June saw me get back on track for books! I finished four in June! I’m still behind on my annual goal. I should have finished around 26 by now but I’ve only gotten through 21. I think the library’s summer reading challenge helped me get through some books! I love a challenge that has prizes! 😆
How are you coming on your reading goal? Are you on track? What’s your favorite been so far?
Tiny Pretty Things (Book 1) and Shiny Broken Pieces (Book 2) by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
☕☕☕
High schoolers at a prestigious New York ballet school treat each other like shit to hopefully secure a spot at the company after graduating.
There is almost too much drama in this book. I like some drama, some pettiness but this was over the top. When a second student gets severely injured the school is like ok, we will do something about it but shockingly do very little.
I read book one and gave it three coffees. It’s an ok read. Am I mad I read it? No. Would I read it again? Nope. I did want to finish the story so grabbed book two as an audiobook from the library. I didn’t want to spend money on it. The ending was satisfactory but book two was more of the same drama. They fucked around, found out, and gave no shits.
Will I still watch the Netflix series? Yes. Because I think this would make for a good, over-the-top soap opera-like drama. Would I recommend this book series? Maybe. It’s a little over the top. It’s not one that you can’t put down but you do want to find out who will do what next.
The Bookwoman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson
☕☕☕☕
Years after the events of The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek we head back to Kentucky and meet Honey, the bookwoman’s 16-year-old daughter. After a series of events, she finds herself alone and needs to find a way to survive. She has the opportunity to start her mother’s old book route up and grabs the opportunity.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I gave it four coffees instead of five because it is very similar to the first book in the series. And the overuse of “much obliged”. After the first chapter, I never wanted to read that saying again! I fell in love with all the new characters and was happy to see old friends show up. I definitely did not want to put this one down and read it quickly.
I would recommend both The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek and The Bookwoman’s Daughter if you like strong female leads and historical fiction.
Cute Hand Lettering by Cindy Guentert-Baldo
☕☕☕☕☕
Have you ever seen signs at stores or restaurants with cool handwriting and thought, “I wish I could do that”? Well, you can! It takes some guidance and practice but anyone can write like that!
In Cute Hand Lettering, Cindy Guentert-Baldo walks you through the basics to more advanced lettering. It’s easy to follow and has plenty of room to practice in the book. Although, I can’t write in books so I’ve been practicing in a dot grid notebook.
If you are looking for a hand lettering book, this one might be for you! I’ve read a few others in the past but for some reason, it just clicked for me with Cindy’s book (I can call her Cindy, I watch her youtube 😝).
