Honestly, I don’t know how it’s already the end of June. The first half of the year has literally flown by, and I didn’t even realise it. On top of that, the weather has been ridiculously hot over here. Today was awful, there was no air outside, so we stayed home all day and only went out around 8ish, and even then it was still roasting. Where I live, it hit 38°C (100.4°F).
I went to the shop when my husband got home so I could go without the little one. The walk is only 10 minutes, and I was covered in sweat by the time I got there… and I was wearing a dress! I don’t even want to think about what it’ll be like in August when the heat is at its peak. I might have to move to Antarctica or something and live in an igloo… 😂
Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to update my StoryGraph with all the extra stats yet. I’ll get around to updating it eventually so I can see how I’m doing with my page count and all the other fun statistics. For now, I’ll just include the ones from Goodreads:



The only inaccuracy is the longest book. It should be Karaevren by Vasil Popov (1,342 pages), but since it’s currently only available as an audiobook, I haven’t been able to add it yet. I suppose it will be updated once a physical edition is released.
At the start of the year, I set myself a goal of reading just 15 books. I honestly never imagined I’d surpass it so quickly, let alone be sitting at 79 books by the end of June! Safe to say I underestimated how much I’d end up reading this year LOL!
ALL THE BOOKS I READ THIS MONTH:
- Ocean by David Attenborough
- Finish Lines by Sarah Boyles
- Mamnik by Vasil Popov
- Lehusa by Vasil Popov
- Ajder by Vasil Popov
- Karaevren by Vasil Popov
- Evergreen Academy by Heather Schneider
- Evergreen Conservatory by Heather Schneider
- Evergreen Legacy by Heather Schneider
- The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst
- Stay For A Spell by Amy Coombe
- Cat Dragon by Samantha Birch
- Hospital for Immortal Creatures by Alexandrina Krusharska
- Anatomy of the Immortal Species by Alexandrina Krusharska

CHALLANGES
- A to Z reading challenge: I have ticked A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V and W. Left: J, K, Q, X, Y and Z
- Valentine’s book boyfriend bingo: the prompts are: Firefighter, Shadow Daddy (whatever this one means lol), Prince, Cinnamon roll hero, Hockey player and Mountain man. Cinnamon roll hero and Mountain man are completed! Nothing has changed here.
- Romance challenge: I have completed them all: Contemporary romance, Small town romance, Paranormal romance, Military romance, Holiday romance, Sports, Second chance, Western, Fantasy, Romantic comedy, Workplace and Spicy romance.
- Romance trope bingo: The ones I have got: Grumpy and sunshine, Friends to lovers, Slow burn, Opposites attract, Fake relationship, Forced proximity, Enemies to lovers, Age gap, Forbidden love, One bed, He falls first. I have left only one: Road trip.
- Thriller challenge: Nothing changed here since last month. I have got the Psychological thriller box ticked. What is left is: Domestic thriller, Serial killer, Winter thriller, Revenge, Cold case, Kidnapping, Isolated location, Small town, Legal thriller. Blackmail and FBI.
- Mystery challenge: Here it is going much better than I thought. I have ticked: Missing person, Amateur sleuthing, Cosy mystery, Family secrets, Detective, Secret society and Paranormal. The ones I need still are: YA mystery, Murder, Heist, Historical, and Crime-solving duo.
- Fantasy challenge Magic Path: I have ticked: Witches/Wizards, Mermaids, YA fantasy, Cosy fantasy, Elemental magic, Urban fantasy, Found family, Magical Realism, Magical school/academy, Historical fantasy and Elemental Magic. What I have left: Mythology and Chosen One.
- Fantasy Challenge Dark Path: I have ticked: Dragons, High fantasy/Epic fantasy, Touch her and die, Forbidden Magic, Tournament/ Deadly competition, Curse. What is left is: Dark Fantasy, Fae, Political intrigue, Betrayal, Pirates, Assassins.
- 50 States of America: This is a new addition, and I have collected 11 of the 50 states needed!









BOOKS I LOVED:
Here are my top 3 books of this month in no particular order:



I’d also like to give an honourable mention to Hospital for Immortal Creatures by Alexandrina Krusharska. While it didn’t quite make it onto my favourites list, I really enjoyed the story and definitely think it’s worth mentioning.
POSTS ON THE BLOG:
- BOOK REVIEW: THE SUMMER OF YES BY COURTNEY WALSH

- TOP TEN TUESDAY: BOOKS THAT LIVE IN MY HEAD RENT-FREE

- TOPPLING STACKS TOURS BOOK TOUR: THE GINGHAMS BY T.C. KEMPER

- BOOK REVIEW: A WIZARD’S GUIDE TO DEFENSIVE BAKING BY T. KINGFISHER

- TOP TEN TUESDAY: BOOKS BY NEW TO ME AUTHORS

- REVIEW: THE FARAWAY INN BY SARAH BETH DURST

- TOP TEN TUESDAY: BOOKS WITH THE WORD “HOUSE/HOME” IN THE TITLE

- WWW WEDNESDAY: JULY 1ST 2026

- MONTHLY WRAP-UP: JUNE 2026

- TOP TEN TUESDAY: MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS 2026

- THE MID-YEAR CHECK-IN TAG: 2026

- MINI REVIEWS: LEHUSA, AJDER, KARAEVREN (MAMNIK #2,3,4) BY VASIL POPOV

And I will leave you with some highlights of this month:

Let me know how your month went and what your favourite books are!






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