June wrap-up
- Em | The Last Great Read
- Jul 26, 2024
- 5 min read
I don't know about you, but it feels like summer's finally here! Warmer weather, lighter evenings, pockets of sunshine, sundresses, denim jackets, flowers in bloom... we're well and truly into summer. And with that, let's take a look back together at what June had in store for my reading habits...
(Author's note: I realise this wrap-up is extremely late, but just pretend you're reading this 2 weeks ago.)
Lore Olympus: Volume Five
Rachel Smythe
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Starting off strong with another volume of Lore Olympus. Gonna keep this quick cause I really don't have much to say that I haven't already said in past monthly wrap-ups. A great graphic novel series based on greek mythology. Romance, interesting characters, sub-plots... this series has it all! Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed this volume, and I'm excited to see what happens after that cliffhanger of an ending.
The Art of Feefal
Linnea Kikuchi
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My first non-fiction book of 2024 was this stunning art book by one of my favourite artists on Instagram: Feefal. (You can check out her account here!) Honestly, this was just a joy to read. Flicking through the beautiful pages of illustrations with the story of her art journey dotted inbetween was a lovely calming experience. Given it's not a novel, I don't have many critical thoughts, I simply enjoyed the experience of reading it. And for that it gets five stars.
A Gathering of Shadows
V.E. Schwab
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The second book in the brilliant Shades of Magic series, and my oh my, it did not disappoint! It had been a while since I read the first book in this series, but even from that first book I knew just how good the trilogy was going to be; I gave book 1 a veryyy solid 4.75 stars, and had heard it only got better. Well, that time finally came and I was truly obsessed with this book! Everything from the plot to the writing style to the characters and world building is truly on point in this series.
Kell, Lila, Rhy and my fav, Alucard, are a brilliant cast of main characters who balance each other well. The romances are insanely shippable and had me rooting for every single pairing. The plot is action-led and fast enough to keep you hooked, but slow enough to stop for details when it matters, and the details truly are beautiful. Schwab has created a thoroughly elaborate and magical world that feels familiar and yet wondrous: Grey London is just grounded enough for us to position ourselves in the correct time and place, and then Red London just takes your breath away with descriptions of markets and palaces and magic. And then you have the seas!! As we all know, I love a Boat Book™, and so the fact that a decent chunk of this story takes place out on the ocean with privateers (definitely not pirates) was, of course, music to my ears. For such a high-stakes world, this middle book and its main plotline of the Elemental Games feels relatively low-key, but I think it's needed before that cliffhanger ending and what's to come...
A Conjuring of Light
V.E. Schwab
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 3!!! Speaking of stakes... they're incredibly high from the outset of this book. The final novel in the trilogy, A Conjuring of Light is ridiculously good (I mean, they're all good, but somehow this one is even better.) It's one of those books that constantly makes you fear for all the main characters' lives (as I texted to a friend whilst reading it) and I LOVED IT. If you need any more proof, let me tell you how quickly I devoured this book: over 600 pages in only 5 days (for 3 of which I was working a full day) - I just couldn't put it down!
There are so many incredible action scenes in this one, from standard brawls to magical battles, and the final battle especially was just incredible! It was so well written and you honestly didn't know what was going to happen. Osaron made a formidable villain, a particularly hateable one if I'm being honest, and the different plot strands weaved together so well - I particularly liked the voyage to the floating market (the market itself was beautifully described and is a place I hope we return to in the sequel series). As always, Alucard was iconic, Lila was a badass, Rhy made you feel, and Kell was brilliant and stubborn in equal amounts. Alucard and Rhy's angsty romance was definitely one of my favourite parts - I was literally yearning for them to make things right and get back together. Honestly, I've tried to describe my love for this book but I don't even think I've quite scratched the surface. It's one of the best fantasy series I've ever read and this final installment was quite possibly my favourite book so far of 2024.
In other bookish news...
Whilst not a book review, I wanted to quickly touch on the new BBC series: A Good Girl's Guide To Murder, obviously based on the bestselling book of the same name by Holly Jackson. I binged this in the first two days after it dropped and I have some mixed feelings. As I should've expected, it wasn't as good as the book, and I think I would've perhaps enjoyed it better if I hadn't read the book first. The casting was brilliant though, and the last two episodes especially were amazing. The pace was a bit too slow to start with, but once it picked up, it really picked up! There were some minor unnecessary plot changes, although I think my main problem was that they made Andie too nice. It would've felt more real for her to be less of the martyr people pretended she was, like in the book. Overall, a good adaptation, but not a great one. (Have to give a shout out to Matthew Bayton though - he was incredible as Elliot Ward!)
Thoughts on 2024 so far
Well we're halfway through the year now (crazy)! So I thought I'd quickly reflect on the year so far...
I'm on track with my reading goal for the year, having read 26 books so far (1 ahead of schedule!!) I've read a lot of romance, closely followed by fantasy and YA. But I haven't read as many physical books as I would've liked, so this is definitely something I'll be focusing on for the rest of the year.
And finally, in no particular order, my best books of the year so far are: A Conjuring of Light, A Gathering of Shadows, and House of Earth and Blood. And my worst were: The Elite, Seatmate, and Let it Snow. I'll be doing a full ranking at the end of the year, which I'm really excited about - so stay tuned!!
If you made it through this blog post, thank you! This one was a bit longer than usual, given we've reached the mid-point of the year. But honestly, I think it's safe to say that with three 5-star-reads, it was a great month! July will see me tying up some loose ends in terms of series and books I started in June, so I look forward to reporting back in a month's time. And then I have something very exciting planned for August... so keep an eye on my Instagram... 👀
Have a great week! <3
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