June 2023 Wrap Up

I can not believe I am already writing this! It feels like June went by so quickly. It was the first month of summer which was awesome. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in theaters and it was so good! The first one’s still my favorite, but that’s pretty hard to beat. I also went on vacation to Colorado Springs, Colorado. I visited Pike’s Peak, Garden of the Gods, and got to cross off something that was at the top of my bucket list: riding in a hot air balloon! It was cool and I had so much fun. I also took a ton of pictures that I’ll post on Instagram soon so you should totally follow my photography account to see those.

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Posted This Month:

• May 2023 Wrap Up
• Book Recommendations Based off of Niall Horan’s New Album: The Show
• Mayim from The Braided Vine and I Share Our Summer TBRs

Music

My music this month definitely revolved around the release of The Show lol. Here’s the top 10 songs I listened to this month:

• Science – Niall Horan
• Heaven – Niall Horan
• Mama Kin (Live Version) – Guns N’ Roses This one is one of my dad’s songs.
• I Would – One Direction I don’t even remember listening to this song this month but it’s awesome so good for me.
• Dear John – Taylor Swift Next month my top ten will only consist of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and I will not apologize for it.
• Black and White (Stripped) – Niall Horan This song is so vibey.
• The Humpty Dance – Digital Underground The next two and #10 are ones I was listening to with my dad too.
• Rag Doll – Aerosmith
• The Show – Niall Horan Why the heck is this so far down on the list. It’s my favorite song on the album! It is stunning!
• I Like to Rock – April Wine

Books Read

I read some really good books this month. I finally read the Six of Crows duology which I’ve been so excited to read and it did not disappoint. I also read a lot of Alice Oseman books!

Echoes of Us is the finale in The Hybrid Chronicles, which takes place in a world where people are born with two souls. The weaker soul is supposed to fade away as a child grows up, but this doesn’t always happen, like in the case of Addie and Eva. In this book, Addie and Eva go undercover in an institution that Hybrids, people with both souls, are sent to. They work with a journalist to expose what really happens at these institutions. This was the first time that the reader got to see inside of an institution and I think it added a lot to the world building and a lot of sweet scenes happened there. However, I felt like a lot of the characters that had been more prominent in previous books kind of faded into the background. I also had trouble following the plot and keeping all of the characters straight.

Six of Crows follows a rag-tag team led by criminal mastermind, Kaz Brekker while they attempt to pull off the heist of a lifetime. I don’t even know how to begin to describe how good this book was. I’d heard so many good things about it before reading it and it did not disappoint at all. I loved reading about the relationships between the characters. They’re banter was everything and seriously left me laughing out loud on several occasions. I was rooting for the crows the whole time. It was very suspenseful and I could not put it down. I was initially nervous about how long it would take me to get through it because it’s longer than most books I read, but I finished it in less than a week. It left off at such a good cliff-hanger and I couldn’t wait to read the sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Although I really loved the Shadow and Bone trilogy, I do have to agree with the general consensus that Six of Crows is even better.

Georgia is a hopeless romantic who is starting university. Although she craves her own happily ever after, she slowly begins to realize that she’s never actually felt romantic feelings for someone before. This book was so impactful and I loved the theme that platonic relationships are just as important as romantic ones. There was so much great representation in this book. Georgia’s friend group was so iconic and added so much  to the story. My favorite character was probably her roommate Rooney. She grows so much throughout novel. There’s one scene especially where Rooney makes a speech to Georgia that was so epic. Also the relationship between Rooney and Pip was so cute! I was rooting for them the whole time. The whole friend group in this book in general was so fun. I loved their banter and how much they bonded throughout the novel. Also watching Georgia grow and learn more about her identity was so cool and I really loved it.

The Heartstopper Series by Alice Oseman

This series of graphic novels follows Nick and Charlie as they navigate British grammar school, rugby, a school trip to Paris, and possibly being in love with each other. It’s a very cute and fluffy series. I really loved their friend group. There banter was so funny and Darcy is an icon. You can not tell me otherwise. I loved her so much. I also really loved the focus on mental health, especially in Volume 4. The representation was amazing and I liked the focus on codependency, which I feel like is really common in high school relationships and tends to be romanticized in books. Alice Oseman’s illustration style is so cute and I read all of these so fast. Also Charlie’s sister was such a girl boss in Volume 4. (Now that I think about it, that’s definitely my favorite book in the series, although Volume 1 is a close second.) Like, I love her so much.

Guys, I didn’t think it could get better after Six of Crows, but it did. I loved this book even more. Crooked Kingdom follows Kaz and his crew as they struggle with the aftermath of everything that happened in Six of Crows. It’s official: Inej is my favorite person ever. (Why is it that everyone I like is fictional? So inconvinient smh.) I love everything about her so much. Kaz is a close second cause duh, but she is so sick! Their chapters were definitely my favorites, but there weren’t any perspectives that I disliked. Wylan and Jesper are so cute and Nina’s so funny. Okay, so Matthias is my least favorite (he’s kind of boring in my opinion) but I still really liked him. The ending was so epic and I didn’t see any of the twists coming. It was so emotional and just amazing. There aren’t enough words in the world to tell you how much I love this book so just read it!

Looking Ahead

Next month I have some exciting things planned as well. Obviously there’s the Fourth of July, and I also have a work trip with my church and a journalism camp to look forward to. It’ll still be summer which is just awesome too, no explanation needed.

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I’d love to hear how your summer is going so far and if you’ve read any good books lately down below! Let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to see from me in July. As always, I hope this post finds you well and you’re having a great day!