june 2024 reading wrap up
here's my first bookish post on substack!
In June, I read a total of 3 books. Here’s what I thought of them!
1. You With A View, Jessica Joyce
Initially, I went into the book blind. Judging from the plot summary, I thought You With A View would be like the movie, Letters to Juliet (2010) but as it turns out, it’s a book that somehow felt like a mirror. I could relate to certain aspects of what Noelle was going through, particularly the parts where she was uncertain of what she wanted to do in life, and rekindling her love for her passion, which was photography. Noelle’s story made me think about my writing, which I haven’t had the heart to properly get back to because of my full-time job and my ego.
I think this book came at the right time for me, and I think you should read it.
Verdict: 4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Jade Legacy, Fonda Lee
As a reader, I rarely rate books 2 stars, but this one did it for me. Jade Legacy’s ending pissed me off so much, and I hate how the author butchered Hilo’s character in the beginning and just [heavily redacted because of major spoilers] at the end. It honestly made me think I should’ve DNF’ed Jade War (Book 2) because I did want to give up on it multiple times when I read it. I wish I enjoyed the whole trilogy because I genuinely loved Jade City (Book 1) but the books that followed after that were disappointing.
Verdict: 2/5 stars ⭐️⭐️
I’d like to talk about the third and final book I read in June as part of my (first) bookish post on Substack, but the book is under the SMP Boycott. It’s a marketing boycott against St. Martin’s Press as they haven’t taken accountability for their employee’s (from the imprint Wednesday Books) racist statements related to the genocide in Gaza.
As part of the boycott, I won’t be publicly promoting or sharing books published under St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, or any other imprint under the publisher.
Here are some helpful links about the SMP boycott
Website: Readers for Accountability (+ petition)
Article: ‘BIPOC book creators are calling out Islamophobia at St. Martin’s Press’
Twitter: Informative hread about the SMP boycott (includes boycott demands and responses from Readers for Accountability).
**If I’m missing any info about the SMP boycott in this post or if any of the info is wrong, let me know on Instagram: @intj.reads
— social preview image credit: pinterest