June Snapshots

June was a pretty slow and uneventful month for me. It was mostly occupied with starting my summer session and the bright side of taking two literature classes, means that I'm always reading. Unfortunately that means that they consisted of a lot of scholarly texts, but I got to read some cool stuff about Russian folk lore and texts on Ancient Greece. Luckily it wasn't all serious reads, I decided to reread some of my favorite books this month, including Fangirl (pictured above) and Carry On. Since the summer session is almost over, I'll have plenty of time to resume reading for fun and blogging. 

I can't stop taking photos of my new 20th anniversary edition of the Philosopher's Stone. I recently decided to reread Harry Potter in its entirety, so I reread the first book this month and I'm really excited to move on to the Chamber of Secrets. - Jessica

Magical Crate: Year Two

Last week I received the new Lit Joy Magical Edition crate, which is a one time special edition crate and each edition focuses on the events of a particular Harry Potter book. This is the second crate of the series and focuses on the Chamber of Secrets (I previously shared the first crate). I was extremely excited to unbox this crate, as the first edition was my absolute favorite crate I've ever received. I loved this edition as well, and I wanted to share some of my favorite items from the box. 

This little art print of Dobby is so cute, and and has all of the details of the box inside it. My all time favorite item in this box, is this exclusive mug with the quote "When in doubt go to the library." 

This crate has so many awesome bookmarks that I'm excited to add to my collection (creatures bookmark from Nerdy Girl Designs, rubber duck bookmark from Nerdy Post, and the basilisk fang is a Litjoy exclusive). The fan mail from Gilderoy Lockhart is a fun and cleaver touch. I also love this book sleeve from Sweet Sequels, which is currently housing my new copy of the Philosopher's Stone. 

I absolutely love these crates and how carefully put together each box is. I can't wait until they release the next one. - Jessica

20 Years of Magic

I recently got my copy of the Gryffindor edition of the first Harry Potter book for the 20 year anniversary edition (each house edition is available on Book Depository). As soon as I got the book, I knew I had to reread it. So I'm spending the 20th anniversary rereading the first book, for only the millionth time (the real number is probably closer to 25). It's been almost 6 years since I reread the Harry Potter series in its entirety, since I have a habit of rereading the books individually. But since the events of the epilogue take place in September, I really want to make my way through the rest of the books before then.

It's crazy to think that the first Harry Potter book was published 20 years ago, and even though I wasn't introduced to the series until later, that moment had a huge effect on my life. So here's to a happy 20 year Harry Potter anniversary and to an eternity more! - Jessica

Books I Read In May

I had a decent reading month for May, I managed to read nine books. Which is a decent amount but I am going to have to step it up in June, if I want to catch up on my reading goal.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas - This is the third book in the Court of Thorns and Roses series, which wraps up the main arc of the character, Feyre. This was my most anticipated release of 2017 and I was not disappointed. I absolutely loved this story and felt that it was a stratifying ending to the original story. I can't wait to see how Maas continues on with this series, because there are so many directions that I'd like to see.

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han - This is the last book in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before trilogy. This was another anticipating read for me, and I really liked it. I didn't love the plot of this book as much as the previous two, but the character development really made up for that aspect. I love how this book wraps up Lara Jean and Peter's story and gives the story more of a definitive ending.

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak - This book follows Ed, who is given a series of cards with tasks that he has to complete by an unknown person. I absolutely love Zusak's novel The Book Thief and I have been meaning to read this book for ages. I enjoyed this book, the plot is very unique and it's very hard not to compare this to The Book Theif, because it's a completely different story, but I didn't form as much of an emotional connection to this story.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor - This book is Lazlo, who has been fascinated by the lost city of Weep, and when he finally visits the city, he encounters a half-human girl that travels in his dreams. This book is an excellent start to a duology, the writing is beautiful and the story is so unique and colorful. This book took ages for me to read (I started it in April), but I really enjoyed taking my time with this story, as the world is dense (but in a good way).

Geekerella by Ashley Poston - This is a modern, contemporary retelling of Cinderella, where a fangirl unknowingly starts texting the new star of her favorite series. I was surprised by how much I absolutely loved this book, the story is so adorable and a really unique take on the fairy tale. I feel that this book captured the essence of fandoms and I'm already dying to reread it.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli - This book follows, Molly, who has had 26 unrequited crushes. I was really excited to pick this book up, because the author's debut Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was great. I started off really liking this book, and I found it to be really relatable, but as the story progressed, I started to be bothered by Molly's narration and I'm not sure why. Overall this was a really cute book and the ending was sweet, but I was a little disappointed while reading it.

The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro - This is the second book in the Charlotte Holmes Trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was eager to pick up this one. I didn't like this book as much as the first one but it was overall a good book, even though the ending was very confusing. I am looking forward to the last book's release in March, to see how everything wraps up.

The Novice by Taran Matharu - This is the first book in a trilogy that follows Fletcher after he learns that he can summon demons. I think this was a fairly solid start to a series, I did find that this book has a ton of common tropes in YA fantasy, but I think this book had some interesting things to say about equality. I have the rest of the trilogy to read through, and I'm expecting this series to get better.

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare - This is the second book in The Dark Artifices trilogy, the third series in Clare's Shadowhunter universe. I absolutely loved the first book in this trilogy, and this book did not disappoint. The writing and the story in this series is so strong and detailed and I love seeing how everything unfolds. I absolutely love how this book focuses on each and every character from the first book, and it was an emotional roller coaster to read their story. I am deeply pained by the fact that the last book isn't coming out for another two years, because this book ends on a major cliffhanger.

And those are all the books I read in May. I've got a lot of reading that I'd like to do in June, so if I disappear from the blogging sphere a little that will be why. - Jessica