June 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

I have definitely been better this year with blogging, however my June reading update is really late. In June, I read 9 books total: one non-fiction, 4 romances, 2 fantasy novels, 1 historical fiction, and 1 mystery. 4 out of 9 books were on audio and the rest were either in paper or e-book. I normally read just around 3,000 pages per month and June was no exception at 3,263 pages.

In terms of my enjoyment/rating of what I read, it was a great month with 6 five-star reads and 3 four-stars. I also made progress on series: finished two YA fantasy series Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin and The Guilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. I have definitely lost interest in many YA series over the years, but it was good to finish these off. I also continued with one of my all time favorite mystery series featuring a time-traveling police detective by Kelley Armstrong. This newest installment called Disturbing the Dead was excellent.

For a book club I read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. It is historical fiction that traces the journey of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscript, from its creation in the fifteenth-century Spain to present day. It was my first book by this author and I hope to read other works by her.

There is something to be said about posting a wrap-up a bit later after the end of the month: two of the books I read in June ended up being very forgettable and I hardly remember anything about them: God by Reza Aslan, and An Amiable Foe by Jennie Goutet.

I did read three excellent romances which I highly recommend:

• One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle is a very atmospheric summer read. It put me in a summer mood right away, and I flew through this novel. Definitely a new all-time favorite and I will be reading more from this author.
• Unsteady by Peyton Corinne is a new adult novel with great mental health representation. It is not an easy read as the heroine is dealing with some difficult domestic situations, and the hero is suffering from an injury PTSD.
• Finally, Dungeons & Drama by Kristy Boyce was a fun YA romance that put a huge smile on my face.

All in all, a great reading month. My only regret is that I did not make any progress on reading ARCs, but it was good to take a break from having to read something, and just reach for whatever your heart desires.