Month in Review: June 2020

Happy Summer Everyone! The Weres have been reading up a storm and getting caught up on reviews. We're finally getting the books that were delayed because of Covid-19 and the wait has been worth it and we love that we're finally getting to read them!

This is what the Weres were up to in June.

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik

Alpha Night by Nalini Singh

The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian

 

Loud Mouth by Avery Flynn

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian

We Love Lists

#ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads Week 1

#ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads Week 2

#ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads Week 3

#ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads Week 4
Books We Love By Black Authors

June's Most Anticipated
June Book Haul
June Reading Challenge Recap

Reviews

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune

Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha

June Reading Challenge Recap

Hello, Summer! We don't know about you but the Weres have been reading up a storm and making quite the progress on our reading challenges! We don't want to brag but we're killing it this year. Social distancing has been good to us when it comes to our reading.

 

This is how we did in June:

 Romanceopoly

Gretl

Completed:

✔️Fated Folly: PNR with MC in pack/coven/group
Alpha Night by Nalini Singh
✔️Emergency Services: MC is police officer
Rapture in Death by JD Robb
✔️Amour Ave: Age gap romance
Can I Come Over by Whitney G
✔️New View: Friends to Lovers NA
Love Machine by Kendall Ryan
✔️Campus Corner: NA w/ nerd MC
The Hookup Handbook by Kendall Ryan
✔️Flirt’s Corner - Contemp Romance with mature characters
Lowdown Dirty by Holley Trent
✔️Action Ave - UF w/ a kickass heroine on the cover
Sabotaged by CP Rider
✔️Fang Alley - Vampire or Shifter PNR
You Had Me at Wolf by Terry Spear
✔️Summer: Bright Colors, Beach, Sand or Sun on the Covers
Moti on the Water by Leyla Attar
✔️Killer Crescent - Thriller with a serial killer
Ceremony in Death by JD Robb

Coming Up:
I’m starting my second trip around the board, doing the Moon Pack mostly. I wound up doing a few of the Moon prompts the first time so I’ll do Sun for those.

Sun Board:
➖Beau Blvd - YA by new to you author
➖Lady Lane: Women’s Fiction

Moon Board:
➖Fated Folly - Fated Mates Romance
➖The Office - Romance where the couple meet at work
➖Burger Joint - Book on Book Boyfriend List

Rose Red

Completed:
✔️Lady Lane: Read a Women’s Fiction Novel
Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
✔️Passion Place- Read an Erotic BDSM Romance (Sun)
Angelo by Silvia Violet
✔️Coffee Shop - Read a Book That has Either Food or Drink on the Cover or a Foodie Word in the Title
Granddad's Cup of Tea by Amy Rae Durreson
✔️Rainbow Row - Read a M/M Romance
Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon
✔️Lover's Lane - Read a LGBT Romance Which Isn't Contemporary
Kings of the Mountain (Kings of the Mountain #1) by Morgan Brice
✔️Fanged Alley- Read a PNR with a Vampire or Shifter H/H
The Vampire's Familiar by T.J. Nichols
✔️Emergency Services - Read a Romance Where the H/H is a Fireman or Police Officer
How to Vex a Vampire by Alice Winters

Coming Up:
➖City Lane- Read an Urban Fantasy Published in the Last Five Years
➖Summer- Read a Book Where It: Has a Brightly Colored or Multicolored Cover; Has the Beach, Sand or the Sun on the Cover; Has a Summery Word in the Title; Is a Summer Holiday Read; Or All of/Any Combination/Any One of the Above!
➖Beau Boulevard- Read a Young Adult Novel by a New-To-You Author

 Beat the Backlist

Gretl

I’m playing Beat the Backlist Bingo and filled 1 square this month. It’s getting harder now that I don’t have as many empty.

Pirates or set at sea: Moti on the Water by Leyla Attar

Rose Red

I completed 2 squares on my Bingo Board this month.

Beat the Backlist Bingo

Wish It Had a Sequel- Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Released in the 2010s- The Gilded Scarab by Anna Butler

Non-Bingo Backlist Books

Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassmen

I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up by Naoko Kodama

In Morningstar's Shadow by Aliette de Bodard

Of Books, and Earth, and Courtship by Aliette de Bodard

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

In the Vanisher's Palace by Aliette de Bodard

The Invitation by Nikki Woolfolk

Granddad's Cup of Tea by Amy Rae Durreson

Marine Biology by G.L. Carriger

The Sumage Solution by G.L. Carriger

The Omega Objections by G.L. Carriger

Romancing the Werewolf by Gail Carriger

Library Love Challenge

I made my goal for the challenge! 🎉 I’ve read 39 library books so far this year on a goal of 36. 

This month I read:

Inappropriate by Vi Keeland

Rapture in Death by JD Robb

Lock N Load by Tee O’Fallon

Armed N Ready by Tee O’Fallon

Trap N Trace by Tee O’Fallon

Dark N Deadly by Tee O’Fallon

Irresistible Force by DD Ayers 

Love Machine by Kendall Ryan

The Hookup Handbook by Kendall Ryan

Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas by Katie Ruggle

You Had Me At Wolf by Terry Spear

Moti on the Water by Leyla Attar

Ceremony in Death by JD Robb

Tackle My TBR Challenge

After successfully completing the Safety level last month, my new goal for the year is to read 30 Books I Own for the First Down (25-36) level. I'm happy to report that I have read 15 TBR books for the year! I'm so happy with my progress!

This month I read 3 books that count for this challenge. I finally completed the challenges for April (New-to-Me Author) and May (TV/Movie Adaptation) as well as this month's challenge to read a LGBTQIA book.

 The books I read are:

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner (New-to- Me Author)
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (TV/Movie Adaptation)
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (LGBTQIA Book)

How did you all do on your reading challenges this month?

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We Love Lists: #ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads Week 4

Welcome to Week Four of #ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads recommendations! If you missed Weeks One, Two, and Three, you can click here, here, and here to go see those lists. Here are my recommendations for Days 22-30! And just like last week, I've left links to our reviews if you want more of our thoughts on a specific book.

Day 22: Queer Book That Made You Take Action
 The Bride was a Boy was the first narrative I've ever read from the point-of-view of some who had transitioned and reading it was a wake up call. It made me realize that despite trying to be an ally and read across a wide range of sexualities I had neglected the T in LGBTQ+ quiltbag. Since I've read this book, I've made it a goal to learn how to be a better ally and a friend to the trans community. There was so much I didn't know and it hurts my heart that I neglected that part of the community for so long. I have a long ways to go but I'm trying to be better.

Day 23: Queer Book By An Author Who Is Dead That You Highly Recommend
I apparently haven't read any queer books by authors who have passed away so I'm going to recommend a couple books/series that I love but haven't been able to fit under a certain prompt. Some of my favorites. The Whyborne & Griffin series was the first series to scratch the queer paranormal romance itch I had. I love the Lovecraftian/Night Vale-esque town of Widdershins and I love the dynamic between Whyborne and Griffin. In The Vanishers' Palace is a genderbent queer reimagining of Beauty and the Beast where the Beast is a female dragon. It's glorious!

Day 24: Queer Book You Wish You'd Read When Younger
I loved grew up as part of the Harry Potter Generation and the series still holds a special place in my heart despite being written by an author with deeply bigoted and racists views. As much as I loved Harry and the gang, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell filled the holes that I wish weren't in my beloved childhood series. I loved seeing the queer rep but I also loved that we got to see the equivalent of two houses (Gryffindor and Slytherin) who were clearly enemies become friends and then more. It's really a wonderful book.

Day 25: Queer Book in a Historical Setting
Honestly, I just want to put all of Cat Sebastian's books for this prompt. She's my go to author for queer historical romance. I adore her Turner and Seducing the Sedgwicks series, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Hither, Page. This is the first book in a series and it's set in a small village in England post-WWII. The setting was unique but I fell head over heels for so many of the characters. I can't recommend this book enough. You should go pick it up if you want to read a quirky m/m historical romance between a country doctor and a spy.

Day 26: Queer Super Hero Book or Comic
I just finished this one and it was something else! I fell in love with TJ Klune's writing while reading The House in the Cerulean Sea so I was intrigued with what he'd do with superheroes. This book was very unique and very gay and I loved it! I can't wait for you all to read The Extraordinaries too.

Day 27: Favorite Queer Children's Picture Book
These two picture books by Daniel Haack are adorable! I love them both so much but Maiden & Princess may be slightly more my favorite.

Day 28: Queer Book That Made You Uncomfortable
 The Captive Prince Trilogy is one of those series that I ended up adoring but the first book contains some problematic content. Most of that stems from one of the love interests being a prince who gets sold to the rival kingdom as a sex slave. The Veretian court is debauched and although most of the content was handled deftly by the author it made me slightly uncomfortable. The rest of the series deals with some hard topics but it's only the first book that made me uneasy.

Day 29: Queer Book That Made You Want to Fall in Love
The love story in This is How You Lose the Time War between time traveling spies from warring factions. The romance is unique and beautiful and never had a book that made me fall in love with love quite like this one. It's one of my favorite f/f romances ever.

Day 30: Queer Book With Your Favorite Ending
I have a lot of queer books with endings I love but I fell in love hard with the happily ever after in In the Middle of Somewhere. It was one of the first no-YA contemporary m/m romances I ever read and I loved it so much! The main character, Daniel, is suspicious and prickly and has walls a mile high to keep everyone but his best friend out. I loved watching cinnamon roll, Rex, break them down and show Daniel what it is like to be loved. I always have a goofy smile on my face when I reread it.

That's the last of my #ReadingPride recommendations! I hope that you have found a book or two that interests you.

What books would you recommend to me for this prompt?

The Big Book Haul Post: June 2020

It's officially summer! And it's one of our favorite times of year to buy books. Plus, there have been some seriously awesome kindle sales this month! We (aka Rose Red) may have a one-click problem. Thankfully, we won't run out of reading material anytime soon.

Here's what we added to our TBR piles in June:

As always, keep in mind that books we got for free earlier in the month may no longer be free, so look before you click.

Gretl

Physical Book Haul

Added to My Kindle
ARCs

Loud Mouth by Avery Flynn
The Princess and the Rogue by Kate Bateman

Purchased

Royal Bastard by Avery Flynn

Freebies



Cowboy Wolf Trouble by Kait Ballenger
Toxic Desire by Robin Lovett
Born of Darkness by Lara Adrian
The Chase by Elle Kennedy
The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen
Cherish Hard by Nalini Singh
Attracting Aubrey by Avery Flynn
The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen

Rose Red

Physical Book Haul

Added to My Kindle
ARCs

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

 Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
Better than People by Roan Parrish

Purchased

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky (Montague Siblings #1.5) by Mackenzi Lee

Angelo (The Marchesi Family #2) by Silvia Violet
The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics (Feminine Pursuits #1) by Olivia Waite
The A.I. Who Loved Me (The Hive #1) by Alyssa Cole

Silver in the Woos (The Greenhollow Duology#1) by Emily Tesh

Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard

 Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

 A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson
Chilling Effect (Chilling Effect #1) by Valerie Valdes

Alpha Night (Psy-Changeling: Trinity #4) by Nalini Singh

 The House of Shattered Wings (Dominion of the Fallen #1) by Aliette de Bodard

Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard

A Books, and Earth, and Courtship (Dominion of the Fallen #0.5) by Aliette de Bodard

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Tristan Strong #1) by Kwame Mbalia

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 by Tamifull

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Granddad's Cup of Tea by Amy Rae Durreson

Here For It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas

The City We Became (Great Cities #1) by N.K. Jemisin

 The Boyfriend Project (The Boyfriend Project #1) by Farrah Rochon
The Happy Ever After Playlist (The Friend Zone #2) by Abby Jimenez
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Binti (Binti #1) by Nnedi Okorafor
Meet Cute Club (Sweet Rose #1) by Jack Harbon
Well Met (Well Met #1) by Jen Deluca

Two Rogues Make a Right (Seducing the Sedgewicks #3) by Cat Sebastian
Intercepted (Playbook #1) by Alexa Martin

Freebies

In Morningstar's Shadow (Dominion of the Fallen #0.6) by Aliette de Bodard

Shuri, Vol. 1: The Search for Black Panther by Nnedi Okorafor
Hidden Figures: The Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly


A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi

What books did you get this month?

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