Hey all, Sam here.
It feels a little silly to do this. Historically I’ve been more unsuccessful with TBRs than I have been successful. But I also feel like I’ve done a pretty good job at sticking to the TBRs I’ve made for my last two reading challenges (Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon in April, and my long weekend reading challenge for Memorial Day Weekend), so I don’t know, maybe I’ll be better at following my own plans for reading now.
I have quite a few books that are NetGalley e-ARC copies for review, and while I do still have a pretty good backlog that I need to get through, I’m also trying to somewhat prioritize the recent and upcoming releases. It’d be nice to be able to help hype the books up around the time they become available.
So, I think about two-thirds of the books I have on this June TBR are NetGalley reads, so I’ll include the release dates for those as well.
Also, this is a bonus post for today. That’s right…there will be two posts on the blog today, because the regularly scheduled Tabletop Tuesday post will also be going up this afternoon/evening, so check back later for David and I discussing a tabletop game. It should be a pretty fun time.
All right, let’s see what books I’m hoping to get to in the month of June. It’s a pretty decently sized list, so we’ll see how well I do with it.
Grimoire of Grave Fates edited by Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen (June 6), A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato (June 1), Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch (June 13), Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool (June 20)
Okay, so this first bunch of books are June releases that I have been approved for on NetGalley, and that I’d like to have reviews posted for in the month of their release. I request a lot of books on NetGalley, but I’ll be completely honest…there are a lot of books that sound interesting and it makes me excited to read them. The problem is that I end up with so many books that I feel that way about, and then it makes it difficult for me to decide which book to read at any given time.
There are a couple things I’d absolutely love to do with my life…read a lot so I can keep talking about all things books, both in-person and online, and create a place where people can come, hang out, and feel free to be their unfiltered geeky self. That is the main goal of Free State of Geek, and it’s why our posts cover books, shows, movies, tabletop games, video games, 3D printing, and more. There is no one way to be a geek, and we want everyone to feel welcomed to share their geeky passions as well.
I love books, but I also love TTRPGs and board games and puzzles and superhero stories…and so much more. Honestly, if I was trying to list all of my loves, it would be quite long.
Now, obviously, all of my geeky passions take some amount of time investment, and there’s only so much time in a day, so sometimes I don’t get as much time as I’d like for everything. I’m trying to figure out a balance that works for now, but I always hold that hope that someday I can make being a geek my full-time passion/job/identity.
Anyway, back to the books. One is a story anthology set at a magical school, and it is basically a murder mystery with each story following a different character(s) as they try to piece together the clues about who did the crime. Next is a book that features culinary magic, a swashbuckling adventure, and Gods picking sides in a war. Now look, I am a big fan of books that involve a fantasy world and active deities (probably one of the reasons why I usually play clerics in TTRPGs), so I’m definitely looking forward to this. Then there is a Morgan le Fay/Arthurian legend retelling, so of course I want to read that. And finally is a fantasy/mystery that claims to be for fans of “Veronica Mars,” and while I don’t normally read a lot of mystery type stories (unless it’s a fantasy with some mystery elements), I am a big fan of “Veronica Mars,” and I’ve enjoyed this author’s writing in the past, so I’m ready to read this.
Gods of the Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker (June 27), Wolfsong by T.J. Klune (July 4), Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long (July 11), Poisoned Empire by Elyse Thomson (July 11)
Okay, this next group of reads takes us from the end of June to the beginning of July for books I’ve been approved for on NetGalley. The reason why I’m hoping to get a few of the early July books read in June is so that I can have their reviews up in early July, and so that I can then focus on the slew of later July releases.
This selection of books feels like it’s going to be a good one, filled with epic fantasy worlds, deities, magic, romance, adventure…and honestly I am so ready for it.
The first follows a young man, raised to be the Chosen One in the name of one of the gods, trained with the purpose of saving the world, only to have that snatched away from him when someone else is named the Chosen One of a different god. Gods, chosen ones, mysteries and lies…yep, I’m definitely in. Next is a T.J. Klune re-release and it is the start of a series of romances that also feature family, loyalty, and betrayal. I’m curious how I’ll feel about it. Then there’s one of my most anticipated releases, and that is a book that features weather magic and piracy and romance, and I’m just itching to dive into this book very soon. Finally, there is a romantasy that is pitched as Cinderella meets The Lies of Locke Lamora. It feels like it’s going to be filled with political intrigue and maneuvering and plotting, and I am very excited to read it.
Unpainted by Dan Fitzgerald (June 30), The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, The Study of Poisons by Maria V. Snyder, Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
This final grouping are books that are not NetGalley reads, and this section is the one most likely to possibly change as the month goes on…aside from the first book. Dan Fitzgerald was on Twitter asking for people interested in helping signal boost his upcoming release, and I’m trying to get back into the swing of being a place to uplift authors, whether they are self-published, a small/indie press, or one of the bigger presses, so I signed up. I’m really hoping to have the book read and a review posted in time for this book’s release at the end of June.
After that is a dark academia/magic school story that I just keep hearing about and want to pick up very soon. Then there’s the return to a fantasy world I was very drawn into back in college, and this is the events of the first book, but from the romantic interest’s POV. I’m very intrigued by the fact that Poison Study came out in 2005 and it is now in 2023 that we are finally getting Valek’s side of things. And finally, I picked up Half a Soul at the end of Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon and didn’t make it far into it…and then got distracted by other things and never got around to finishing it…so I’d like to actually finish it, because I own the other books in this series too and hope to enjoy them all. Plus, I’m definitely feeling like I’m in a romance mood, from sweet and cozy to intense and spicy.
There you have it, my hopes for my June TBR. Let me know in the comments if there are any books specifically that you’re hoping to read in June, because I would love to know!
Well, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
Free State of Geek 