Monthly Wrap-Up: June 2026

Another horrible reading month 😪 And you know what? I'm not even surprised. Lol. I just can't seem to shake off this damn reading slump 😭 There's a readathon coming up next week that I'm thinking of participating in, so hopefully that will help. But in June, I ended up reading 4 books... again. Lol. That was a total of 922 pages, which is 50ish pages less than the previous month 🤷‍♀️😂

• 3 were full-length novels, and 1 manga
• 1 was part of a series, and 3 were standalones
• 2 were books I purchased, and 2 were from the library
• All 4 were finished copies
• All 4 were physical books
• 1 was 5 ⭐, 1 was 4.5 ⭐, and 2 were 4 ⭐
• All 4 were traditionally published
• 1 was by a new-to-me author, and 3 were by previously read authors
• 3 were adult books, and 1 was YA
• 1 was fiction, and 3 were nonfiction
• 1 was action, and 3 were history

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #474: On the Struggle Bus

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Review: Sakamoto Days (Vol. 10) by Yuto Suzuki

Title: Sakamoto Days: Vol. 10

Series: Sakamoto Days #10

Previous books in this series: Sakamoto Days #1 | Sakamoto Days #2 | Sakamoto Days #3 | Sakamoto Days #4 | Sakamoto Days #5 | Sakamoto Days #6 | Sakamoto Days #7 | Sakamoto Days #8 | Sakamoto Days #9

Author: Yuto Suzuki

Genre: YA, manga, adventure

Publication date: December 2023

Published by: VIZ Media

Source: Borrowed from library

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Buy it: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis: Taro Sakamoto was once a legendary hit man considered the greatest of all time. Bad guys feared him! Assassins revered him! But then one day he quit, got married, and had a baby. He’s now living the quiet life as the owner of a neighborhood store, but how long can Sakamoto enjoy his days of retirement before his past catches up to him?!

As Sakamoto and his friends hunt for the database at the JCC, Shin winds up in a serious duel with a teacher who might have information on what they want. Meanwhile, Sakamoto deals with Amane, a boy with a connection to X. Thanks to X’s schemes, the JCC faces an unprecedented crisis!

My rating: ★★★★⯪

This was such a fun volume! There were so many fun moments and just bickering between the characters, which is actually one of my favorite things about this series. Lol.

The Flower Market Reading Challenge *Update*

This challenge was SO fun! Jane is so creative! I just wish I hadn't been in a reading slump for most of it 😅 BUT I did it! I completed the challenge!

Review: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Genre: Adult, horror

Publication date: October 2025

Published by: St. Martin's Press

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Thrift Books

Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a nail-biting supernatural horror about a haunted lakeside property and twisted family secrets.

When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in fourteen years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body, his clothing streaked with blood.

But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather's words.

Traveling to Paynes Hollow, Sam is faced with the realities of her childhood and the secrets kept hidden in the shadows of her memories. When her aunt goes missing a couple days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again. Plagued by nightmares and paranoia, she begins hearing sounds in the forest and seeing shapes crawling from the water as the rippling waves of the lake promise something unspeakably dark lurking just below their surface.

My rating: ★★★★⯪

"What's in there?" I asked.
"The headless horseman.”

Kelley Armstrong writing horror?