June 2022 Book Reviews
I must have chosen my books well this month because my wrap up consists of only 4 and 5 ⭐️ ratings!
Though I had three 5⭐️ reads this month, my overall favorite of the month was A Court of Silver Flames. Talk about some serious character development!!!!
My "least" favorite (which is in quotes because we're talking a 4⭐️ book here) was probably A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.
V️erity - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
A Court of Frost and Starlight - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
When the Men Were Gone - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
A Court of Silver Flames - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Total pages: 2,578
I really enjoyed these books and would recommend all of them! Verity if you want a good thriller, When the Men Were Gone for a quick heartwarming historical fiction read, or A Good Girl's Guide to Murder for a mystery. (Obviously for Harry Potter 6, ACOFAS, and ACOSF, you'll want to read the prequels in the series.)
2022 Goal progress: 37/52
Overall favorite of the month:
A Court of Silver Flames
JUNe 2022 reads at a glance
Verity
4/5
A Court of Frost and Starlight
5/5
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
5/5
When the Men Were Gone
4/5
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
3/5
A Court of Silver Flames
5/5
Book #1: Verity
Author: Colleen Hoover
Rating: 4/5
Verity is about a writer, Lowen, who takes over a series for Verity Crawford, another author who has sustained injuries and won’t be completing the series. Lowen heads to Verity’s home to do research, but as she combs through the office she learns way more than she expected.
It was NUTS in the best way. I knew it was a thriller that had gotten rave reviews, but beyond that I didn’t know anything about it. Well, I basically fell into this book and winded up finishing it in a day. I could not put it down! It’s quite literally scary and I found myself saying “WHAT?!” out loud each time Lowen uncovered something twisted. I highly recommend!
You’ll like this if:
You enjoy thrillers like stories where the ending can go one of two ways (you’ll see what I mean).
Book #2: A Court of Frost and Starlight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5/5
Okay I feel like 5 stars may be an unpopular opinion, but I honestly enjoyed this book! After all of the action and suspense at the end of ACOWAR, it was nice to have a breather and not be stressed that someone was gonna ya know, die or something.
And also, Christmas is my favorite day of the year. Their solstice celebration gave me top notch cozy Christmas vibes, even though that’s not the point of the book lol. I’ve seen complaints that the book was “all shopping for gifts and doing nothing,” but I kind of liked that.
One thing that did annoy me was Nesta. I know her life has done a 180 against her will, but at least try to make the best of it, ya know? She was getting on my dang nerves! But I’ve heard that my feelings about her will change in book 5. I also feel bad for Lucien in general. Ugh
Overall this book wasn’t my favorite of the four, but giving it only four stars doesn’t feel good enough for me!
YOU’LL LIKE THIS IF:
You like easy, quick reads and don’t mind a lowkey story without much excitement.
Book #3: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating: 5/5
The 6th installment of Harry Potter is my favorite since book 3! In this book, things get a lot darker than they’ve been in past stories. As the trio returns to Hogwarts, Harry finds himself tailing Malfoy. He’s not sure what he’s up to, but he’s suspicious. Despite authority telling him to drop it — there’s nothing there, Harry still suspects something is up.
I don’t want to cover anything else for fear of spoiling the story, but if you’re currently reading the series for the first time, get excited for this one!
You’ll like this if:
You’ve read other books in the series or like a bit of magic and mystery in your books.
Book #4: When the Men Were Gone
Author: Marjorie Herrera Lewis
Rating: 4/5
I ended up reading this one and it was great AND a true story!
Tylene lived in Texas and grew up going to local high school football games with her father who taught her everything about the game. She was absolutely obsessed, putting together plays and calling out the refs as a spunky 10-year-old.
(My own dad was a high school football coach, so right away I was really into this story!)
By the time 1944 rolls around, Tylene works at Brownwood High School as an Assistant Principal. All of the local men have gone off to war, and the football team is left without a coach and is facing a canceled season. To prevent the senior boys from having to enlist and giving them one more football season of normalcy, Tylene steps up to coach.
But it’s 1944, and women in football is a no-no. So the town ridicules her and she faces this public shaming. Her husband’s business even loses a major supplier because of it! Nonetheless, Tylene coaches. She works with the boys to kick off the season and play their favorite game.
This was a really heartwarming story that I recommend if you love football! Tylene was a really strong woman who stood up for what she believed in despite the entire town (including some of those close to her) turning on her. I loved how her husband, parents, and sister supported her without question! It was a quick read at only 226 pages.
You’ll like this if:
You love historical fiction, small-town stories, football, and brave women.
Book #5: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
Author: Holly Jackson
Rating: 4/5
When I picked up this book, I didn’t realize it was more YA than I usually read. I’ve seen it all over #booktok, so I grabbed it without research. Nonetheless, it was still a good story!
This book follows high school senior Pip as she works on her capstone project. For her topic, she’s chosen to research a murder that took place in her town 5 years earlier. Suspecting that the supposed killer isn’t actually guilty, Pip sets out to prove it. She is fearless! She reaches out to local journalists, police officers, family members, and more to uncover the truth, documenting all interviews and findings in her project journal along the way.
I loved how confident and ballsy Pip was! She knew what she needed to do and made it happen (despite only a couple of questionable decisions).
This would up being a really good story that kept me hooked! I wanted to see how it would play out and learned a bit more with each clue Pip uncovered. Part of the ending was shocking, and other parts weren’t so crazy. But I liked how the ending included a bunch of different layers!
You’ll like this if:
You enjoy YA novels, cool teen girl leads, and murder mysteries!
Book #6: A Court of Silver Flames
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5/5
A Court of Silver Flames is the 5th book in the ACOTAR series, and it’s the first book written entirely from the perspectives of Nesta and Cassian.
Going into this book, I was a bit wary about that change. I loved Feyre & Rhysand’s story and wasn’t sure I wanted to read an entire book where they hardly make appearances save for a couple of key chapters.
Well, my fears were quickly pushed to the side as I got further and further into this book and fell that much more in love with it!
Throughout the story, Nesta works to overcome the emotions tied to everything she’s experienced not just in the past couple of months, but throughout her whole life. She puts in the work (physically and emotionally) to work through everything, and she winds up being so much stronger than most of us gave her credit for in the earilier books.
Cassian is by her side every step of the way. And dare I say he has now slid into my #1 favorite ACOTAR character slot, knocking Rhysand down a notch?
With all of Rhysand’s responsibility, he was getting a bit boring to me. Cassian’s sense of humor and general goofiness were so appreciated during this book. It was such a great way to close out the series for now, and I cannot WAIT for Sarah J. Maas to release the next book!
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