What I'm Reading: June 2015

I've been thinking about getting back to blogging for a few months now. June seems like a great time to do this. My hands are in pretty good shape for typing since it's summer, and there are a ton of awesome sounding books out that I want to download to my Kindle immediately. So, what am I hoping on reading this June? Here are a few books that have grabbed my interest!

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1. Take Them By Storm by Marie Landry -- Marie is a friend of mine and I've meant to read this for ages. Now that I'm striving to get back into blogging, this is the first book I thought of for my list--even before going to GoodReads to see what had come out. I liked Sadie in After The Storm, so it will be interesting to see what will happen to her here.

2. The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough -- If Death is portrayed as an interesting character, you can bet I'm gonna be there to read about it. In an interesting and often not seen portrayal, apparently she is a lady for this outing. I think that the premise of historical fiction + a slight supernatural element is intriguing. I'm also interested in the time in which this takes place--my grandparents would have been young. I hope this author adds historical details that will let me get a glimpse of what that might have been like.

3. Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout -- I competed in music competitions from the time I was about eight up until I was around thirty, so I often enjoy stories where music either has a key role or is effecting characters' lives. Plus, one of my earliest reviews here on my blog was Anna and the French Kiss. I didn't care for that book due to some infidelity issues that rubbed me the wrong way; I did love learning about another culture, though. One of my favorite authors, Robert Beven, lives in South Korea with his family. I'm very intrigued to read a novel set there!

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4. The Vampire's Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter -- I knew this would make my list the moment that I read the blurb. I love a vampire romance that has a sense of humor. I'm actually reading the sample right now (or was before I started this post) and I can already tell this is going to be my kind of book. Who can resist a cat named Captain Underpants?

5. The Gentlemen Mentor by Kendall Ryan -- I've learned to listen to my instincts when it comes to books like this. I usually don't go for sexy adult contemporary reads; especially not ones that involve BDSM. (So not a fan of Fifty Shades of Grey.) But occasionally I spot a title that grabs my interest and refuses to be ignored; that's what we've got here. Hopefully this book will live up to my previous successes in finding things I want to read within this type of fiction. I guess we'll soon find out.

6. Burned By Darkness by Alexandra Ivy -- Once upon a time, Kat wanted to read a romance novel involving falling in love with a dragon. This book looks like it might just be able to deliver. From the summary, I can see the bond between the two main characters going in any variety of ways. But I find that interesting. The idea that he spent 25 years looking for this specific woman when he has a "harem" is making me roll my eyes a tad. But the premise seems interesting enough that I think I'll give this a shot.

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7. Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond -- I'm a huge fan of DC Comics and the thought of a side character / love interest like Lois being given her own book is genius, in my opinion. I think it's great that stuff like this and the upcoming Supergirl TV show are being written / filmed / produced to try and increase female interest in conics, as i think comics have a ton to offer readers of either genre. I look forward to seeing how this was handled.

8. Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neil -- From what I've been reading, I'm gonna want to get some kind of non-shattering case or shell for my Kindle when I download this one, 'cause it's gonna make me mad. But that's okay! A book that ticks me off means it likely did a good job; I don't get riled up over just anything. I've wanted to read this from the moment I first head about it, so count on seeing a review for it soon.

9. Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs -- I've been working on a premise for a standalone superhero novel, so this is another book that the writer in my is interested in reading. Plus, the premise just looks like it could be a lot of fun. I mean, imagine what it would be like knowing that there are people with extraordinary powers and then also knowing you're not one of them? Imagine having everything you know or think you believe turned upside down? This definitely shows potential.

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10. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas -- I'm quite fond of Throne of Glass, so the idea of Sarah J. Maas + a potential take on Beauty and the Beast definitely had my attention from word go. I'm optimistic sense I've liked other work by this author, but she is working with my favorite fairytale, so things could get dicey. I look forward to reading the book and giving my opinion.

11. Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz -- I've enjoyed several of Melissa's other books, so I'm quite hopeful that this will be a fun read. I've been following all leads about the Disney Descendants doll line since I saw it in video footage from Toy Fair 2015 back in February (I collect dolls and My Little Pony), so finding out that there are going to be books was pretty exciting news.

12. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh -- This is a premise I've been waiting for someone to jump on since I took a class on oral storytelling in university. I never really felt a compulsion that this could or should be *my* story--I don't think I could do this justice. But I'm really happy to see that someone has spotted this opening in the fairytale retelling sub-genre and has decided to roll with it. I want to see how it turned out.

Will I get through all these in June? Absolutely not. Jay (my boyfriend) is visiting for a week and I'm just getting the blog back up and running. But I will read as much as I can and try to get back into the swing of things. I figured starting with a post of what I want to read this month will help give me some focus and keep me from staring at my Kindle and going, "What Next?".

Have you read any of the books on my list? Are there any you're especially curious to hear my thoughts on? Feel free to leave a comment. :)