June was a good month for me. We had gorgeous sunny weather for most of the month so I got to sit out in the garden to read quite a few times, which was lovely. I also got my new glasses, which are great and I got my hospital referral for my dodgy right eye so I’m hoping we can get to the bottom of what is going on with that. It was the anniversary of when my husband and I first got together so we went out for a lovely meal at our favourite restaurant, which was fab!

I read 16 books and I really enjoyed most of them so it was a good reading month for me.

I read three non-fiction books which were all excellent. First up was Quilt on Fire by Christie Watson, which is her story of being a woman in her 40s and all that entails. I could relate to a lot of what she wrote about and really enjoyed reading this one. I also listened to the audiobook of Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which is a short book about the sudden death of her father. I could relate so much too her feelings over the loss of her dad, she expresses how grief is so well. I now want to buy a print copy of this book so that I can read it again. The final non-fiction book I read was Leaving Orbit by Margaret Lazarus Dean and I loved this so much. It’s about the final days of American Spaceflight and it made me so nostalgic and a bit sad. I was obsessed with the space shuttles as a child and am still sad that they’re now retired.

I also read seven crime fiction/thriller books and I enjoyed most of them. I read the next two Mari Hannah books in the Kate Daniels series: Killing for Keeps and Gallows Drop. I devoured them both and am now excited to get to the next book! I also read F is for Fugitive, which was the next book in the Kinsey Millhone series by Sue Grafton. I’m loving my re-read of this series and am keen to start the next one soon. Another crime fiction I enjoyed was Unsolved by Heather Critchlow, which I found a little slow to get going but once I was into the story I just couldn’t put it down. I’ll definitely be looking out for the next book in the series. The thrillers I read were: The Quiet People by Paul Cleave, which I found required a bit too much suspension of disbelief but it was still a book that I had to finish to see how it would end. My Word Against His by Lauren North, which was really gripping and intriguing and I really enjoyed it. Finally I read The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda, which was a strange one for me as I can’t really say I enjoyed it but at the same time I was completely invested and didn’t want to put it down. I’m glad I read it, it had a satisfying ending.

I also read six fiction books in June – five of them I loved and one was just not really what I thought it was going to be. The one I wasn’t sure about was Mrs S by K Patrick – I did like the writing but I just found it difficult to follow, which I think is probably more an issue with me than the book. I read Magma by Thora Hjorleifsdottir via audiobook from the library and I found this such a powerful book. It’s about a controlling, violent relationship and told in vignettes; it’s a book that will stay with me. Another book that I found powerful was Assembly by Natasha Brown, this is a short novel but one that really gets under your skin. I already want to re-read it. I read and really enjoyed Becky by Sarah May; this one was so good and now I want to re-read Vanity Fair! I’ve found a new favourite Jojo Moyes book in Someone Else’s Skin, which was such a fabulous read. I adored it and now want to buy my own copy asap. My favourite book of the month (and quite possibly of the year so far!) is Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld – it’s so funny and relatable and clever. I devoured it and I can’t stop thinking about it ever since I finished it!

Three of the books I read in June are from my 20 Books of Summer list, and given that my plan was to read 20 physical books I can add a swap and count Romantic Comedy as well so that makes four. It means I’m behind schedule but I don’t mind, I still have two months to catch up!

How was June for you? What books did you read during the month? I hope you enjoyed your reading 🙂