For Pride Month’s reading wrap-up, you’d think I’d read only queer books as I’m a lesbian. Unfortunately, I got hooked through a string of other books instead. Hopefully my community will forgive me, considering I read queer books year round (this is sarcasm)! Plus, I did read two sapphic books either way.
As for the rest, my selection was pretty random.
8. Feral (Volume 1: Indoor Cats, Volume 2: Cat Lady, Volume 3: Nine Lives) by Tony Fleecs, illustrated by Trish Forstner and Tone Rodriquez and colored by Brad Simpson
Published Sept. 4, 2024, Mar. 12, 2025, and Aug. 6, 2025
Rating: 2-2.5 stars
Genres: Graphic Novel, Horror, Fantasy, Animals, Cats
Summary: A horror graphic novel series that follows the struggling lives of indoor cats Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches, and Patch during a nightmarish rabies outbreak. Can they avoid getting bit, scratched, and infected by the red-eyed “bad ones” as they run through the outside world they’ve never lived in?
I knew about these comics for a couple of reasons: the comparison to Warriors and seeing them in a comic shop. While I didn’t purchase them, I borrowed the first three volumes from fellow Fandom Spotlite writer, Gabby, who had the opportunity to interview the artist behind the series last summer. If you couldn’t already tell from my star rating, these are… bad. It makes me feel guilty saying so, but I disliked it. I like the art itself; the cartoon cats against a very realistic backdrop, especially with the horror elements, is unique and interesting. The concept is great, too. Yet, the dialogue is irritating, with the characters often trailing off and not completing their thoughts. The characters are one-dimensional and not growing throughout the chapters, while also having personality shifts that don’t fully make sense. The third volume has some of my favorite plots, but also an uncomfortable romance thing. I will say, Chapter 6 with Patch was my absolute favorite.
7. The Wolf She Kept by Cy Lawson
Published June 15, 2026
Rating: 3.25 stars
Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Fated Mates, Lesbian, Sapphic, Adult
Summary: Mariam Leaven is a simple witch who believes that kindness should come without a cost. When she finds someone bleeding out on the pavement, it is no question to bring them back to her place and nurse them to life. What she doesn’t realize is the danger it would put her in. Sable hasn’t known kindness in over a century. She has been beaten, used, and exiled to the human realm. Can her wounds be healed? Together they stand against a true villain, a Fae that hunts its own kind.
This was a delayed ARC review on my end for June. The bones are good. The Fae versus human realms, the magic system, and the idea of different Fae creatures were all interesting. The writing itself is solid, and the fighting/attack scenes were probably my favorite narrative-wise. Mariam and Sable are sweet together, but I would’ve loved to see their relationship expanded upon. One of the flaws was definitely pacing. Everything went by swiftly, with not as much depth as I usually prefer in a fantasy book. For the world building, the book might’ve been just too short. I can see Lawson’s writing improving as the series goes on.
6. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath
Published October 18, 2023
Rating: 4 stars
Genres: Graphic Novel, Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Animals
Summary: Samantha Strong, an adorable well-loved brown bear, has one cardinal rule: don’t kill the small-town locals. Beyond the town and forest is the bustling city, ripe for her victims. Sam has worked hard to create a friendly reputation and thriving business surrounded by her animal neighbors. Imagine her upset when one of Woodbrook’s own citizens ends up in a grisly murder, throwing suspicion on everyone. No one could blame Sam for hunting down this killer before the cozy peace of her life erupts into flames, and before the town’s sheriff starts looking at her.
What a wild graphic novel. The dichotomy of cute anthropomorphic animals with gory violence was a shock to the system. Granted, I knew what I was getting in to—the cover is pretty telling—but still. The story was interesting. I liked the little hunt for the killer and the satisfying ending. I even felt bad for the characters that were getting killed; they were wrapped up in a situation not of their own making. It was a neat read. I’m not obsessed but I appreciate it.
5. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Published April 1, 1966
Rating: 4.25 stars
Genres: Classics, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Psychology
Summary: When an experimental surgery to increase IQ becomes available, Charlie Gordon is the person picked as the first human test subject. While this procedure has been highly successful in increasing the intelligence of a white mouse named Algernon, they are uncertain if the effects will be the same for a human. The treatment works better than expected as Charlie becomes something akin to a super-genius. When Algernon starts to deteriorate though, they all wonder, will the same happen to Charlie?
Completing this book in time for the June reading wrap-up was unexpected. When I began Flowers for Algernon on June 29th, I did not think it’d be done the following day. This book was a gift from a good friend (hi Katherine) and took me on a wild train of emotions. I even started to cry at the last pages because my heart was breaking for all that was learned and lost. It was showing me something I already knew: kindness should be human nature, but again and again, people prove that it is not inherent. I liked how much this book made me feel and think. It has an excellent message. The only reason it wasn’t a perfect five stars is because of slowness. I lost interest a few times but kept pushing through because I knew it was important.
4. A Rising Tide by Haley J. Munroe
Published June 25, 2026
Rating: 4.25 stars
Genres: Romantasy, Pirates, LGBTQ+, Sapphic, Lesbian, Adult
Summary: Briar might’ve broken her curse and can go to the sea now, but A Rising Tide picks up where This Splintered Sea left off: her captured by the woman she fell for, Kressa. Now she is taken prisoner in the Earth Court, which begins a journey of trying to get back to her court at sea while also freeing her crew. As secrets and lies begin to surface around her, Briar struggles to make the right choices to save the ones she lvoes.
I happily received this ARC after reading the first in the series This Splintered Sea in January (finished in February). I was already hooked on the characters and romance from there and was excited for the continuation. As much as I still loved this book, I had more complaints than in the first one. Briar’s actions were frustrating, as well as the back and forth between her and Kressa and all the lies and half-truths. The new twists were intriguing though! I pretty much saw the reveal about Isolde coming, or at least I suspected it, so I was glad to have it confirmed by the end. As for the main two, I need Briar to get smarter and Kressa to stop lying. Nevertheless, I’m still looking forward to the next installment of this series.
3. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Published July 16, 1951
Rating: 5 stars
Genres: Classics, Young Adult, High School, Coming of Age
Summary: Holden Caulfield has been expelled from yet another school. Instead of going straight home, he abandons the phonies and crooks at Pencey Prep to spend a few days bouncing around New York City. Terribly alone and lonely, Holden goes through fleeting encounters with people at bars, a pimp in a hotel, and briefly his kid sister Phoebe when he sneaks back home. This story tackles growing up and trying to find your place in the world.
Catcher was the final book in the curriculum I was teaching, though we arguably didn’t have enough time to really delve into it. When I first read this snack in 2017, it was to connect with my partner, who is now my wife. I thought it was fine, but I didn’t really get it. A couple years ago, I reread it and finally understood. The stream of consciousness style is interesting and rarely boring. The little kernels of information that Holden gives out so carelessly to the reader is so, so important to the true story. The deeper meanings are what makes this story so special. I struggled if I should put this at three, but I find it such a classic I thought it deserved the spot.
2. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Published September 15, 2020
Rating: 4.5-5 stars
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Magic Realism, Literary Fiction
Summary: Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others and the ocean makes its waves. Piranesi is not afraid. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.
This work of fiction is complex, yet simple. I initially struggled to understand what was going on, thinking I maybe wasn’t smart enough. Is it a metaphorical story? Is it literal? Is it both? I thought at first that maybe it was going to dive into the dichotomy between innocence and corruption with Piranesi and the Other. Piranesi saw the simple beauty of this World, but the Other was only concerned with progressing instead of stopping and viewing. There’s still truth to that. Though I am a bit confused at the interjection of Arne-Sayles activities and what they mean for the story, especially James Ritter. I found the Other’s end rather anticlimactic, though I imagine that is because it’s from Piranesi’s POV. I would love to revisit this novel in the future, perhaps annotate it to better connect dots and understand. It’s a story that makes me THINK, which I greatly appreciate.
1. Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy #1 by Erin Hunter (author), Gibson Twist (adapted), and Sammy Savos (illustrator)
Published June 30, 2026
Rating: 5 stars
Genres: Fantasy, Cats, Graphic Novel, Children’s
Summary: Covering the first two novels of the second arc, The New Prophecy, this graphic novel adaptation takes the plots of Midnight and Moonrise and illustrates them. When a new ominous prophecy comes to Brambleclaw and three other cats of the other Clans, they must journey together to save the Clans from a mysterious danger. The journey is long and difficult with new challenges and potential death. As they go on, tensions rise back in the forest among the Clans. ThunderClan watches as their world crumbles around them. Can the questing cats discover what they can do to save their Clans?
I was ridiculously excited for the next graphic novel adaptation of Warriors. The art style is a wonderful blend of cute realism and cartoon, with a beautiful style of mysticism. They hit almost all of the major plot points, too (though the timeline was changed around). It was no question that this would top my reading wrap-up for June, even though I read some other fantastic books. For a full review, check out my article “Warriors Graphic Novel: The NEW Prophecy #1” from earlier this week.
2026 monthly wrap-ups: January, February, March, April, May
2025 monthly wrap-ups: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
