#beachcanyouread

🏝 June Wrap-Up 🏝 It’s the end of another month and time to look back at this months books! I read a total of 17 books this month 😱 I’m shocked and excited about the amount of books but I definitely want to slow my reading for July, otherwise I may burn myself out 😂 I read a lot of books for Pride Month, the #beachcanyouread challenge, and listened to/read a lot of #scribd books (which aren’t pictured) • • 🍍Nantucket Nights- Elin Hilderbrand ⭐️💫 🌈Love in the Time of Global Warming -Francesca Lia Block (ebook) ⭐️⭐️ 🌈History is ALL You Left Me-Adam Silvera (audio) ⭐️⭐️💫 🍍Summer Requiem-Vikram Seth ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌈Things a Bright Girl Can Do-Sally Nicholls ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌈Every Heart a Doorway-Seanan McGuire (audio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🍍By the Book: A Novel of Pros and Cons- Amanda Sellet (audio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 🌈Felix Ever After- Kacen Callender (audio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🍍The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes- Suzanne Collins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🍍The Gravity of Birds- Tracy Guzeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🍍Green Island- Shawna Yang Ryan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌈Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls: A Memoir- T. Kira Madden ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 🍍Sharp Objects- Gillian Flynn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 🌈Naturally Tan-Tan France ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌈All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto- George M. Johnson (audio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌈Symptoms of Being Human- Jeff Garvin (audio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🍍Lampie- Annet Schaap ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ • • My favorites for the month were Lampie and Symptoms of Being Human ❤️ QOTD how was your reading month? Any new favorites? https://www.instagram.com/p/CCEQjjTgdZz/?igshid=1arw8yqpnxpsw

✨Book Review✨ Happy Sunday bookworms! Sorry I’ve been a little inactive this weekend, I thought this would be a relaxing weekend but it ended up being cleaning and building furniture instead which also means I haven’t had any time to read 😭 it still felt nice to get things done and have the time off of work though. I hope you’ve all had a good weekend as well ❤️ Summer Requiem is a book of poems about summer, love, loss, memory, and the shifting of seasons. I didn’t love or hate this collection but I didn’t really connect with any of the poems. I read this one for @readwithangie #beachcanyouread challenge “read a book with ocean, beach, summer, or island in the title” 🏝 QOTD do you read poetry? https://www.instagram.com/p/CB_Qfh2As10/?igshid=inuyz9kbrc19

⭐️REVIEW⭐️ It’s officially summer and this week we are expecting a heat wave 🥵 I’m excited for more sun and less rain, but not looking forward to the high heat/humidity! How’s the weather supposed to be this week where you’re located? • I finished another #audiobook this week! By the Book: A Novel of Pros and Cons by Amanda Sellet. The main character is a lover of classic literature by the likes of the Brontë sisters and Jane Austen, and she uses her knowledge of classic books to guide her through friendship and love ❤️ pictures with it are my Pride and Prejudice (film Circa 2005) #aliciamarksitbookmarks and a fun little bookshop pin ☺️ • • 📚 It took a few chapters for me to get into the novel but it was such a cute, fun story! Of course it’s always fun to have a bookish main character 🤓 📚The narrator was like the love child of Anne Bogel and Kristen Bell (as well as the narration/writing style) so her voice held my attention like a siren song 📚It was the perfect choice to listen to between my heavier reads that I’ve had lately 📚The story was a bit predictable but I think most rom coms are, which is what I love about them when I need something cheery. (Also it gave me some serious John Tucker Must Die vibes in the beginning) • Overall I rated it 3.5 ⭐️s, I didn’t love it or hate it. It was enjoyable and a nice audiobook with a teen that reminded me a little of myself with her bookish habits. I’d definitely recommend to anyone who shares a love of classic literature and likes YA romance • QOTD do you enjoy rom coms (either movies or books)? • Prompts #beachcanyouread “Read a Rom Com” https://www.instagram.com/p/CBvY-VmgKiK/?igshid=1c1tx9hab2tl7

⭐️REVIEW⭐️ Happy Sunday bookworms and happy Fathers Day to all the bookish dads on here! One of the books I finished this past week was my first ever Elin Hilderbrand, specifically Nantucket Nights. I’ve seen a lot of hype around this author but this book was not the best introduction 🙈 • 🌌 Nantucket Nights was a quick, easy read 🌌I didn’t like any of the characters! They were all unlikeable and I couldn’t connect or sympathize with any of them 🌌Antoinette’s secret was predictable as was the outcome of the plot and I can’t reveal the secret without spoiling it but let’s just say I was deeply disturbed 🤢 🌌 The Fetishizing (is that a word?) of Black women was frustrating and disturbing 🌌Ending left me questioning the book and the entire point of the plot 🌌Publishers call it suspenseful but that’s the last word that comes to mind. There’s drama and “mystery” but it’s predictable 🌌There are so many loose ends and unnecessary details. The beginning of the book dragged on with the pointless descriptions with no real plot and then the end was rushed 🌌Only reason I finished the book was because it’s less than 300 pages and it was for the #beachcanyouread “Read an Elin Hilderbrand Book” challenge🙈 • I might give the author another chance because she’s so popular in the community so there has to be something of hers that I’ll enjoy, but this was the worst book of the month so far. I gave it 1.5 ⭐️s and I’m getting more angry as I write this review 😂 Triggers: depression, suicidal thoughts/attempts, racism, fetishization of black women • • QOTD have you read this book or any others by Hilderbrand? What were your thoughts? https://www.instagram.com/p/CBtJ0c3g6_Z/?igshid=og3msbz6mlk5

⭐️REVIEW⭐️ The weekend went by way too quickly and now I’m back to a new week of working from home. Luckily I was able to spend the weekend cooking new recipes and I finished Sharp Objects by @thegillianflynn late Saturday night 😁 I hope you all had a nice weekend as well! • • My thoughts: 🔪 I was drawn in right away! Flynn’s writing style always captivates me and holds my attention throughout her novels. I just love how she unravels a plot and develops the characters 🔪Just when I thought I had the plot figured out and “whodunnit,” the last 5ish pages became a wild ride and I was left stunned 🤯 🔪Read the book in 2 days! It was quick and captivating, even though the subject matter was dark and difficult to get through at times 🔪I was squeamish with all the sexually explicit scenes and slaughterhouse descriptions. It reinforced my trying to eat less meat 😷 Take caution if you read this book, it will make you uncomfortable if you’re a sensitive reader like me 🔪I also had a hard time with the fatphobia depicted in the book by the MC. There were a couple of incidences where Camille describes heavier women in a poor light, like one was describing a child as a pig • • Now that I’ve read all her books (so far-please write more!!)I’d say this is my second favorite, after Dark Places. I rated this one 4.5 ⭐️s Triggers: animal cruelty, child murder, depression, anxiety, self harm/cutting, suicide, homophobia, bullying, sexual assault, gaslighting, abuse (mental, emotional, and some physical) • • QOTD what did you do this weekend? • • Prompts #beachcanyouread hosted by @readwithangie “Read a thriller” https://www.instagram.com/p/CBdmGCkA--G/?igshid=r9wh442194h0

☀️REVIEW🌙 This week I’ve been listening to the #scribdaudiobook History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera. It had an interesting and unique plot which is what drew me to it, but wasn’t really for me in the end. Also pictured is my bullet journal layout trying the #angieway to plan my reading for the month! • • 🌙I don’t like griffin most of the book with the exception of a few chapters. Wade is honestly the best character and the only one I liked. Griffin was just annoying and selfish, I found myself rolling my eyes a lot🙈 ☀️I kept spacing out more than usual with this audiobook. I had this issue back when I first started listening to books but lately I’ve improved. I just couldn’t get fully immersed in this one 🌙I did enjoy the chapters switching between “history” and “today” ☀️I liked how Silvera tried to develop Griffins OCD instead of just saying “oh he has a mental illness but let’s not focus on that.” It shows an accurate rep of how it impacts Griffins daily life Overall it was a decent story (I mean I did finish after all, through sheer force) but the characters were extremely unlikeable for me. I gave it 2.5 ⭐️s Triggers: loss/grief, depression, OCD • • QOTD have you read any books by Silvera? Any you would recommend? • Prompts Pride month reads- m/m romance and bisexual rep #beachcanyouread by @readwithangie “Read a book by an author you’ve never read before” https://www.instagram.com/p/CBaw_38grbB/?igshid=1jyxyvofvjeqv

🕊Book Review🕊 We finally made it to Friday bookstafam! I hope your week was good (or at least not terrible) but otherwise it’s the weekend and I hope it’s a good one for you 💗 Yesterday I finished one of my backlist titles that I’ve had for a few years...oops 🤭 The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman, which was a pretty fantastic contemporary read. The story is about family bonds, dark secrets, loss, and grief. The novel switches between the 1960s and the present (2007) to see how one summer spent with an artist, Thomas, and two sisters can drastically affect the rest of their lives. • • 🎨It took about 100 pages before I got really into it but after that I was devouring it 🎨Great character representation with one of the MCs living with Rheumatoid Arthritis 🎨I didn’t care for Finch and Stephens POV chapters, I preferred reading about the sisters and Thomas. Their sections had so much extra details that I found myself skimming parts of it 🎨The twists and drama!! Just when I thought the twist was revealed, another came by surprise right at the ends Overall I rated it 4⭐️s for the mostly fantastic writing and amazing mystery plot! Triggers: grief, child death, loss of loved one • QOTD what are you reading this weekend? • • Prompts #beachcanyouread hosted by @readwithangie “Read a book with a beach or water on the cover” https://www.instagram.com/p/CBV7QjxgMhi/?igshid=xh88xt5ev4mv

⭐️Book Review⭐️ Sunday night I finished Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls! I hadn’t heard of this book before until it was part of my March #booksthatmatteruk box, along with this “Deeds not Words” metal bookmark 😁 it’s crazy how last year I barely read any YA novels and now I’ve read 2 in a row (I'm loving it)! • • 🗳The book had a bit of a slow start but it was a nice, easy read so I went through it quickly 🗳I Learned a bit more on the British Suffragette movement compared to the US movement 🗳Some things are so parallel to what we see today in terms of protesting and sexism which I found sad that society can still be like after all these decades 🗳The ending left me wanting more as did the whole book in general. Obviously the Great War takes place at this time (1914-1918) and the book shifts it’s focus to that and looks less at the suffrage movement. I was kind of disappointed in how little the movement was talked about in the second half of the novel 🗳I liked that the three different characters had completely different class backgrounds and experiences but it is disappointing that yet again WOC in the movement have been left out of the narrative. I’m aware that they were also left out of the movement as a whole in this time in history as well, but its not an excuse to continue to leave them out by not having them talked about in a book and giving them representation. 🗳It was Great that it had an f/f relationship too but again their storyline left me wanting to hear more about LGBTQ community and the events they may have organized/attended 🗳It felt like the suffrage movement was fluffed and didn’t really show the hardships of being a young suffragette • • I rated this 3⭐️s because it was a nice plot and a quick read but overall I was disappointed and left wanting more from the story. Triggers: police brutality, loss of loved one, suicidal ideation, PTSD, homophobia Qotd what are you currently reading? • • Prompts #beachcanyouread hosted by @readwithangie “Read a book by an author you’ve never read before” Pride Read 🏳️‍🌈 f/f relationship https://www.instagram.com/p/CBN54d6A0h7/?igshid=19ygft3wtj1uo