June felt like a slower reading month, which is probably due to the fact that I read a few three-star reads that I just never felt excited to pick up. But I still managed to finish 8 books and I’m on pace to finish 110 by the end of the year. (Whoa.) Here are some of the more notable reads from June:
Top Read of the Month
Title: You Are a Badass
Author: Jen Sincero
Published: 2013
Rating: ★★★★★
I want to preface my review of this book by saying it is not for everyone. It is the kind of woo-woo self-help that only appeals to a certain section of people who believe in stuff like the Law of Attraction and visualizations and The Universe. For me, this book was life-changing and has me completely shifting the way I talk about myself and my goals. Jen Sincero feels like that kind of friend you can count on to be encouraging, but one who will also call you out on your bullshit when it’s warranted. This book was divided into 27 chapters, all delving into a different part of blasting away your fears and truly succeeding in the goals you set. As a single woman who is nearing thirty, I especially loved the chapters that related to dating and romance. I am someone who tends to be very sarcastic and self-deprecating when it comes to my own love life, which is truly just a defense mechanism, and this book helped me to see how to view my romantic life in a different light. (Add to Goodreads.)
Top Romance of the Month
Title: The Marriage Contract
Author: Katee Robert
Published: 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆
This was my first experience reading Katee Robert, an author I found through Leigh Kramer’s blog (she has yet to steer me wrong on romance!) Romance authors can be hit or miss with some veering a little too cheesy for my liking. For my romances, I’m looking for good writing, not-too-corny dialogue, and sizzling chemistry between the two main characters. This novel was all of that and more. It follows Teague and Callie, who belong to two of the most dangerous mob families in Boston, and whose fathers arrange their marriage as a sort of “business alliance.” Obviously, Teague and Callie aren’t pleased with this development – until they meet one another and sparks fly. Teague is immediately drawn to Callie and this need to protect her, while Callie is still reeling from a tragic incident and is attracted to Teague’s steady and sensitive nature. It’s the type of romance that had me feeling the loss of these two dynamic characters when I finished the novel, so I encourage romance lovers to give Katee Robert a try! (Add to Goodreads.)
Other Notable Reads
Title: The Nightingale
Author: Kristin Hannah
Published: 2015
Rating: ★★★★★
This novel follows two sisters who are living in France during World War II and all the ways this war affects them. Isabelle, the younger sister who has a penchant for rashness, joins up with the resistance efforts while Vianne, the older sister who is married with a child, has to hold down the home front when her husband is sent off to fight in the war. This is one of those classic World War II novels that helped to educate me on a part of the war I knew nothing about: how the Nazi occupation of France affected the women who were left behind. And, to be quite honest, it was rather frightening to read this novel with the political climate we’re in currently and realizing what happened then could indeed happen today. It was the kind of book that had me crying through chapters and thinking, “How can people treat other human beings this way?” (<– Also why I don’t enjoy reading WWII novels. They just rip me apart.) It’s a novel I highly recommend and one that will stick with me for a long, long time. (Add to Goodreads.)
Title: A Rogue By Any Other Name
Author: Sarah MacLean
Published: 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆
A Rogue By Any Other Name begins a new series by MacLean called “The Rules of Scoundrels,” and if the first book in the series is anything to go by, this is going to be one sensational series. What I love most about MacLean’s books is that the protagonists are fiercely feminist and the troubles they get into are unlike anything I’ve seen in Regency romances. This book follows the love story of Bourne, who is a partner in London’s most exclusive gaming hell, and Penelope, who, after a broken engagement six years ago and a string of lackluster courtships, just doesn’t think she’s interested in marriage anymore. But then her father sweetens the pot for her suitors by offering additional land – land that Bourne believes is rightfully his. And so he marries her and Penelope is thrust into a marriage she doesn’t think she wants, but is probably exactly what she needs. (Add to Goodreads.)
Other June reads: Unexpected Rush by Jaci Burton (★★☆☆☆), The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers (★★★☆☆), Risk No Secrets by Cindy Gerard (★★★★★), and When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (★★★☆☆)
What was the best book you read in June?
Wow, you are blowing your reading goal out of the water! Way to go! I am glad that you liked The Nightingale so much. That is probably my favorite WWII novel. It was so phenomenally written. I loved hearing about women’s role in the resistance and love that it was based on a true story. I rarely re-read books but this is one that I might need to re-read some day!
June as sort of a meh reading month for me as well. I had to push myself through some of the books I read. I did abandon one book after 30 pages, though, so I am getting better at giving up on books (and as I type this, I’m realizing I need to give up on the book I started last night because I don’t feel excited to pick it back up – it’s a book I’ve owned for years and was going to read for my ‘read 6 books I own’ reading goal but I need to stop and put it in the donation pile). The best book I read was Behold the Dreamers. It was so good but so heart breaking. I’m so drawn to immigrant stories given the climate in our country. I wish people who were opposed to immigration would read books like this one because it might open their eyes to the plight of others. I’m so glad that Oprah picked it for her book club because maybe others who wouldn’t have read it will read it!
I loved The Nightingale, although I agree, it’s hard stuff to read and I also thought so many times “how can people treat other people like that???”…
Thanks for the recommendations. I only managed to read 4 books this month, but I enjoyed them all… especially ‘The Signature of all Things’ by Elizabeth Gilbert.
You Are a Badass has long been on my to-read list, but I have a feeling I might be one of those not-quite-for-me people. I still want to try, though! I read the diary of Anne Frank last month & was really moved by it; I’m not sure I’d ever read it before?!