June Book Haul

I'd like to think I'm done getting books for June.

I think it's a safe bet.

It's a week until July...I'm broke...yeah safe bet.

So this month I got...

...several books from several sources. I'll start with the book boxes.

This first one I got from Owlcrate. Owlcrate is a monthly subscription book box that sends out a new Young Adult (YA) release and some theme related book items. I used to subscribe every month but found that some of the books that they'd send out wasn't what I had hoped for and just kind of got disappointed. This is not Owlcrate's fault by any means I'm just realizing that I'm very particular about YA books, and didn't want to spend money on something I was disappointed by every couple of months.

This box though I did order, because the great thing about Owlcrate is that they have sales for previous boxes. So even though June had the theme of "Make It Out Alive" I was interested in their May box which was "Comic Explosion", so I was able to go back and buy it.

They tend to have their books be a mystery every month and through their emails and posts on Instagram they'll have hints as to what will be in the box. Now since I ordered the May box in June and I follow book tube I knew the book was:

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

And the reason I got this is because the synopsis of the book sounded interesting, and everyone's reviews were really positive, so yeah I caved into the hype for this one.

Eliza and Her Monsters is about a high schooler named Eliza Mirk, in real life she's shy, weird, and friendless, but Online she's the anonymous creator of a very popular web comic Monstrous Sea. No one in her real life knows she's created this, and online she goes by LadyConstellation and has no plans on revealing herself as the creator. Then Wallace Warland transfers to Eliza's highschool and turns out to be Monstrous Sea's biggest fan fiction writer. As they become friends Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and Eliza begins to wonder if life outside the internet isn't so bad after all. Until Eliza's secret is accidentally shared to the world and her new found friendship, her online creation, even her sanity begins to fall apart.

I have read this and will give more of my thoughts about it in my June Review. But ultimately I loved it. As an illustrator I felt Eliza's fear of quality over quantity of her art. the fact she has two younger brothers I connected with. Oh and!! This is what really tripped me out, at one point she mentions an Aunt Carol and I laughed thinking "I wonder if she has an Uncle Frank too" (like me) and as soon as I thought that, Uncle Frank came to be Aunt Carol's husband!!!

Other things came in the Owl crate box as well, a Funko-pop, I believe you could have gotten either Deadpool or Captain America, although I was hoping for Deadpool I got the Captain but after seeing Civil War I'm OK with this. There were a few other things too, but honestly I only wanted the Pop figure and the book....Oh also Owlcrate tends to have exclusive covers which is pretty cool, I think the only difference was the font color, so the one I pictured here is the general book cover, the one I got has yellow font that matches the stars. It also comes with a signed book plate and a letter from the author telling you about the book.

The next box I got was the Uppercase Box. This is another monthly book subscription box, yes it's YA new released, but they don't do themes like Owlcrate.
Uppercase you're kind of going blind, there's no hints, just a YA release for that month. There also isn't as much bookish items. I chose this subscription box on a hunch that I might get the book I have been waiting for this year, and I was right!

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

This I was interested in due to it's cover, yes, I mean duh, but also because the synopsis. Brought to you by Goodreads:

"Caroline Oresteia is destined for the river. For generations, her family has been called by the river god, who has guided their wherries on countless voyages throughout the Riverlands. At seventeen, Caro has spent years listening to the water, ready to meet her fate. But the river god hasn’t spoken her name yet—and if he hasn’t by now, there’s a chance he never will.

Caro decides to take her future into her own hands when her father is arrested for refusing to transport a mysterious crate. By agreeing to deliver it in exchange for his release, Caro finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies, with dangerous pirates after the cargo—an arrogant courier with a secret—and without the river god to help her. With so much at stake, Caro must choose between the life she always wanted and the one she never could have imagined for herself.

From debut author Sarah Tolcser comes an immersive and romantic fantasy set along the waterways of a magical world with a headstrong heroine determined to make her mark." 

This book is the first so far in a series, how long it will be is unclear just yet.

What ultimately had me to unsubscribe to owlcrate was knowing they weren't going to be giving out this book, they had an ad for it in their march box which was  "Sailors Ships and Seas" of which I was super excited about, but not so much when I saw that it wasn't this book but rather Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller. 

Here's what else I got in the Uppercase Box:

The book (which was signed!)

On the inner cover of the book there is a map, and Uppercase provided the map so I wont be constantly looking at the inner cover (convenient much?)

A book mark that has a link to a website to follow along with as you read the book

A tote bag that says "Reading is the Ultimate Adventure" Featuring a cat reading a book in a hot air balloon.

and a pin that has a book and some flowers with a banner that says "book nerd" (which I immediately put on my work apron)

Apologies for not giving you a picture of the Owlcrate goodies but if you're curious you can go to their website: https://owlcrate.com/

What is also interesting with them (not to take away from Uppercase) is that they just started an Owlcrate Jr. which include middle grade books (8-12) which I hope to get for my niece at some point, but she only just turned three so it'll be a while (if anyone knows of any toddler book boxes let me know!)

If you're interested in Uppercase here's the link to them: https://www.uppercasebox.com/

I don't have much to say about them so far, as this was my first box from them, but they too have their previous items online but it doesn't look like they sell previous boxes. And from the looks of it, it may be hit or miss pending on the month with me, but we shall see. I'll do another post that talks more fully of subscription boxes and my thoughts on them.

Alright I guess we'll get into my Book Outlet haul. If you haven't found book outlet yet...uhm don't. I'm kidding of course I can never visit the site and not have four books in the cart. This website is like thrifting for books online. They can be ridiculously cheap, and cheaper still if you're able to get over $35 in your cart (which means free shipping). They get new inventory every couple of weeks. Not so much new new books, like you wont fine a new release in there the same month it's out, but there's something for everyone in my opinion.

The books I got were:

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

So I'll let you know now, I judge a book by its cover. I don't understand why that's a bad thing, you're trying to sell a book? Make sure it's an interesting cover. 

This book is currently in development for a movie adaptation featuring Keira Knightly. Not why I got this book, but and interesting bit of information. I couldn't find anything more on the matter as it is in development. So I may wait until I get to see this movie before I read this book otherwise I'll never see the movie. 

But this book is about Rose Baker, who is a typist for the New York City Police Department. Criminals confess their transgressions before her and with cold judgement she seals their fate with a few strokes of the keys before her. But while her job entails her to hear about shootings, stabbings and crimes of passion, other the streets Baker is a lady. Until Odalie joins the typing pool, and she starts falling under a spell, lured to speakesies and jazz clubs. fascination turns into obsession in this 1920's debut novel.

I'm eager to start on this but as I have said, I am terrible with reading books first and not wanting to watch the movie's. And knowing this one is staring Keira Knightly.....isn't helping the odds of me wanting to read the book first....

The Dark Life by Kat Falls

For those who know me, yes I got this because it had a jellyfish on the cover, but the synopsis is pretty epic.

This book is a future dystopian set in the world's first subsea settlement as the settlers defend their homesteads against the brazen band of outlaws. Rising oceans have swallowed entire regions. People are packed like sardines living on what little dry land is left. The story follows Ty and his family and Ty's dream of claiming his own stake when he turns eighteen, until outlaws attack the government supply ships and settlements. This is the first in a series of two (a duology).

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough

With this I wanted to see if I can get through a Romeo and Juliet type Young Adult Romance....I tend to steer clear, especially when the covers have teenagers on the picture. Figured this would be a good start. 

As I said this book claims to be similar to Romeo and Juliet, as well as, Anthony and Cleopatra, Helen of Troy and Paris. We're following Flora Suadade, and African-American Girl who dreams of being the next Amelia Earhart by day and sings Jazz by night, and Henry Bishop, a white boy with his future assured, wealthy adoptive parents in the middle of the depression, college scholarships. 

That's it... we're going to see how they make their choices and how this story comes out. 

A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans

A cover I thought looked adorable. I was surprised by how big this book is 531 pages.

We follow Laura Foster, a known hopeless romantic, she lives with her head in the clouds or buried in a romance novel. It's harmless enough even if it hasn't delivered her a dashing hero. But her latest relationship has ended in a disaster, costing her friendships, her job and nearly her sanity. Laura swears off men and her romantic fantasies. 

With her life in pieces Laura agrees to go on vacation with her parents. After visiting craft shops and touring stately homes in England, Laura is about ready to tear her hair out. Until she crosses paths with Nick, a sexy rugged estate manager who shares more than a sense of humor with her. Can she be falling for him? Will she get it wrong again? Is she willing to open her heart up again?

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker, translated by Kevin Wiliarty

So I actually saw this book at a Barnes and Noble when I visited friend almost a year ago. Something about it was familiar and I knew I wanted it, but didn't buy it at the time, so when I saw it on Book Outlet I snagged it up. Only to find out, the reason why it was familiar was because my mom already owned it and had even suggested it to me a few years back...oops

The story follows Julia, who is bent on finding out where her successful New York lawyer father has gone after going missing. Her and her mother find a love letter from him written to a Burmese woman they've never heard of before. Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience and passion. This book claims to reaffirm the reader's believe in the power of love to move mountains. 

The next two books are from Amazon and ultimately it was because I wanted them both and hadn't been able to find one, and the other was a pre-order. That one being:

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Our Dark Duet is the second book in the Monsters of Verity duology. The first being This Savage Song. I wont tell you about Our Dark Duet, as I have yet to read it, and I don't want to spoil anything from This Savage Song. So I'll tell you about This Savage Song.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city, where violence has bred actual monsters. Pending on the severity of the violence determines the type of monsters.

Kate wants to be as ruthless as her father, who lets monsters roam free and makes humans pay for his protection. All August wants to be is human, as good-hearted as his father, to play a bigger role on protecting the innocent. But he is one of the monsters, one of three who can steal a sole with a strain of music. When Kate gets kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returns home, August leaps at the idea of keeping an eye on her. But when Kate finds out August's secret and after a failed assassination attempt, the pair must flee for their lives.

One thing I liked was that Schwab had assured no romance between August and Kate in the first book of this series (although there were hints) it was over all a good dynamic and refreshing that there was no romance between the two. The second book Our Dark Duet is the continuance of the war between monsters and humans. 

I'm a little irritated this came out in June, because even with This Savage Song, it feels like a fall read. But I'm happy to have it nonetheless.

The second book is also by Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

So Schwab has stated that when a book is published under V.E. Schwab it for an Adult release, while a book under Victoria Schwab is a Young Adult release. Which I'm curious if it's for the same reason J.K, Rowling did what she did in that that way readers can't tell what the sex of the author is (because sexism, even when writing books, is still and issue in today's world).

This book is the first in a series of three (a trilogy) of which I've heard many good things about and found interesting. 

We follow Kell the last Antari, a rare coveted magician able to travel between parallel Londons: Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.  Kell was raised in Arnes, Red London, and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one with out magic. Unofficially Kell is a smuggler, servicing those willing to pay for the smallest glimpse of a world they'll never see. A dangerous job with dangerous consequences which Kell is now seeing. An exchange goes awry and Kell meets Delilah Bard, who robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, she has lofty aspirations.

As I've said I've heard good things, I hear it can also be confusing with the whole parallel universe thing, but the Kell is an interesting protagonist with a morally grey agenda.

These last few books are from my local book store in which I frequent every other month to be able to pick up something I may not have heard of on booktube or seen on book outlet. 

The first being:

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

This book has an amazing simple cover, I love the contrast, I love the texture. I'm not sure if it's a gem, fire, or silk, for all I know it could be all three and represent women really well. I had seen this book in my local book store a couple time, and had been meaning to get it, but the price point was just a little too high. Let me explain it this way, anytime I shop for books I limit myself to three book max. With this book's price point I couldn't justify buying two more books, however this last time, I got two books for a baby shower (so little card board books) and this one with out wrecking my wallet. 

This book is a collection of stories of rare force and beauty, of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves and quirky and vexed human connections. This book has stories about women with privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted. Ultimately I picked this up because American Housewife by Helen Ellis didn't cut it for me in a way I had hoped. So I hope this one can enable some woman power.

Next is The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

So as I looked up this cover, I realized that there are other covers I almost prefer more, but don't feel like a middle grade book while this one feel like a middle grade book but I'm personally not a big fan of the cover.

This book follow Subhi, a refugee born in an Australian permanent detetntion center after his mother and sister fled the violence of a distant homeland. Subhi has only known life behind the fences, and his imagination run wild every night after his mother's stories are told. Whales sing to him and the night sea brings him gifts. When one day he meets Jimmie and impatient, scruffy girl on the other side of the fence who needs Subhi's help reading her lost mother's diary, unable to read it herself. They both find comfort and maybe even freedom and their tales unfold, but not before each has been even braver than before.

And Finally

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

I just finished reading this a few days ago, I gave it four stars on good reads. It was good, not great, interesting. I'll let you know more about it in my June Review. If you couldn't tell, the cover interested me. 

This story follows twelve-year-old Crow, who's lived her entire life on a tiny island off the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Set adrift hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man you rescued and raised her, Miss Maggie their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar, and Mouse, a cat who found a home with Osh and Crow. Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but when she catches sight of a fire on an island that's no longer supposed to be inhabited she starts to question her own history, leading to a chain of events that lead Crow to discovery and danger.

So I know I said that was the last book, but there are actually three more I wasn't able to picture because I 1) forgot, and 2) am picking up later.

The first two being 

Dream Animal: A bedtime Journey and Day Dreamers: A Journey of Imagination by Emily Winfield Martin

So I actually had got these two the same time I got Difficult Women but they were for a co-worker's baby shower, so I ordered two more from my local book store for my niece too. I love the illustrations in here their so smooth and light, completely magical. So these are formatted like thick card board, because they're for toddlers whom you don't trust with real pages yet. I actually had gotten Dream Animals a couple months back as a hard back with real paper inside which I was saving for my niece when she's older, and was happy to find something I can give her now (or as soon as I pick them up...)

The last book is another children's book, that I plan on keeping for my kids (of which I have none, yet, and hopefully not soon) I collect children's books I enjoy the illustrations of. And this one I got the same time as Beyond the Bright Sea and The Bone Sparrow

Imagine a City by Elise Hurst

The line work is what really caught my eye here. And actually the contrast of the off white, black and red. I was hoping that that would be the theme though out the whole book, but it wasn't which I can understand why, but still. I actually thought of Sin City when I saw this. But when I read it (really short read, it's more for the illustration than the story) it was so beautiful. This whole book has this detailed confident penmanship though-out the book, but it's also very imaginative in that there's buses that are fish to take you from bus stop to bus stop. It's very Magic Realism, which is something I absolutely love, as it's something to make our current world just a little more magical. Something to defy what we currently know as "real" and "normal". I want to visit this city.

Alright that was my June Book haul, sorry it went on for a bit. Let me know if you've read any of these and what you thought of them, or any books you got this month that you recommend to me. Until next time!

Litta