June Wrap Up (2025)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And June went... 

terribly. 

Fucking terribly. 

I read 3 books. 

And that's it. 

And everybody knows them. 

So, as well as talking about these books, I'm going to write about the other thinks I'm working through (TV shows, videogames etc.)

I hope you enjoy, 

(You can click off this post if you want to.) 

BOOKS READ IN JUNE
1. The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1), by Suzanne Collins

2. Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2), by Suzanne Collins

3. Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3), by Suzanne Colins

This is literally all I read. I read them all inside a couple of weeks (might even have been quicker than that) and was all ready to have an amazing read month. Cue trying a couple of different books that I didn't get as invested in as much as I wanted, and boom! Stuck in a reading slump. 

I think I'm slowly coming out of it with my current read, but I still have a long way to go until I catch up on my Goodreads goal (currently 4 books behind). 

But outside of that, I definitely think it was the right decision to start this series. Despite the fact that I have three books left of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I'm currently one story into the Earthsea Quartet, I was ready to engulf all of Katniss Everdeen's story with absolutely everything. Now I feel like I'm ready to watch the SOTR film (and no, it's not too soon. Only 506 days to go!)

BOOKS/SERIES IN PROGRESS

1. A Series of Unfortunate Events series- Next read is The Grim Grotto (Book 11). 

I've been reading this series since February. Four books that first month, then three for the rest. I have the last three books that need to be read, so the series can be wrapped up. I'm hoping I'll get to these next month, but it's not my main priority, as much as I hate to admit it. 

As you can see from the cover, the Baudelaire orphans take to the sea in The Grim Grotto, which means a submarine of some kind. 

Not willing to divulge more than that, because other than remembering that some more characters are introduced, and one of them is put in immediate danger, I can't remember any more. 

2. Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle 1-4#), by Ursula K. Le Guin 

Even if this pulls me further behind in my Goodreads goal, I don't care. The Earthsea Quartet is too good a piece of writing to ignore. The font is small, it's difficult to keep reading for long periods of time, but everytime I pick it up, I'm invested. 

Earthsea follows one wizard, not telling you his name, on his journeys over the course of his life. He starts as a young boy, realising his worth as a wizard at the academy for wizards in training, and follows his highs and lows into adulthood and beyond. I don't want to look into what comes next, because that might spoil it, but you can certainly find out on it's Goodreads page. 

I've currently finished book 1, and am about 160 pages into it. It contains 700+ pages, so it's going to be a big time commitment on my part, but I'm willing. 

CURRENT READ

I have about 170 pages left of this, and although I doubt I'll finish this tomorrow, I'm hopinh it won't take me much longer to finish than that. 

Now, I didn't specifically pick this book, it was more chosen for me. You see, when I was in Whitby bookshop, I approached the sales assistant, and asked her:

"Do you have either Strangers in Time, by David Baldacci, or any book by Fredrik Backman?" 

I only saw this because it was piled high, on top of the many bookshelves in the room. 

Seems I'm not alone in wanting to read from him. 

You guys, although art might not be everyone's cup of tea, I can assure you that this book most likely is. 

I'm ashamed at how long it's taken me to get this far into it. 

I finally had some free time to get through some of it, and honestly, it's been such a great read so far. Will definitely be reviewing this later. 

WHAT ELSE I'VE DONE THIS MONTH.

1. PB'd at the 10K- Carnival 10K, officially my most hated race, due to bad luck on my last three attempts. PB: 48:31.

Never doing that race again. I'm done.

2. WHITBY HOLIDAY- I can't believe I've been back a week already. 

I drank gin everyday. I ran/walked up the 199 steps- multiple times. Went to the Gin Distillery tour. Saw sunrise on the Abbey. Had such a lovely time that we're going back again next year. 

3. Bought a tent. Had cats in it. 

4. Got Jonah on Dead By Daylight. Can't wait to play more of him. 

Okay! That is everything I read and got up to in the month of June! 

As always, comment what it was that you got up to this month, and we can chat about it! 

I hope you have a wonderful evening, and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeee! 

-Abi xxxxx

Anticipated Releases (July-September 2025)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And I'm here with my Anticipated Releases for the next three months! There aren't a huge quantity of books to talk about, but rest assured I am still very excited for them! 

I hope you enjoy reading about them. 

~July~

1. Sunburned, by Katherine Wood 

Release date: 1/7/2025

When Audrey's ex Tyson calls, after years of radio silence, threatening to expose the skeletons hiding in her closet unless she helps him figure out who is blackmailing him, Audrey wants to do nothing more than refuse. But a foot has washed up on the shore of Tyson's very succesful tech company, and if word gets out that it belongs to a person they both share a connection with, it could be- problematic, to say the least. 

But when Audrey arrives, purely to observe Tyson's household, and all the guests in it, she realises that everyone has motive to be killer. Could it be the gorgeous Belgian wife, whose wings he keeps clipped? Could it be the younger brother who has always been in Tyson's shadow? Any one of Tyson's guests would have good reason. And Audrey better figure who the culprit is- and fast- or she too, could be the next target. 

 This feels like a mix of Diana Urban's novels, the fiction genre (so not YA) and a bit of Karen McManus. I love both of those authors, so this definitely feels like a book that I'm going to enjoy. I just hope I actually pick it up. 

2. Clementine Book Three (Clementine #3), by Tillie Walden

Release date: 8/7/25

THE FINAL VOLUME IS BEING RELEASED. After an eight month delay, Clementine will finally be coming to a close. I'm not ready for this trilogy to end, but you can bet I'll be re-reading books 1 and 2 in anticipation of this release. 

I first played The Walking Dead series a decade ago, drawn in by the choices and the characters. Thoroughout, we see Clementine mature from a young girl, to an adult, trying to do her best by a child that no longer has any parents- much like herself in the early stages of the epidemic. 

When those games ended, I was overjoyed at reading more about what happens to Clementine beyond the videogames- and that's about to close. You can bet I'm going to be a blubbering mess when I reach this book's final pages. 

And then probably start the videogames all over again. 

Fairwell, Clementine. It's been nice to know you. 

3. Fast Boys and Pretty Girls, by Lo Patrick 

Release date: 8/7/25

Following a semi-successful career as a teen model, Danielle Greer has settled back home- to North Georgia, in the mountains- with her husband and four daughters. One stifling, lazy afternoon, when they are wandering the ravine behind her house, purely by chance, they come across a body. 

Well, Danielle knows who the body isn't, and that's Benji Law, the boyfriend that was killed in a motorcycle accident, on the main street off her house. 

So when a local police officer, Cady Benson, is called to investigate, Danielle's world is turned upside down, and she's thrust back into those dark, terrible days after Benji's death, and memories from that time start to resurface. 

They say you can never go home, once you leave for good. And sometimes, you shouldn't. 

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls jumps from two points in Danielle's life. Her life as a young girl, being spotted in small-town Goergia, and being catapulted in model-hood; and then when she's returned home with her husband and four daughters, in the home she grew up in, and all the events that unfold after uncovering the body. 

I like the sound of this, the style, how it jumps between time periods. I think it'll be an interesting read. I hope I enjoy it, as most of the Goodreads reviews are three stars. 

4. Codebreaker, by Jay Martel 

Release date: 22/7/25

Codebreaker stood out to me above a million other releases in July, purely because of the cover. It has that sheak late 90s- early 2000 film cover, like from Catch that Kid, or Panic Room that stands out to me above the rest. 

Aside from that, finding out that this book is basically a race to find something before the government, developed from a puzzle sent to the protagonist's (Mia's) fugitive father, has Codebreaker completely sold to me. 

Obviously, there's more to it than that. There's betrayal, from Mia's dad, after the Government officials sent to Mia's doorstep leave her without her mother, just weeks away from her seventeenth birthday. There's romance, with Logan, a charming hacker that helps Mia with outsmarting the Government, and helps her on the way to figure out the most well-kept secrets across American History. 

Basically, what else could you ask for?

5. Not Quite Dead Yet, by Holly Jackson 

Relkease date: 22/7/25

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Jackson- author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder gives you her first Adult thriller- a race against the clock to solve her own murder. 

In seven days Jet Mason will be dead. 

The doctors are convinced that the catastrophic head injury she suffered will, in the space of a week, turn into a brain aneurysm, and that means she's out of time. 

But first, she is going to solve it. She's going to find out who killed her. 

I've never read a Holly Jackson book, but I have watched A Good Girl's Guide to Murder- and that's enough to make me want to read some of her work. I can't wait for this to be released. 

~August~

1. Too Old For This, by Samantha Downing

Release date: 12/8/25

I don't really think I need to say more than this: 

• Retired serial killer Lottie, changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small-town, the smaller the better. 
• Hasn't been tempted for over 20 years. Her most exciting times are bingo nights with her friends, round the club. 
• Until investigator journalist Plum Dixon comes knocking, asking her questions about her involvement in past, unsolved cases. Lottie can't have that. 
• Murder is hard enough when you're young. But when Lottie receives another annoying knock at the door, she thinks that this might just be the death of her. 
• 
  

2. Hemlock and Silver, by T. Kingfisher

Release date: 19/8/25

From the Hugo award winner, T. Kingfisher, comes the latest dark 'Snow White' retelling, dripping in poison, treasion and intrigued. 

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison. 

Not to die- but to find cures that everyone but she has more or less given up on. 

When she's approached by none other, but the King himself. 

His daughter, Snow, is dying, and nothing seems to be able to cure her. And the King is even willing to try Anja's unorthordox methods to save her. 

Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcisstic cat, and a passion for the scientist method, Anja rushes to aid the princess, but alas, nothing seems to work. Until she comes across a hidden world, delved deep inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick. 

Or it might contain something that could kill them all. 

T. Kingfisher's books seem to be everywhere, all at once. I could of sworn that I've seen two releases when I was looking through the endless books that are being released. I've even seen one in the Waterstones I wandered into last week. 

Also, it's been ages since I've read a retelling- and this one looks like one I can sink my teeth into- I'm excited. 

3. Katabasis, by R.F. Kuang

Release date: 26/8/25

This could be R.F. Kuang's shopping list for all I care. Her stories are always immense, and I only have one left until I've read the lot. This could not have come at a better time. 

There's no better way to explain this story, than to quote it. So here's the Goodreads blurb:

"Two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and jounrey to hell to save their professor's 

soul, perhaps at the cost of their own. 

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. 

She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality- her pride, her health, her love life, and most

definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in 

the world- that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. 

Grimes is now in Hell, and she's going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her

very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her

dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdock, has come to the same conclusion." 

So what I'm getting is a dark academia, rivales, and an epic journey into hell. If I'm not gifted for this book for my birthday I'm sure as hell walking into the shop the next day and purchasing it. 

4. The Secret Book Society, by Madeline Martin 

Release date: 26/8/25

Eleanor Clarke- a devoted mother, suffering under the hands of her tyranny husband. 

Rose Wharton- an american dollar princess, struggling to conform to her new life as an aristocratic wife. 

Lavinia Cavendish- an artistic young woman, haunted by a family secret. 

Under the pretence of Lady Duxbury's afternoon tea, in her home, they all find safety, and security, free to speak their long buried thoughts. As the women form deep, heart-warming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they take. But they are all drawn to Lady Duxbury, the thrice widdowed wife, whose untimely deaths have often led to whispers of murder. 

As secrets are uncovered, within the Secret Book Society, their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when the secrets turn serious, one misstep could cost them everything. 

You know, every book that I add to the list, I want to read. Every single time (I mean duh, that's why it's called Anticipated Releases, Abigail), but I also have to stomach the fact that I'm probably not going to get to all of them. But at this precise moment, this is the book that I want to read the most. That might change after the next one. Or the one after that. But right now, The Secret Book Society is the most interesting one to me. 

~September~ 

1. Among the Burning Flowers (The Roots of Chaos #0.5), by Samantha Shannon 

Release date: 11/9/25 (UK)

A SHORTER PREQUEL TO PRIORY!

I've mostly forgotten Priory of the Orange Tree, but since this comes first, I won't even need to read anything in preparation for this release! 

*After research*

Okay, so maybe I should read A Day of Fallen Night first since it takes place more or less 200 years before Among the Burning Flowers begins. 

But still- time to pick up a Samantha Shannon book again! 

I couldn't be more thrilled. 

2. Slashed Beauties, by A. Rushby 

Release date: 23/9/25

This book has so many details to it, I don't think a summary will do it justice. So I'm just going to quote the blurb again. 

"A gothic feminist body horror in two timelines revolving around three Anatomical Venuses- ultrarealistic wax figures of women- that come to life at night to murder men who have wronged

them 

Souel, present day. Antiques dealer Alys's task is nearly complete. She has at last secured Elizabeth, 

the third and final Anatomical Venus. Crafted in eighteenth-century London and modeled after real-life

sex workers to entice male medical students, these eerie wax figures, known as Slashed

beauties, carry unsavory lore. Legend has it that the figures are bewitched, and come to life at night, 

to murder men who have wronged them. Now Alys embarks for England, where she knows what

she must sever her cursed connection to the Venuses once and for all. 

London, 1763. Abandoned and penniless in Covent Garden, wide-eyed Eleanor and another young woman, Emily, are taken under the wing of beautiful and beguiling Elizabeth, one of the city’s most highly desired courtesans among the rich and powerful. But as Eleanor is seduced deeper into a web of money, materialism, and men, it seems that Elizabeth may not be the savior she appears to be.

As the timelines begin to intersect, it becomes clear that the women’s stories are linked in deeper, darker ways than it initially seems. And that the only method for Alys to end the witchcraft that binds her legacy is to gather all three models in one place and destroy them."

The closest comparison I have to this book is probably The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton. Based in Victorian times, it tells the story of a newly married bride, who is them shipped off to her wealthy merchant husband's house, and as a home-coming gift, is given an exact replica of the house, complete with furnishings and characters. 

But that in no way is a comparison to the blood thirsty telling of the sex workers in victorian times, or the wax figures coming to life and making off with the men that have done them wrong. I can honestly say that I have never come across a book such as this one. I can honestly say that I am very much looking forward to seeing this in bookstores. 

Okay! Those are all the books I am anticipating in the next three months! If you have any releases that you're looking forward to, feel free to let me know in comments (especially if it's on this list). 

I hope you all have a wonderful evening, and I'll be seeing you soon! 

Byeeee! 

-Abi xxxxxx

June TBR (2025)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And this month's TBR is going to be a little on the short side. Mainly because I have no idea what I'm going to be reading for one week in the year!

I've decided that when I get to Whitby I'm just going to go into the bookshop and pick up whatever I fancy. I have a few books I'd like to start, but we'll see if something new catches my eye. It's the point of the exercise after all. 

I will (hopefully) be finishing a couple of series this month, if all goes to plan, but they'll be a couple of other ones I'm thinking about as well. 

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy my June TBR. 

1. Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3), by Suzanne Collins

It's weird to think I only started book 1 last wednesday, but here we are. There was no way I wasn't prioritising this with ever ambitous reading challenge gaining, especially after soaring through the first two books. I know most people don't tend to like this as much as the first two, due to the different direction it takes, but I happen to like this one almost as much as the first two. Hoping I'll be able to finish it by the end of the week, or thereabouts. 

2. The Earthsea Quartet (Earthsea Cycle #1-4), by Ursula K. Le Guin 

Originally, the plan was to try and finish Mockingjay before leaving for Whitby, but given how I've been flying through the series, I'm going to risk adding this into the mix. Earthsea is one of those classic fantasy series' that everybody seems to have heard of, but I actually know nobody that has read it. If I'm not able to finish this before the 16th, which is likely, because it has a page count in the high 600s, then I'm hoping I'll be able to get to the end of one of short stories, to continue at the end of the holiday. 

Earthsea follows a character called Ged, right from when he is a young boy, being shipped to the island of Roke to learn the true nature of magic, to when he is a man, when true magic and ancient ways are forced to submit to the powers of evil and death. 

I'm eager to follow young Ged's story, and read the quartet that rivals Tolkien's work (it's on the blurb).

WHITBY PLACE HOLDER

Top considerations:

1. The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah 

2. Beartown (Beartown #1), by Fredrik Backman 

3. Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell #1), by Hilary Mantel 

4. Strangers in Time, by David Baldacci 

3. The Grim Grotto (A Series of Unfortunate Events #11), by Lemony Snicket 

4. The Penultimate Peril (A Series of Unfortunate Events #12), by Lemony Snicket 

5. The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events #13), by Lemony Snicket 

The final three books of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Of course, all good things much come to an end, but I doubt I'd ever get tired of reading about the Baudelaire children. These last three books are full of surprises, but I can safely say that Count Olaf chasing the Baudelaire's fortune will come to an end. It's been great getting to re-emerge myself back into the story of these incredible children, and I know I will be thinking about them, long after I close the last page. 

6. Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk

Okay, never seen the film, didn't even realise there was a book until I was given a Book Bucket List poster for my birthday a couple of years ago. Now, I'm determined for it to be the next book I tick off on that poster. I mean to watch the film at some points, but because old habits die hard, I'm reading the book first. I have no idea of what this is about, other than fight club and absent fathers, but I'm excited to finally commit to this iconic book. 

Okay! Turns out this TBR didn't turn out that short after all! I'm cutting it at 6 books because I have no idea how much reading I'll get done in Whitby, but these are the books I'll be prioritising for the rest of the month. 

I hope you have a wonderful evening, and I'll be back soon with my Anticipated Releases post for the next three months! 

Byeeeee! 

-Abi xxxxx