Monthly Wrap-Up: June 2022

June has been a crazy good reading month for me. I hadn’t realised until just now that I read so much. Honestly, the month felt really long so I’m not surprised, if anything I’m quite impressed with myself.  

The Reckoning (Zodiac Academy #3) by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti 

Read: 27/5/22 – 6/6/22

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This series is finally starting to get good. I’m still not fully sold as there is the odd cringe moment every now and again, but it seems like the story is actually moving now. The twins are starting to control their powers and most importantly you find out their order forms. Which I already knew because it was spoiled for me, but oh well. 

Read my full review of The Reckoning here.

Goodreads synopsis: The answer to your question will be revealed on the Lunar Eclipse. But when finding the truth, don’t let the shadows take you.

The week of The Reckoning has begun. And senior students have been tasked with making the freshmen’s lives pure hell as they prepare to take their fateful assessment.

With the Lunar Eclipse on the horizon, Tory and Darcy have more to worry about than just passing their exams. A dark plot is unfolding and the shadows are drawing closer…

The Royal Assignment by Terence Gray, Erin Day & Ian Thake

Read: 28/5/22 – 8/6/22

Rating: 1 out of 5.

This was so bad that I’m not even going to dignify it with any type of review here. If you want to see what my thoughts were you can read my actual review

Goodreads synopsis: Maggie Patel has landed her dream job at The New York Spectator; or, it would be, if she could get a decent story assignment. When a career-making interview finally lands on her desk, it’s with the last person she’d ever want to see again – Edward, the crown prince of Bairmorne…and her long-ago friend.

When Maggie was a child, her mother worked as a housemaid at the Royal Palace of Bairmorne, a small European nation, until they were unceremoniously kicked to the curb…amidst a cloud of whispered controversy and palace intrigue. Now, Prince Edward and Maggie are all grown up, and they both have jobs to do – but there’s a spark between them they can’t deny. Will that spark lead to something more, and can their attraction withstand public scrutiny, royal duty, and secrets from the past?

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 

Read: 6/6/22 – 9/6/22

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Yes, yes, yes. I absolutely loved this. I’d heard so many good things about it, but I put it off for so long because I didn’t want to be disappointed. Well, luckily I wasn’t. The chemistry between Alex and Henry, palpable. I cannot wait for the adaptation. 

Read my review of Red, White & Royal Blue here

Goodreads synopsis: What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn’t always diplomatic.

Nick and Charlie (Solitare 1.5) by Alice Oseman 

Read: 8/6/22

Rating: 4 out of 5.

How. Freaking. Cute. I definitely needed more Nick and Charlie in my life and this novella was the perfect fix. This is super short and I did a proper review on it so I’m just going to point you in the direction of that if you don’t mind? Read it here.

Goodreads synopsis: Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

CHARLIE: “I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.”

NICK: “Things me and Charlie Spring do together include: Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we’re kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.”

Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie are the perfect couple – that they’re inseparable. But now Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’ for God’s sake!

But as the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Or are they delaying the inevitable? Because everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever … 

Malibu Rising by Taylor Reid Jenkins 

Read: 12/6/22 – 16/6/22

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Taylor Reid Jenkins, you have done it again. I am 100% a huge fan of hers by now and I literally cannot wait to get started with my next. 

Malibu Rising wasn’t better than Daisy Jones (in my opinion) but it was still brilliant. Taylor Reid Jenkins has a way of creating the most realistic yet charismatic characters ever and I applaud her for it. 

Read my review of Malibu Rising here

Goodreads synopsis: A lifetime holding it together.

One party will bring it crashing down.

Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over-especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control.

By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames.

But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.

One of those Flings by Lauren Blakely 

Read: 17/6/22

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I don’t know what I can say about One of Those Flings that I didn’t say in my review already so check it out here if you want. 

Goodreads synopsis: Get ready for the virtual vacation of your life with this scripted multi-cast rom-com by number-one New York Times best-selling author Lauren Blakely!

Skyler’s breakup survival plan is simple: Swear off men for a year and celebrate her man cleanse with a solo tropical vacation to Hawaii. Snorkeling, sightseeing, zip lining, and leisurely dinners by the sea are just what the doctor ordered to mend her broken heart.

That is, until she meets a hunky adventure tour guide who makes her want to break all her own rules. Handsome, funny, and exciting, Caleb is by far the hottest local attraction. Will a romantic island fling lead to more heartbreak – or a new beginning?

The Five-Year Hitch by Melissa de la Cruz

Read: 22/6/22

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This was ok, no particularly spectacular but an enjoyable enough experience. Again I don’t know what I can say here that I didn’t say in my review already so check it out here if you want. 

Goodreads synopsis: The story of two friends who have known each other all their lives — falling in and out of love. Sam & Miles belong together, except every five years, there’s a hitch and they don’t end up together. Now, as they tell their story to a reporter at a momentous occasion, will they finally break the five-year curse? Can these two friends and lovers find their happily ever after?


WANT TO SEE WHAT I’VE BEEN READING LATELY? CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS HERE and my storygraph here
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: What I Watched: June 2022

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