June wasn’t exactly my most productive nor my most impressively rated reading month, but I still enjoyed several of the books I picked up. The majority of my reads focused on LGBTQIA+ characters for Pride month, and I also read 2 books for my Book of the Month reading challenge.

Stats

#readmyowndamnbooks: 2

BOTM: 2

eARCs: 1

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste (4 stars) – This was my third read from Kiste and I found it to be a strong horror novel with a unique premise and heavy emotional underpinnings.

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler (4 stars) – I really enjoyed this YA summer dual timeline contemporary romance that also focuses on family relationships, friend groups, and finding one’s career path. It was cute but also dealt well with coming-of-age issues.

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings (4 stars) – This was a very sweet Sapphic contemporary romance with a bit of an unlikely premise: one main character wins a modest sum from the lottery, enough to buy the flower farm that the other main character lives on and runs. The two are at odds at first but have to work together for the success of the farm and to help one another with their strange situation, which leads of course to romance. I liked the cute dynamic between the two main characters, and I’m interested in the potential spinoffs within this world with the many side characters (one heroine’s cute friend group and the other’s entertaining sisters). I also liked that the book dealt with heavier topics like toxic relationships, both romantic and familial, and how to deal with these situations to protect one’s mental health.

I received an eARC of Late Bloomer from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (3.5 stars) – I’ve been seeing Jimenez’s contemporary romances around for years now, but the plots have never really appealed to me enough to pick them up (until now). I liked but didn’t love it; it was a bit too sappy for me at points, but I did like it.

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen (3.5 stars) – This was a fun YA romance that I picked up after watching the movie based on it (Love in Taipei, which significantly changes the plot). I enjoyed the audiobook, which had a lot of drama and kept me very entertained.

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead (3 stars) – Unfortunately I think that this has been on my TBR for so long, and I always had it in my mind as a book I’d really enjoy, that it really didn’t live up to my expectations. I read the author’s sophomore novel earlier this year and found it much stronger, so I think it just might be the case of a weaker debut.