YES I READ MORE BOOKS THAN USUAL THIS MONTH || JUNE 2019 WRAP-UP

Hullo, bookdragons!

It’s finally July which means that I’m one month away from college and I’m finally going to have a semblance of an independent life after eighteen long years on this Earth. It also means that I have to decide what books to bring to the dorm soon although I’m leaning towards the option of sticking with ebooks while I’m away from home.

Anyway, I’m just glad that I read more books than usual in June. I possibly could have read more if I didn’t give in to the temptation of binge watching Lucifer to see what the fuss is all about. Of course, this has nothing to do with my college anxiety. I’m not drowning myself in books and TV shows because I’m scared of the new environment and potential sleepness nights. IT DEFINITELY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT. *nervous laughter*

PETITION TO ADD 497346 MORE DAYS TO JULY PLEASE.

So, I read seven books this month which is an improvement from last month’s four. I know it’s not a huge leap but I’m taking any progress with great enthusiasm because this is the level of petty I’m currently in.

Oh and so far, I’ve already read 13 books for the Year of the Asian Reading Challenge which means that I can finally snag the Philippine tarsier and the Indian cobra badges! I’m also 8 books away from my ultimate goal of reading a minimum of 21 books written by Asian authors AND I’M JUMPING UP AND DOWN WITH HAPPINESS. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to read so many books by Asian authors and if you want to take part in this challenge too, check this post out!

Here are the books I read in June:

1. Stronger than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan (★★★☆☆)

Steampunk fantasy inspired from Qin-dynasty China! This is an adventure-filled book complete with mechanical dragons and a trip to the Underworld. It has a solid plot and good world-building but I didn’t like the romance subplot which is rushed and underdeveloped. Read my full review here.

2. ‎Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim (★★★★☆)

This is a mouth-watering book that teaches the importance of family. It also has real recipes inside that you can use if cooking doesn’t hate you like it hates me. Highly recommended to bookdragons who love magical realism and food. Read my review here.

3. ‎The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (★★★★★)

This Riordan trash is re-reading the Percy Jackson books again and I’VE GOT NO REGRETS. I missed Percy’s sass, Annabeth’s wit, and Grover’s love for enchiladas. I love my demigod children so much. You can find all my thoughts about the re-read here.

4. ‎The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson (★★★★☆)

If not for the distasteful romance subplot, I would’ve given this book five stars. The “male protagonist” (idk if I should call him that because this story can definitely survive without him) is a boring sack of potatoes and I hope he perishes in the second book. Oops. Anyway, this one’s an engaging page-turner that has giant magical crows. Highly-recommended for dragon fans. Read my full review here now.

5. ‎Pan’s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke (★★★★★)

THIS ONE’S PURE GENIUS. I may be the only organism on Earth who hasn’t seen the Pan’s Labyrinth movie but whatever I’m glad I read this book first. It has a very unique storyline plus it’s dark and full of magic. The atmospheric writing made this book extra powerful. If you love dark fairytales, this one’s for you. Check out my full review here.

6. ‎The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (★★★★★)

MY VAMPIRE TRASH SELF HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE AND DEVOURED THIS BOOK. This is definitely one of the weirdest vampire books I’ve read but it’s one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Despite being a standalone, this one has a well-woven plot. Everything was executed perfectly and I loved Holly Black’s portrayal of vampires. I’m totally kicking myself for not reading this book sooner. Read my full review here.

I’ve decided to highlight one book every month because why not? This book definitely deserves the spotlight.

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

★★★★★

This is a book close to my heart because it gives insight on the drug war that has happened in the Philippines. It’s an eye-opening story that moved me beyond words. If I say more, I’ll probably cry again so just read my full review to know all of my thoughts.

June has definitely been the Month of Blog Tours. I ended up taking part in FOUR blog tours which I’m quite proud of. Anyway, check out all my posts for this month:

Here are some of the blog posts I enjoyed reading this month:

• Kaleena’s blog Reader Voracious is finally self-hosted! It looks so pretty and I’m sure Kal’s got a lot of surprises coming up for us so y’all need to support this new chapter in her blogging life.

• Check out this Summer Bucket List Book Tag that has a lot of high fantasy and light romance recs! I loved reading this post and I hope you will too.

• Cait @ PaperFury shared seven books that she almost didn’t read. Read her post now to find out what those books are 😉

• I don’t think this is a new post but it’s really a hidden gem you need to read. Read this post now for a comprehensive HTML tutorial that will certainly make your blogging life easier.

• May @ Forever and Everly has decided to hold the third annual book blogger awards! Check out the post now to know how to nominate your favorite bloggers.

✨ Make more progress on my Riordanverse re-read because the release date for The Tyrant’s Tomb is fast approaching

✨ Make more banners for my blog redesign that’s taking WAY TOO LONG to finish

✨ Binge watch all episodes of Lucifer before college life consumes me

✨ ‎Read more books so my TBR can finally stop screaming at me at night

✨ Write more blog posts without burning myself out (this is gonna be difficult to do oof)

There you go! I hope you liked the new graphics I made even though I didn’t pay much attention to the task as I was binge watching Lucifer. Have a wonderful July, y’all! Keep spreading bookdragon fire 🔥

How was your June? What was the best book you read? Do you have major goals for July?