I experienced problems with Internet service throughout the month of June, and it took almost the entire month to have them corrected. It became an ordeal just to post reviews, comments and/or blog hop. Thankfully (as of yesterday) the service is back to normal. As a result, I'm behind posting reviews for quite a few of the books I read this past month. The positive side? I read... a lot!
On to my June reads! You can find a complete list of titles read here.
Total books read in June: 21
My favorite reads this month? Two new releases and three oldies but goodies.
- Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels series, Book 4) by Ilona Andrews: A
- Diana Comet and Other Improbable Stories by Sandra McDonald (upcoming review)
- Years by Lavyrle Spencer: A
- Morning Glory by Lavyrle Spencer: A
- Henry and Jim by J.M. Snyder: A
The biggest surprise?
- Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman - I'm not usually a fan of horror and YA is not a genre I read as a rule, so it was a big surprise when I found myself enjoying both the ghost story, and the way the young adult characters were portrayed. I loved the way this book was written. The atmosphere and story stayed with me for quite a while.
The biggest disappointment?
- Jourdan Lane's Soul Mate Series (Upcoming Review) - This is a paranormal M/M series I've been hearing about for a while and was looking forward to reading.
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Mid-year Recap (See complete list here)
Total books read January through June: 91
Total new books read: 81
Total re-reads: 10
Favorite new release to date:
- Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels Series, Book 4) by Ilona Andrews - Ahhh, Kate Daniels! How awesome was this book! I just loved it and my squeeing was heard far and wide, but hey... it was deserved. Magic Bleeds is an outstanding addition to the Kate Daniels series and I can't wait for the next book.
Favorite book from backlists/or previous years' releases to date:
- Courting Miss Hattie by Pamela Morsi - I've fallen in love with Morsi's writing. Courting Miss Hattie was just a joy to read. With a plain Jane strong heroine, a hero I fell in love with, a friends-to-lovers theme and some amazing writing, this book was an easy choice as a top pick for me.
Favorite LGBT read to date:
- Fool for Love: New Gay Fiction edited by Timothy J. Lambert and R.D. Cochrane - Romance? We love romance? This LGBT anthology is just chuck-full of all types of romance. I read and re-read this book for over three months, that's how much I enjoyed it. That alone took it to the top of my LGBT list.
- 2010 Year of the Historical Challenge - 100% met. All monthly reviews posted.
- 2010 Re-Read Challenge - 100% met. All monthly reviews posted.
- 2010 M/M Romance Challenge - Read 17 out of 20+ books for the year and reviewed 11. I'm a bit behind on my reviews, but hope to catch up soon. :)
- In-Death Challenge - Read and reviewed 4 out of 6 books so far. Failed to read or review the past two months. :( I'll be catching up soon (hopefully this month).
- Orannia's Big Book Challenge - 0% met! I haven't opened up my book yet! I still have 6 months to do so. That doorstopper is just sitting there gathering dust... hmm...
That's it for the first six months of the year... phewww! How about you? Which book rates as your top pick so far?
Wow--great list. One of these days I'm going to have to start the Kate Daniels series. It's on the list.
ReplyDeleteYay on your internet being back!
ReplyDeleteGood list for June and recap. I need to go look for Fool for Love - since I'm on an m/m kick these days. :P
Nice list! Magic Bleeds was fantastic.
ReplyDeleteMid year recap: good idea :) I may steal it in future ;) I'll have to say that my favorite read this year would have to be Henry and Jim... loved that story to pieces. Followed by Bareback (Chris Owen); those characters have stayed with me. I think about them... isn't that odd?
I was really nervous that Magic Bleeds wasn't going to live up to my heightened expectations, but it did! Great book! :-)
ReplyDeleteSo what book is your "big book challenge", Hilcia?
I'm glad your internet is back up and running. When it's gone I wonder how I live without it :)
ReplyDeleteAnd Magic Bleeds was amazing.
Oh....you have a book for your big book challenge? I'm curious now as to what you've picked *grin*
Thanks, Phyl! The Kate Daniels series is my favorite UF series, so therefore I must pimp... lol! It's one of those series that gets better... well... it just never stops being great, actually. :) Hope you try it.
ReplyDeleteAmes, yes! My internet is back! I wanted to kill something, lol! If you try Fool for Love, I hope you let us know what you think & tell us which stories are your favorites, I couldn't choose one. I loved them all.
Mariana, you chose some great top reads. I know that Bareback's Jake & Tor are still with me and Henry and Jim will stay with me for a long time. Those are great books!
Renee, I'm with you... I was nervous and sooo relieved that Magic Bleeds lived up to expectations. Loved it!
My original Big Book Challenge pick back in January was Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey. :)
Orannia, I was quite frustrated without it. Although I did manage, plus I read more, lol!
Well, Naamah's Kiss was the book I chose for your challenge originally... I recently read Santa Olivia (a shorter read) by Carey to get me into the groove. I enjoyed her writing. Let's see if I can pick it up this last half of the year. :D
Yeah for internet! It's one of those things that I can't imagine living w/o. But there are people that actually do it. Shocking, I know! LOL
ReplyDeleteThis year is going by so quickly. It seems like it was just January and I was picking out books for the challenges.
Still need to read Magic Bleeds - I'm getting nervous I might the oddball that it doesn't wow. You know how the hype feeds into our expectations...
Awesome recap, Hils. I was planning on doing the same thing. Maybe I'll sit and do it tonight. I love reflecting on the books I've read, characters, author's styles ... crunching those numbers and of course, MAKING LISTS! LOL!
ReplyDeleteSOOOooo glad you got service going normally again. My household would fall apart. LOL. No seriously. Too many of us gone cold turkey at once? Not a good thing. Maybe after a couple of days we'd loosen up, but then Gabe and I would be sneaking off to B&N or Starbucks for free wifi. ^_^
21 books in June!!?? I read ... 4 *sobs* I still didn't finish Witness In Death. Argh! Well, I just woke up from a 1 hour 20 min nap, so maybe I'll make it to midnight tonight and finish it.
91 books read at the midyear mark???!! Impressive!!!! Great lists, Hils. You're inspiring me to read more this month! I think you're doing great with your challenges, too!
Leslie, it was so funny once the internet service was up and running. Cami, my husband... everyone HAD to get on right away! LOL!
ReplyDeleteDon't be nervous about Magic Bleeds, it's no hype. I know you love Kate & Curran, so this book was made for you. ;P
Christine, it's amazing how dependent we've all become. I felt cut off and although I had other means (BlackBerry, etc), it's not the same. It's a bit scary that dependency.
LOL, I had time to read without the other distractions. Now I have to catch up on my writing -- that I neglected. Glad you enjoyed my list.
Wow, a month with bad internet. I would start foaming at the mouth. Lol.
ReplyDeleteLove the recap. You're doing great for the first half of the year. 21 books in June, awesome! I agree with you about the fave new release pick. Magic Bleeds is so good that I wonder how IA will top it with the next release.
My goodness, how many pages is the big book for Orannia's Big Book challenge?
Tabz, I won't expect Andrews to top this one. I'll be happy with something equal to it, lol!
ReplyDeleteOrannia's big book has to be at least 500 pages long to qualify! I was close and read quite a few that were in the high 400's during the first half of the year, so 0% met. BUT, I just re-read Harry Potter: The Deadly Hollows, (finished it this weekend) and THAT qualifies. It was a re-read though. :(
Hmm.... maybe I'll just read The Historian... or maybe I'll just pick the book I'm supposed to read, lol!
Wow, 21 books :P I was close to you this month!! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your favorite new release was Magic Bleeds. Totally worth it :P
Ugh, I'm dreading writing my monthly reads post, let alone a mid-year recap ^_^;
LOL, Nath... I was lazy and made my recaps short and sweet this time. No long lists, I couldn't face it! ;P
ReplyDeleteI read much more in June than expected, that was surprising. See what happens when there's no internet? LOL!
Oh my GAWD - you've read 91 books so far?!!! *faints* *revives* Oh my gawd, so jealous! *faints*
ReplyDeleteOh, almost forgot - YES to Magic Bleeds. Yes yes yes. *snogs own copy*
ReplyDeleteLOL, KMont -- 2010 didn't begin well, but I hit my stride somewhere along the line. *g* Yes... Magic Bleeds... definitely a keeper!
ReplyDelete