Best Books of June
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from June.
The Last Murder at the End of the World (Stuart Turton): This is a book with A LOT of plot holes (as in, if x is true then y cannot be true, but the author asks us to also believe y is true – you know, science fiction math) but if you can get past those plot holes, there is an interesting story in there. And if nothing else, it was fun to imagine the world.
Lies and Weddings (Kevin Kwan): Kevin Kwan books are like a paper version of good champagne — festive, fun, bubbly. It’s not going to quench your thirst, but you’re going to have a lot of fun consuming it. It is the perfect beach read, except you need to be connected to wi-fi so you can look up all the real places and designers he names.
The Queen of Poisons (Robert Thorogood): I felt like the first Marlow Murders book was Thursday Murder Club-esque like a lite version of Richard Osman. This one felt lighter than that. It was still enjoyable. Still liked the main characters. Maybe it felt a little rushed? In any case, very solid cozy mystery.
Very Bad Company (Emma Rosenblum): Points off for choosing adtech as the topic but not understanding digital ads (I think we all cringe when we see someone get our job so wrong in a book), but extra points for every Churchill quote. That was such a brilliant character quirk. Every character was unique. It was White Lotus-level enjoyment of some truly terrible people. Cannot wait for her next book.
What did you read last month?
1 comment
These sound good. 🙂 I finished 3 books in June, two for book clubs/readalongs and one of my own picks. All are reviewed on my blog, as well as on Goodreads & StoryGraph.
*”The Hollow Sea” by Annie Kirby is the July pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club. (Annie is a CC member and is doing an author event with us in early August.) There are three main characters who are dealing with infertility, childlessness and adoption. Gradually, their storylines begin to connect, secrets are revealed and longstanding mysteries are (eventually) resolved. There are elements of mythology/fairy tales — generally not my thing — but the writing is beautiful, the story is compelling and kept me turning the pages — and every word related to infertility, loss and childlessness is bang-on accurate. A solid 4 stars.
*”Magic for Marigold” by L.M. Montgomery, in advance of my L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook Group read, which began July 1st. I will count this one as a re-read once we’re finished. This is one of Montgomery’s lesser known novels — I’ve only read it once before,. It follows Marigold from age 6 to 12, and rambles from one episode to another. If you’re an LMM uber-fan/completist, you will want to read this one — and there’s a lot here that’s familiar! — but there are many other books of hers worth reading first. 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
*”The Cost of Living” by Deborah Levy. (A sequel to “Things I Don’t Want to Know,” and part 2 of a trilogy.) This slim volume recounts a tumultuous period in Levy’s life, including the end of her marriage, and the death of her mother, which stirs up memories of her childhood and her arrival in England from South Africa. Like the first book in the trilogy, the story seems to ramble from one incident/anecdote/memory to the next. Gradually, certain themes and recurring motifs begin to emerge. Once again, the writing is absorbing and full of gems — it made me think. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.