It’s the first of the new month and we all know what that means right? Yes, it’s time for another monthly wrap up! June started off pretty quiet with a bank holiday and nice weather. Not too warm, but not too cold either. However, the end of this month is another story which continues in July. Today it can get up to 34 degrees (Celsius) at the coast, so imagine how this will be in areas further from the sea! Summer is here, that’s obvious LOL. When looking into my reading, I have had a pretty decent month too. There are a few disappointments, but also a few four star reads. Without further ado, let’s recap this entire month!

My monthly stats

In June, I read a total number of 10 books, divided into 3,534 pages and 16.57 hours of audiobooks. This number is a bit inaccurate, as one of these books is linked to the wrong edition on The Storygraph. Of course I filed a support ticket. The Dutch edition of Carley Fortune’s One Golden Summer is linked to Every Summer After. I mean, these are companion novels, but not one and the same! So, I decided to just track the English edition, and I randomly picked one format. However, this is still a decent amount I believe. From the books I’ve read, I acquired none, which means that I mainly read from the backlist or that I chose a title on a streaming service. I therefore mixed both Dutch and English once again, although Dutch was more prominent this month. It took me an average time of 3 days to finish a book, and this month was romance themed. Unfortunately, I faced some major disappointing reading experiences, which influenced my final rating for the month. June ended on a 3.1 star for me, and 11 newly acquired books.

My read books

1. The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley – This book has been on my TBR for years and I am slowly but steadily working my way through this author’s backlist. Once again a historical fiction novel which was interesting, but I enjoyed the past timeline much more. This novel is partially set in India during the colonial times. However, I wasn’t as intrigued as by some of Riley’s other books. 📱 ⭐⭐⭐,5
2. The Wedding People by Alison Espach – Many people love this book, but I’m not one of them. One of the main characters is outright insufferable and the whole book suffers from it. It’s pretty trigger heavy, but all these triggers seem to be romanticized. The biggest ones are suicide and depression. Furthermore, books marketed as being hilarious, most likely aren’t, I’ve learned the hard way once again. 📱 ⭐⭐
3. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry – Okay it’s not the best book out there, but for a henry one it’s pretty decent. This author really is a hit or miss for me, so I wasn’t too sure where this one would go. The characters are thirteen-in-a-dozen ones, and the romance is so predictable, but I really enjoyed the deeper layer of mystery the author added to this story. 📱 ⭐⭐⭐
4. The Rule Book by Sarah Adams – This book had been sitting on my TBR for a little longer, but I was in need of a fast-paced read. This book delivers and I had an enjoyable time as a result. 📱 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick – A book club pick and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I was a bit sceptic and wasn’t too sure if I should pick it up. It’s a stand alone which is quite uncommon in fantasy these days. This novel therefore is lacking on some points but overall, it’s pretty good. 🎧 ⭐⭐⭐
6. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune – The weather was getting warmer, and I therefore was in the mood for another romance. I saw this audiobook on Kobo and as I’m not the biggest fan of this author’s novels, I decided to listen to it instead of buying it. This happened to be a good choice! This entire book breathes summer and that’s exactly what I needed at this point. 🎧 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. Play Along by Liz Tomforde – I stumbled upon the fourth book in the “Windy City” series, and I just had to listen to it. I loved the character growth, and the main characters definitely redeemed themselves for me. I wasn’t too fond of the Dutch narration though. 🎧 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
8. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – Another book from my June TBR and I’m glad I put it on there. If I wouldn’t have read it now, I probably would never have, because it’s that kind of book. I didn’t like it at all. I was quite bored, and I didn’t really care for the characters, nor the storyline. I just don’t see the hype. 📱 ⭐⭐
9. James by Percival Everett – This won the Booker Prize, and this should have set off alarm bells for me. I often don’t like books winning such prestigious literary awards, they are too literary for me. However, everyone kept praising this novel. So, when I found it for a discounted price, I couldn’t deny it. I see why people love it, but I haven’t read Huckleberry Finn and therefore I just couldn’t get into the book. I think this would be more enjoyable whenever you read this classic. It was just mediocre to me, and I was never sucked into the book. I finished it quickly though, but this is mainly because of the fact that it’s not too long. 📱 ⭐⭐
10. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender – This was on my possibility pile for June, but on my TBR since 2020. I’m glad I finally read it, but I couldn’t stand the characters. They just didn’t work for me, their personality I mean. I don’t know how to describe it, but for a character driven novel, it’s unfortunate. I love how the author explores identity and gender though. 📱 ⭐⭐⭐

My bookhaul

1. Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer
2. Rain of Shadows and Endings by Melissa K. Roehrich
3. Fearless by Lauren Roberts
4. Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
5. Bodyguard by Katherine Center
6. If I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin
7. Crossroads by Devney Perry
8. The Berlin Girl by Mandy Robotham
9. Love and Other Lost Things by Melissa Wiesner
10. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
11. The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

As you can see, June was quite a diverse month. I knocked off many of my June TBR, so that’s nice. Only 2 books remain for July, but one of them is another book club pick so that’s a lovely coincidence!

How was June for you?