Well, I basically failed with my May 2025 TBR and only finished two books from that list. Here’s to hoping I do better with my June 2025 TBR! It’s back to the medical crapshoot for me this month, but I hope I can focus enough to knock some ARCs off my list. The ones I plan to focus on are all fantasy, but all quite different, which should keep things interesting.
Priority Reads
THE NIGHTSHADE GOD by Hannah Whitten: Although this is a July ARC, I want to read it as soon as possible. Fairyloot has an upcoming special edition for it to finish out the series, so I want to see if I like it enough to purchase it. Overall, I enjoy this trilogy more than her Wilderwood duology.
SIX WILD CROWNS by Holly Race: This is out June 10. I don’t know whether I’ll finish it by then, but this has a high chance of holding my interest, considering my reading slump. I wanted to read it last week, but forced myself to focus on finishing a different June ARC. It’s “a breathtaking epic fantasy of dragons, courtly intrigue, sapphic yearning, and the wives of Henry VIII as you’ve never seen them before.“
EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD EXCEPT ME by Django Wexler: This came out at the end of May, but I only got my review copy last week. I had so-so feelings about the first book, but I still look forward to finishing the duology. “Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously bloody conclusion to the Dark Lord Davi duology.“
TUSK LOVE by Thea Guanzon: I am very pleased that the D&D-related romances continue to trend upward. This ARC will be a nice change of pace from the two above reads. It comes out July 1 in the US. “A merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars.“
Hopeful Reads
I’ve been in a funny mood lately, so I’m not even sure what to put here. I do want to read A MONSOON RISING, but I’ve said that for the past couple of months and failed. However, I plan to continue slowly making my way through THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING by T.H. White. I made it through about 100 pages last month. It’s not something I can continuously read because it’s not quite my style, but I’m determined to read this Arthurian classic.
Are any of these books also on your June 2025 TBR?
I’m so intrigued by Six Wild Crowns. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on it!
Hopefully I can get to it this month…probably after THE NIGHTSHADE GOD!
I loved Everybody Wants to Rule the World, so hugely excited to get to the sequel!
Excellent…I hope you enjoy the sequel, too!
I’m sorry to hear that it could be a rough month for you. Hope you’re okay ❤️❤️
It looks like you have some fantastic arcs to check out. I’m so jealous about The Nightshade God after adoring book two. It’s one I’m desperate to get but simultaneously don’t want to add. I’m also very intrigued by Six Wild Crowns. Tudors and magic sounds divine. I meant to request an arc as I’ve seen a gorgeous special edition and I wanted to see how I found it first 🙈 I’ll definitely be watching out for what you have to say about it.
I hope the other sequel ends up better than anticipated and think the romance sounds cute.
Good luck with the Hopefuls too. I hope The Once & Future King gets more gripping as it goes on 🤞
**end not add, I definitely want to add the book to my collection 😂
Thank you! I’m ok, just trudging through one day at a time!
I do have a ton of great ARCs to work my way through. To be honest I’m feeling maybe a little overwhelmed (even though I want to read all these). But, again, one day at a time, just going to do what I can. I didn’t know SIX WILD CROWNS has a special edition…Waterstones perhaps?
I’m glad you’re okay ❤️❤️
I totally understand that, I’ve had times when I’ve felt a bit like that too. I hope you manage to catch up on them without getting too overwhelmed.
Yes it’s a Waterstones one I was on about. The endpages and sprayed edges match in with the cover really well 😍
Ooo very nice! Waterstones does have lovely special editions. Unfortunately, it’s not worth the shipping cost for me. It’s like that with Illumicrate, too. Their regular subscription picks don’t cost a lot in shipping to the US (I’m assuming they have a warehouse here somewhere), but if I want a sequel to one of the books I got in my sub, then I have to pay a lot in overseas shipping. T_T Oh well, not the end of the world, haha!
I totally understand that. When I looked into the shipping costs of Owl Crate it was almost as much as the box itself if I’m remembering rightly. And I really wanted a special edition of North Is The Night but I couldn’t even find someone who shipped to the UK 🥲 I think I heard that you can sometimes get different special editions from Blackwells but I’m not 100% sure of that.