Books I Read in June

I read 8 books and one short story in June. It wasn't my best reading month, but I still felt like I read enough for the month. So here are the books I read and some of my thoughts and opinions on them.

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli - This is a spinoff novel that revolves around Leah from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I recently reread Simon in anticipation of this book, and I'm really happy I did because I had forgotten so much of these characters and their story. I really liked this book and the LGBTQ+ elements. Leah was one of my least favorite characters in Simon so it was nice to get to know her more and learn about her character.  

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson - This book revolves around Andie, after her summer plans are canceled and she has to learn to renavigate her life. This was my only reread of the month, and I wanted to revisit this book before I read Matson's latest book, Save the Date. This is one of my all time favorite books, so I loved getting the chance to revisit the characters and gain a new perspective from reading this book again. 

Opal by Maggie Steifvater - This is a short story that takes place after the events of The Raven King. This was a fun addition to the series and allowed the reader to revisit two of their favorite characters from The Raven Cycle, but other than that I don't think it truly added much to the overall story of the series.

Save the Date by Morgan Matson - This book follows Charlie and her family, on the weekend that the oldest daughter is getting married. As I have mentioned before, Morgan Matson is my absolute favorite YA contemporary author, her books mix coming of age with summer reads and they're just perfect. So I obviously had a lot of high expectations going in to this book, and it did not disapoint. This book is not as romance heavy as her previous books, but I really liked that element and how it fit the story. I also loved the family dynamic of this book, which is something Matson does so well in all of her books. I'm also so happy I reread The Unexpected Everything almost immediately before picking this book up, because Matson also does a really good job with adding in cameo appearances. Overall I loved this book and I'll be patiently waiting for the release of Matson's next book.   

From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon - This book follows aspiring filmmaker, Twinkle, as she works on her first student film. I absolutely loved Menon's debut, When Dimple Met Rishi, so I did go into this book with some high expectations. The storyline was fun but I had trouble liking Twinkle's character. Overall this was a fun and quick read.

The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan - This is the final book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series. Out of all the books in this trilogy, I definitely liked this book the most. I've gradually started liking Magnus' character throughout this series, and I liked how this book explored more of the side characters. I'm going to be honest my favorite part of this series has been Alex, who I think is one of the greatest characters in Riordan's universe (they are up there with Percy and Annabeth). Overall this was a fun read, and I'm really interested to see what myth Riordan focuses on next.

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody - This book follows Enne after she travels to the City of Sin, in an effort to find her lost mother, and joins forces with Levi, a gang leader. This was a great first installment in a trilogy. I really loved exploring New Reynes, a.k.a the City of Sin, and how it has a similar vibe to Ketterdam from Six of Crows, but is also completely different. I'm really looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman - This book follows Elio as he develops an attachment to his father's summer guest, Oliver. I really wanted to love this book, because of all the praise this movie has, but it ended up being different from what I expected. I thought this book would revolve around a coming of age story, but it mostly tells the story of desire. Overall it was a quick read, and I listened to the audiobook that is narrated by Armie Hammer, which really added to the experience.

Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond - This book surrounds around the relationship between Walter and Naomi as they have to overcome their families approval and issues surrounding race. I liked this book, the characters were enjoyable and there is art interspersed within the book that gives it a graphic novel feel, but doesn't add a lot to the plot. This book raised a lot of questions about police brutality and racial profiling, but didn't provide any concrete answers. Overall, I found this to be a good read and fulfilled some of my interests after reading The Hate U Give.

And those are all the books I read in June. I have some books on my radar that I want to read in July, but ultimately I'm planning a big Harry Potter reread for the month. - Jessica