I read sixteen books in June, a little less than I have the last few months, mostly because the first half of June was a bit of a whirlwind. I’d been thinking of June as only a medium reading month but when I started composing this newsletter and going back through what I’d read, I was delighted to discover that there were a lot of great reads just waiting for me to remember and recommend them.
My reading categories in June were:
Something set in a different world: Spear by Nicola Griffith
Three queer romances, each in a different sub-genre: You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian, How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly, The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard
A backlist book from an author that I love: Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn
Two books that have been on my shelves for at least six months: Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen, She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
And, once again, something by Louise Erdrich or Maggie O’Farrell: The Distance Between Us by Maggie O’Farrell
In July, I’m keeping things fairly simple. I want to read:
At least four different genres and three different romance sub-genres
Two retellings or reimaginings of a classic story
And, per usual, one book by Louise Erdrich or Maggie O’Farrell
Let’s get to my June reads:
Favorites of the month
Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn (Chance of a Lifetime #2)
After winning the lottery, guilt-ridden attorney Zoe Ferris sets out to make amends and winds up agreeing to pretend to be the fiancee of a man whose family her former firm treated terribly in a wrongful death case. This is a deeply felt enemies to lovers romance, an emotional look at trauma and the slow, thorny process of healing, and a beautiful portrait of friendship and the power of letting people love you for all your bad parts as well as your good ones. There's a lot of messiness in this book but there's a lot of grace too and possibly one of the best confessions of love I've read in ages. I'm not normally super into quiet, brooding heroes but Clayborn brings a complexity and care to Aiden that made me buy completely into his and Zoe's argumentative, affectionate dynamic. I also love the way she writes about friendship and Zoe, Kit, and Greer's deep and loving bond, which for me shines just as brightly as the romance does. (Open door, medium steam.)
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
This historical romance between a baseball player in the worst slump of his life and the grieving journalist assigned to cover his spectacularly terrible season is 2% plot and 98% Feelings and Vibes and I loved it. Sebastian writes with wit, warmth, and the perfect balance of compassion and ferocity. There are so many good sentences in this book that I wanted to annotate it and she has an astonishing knack for perfect character details. Everyone in this book, from Mark and Eddie to each one of the supporting characters, feels real and richly realized. I loved how New York this is, how slow burn this is, and how heartbreakingly hopeful this is. My romance book club read and adored this in June and I think it’d be a great pick if you’re looking for a romance for a book club of your own. (Open door, low steam.)
Spear by Nicola Griffith
After a childhood spent hidden away in a cave with her mother, an unlikely hero sets out on a bony gelding to prove herself at the court of King Artos and encounters magic, mystery, battle, and even love along the way. I was enchanted by this imaginative, enthralling queer retelling of the Percival myth that possesses both a compelling hero at its center and the mythic, epic feeling Arthurian retellings have at their best. I loved how this felt both deeply researched, complete with extensive author's note at the end, and deeply magical. It's a smart, fresh take on a frequently told legend that I would have read hundreds more pages of and has me ready to start an Arthurian summer.
Really liked
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
A lush, atmospheric slow-burn fantasy set in Golden Age Spain, about a lowly servant girl with a hidden Jewish heritage whose magical gifts catapult her into the dangerous world of the royal court and the mysterious familiar tasked with helping her. I’ve been a big fan of Bardugo’s writing ever since the Grisha Trilogy and I savored the court intrigue, the immersive sense of time and place, the surprising secondary characters and the seemingly star-crossed romance. Her version of magic is gritty, grounded, and utterly enthralling. Power always comes with consequences in Bardugo’s worlds and I’m fascinated by how she explores the bloody reality of our wishes coming true.
Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
When romance author Truly St. James and divorce attorney Colin McCrory first meet giving advice as guests on a podcast, they clash disastrously. But they might also be really into each other? This romance from one of my go-to authors is very light on plot but very heavy on banter and sexual tension. I loved how soft and utterly weak for Truly Colin was, their teasing and fabulously snappy back-and-forth, and even the copious musical theater references. I also really appreciated that both protagonists are bisexual and the thoughtful way that Bellefleur writes about Truly's bisexuality. This one just felt fun and is something I could see myself returning to whenever I want a comfort read. (Open door, seriously high steam.)
How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly
A deeply kind, thoughtful, and generous sapphic sports romance between Julie, the sunshine-y coach of a high school basketball team, and the retired college basketball star Elle, who also happens to be the new foster parent of one of Julie’s players. I deeply appreciate how Kelly lets their characters exist in a place where they're still all figuring it out and work their way to a happy ending anyway. Elle and Julie are both wonderfully developed and lovable main characters and there's fabulous supporting characters as well, including appearances from the previous couples in the series. I also adored how this book talks about labels and identity and leaves space for Julie to discover herself in a really lovely way. It's a celebration not just of romantic love, but of familial love, of friendship, and of the love of basketball. (Open door, medium steam.)
Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter
When one of the original child influencers, now a teenager, goes missing, her sister Hazel throws herself into the darkest parts of Evie’s world to find her. I don't read very many thrillers but found this one to be a really compelling and thought-provoking look at the sinister side of influencer culture. I was totally hooked and gulped it down in a day, staying up way past my bedtime to finish it. I also really liked how Muenter incorporates multi-media elements (Reddit threads, podcast transcripts etc) and how smartly she writes about the Internet. There were passages when I found myself nodding along and even shifting a little uncomfortably in my seat as I recognized a bit of my own dysfunctional relationship with my phone.
She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
A sweet, sharp, deeply charming YA f/f romance that features fake dating between basketball player Scottie and queen bee cheerleader Irene, just the right amount of high school drama, and a really well done storyline about Scottie’s healing as she works to get over her toxic ex, as well as lovely secondary relationships with her family and best friend. I was particularly fond of Scottie’s relationship with her two sisters and of the fun dynamics that emerge as Scottie and Irene’s friendship groups combine. This channels teen rom-coms at their best and is crying out to be adapted into a movie somewhere.
Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen
After detective Evander Mills is caught in a gay bar and fired from the San Francisco Police Department, he finds himself being recruited to solve a mysterious death in Lavender House, an estate whose queer residents can live freely behind its gates but that also holds a potent blend of family secrets and intrigue. This 1950’s set mystery felt so original and well researched and shines a light on a fascinating but less-frequently-depicted time in queer history. The supporting characters and sense of place are great, the mystery is satisfying, and the whole book comes together in a wonderfully atmospheric way.
A Rome of One's Own: The Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire by Emma Southon
Smart, funny, and deeply researched in a way that thrilled my history nerd heart. I really enjoyed this history of the forgotten women of the Roman Empire and how it not just brings their stories to life, but highlights the way that the history of Rome has traditionally been told over the years and how the role of women has been erased. Southon writes in a style that feels accessible and enthusiastic and I'm already itching to pick up her previous book on the history of murder in Rome.
Exit Strategy and Network Effect by Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries #4 and #5)
This action-packed sci-fi series about a snarky security droid who just wants to be left alone to watch its media but keeps on getting attached to humans who happen to be need of saving is not exactly my usual thing but also one of my favorite reading experiences of this year? I really enjoy how Wells crafts a distinctive narrative voice, builds a fully fleshed out world without ever info-dumping and writes action scenes that feel fresh, exciting, and easy to visualize in a way that's pleasingly cinematic. The pacing is top-notch and watching Murderbot slowly develop relationships with both its humans and a sarcastic research transport is one of my favorite depictions of friendship I’ve read recently.
I liked it a lot more post-book club?
Caucasia by Danzy Senna
This sprawling first novel from an accomplished author is a novel of ideas, a family saga, and a pointed look at the many shapes the oppressive forces of white supremacy take, as it follows two biracial sisters separated by their parents and one’s experience being forced to pass as white by their mother. I do think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been about 75 pages shorter, particularly in a middle section set in New Hampshire that seemed to go on and on. However, I really liked the vividly described 1970’s setting and Birdie’s narrative voice. This was the FictionMatters book club pick and it was absolutely enriched by the lively, thoughtful discussion we had.
Liked, with some quibbles
The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard
This sweeping space opera centered on a sentient spaceship and a former scavenger who enter into a marriage of convenience was mostly successful for me but is definitely not an everyone book. It's set in a complex, rich sci-fi world that gets unraveled bit by bit but still leaves some elements unexplained or up to the reader’s imagination. I did want a little more build up to the central romance, which is somehow both a fast and a slow burn at the same time. What I did relish was the blend of yearning and action, the creativity on display in the world-building, and the way it discusses both how good intentions can go awry and how to rebuild them. I'm also inclined to give extra points to anything that's a little bit bonkers and that's trying new things and this one goes all in. (Open door, medium steam on the lower end.)
The Distance Between Us by Maggie O’Farrell
This is probably my favorite of the three backlist O'Farrell titles I've read this year but it still feels to me like she’s exploring elements here that she’ll return to more successfully in later titles. There's already a luminous, precise yet dreamy quality to her prose and the sense of place in this one is particularly good, especially in the sections that take place in Hong Kong. I also really enjoyed the snippets of family history that we get, where O'Farrell perfectly conjures up a lifetime in the span of a few pages, and the exploration of complex familial relationships. The element that was less successful for me was the star-crossed love story between Jake and Stella, which leans heavily on the largely unspoken but powerfully felt connection between them and that I don't think I totally bought. There's some gorgeous writing here but when I started asking myself why Jake and Stella were so drawn to each other, the book lost a little of its power for me.
Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman
When her famed naturalist father is found alive after his mysterious disappearance twenty years ago, scientist Christa Liddle is forced to leave her beloved sea snails and finds herself and her family once again in the spotlight…and herself unexpectedly attracted to a childhood friend. Where this book really shone for me was in Christa's relationship with her mother and sisters and her fresh and funny narrative voice. I laughed out loud multiple times and was charmed by Christa's passion for science. The romance is sweet but leans a little hard on the "I saw you and I just knew" trope for my taste and I ultimately wanted to spend more time with Christa and her family than with Christa and Nate. (Open door, medium steam.)
Currently reading: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune and dreaming of Prince Edward Island.
Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:
Hot and Bothered kicked off its ten-episode series on Meg Ryan with an episode on Sleepless in Seattle and it’s ridiculously thoughtful and good. I’ve been loving the whole rom-com themed season of this podcast and it just keeps on getting better.
The arrival of Pop Up Bagels and their compact, pleasingly chewy bagels on the Upper East Side.
The Broadway dance HIIT workouts I recently discovered on YouTube, which have me happily bouncing around my living room, finger pointing and hip shaking my heart out with joyous abandon.
I will be prioritizing The Familiar once it gets a little closer to spooky season im excited!
I need to know more about these Broadway dance workouts! What are they called? (And thank you for all these reviews!!)