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Whew, life sure does come at you fast! Doesn’t it? In April I quit my job, and in June, Alice put in her notice and just had her last day at work.
On top of that, I am now moving to… drumroll, please… WALES! Cardiff specifically. There are a lot of big things happening in all of our lives.
Even among the chaos, I had the happy experience of getting my reading mojo back. It had abandoned me this year, but in June, I read and enjoyed a lot of books. Which brought me an incredible amount of JOY during these precarious times.
It’s so true that buying books and reading books can be two completely different hobbies! I can’t seem to stop adding more and more books to my ever growing TBR pile.
We are well into July by the time we post this (oops, sorry), but now that Alice and I have some free time, we will get our butts in gear with getting back to a normal posting schedule.
Keep an eye out for our mid-year goals that we will hold ourself accountable to. I’m really excited to have something tangible to work towards.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
As her previous book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, is 100% one of my favorite books of 2021, I had high expectations for this new release. I have to say it was ALMOST (4.5 star-ish) as good as Seven Husbands with the perfect beachy twist that I was craving in June.
Nina Riva is the oldest of four siblings and the daughter of the famous singer, Mick Riva, who left their family without a penny of support. The world is fascinated by Nina and her siblings, and everyone wants to be invited to their secret end-of-year summer party. However, each of the Rivas has a secret and it is going to come out in a big way during their last summer bash. By the end of the night, the truth will come out and the Riva Mansion will be up in flames.
The book is written over the course of 24 hours, alternating with flashbacks throughout the Rivas’ lives. It is my idea of the perfect summer read. Annnnnnnnd there is a HUGE easter egg to Evelyn Hugo!
Captivating characters and a beachy setting that is going to make you dream of surfing!
This books was completely surprising. I thought it was simply a guilty pleasure read of friends on a yacht in the Mediterranean, but then it got sinister and twisty.
Jane, you are going to love this one!
Belle is invited to an all-expense-paid yacht trip by her best friend, Summer, and her billionaire boyfriend in the Mediterranean. She quickly says yes, hoping it will be a break from her failing acting career. However, the vacation quickly becomes a nightmare with Belle and the other guests feeling more like prisoners than friends.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
This is the second month in a row where I’m recommending something that Alice recommends first! (Alice here: that means you readers need to read it too!)
Again, I won’t go into the plot since she already did above, but I found this to be a fascinating study of siblings and how their lives interconnect and of how they react differently to trauma. I’d highly recommend it!
June was a bit light for me in terms of books read. I picked this one up for something light and fluffy, and it… did not deliver in that respect.
Laurie had one of those love-at-first-sight moments that everyone dreams of, but it happened right as her bus pulled away. She spends the next few months trying to track down the mystery man with her best friend Sarah- only to have Sarah introduce her to Jack (her new boyfriend who IS the mystery man.)
Over the course of years, love and heartbreak abound for Jack, Laurie, and Sarah. I really liked this because the standard trope of love breaking up friends was really explored and felt genuine- and Laurie and Sarah are able to end up in a healthy place as friends.
If anything, I can’t help but wonder if those two were the real love story in this book. Best friends are the epitome of true love (and I have two!) So not a super light book, but definitely an overall sweet read.
Emily Henry
Okay, I WISH I had YA books like How Not To Ask a Boy to Prom and Only Mostly Devastated (my pick for April) when I was in High School.
HNTAABTP for short is a charming little read that follows our main character Nolan through a hapless promposal that his sister forced upon him. He’s saved by bad boy Bern, and they proceed to fake date.
This book is super cute, and I like that it examines how we belong, families and how we perceive ourselves VS how we are perceived by others.
Heart Berries is a poetic lyrical memoir of Terese Marie Mailhot’s life, and specifically a time period where she was working through a diagnosis of PTSD & Bipolar II disorder.
She is painfully honest and rips open her relationship with her partner for us all to see. She is unflinching in her telling. While beautifully written it is an emotionally heavy read, but so worth it.
Wow! I can’t believe that we are half-way through 2021. It has been a wild and fast ride, that’s for sure.
As you can see, all of us really enjoy beachy reads in June.
I’m looking forward to seeing what reading treats the rest of the year brings.
What was the best book you read in June?
-Anne
