What I read in June 2024

Hey guys, I can't believe we're already in July. Normally I have a bit more time into the month before writing this, but since yesterday was the first day in July, I had to rush and finish writing this one. I got back from my trip on Sunday, and got quite a bit of reading done while I was away. I always read when I'm on a plane, and at night when I relax after a long day out. Well, let's get into what I read in June!

please note that anything with an asterisk (*) was an ARC I received. It didn't change my opinion of the book, but just for transparency's sake, I want to make it clear that I was gifted a copy of those books.

The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry - ★★★

This was the first book I read by Lucinda Berry. I think I received this book as an Amazon Prime free reading book a few years back, so it was exciting when my book club wanted to read this one, since I already owned it!

I had high hopes for this thriller book. The writing was good, the build up was good, but unfortunately I was a little bit disappointed by this one in the end. Even though the ending wasn't really what I envisioned, I still want to check out some other books Lucinda Berry has written since I really enjoyed her writing!

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang - ★★★★

This is a book that's been on my TBR for a while now, and I'm so glad I read this one. The story follows June who is there when her friend Athena passes away. While at her apartment she steal's Athena's manuscript and passes it as her own work. It's interesting that this story works, because it's difficult to read a first person narrative when the character is as unlikable as June. This story was infuriating, fast paced, addicting, and made me feel so many emotions while reading. This is a satirical fiction that covers a ranges of topics such as racism, diversity in the writing industry, and cultural appropriation via plagiarism. R.F. Kuang writes this in a way that is easy to digest.

As uncomfortable as it is to read a book like this one, I'm pretty sure that's the point. I highly recommend everyone check out this book, and I can't wait to read some of her other books!

Riding the Sugar High by Letizia Lorini* - ★★★¼

You should all know by now that I'm a huge fan of Letizia Lorini, so I was so honored when I was chosen to receive an ARC for her latest novel. This was a grumpy/sunshine, candy maker/farmer, Plus-sized FMC/biker MMC romance. This was a super cute romance, and there were a lot of elements I loved about this one. I also loved that we got to see some of the characters from past books!

There were a few elements in the book that I wasn't the biggest fan of. Firstly, I wish there was more of an emotional build up. I felt like they fought almost constantly, and didn't really have the chance for their relationship to grow at a steady enough pace, so it felt a bit insta-love-y for me. I also felt like Logan was borderline too grumpy? While he was a true grump, I also felt like he extremely rude to Prim on multiple occasions and somehow she completely overlooked it and fell in love with him despite him being extremely callous towards her. I just felt like something was missing in this story. Something that would bump this one from a 3.5★s to a 4★ or above.

While it was personally not my favorite of her books (my favorite is The Wedding Menu), I still enjoyed this one, and I highly recommend you check her books out!

Face Off by Chelsea Curto* - ★★★★¾

I was super excited when Chelsea announced that she was going to come out with a hockey romance. Not only is she amazing at writing romance in general, but it’s one of my favorite sport romances genres (I flip flop between football and hockey being my favorite).

Not only was this going to be a hockey romance, but the main character was going to be Maverick, one of Dallas’ best friends. Now let me tell you, this book was everything I expected it to be and more.

The slow burn this story had was so perfect, especially considering the type of character Emmy was. Seeing them grow from team mates to friends to lovers, all while Emmy became a part of the D.C. Stars family was so fun to read. I loved every single character in this book, and it was nice to get glimpses of characters from past books too!

There was no third act breakup which is always refreshing! While there’s nothing wrong about a third act breakup, the fact that this phrase even exists shows that it’s part of the traditional romance formula. Whenever an author breaks away from creating a silly third act breakup when it’s really not necessary, I am more than pleased.

Overall, Chelsea knocks it out of the park again with another amazing story. I can’t wait for her next one! Highly recommend.

Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka* - ★★★½

I'm a sucker for a heist themed plot. Over the years I have enjoyed Six of Crows (which is a YA fantasy heist duology) and the Heist Society by Ally Carter (a YA contemporary heist series). When I saw one of my favorite author duos was going to create a YA heist, I was super excited. This follows an heiress that lost everything after her father kicked her and her mother out of their home.

In a fit of rage, Olivia decides to get revenge. She gets together a team of people to put together a heist against her father. Her goal? Steal some money from him. Overall, this story was fast paced, had short chapters, and some really likable characters. While I honestly could have done without the romance, because I felt like it sometimes took away from the drama of the actual heist. I also felt like Olivia was a bit of an annoying character at times, but overall this was a really fun read!

Not Safe For Work by Lindsey Lanza* - ★★★½

This was a really cute “it was always you” fake dating work romance. While I found some of the story to be super cheesy, I also didn’t mind, since I was in the mood for a summer romance. I really liked the mention of all the ways women are treated differently in the work place, it was very relatable. I kind of wish I read the first book in the series first, because even though they’re a standalone interconnected series, I think I would have been much more excited to see the appearance of the couple from the first book if I had read it first.

I’m definitely going to go back and read the first one though! Can’t wait to check out more of her stuff.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center* - ★★★★★

Can I say, after reading The Bodyguard and falling in love with Katherine Center’s writing, I’ve been excited for every new release since. I was so honored to have been contacted to receive an ARC to this one, and am even more excited to talk about since it was SO GOOD!

I loved every second of this book. This book kind of gave me The Roughest Draft vibes (which if you didn’t know, is one of my favorite books). This story was a screenwriters romance. I don't know what it is about romances about writers, but every single one I've read is really good (Beach Read, The Roughest Draft, now this one!).

Now onto the actual plot, this story follows Emma, who put her dreams to the side when her father had a really tragic accident, leaving him to need constant care. About 10 years pass, and an opportunity of a lifetime arises. The chance to work with her favorite screenwriter, Charlie. Emma's sister steps in as caretaker, so Emma can fly to LA for six weeks to help with Charlie's screenplay.

This story had the perfect build up and were about these really beautifully developed characters. There were so many ways I felt like I related to the characters, and was completely rooting for them the entire way. One of my favorite reads of the year, highly recommend!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune - ★★★★

I've seen people rave about this all over the internet, and when I got the chance to listen to this one on Libby, I took the chance. I actually really enjoyed the story. It follows a social worker who lives in a fantasy world where mystical creatures are looked down upon. And our main character is given an objective to go and check on a foster home that's full of different species of children.

From there, he learns to look at things no solely from black and white, but to see things in shades of gray.

I really loved all of the children, and even though I really enjoyed this one, I'm not sure I recommend it after reading some of the other reviews on Goodreads and realizing that this book is a bit controversial.

Yona of the Dawn (Vol 1-7) by Mizuho Kusanagi - ★★★★★

If any of you are on Booktube, you know who Clockwork Reader is. She’s one of the OG booktubers. While I don’t always agree with her book reviews, I love that she recommends books that are outside of what people usually recommend.

One of the books that she always recommends is the manga Yona of the Dawn. It’s taken me at least a year or two to give them a try, but I have binged the first 7 volumes of the series.

It’s a historical fantasy action with a tiny bit of romance thrown in. It has anything you could ever want in a story. It’s funny, you fall in love with all the characters, and the romance is a super slow burn. Highly recommend this series as of now!

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Folley* - ★★★

I was so excited when I received the ARC for this one, mainly because I know how well loved she is in the thriller genre. I have had a few of her books on my TBR, and when I got the chance to read this early, it was exciting. There were a few things right off the bat that I really loved. The writing style is interesting, and easy to keep up with. The dual timelines is a thing I've come to realize I really like a lot of the time. And the multiple POVs were also really interesting.

While this one kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the story, I was extremely disappointed in most of the plot twists. There were a few really good ones that shocked me. Overall this one didn't wow me, but I will definitely still check out those other books that are on my TBR cause of her writing style.

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune - ★★★★★

When I saw all of my favorite people rate this highly, I knew I was going to love it. So I didn't read it for over a year after I purchased it. Sometimes I like to wait for the perfect moment to read a book I know I'm going to love, which is exactly what I did here. This is one of the 2 paperbacks I brought with me when I went to Florida at the end of June, and let me tell you...I devoured it. I think I read it in a day? Maybe a day and a half?

This story had all of the ingredients for a 5 star read. I loved the writing style. It was dual-timeline, which is the best way to create a history between two people. It was a best friends to lovers to strangers to lovers again. Their friendship was so beautiful, I honestly fell in love with these two brothers and Percy. Now, I will say, I kind of knew what negative trope was going to be in this book, because of spoilers online, but let me tell you. Even with me kinda sorta knowing what was going to happen going into this, I wasn't prepared when everything unfolded. I was beyond shocked. It was worse than I thought it was going to be, and my heart broke in a million pieces.

And even though I'm so happy these two got their happy ended, because these things do happen, and the way this unfolded felt very realistic, I definitely felt a bit conflicted. But that's obviously me putting my personal opinions on everything that unfolded.

I don't want to say too much, because I don't want to spoil anything. If you haven't read this, I still 100% recommend this, and I personally look forward to reading some of her other books!

You, with a View by Jessica Joyce - ★★★★★

This book was soooo good. I have to lead up with that. It was written so well, had a really fun and unique spin on some of my favorite tropes. Did an amazing job talking about grief, and the author wrote it in a way that was so different, that it just made me ache and feel so emotional while reading.

The romance and budding friendships with the characters in this story is so heartwarming. The talk about the pressure of success or trying to be successful was a really great conversation had throughout this book. I honestly think it's best going into this blind, just knowing it's a really good book. Highly recommend this one. Another favorite of the year for sure.

TBR for June:

• Legendary by Stephanie Garber (currently reading)
• Riding the Sugar High by Letizia Lorini ✔️
• Face Off by Chelsea Curto ✔️
• Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka ✔️
• Not Safe For Work by Lindsey Lanza ✔️
• The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley ✔️
• The Romcomers by Katherine Center ✔️
• The Long Game by Elena Armas (started in June, and finished the 1st of July)✔️
• Every Summer After by Carley Fortune✔️
• You With A View by Jessica Joyce✔️
• Wildfire by Hannah Grace (also currently reading)

Tentative TBR for July:

• Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
• Legendary by Stephanie Garber
• Funny Story by Emily Henry
• The Backtrack by Erin La Rosa
• The Fiance Dilemma by Elena Armas
• The Good Part by Sophie Cousens
• Funny Feelings by Tareh Dewitt
• The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
• The Comeback by Lily Chu
• Out On a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young
• Wildfire by Hannah Grace

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June was obviously a great month for reading! So many highly rated books. What did you guys read last month? Anything you recommend? Let me know, cause I'd love to add it to my TBR xx