June Wrap-Up (with Mini Reviews) and July Goals

Some of My June Reads

June Wrap-Up

• Finished: 9
• Started but not finished: 1
• Total pages read: 2,184
• Average rating: 4.38

June was a great month when it came to reading! Not only did I finish nine books, but they were also really good: four five-star books, three four-star books, and one three-star book. One nonfiction book I left unrated. I finished six fiction books and three nonfiction books. Three of the fiction books I read during a short summer vacation at my mother’s, and I’ll give you mini reviews of them below (there's also a bonus review of a book I finished in early July). Two of the fiction books were fantasy: The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi (4/5 stars) and Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao (also 4/5 stars). One was a collection of ancient Greek novels, Collected Ancient Greek Novels (5/5 stars). Click the links to read longer reviews.

Jane Austen July 2025

Jane Austen July TBR

Jane Austen July is a month long readathon all about Jane Austen, her works, and her time period. Last year was the first time I had time (and small enough TBR!) to join the readathon, and I had a blast. So naturally, I want to take part this year as well.

There are seven challenges in this readathon: five books and two screen adaptations. There is also a readalong associated with the challenge. I won’t be participating in the readalong because I had already decided what I wanted to read before the readalong book (which is Emma this year) was announced. You can find more information about the challenge from the Youtube videos posted by the hosts of the challenge (Katie from Books and Things, Marissa from Blatantly Bookish, and Claudia from Spinster’s Library).

Anyway, without further ado, here are my choices for this year’s readathon and my reasons for picking them.

Book Review: Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night
by Amélie Wen Zhao

Book title: Song of Silver, Flame Like Night
Author: Amélie Wen Zhao
Genre: Young Adult fantasy
Published: January 3, 2023
459 pages
My rating: 4/5

“The Elantians destroyed everything that made the roots of our kingdom: our culture, our education, our families and principles. They wish to take us out on our knees, to subdue us so that we will never lift our heads again. But what they do not know is that, so long as we live on, we carry inside us all that they have destroyed. And that is our triumph, that is our rebellion.”

For years, the Hin kingdom has been occupied by the Elantians, a metal-magic wielding nation determined to destroy the Hin culture. Eighteen-year-old Lan entertains the occupiers by night and by day scavenges the remnants of the past for anything that might help her understand the mysterious mark her mother left her right before she died. She meets Zen, a practitioner of forbidden Hin magic, who saves her life and teaches her to use magic. Together, they hold the power to liberate their land – or to destroy it.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night is the first book in the young adult fantasy duology Song of the Last Kingdom. I have to admit I’m not one hundred per cent sure how I feel about this book. I enjoyed the story and thought the description of colonialism and oppression was well-done, but at the same time there were a few things that stop me from giving it five stars. The first is the writing style. The text was slow to read, and especially the first half of the book was full of exposition that was done in a clumsy and info-dumpy manner.

Collected Ancient Greek Novels

Collected Ancient Greek Novels

Book title: Collected Ancient Greek Novels
Edited by: B.P. Reardon
Genre: ancient literature, ancient Greek novels
Published: July 8, 2008 by University of California Press
835 pages
My rating: 5/5

Collected Ancient Greek Novels presents in modern English translations nine complete prose narratives and several fragments commonly included in the genre of ancient Greek novels. These prose narratives were written in the first centuries of the common era. I’ve read B.P. Reardon’s seminal edition several times over the years, and it is always a pleasure. Needless to say, I love the ancient Greek prose narratives, especially the five romance novels.

Chariton’s Chaereas and Callirhoe is most likely the earliest of the novels, possibly written in the first century CE. It also provided the model for the plot that the other romance novels follow. The two titular characters are a young couple of noble birth. They fall in love at first sight and get married. Chaereas’ jealousy leads him to kick Callirhoe, and to all appearances she dies from the attack and is buried. However, she wakes up after her funeral when pirates rob her grave and take her with them to be sold as a slave. After a long separation, during which time Callirhoe has to marry another man and thwart the advances of several other men, Chaereas wins her back and they return to their home town.

May Wrap-Up and June Goals

May Reads

May Wrap-Up

• Finished: 4
• Started/continued but not finished: 3
• Total pages read: 2,278
• Average rating: 3.75

Book Review: The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

Book title: The Final Strife
Author: Saara El-Arifi
Genre: Fantasy
Published: June 23, 2022
502 pages
My rating: 4/5

“If your blood runs red, go straight ahead
If your blood runs blue, you’re not coming through
Translucent hue, who are you, who are you, who are you?”

The Warden’s Empire is divided by blood: the red-blooded Embers rule over the blue-blooded Dusters and the clear-blooded Ghostings. Sylah Alyana, a twenty-year-old Ember, was stolen as a baby and forged into a weapon to change the empire from the inside – until her adoptive family was killed. Anoor Elsari has been told her whole life that she is worth nothing by her mother, the Warden of Strength. But when Sylah crashes into Anoor’s life, Anoor is determined to show her mother wrong by entering Aktibar, a competition where the next Wardens are decided.

The Final Strife is an adult fantasy and the first book in The Ending Fire trilogy by Saara El-Arifi. The story is told from four points of view: Sylah’s point of view is the most prominent, followed by Anoor’s. Small parts of the story are also told from the points of view of Hassa, a Ghosting transwoman, and Jond, Sylah’s friend and part-time lover.

Editing a Cozy Fantasy Short Story and (Almost) Finishing Draft 5

I've had a productive May so far! Yesterday, I finished the first pass of draft five of Project Prehistory. I still want to read it through once more and make some minor tweaks, but it's getting ready for querying.

I also started draft two of a cozy fantasy short story that I wrote in November 2023. It's been waiting for a right moment for me to edit it, and I decided the moment was now. It's set in wintertime, which makes it bit odd text to edit at this time of the year, but the worldbuilding and the characters are so much fun. I'm really enjoying the editing process, although I've only had time to edit the first third of the text. Hopefully I can finish it in June and get it ready for submission before the fall.

Check out my most recent writing vlog below if you want to see more of what I've been up to!