Hello again, friends! How did June go by so fast?!?
I hope everyone is having a great summer so far! I have a birthday coming up on the 4th and I don’t have to work (yay for birthdays on national holidays.) I’m looking forward to sleeping in and grilling out. And hopefully curling up with a good book for a few hours, of course.
In June I read…
Most of these books were given full reviews on my blog this month; links are below. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Tied to Deceit will also be up at later date. Stay tuned! 🙂
This Is How It Always Is
Strange the Dreamer
Not Her Daughter
Swear On This Life
The Space Between
My Real Name Is Hanna
The Hate U Give
Circe
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
My Real Name is Hanna probably made the biggest impression out of all of the books I read this month. This was a YA historical fiction novel about a young Jewish girl surviving during the Holocaust. It deals with a lot of difficult topics but still never feels overwhelmingly dreary; it feels like a story primarily about hope.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway was perhaps the biggest disappointment. Ruth Ware, I love you, but please pull back a little bit on the foreshadowing. I don’t need flashing neon signs leading me to the conclusion of a mystery novel; a whispered hint here and there is enough. This was particularly disappointing because I loved a lot of other aspects of the novel, particularly the protagonist.
On to July…
This is (hopefully) far from all-inclusive, but these are the books next up on my TBR. I (finally) started Battle Royale, which was on last month’s list before I got sidetracked with ARCs. Oops. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is my book club’s selection this month. I’m not sure it’s something I would have picked out for myself, but I’ve seen it recommended to anyone who enjoyed A Man Called Ove, and I adored that book beyond words.
I’m most looking forward to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I bought this one after telling myself I’d stop buying any new books until I got a bit more caught up on all the unread books I already own. I saw too many glowing reviews and I couldn’t help myself. Call it an early birthday present to myself.
I also recently got my first Book of the Month shipment, so hopefully I’ll find time for these books this month:
I’m rarely disciplined enough to have a proper TBR for the next month, that is truly impressive. My favorite book from June was probably The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I know it’s considered a kid’s book, but trust me, it’s a gem for all ages.
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Children’s books can be fun. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read the first Harry Potter book. It makes for some good, comfy nostalgia! 🙂
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Nostalgia reading is my JAM lol
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Strange the Dreamer has been on my shelf for awhile now. It looks fantastic! Looks like you had a pretty amazing month and good luck with your TBR for July 🙂
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Strange the Dreamer was completely lovely. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. 🙂
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Wow, you’ve read so many books this month! I had to DNF The Hate U Give, unfortunately.
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Really? I’m curious, what didn’t you like about it?
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Just didn’t hold my interest!
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