June 2025 Wrap-Up

Personal Highlights from this month:

  • Summer vacation got off to a rainy start. It rained Memorial weekend, with a pause on the following Wednesday, and restarted on Thursday and Friday. Miss R was beyond bored.
  • Miss R ended her elementary school year with a consistent “A” average, including her K-2 grades, which were rated “S.”
  • Mr. Z accomplished what we thought was impossible. He raised his art grade from an “F” to a “B” for the quarter and ended the semester with an “A.

Reading Highlights from this month:

  • I finished the Scars of the Wraiths series with Take. Out of the entire series, this book was the one to wreck me. I cried at the end. Mainly for Max and what she did to free herself and Jasper. And for Jasper, whose survivor’s guilt turned him into a monster for years. I hope that the author writes more in the series. There are people I want to see get their happy endings (Damien, for example!).
  • I finished the first book in The Magestone Chronicles (Stones Unbound). I had a tough time getting into it. I actually fell asleep while reading it twice. It got to the point where I brought it to Miss R’s riding lesson (twice) to finish it. It was boring. However, once the book picked up around 70%, it ended with a bang. Because of that, I will read the rest of the series once the books become free or are added to KU.
  • I finished book 1 in the Dark Universe series (Into the Dark). Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the book at first, the characters and storyline grew on me.
  • I finished Someone to Remember Me, but I’m not entirely sure how I liked it. Halfway through the book, the author revealed a couple of significant twists that threw me off.
  • I finished The Nevada Brides series. This was a cute series to read, and I enjoyed not having to think too much about the storyline. It did get a little preachy in Abigail’s book, but even that didn’t bother me.
  • I started and DNF’d Mightier Than the Pen. It was one of the most boring books I have read.
  • I read the first book of the Bionics series (Bionics). It was interesting, and with the cliffhanger ending, I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series when it becomes available on KU or the books become free.
  • I started and finished the Men of Mercy series. Oh, baby, was this an intense and sexy series!!
  • I read The Orb of Wrath and was pleasantly surprised by it. The storyline revolves around a party of D&D-type characters, and it didn’t fail. I was totally engrossed by it.
  • I read the first book of the Logic series (Spell Checked). It was an interesting book that explored reincarnation, the paranormal, and romance. I will finish the series if it ever goes on KU.
  • I read the first book in The Surgical Strike Unit (Vengeance) series. It was excellent and heartwrenching. I can’t wait for the rest of the series to become available on KU.
  • I read the first book in the Love in Bloom: Seaside Dreams series (Seaside Summers). It was a cute but predictable read. I am waiting for the rest of the series to go on KU.
  • I also read the first book in the Reckless & Real series. I am on the fence with this book. I am not sure if I like it or not. However, regardless, I will read the rest of the books if they become available on KU.
  • I started the first book in the Jessica Brodie Diaries (Back in the Saddle). So far, I am liking it. The rest of the series will be on next month’s wrap-up.

Books I Read:


Books I bought (unless otherwise stated, books were free at the time of purchase):

Clear Your TBR 2025—June

Prompts I finished in June


Includes a magical creature

There are various magical creatures. One tracks the auras of criminals and, according to the book’s description, is a cross between a fish, a frog, and a dog.

WWW Wednesday: May 28th, 2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that Sam hosts at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Here is what I am reading, recently finished, and plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday.

Let me know if you have read or are planning on reading any of these books!!

Happy Reading!


What I am currently reading:

An unrequited love.
A tortured past.
An unbreakable bond.

Their love was well-known throughout the immortal world.
The powerful Taldeburu Waleron and his Delara.
But tragedy struck and tore them apart for years. One believing the other was dead.

When fate finally brings them back together again it isn’t kind.
It’s cruel and testing. Sacrificial.

Because love has no remorse for its victims.
It doesn’t give you options.
And it won’t be stopped.

This is Waleron and Delara’s story.
It’s not pretty and it’s not kind.
But it’s theirs.

A band of fierce warriors walk in the shadows of the human world with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries and the rare Reflectors. They are known as the ‘Scars’.


What I recently finished reading:

“I don’t do nice. Period.” -Kilter (nickname: Off-Kilter)

Kilter is crass, reckless and stubborn. He has alienated everyone—just the way he likes it. Until the day he meets Rayne and emotions he buried long ago reawaken.

“I was nothing but a science experiment.” -Rayne

Rayne has been locked away and used for research ever since she was a child. The abuse caused her to withdraw into a tomb of numbness where she’s found a safe place to hide. But her safe place isn’t safe at all, it’s slowly killing her.
When Kilter rescues her and she is unexpectedly drawn to his raw honesty, Rayne must decide whether to trust him and fight for what she can’t see or drown into the depths of darkness.

For some Scars, it’s the story of healing and redemption, for others it’s the beginning of a tortured existence. Which will it be for Kilter and Rayne?


What I plan on reading Thursday through Sunday:

This is a standalone Scars of the Wraiths.

MAX
Feelings are a luxury I can’t afford. Hidden behind a shield of quiet placidity, I keep my secret safe from those who’d use it against me. Until him—the tatted up, self-centered Scar assassin hired to protect me.
He takes pleasure in tormenting me, chipping away at my defenses as if I’m a toy to be played with. I hate that he continuously reminds me that I’m nothing more than a job. I hate that my body responds to his touch. I hate him.

JASPER
I’m not a good guy and I don’t pretend to be. Condemn me if you want, I don’t give a fuck. You’re nothing to me. No one is … except her—Max. She’s my target. And I was hired to do a hell of a lot more than protect her … I was hired to kill her.
It should’ve been simple, but it was complicated as hell.

Scars: Immortal warriors with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries, and the rare Reflectors. They each have what is known as an Ink, a tattoo that can be called life.

Korvaan is a world of all-powerful Emperors and jealous rival Kings, where the Dar’Shilaar craft items of magic from unbound magestones. From magic portals and mirrors that can traverse great distances for use in travel or communication, to flying ships and floating citadels, the Dar’Shilaar have proven almost anything can be done. But at what cost?

Hoyle is a brash, young, street-wise, thief who specializes in acquiring things that others in Tala’ahar cannot. No treasure is guarded too well that he cannot find a way in, and, more importantly – out, with the goods.

Little does Hoyle know that his latest choice in jobs, the theft of a shipment of unbound magestones, will set in motion events that will reshape his world.

Celia is a member of the Dar’Shilaar, a Spell Wielder, who discovers the theft and is determined to track down the thief and bring them to justice. Complications arise when she encounters Hoyle, and determines that he is by far the smaller threat.

Hoyle and Celia team up to investigate the forces behind the theft and uncover a far ranging plot that twists and turns, trapping them within its web, forcing them to prove their innocence to the Emperor, or face execution.

Into the Dark opens an amazing new futuristic setting by Jason Halstead called Dark Universe.

Aden Garrett is fresh out of security academy and looking for a little excitement. A little more than walking security at local space station bars and a little less than the job that got him kicked out of the academy.

Meshelle and Janna are Vagnosian sisters that run a small transport and special operations ship, and they’re looking to replace a fallen crew member.

Chance brings them together and puts them work for one of the mysterious Kesari merchants who’s looking for some expendable assets for a special job. It’s a perfect match, except the crew of the Uma, Janna’s ship, doesn’t agree to being disposed of when the job is done.

What follows is a game of cat and mouse through the galaxy with twists and turns at every solar system. Lost alien civilizations, six limbed insectoid warriors, plasma rifles, and more await. Much, much more…

“In our future is our past…”

A young man named Seven awakens on a deserted street, stricken by an amnesia that he can’t explain. When he discovers other survivors that share his affliction, among them a woman who stirs his dormant memories, they embark on a deadly journey across a ruined landscape.

Haunted by the mystery of their city’s apocalyptic demise and hunted by a malevolent beast, Seven and his companions discover the dark truth of their past.

What awaits the survivors at the crux of myth and legacy is a story of love, loss, and triumph that defies even death itself.

It’s Monday: What Are You Reading?—May 26th, 2025

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet and share what you have been and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-lit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.


What I am Reading Now

“I don’t do nice. Period.” -Kilter (nickname: Off-Kilter)

Kilter is crass, reckless and stubborn. He has alienated everyone—just the way he likes it. Until the day he meets Rayne and emotions he buried long ago reawaken.

“I was nothing but a science experiment.” -Rayne

Rayne has been locked away and used for research ever since she was a child. The abuse caused her to withdraw into a tomb of numbness where she’s found a safe place to hide. But her safe place isn’t safe at all, it’s slowly killing her.
When Kilter rescues her and she is unexpectedly drawn to his raw honesty, Rayne must decide whether to trust him and fight for what she can’t see or drown into the depths of darkness.

For some Scars, it’s the story of healing and redemption, for others it’s the beginning of a tortured existence. Which will it be for Kilter and Rayne?

A band of fierce warriors walk in the shadows of the human world with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries and the rare Reflectors. They are known as the ‘Scars.

*Stygian must be read first. 18+

Scars of the Wraiths Series
Stygian (Scars of the Wraiths, Book 1)
Tyrant (Scars of the Wraiths, Book 2)
Take (Scars of the Wraiths, standalone)
Credo (Scars of the Wraiths, Book 3)


What I plan to read on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

An unrequited love.
A tortured past.
An unbreakable bond.

Their love was well-known throughout the immortal world.
The powerful Taldeburu Waleron and his Delara.
But tragedy struck and tore them apart for years. One believing the other was dead.

When fate finally brings them back together again it isn’t kind.
It’s cruel and testing. Sacrificial.

Because love has no remorse for its victims.
It doesn’t give you options.
And it won’t be stopped.

This is Waleron and Delara’s story.
It’s not pretty and it’s not kind.
But it’s theirs.

A band of fierce warriors walk in the shadows of the human world with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries and the rare Reflectors. They are known as the ‘Scars’.

This is a standalone Scars of the Wraiths.

MAX
Feelings are a luxury I can’t afford. Hidden behind a shield of quiet placidity, I keep my secret safe from those who’d use it against me. Until him—the tatted up, self-centered Scar assassin hired to protect me.
He takes pleasure in tormenting me, chipping away at my defenses as if I’m a toy to be played with. I hate that he continuously reminds me that I’m nothing more than a job. I hate that my body responds to his touch. I hate him.

JASPER
I’m not a good guy and I don’t pretend to be. Condemn me if you want, I don’t give a fuck. You’re nothing to me. No one is … except her—Max. She’s my target. And I was hired to do a hell of a lot more than protect her … I was hired to kill her.
It should’ve been simple, but it was complicated as hell.

Scars: Immortal warriors with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries, and the rare Reflectors. They each have what is known as an Ink, a tattoo that can be called life.

Korvaan is a world of all-powerful Emperors and jealous rival Kings, where the Dar’Shilaar craft items of magic from unbound magestones. From magic portals and mirrors that can traverse great distances for use in travel or communication, to flying ships and floating citadels, the Dar’Shilaar have proven almost anything can be done. But at what cost?

Hoyle is a brash, young, street-wise, thief who specializes in acquiring things that others in Tala’ahar cannot. No treasure is guarded too well that he cannot find a way in, and, more importantly – out, with the goods.

Little does Hoyle know that his latest choice in jobs, the theft of a shipment of unbound magestones, will set in motion events that will reshape his world.

Celia is a member of the Dar’Shilaar, a Spell Wielder, who discovers the theft and is determined to track down the thief and bring them to justice. Complications arise when she encounters Hoyle, and determines that he is by far the smaller threat.

Hoyle and Celia team up to investigate the forces behind the theft and uncover a far ranging plot that twists and turns, trapping them within its web, forcing them to prove their innocence to the Emperor, or face execution.