I read a grand total of eighteen books last month. 

In my defense, I was on vacation and spent a lot of time reading on our bus trips, when I wasn't chatting with my seatmate. 

Also, my loving padre got my sister and I Kindle Unlimited for this trip and I used it to catch on one of my new favorite author's books. 

1-5. Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 5-9

I love these books. They're hilarious and well-written.

Also, I've reached the point where it really starts to differ from the 2003 anime and I'm torn between finishing the manga or Brotherhood first...decisions, decisions.

6. Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Long title, I know. But this was a fascinating book written by the co-founder of Pixar that looks into what makes Pixar different from the other companies out there. I enjoyed it so much, I got a copy of it for my birthday. 

Also you can't deny that the cover is epic. I love it. 

7. Reflections on the Revolution in France

Another Omni book that I breezed through in hopes of finishing that course in time. 

But this was a fascinating book that basically predicted the French Revolution.

8. Uncle Tom's Cabin

Wow. Just wow. 

I didn't appreciate the sentimentalism and the overall message was a bit pushy, but I did enjoy the story overall.

Not one of my favorite Omni reads, that's for sure. 

9. Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches

It's Lincoln's speeches. He's a great orator. I enjoyed these very much. 

Of course, they were hard to read because I couldn't listen to them, but they were still good. 

10. The Lightning Thief

*sighs*

This is where I make a lot of people mad. 

I hated this book. It was dull, lifeless, and boring.

The kids did nothing to affect the plot, so why should I care about them? 

I caused outrage on Goodreads though, so that was fun. 

11. The Light Fantastic

Still haven't found a Discworld novel that I've enjoyed as much as Hogfather, but I've only read three so I'm not worried. This still was a hilarious journey through Discworld and I love Twoflower to bits.

Actually, I can relate to him now because I felt like him during my England trip. 😂

12. The Communist Manifesto

🤮🤮🤮

I hated it. Enough said. 

13. The Great Gatsby

Now this novel I loved. Sure, I know some people who dislike it and others who haven't read it, but dislike it too. 

But this book is a masterpiece. It perfectly captures the spirit of the Jazz Age, while pointing out the flaws and downsides of living that way. Most books like that don't. They basically praise everything about a certain lifestyle. This novel doesn't. 

And I love it for that.

14. The Beast of Talesend

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I love this series so much. I reread this book because I finally had the opportunity to read the rest of the series and figured, why not read it again?

This book has everything I love in a good retelling. Humor, heart, and snarky characters with good one-liners. 

Also, it sets up so many mysteries that must be answered in the next few books or Shultz is going to be getting angry fan-mail from me soon. 

15. The Tomb of the Sea Witch

So this book introduces one of my favorite characters in the Afterverse, Malcolm Blackfire. It also has so many twists that I was completely unable to predict the ending. 

Well done, Mr. Shultz. Well done. 

16. The Stroke of Eleven

Yes, I was on a Kyle Robert Shultz binge. Yes, I am proud. 

I won't say too much about this one, other than it was unpredictable and nearly broke me. 

But, I feel like we all should take time to appreciate Mr. Shultz's author bio, as it is glorious. I'm very tempted to steal it. 

17. The Book of Secrets 

Yes, I finally read nightwraith17's book. Yes, I loved it.

I'm just going to post my original review here.

This. Was. Fantastic.

I'll admit, I wasn't sure what to expect about this novel. Honestly, I was worried it'd be too similar to a series I didn't like which shall remain unnamed for now.

Thankfully, this book was not. I loved it.

M. L. Little does an amazing of balancing humorous moments with emotional, even heartbreaking scenes. I was laughing my head off in the beginning, yet was close to tears by the end of the book.

But what about the characters?
I absolutely loved Gabriel. I related to him on so many levels, but I can't fully explain why, because I'd be getting into spoiler territory. His struggles are something I haven't seen in many books before and I appreciate this author bringing them to light.

I love his siblings as well. They all feel real and again, very relatable.

One of my favorite aspects about this book though, is the world. Sure, it might seem like your traditional fantasy world, but oh no, it's not. They drive cars. They drink milkshakes. And thank goodness, they don't eat stew. It's very whimsical and I love it.

I'm eagerly awaiting the next book and praying that my heart won't be broken even more by the end of it. Knowing this author though...I probably will be. 

Also, as a side note, I think this is the first time my Goodreads review has shown up on the first page of reviews for a book. I'm not proud or anything like that... 😂

18. The Princess Companion

I'm going to rant about this author's books in July's book update, but suffice to say, I hated this book. It wasn't really a retelling, the characters were flat and boring, and my word, the romance. It was over the top and painful to read. 

And that's it! I survived my birthday month and now it's already halfway through July. Summer is flying by... 😥