{2014} June Reading

Books bought:
~ The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (e-book)

Books received:
~ as stars fall by Christie Nieman (review copy)
~ I am Juliet by Jackie French (review copy)
~ Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (gift)
~ Nanberry by Jackie French, 
~ Reboot by Amy Tintera,
~ The Passage by Justin Cronin,
~ When We Wake by Karen Healey,
~ Phantom Thief Jeanne by Arina Tanemura (all gifts from a dear friend)
~ Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh (gift/review copy)

Books read:
~ American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
~ The Caller by Juliet Marillier
~ as stars fall by Christie Nieman
~ Lirael by Garth Nix
~ I am Juliet by Jackie French
~ Prickle Moon by Juliet Marillier
~ The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel Manga by Cassandra Clare, illustrated by HyeKyung Baek
~ A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, illustrated by Hope Larson
~ Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
~ Abhorsen by Garth Nix

I read a little less than I usually would this month, and that was mostly because I just wasn't sure what to read for a while - I seemed to keep jumping around. I did manage to get a few reviews done, though, which was great because they were all books I ended up enjoying.
I also finally managed to finish off the short stories in Prickle Moon - and I absolutely adored every one for different reasons. I feel so familiar with Marillier's style of writing now, but these short stories really threw me at times. She showed an ability to change characters, write in different genres, and throw in some fascinating humour, too. Plus the cover is just gorgeous - I would happily hang it on my wall. (Psst! Cover artist is here!)

I picked up a couple of graphic novels in the interim that I found at the library - I had always wanted to check out the Infernal Devices manga so when I saw it sitting there I grabbed it straight away. It was really good, and an accurate representation of the story, and the artwork was just gorgeous, but I just didn't feel the same way I did when I read the books. There's so much going on in Tessa's head in these books and I'm just not sure that's reflected well in manga form. I think I will read the next one, though, if I can get my hands on it.

Afterworlds was a real stand-out for me this month, which was surprising as I haven't had much luck with his other books. I have tried to read Leviathan a few times with no success, and the basic premise of the Uglies books just doesn't seem to appeal to me that much. So when I saw quite a few booktubers come away from Book Expo America with ARCs of Afterworlds, I wasn't that interested to begin with. Then a friend sent me an eARC and I decided to give it a go, and wow. I am so glad I did. It was fantastic. I'm not going to go into what's it about (you can find that out here if you like), but just know that I will definitely be preordering the shiny hardback copy for my collection.

Finally, the Old Kingdom reading that Katharine and I have been doing is getting close to finishing - with the first three books under our belts now, we only have the collection Across the Wall left before we attempt the wait for Clariel. I am really loving these books and reading them is reminding me how much I love Nix's writing. He writes strong, yet complex, female characters, too, which I adore.

That's it for June! I've had a good start to July so far with finished The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath yesterday, and I have many plans for the rest of the month. What are you reading right now? Is there anything I read this month that appeals to you, or that you've read before? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Love to all who read.

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