June Reading Wrap Up

# of books read: 5

Genres: 1 Contemporary YA, 3 Dystopian YA, 1 British Classic.

After reading nine books in May, things slowed down a little last month and I only managed to finish five books. I'm always setting far too high standards for myself and I have to keep reminding myself that it's ok, that I shouldn't see reading fewer books as a failure and I should just go with the flow and enjoy reading at my own varied pace. Reminder: some people haven't read five books this year let alone this month, so reading anything at all should be seen as a success! I read almost all the books on my TBR for the month, except for the Raven Boys which I didn't manage to get to. As it's a library copy and it's due back soon I think I'll be returning it and picking it up another time.

Again last month I seemed to follow the pattern of reading more at the beginning and end of the month with a bit of a slump in the middle. I tend to read best and enjoy the reading experience more when I read in large chunks, dedicating whole afternoons or days to just sitting and reading - dipping in and out doesn't work so well for me. So it was the sunnier days in June when I was feeling relatively okay that I sat outside and got the most reading done, I predict that it will continue this way for the rest of the summer. So here's what I read in the month of June...

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins | ☆☆☆☆
I read the first in this series Anna and the French Kiss last month and really enjoyed it. The sequel follows a new set of characters but a couple of characters from the first book make appearances. I really enjoyed how Perkins linked up the two books in this way and I can't wait to see how she ties it all together in the third book. This book follows Lola, a girl from San Francisco who expresses herself through costume and how she deals with a past flame coming back into her life. I think this contemporary YA series is so much fun, the books are so quick and easy to read and they just provide light relief and lovely romance-y feels. I'm not sure I liked this one as much as Anna but I still really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next in the series.

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill | ☆☆☆
It's pretty difficult to describe what this book is about and even more difficult to pin down how I feel about it. It's essentially set in a dystopian future where women are literally designed in labs to be 'perfect' and grow up in a school (I use this term loosely) where they are taught to be 'perfect' and trained to become teachers, concubines (basically sex slaves) or companions (kind of like wives without any of the love or happiness). As you can tell from my shaky description there, it's very dark. Brutally dark. I can see what O'Neill was trying to do here but I do have a lot of issues with it, so many that I think I'm going to do a separate review/discussion post on this book sometime soon. You should probably just read it and see for yourself what you think about it.
Disclaimer: Do not, I repeat DO NOT, read this if you are triggered by anything to do with body image or eating disorders. I wouldn't usually be triggered by this kind of thing but even I found it pretty upsetting and uncomfortable to read. You have been warned.

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness | ☆☆☆☆.5
This is the final book in the Chaos Walking trilogy so I can't really explain what it's about because of spoilers. The conclusion to the series didn't disappoint, it was a wild ride which, although it dragged a little in parts, had me gripped for the most part. I was reading this whilst my boyfriend was sat in the same room gaming and he became concerned when I kept gasping and yelling 'OH MY GOD' and 'I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT JUST HAPPENED!'. This is now one of my favourite series and if you haven't picked it up yet then you definitely should. 

Persuasion by Jane Austen | ☆☆☆☆☆
This was my pick for the 2015 Classics Challenge and I'll be writing a separate post about it soon so won't go on about it too much here. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I expected to appreciate it but I definitely didn't anticipate the level of enjoyment I got from this and how compelling I found the narrative. I actually found that I couldn't put it down and that came as such a pleasant surprise. It was my favourite book of the month and now I really want to read some more Jane Austen.

More Than This by Patrick Ness | ☆☆☆☆.5
This was my TBR jar pick for the month and I went into it knowing very little about the plot but knowing that I'd like it regardless because come on, it's Patrick Ness. I definitely wasn't disappointed. It probably is best to go in blind with this one but I'll just say that it's the story of Seth, who in the very first chapter dies, only to awake naked and bruised in a strange deserted place. This was so unlike anything I've ever read and I really enjoyed it. After finishing it, I'm still not entirely sure what happened but I know that it was ridiculously compelling. I really enjoyed the original concept and the mysterious plot. Ness' writing is so beautiful and atmospheric, this book is really one to lose yourself into.

So that was everything I read this month, I'm keeping my options open for this month and I'll be posting a short TBR on Saturday so stay tuned for that.

Have you read any of these books? What was your favourite read this month?

If you've posted a reading wrap up please link it below, I'm always looking for new blogs to read!