Hello everyone! I can’t believe June is already over and that we’re halfway through the year. So far I have exceeded all goals I set myself for reading and am confident I’ll reach my goal of reading 100 books this year! June has been a busy month in both book buying and social life. I managed to read 13 books this month, which is pretty good going and of those 13 I found 6 that I really loved:

The Good – I was really lucky with the books I read this month, there was only one that I considered average at best. I was lucky enough to trust my gut when it came to picking out new things to read and have discovered some new authors along the way. Rediscovering my Kindle app has definitely impacted the level of books I read a month and has proved as useful distraction for when I’m feeling low or struggling with anxiety. I have read 5 murder mysteries with various sub-genres and found that I read them with the joy of adrenaline pumping through my veins. I also read 6 Children’s Books (ages 9-12) and was particularly impressed with The Umbrella Mouse by Anna Fargher, a book set in WWII and it was not lost on me that I picked it up just days before the D-Day remembrance.

I am obsessed with the two Jo Spain books I read. ‘With Our Blessing’ was my first dive into her work and I found the book to be rich in characters and description. I also learnt a lot about Ireland while I was reading and I found that aspect of it to be really interesting. I enjoy books that I can learn from. ‘The Confession’ was an adrenaline junkie book because my heart was thumping from beginning to end, trying to work out what had happened/was going to happen.

The book that had me on the fence was Karen Rose’s ‘Closer Than You Think’. It was another adrenaline junkie read and I did really enjoy it. The only part that made me slightly uncomfortable was the intense sexualised relationship between two of the characters. Not, because I am against that or a prude or anything but because it seemed too rushed and the characters became less real to me because of it. I didn’t think it was particularly realistic to dive into bed with someone when you haven’t even known them a week! It just made me think I was reading Fanfiction without a plot. It was the only part of the story that rubbed me the wrong way, I loved everything else about it and I am still eager to try more of Karen Rose’s work.

The Bad – There was really only one book this month that fell into this category and that was ‘Scavengers’ by Darren Simpson. The blurb of this was really promising and it was an impulse buy for me. Though the beginning of the book started off strong, it took me a couple of chapters to make sense of what was happening. The names used to show how Landfill has grown didn’t filter through my brain very well. I found my literal processing to be messed up while reading this and had to slow my reading right down to understand what was happening. It was frustrating to have such a problem with my processing and I know it affected my overall read of this. Once I got through all the bizarre names, it was somewhat easier to understand the book, but I still had moments of issue. The biggest part that has landed this in the bad section was the ending. The analogy I’m going to use is called ‘Chorus Line of Doom’.

Let me explain – A couple of years ago I saw The Chorus Line at the theatre with my parents. They loved it. I was confused and angry. In my mind the musical cuts off in the middle, like someone couldn’t be bothered to finish the story and that grates on me so bad.

I felt that ‘Scavenger’ did the same. It wasn’t a cliffhanger ending , it was a ‘I don’t understand what has happened, where is the conclusion’ ending. The book became chalk while I was cheese.

Below you can see the 13 books I read this month and find links to the reviews I did:

Review 1 – The Umbrella Mouse by Anna Fargher 4.5 Stars

Review 2 – The Kingdom of Exiles (The Outcast Series) by S.B. Nova 4 Stars

Review 3 – Lost by Eve Ainsworth 4 Stars

Review 4 – Scavengers by Daren Simpson 3 Stars

Review 5 – The Secret Dragon by Ed Clarke 4 Stars

Review 6 – The Garden of Lost Secrets by A.M. Howell 4.5 Stars

Review 7 – The Murder of Patience Brooke by J.C. Briggs 5 Stars

Review 8 – With Our Blessing (An Inspector Tom Reynolds Mystery) by Jo Spain 5 Stars

Review 9 – The Malamander by Thomas Taylor 4 Stars

Review 10 – The Confession by Jo Spain 5 Stars

Review 11 – Cogheart by Peter Bunzl 3.5 Stars

Review 12 – The Corset by Laura Purcell 5 Stars

Review 13 – Closer Than You Think by Karen Rose 4 Stars

Moving into July, I have two goal.

(1) Make a dent in the books that are doubled lined on my shelf.

(2) Stop buying books that are the first in a series! Read more books that are stand alone.

Around book reading, in July I have a Theatre outing, a Hen party and very excitingly (to me) I am going on a Llama Trek which is an hour and a half evening walk where you’re paired with a Llama. I LOVE Llamas & Alpacas, so I’m super excited for this.

Let me know your July book goals!