June has been a weird reading month for me.
I had signed up for a stack of blog tours – lots of great books – but they all seemed to come up one after the other. Poor planning on my part! So some of the month I felt I was pressured into reading quickly and not being able to read what I wanted to.
I’ve only ticked off any Popsugar categories and only managed two of the Cozy Mysteries challenge books.
I still managed 17 books this month – 5 paperbacks, 1 hardback and 11 ebooks
June’s reads were:
The Mitford Scandal by Jessica Fellowes ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Third in the Mitford Murders series following Diana Mitford and her marriage too Bryan Guinness and the Bright Young Things across Europe.
Crazy For You by Domhnall O’Donoghue ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dark comedy about a soap star and obsessive fan that takes a violent turn.
Wonderland by Juno Dawson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
YA retelling of ALice in Wonderland. Outsider Alice follows Bunny to the Wonderland event and a journey of hedonistic self-discovery
The Summer We Ran Away by Jenny Oliver ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great summer read. Julia is trying to fit in to Cedar Road but runs away after her messages get sent to the street Whatsapp group.
Lesson in Love by Prue Phillipson ⭐⭐⭐
Memoir about the power of faith and love while caring for an elderly parent.
Coming Home to Heritage Cove by Helen J Rolfe ⭐⭐⭐
Melissa returns to Heritage Cove to support an elderly friend and face the ghosts of her past
Tangled in Ivy by Ashley Farley ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The death of her father leads Lillian on a journey to find out the truth about her family and the death of her mother when she was a child.
Season of Second Chances by Aimee Alexander ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Domestic abuse survivor heads back to her rural home town in Ireland to start a new life with her children
Before the Crown by Flora Harding ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Historical fiction reimagining the romance between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece.
Cut to the Bone by Roz Watkins ⭐⭐⭐
DI Meg Dalton investigates the disappearance of a social media star at abbatoir
Agony Auntics by Julie Butterfield ⭐⭐⭐
Agony aunt Fliss Carmichael needs some help herself when her marriage falters. Romantic comedy
Summer in Mayfair by Susannah Constantine ⭐⭐⭐
Aristocratic Esme heads to 1970s London to work in an art gallery and uncover family secrets.
The Miseducation of Evie Epworth By Matson Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hilarious coming of age story of 16 Evie Epworth and her family. Highly recommed
Humankind by Rutger Bregman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Non-fiction exploration of human nature – arguing that humans are actually naturally kind.
Your Own, Sylvia by Stephanie Hemphill ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Verse biography of Sylvia Plath
Gore in the Garden by Shelley Dawn Sidall ⭐⭐⭐
Collection of quick read cosy mysteries
Glad One by Margaret Lesley ⭐⭐⭐
Forty-something Val is starting over and finds herself investigating the life of charismatic homeless woman, Glad.
There’s no cosy wrap up for June as I still have two books to go – maybe a double wrap up in July!
My favourite reads this month were two very different books about teenage girls. Juno Dawson’s Wonderland is edgy and hardhitting; Transgender protagonist, wealthy hedonistic teenagers, lots of sex and drug. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is village fetes, horrific comedy stepmothers and cows. This is one of my favourite books of the year so far and I have already ordered copies to send to friends. Cannot recommend it enough.
I’ve cut back on the blog tours for July – just a couple of books I really wanted to read, including Rodham by Curtis Sitterfield tomorrow. I was supposed to be going to Greece and was hoping for beach reading in the sun but that is looking increasingly unlikely to happen. I’ve decided to take part in a no-buy July so no new books for me – if people want to randomly send me any, feel free. Instead I’m going to clear some of TBR pile and some from my Netgalley shelves and see what I fancy.
Emma's Things to Read 