Books Read in June: 14
Books Read for the Year: 98/225
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
Beach Read, by Emily Henry (TBR). The banter in this was fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
Unravel the Dusk, by Elizabeth Lim (TBR). I still love the magic in this.
Heartbreak Bay, by Rachel Caine (TBR). I’ve been putting off reading this for for a while because I’m so sad that Caine passed away. This book. Man. I’ve enjoyed these books so much, but this one messed with my mind! The people lurking in the shadows, harassing Gwen and blaming her ex-husband’s actions on her, and thinking it’s okay to torment her. That is NOT okay. And the little funhouse of horrors at the end…I’m lucky it didn’t give me nightmares. Yet.
The House at the End of the World, by Dean Koontz (TBR). Another one of Koontz’s the-government-is-not-our-friend thrillers.
The Study of Poisons, by Maria V. Snyder (TBR). How could I resist reading the story of Poison Study from Valek’s POV? LOVED THIS.
The Delusion: We All Have Our Demons, by Laura Gallier (audio). This was pretty fascinating.
For Review:
The Little Italian Hotel, by Phaedra Patrick. I enjoyed this novel of self-discovery, although Ginny got on my nerves a bit before she started making decisions for herself.
Same Time Next Summer, by Annabel Monaghan. This book. This book was fantastic! I was sucked in from the very first page and could not put it down until I devoured every single word!
Charm City Rocks, by Matthew Norman. I enjoyed this romance about a guy who gets a chance with the rockstar he’s admired for decades.
Famous in a Small Town, by Viola Shipman. I enjoyed the first half of this, but the second half felt like an unfinished, messy draft, which did not work for me.
Morgan Is My Name, by Sophie Keetch. This was a fantastic read! I’ve always loved Arthurian legends, and Morgan’s voice brought this to such vivid life! Uther Pendragon and Merlin creeped me out quite a bit, but Morgan was wonderful!
Whispers at Dusk, by Heather Graham. I usually enjoy Graham’s books, especially the Krewe of Hunters books, but this felt both rough and disconnected. The transitions as the characters got to know each other felt beyond rushed.
A Rogue at Stonecliffe, by Candace Camp. I enjoyed this second-chance romance.
A Shadow in Moscow, by Katherine Reay. This started off a bit slow, but it ended up being such a good read! The spycraft from a woman’s point-of-view was so fascinating. Highly recommended!
Left Unfinished:
The Last Drop of Hemlock, by Katharine Schellman. I didn’t get very far in this. The pacing was just too slow.
The Chaperone, by M Hendryx. I read about 20% of this before just accepting I was bored, annoyed, and didn’t care about the characters or what happened.
Cassandra in Reverse, by Holly Smale. I tried to like this enough to finish reading it, because the concept was interesting. No such luck. I found Cassandra unlikeable enough to be unreadable to me—even making allowances for the legitimate issues she clearly has.
The Broken Hearts Club, by Susan Bishop Crispell. The main problem I have with the 20% of this that I read is Imogen’s propsensity to and normalization of lying. I cannot stand liars, so reading about a person whose go-to response is lying, is a no-go for me.
Ciao for Now by Kate Bromley. Violet and her friends just felt superficial and flighty to me, and I had no desire to finish reading this.
Tomorrow Is Another Day 
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