Wrap Up | June 2018

We have somehow made it to July already and, while I don't know how this happened, I am pretty happy to be here. I am finally free from uni for a couple of months, which means I can get back on top of the blogging thing. Despite struggling to find time to blog over the past couple of months, I have still be reading a good amount. I read seven books in the month of June, taking my total for the year so far up to 40! We're half way through the year and I only have ten books to go to reach my Goodreads goal! Fingers crossed I can keep it up and finally surpass by 50 book goal. But first, let's chat about the books I read in June.

The Shift by Theresa Brown -

This is another medical/nursing non-fiction book. This book follows one nurse, the author, over the course of one twelve hour shift. It gives an interesting insight into a typical day of a nurse and highlights many things that most people don't realise are part of the role of a nurse. I found it particularly interesting to see the differences between nursing in the US, where this book is set, and nursing in the UK. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to know a bit more about what nurses do, it was a very quick, enjoyable read.

Rating: 3.5/5

Did I Mention I Need You? by Estelle Maskame -

This is book two in the Did I Mention I Love You? trilogy, the first book of which I read last year. I was desperate to pick up the next book as soon as I finished the first, but for some reason I never did. The second book continues to tell Tyler & Eden's story, only this time they're in New York. I absolutely loved this book, and I'm sure the New York setting had a lot to do with it. I thought this was a great sequel and I really enjoyed seeing both characters develop.

Rating: 4.5/5 | Review To Come

Royals by Rachel Hawkins -

I was so excited about this book until I realised that it was set in Scotland and most of the characters were Scottish. This book follows a girl whose sister becomes engaged to the Prince of Scotland (*eye roll*) and she has to spend the summer living with him and his family. I would have absolutely loved this book if there was no mention of Scotland. It was so much fun to read and I really loved the characters. Unfortunately, this book had so many Scottish stereotypes and just incorrect information that, being Scottish myself, frustrated me. 

Rating: 4/5 | Review To Come

Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame -

Rather than leave forever between books in series, as I usually do, I decided to pick up book three in the DIMILY trilogy. It was great to see how Tyler and Eden's story concluded and I loved seeing just how much they both had grown from the first book. However, I didn't love Tyler quite as much in this book. I'm a suck for a bad boy and he just wasn't that guy anymore. Despite that, I did really enjoy this book and this it was a great conclusion to the trilogy. I didn't love it as much as DIMINY, but I did love this setting almost as much as New York.

Rating: 4/5 | Review To Come

Save The Date by Morgan Matson -

As Morgan Matson is one of my favourite authors, this book was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I picked this up as soon as it was in my possession, which is totally unlike me, and didn't want to put it down. This follow Charlie whose older sister is getting married, meaning her big crazy family will be back together again. However, not everything goes to plan and it is up to Charlie to save her sister's wedding. This was such a fun summer read and I loved it. It read like a movie and, as much as it was a little repetitive and predictable, it made me laugh out loud more than once. It also had a strong family focus, which I really enjoyed, and I loved reading about the siblings and their relationships with each other.
Rating: 4/5 | Review To Come

Just Don't Mention It by Estelle Maskame -
Conveniently, just as I finished the DIMILY trilogy, the 'spin off' novel, Just Don't Mention It, was published. This is Tyler's story and alternates between the Did I Mention I Love You timelines, and five years prior to that. Not only do we get to see the beginning of Tyler and Eden from another perspective, we also get to see Tyler's horrendous childhood and everything he went through. The two timelines were so different, one filled me with joy as I got to experience two of my favourite characters meeting for the first time again, while the other was so tough to read that it broke my heart. This was such a great addition to the series but it is definitely to a light, fluffy contemporary.
Rating: 4/5 | Review To Come

Floored by various authors -
Floored is a collaboration between seven of the best UKYA authors, following the lives of six strangers who meet in a lift one day and then, following the events in the lift, find themselves meeting on the same day every year. This was nothing at all like I was expecting. It was such a unique book, unlike anything I have read before, and so cleverly written. This is written by seven different authors, yet you couldn't tell at all as the writing flowed so well together. It felt like such a fast red, yet somehow covered so many important topics like sexuality, disability, social background and so much more. While I did really enjoy this book, I felt that the fact we only see these characters on that one day each year meant that we weren't really getting to see them develop, rather we were told how they had developed within the year.
Rating: 3.5/5 | Review To Come

Those were the 7 books I read in the month of June. I am really happy with my reading month, especially as my lowest rating for the whole month was 3.5/5 stars! I have high hopes for my July reading now.

What was the best book you read in the month of June?

Sophie :)