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June was a pretty good reading month for me. I read 12 books, lots of YA sci-fi and dystopias and more clone books than I’ve ever read before.
I slowed down quite a bit in July but what I did read in June I mostly liked. Looking at it again though, there are quite a few under 4 stars, but I didn’t have any DNFs so there’s that.
There isn’t much else to it but here is everything I read in June 2021!
- If you want to listen to some of these, consider trying Audible! You can get your first month free (one free book) plus tons of others they have for free. Get that Audible deal here.
- If you’re on more of a budget, try Scribd! You can get your first month free there. You can read books and listen to audiobooks. It is unlimited (especially the reading) but if you listen to tons of new audiobooks you may be restricted after a few. I don’t listen to enough to confirm this, but I do use Scribd myself and like it a lot. Sign up for Scribd here!
- Shop my collection of bookish goodies on Etsy! These aren’t my shop items, but other shops I’ve curated into a book-themed collection. Shop my Etsy bookish goodies here!
- If you want to read more on your Kindle but don’t want to buy books, Kindle Unlimited is a wonderful option. It’s $9.99 a month but if you read a lot and like to read more than just new releases, it could be worth it. Get Kindle Unlimited here!
- Get $5 off of $25 from BookOutlet! This is a great place to find new books for pretty cheap. They also have sales quite a bit, so keep an eye out for those. I tend to check here for books I want if they’re more expensive other places. They don’t have everything but they do have a lot. Shop BookOutlet here!
- Thrift Books has become my go-to when I’m looking for a book and want it cheap. It’s great if you like buying used books. With this you can get a free book after spending $30!
- Shop my book lists here! You can find every book list I have on Bookshop.org (except my monthly round-ups) and I add everything I can but they occasionally won’t have some. I do occasionally add extras though. If any lists are empty, they’ll be filled in shortly! Shop my bookshop.org book lists here.
- Shopping internationally? Check out Book Depository!
Replica
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: YA sci-fi/dystopia
Rating: 3/5
About the book: Lyra grew up at the Haven Institute that, from afar, looks serene and beautiful on it’s own island off the coast of Florida but up close it you can see the biohazard suits and military guards. When an attack is launched on the institute, two subjects manage to escape: Lyra and 72.
They run into Gemma who has been almost abducted by a stranger claiming to know her. She begins investigating her family and discovers her father’s past connection to the Haven Institute. She travels to Florida for answers where she runs into replicas 24 and 72 and a whole lot of new questions.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: I liked how this was formatted, I’ve never seen one like this, but it could have worked just as alternating perspectives.
I would have liked this a lot more without the romance, it was just weird, forced, and unnecessary. I also could have done without gemmas constant “I’m so fat and everyone hates me” stuff. It was just too much. But I’m going to read the next one because I liked this enough and I’m curious.
99 Days
Author: Katie Cotugno
Genre: YA contemporary romance
Rating: 3.5/5
About the book:
Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house on my first night back in Star Lake and that’s how I know everyone remembers how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick that night with Gabe and how I wrecked their whole family. Only 99 days until I leave for college.
Day 4: It’s clear Julia isn’t finished after a nasty note on my windshield. I expect a fight with the tap on my shoulder, but instead, it’s Gabe and he’s actually happy to see me.
Day 12: Gabe got me to this party, I’m actually having fun, and I think he’s about to kiss me, but then I see Patrick. My Patrick who is supposed to be across the country, who is never going to forgive me.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: Maybe closer to 3.5? I enjoyed this for what it was, a not super serious summer book. The main characters were all pretty terrible people (not all of them but most of them) but it was an easy read and entertaining enough to read in one sitting.
9 Days and 9 Nights
Author: Katie Cotugno
Genre: YA contemporary romance
Rating: 4/5
About the book: Molly Barlow isn’t that girl anymore. She has reinvented herself after everything that happened a year ago and life is getting back to normal. She just said “I love you” to her boyfriend Ian and they’re off on a romantic vacation to Europe, starting in London, where she runs into her ex, Gabe, with his new girlfriend Sadie.
Ian invites them to join them in Ireland, and not knowing their history, Sadie jumps at the opportunity.
Molly and Gabe can’t bring themselves to tell the truth about who they are to each other and now she has to spend nine days with the boy she once loved, whose heart she shredded, without Ian knowing.
Final thoughts: This is the sequel to 99 Days and I mostly wanted to read this one because it reminded me of Love and Gelato (from the description).
I liked this more than the first one I think and I was happy with the ending. I don’t like it as much as Love and Gelato but it was pretty enjoyable, though did have some annoying parts.
When No One is Watching
Author: Alyssa Cole
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
About the book: Sydney is Brooklyn born and bred but it seems her neighborhood is changing every time she blinks. Condos appear, old friends disappear so to hold onto her community’s past, she channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unwanted assistant in a new arrival to the block, her neighbor Theo.
Their deep dive into the history quickly turns to paranoia and fear as they discover their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all and that the push for revitalizing the community may have been more deadly than advertised.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: 4.5. I really liked this a lot but the first half took me 9 days to read and I read the second half in one night. I loved the story and everything that’s actually going on, even the romance, the only thing that I didn’t love was how villain-y the bad guys are at the end, like cartoon villain, super in your face. Other than that I loved it
Follow Me
Author: Sara Shepard
Genre: YA thriller
Rating: 3/5
About the book: The social media star Chelsea Dawson disappeared from a party on a beautiful summer night at the Jersey Shore after a fight with her boyfriend.
When Seneca, Aerin, Maddox, and Madison hear about the kidnapping, they notice she looks just like Aerin’s sister, Helena, who was killed five years earlier. They can’t shake the feeling the same person is behind both so they set out to find the truth, desperate for answers.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: More unnecessary romance. I didn’t love this but I’ll finish the series eventually out of curiosity. I think.
Ringer
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: YA sci-fi/dystopia
Rating: 3/5
About the book: This is the sequel to Replica and I don’t want to spoil it in case you’re interested in reading it.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: I think I just don’t care about Gemma at all. And still didn’t like the romance.
Brave New Girl
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: YA dystopia
Rating: 4/5
About the book: Dahlia 16 is nothing special. There are five thousand of her, after all. But that all changes when she meets Trigger 17. He thinks she’s beautiful and interesting and that must mean he’s flawed. She can’t stop thinking about him and she realizes she must be flawed, too. But if she is, then so are all of her identicals. And this means they must be recalled. Getting caught with Trigger would seal her and her identicals fate, but what if Trigger is right, what if she is different?
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: I really enjoyed this but I love dystopias. It was east and enjoyable and it was it in one day. I’ll definitely read the next one
Tropic of Capricorn
Author: Simon Reeve
Genre: Adventure memoir
Rating: 4/5
About the book: The Tropic of Capricorn spans 23,000 miles of the southernmost border of the tropics and is a place of overwhelming beauty and human suffering. Simon Reeve travels the length of the Capricorn starting in Africa, passing through Australia, and finally to South America where he encounters stunning scenery and extraordinary people.
Final thoughts: I really liked this one but I love this kind of journey/adventure story. I didn’t love the South America section as much as I expected to and some parts were fairly dry, but overall I really enjoyed this one.
The Last Star
Author: Rick Yancey
Genre: YA dystopia/post-apocalyptic
Rating: 4/5
About the book: This is the last book in the series and I don’t want to spoil anything.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads:
Them: trust no one
Also them: *trusts everyone*
The Similars
Author: Rebecca Hanover
Genre: YA sci-fi
Rating: 3.5/5
About the book: This fall, there will be six new students at Darkwood Academy but they’re not regular over-achieving students, they’re DNA duplicate of the regular over-achievers. The Similars are all anyone can talk about but Emmaline Chance could care less. Her best friend Oliver died over the summer and she can barely get by without him. But once school starts, she comes face-to-face with Levi, Oliver’s similar.
She wants nothing to do with the similars but keeps getting pulled further into their world and no one can be trusted not even the boy she is falling for.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: ** spoiler alert ** I really liked the idea of this and enjoyed most of it but Castor Island just really did not do it for me. and, again, MORE UNNECESSARY ROMANCE. Also, I don’t care about Pru that much. That just didn’t make that much sense to me. Basically everything after The Quarry is why I didn’t like this.
The Lying Game
Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4/5
About the book: On a cool June morning in the village of Salten, a woman’s dog charges into the water of the Reach and pulls out something much worse than a stick.
The next morning, Fatima, Thea, and Isa receive the three word text from Kate they hoped they never would. “I need you.”
They were best friends at Salten, the boarding school near the village, and became notorious for the Lying Game they played. One day the game got out of control and now their past is coming back to haunt them.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: Between In a Dark Dark Wood, Turn of the Key, and this, this was the best, for sure.
Since You’ve Been Gone
Author: Morgan Matson
Genre: YA contemporary
Rating: 4/5
About the book:
Sloane is the reason Emily’s life became 100% more interesting, but right before what is supposed to be the best summer ever, Sloane just disappears only leaving behind a to-do list.
On it are thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks Emily would never do, but what if they could bring her best friend back?
Now she has an unexpected summer with the help of Frank Porter to check things off her list and who knows what she’ll find.
Final thoughts: This was such a fun read! I didn’t love the beginning as much, it felt a little slow but I ended up liking this one a lot! I’ve wanted to read this one for years and saw it at the used book store earlier this summer and had to finally get it.
Have you read an of these? Which ones? What did you read in June?
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