What Alyssa Read In June
TNB owner Alyssa here! I had a truly fantastic reading month in June, and I’m excited to share all the great books with you!
It’s hard for me to even choose just a few books that really stood out to me, because all of them were so fantastic.
Last month was the first time I’ve really dived into some sci-fi with THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR and ANNIHILATION. I’m excited to keep exploring this genre, so if you have more recs, please send them my way!
Check out everything I read, with my thoughts on each, below!
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This book really upped my journaling game over the past year or so. I wasn’t extremely diligent in doing it every single day, which I think is the intent. But when I journaled, I would start my practice by reading one of the essays and the prompt. Sometimes I responded to the prompt, sometimes I wrote about parts of the essay that connected to me. Other times I didn’t respond to any part of it, but it was still nice to read something creative focused prior to writing myself. I’d strongly recommend for anyone who wants to ponder live, love, and more.
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Let me tell you what, Bolu Babalola owes me nothing after her Honey & Spice duology. Sweet Heat is the second book, following the first (Honey & Spice). The series begins with Kiki and Malakai in college together, and it isn’t exactly love at first sight. Kiki thinks Malakai is a player, and he thinks she’s stuck up, but they end up needing to work together for a project and you can guess where things go from there. Honey & Spice is a fantastic closed-door romance that had me giggling and kicking my feet the whole time. Sweet Heat follows the same couples 5 years after uni - and unfortunately, they’ve broken up. The universe forces them back together for their best friends’ wedding to each other, and they have to confront why their relationship fell apart and their unresolved feelings for each other.
I absolutely LOVED both books and cannot recommend them enough. Note that Sweet Heat has more smut scenes, while Honey & Spice is more PG13.
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This was a fantastic memoir from the perspective of a queer desi woman growing up in West Virginia. Every single chapter was incredibly well-thought out, introspective and touching. It’s a short memoir - almost novella length - but boy does it pack a punch! Strongly recommend for anyone who loves a good memoir that challenges your perspectives.
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After reading this book, I firmly believe it should be required reading for everyone, but especially folks who work in the public sector/in positions of power. Matthew Desmond spent several months living with Milwaukee’s poorest citizens in their slums to write a book on all aspects of the eviction process and it’s wider affects on individuals and communities. This is a fantastic anthropological read that’s approachable and fascinating. Definitely recommend this one!
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This was such a fantastic fantasy novel/ghost story featuring a trans main character. The story follows Yadriel, a teen who lives with his Latinx family at their cemetery, where they boast special powers which allows them to heal others and help spirits move on from this world into the after life. The duties of the brujos and brujas have long been gendered, with girls and women acting as healers and the men and boys acting as the spirit guides. As a young trans boy, Yadriel is intent on proving himself as a true brujo to his father and community, but when his cousin goes missing and Yadriel stumbles upon the spirit of a boy he goes to high school with just days before Dia de los Muertos, things get complicated. I loved every second of this book, and think anyone who enjoys a more light-hearted fantasy would as well.
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This is one of those books that I finished and immediately thought, “My god, I cannot wait to read this again.” Now, had you asked me that about 30% of the way through the book, I wouldn’t have been so sure. TIHYLTTW drops you into a futuristic world with absolutely no context or explanations, and you shouldn’t hold out for that either - you won’t get it. This book is much less about the science behind how two agents are traveling through time and why they are at war and much more about the respect, friendship and love that ultimately forms between them. This book boasts some of the most poetic writing I’ve ever read, and the ending was not at all what I expected. This was a beautiful masterpiece, but I don’t think everyone will appreciate it as such. If you’re someone who likes high-brow, verbose and poetic writing, you’ll love this.
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This is the third book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse, a fantasy trilogy based on Mayan myths and culture. Overall I absolutely loved the entire trilogy. Book 3 did a fantastic job of wrapping things up in a way that I wasn’t expecting, but ultimately found perfect for the overall story. I think this is a great fantasy trilogy for anyone looking for one!
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This was recommended to me years ago, and I wish I could remember by who because it was an absolutely FANTASTIC sci-fi read. The story follows an unnamed biologist who has signed up alongside three other women to enter Area X, an area that has been cut off from civilization for decades until an organization begins sending in expeditions to explore the area - almost all of which never return. This book has you questioning what is real, what is true, and if the narrator is as reliable as she says. This is book #1 in the series (Southern Reach) and I cannot wait to continue on!
Copies are coming soon!
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If anyone needs tips on flirting with someone you’re into, I strongly recommend reading A Brush With Love and taking pointers from the main male character, Dan. I really enjoyed this romance between two dental students in college. Dan was truly one of the most perfect book boyfriends I’ve ever read. The main female character, Harper, is at the top of her class and has put an insurmountable amount of pressure on herself and suffers from severe generalized anxiety disorder. As someone who also had GAD, it was at times very difficult for me to read from Harper’s perspective because she wasn’t medicated or doing any therapy work to manage her symptoms. This made her a very tough character at times, but I thought Mazey Eddings did a fantastic job of writing anxiety in a very realistic and truthful light.
Need other recommendations? Ask me for some ideas!