So June was a hit and miss month for me, the first half was rubbish I didn't read a thing and then the second half was amazing I read 14 books in as many days which was amazing but I am hoping July is better - if you haven't seen it already I am running my own readathon too.
1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins - It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
2. Prodigal by Samantha Sanchez - Lyric is 21 years old and bored with the inhibited lifestyle of endless church activities she’s been forced to participate in since childhood. When she is offered the opportunity to be on a reality show, she jumps at the chance to move in with five strangers under the premise of pursuing further education. However, a surprise pregnancy causes her life to take an unexpected turn. Being overlooked and pushed to the side by her child’s father coupled with his lack of consideration cause her insecurities to deepen, while her pains and humiliation are documented for everyone to see. The show becomes a hit and she a star but now she has to find a way not to let the pain she feels destroy her heart and poison her soul.
3. The Mixtape to my Life by Jake Martinez - Justin Ortega might as well be starring in his very own coming-of-age 80s movie. If only he could find his dream boy to pull up in front of his house in a red convertible and sweep him off his feet, already! At seventeen years young, he isn’t quite Mexican enough for his South Texas town; isn’t manly enough for his father; can sometimes be too much of a smart mouth for his mother; and as for the other kids at school—let’s just say he’d be cast as the quiet nerd with a heart of gold…and an ear for music. The one solace Justin has is his love of 80s hair metal bands, which he listens to on his beloved Sony Walkman. The songs, lyrics, and melody keep him just sane enough to escape the pressures of school and help navigate the hurdles life brings. Especially with the doozy this year is shaping up to be. Not only does he have to try out for a captain position which is rightfully his, but his best friend has found a new girlfriend, leaving Justin to fend for himself in a school where he’s mostly known as simply Coconut. Enter Dominic Mendoza. Sweet, funny, and a blast from his past, the hunky football player has moved in next door. Justin could never forget how Dominic protected him in the eighth grade, nor the way Dominic made him feel, then…and now. Except, this isn’t a movie. Confusion, friendship, and love won’t guarantee a happy ending unless Justin can learn to accept himself for who he truly is. Hair bands and all.
4. Dark Reflections by Kelsey Ketch - Being possessed by a vampire sucks! Alana Jones’s world has been completely turned upside-down after being bitten by a vampire’s reflection in a cursed mirror. Now she’s forced to stay in an abandoned Victorian inn on an isolated island off the west coast of Florida, where Alana lives a double life: one as herself and one as a vicious murderer. Over the past year, she has spilt and drunk the blood of sixteen victims. The guilt of their deaths slowly eating away her sanity. Sixteen dead . . . However, things become even more complicated when Alana finds Cole, a surfer she felt a connection with the moment they met on the mainland, locked up in the island’s shed. Knowing his death is inevitable, she attempts to distant herself from him, continually reminding herself of the monster residing underneath her skin. Unfortunately, it’s a small island, and the more she interacts with Cole, the more her feelings grow for him. Eventually, she has to make a decision. Either accept his fate or find a way to expel the vampire’s spirit from within herself before she murders him as well.
5. Bleed Like Me by Azzurra Nox - This is a book about love and the wounds that it can bring. It explores the exhilaration of first love, the damage of unrequited love, and the distress of abandonment. The poems are little memories that come alive, a journey between reality and fantasy, often mingling as one. Fragments of life depicted in words. This is a collection of poems both cruel and sweet. The poems depict the difference between how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. But most of all, this is a kaleidoscope of emotions that are multiplied and amplified as the reader looks into the window of a young woman's heart.
6. Blue Rabbit’s Crystal by Marko Markovic - Vizilsan is a world hemmed by dreams. Full of contrast, reminiscent of a world from a time long forgotten, yet blessed with certain technological accomplishments from a distant future. The lines between magic and science are blurred. The vast diversity of races poses the question of their origin – either from another planet or a different time. It is a wonderful world of dense forests, endless rivers, vast oceans, insurmountable mountain tops, arid deserts. A world full of life. Alas, the energy that once maintained this natural balance has begun wandering aimlessly due to crazed exploitation of natural resources, threatening to destroy that world. Few are aware. Few are trying to do something about it. A human duchess and a battle-hardened kaitian warrior, with the help of a few loyal friends, will try to restore the balance to the world and secure its survival. An epic adventure across the five continents of the world of Vizilsan now begins...
7. Heir of Illaria by Dyan Chick - In Illaria, there is a fate worse than death. Etta finds out that her whole life has been a lie. A lie that kept her safe. The truth means being in the crosshairs of a Necromancer King controlling an undead army. It also means she might have enough hidden power and magic to challenge him, if she survives that long. But when power and magic are at stake, the line between friend and foe become blurred and figuring out the secrets of her past and the power of her future may cost her more than she bargained for. And the lives of thousands hang in the balance.
8. Oracle of Illaria by Dyan Chick - What was the point of having magic, of having power, if you couldn't use it to save the one you love? If the usurper necromancer king hadn’t taken my family from me, I would have learned what it meant to be a princess from birth. Instead, I have to figure it out on my own with only a rag-tag group of resistance fighters and my friends to guide me. I thought it would be enough, that we’d figure it out. But we're running out of time, and now everyone I love is in the king's crosshairs. After a betrayal I never saw coming, Ashton’s life hangs in the balance. Now, I have to decide how far I’m willing to go and what I’m willing to risk to bring him back.
9. Battle of Illaria by Dyan Chick - Down with the Necromancer King. After discovering that she’s accidentally opened a portal to the Darkness, unleashing dark magic and speeding up the King’s plans, Etta is more determined than ever to stop him before there is nothing left in Illaria to save. Sorcerers must choose sides, dragons will rise, and loyalties are tested as the Battle of Illaria looms.
10. Moonrise by Sarah Crossan - They think I hurt someone. But I didn't. You hear? Cos people are gonna be telling you all kinds of lies. I need you to know the truth. Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row. But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think ... From one-time winner and two-time Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this poignant, stirring, huge-hearted novel asks big questions. What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?
11. Chasing Odysseus by S D Gentill - Book 1 of The Hero Trilogy A girl and her three brothers find themselves involved in treachery, transformations and a deadly quest. A thrilling adventure of ancient myth, monsters, sorcerers, sirens, magic and warring gods, the fall of Troy and a desperate chase across the seas in a magical ship...
12. The House at 758 by Kathryn Berla - Sixteen year old Krista is still grieving the untimely death of her mother when her father's new girlfriend moves into their home. He's already moved on and wants Krista to do the same, but she's not ready to resume a normal life yet. Distancing herself from those around her, Krista spends all of her time obsessively watching a mysterious house, the house at 758.When a fellow classmate, Jake, takes a sudden interest in her, Krista feels excited for the first time in two years, but feelings of guilt consume her, and she ends up pushing Jake away. It isn't until her grandfather makes a surprise visit from Venezuela that Krista is finally able to confront her grief and begin to let things go.
13. Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates - Teena Maguire should not have tried to shortcut her way home that Fourth of July. Not after midnight, not through Rocky Point Park. Not the way she was dressed in a tank top, denim cutoffs, and high-heeled sandals. Not with her twelve-year-old daughter Bethie. Not with packs of local guys running loose on hormones, rage and alcohol. A victim of gang rape, left for dead in the park boathouse, the once vivacious Teena can now only regret that she has survived. At a relentlessly compelling pace punctuated by lonely cries in the night and the whisper of terror in the afternoon, Joyce Carol Oates unfolds the story of Teena and Bethie, their assailants, and their unexpected, silent champion, a man who knows the meaning of justice. And love.
14. Black Fall by D. J. Bodden - Mind Control, politics, murder, madness, and dog jokes. Jonas Black is a typical 16 year old, except for his lucid dreams, reclusive mother, and the two hulking bodyguards who walk him to school. When his father disappears, he's forced to enter a dangerous, supernatural world hidden in modern-day Manhattan, all while trying to come to grips with his unique heritage and keeping his battered MP3 player working. In the process, he'll beat down a long-dead Frenchman, talk to a woman who has no tongue, find out what human ash tastes like, and learn to make friends who don't want to kill him. The odds are against him, but he has a plan; if he's lucky, he might even survive.
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