June Book Review

Well - I read eight books this month. EIGHT! I cannot believe that I actually read that many books, but I discovered some books sitting in my "to be read" list on Audible & I "read" those while I was working & driving to & fro! I hope you enjoy my review of my June books! 

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston: The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she's given a name & location by her mysterious boss Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town & the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Summers. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn't privy to Mr. Smith's real identity, but she knows this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin, & she's starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can't make any mistakes - especially after what happened last time. 

Because the one thing she's worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to - her real identity - just walked right into this town. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past, while making sure she's there's still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn't be higher - but then, Evie always liked a challenge...

Rating: ⭐⭐of five: I will preface this by saying this was an audio book and maybe the twists & turns didn't quite pan out as well when I was listening versus reading? I just didn't find the characters likeable, so it was hard to root for them - if that makes sense? It was good - but just not great! 

Bad Luck Bridesmaid by Alison Rose Greenberg: It's official: Zoey Marks is the cursed bridesmaid that no engagement can survive. Ten years, three empire waist dresses & ZERO brides have walked down the aisle. 

After strike three, Zoey is left wondering if her own ambivalence towards marriage has rubbed off on those she loves. And when her building distrust of matrimony culminates in turning down a proposal from her perfect, All-American boyfriend, Rylan Harper III, she & Ryan are both left heartbroken, leaving Zoey to wonder: what is it exactly about tying the knot that makes her want to run in the opposite direction?

Enter Hannah Green: Zoey's best friend, who announces that she's marrying a guy she just (cue eye roll). At a castle. In gorgeous, romantic Ireland, where Rylan will be in attendance, & Zoey will be a bridesmaid. It'll be fine. Okay, the woman definition of fine (NOT FINE). 

Determined to turn her luck around, Zoey accepts her role & vows to get Hannah down the aisle - all the while praying her best friend's wedded bliss will allow her to embrace marriage & get Rylan back. But as the weekend goes on, Zoey is plagued with more questions than answers. Can you be a free spirit yet still want a certain future? Can you love & be loved on your own terms? And how DO you wrangle a bossy falcon into doing your bidding?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five: I really enjoyed this book; it was a $6.99 Amazon recommendation and while most people gave it less than four stars, I found Zoey's story really enjoyable. Her character was loveable and the storyline was realistic and amusing - I really loved reading this little book! 

You Deserve Good Gelato by Kacie Rose: Kacie decided to leave her life as a pro dance in New York City & move to Italy in 2021 - & she never looked back. Okay, that isn't strictly true...

In You Deserve Good Gelato, Kacie reflects on the pure terror of driving on Italian roads, the trials of speaking a new language (& getting it horribly, horribly wrong) & the genuine beauty of a slower pace of life, with all humor & heart. And by sharing her personal stories of life under the Tuscan sun, Kacie explains how travel is a privilege, why cultural differences are the coolest things in the world & how there's a positive you can take away from literally any situation. 

You Deserve Good Gelato will have you buying that ticket & embracing this big, beautiful world that we call home. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of five: I enjoyed this book and it was a very quick and easy read! I love watching Kacie on social media & I loved hearing more about the Italian lifestyle; I loved visiting Italy back in 2018, and would love to return again one day! I would say it's technically a 3.5 out of five, but I can't choose half a star. 😏

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali: In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie & her mother to move to a tiny home in downtown. Lonely & bearing the brunt of her mother's endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation. 

Luckily on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave & irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa's warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, & share their ambitions for becoming "lion women".

But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie & her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls' school in Iran, Ellie's memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie's privileged world alters the course of both of their lives. 

Together, the two young women come of age & pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐of five: This book was just excellent! It shone a light on a part of the world that I honestly don't know that much about & provided insight into the lives of girls in Tehran as their country went from being more free to chained all over again. It was a really touching book as well, portraying a friendship that stood the test of a betrayal, time & distance. 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas: In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves & warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the King's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. 

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass - & it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, & a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.  

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of five: This book was good... but it did take me until the last fifty pages or so to really get invested in the characters; it was definitely a slow build. I have to say that out of the three series that Maas has written, this one has been my least favorite - but I also have only read one of the seven books. I am interested in continuing the series because I hear it gets better as it goes. 

The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick: Not far from Luella & Effie Tildon's large family mansion in Inwood looms the House of Mercy, a work house for wayward girls. The sisters grow up under its shadow with the understanding that even as wealth young women, their freedoms come with limits. But when the sisters accidentally discover a shocking secret about their father, Luella, the brazen older sister, becomes emboldened to do as she pleases. 

But her rebellion comes with consequences, & one morning Luella is mysteriously gone. Effie suspects her father has made good on his threat to send Luella to the House of Mercy & hatches a plan to get herself committed to save her sister. But she made a miscalculation, & with no one to believe her story, Effie's escape from the House of Mercy seems impossible - unless she can trust an enigmatic girl named Mable. As their fates entwine, Mable & Effie must rely on each other & their tenuous friendship to survive. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five: This was a second audiobook this month & I really enjoyed this one! It's based on the very real House of Mercy that was once in NYC & the women who were imprisoned there. The story was very compelling; at times heart-breaking, and I was surprised to learn about the historical accuracy @ the end of the book. This was a great read!

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters: July 1962; a Mi'kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks late, four-year-old Ruthie, the family's youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister's disappearance for years to come. 

In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams & visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren't telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five: The third audiobook of the month; this was another great read! The story goes back & forth between Joe & Norma (Ruthie) as they go through life after Ruthie's disappearance & how this moment changes both of their lives forever. This story was a pretty "quick" read & I really enjoyed this story. 

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover: Quinn & Graham's perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes & secrets they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ of five: Oooh - this book hit really close to home. The couple are struggling to have a baby & in the midst of that struggle, they have lost sight of all the good in their marriage since they are missing that one thing - a baby. It was a really great read & a reminder to be thankful for a wonderful marriage & the many blessings you do have! 

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This may be the most I read in a month; I don't know if I can top this, ha-ha! But we shall see! With the year halfway through, I've read thirty-three books and I am twelve ahead of my goal to read forty-five books this year. Something tells me I'll meet my goal!