June 2021 Wrap Up + July TBR

Hi everyone! My name is Tracy + welcome to my first monthly wrap up!

June was not a very great month for me in terms of reading. I only read three books, but I wanted to post a wrap up regardless to show that not every month is full of books.

I’m doing pretty great on my reading goal for the year – 44 out of 50 books! Mostly thanks to manga, but reading is reading.

I had a busy month, as I had family visits, some travels, and other life stuff get in the way of my reading. However, I’m back to work again, so I should have plenty of time to read in July! I bought much more books than I should have in June, so one of my bookish goals in July is to not buy any books.

It is going to be a difficult goal to reach.

Books Read in June

1. Love or Money Vol. 1 by Sang Eun Lee

This is actually a Korean graphic novel I purchased from Powell’s during my recent trip to Portland. Yenni is a 15-year-old girl who is obsessed with making money, going so far to be a loan shark among her classmates at school. Her grandma is determined to make her a proper young lady, and knowing Yenni’s obsession with money, writes a will dictating that Yenni will not receive any of her vast fortune if she doesn’t follow the guidelines she creates.

I found this story to be really fun and loved the art style! I hope to continue the series if I am able to get my hands on the next volumes. I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves romcoms and character development!

2. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for an Otaku Vol. 2 by Fujita

Only two volumes in and I am absolutely in love with this manga series. For anyone who is a nerd, this series is sure to make you feel like you belong. It has romance, comedy, and nerdy references – it’s just perfect. The story of the two romances between nerds is told through shorts rather than in a linear story form, so it’s a great read if you’re looking for something more casual and fun.

3. Anna K Away by Jenny Lee

I read and loved Anna K when it first came out, so I was highly anticipating the sequel as soon as I discovered its existence. This sequel is the perfect summer read as you follow Anna K and her circle of friends all over the world during their summers of healing, adventure, and self discovery. If you haven’t read Anna K yet, what are you waiting for?! It’s the modern Gossip Girl that the Gossip Girl reboot is attempting to create – with protagonists that are much more humble and down to earth than our legendary Queen B.

That’s all I read for June! It’s quite a short list, but I promise I’ll improve for July. I have plenty of books on my TBR list, so I plan on getting to some of them this month.

My July TBR:

1. A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

This book has been on my TBR for the longest time. I’ve been holding off on buying it due to the hefty price of the hardcover edition and instead scouring my libraries’ shelves for a copy. I’ve had no luck, until last week! I spotted it and immediately snatched it off the shelf.

A Pho Love Story tells a modern Romeo and Juliet-esque tale, where the children of rivaling pho restaurant owners become more and more interested in each other despite their parents’ forbidding them from speaking to each other.

The synopsis alone is enough to hook me, and of course I’m always interested in the latest Asian #OwnVoices reads available. I’m super stoked to read this one in July.

2. The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas

This book is essentially a retelling of the story of Mulan. I’ve always loved the Disney Mulan movies since I was a kid, but I’ve never delved into the other stories of Mulan. This book caught my attention at the library, and because I’ve been trying to get into more fantasy novels, I just had to pick it up.

3. What’s Not to Love by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

An enemies to lovers story between two overachievers? Sign me up, immediately. Another book I found at the library, I thought this YA contemporary would be a fun book to add to my summer reading list.

I haven’t read any other books by Wibberley and Broka, but I’ve definitely spotted their books on the Barnes + Noble shelves many times. I’m looking forward to this one and seeing if I have to add more of their books to my TBR.

4. The Betrayed by Kiera Cass

This is the sequel to Cass’s book The Betrothed, which I did not love, but I was quite entertained by. The first book had a major twist in the end that drove me to instantly google whether or not there was going to be a sequel. I noticed some major flaws in the first book, but I just have to see what happens next.

I put a hold on a copy of The Betrayed at my local library, so I hope I get my hands on it soon! I may or may not post a joint review of both books once I finish the sequel…

That’s my TBR so far for July! I hope that I’ll have time to read much more than these four books this month, and I’ll probably read several manga volumes as well.

Thanks for reading and I’ll be back soon with another update!

All the love,

Tracy

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