Top 5 Web Comics

 This week on top 5 tuesday, the topic was supposed to be our top 5 illustrated reads but I decided to give it a little bit of a twist... You see, with all the health shenanigans over the past year, I've often struggled to focus on a book. When I cant decide what to read or when I don't want to faff around reading, I've turned to webcomics!

So, I thought, it would be a good week to shine a light on my favourites!

The Guild Codex

Lore Olympus

Midnight Poppy Land

Under The Oak Tree

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Book Covers That Feel Like Summer

This week on Top Ten Tuesday, we're talking about book covers that feel like summer!

Based on my selection, it seems colours heavily influence whether a cover gives me summer vibes...

Bright colours (especially blues) alongside sunshine, sea and sand seem to tick the boxes as far as my brain is concerned!

All books listed below are books I own but haven't read. 

If you had to recommend one I read this summer, which would you suggest?

(Except Line In The Sand as that's an arc that I'll be reading anyway.)

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Wishing Tree Beside The Shore by Jaimie Admans

Tequila Tequila by Emma Hart

Ella's Ice Cream Summer by Sue Watson

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Line In The Sand by Teri Wilson

Sweet Little Thing by Abbi Glines

Bad At Love by Karina Halle
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
How To Save A Life by P. Dangelico

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OMG! Where did June go?!

Apparently, it's been a month since I last posted. That's a great start to getting back into blogging isn't it?

I don't know why I haven't posted anything... I guess I've just been busy? Or something. 

Honestly, it doesn't feel like it's been a month. June has just went wheeeeeee and I'm sitting shocked that I'm writing this on the first of July!

Anyway... June was a fairly good month. 

My mental health was appalling throughout May and I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull myself out of the spiral but with some changes at work and half term break spent in Scotland with my family, it improved throughout June.

Work throughout June was calmer than it has been in a long time. Back in April, I switched to a new area of my company and took on a brand new project. I needed the change desperately but because of staffing issues I had to continue to manage my old project as well as take on my new project and I essentially, temporarily, doubled my workload. 

It wasn't the smartest move but it was the deal that had to be struck to get me out of my previous area and into my new one and I don't regret it for a second. Unfortunately, this double workload, double the pressure situation was what caused May's decline in my wellbeing. However, I spoke to my new line manager and she took immediate action and pulled me off my old project completely, effective immediately. My previous line manager (who had agreed to let me go with the temporary double duty) understood completely as she didn't want me to decline again either. So, that was that. I had some handover days throughout June but I was no longer responsible for the day-to-day and it was exactly what I needed to happen. 

Thank God for supportive line managers and awesome employers!

I mentioned above being in Scotland with my family...

Technically this also covers the end of May but I count it as June in my head. 

Anyway, I was in Scotland attending RARE Edinburgh - my first ever book signing/conference!

It was a lot of fun. I won't write too much about it as I plan on writing a little summary post soon but I definitely want to attend London 23 and more events like this! The buzz was fantastic and it was a book lover - and romance readers - heaven!

After RARE, my husband and son joined me at my mum's and we caught up with a load of my family members as well as enjoying a few days out and about to The Edinburgh Dungeon and the RRS Discovery in Dundee.

We came home during the Queen's Jubilee Weekend and I made the official Jubilee pudding - a Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle.

I'm not going to lie... I have no idea how this bloody thing won the contest! Okay, I might be completely the wrong judge as I generally hate trifle but this... Was worse than a normal trifle.

I hated the combination of flavours but the husband - who generally loves trifle - really enjoyed it so... To each their own?

What else has been going on...?

The kid has been feverishly rehearsing for his school play - A Midsummers Night's Dream - and we'll finally get to see the end result in a couple of weeks!

As well as play rehearsals, June was dominated his school residential trip where they got to dragon boat, abseil, land surf, raft build and a whole host of other stuff I cannot remember!

I cannot believe he finishes primary forever in just a few weeks!

When did my baby become a pre-teen?! 😱 

All us mums from his year group have been planning a leaver's party for the kids after their leaver's service in July and I have a feeling we'll all be a little emotional!

We've been working our way through Superstore on Netflix and have finally reached S6. 

I'm loving the show and the weird mix of characters.

The Obi-Wan show on Disney+ is another we've started watching (we're a bit behind) and I'm liking it... I love Ewan McGregor so I shouldn't be surprised really.

The husband and I have also started watching The Boys on Prime and omg... I have no idea what I was expecting with that show but what I got certainly wasn't it! It is twisted, surprising, shocking, funny and gross. I think I like it but I'm not actually sure, lol.

We went to the cinema and watched Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness and we also saw Top Gun: Maverick and I loved them both!

I thought Top Gun: Maverick was better than the original and that's not easy to achieve!

I also went to the theatre to see Bat Out of Hell: The Musical last night and it was... Interesting!

The music, vocal performances, and staging were magnificent but the story was nonsense. Complete and utter nonsense. But oh well. Fun was had just the same!

The rendition and staging of Bat Out of Hell (the song) just before the half-time interval is burned onto my brain with its sheer awesomeness. Definitely a show-defining moment.

I've actually done some reading this month! Amazing... My reading is still super slow and I can go weeks without reading at all but June has been pretty steady!

I listened to two audiobooks (Persuasion by Jane Austin and The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Leise), I read two books (Full Moon Rising and Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur), and I read the novelisation of Under the Oak Tree (part One) by Suji Kim.

I also read the first season of the Under The Oak Tree comic (which marries up to part one of the novelisations) and enjoyed the artwork but preferred the story in novel form.

Web Comics are something I'm becoming an ever bigger fan of. They suit my lack of attention span/focus these days... Another one I've been reading throughout June was Midnight Poppy Land. OMG, I love it. 

The Guild Codex book series is also being turned into a webcomic and I've been enjoying seeing those stories that I love - all the little moments - being brought to life in beautiful artwork.

I've been away from the bookish community for a while so in an attempt to get back into the swing of things I'm joining the Summer COYER hosted by Michelle and Berls at Because Reading.

I'm keeping things simple and not adding a reading list or setting a goal... I'm just going to go with the flow and see if I can clear some books off the shelves and actually start sharing what I think of them again! I'll keep track of progress on my COYER tweet thread

I want to share this post written by Krysta at Pages Unbound as I couldn't agree more with what she said! It's time to stop telling people they aren't real readers.

And that's it from me for now!

What did you get up to in June?

Linking this to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer and the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts At Midnight.

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Life, Monthly Update