🌻 June Reviews ☀️
June 1st-30th
In June, I read 10 books with 2020 pages. It was another busy month of writing for me where I wrote over 30,000 words in my WIP. I didn't get as much reading done, which is completely fine with me. Writing has become a major priority for me again and I am loving where my novel is going. My book is my favorite piece I have ever worked on.
My favorite book of the month was Daggerbound (Swordheart #2) by T. Kingfisher, which is also one of my top favorite books of the year. Hope everyone enjoyed what they read this month! Happy Reading.
Book 79: Nine Goblins
By T. Kingfisher
Read June 13th-14th
Release Year: 2013
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Nine Goblins is the silliest out of T. Kingfisher's books that I have read. I had such a fun time listening to the audiobook of it.
The story reminded me a bit of the Discworld, especially with T. Kingfisher's use of satire throughout the book. She always does such a great job blending hilarity with poignancy. It was quite funny at times and had me chuckling very often.
I enjoy the cozy fantasy aspects of this story. The characters were great. My favorites are the elf veterinarian, Sings-to-Trees, the goblin Sargeant Nessilka, the goblin Algol, and the life-saving teddy bear (so funny).
The story reminded me a bit of the Discworld, especially with T. Kingfisher's use of satire throughout the book. She always does such a great job blending hilarity with poignancy. It was quite funny at times and had me chuckling very often.
I enjoy the cozy fantasy aspects of this story. The characters were great. My favorites are the elf veterinarian, Sings-to-Trees, the goblin Sargeant Nessilka, the goblin Algol, and the life-saving teddy bear (so funny).
Book 80: Inferno (Divine Comedy #1)
By Dante Alighieri
Read June 15th
Pages: 275
Release Year: 1321
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June 15th, 2026 Reread:
One of my favorite classics has always been Inferno ever since I first read it in my senior year of high school. As a Greek Mythology fanatic, I enjoy the characters from the many myths making appearances in the nine circles Dante has envisioned here. I also find it very funny how Dante has made himself a narrator and character of his own tale, especially when he places himself among the great poets who came before him such as Virgil, Homer, and Ovid. Not only does he do that but he also puts people he knew in life down in Hell.
This time around I followed through with the illustrated edition of the book and listened to the audiobook version read by James Langton. He does a wonderful. I highly recommend his version of it and the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation.
April 13th-18th, 2017 Reread:
"Abandon all hope ye who enter."
This was the third time that I read Inferno. I was first introduced to Dante's work in my senior year AP English class. I will always remember a classmate asking my teacher at the time why we were reading a book about Hell. He said that Inferno was the most interesting out of Dante's Divine Comedy. It's ironic that the epic about Hell is considered by many as one of the most interesting. I cannot say anything to this because I have never read Purgatorio (Purgatory) or Paradiso (Heaven). I can say though that Inferno is a carefully laid out piece that I enjoy wholeheartedly.
Dante's Divine Comedy tells the tale of Dante's journey towards God and away from sin. Inferno starts shortly before Good Friday and continues on until the morning of Easter Sunday. Dante is the narrator of the epic poem and it shows his trek throughout Hell with his guide Virgil (one of the most famous poets from Ancient Rome). He is being led away from sin by learning of the other sinners and of their punishments. Each of the punishments that Dante gave to the sinners in Hell are symbolic of the sins that they have committed on Earth. Dante divides it into nine Circles each getting worse as they go down. The first circle being the least and the ninth being the worst.
He lays out his own idea of what he believes Inferno would look like based on Catholic beliefs. Dante is believed to have invented the poetic form that he wrote in: terza rima. This is made up of stanzas with three lines each. The first and third lines in each of the stanzas rhyme while the second does not. The second line then will rhyme with the first and third line of the stanza after it. This type of rhyme scheme is meant to continue on throughout the whole poem until the end where the poet usually will end on a one line stanza to end the rhyme. Many of the English translations of Inferno use this poetic form but many do not. I read a translation with the rhyme scheme. Being a poet myself I admire someone that can use a rhyme scheme like this and make it work well. The idea of three also goes along well with the other ideas of three throughout the epic: father, son, and the Holy Ghost; Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven; and the groupings of sin Incontinence, Violence, and Fraud represented by the three beasts at the beginning. Dante put a lot of thought and time into this piece and I cannot help but admire this carefully laid out epic.
This is a challenging read but I would recommend reading it. There are many websites that can help out with understanding and many editions of the epic have little descriptions at the beginning of each of the Cantos (similar to chapters). Here is one of the websites that I have used in classes that is quite interesting: http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/i.... I would recommend looking at this website after reading the Cantos. The information on this website is definitely a great addition to reading the epic.
One of my favorite classics has always been Inferno ever since I first read it in my senior year of high school. As a Greek Mythology fanatic, I enjoy the characters from the many myths making appearances in the nine circles Dante has envisioned here. I also find it very funny how Dante has made himself a narrator and character of his own tale, especially when he places himself among the great poets who came before him such as Virgil, Homer, and Ovid. Not only does he do that but he also puts people he knew in life down in Hell.
This time around I followed through with the illustrated edition of the book and listened to the audiobook version read by James Langton. He does a wonderful. I highly recommend his version of it and the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation.
April 13th-18th, 2017 Reread:
"Abandon all hope ye who enter."
This was the third time that I read Inferno. I was first introduced to Dante's work in my senior year AP English class. I will always remember a classmate asking my teacher at the time why we were reading a book about Hell. He said that Inferno was the most interesting out of Dante's Divine Comedy. It's ironic that the epic about Hell is considered by many as one of the most interesting. I cannot say anything to this because I have never read Purgatorio (Purgatory) or Paradiso (Heaven). I can say though that Inferno is a carefully laid out piece that I enjoy wholeheartedly.
Dante's Divine Comedy tells the tale of Dante's journey towards God and away from sin. Inferno starts shortly before Good Friday and continues on until the morning of Easter Sunday. Dante is the narrator of the epic poem and it shows his trek throughout Hell with his guide Virgil (one of the most famous poets from Ancient Rome). He is being led away from sin by learning of the other sinners and of their punishments. Each of the punishments that Dante gave to the sinners in Hell are symbolic of the sins that they have committed on Earth. Dante divides it into nine Circles each getting worse as they go down. The first circle being the least and the ninth being the worst.
He lays out his own idea of what he believes Inferno would look like based on Catholic beliefs. Dante is believed to have invented the poetic form that he wrote in: terza rima. This is made up of stanzas with three lines each. The first and third lines in each of the stanzas rhyme while the second does not. The second line then will rhyme with the first and third line of the stanza after it. This type of rhyme scheme is meant to continue on throughout the whole poem until the end where the poet usually will end on a one line stanza to end the rhyme. Many of the English translations of Inferno use this poetic form but many do not. I read a translation with the rhyme scheme. Being a poet myself I admire someone that can use a rhyme scheme like this and make it work well. The idea of three also goes along well with the other ideas of three throughout the epic: father, son, and the Holy Ghost; Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven; and the groupings of sin Incontinence, Violence, and Fraud represented by the three beasts at the beginning. Dante put a lot of thought and time into this piece and I cannot help but admire this carefully laid out epic.
This is a challenging read but I would recommend reading it. There are many websites that can help out with understanding and many editions of the epic have little descriptions at the beginning of each of the Cantos (similar to chapters). Here is one of the websites that I have used in classes that is quite interesting: http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/i.... I would recommend looking at this website after reading the Cantos. The information on this website is definitely a great addition to reading the epic.
Book 81: Daggerbound (Swordheart #2)
By T. Kingfisher
Read June 19th- 21st
Pages: 448
Release Year: 2026
📚📚📚📚📚
One of my favorite aspects of T. Kingfisher's books is how she is always writing such distinct characters. Daggerbound focuses on the characters Learned Edmund and the Dervish. Edmund is a disillusioned scholar who is going on one final mission for his temple to bring a relic to another temple. He is planning on leaving his order because of the way they keep back knowledge from others and for many other reasons. The Dervish is an immortal warrior who has been bound to a sword for centuries forced to protect any wielder of it no matter what. When, Edmund is attacked by bandits on the road to the other temple, he draws the relic which happens to be the Dervish's sword and becomes its wielder. Thus begins Edmund and the Dervish's adventures.
I enjoyed the dynamic between Edmund and the Dervish so much. Edmund is a very clever man who is incredibly sweet and kind. I love how much he loved knowledge and how he would spout out facts all the time. The Dervish is a guarded man who hates being trapped in the sword and having to do the bidding of whoever is wielding it. At the beginning of the story, he wants to hate Edmund but has a hard time of doing so because of how enduring he finds the other man. The Dervish has a rough exterior which hides much more underneath. There is so much humor brought into the book because of their personalities. I love getting chapters from both of their perspectives and getting to know them over the course of the story. They were great.
It was so much fun to see them working together and the found family they formed with the knoll, Dog Violet and the giant pill bug called Large Francis. I adored this ragtag group and would love to see more of them in the future. These characters were just as dear to me as those from Swordheart which is one of my favorite books by T. Kingfisher. I absolutely love how she is always creating lovable groups like these that make me adore them immediately. The whole World of the White Rat is wonderful and I love all the time I get to spend in it. Many of the characters from other books make appearances here. Edmund was one of the characters from The Clocktaur War books. I will not spoil anyone else here but I was so very happy with how the other characters were used.
Daggerbound was a book I have been highly anticipating ever since I first read Swordheart last year. I wanted to know more about the Dervish and I am incredibly happy to say that this lived up to every hope I had for it. The relationship and romance between the Dervish and Edmund was beautiful. I could not get enough of reading about them. Now we need to get a book about Angharad. Another adventure with the gang would be a lot of fun. The audiobook read by Jesse Vilinsky was very good and I highly recommend it. She did a great job in my opinion.
I cannot wait to get a copy of this book to go along with the rest of my T. Kingfisher books. This made me want to reread the first and then this one again. They are just that great!
*Thank you very much to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and T. Kingfisher for my audiobook ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
I enjoyed the dynamic between Edmund and the Dervish so much. Edmund is a very clever man who is incredibly sweet and kind. I love how much he loved knowledge and how he would spout out facts all the time. The Dervish is a guarded man who hates being trapped in the sword and having to do the bidding of whoever is wielding it. At the beginning of the story, he wants to hate Edmund but has a hard time of doing so because of how enduring he finds the other man. The Dervish has a rough exterior which hides much more underneath. There is so much humor brought into the book because of their personalities. I love getting chapters from both of their perspectives and getting to know them over the course of the story. They were great.
It was so much fun to see them working together and the found family they formed with the knoll, Dog Violet and the giant pill bug called Large Francis. I adored this ragtag group and would love to see more of them in the future. These characters were just as dear to me as those from Swordheart which is one of my favorite books by T. Kingfisher. I absolutely love how she is always creating lovable groups like these that make me adore them immediately. The whole World of the White Rat is wonderful and I love all the time I get to spend in it. Many of the characters from other books make appearances here. Edmund was one of the characters from The Clocktaur War books. I will not spoil anyone else here but I was so very happy with how the other characters were used.
Daggerbound was a book I have been highly anticipating ever since I first read Swordheart last year. I wanted to know more about the Dervish and I am incredibly happy to say that this lived up to every hope I had for it. The relationship and romance between the Dervish and Edmund was beautiful. I could not get enough of reading about them. Now we need to get a book about Angharad. Another adventure with the gang would be a lot of fun. The audiobook read by Jesse Vilinsky was very good and I highly recommend it. She did a great job in my opinion.
I cannot wait to get a copy of this book to go along with the rest of my T. Kingfisher books. This made me want to reread the first and then this one again. They are just that great!
*Thank you very much to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and T. Kingfisher for my audiobook ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 82: Spells and Sensibility
(Regency Magicians #1)
By K.L. Noone & K.S. Murphy
Read Jun 23rd
Pages: 330
Release Year: 2022
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I enjoyed the premise for this one very much, but the execution fell
flat for me in almost every way. The book was too repetitive and I could
not help not enjoying the dynamic between Theo and Henry when they
started getting romantic with each other. I went into it believing I
would love it and I'm sad to say I had to push myself to even finish it.
Book 83: Love Language
By Jax Calder
Read June 25th
Pages: 72
Release Year: 2024
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I loved this office romance between Dominic and Ash. Their relationship
was absolutely adorable and I believe the novella length was perfect for
it. The sign language aspect of this was one of my favorite parts.
Book 84: Moderating Love
(Queer Ways to Fall in Love #1)
By Jax Calder
Read May 6th
Pages: 109
Release Year: 2025
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Book 85: Feeding the Grump
By Jax Calder
Read June 25th
Pages: 76
Release Year: 2025
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Another cute novella from Jax Calder that I highly enjoyed reading last night. I particularly enjoyed the banter between Benji and David at the beginning of the story. 
A clever graphic novel retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood." The story is about Lu, who does not enjoy being known only as Little Red Riding Hood. She is one of six children of adventurers and yearns to be known for something more like her parents and older siblings. Lu sets out at the beginning of the story to slay the wolf but is swallowed up by him unexpectedly when going to visit her grandmother. The majority of the tale takes place a world in the belly of the beast.
I particularly enjoyed the expansion on the story and the addition of the other characters from fairy tales and other literary works. I think the lesson Lu and the other characters learn while in the wolf's belly is a powerful one that both children and older readers can get something out of. Despite being inspired by classic tales, Wolf's Belly stands out with the lessons and powerful messages.
The art style is immaculate and reminds me a bit of The Lightfall graphic novel series by Tim Probert. I love the way colors are used throughout this and how the formatting is played with. Especially in the scene when Lu falls into the wolf's belly. I enjoy graphic novels that don't just stick to the standard panels and have their artwork filling the pages in innovative ways. Every bit of the art in the story is stunning.
I cannot recommend it enough for both the story and the artwork. I would love to add this to my collection and will be keeping an eye out for other works from John August and Simón Estrada. It has a wonderful story with beautiful art. I highly recommend picking up Wolf's Belly.
*Thank you very much to NetGalley, Roaring Brook Press, and John August for my audiobook ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.* 
Book 86: Noticed Me Yet?
By Anyta Sunday
Read June 27th
Pages: 70
Release Year: 2013
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This novella's premise interested me quite a bit. I highly enjoy books told through unconventional means. I particularly enjoyed the idea of exchanging notes on the bulletin board instead of through technology. Though the novella just didn't work for me in the way I wanted it to.
There was really no chemistry between Jacob and any of the guys. The shortness of the story really didn't give time to build up any relationship between any of them. This would have had to been much longer to do that. I think the idea was an interesting one though.
Also, too much time is focused on Jacob's ex, Scott for a short novella. I think the story should have focused on building the relationship up between Jacob and Mr. X.
Noticed Me Yet? had me thinking about a book that did the secret identity relationship much better: Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, which is one of my favorite young adult books.
Book 87: Wolf's Belly
By John August and
illustrated by Simón Estrada
Read June 28th
Pages: 320
Release Year: 2026
📚📚📚📚📚
I particularly enjoyed the expansion on the story and the addition of the other characters from fairy tales and other literary works. I think the lesson Lu and the other characters learn while in the wolf's belly is a powerful one that both children and older readers can get something out of. Despite being inspired by classic tales, Wolf's Belly stands out with the lessons and powerful messages.
The art style is immaculate and reminds me a bit of The Lightfall graphic novel series by Tim Probert. I love the way colors are used throughout this and how the formatting is played with. Especially in the scene when Lu falls into the wolf's belly. I enjoy graphic novels that don't just stick to the standard panels and have their artwork filling the pages in innovative ways. Every bit of the art in the story is stunning.
I cannot recommend it enough for both the story and the artwork. I would love to add this to my collection and will be keeping an eye out for other works from John August and Simón Estrada. It has a wonderful story with beautiful art. I highly recommend picking up Wolf's Belly.
*Thank you very much to NetGalley, Roaring Brook Press, and John August for my audiobook ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 88: Books, Iced Coffee &
a Side of Dragons
By Amanda Lovelace and
illustrated by Raquel Travé
Read June 29th
Pages: 160
Release Year: 2026
📚📚📚📚📚
I love Amanda Lovelace's poetry collections and was excited to read her first graphic novel.
This was a sweet sapphic romance that filled my heart with joy. I could not get enough of Luci and Aster's story. It was told through slice of life chapters, which were great. Such a fun way to get scenes from their relationship as it grew during the summer. An absolutely adorable story with so much heart, love, and feel good moments.
I love how unapologetically queer this was and getting to know each of the characters throughout. Along with Luci and Aster, we also have August, George, Blueberry, Chili, and Dandelion. The dragons were a wonderful magical addition, which brought so much more to the story. They were absolutely adorable! All of the characters stole my heart, especially George. My favorite scene of is his is in the section/chapter "Happy as Motherfucking Clams." Absolutely beautiful.
As someone who has most of their family come from New Jersey, I enjoyed having this magical version as the setting. Jersey has always held a special place in my heart ever since I first visited family there in the summer when I was a child. It was a lot of fun to read about this fictionalized version.
Along with Amanda's stunning story, we have beautiful illustrations from Raquel Travé. Her artwork was amazing and fit so well with the world Amanda created here. It made me want to visit the fictional version of NJ and Sea Witch Cove.
There is so much to adore in this little graphic novel and I could gush about it for hours. I know it will be one I pick up again and again for years to come. It's great to have sweet queer stories that for the most part are just filled with happiness, joy, and love. I'm incredibly happy and thankful young queer readers are getting these types of stories. A perfect final read for Pride Month.
I look forward to adding this book to my collection and getting to see the illustrations in the finished book. Here's hoping there will be even more stories from this world.
*Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing, Amanda Lovelace, and Edelweiss for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
This was a sweet sapphic romance that filled my heart with joy. I could not get enough of Luci and Aster's story. It was told through slice of life chapters, which were great. Such a fun way to get scenes from their relationship as it grew during the summer. An absolutely adorable story with so much heart, love, and feel good moments.
I love how unapologetically queer this was and getting to know each of the characters throughout. Along with Luci and Aster, we also have August, George, Blueberry, Chili, and Dandelion. The dragons were a wonderful magical addition, which brought so much more to the story. They were absolutely adorable! All of the characters stole my heart, especially George. My favorite scene of is his is in the section/chapter "Happy as Motherfucking Clams." Absolutely beautiful.
As someone who has most of their family come from New Jersey, I enjoyed having this magical version as the setting. Jersey has always held a special place in my heart ever since I first visited family there in the summer when I was a child. It was a lot of fun to read about this fictionalized version.
Along with Amanda's stunning story, we have beautiful illustrations from Raquel Travé. Her artwork was amazing and fit so well with the world Amanda created here. It made me want to visit the fictional version of NJ and Sea Witch Cove.
There is so much to adore in this little graphic novel and I could gush about it for hours. I know it will be one I pick up again and again for years to come. It's great to have sweet queer stories that for the most part are just filled with happiness, joy, and love. I'm incredibly happy and thankful young queer readers are getting these types of stories. A perfect final read for Pride Month.
I look forward to adding this book to my collection and getting to see the illustrations in the finished book. Here's hoping there will be even more stories from this world.
*Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing, Amanda Lovelace, and Edelweiss for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
