June was another big reading and listening month—I finished 14 books total, including 3 that earned a solid 5 stars. The biggest surprise? I finally (only three years late…) read Fourth Wing, and okay, now I get it. The hype, the dragons, the banter, the term shadow daddy—it all makes sense. Even though romance fantasy usually isn’t my go-to genre, this one completely hooked me. Could not put it down, lost sleep multiple days in a row! I shouldn’t be too surprised though—Rebecca Yarros’ contemporary romances have always been favorites of mine (I LOVED Variation), and clearly she knows how to deliver no matter the setting. If you want to check out my past reviews, they’re right here. Oh, and I finally joined Goodreads in December and loaded in all my books—let’s be bookish besties! Here’s my profile. My rating system is at the bottom. Now, let’s dive in!
Home of the American Circus 5/5 – I listened to this as an audiobook, it was narrated by my fave Julia Whelan. Wow the storytelling was so amazing. Whenever there’s not great child upbringing stories my heart hurts!!! So sad and messed up. I just loved this one!! What a unique and interesting story. I wanted to stop life to listen to this!
Forth Wing 5/5 – I don’t know why it took me so long to read Fourth Wing. Well, actually I do—I’m not a huge fantasy reader. But I am a big Rebecca Yarros fan (In The Likely Event still lives rent-free in my heart), so I finally gave in… mostly because Nick’s work friend who has good taste (and is a man btw) said it was good. And wow. WOW. I wanted to stop doing life and just read this book. The writing is so good (not surprising!), and now I finally understand all the “shadow daddy” references I’ve seen floating around the internet—makes total sense now 🔥. My best friend showed me the Xaden Instagram edit and, um, hot?? lol. One scroll and suddenly my IG algorithm thinks I’m only into broody dragon men, and honestly, it’s not wrong. I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say… the bonding?! The twist at the end?! I absolutely had to read the next one immediately. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but 5/5 for a fantasy book. SO good.
Iron Flame 5/5 I honestly can’t believe Iron Flame was just as good—if not better—than Fourth Wing. So. Dang. Good. And once again, I’m out here giving a fantasy book 5/5 stars?! Who even am I? The chair scene (pretty sure it’s Chapter 48)… hotttt. Their fight in Chapter 55? OBSESSED. “All you had to do was ask!” I wish they’d gotten to finish that moment before being interrupted. And then there’s Violet’s confession in Chapter 58—“You’re my gravity. Nothing in my world works without you.” Just… gah. So much love. I’m a romance girlie through and through, so I wouldn’t have minded a few more romance scenes, but this book delivered. Action, angst, dragons, steam—everything. I totally get the hype now, and I am all in.
Atmosphere 4.5/5 -God was this good, the author somehow continuously outdoes herself. She writes the most amazing characters with tension and peeling the onion. “I would give you anything if it wasn’t going to cost us everything” 😭 god the last half hour. Tears! Omg I did not want this book to end!! I kinda wanted to know what happens after. Like did NASA accept them, did they lose their jobs? Did Barbara ever come back and try anything or no? So that’s why I’m giving it a 4.5 vs. 5, but really it was so so good.
It’s A Love Story 4/5 – I just love her writing and older characters- they’re more mature! The spice level is tame-closed door romance. The whole book takes place over the course of a week which seemed like a very crazy timeline. I listed to this as an audiobook and the narrator just wasn’t doing it for me, she was kind of whiny in and blah, hard to describe. I would recommend this as a paper book, my rating would probably have been higher had I read it. I got it as one of my Spotify free books audiobooks which increased my enjoyment of it.
Pucked Off 4/5 -Very cute love story with a bit of spice. Love a very masculine man who is secretly a sweetie.
Made me want to go get a massage in general lol. Also made me want to purchase other books in this series and of this author.. . I got mine at Target and it had a bonus scene after the epilogue which I loved.
Ice Planet Barbarians 4/5 – This book is holy weird and wildly spicy—but I enjoyed it way more than I expected. The best way to describe it? Completely unhinged… in a fun way. I borrowed it from the library and it included a special edition bonus scene at the end, which honestly bumped up my rating. The extras wrapped things up in such a satisfying way. Yes, it’s bizarre—aliens, strange anatomy, and all—but somehow it just works. Definitely not your typical romance, but if you’re open to a totally out-there escape, this one’s entertaining in the most unexpected way.
My Favorite Bad Decision 3.5/5 – Okay, I have to say it—within the first 50 pages, the number of times it was mentioned that her sister dated Miller and got dumped via text? Easily a thousand. It felt like a bit much (we get it!), and it pulled me out of the story a few times. That said, I ended up enjoying the book overall! I loved the shared hatred of Gerald (honestly, the most fun kind of bonding), and the tension between the main characters kept me turning pages. It’s also a self-published book, which I always love supporting—huge props to the author for putting this story out there.
The Stolen Queen 3.5/5– Only gets good at like 50% lol, then the twists and turns keep coming. Was good, but I wished there would have been a little more closure for Annie’s character.
Done and Dusted 3.5/5 – A sweet and easy read with a best-friend’s-sister romance at the center—what’s not to like? The small-town setting, flirty banter, and undeniable chemistry made this a cute, comforting read. It didn’t totally blow me away, but it delivered exactly what I wanted: a light, low-drama love story with just enough sparks to keep things interesting. If you’re in the mood for something feel-good and charming with a familiar trope, this one checks the box!
Reckless Girls 3/5 – After finishing it I didn’t get the title, they weren’t reckless. Definitely saw that coming with Niko, but the other twists, I did not see coming, very good thriller, the twists come at the very end though, the beginning parts were sometimes a little slow. Could have done without that epilogue, but overall enjoyed it! Why wouldn’t they just name it the name of the island or something. And did she become just like Eliza in the end? I didn’t get it.
Deep Cuts 3/5 – Ugh, this book. If you’re a big music buff this book is for you. If you like music talk and dissection this book is for you. Very well written. It felt like the author really wanted to talk about early 2000s music and this was a place to do it. It was messy relationships and not at all redeeming and then it just ended and I was left hanging. Didn’t love it. Glad I got it from the library and didn’t buy it.
The Retirement Plan 3/5– This one was just okay for me. The premise had potential, but the story leaned a little too unrealistic and borderline fantastical at times—like I had to suspend a lot of disbelief to stay with it. The plot felt stretched, and there were definitely moments where it dragged or felt longer than it needed to be. I kept waiting for something to ground the story or add more emotional depth, but it never quite got there. That said, I appreciated the unique concept and the attempt at blending heart and humor—it just didn’t fully land for me.
Once Upon A Broken Heart 2/5 – this book was fine, just barely ok. It’s a fantasy book and admittedly I’m not the biggest fan of the genre. The story was interesting, kind of, the main character was a little whiney, there were just so many unresolved characters and plot points. I really don’t know why I stuck with it, I kept thinking it was going to get good. This also has like zero spice, is there such a thing as negative spice (because it was forced to kiss by a curse?). I think I found this book on some list and put it on my Libby que and it became available. And then it just ended, UGH, no redeeming features. And I’m not going to listen to the next book in the series. This was a pass for me.
My rating system
- 5 stars – I loved this book and would recommend it to someone looking for their next book to read. This is a book I would re-read and am slightly jealous of anyone who gets to experience it for the first time
- 4 stars – I really liked and enjoyed this book, it was solid. Glad I read it.
- 3 stars – I liked this book enough to finish it, but wish there would have been something more – and probably wishing it had changes
- 2 stars – It was hard to finish, but I made it to the end. I don’t understand why people liked this
- 1 star – Really annoyed I finished this book, did not like it
- DNF – Did not finish, just couldn’t do it
Leave a Reply