Okay, so it’s obvious from the number of books/page count that I got very little writing done in June. The writer’s block has been terrible, however I did read a few books I loved a lot.
Books read June 2025. Some mild spoilers below.
The Measure by Nikki Erlick 4.5 🌟, 1/5 🌶️. This is one of those thinky present day science fiction pieces that asks existential questions about the meaning of life and how to spend your time. The Measure starts with everyone older than 22 years having a mysterious box appear on their doorstep that has a string in it. The length of the string is confirmed to correlate to the length of the person’s life (not spoilers—it’s on the book blurb). The book follows about eight different POVs that intersect over the course of the story, detailing their heartbreak, dreams, and in some cases, their eventual deaths. This book made me cry at a few points it’s so heartfelt. There is romance in the story but no real spice. This is a slow moving story that lives in the character’s heads, asks for a lot philosophically of the reader. Recommend to have some tissues handy. Category: contemporary science fiction
How to Solve Your Own Murder (The Castle Knoll files #1) by Kristen Perrin 4.25 🌟, 1.5/5🌶️. (there’s some mild gazing longingly at each other) Who doesn’t love a good ole English countryside murder mystery? This one was delightful and kept me guessing with misdirects to right before the reveal. The main character, Annie, has been summoned to the countryside to discuss her great aunt Frances’ changes to her will which of course, becomes a murder. Filled with delightfully quirky characters all with their own motive to off Frances, Annie must solve the murder or lose her inheritance. The spice is practically nonexistent but there’s some longing looks between Annie and one of her fellow investigators as well as some bed hopping in the flashbacks to Frances’ younger days as well as makeups/breakups but nothing terribly explicit. I expect in the second book we’ll get progress on Annie’s courting the local constable. Category: Murder Mystery. Audiobook.
King of Pride (Kings of Sin #2) by Ana Huang 2.5 🌟, 3.5/5 🌶️. Ah Ana Huang. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson by now. King of Pride follows Kai and Isabella—a case study in opposites attract. You can read the book blurb elsewhere but it’s very formulaic Ana Huang Romance. Kai is a great guy, supportive of Izzy, maybe a bit too up tight but willing to do anything for the woman he’s in love with. Izzy… has the worst case of failure to complete things I’ve seen in a while. She’s a wild child free spirit who can’t commit and her self doubt is at toxic levels as she tries to write her first novel. The third act break up that Ana Huang insists on putting in her books is profoundly shoehorned in and made me really dislike Izzy and want Dante and Vivian back from the first entry in this series, possibly to see if Kai could join them in their relationship because he doesn’t deserve to go through what Izzy does to him and made me drop this rating by a star and a half. There is spicy sex scenes similar to other books by this author but somehow they weren’t as exciting as the ones in King of Wrath. I’ll probably read on in the series as the other couples seem to be a bit more interesting than Kai and Izzy who I’m pretty sure aren’t going to do well long term as there is still fundamental problems I don’t see them overcoming. Category: Contemporary Romance
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong 3.5🌟. This month’s bookclub read which also was on Oprah’s bookclub list (not that her list has anything to do with why I read it). I think this book just wasn’t for me. The story focuses on Hai who is saved from committing suicide in the opening chapter by an elderly woman named Grazina who is slowly mentally deteriorating but takes Hai in. There’s a lot of poverty, drug use, and focus on the hard part of living in a small town that is economically depressed with few opportunities. The characters are beautifully written and well described but the plot moves at a snails pace. The ending is open ended but sad, leaving us uncertain as to Hai’s fate. The author’s prose is beautiful and you can tell he’s a poet, but the nature of Hai’s life is quite depressing. Consider this my ‘I read something literary’ for this month (shoot that makes two including the Bell Jar). I’ll have a lot to discuss at bookclub. Category: Contemporary Literature and Fiction, Asian American literature
Ocean’s Echo (The Resolution Universe #2) by Everina Maxwell 4.0 🌟, 2/5 🌶️. Oh this book—it grew on me and ended up much better than how it started. I love a good political science fiction book but, tbh, Tennal at the beginning made me want to shove him out the airlock because he was such a spoiled brat. Surit, who becomes Tennal’s better half, is great and can do no wrong imo. Loved Surit. Would read ten books about Surit climbing the political ladder in the space army he’s in. Tennal… he needed to be hit with a maturity spell first and even then, I am only willing to put up with him because Surit is fond of him. Anyways, the politics are political, there’s appropriate levels of military coups going on, alien technology hijinks and magical science fiction mind melds/emotional bonds. What’s not to love? Oh right, Tennal at the beginning. Would have been a five star read if Tennal hadn’t been so whiney at the beginning. The romance is the secondary plot. Can read this book without having read the first book in the series—they share a common universe but there’s no crossover of characters mentioned. Mild spice due to Surit having a conscience and being worried about consent (no nonconsensual stuff here, Surit’s just adorably worried about overstepping because he’s ethical). Category: Science Fiction, mlm romance secondary plot combo print/audiobook
El Malo by K Webster 2.25 5/5 🌶️. CIA agent becomes the lover of her uberviolent target, the leader of the local cartel. Uh, this book deserves all the warnings. There’s nonconsensual sex, violence, sexual violence, blatant use of stereotypes with the author having done probably no research when writing this book (If she did, yikes). Tbh I hadn’t read any mafia romances that were published in a book format before this and uh, I probably am going to be more discerning moving forward. There is a bare bones plot of the FMC being a CIA agent trying to gain intelligence on the MMC. Flat out, the FMC is the worst intelligence officer ever and, despite statements to the contrary, does incredibly dumb and dangerous stuff. Quite honestly, the bare bones plot doesn’t work and the author uses a lot of racial stereotypes and drug use as plot devices that are flimsy at best. 2/3 of the book is sex scenes and not all of them are consensual or nice. If violence is your thing, you’ll probably like this book but it was not for me. It’s not the worst book I’ve read this year, but the rating is probably being too nice (I should take off one more star…). I wouldn’t recommend spending money on this book and probably will never read another book by this author again. Category: Dark Romance, Mafia Romance
King of Ashes by SA Cosby 4.0🌟, 2/5 🌶️. The second ‘King’ book of the month however has nothing to do with the other one. This book was marketed as the southern gothic version of the Godfather and… that’s not entirely accurate but gives you the vibe the author is going for. Three siblings confront a longstanding mystery of their mother’s disappearance after the eldest comes home due to their father’s ‘accident’ (read targeted attack). Cosby writes fantastically realistic characters, detailing the adult siblings giving them each their own distinctive role. The eldest is the successful problem solver, the middle the steady daughter who’s held everything together… and then there’s the baby of the family, the screw up. The book delves into the local gang culture and doesn’t shy away from the darker side. There’s a lot of sex and drugs, gun fights, violence and our characters are put in mortal peril. The way Cosby’s characters react is completely natural and true to character, allowing the tragedy of choices to play out. Will be picking up some of Cosby’s other work, was impressed. Category: Thriller
The Housemaid’s Secret (The Housemaid #2) by Freida McFadden 3.5🌟, 2/5 🌶️ Ah Millie returns and is quickly drawn into what appears to be another battered woman who needs her help. Millie has been trying to get out of the rescue business but it claws her back in, disrupting the relationship she’s made with new guy Brock and Enzo returns from a long hiatus in Italy. Freida McFadden has a very matter of fact delivery of her serviceable prose which is functional but will never win any beauty awards. The twist at the end is very Freida McFadden. Enjoyed it, will continue on with Millie’s adventures (hopefully with more Enzo). There’s the same level of spice in this one as there is in the first book in series—it’s there, but not graphic or really the point of the book. Category: Thriller/Murder Mystery, Audiobook
Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch #1) by Lyla Sage 3.25🌟3/5 🌶️. This was the first book by this author I’d read and it was okay, but not great. There was a lot of tell not show and there was repetitive pages that a good editor would have cut down on. That said, the story was cute and I liked the couple—Emmy and Luke were cute together. There didn’t seem like a lot of plot going on for the page count. I am interested enough in the potential couples for the sequels that I’ll probably pick them up at some point. The spicy scenes were spicy but not overly done, similar to Ana Huang or Elise Silver and appropriately placed to move the book/plot along. Category: Contemporary Romance, Cowboy Romance
How to Talk to Your Succulent by Zoe Persico 3.5🌟Catchup Book club read for May (it took less than 2 hours to read). Read it for bookclub, not really the target audience for this one. The artwork of this graphic novel is gorgeous, book deals with grief and loss of a parent appropriate for a mid-grade child. Donating book to the local library. Category: Children’s Literature, graphic novels
Assassins Anonymous (Assassin’s Anonymous #1) by Rob Hart 4.5🌟, 1/5 🌶️. Delightfully fun version of an assassin trying to be reformed (like John Wick) and nobody wanting to let him live in peace. Mark used to be the one everyone called when they needed a job done, now he’s busy dodging his former coworkers and trying to figure out who’s trying to frame him and silence him permanently. Picked this up because it was on Barnes and Noble’s read of the month and looked fun. Can confirm, was a fun, quick read. Will be picking up the newly published sequel in July. Very minimal romance—Mark is too busy running around the globe. Category: Thriller
Under the Knife: a history of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations by Arnold van de Laar 3.75🌟 It’s a very serviceable nonfiction book about the development of certain famous surgical operations. Was interesting if you’re into medical stuff, written so the lay person can understand in a non-graphic way. The history tidbits were very interesting. Had been sitting on my TBR for a while so it got bumped up to read when I was looking for something nonfiction. Category: Medical History, Nonfiction, Audiobook
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe (Dream Harbor #1) by Laurie Gilmore 3.75🌟 3/5 🌶️. Big city girl wants to start over in small town New England that is hallmark-esque perfection and immediately has a meet cute with the farmer who’s been hurt before and is gun-shy about dating another woman not from his hometown. All the cozy fall vibes in this one. The cast of characters is well rounded and everything is very cozy. The only thing wrong is all the spice is held off until the end of the book and then… feels somewhat extraneous? I get one love making scene at the end but I think there was three? Like three back to back without any need for it from a story continuation standpoint. Book would have been better if they’d been spread out throughout the story. Will continue series but probably will wait until fall for the vibes. Category: Contemporary Romance, Cozy Romance
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 3.75🌟, 2/5 🌶️. Well, I can now say I’ve read it—er listened to it. Would totally recommend the audiobook version by Maggie Gyllenhaal as she does a great job. This book is frequently banned because of how realistic it is looking at a mid 20th r century woman’s life and how her mental health deteriorates. The book does not shy away from sex or suicide attempts. I get why it’s one of those books people talk about and I’m glad I read it but I didn’t love it. Category: Literature and Fiction, Women’s Literature, Modern Classics. Audiobook
City of Last Chances (Tyrant Philosophers #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky 4.25 🌟 1/5🌶️. I love Tchaikovsky’s work and this book has been sitting on my bookshelf for a few months. I initially tried it as an audiobook and (no fault of the audiobook) I couldn’t focus on the story well enough to follow along so I picked up and read the print version and did better. I will say that this story’s prose is dense. Tchaikovsky is known for using his vocabulary and having complex characters and storylines and this book delivers. The shifting viewpoints were at first a bit difficult to keep track of but once I relaxed and just let the story take me I was enthralled. The world building here is second to none and everything coalesces in the second half of the book and remembering who’s who is much easier (but I’m not going to lie and say the first half was easy to get through). I think my favorite character is Ruslav and I’m very curious what will happen to him later in the series, although the second book looks to focus on Yasnic, the priest, learning how to actually be a healer instead of relying on his former God’s powers. If you like Malazan, Sanderson, or other complex fantasy worlds you should read this. Category: Epic Fantasy
An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi (combo print/audiobook)
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambo
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller Jr
Bury Our Bones in Midnight Soil by VE Scwab (July Bookclub Read)
Current July TBR (very subject to change/random whims and in no particular order):
Children of Time (Children of Time #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
King of Greed (Kings of Sin #3) by Ana Huang
The Housemaid is Watching (The Housemaid #3) by Freida McFadden (audiobook)
The Housemaid’s Wedding (The Housemaid #2.5) by Freida McFadden (audiobook)
The Medusa Protocol (Assassins Anonymous #2) by Rob Hart
Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price
Finders Keepers (Bill Hodge Trilogy #2) by Stephen King
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow (combo audiobook/print)
Local Woman Missing By Mary Kubica
Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell
Howling Dark (The Suneater #2) by Christopher Ruocchio
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