I’m a little late with getting this wrap-up done, and I blame my nemesis. Which in June was literally the book Nemesis by Agatha Christie. I really liked it when I first picked it up but then it just dragged. And I had the hardest time finishing the last 75 pages. I mean, it took days. And days. And days. I kept falling asleep trying to get through it. I finally finished it this morning, but I’m counting it for June because 1. I read most of it in June and 2. I don’t want to revisit Nemesis in a month. Sorry, not sorry.

Thanks to audiobooks I got a TON of novels in this month. But only two physical books. Hopefully July is better in that regard – I’ve got what look to be some great summer reads sitting on my shelf!

June Reads

• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. 5 Stairs. Narrated by the author, Neil Gaiman did a fantastic job immersing me into the world of the Nordic gods. Highly recommend listening to the audio for this one!
• Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. 5 Stairs. If I had to pick one word to describe this book it would be GLAMOROUS. The setting. The characters. The story. The romance. The perfume. Grace Kelly. It all pulls together for a beautiful, lovely, romantic, glamorous gem. Beautiful read for a summer getaway, or a poolside escape.
• The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. 5 Stairs. This book was so fantastic. It was nothing like I expected, but everything I could have hoped for. Southern housewives in a true crime book club. One of the members begins to suspect their new neighbor is up to foul play. A super fun read that pulls in a lot of genres – women’s fiction, horror, true crime. And it works.
• The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. 5 Stairs. A lonely woman driven by grief tries to out-smart a murderer in this page-turning psychological thriller. Highly recommend!
• The Broken Girls by Simone St. James. 5 Stairs. This is such a fun, atmospheric novel, alternating between the past and the present to tell the story of boarding school Idlewild Hall. A real page turner, with just the right amount of the paranormal.
• The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. 4.5 Stairs. A great suspense story – we follow Hannah as she tries to piece together why her husband suddenly disappeared, leaving a cryptic note (“Protect her”) and a large amount of cash in his daughter’s school locker.
• The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu. 4 Stairs. I love a good ghost story, and this book is full of them. Great start to a new series, creating a dark world full of mystery with plenty of humor and heart.
• Thief of Souls by Brian Klingborg. 4 Stairs. This was a really good police procedural. The setting (China) added an interesting perspective and gave what could have been a typical police procedure a refreshing twist. I enjoyed Lu’s character and look forward to further novels in this series.
• Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson. 4 Stairs. I’m a huge fan of Jenny Lawson’s blog (The Bloggess). If you’ve read her blog, you’ve got a pretty good idea of the kind of things you will find in her memoir. It’s a fantastic mix of laugh-out-loud funny (her arguments with her husband Victor are my favorite), a little bizarre, and at times serious and from the heart.
• Spells Trouble by P.C. Cast & Kristen Cast. 3 Stairs. I love a good witch story, and I was excited to listen to this story about twin sisters who lose their mother right when they are really beginning to come into their powers. I liked this book, but I really wanted to love it and I didn’t. 
• Nemesis by Agatha Christie. 2 Stairs. I feel terrible rating a book by the great Agatha Christie so low. As I stated at the beginning of this post, this was my Nemesis of June reading. I really struggled to finish this one; it kept putting me to sleep. Literally.

Started in June

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I just realized I didn’t read any romcoms in June. I have several in my pile for July though, they are great summer reads. Looking forward, I think July is going to be a little slower paced and a few less books. What are you reading in July? What should I pick up? (I never, ever seem to follow any kind of a TBR plan. Do you?) Let me know and sound off in the comments below!