A R T
Actually shame on me that I have no art to share with you this month. So I thought I would highlight some commissioned art instead! Here are two pieces from CarmenFFLV. The first one was actually a gift from my friend, Seth, who commissioned art of my OC (who I used as my png model when I’m streaming on Twitch.) I was so in love with the art that I commissioned the artist myself for a picture of myself! It’s SOO adorable and I just want to use it everywhere!
B O O K S
In June, I read 8 books!
For transparency, books marked with an asterisk (*) signify books I received through work at PRH.
Welcome to Glorious Tuga*
While to the residents of Tuga – the world’s most remote island – Charlotte Walker looks like a temporary resident, a researcher ready to study the island’s turtle population. For Charlotte, Tuga holds the secret to a past she never knew and can she find it amongst the people of glorious Tuga?
I feel like this book is a quintessential beach read – the kind of book that is low stakes, low energy and some thing that you can finish in a couple summer days. I thought it was cute, something quick to read. Personally, for me, it just felt SO empty. Nothing really happens except in the last few chapters and I actually almost forgot Charlotte was at Tuga to research turtles. I don’t think she actually did anything the entire time she was there? There is a sequel out now which judging by the synopsis sounds to be much better, but I don’t think I cared enough about Charlotte to think about picking it up.
Hiding the spoilers here
I just can’t get over how for a couple of page of we almost has incest because Charlotte thinks the guy she has a crush on is her brother. It’s swiftly cleared up but I can’t believe that was the only piece of drama we got in that entire book.
My Other Heart*
Mimi Truang, who lost her daughter in 1998 and forced back to Vietnam unable to locate her child, returns seventeen years later to finally find her missing daughter. At the same time, best friends Sabrina and Kit are at odds with each other as they discuss their summer plans before college. Sabrina is preparing to travel to China to see her mother’s family while Kit leaves for Tokyo, who is adopted and convinced her birth mother was Japanese.
This one took me a while to finish. I won a proof copy at work through a giveaway and started it late last year. It was during a weekend in June when I was sick that I decided to finish the rest in one afternoon. It is a stunning debut that is both bittersweet and quietly beautiful – capturing the ache of lost roots and new connections. A heart breaking reflection on the invisible weight of class and its quiet impact on dreams. This one publishes this July – definitely go check it out if you can!
The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park*
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library was one of my favourite books last year! And Michiko Aoyama’s newest book does not disappoint. In a similar vein as Library, The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park follows a neighbourhood who reach out a statue of a hippo, nestled into a children’s playground, believing that if they touch whatever part of the hippo they believe is broken of themselves and make a wish, they would be cured of their problems. From a young student who struggles to catch up to his peers to a women who finds herself feeling lonely in motherhood, the hippo of Hinode Park has helped many souls of one community.
I preferred how interconnected this one was in comparison to Aoyama’s previous title. I managed to finish this book in hours that’s how much I adored this! A hopeful tale of connections that will be a hit for any fans of Japanese translated fiction!
Ghost Town
Still slowly making my way through my Morganville Vampire re-read! Ghost Town is book 9 and I remember this one the most out of the entire series because it’s one of the most stressful ones. The machinery that runs the memory wipe to keep residents from leaving and telling people about the vampires is broken and in an attempt to fix the system, Claire and Myrnin accidently begin to start wiping the memories of Morganville’s residents. And it becomes one big race to fix the machine before even Claire forgets why she was in Morganville to begin with. This book had twelve year old me STRESSED. Never in my life did the series ever felt so terrifying as a young reader. It’s so good and definitely one of the better books in the series.
Black Blood
Ethan is a cyborg soldier, built for war, and finds himself on a quiet planet where he meets Mikhail, a gentle botanist whose love for nature draws Ethan to him.
I am SO thankful for my friend because they sent me the cover of this book and I IMMEDIATELY remembered I had actually read this back in 2022. (fan translated from the original manga that had been scanned) And I’m just SO happy this one finally had an official English translation. I immediately bought it on Kindle and waiting for my physical copy to arrive. It’s such a good story with amazing art! It’s SO detailed that I was sad that it’s a standalone book.
With Love from The Morisaki Bookshop
In this charming sequel, More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, we return to Takako and her family as they go through life in their second hand bookstore. In this sequel, Takako is determined for her aunt and uncle to take a well-earned break together, but the news she learns soon after almost shatters the foundations the bookshop itself.
The link above is a special edition which includes both books in one copy! I bought it second hand on Vinted and I love how it looks! I wasn’t too sure when I saw there was a sequel to Morisaki Bookshop because I thought it ended in such a lovely way that gives room for sequel but I almost thought it wasn’t needed. More Days. It wasn’t until I read this, I realised how underutilised all the side characters were in the first book. I feel like it gave them all a fresh breath of air that was missing in the first. Especially Takako’s friends and boyfriend, who I felt were side lined pretty fast in the first book. Such a heart warming and tear jerking read. I was not expecting to start crying at the end!
Buuza!! Volume 1 – 3 (you can also read it on Webtoon)
I actually don’t think it is possible to describe Buuza in a way that does the story justice. An urban fantasy set in the 1990s Middle East and Central Asia – we follows a group of friends as they navigate their lives in their 20s. My sister bought Volumes 1- 4 at MCM Comic Con last year from the author and I only just got around to making a start on the series! The story is SO good with stunning art visuals. I’m so obsessed with this author’s style. Definitely one of those webtoon where you really just need to read it to understand how amazing it is.
If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come
On the morning Avery Byrne plans to end her life, the world is set to be destroyed by an asteroid in nine days. Suddenly, she is racing to get home where she reunites with her best friend, the one she was in love with her whole life, while also trying to find hope in the days over.
Found this book from a recommendation on TikTok! This book absolutely floored me. I soared through this one in an entire night. A very tender and honest book about a girl who struggles to find herself as the world comes crashing down.
That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?
as told by zaheerah 
nice
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