Weekly Wrap-Up: 7/14 – 7/20

So… yeah… this is late. I don’t have an excuse. It was just a bit of a rough start to the week for me, I guess. At least I can say it’s not Thursday this time? (I hate that I can say that.)

Though last week wasn’t great in the reading books department, it was pretty good for the blog posting department. I finally did more than two posts in a week in July 2025! Yay! Four would’ve been better, but, oh well.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!

Wednesday 7/16: Can’t-Wait Wednesday

Last Wednesday, I did another Can’t-Wait Wednesday again. One more week and it’ll be a streak!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: A Mastery of Monsters

Thursday 7/17: June Reading 2025

On Thursday, I posted my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up for June 2025. It was posted later than I’d have liked, but with all the stuff at the beginning of this month, I’m not surprised or too disappointed it took this long. For those who don’t know, monthly wrap-ups are when I go over the books I read over the past month, as well as my stats over on The StoryGraph.

Monthly Wrap-Up: June Reading 2025

Sunday 7/20: Birthstone Book Covers

This past Saturday, I participated in Birthstone Book Covers. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun little post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black.

Each month, for the post, you feature book covers that are either the same color of the month’s birthstone or include the color in the title. This month was July, and its birthstones is ruby. So the color of the month was red.

Birthstone Book Covers: July 2025

Books I Read Last Week

💖🎁 Wrapping It All Up 💖🎁

So yeah, my blog activity was pretty decent part week, and I’m happy with it. Regarding books and reading them though… yeah that could’ve been better. I dunno what it is about the summer months – I just have more trouble than normal getting into books and stuff.

This week I’m just planning on some of the usual stuff. Like, I’ll participate in or do some of the usual suspects. You know. I also want to try and finish a book and maybe do a review of it before the end of the week. Hopefully.

Last week was cleaning week, so we cleaned the house and stuff. Other than that, it’s pretty much just the same old kind of thing going on. Just watching what we’re eating and taking care of ourselves.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Monthly Wrap-Up: June Reading 2025

Yes. I’m late again this month. But, interestingly enough, no later than last month with this post, which surprised me a little when I checked. But here it is – my reading wrap-up for June 2025.

My reading in June was abysmal, there’s really no other way to say it. Not only did I only get one book in, but it was a novella at that. My blog activity was also a bit iffy at times, but that’s neither here nor there.

Anyway, let’s just start talking about my StoryGraph statistics from last month!

June Reading 2025

I read 1 book and 162 pages

😐 MOODS: I had three Moods in June, which is less than the month before. The Moods from this past month were: Adventurous, Lighthearted and Funny.

👢 PACE: The book I read last month was fast-paced.

🔢 PAGE NUMBER: The novella I read last month was 162 pages.

📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction. As usual.

🎭 GENRES: There was one Genre on the graph this month, and it’s what’s almost always my top one to read – Fantasy.

📄 FORMAT: This pie chart was once again correct. Three months in a row. A miracle.

⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 4.5, which makes sense as I only read one book and that was the rating I gave it.

📉 PAGES READ DAILY: My reading during June, as I’ve said before, pretty much sucked. I didn’t really read anything until the very end of the month, during the last two days wherein I read the entire novella.

The Books I Read in June

★★★★✯ • my review

Wrapping Up the Wrap-Up

So yeah, last month really sucked in regards to reading books, and my blog activity could’ve been better. So much for hoping that June would be better than May. I’m still gonna hope that my novel reading and stuff is better in July either way.

There’s stuff on my immediate TBR, as well as new books coming out this month that I’m interested in, so I’ve got plenty of options of what to read next. I haven’t fully decided on anything yet though, but I’ll hopefully be reading a couple different things in July at least.

Getting back into One Piece is still the plan, though my spouse is also currently going three a recently acquired stack of books. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that I have a few things that I want to read before starting with some of the post-timeskip stuff, so we probably won’t get back to that until next month. But we’re still gonna do it!

Anyway, as always, thank you for joining me in checking out my StoryGraph stats for my June reading in 2025. Thank you also for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Birthstone Book Covers: June 2025

It’s a bit later in the month than I usually get to it, but I’m here again participating in another Birthstone Book Covers!

Birthstone Book Covers is a fun monthly post created by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black. Each month, she features book covers that are either the same color of that month’s birthstone or include the color in the title.

June has three birthstones – Alexandrite, Moonstone, and Pearl.

June is one of the harder ones for me, for whatever reason, even though you can do a lot of different things with June birthstone colors. There’s teal of course, for alexandrite, and there’s also white for moonstone. But pearls are also iridescent, so they’re kind of rainbow. So yeah, lots of options. I’m basically going the pearl route this time around, so it’ll be colorful covers galore.

Rules:

📚 Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black) and link back to her so she can check out your post.
📚 Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
📚 HAVE FUN!
📚 Nominate people if you want!

**The Bridge Kingdom** **by Danielle L. Jensen**

**A Thousand Nights** **by E.K. Johnston**

**The Gilded Mirror** **by K.E. Barden**

**A Letter to the Luminous Deep** **by Sylvie Cathrall**

**The Book That Broke the World** **by Mark Lawrence**

What are your favorite books with teal, white or iridescent/rainbow/colorful book covers? If you participated in Birthstone Books, which books did you choose this June?

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have the most amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 6/9 – 6/15

I’m on time this week! Yes! What a great way to start a new week!

So I didn’t really get any reading done, which I am disappointed about, but I do have a nice immediate TBR cued up and ready to roll. My blog activity last week was great though, especially considering it was right after a vacation, even if I did get a bit of a late start with it.

But yeah, without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!

Thursday 6/12: The Most Interesting Looking New Books of June 2025

Last Thursday, I posted a list of the books that I’m looking forward to this month. Or, at least the ones that I think look the most interesting. It was the Most Interesting Looking New Books of June 2025. As always, it’s basically only fantasy and science fiction, as those are the two genres I primarily read. This time I had four books on my list.

The Most Interesting Looking New Books of June 2025

Friday 6/13: First Line Fridays / Friday the 13th

On Friday, I participated in First Line Fridays for the first time in a while – like a month. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words.

This past Friday was also 2025’s Friday the 13th. It doesn’t mean anything, I just always notice it for some reason and like to acknowledge it.

First Line Friday: 6/13

Sunday 6/15: Behooved Review / Father’s Day

Yesterday, I finally posted my book review for Behooved by M. Stevenson. It’s a new fairytale-esque romantasy novel with a beautiful cover. It took me longer than it should’ve to get this review out (in large part due to going on vacation the week before last), but it’s posted now and I’m happy. I gave it ★★★✫☆.

It was also a minor holiday yesterday – Father’s Day!! 🎣⛵ We didn’t do a ton, just did some breakfast with my mom’s side of the family and then went over to my spouse’s side to spend time with them. My dad was busy, so we’re gonna meet up some time this week instead.

Behooved Review

Books I Read Last Week

💖🎁 Wrapping It All Up 💖🎁

So yeah, my blog productivity last week was definitely up, which I’m very happy with. I didn’t really read any books though, which is something I’m less happy with. I hope to improve this coming week.

Regarding the stuff I want to do this week, I want to definitely read a book. I’m between A Spell for Change by Nicole Jarvis and The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah (yes, I still haven’t gotten around to reading that one. I think I’m probably gonna go with the former, however, ’cause it’s a little shorter. I could honestly go either-or, though.

For the blog, I want to post my monthly reading wrap-up for May 2025. I’m late as hell with it – again, because I didn’t really do anything, especially with the blog, during my vacation the week before last. I also want to participate in my favorite monthly post, do at least one additional weekly post and hopefully finish another book and post a review about it.

As for life outside books and blogging, not much has changed. I’m still watching what I eat. I did finally take the Easter and spring decorations down though, and shifted everything to summer stuff. Not 4th of July stuff yet – it’s still too early for that!

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

The Most Interesting Looking New Books of June 2025

Hey there everybody! Another month, another bunch of new books that are coming out! Yep, it’s The Most Intriguing New Books of June 2025.

This used to be a quarterly post, but I’ve recently decided to do it monthly instead. Also, even though this post is about new releases, it’s primarily focused on fantasy and science fiction, as those are the genres I tend to prefer to read. (Not to say other genres won’t ever appear on these lists – it just isn’t super likely; it’s likely to be a very rare occurrence if it happens at all.)

If you’ve seen this post by me before, you know the drill; I’m only interested in these books – there’s no guarantee that I’m gonna read all of them. There’s not even a guarantee that I’m gonna read even half of them. We shall see. Anyway, let’s get going! This month there are four books that have caught my eye.

RELEASING: June 3rd

Beauty and the Beast meets Six of Crows in this romantic fantasy about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes!

Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.

Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms….

RELEASING: June 10th

Status is hereditary, class is bestowed, trust must be earned.

When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen—once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall—is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.

When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice, and the man who emerges from the towers isn’t the same man who entered.

The journey that follows is fraught with danger. Can a group taught to ignore and despise the lower classes survive with a mere deputy courier as their guide?

The Witch Roads is the latest epic novel by fan favorite, Kate Elliott.

RELEASING: June 10th

A sweet and savory YA romance, this modern-day Japanese-Canadian twist on Emma is just the recipe for fans of Jenny Han, Jane Austen and Gilmore Girls. A busybody foodie avoids questions of her own future as she meddles in the love lives of those around her. Has this matcha-maker met her match?

Self-declared matchmaking GENIUS Emiko Kimori has already found success by helping her aunt find true love, so when the new girl in town becomes her new BFF, it’s only natural for Emiko to help set her up for social success with a suitable love match.

Emiko lives with her Ojiichan in a small town on BC’s West Coast surrounded by friends and neighbors, including her childhood friend Kenzo Sanada, who wishes she’d spend less time playing matchmaker. But Emiko can so clearly see who belongs together, even when her targets don’t know it themselves. She simply has to meddle — for the sake of true love!

RELEASING: June 17th

I feared this was the best of times; I hoped it could not get any worse.

The faeries stole Sydney Carton as a child, and made him a mortal servant of the Faery Realm. Now, he has a rare opportunity for revenge against the fae and Charles Darnay, the changeling left in his stead.

It will take magic and cunning—cold iron and Realm silver—to hide his intentions from humans and fae and bring his plans to fruition.

Shuttling between London and Paris during the Reign of Terror, generations of violence-begetting-violence lead him to a heartbreaking choice in the shadow of the guillotine.

So yeah, these are all of the books releasing in the in June 2025 that I’m at least a little interested in. What books are coming out soon that you’re looking forward to? Do we share some of the same ones?

As always, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar