June Reading Wrap-Up

Books Read

(6/8) The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick (★★★☆☆ 1/2 – audiobook, Hoopla, 2025) – I wish another writer had written this book because there’s an important story here, but it just fell flat for me.

(6/10) Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane (★★★☆☆ 1/2 – print, owned, indie bookstore, 2025) – I am really not a fan of a slow-burn romance, but this was like MEGA SLOW BURN. literally nothing happened between the two main characters until the last few pages.

(6/11) Good People by Patmeena Sabit (★★★★☆ – print, owned, Book of the Month, 2026) – a quick-moving novel told from a variety of perspectives about the ripple effects of one family on a community.

(6/15) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 5 by Beth Brower (★★★★★ – audiobook, Hoopla, 2021) – I don’t know how I lived my life before I knew of Emma M. Lion and her wonderful found family.

(6/18) In the Weeds by B.K. Borison (★★☆☆☆ – e-book, Libby, 2022) – a second-chance romance with two exceedingly boring characters who had no chemistry. ymmv, but I loathed this book.

(6/18) Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore by Patric Richardson (★★★★☆ – print, owned, Amazon, 2021) – this book taught me so much about textiles and laundry as a whole, and as a bonus, the author is just a delightful human being.

(6/23) How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin (★★★☆☆ – audiobook, owned, Libby, 2025) – a lackluster mystery with some rather bland characters. I don’t think I’ll continue with this series.

(6/25) All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (★★★★★ – print, owned, author talk, 2025) – a whirlwind book about Elizabeth Gilbert’s love affair with her best friend who is dying from cancer.

(6/26) The Kiss Quotient by Helen Huong (★★★★☆ – print, owned, Book of the Month, 2018) – one of my all-time favorite romances that didn’t quite live up to the hype the second time around, but was still a fun read.

(6/29) A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (★★★★☆ – print, owned, Barnes & Noble, 2025) – this was a wonderfully written book about a witch who has lost her magic and the lengths she’ll go to get it back. (the romance was so sweet!)

(6/29) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 6 by Beth Brower (★★★★★ – audiobook, Hoopla, 2022) – everything about Emma M. Lion makes me smile. she is extraordinary and so are these books.

Book Stats

• # of books read: 11
• # of pages read: 3,609
• Genre breakdown: fiction (5), romance (2), nonfiction (2), mystery (1), fantasy (1)
• Format breakdown: print (6), audiobook (4), ebook (1)
• Fastest read: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping (4 days)
• Slowest read: Cover Story, Good People, and In the Weeds (10 days)
• Biggest reading day: June 26, 2026 (233 pages read, 2 hours, 27 minutes of audiobook listening)
• Star average: 4

Superlatives

• The best book I read in June: All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert
• My favorite romance in June: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Huong
• The book I thought I would love more than I did: In the Weeds by B.K. Borison
• The book that taught me the most: Laundry Love by Patric Richardson
• The book with the most intriguing plot device: Good People by Patmeena Sabit

Reading Miscellaneous

Unread Shelf Project | June prompt: A book with a queer main character: All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was surprised to learn that I don’t have a ton of unread books on my shelves with LGBTQIA+ representation! I chose this book because it has been staring me down, and I finally wanted to see what the buzz was all about. I expected to read the first 30-40 pages and DNF it, but instead, I was captivated from the very first page and couldn’t put this book down for anything. It’s not a perfect book, and it’s definitely not for everyone, but it was the right book for me.

Where I traveled this month (in my books): I spent a lot of time in England, specifically Manchester, London, Dorset, and Lancashire. I also visited Silicon Valley and spent some time in the suburbs of Virginia and a cute Christmas tree farm in Maryland. 🙂

DNFs: One DNF this month – The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. I read a few of the stories, but I just wasn’t vibing with the writing. Hopefully, I can come back to it at some point.

Something I learned from my reading: Oh my goodness, so much about laundry! My biggest takeaways were about the types of products I should be using in my laundry and how to get out very specific stains from textiles.

What’s Coming Up in July

Here are some of the books I’m going to try to get around to reading in July:

• Go Gentle by Maria Semple – I’ve heard so many mixed reviews of this book, so I’m going into it with tempered expectations. I hope I love it, though!
• Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe – This book has been on my TBR list for yeeeears, and I finally put myself on the waiting list for the audiobook. My hold is ready, so I’m diving in soon!
• The Compound by Aisling Rawle – Another book with mixed reviews, especially regarding the ending. We’ll see how I feel about it!
• No Matter What by Cara Bastone – I have read and loved two previous novels by Bastone, so let’s shoot for the trifecta!

What was the best book you read in June?