of that house, and her daughter sick and seemingly destined for the same fate. UNTIL...of course the entry of our main character, Signa Farrow. An orphaned young girl who can never die and walks the thin line between life and death. She can talk to ghosts and under the right circumstances, also talk to Death himself. And the mystery was AMAZING. There were ghosts involved, poison, and a business empire falling apart. There are some good reveals (rich people apparently have a lot of baggage from past flings) and it makes for fun speculation and *gasps out loud* moments.
Overall it was a really fun read, which ended such a interesting cliffhanger, and I'm so excited for the sequel.
June TBR
Stardust Thief- (See reviewed by Words of Wonder and Ode to Fiction)
Not Good for Maidens,
Evelyn Hugo,
The Dragon Republic,
Other Posts I've Enjoyed
Queer Historical Romance Recs- so many of my favs like KJ Charles and Cat Sebastian included in this post!
Asian Queer Books for your TBR -by Jayati @JustaCoffeeAddictedBibliophile
What I've been watching
I really had a fun time watching The Adam Project, MIB International, and Bhool Bhulaiya 2. Hum Tum, a Pakistani TV series also drew a few chuckles out of me. (But Ahad Raza Mir can do much better lol).
Dobara and Sang-e-Mah both lagged a lot in the middle but are finally picking up again.
I felt pretty meh about The Social Network, Bell Bottom and Sinf-e-Ahan.
Time to chat!
Thank you so much for reading this post! I'd love to know what your reading month was like!
Share your thoughts with me on social media- Instagram (@aamnaiswriting_) and Twitter (@AamnaRehman6).