Month in Review: June 2024

June started out fast, but ended up slowing down at the end of the month, and I actually appreciated that. June is also my birthday month, though I'm not the biggest birthday celebration person, but it's still fun to spend some time with family. It was another busy month, but nothing overly exciting, I'm afraid. The one big (not that big, though) decision I made in June is that I signed up for a teacher training course in October for aerials! I'm not entirely sure if/when I may actually end up being an instructor for aerial silks/etc. since I've only been learning it for about two years, but I wanted to just get a taste of what that could be like and also further my own aerial knowledge and skills, so I'm excited for that!

In reading news, I read a pretty nice array of books and really liked most of them! I don't think I ended up with any five star reads, but I still think a lot of these were fantastic reads, especially The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands, The Rent Collectors, and The Spellshop. 

How was your May?  Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

   

# books read: 12

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks ★★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

Thoughts: This was so atmospheric and I had such a great time with it. A very slow burn type of read, but worth it! My review for this one is already up on my blog.

The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant LA by Jesse Katz ★★★★.5

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: This was an incredibly informative and insightful nonfiction look into gang and immigrant life in LA. Highly recommended! My review will be up soon!

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low ★★★.75

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: As we know (or if you don't, now you will), I am a bit Peter Pan fan and will read any and all retellings/books inspired by it, so I was really excited for this one and thought it was a really interesting take! You can find my review already up!

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst ★★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: This was absolutely delightful and I really enjoyed my time listening to this audiobook! The perfect cozy fantasy for the summer.

The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: I was warned this was a bit dark and heavy at times, and it certainly was. A really good read, though!

The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: Another fun fantasy, this one was surprised me with how much I ended up enjoying it. 

Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: Tchaikovsky always comes through with thought-provoking sci-fi, and this novella was no different.

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: This was hilarious and occasionally moving and thoughtful. It's also a ton of fun. My review for this will be up closer to its release in August.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr ★★★★

Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

Thoughts: This was a cute read and I had a lot of fun, I loved all the puzzles throughout. 

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland ★★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: This is described as being an extremely horny book, and that was extremely accurate. A fun read, though a bit over the top at times. Still, you'll have a good time if you don't mind constant sex jokes!

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston ★★★

Source: Library | Format: Paperback

Thoughts: This was a fun fantasy read. It didn't stand out to me overly much, but still a good time and I'd like to read more from Cameron Johnston.

Paint It All Red by S.T. Abby 

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: I wanted to finish up this series so finally got around to this one. A very solid conclusion, though certainly not a favorite. 

DNF/To-Be-Finished:

None

 

Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
Daughter of Calamity by Rosali M. Lin
The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

 Posts:

Month in Review: May 2024
Anticipated July 2024 Releases

Blog Memes:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:
6/5: The West Passage by Jared Pechaček, These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low, & Dallergut Dream Department Store by Lee Mi-Ye
6/12: The Spice Gate by Prashanth Srivatsa, The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman, & The Astrology House by Carinn Jade
6/19: I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones, The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer, & The Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
6/26:  This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour & State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg

The Friday Face-Off:

Review: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

  

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Bramble

Publication Date: July 9th, 2024

Hardcover. 384 pages.

About The Spellshop:

"Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.

When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.

In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.

But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop."

The Spellshop is every bit as enchanting and delightful as I'd hoped–and maybe even a bit more!

This is exactly the cozy, delightful fantasy that you've been looking for. Sarah Beth Durst has created a vibrant, comforting, and compelling world with a magic system that absolutely captivated me. I quickly and completely fell in love with this world, the protagonist, and every other character we meet in this book (well, maybe barring one or two). This wasn't necessarily the most original story I've ever read, but I'm not someone that needs every single thing to be brand new and I really loved what Durst did with this story. 

We follow Kiela, a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, as she unexpectedly is forced to leave the library and ends up going into hiding at her childhood home, a remote island that she hopes will be able to provide a safe place for her to stay and also keep some magic–and illegal–spellbooks safe. Once there, Kiela ends up opening a jam shop, which allows her to better get to know her neighbors and also begin experimenting with some new ideas that have the possibility of getting her into some trouble one day...

Kiela is a delightful protagonist, and that's not exactly because she's an exceptionally warm or bubbly person, but rather because she is the exact opposite–in all the best ways possible. Kiela is the ultimate introvert (she reminds me a bit of Emily Wilde, if that helps at all), avoiding social interactions whenever she can and remidning herself that seeing poeple is not a bad thing–although she does come to realize that maybe she doesn't feel quite as terrible as she thinks when interacting with some poeple. I loved how true she stayed to her character throughout the story while still managing to showcase some wonderful character development throughout. 

This book doesn't rely too heavily on world-building, but I really loved the world-building that we did get to learn about. I was really intrigued by the unrest that was happening in the city where Kiela worked as a librarian, as well as the magic-caused storms that are plaguing the island Kiela travels back to. I honestly would have liked to learn a bit more about this world and some more specifics, but I understand that they weren't necessarily needed for this story. However, I still appreciated how much detail Sarah Beth Durst put into this world, including the magical plants, merhorses, cloud bears, and other fun and delightful creatures in this book. I also loved the magic that largely came in the form of Kiela's spells disguised as "remedies," as I always enjoy a magic system based upon recipes and putting spells together. 

I was pleased to see find that the romance actually fit well into the story and didn't feel too overwhelming, In fact, I think it really helped highlight some of Kiela's own personal development in a way that fit nicely into the story. All of the characters, in fact, have great dynamics with Kiela and each seem to impact her own development in their own unique way. It really made each character feels important to the story and therefore more enjoyable to read about and see in different scenes. I really liked how vibrant the entire cast of characters was and how Durst mananged to bring them all to life in such a purposeful and effective way. 

I also want to note that I listened to the audiobook version of The Spellshop and the narrator did a fantastic job giving life to each characters–especially the delightful plant friends! I would happily listen to anything else Caitlin Davies narrates, as I found her narrative voice incredibly clear and entertaining to listen to. 

I was really sorry to say goodbye to the characters in this book once I hit the last chapter and would love to read more from this world and these characters. I don't think this needs a sequel (and I'm not sure if one is even planned), but I certainly wouldn't say no to one. Overall, I've given The Spellshop 4.25 stars!

*I received a copy of The Spellshop in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher & Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia

        

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Publication: August 6th, 2024
Tor Books
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic

Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind."

I’ll read anything T. Kingfisher puts out! I really love the premise for this one and have no doubt that it’s in good hands.

Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia
Publication: August 6th, 2024
Tin House Books
Paperback. 256 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Set against the stark background of the Southwestern desert, Lena Valencia’s Mystery Lights glows with the promise―and fear―of the world we know and the worlds we don’t, following women and girls as they navigate dangers both supernatural and existential.

An influencer attempts to derail a viral TV marketing campaign with her violent cult following. A marriage between two ghost hunters is threatened when one of them loses her ability to see spirits. The lives of a famous painter in the twilight of her career and a teenage UFO enthusiast converge when a mysterious glowing orb appears in their small desert town. And a slasher-flick screenwriter looking for inspiration escapes a pack of wild dogs only to find herself locked in an SUV with a strange man beside her. Set primarily in deserts throughout the American Southwest, Lena Valencia’s Mystery Lights is a debut collection of stories about women and girls at the crossroads of mundane daily life and existential dread.

From the all-too-real horror of a sexual predator on a college campus to a lost sister transformed by cave-dwelling creatures, Mystery Lights grapples with terrors both familiar and fantastic, introducing an electrifying new voice in contemporary fiction while bringing to light the many faces of the forces that haunt us."

This sounds like such an interesting horror collection and I am so excited to read it. I have an ARC that I’ve been holding onto, but I might just give in and read it soon!

Review: These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low

Orbit

Publication Date: July 9th, 2024

Paperback. 464 pages.

About These Deathless Shores:

"Jordan has gotten good at pretending.

On an Island where boys fly and fight pirates, but girls can only be mothers, Jordan's shaved head and false swagger are the only things keeping her adopted crew of Lost Boys from forcing her into a role she has never wanted. When she gets her first period, she's exposed and thrown back Outside—into a world where grown-ups die slowly in offices, flight is a fantasy, and withdrawal from the Island’s magical Dust slowly strips its afflicted of their dignity.

To Jordan, it’s a fate worse than death.

Nine years later, when the drug she has been using to medicate her withdrawal begins to show its fatal final symptoms, Jordan persuades her best friend and fellow ex-Lost Boy to return with her to the Island. With the help of a temperamental pilot and her long-estranged sister, she sets in motion a plan to oust Peter from his throne and seize control of the Island’s Dust supply.

But Peter isn't the only malevolent force moving against her. As Jordan confronts the nature of Dust, first love, and the violent legacy carved into the land itself, she realises the Island may have plans of its own..."

These Deathless Shores is a dark Peter Pan-inspired story that really grabbed me with its premise. I will read any and all Peter Pan-inspired stories, so this was an immediate must-read for me. While the execution didn't quite meet my expectation, there were still so many elements that I really liked and I found myself consistently captivated by this gritty, complex world created by the author. 

The story follows Jordan, who as a child disguised herself a boy in order to be swept away to Neverland alongside her friend where the two could fulfill the role of the 'twins' together as one of Peter Pans Lost Boys. When she is eventually kicked out and left for dead, she struggles back in the real world with her strong addiction to the magic Dust and her deep desire to be back on the Island.

Jordan is a complicated person who has been through a lot and struggles with her addiction to Dust and attachment to the Island, which she has never really been able to move on from. She leads a somewhat erratic life with a main goal of getting back to the Island, though she generally seems a bit unclear about what she wants long term. I'm not sure even Jordan knows what she wants from life, and I could relate to this struggle with finding yourself and your place in this world.  Baron acts as somewhat as a foil to Jordan and was a bit of an odd character, but I liked him and connected with him and many of his anxieties and desire to move on from things. He's not overly adventurous and prefers to probably stay out of things, but he makes some personal discoveries throughout the book that really help him development as a character. He's the type of character that's easy to be bullied by other characters, if that makes sense, and I actually felt like Jordan wasn't always the kindest to him in ways that made their friendship feel very complex and tense, a setup that I think Low explored very carefully and with thoughtfulness that made it a really fascinating dynamic.

This is a dark tale that deals with a lot of mental health struggles and traumas, so a quick look at content warnings is a good idea if you're sensitive to anything along those lines. I appreciated that the author did include relatable struggles such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, disability rep, addiction, and more, as I thought it packed in some realism that helped me connect more with the characters and even better understand their actions and motivations. There is also a fair bit of violence throughout the book that fit in well with this gritty dog-eat-dog type of world. There's a definite 'everyone looks out for themselves' vibe throughout, so it was interesting to see how different connections were able to be formed by different characters. It's a brutal life to live on the Island with Peter. 

The world-building felt both over and under developed at the same time. While the world felt like an alternate, somewhat dystopian vibe version of our own–but with different names and it's own map–there really didn't seem to be enough exploration or explanation of the world for it to make sense to me. I was left wondering where exactly different places were and what the general setup of this world was, and in the end I just ended up feel fairly lost throughout some of this book. This is also shows up in the layout of the Island itself, as I felt there were sometimes conflicting descriptions given of just how big or small the Island was and where all of its inhabitants were located. For instance, the Island is home to Peter and his Lost Boys, and the Pirates, and the Pales, the latter being Lost Boys who aged out of being Lost Boys but remained on the Island. It was a little unclear to me at times where all these different factions existed and how exactly they lived on the Island and interacted, and this bothered me a bit while trying to understand the world. 

I also felt that the plotting and pacing were a little messy at times. It often seemed as though the author wanted to tackle a lot of different angles of this story, but didn't fully commit to any. This also created some uneven pacing, where at times things seemed to be progressing quickly–occasionally too quickly–but other times it didn't seem like it was going anywhere.  I also didn't care for the ending and felt it was a bit lackluster and disappointing compared to what the story had been building up to, and I didn't personally feel like all the previous plot points had been fully addressed. 

All that being said, I always like to leave credit where its due so I think it's important to note that despite these struggles, I kept reading the book and finding myself curious about what would happen next. I'm not someone who really holds back on DNF-ing books anymore, so clearly something kept me going, and I strongly believe it's the author's writing the kept me so engaged. Low did such a great job of really capturing the gritty atmosphere of this rather brutal tale and conveying it through their thoughtful prose style and through their characters and their emotions and reactions to everything that happens. I was really captivated by Low's writing and would certainly want to see what else they may write in the future. 

Lastly, I also just want to note that I really hated the romance that occurs in this. Maybe it shouldn't have been this way, but it really felt like it came out of nowhere and it didn't work to me at all. The dynamics also felt really off and I just didn't feel comfortable with this pairing, so that was something that frustrated me whenever it came up.

This review may seem fairly negative, but I really didn't dislike this book. I loved a lot of the bones and general core of it, I just wish everything else had filled in a bit better. As mentioned, I really enjoyed the author's writing and think there's a lot of promise there, so it's one I'd still encourage people to check out if it sounds interesting to them. Overall, I've given These Deathless Shores 3.75 stars!

*I received a copy of These Deathless Shores in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Anticipated July 2024 Releases

Okay, so July seems almost more packed with new releases than June–and June was already filled to the brim! I have to say that July is also looking extremely vibrant–I mean, just look at how colorful all of these covers are, I love it. I am so excited about the books releasing in July and have had a chance to read some ARCs of some of these already (and have plenty to get to, I'm doing my best not to fall behind, haha) and it's shaping up to be a great month.

Be sure to take a look at some of the amazing July releases below and let me know which ones you're looking forward to–and as always, let me know if I left any out that you're looking forward to, as I can never fit all of them on these posts. 🤣

The West Passage by Jared Pechacek || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Spice Gate by Prashanth Srivatsa || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Dallergut Dream Department by Miye Lee || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves, China Mieville || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Nicked by M.T. Anderson || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman || July 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villaviceencio || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Astrology House by Carinn Jade || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

All This & More by Peng Shepherd || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant LA by Jesse Katz || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The White Guy Dies First edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Bad Tourists by Caro Carver || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber || July 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani, Sam Bett || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith || July 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What are your anticipated July releases?