Highlights From April, May, and June 2023
*ahem* Hello? Is this thing on? Apologies for my total lack of posting for the past two months haha. I know exactly the cause of this – the new Legend of Zelda game. Are any of you playing it?? Because it is INCREDIBLE. But anyway, instead of doing a wrap up for each of the months I missed, I’ll just talk about my highlights from April, May, and June. So let’s get to it!
Book Highlights
Over the past 3 months I read 20 books! These few were the standouts for me.
- Happy Place by Emily Henry
- That Ain’t Witchcraft and Spelunking Through Hell by Seanan McGuire
- A Broken Blade and A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair
- Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto
I gave in to the hype and read the newest Emily Henry book, and ended up really loving it. There were a lot of things in it that I connected with emotionally. I will definitely be the first to admit that Emily Henry is very clearly a white author who writes pretty white and privileged books, but I think she knows that and stays in her lane. Her inclusion of diverse side characters is something I appreciate, and at the same time I am glad she doesn’t try to write from their perspectives.
Who is surprised that Seanan McGuire books appear on my highlight list? No one. I read books 7-11 of her InCryptid series. All of them were a blast, but my two favorites were That Ain’t Witchcraft and Spelunking Through Hell. In both we got to know a lot more of the lore of the world and cryptids. I’m sad I only have one more book until I catch up!
Next up, a surprise favorite: A Broken Blade, and it’s sequel A Shadow Crown. I have a friend who is not really in the online book community, but who reads very similar books to me. Sometimes we try to buddy read (in the loosest sense). Both of us were recently craving a fae story, and these books popped up. The premise sounded really cool to me, and I was further enticed by the fact that the author is Indigenous (Anishinaabe-kwe; please correct me if that is the wrong term). I’ve been meaning to read more Indigenous-authored fiction. But anyway I had such a great time reading these books!! Lots of queer characters, cool magic, and great character and relationship development through them. I cannot wait for the next book!!
And lastly, a new favorite!!!! Bonesmith is soooooo good and I loved it so much!! I am currently working on a full review of it, so expecting more gushing about it to come.
Movie/TV Highlights
I watched a handful of movies, and though they were interesting I don’t think I’d say I really “enjoyed” many of them haha. But one that I did love was Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves! It was such a fun and entertaining movie. I’m really glad that it didn’t take itself too seriously and leaned in to the comedy. I think it would have been a disaster if it tried to be serious.
My partner and I also started watched Ranking of Kings: Treasure Chest of Courage, which is an anime show. It’s a companion series to the main Ranking of Kings show, and it is a collection of side stories that happened during the main season. I loved the main season, it’s so cute, and the side stories are no exception. Definitely recommend!!
Video Game Highlights
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, my life has been consumed by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which came out on May 12th. I loved Breath of the Wild, and somehow this game is EVEN BETTER. There are so many cool mechanics, and so many different things to do. My Switch friends can see how many hours I’ve played so far, but I won’t expose that here. Just know that it is….a lot. I’m also really loving all of the fan art, memes, and funny TikToks/Reels about the game.
In June, I also started playing more TFT aka Teamfight Tactics. There was a new set released this month, which means a pretty big refresh so the game feels new again. It’s been fun to learn the new strategies, and play a bit with my friends.
Activity Highlights
And now for a few of the non-media related things I got up to! My partner and I went to a friend’s wedding in New Mexico. It was a beautiful wedding, and it was small a semi-casual which I really loved. It was also a great chance to see that friend, who we hadn’t seen in a while.
Something more ongoing is that I got invited to join my friends’ D&D campaign!! I used to be a part of a regular campaign, but that ended so I’m really glad to have something regular again. These are friends that I also hadn’t played with before, so it’s been really fun to learn how they play and what kind of hijinks they like to get up to in game haha.
Recently I also had the chance to meet up with someone who was my best friend in high school! We drifted apart a bit over the years, but have reconnected. She happened to be in my area, so we met up to get hotpot and boba! It was such a lovely time, and the food was great haha.
How were the past few months for you? What were some of your reading highlights? What about other highlights?
I loved reading about your highlights! I really want to read Happy Place and the other books sound interesting too!
Thank you so much! I hope you get a chance to read it soon 🙂
It seems like ToTK has encapsulated a lot of people! I haven’t played any LoZ games but so many people enjoy it that I may want to start
ohhh i definitely recommend you give the games a try!! they are all really well done, and especially Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom
I’ve seen positive comments about the D&D movie on Twitter and meant to ask if you’d seen it, hehe. I’ll probably try to catch it if it gets added to Netflix or Disney later on.
Also, I want to be your Switch friend so I can be nosy and see how many hours you’ve played. 😆 So glad you have a fun game to occupy your time!
I guess my recent reading highlights would be Cas Russell and Parasol Protectorate 😄
right now it’s on Paramount+, which is where i watched it. i’m not sure if that is available for you though, so hopefully it comes to another streaming service so you can watch!
hahaha wellllllll i’ll tell you it’s well over 100 hours DON’T JUDGE LOL
both great choices!! i still have some Cas books to read, but i can’t remember if it’s one or two haha
Yep, I got totally sucked up by totk too- except for missions and other collectible knacks, I’m done to the final boss 😭 which I dont wanna finish? Cant wait for a DLC or anything, really, to keep playing! I literally breathed zelda for two months 😅 hurrying to do my things so I can play, brigning it to work for my lunch break.. ahah
I’m pretty close to the “end” as well! But I’ve kinda just been going around doing random things and fighting monsters haha. But yes I’m definitely hoping for a DLC! I feel like they will do one, since they did one for BOTW.
Yes I sure hope so!
The dungeons and dragons movie is something that would never be good unless it is silly and fun and I’m glad they leaned into that! (I had a blast watching it too)
Hope you have a good month ahead!
I’m glad you liked the movie too!! And same to you 🙂
Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece of a game! I’ve found myself playing in spurts more than anything and dragging it out so my first time playing doesn’t come to an end. I am just barely starting my second temple now and have checks over 50 hours.
IT REALLY IS!!!!!!! i don’t think i really did the temples either until i had played for hours and hours. i still haven’t done some of the main story because i’m just enjoyed doing random things too much haha
Okay I know this is literally 3 months later but MACKENZIE! I’ve almost 300 hours in and haven’t done the 5th sage quest lololol