And now that it’s June, we can grab some rosé and enjoy my second favorite type of reading: poolside reading (it’s second to curled under a blanket, before a fire, snowfall reading). To help you decide what June books to read by the pool, the lake, the shore, or whatever body of water you find yourself near, here’s a list of the June books we are definitely reading because now we have to because we told you we would.
#TNReads: June Books We Cannot Wait to Read
Beth’s Reads
Summer reading usually means two things for me: a re-read of Lord of the Rings, and historical fiction. I’m probably going to forego my yearly trek to Middle Earth (because it will never be as impressive as Natasha’s ACTUAL trek there) since there are so many great novels coming out this year. To that end, I have three books I cannot wait to dig into this month.
The After Party by Anton DiSclafani came out just a couple of weeks ago, and has been on my to-read list since I heard about it months ago. DiSclafani wrote The Yonahlosse Riding Camp for Girls, which was one of my real-life book club’s favorite picks ever. I love her depiction of historical southern societal mores. Her characters are richly layered and complex. The After Party is about a controversial Dallas socialite in the 1950’s, her friends and her lovers. I cannot wait to delve into all that madness, gossip, and martini’s. I’m hoping for a pool boy affair AND a murder!
When We Meet Again by Kristin Harmel (releasing June 7th) combines some of my favorite things: WWII stories
, family secrets and forbidden love stories. Girl loses everything, but is given a mysterious painting that leads her to the Atlanta art scene, the Everglades and Munich looking for answers. It’s a story about uncovering secrets and breaking down your own walls, and tells the story of WWII POW internment camps here in the US … where former German soldiers sometimes fell in love with American women.
The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Graynor (also releasing June 7th) is another one of those historical novels that takes an era you think you know but shows you a completely unexpected side of it. We are used to reading about the Roaring Twenties, but mostly in a Zelda Fitzgerald-type context. In this novel, Dolly Lane is a chambermaid in London’s glitziest hotel who finds herself thrust into the theater scene in a city between two great wars. You can imagine the pull that decadence must have had for young people who found themselves gloriously alive after the harrows of war. I’m all for decadence!
Amanda’s Reads
The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater isn’t new — I believe the first one came out in 2012 — but the final book was just published in April. The basic breakdown is it’s young adult, it deals with the supernatural, there’s a “treasure” hunt and a forbidden love story. I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about the series from valued sources such as TN’s own Beth, but Goodreads implied every book ended with a massive cliffhanger. For that reason I chose to wait to read the entire series all at once in a massive Raven/Stiefvater binge. Book one, The Raven Boys, was on the anticlimactic side, but Stiefvater’s world building and prose is drop dead gorgeous. I just finished book two, The Dream Thieves, last night and whether it was because the main POV was Ronan’s — my fave character of the series — or the story itself is just finally building momentum … I cannot wait to read the next two books, Blue Lily, Lily Blue and The Raven King!
Bonus: Heidi is reading this book during June too IF she can find a sliver of time when she’s not watching The Bachelor.
Courtney’s Read
I’m just starting Never Ever by Sara Saedi (release date is June 21). It’s an modern, YA take on Peter Pan set in NYC. As a Peter Pan fan I am curious where Saedi will take the lead Wylie (Wendy) and mysterious Phinn (Peter).
Danelle’s Read
I’m reading a book I’m pretty excited about. It’s called The Drafter, and it’s by Kim Harrison. She wrote one of my all-time favorite series called “The Hallows.” This is about a woman named Peri Reed, and she is called a drafter; she can adjust/turn back time and redraft what happened. The government is using her as a weapon, but so far I can’t figure out if it’s for good or for bad. She has a love interest, also known as her anchor – he is supposed to help her fill in the gaps in her memory after she drafts, but he’s hiding something from her. She seems pretty badass, and the book is really good so far. I’m only on chapter 6 of 40 chapters, so we will see, but Harrison hasn’t had any books I didn’t like before so I’m thinking this one won’t disappoint.
Carrie Jo’s Reads
26 Kisses by Anna Michels came out last week, and from the description, seems like the perfect YA beach read: The main character takes a dare to kiss her way through the alphabet after a bad break up. I love kissing scenes, so this looks like a sure fit book for me.
I’m late to this party, and it’s probably going to take me well into July to finish this one (because the audiobook is 23 HOURS long), but I plan to listen to Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Mist and Fury while I walk my dogs, do my dishes, and clean my bathrooms. Aaaand if the first book of the series is any indication, I think I’d better wear headphones to listen to this one, as it’s unlikely I want my 6yo to walk in and overhear the steamier scenes!
Lindsey’s Reads
Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman is my top June pick. Set against a community still reeling from a popular high school basketball star’s suicide (murder?) Girls on Fire is the story of Lacey and Dex, two girls coming of age in the early 1990’s in a conservative Pennsylvania town, to a backdrop of sex, drugs, and violence. It’s supposed to be both a nail biting thriller and a love letter to female friendships set during that liminal stage when girls are figuring out how to become women. Unreliable narrators! Unlikeable protagonists! Complicated girl characters! Kurt Cobain! Murder! READY SET GO!!!!
Also, really excited to finish Lindy West’s Shrill this month. So far it is a modern feminist manifesto and a stunning indictment of how the world treats women, and overweight women especially. It is laugh out loud funny, heartbreaking, and incredibly inspiring. It teaches you how to glue some of your broken bits back together and best of all: makes you feel a little less alone. A+++ would recommend.
I’m also taking on Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes this month. You know, to infuse my fanfic with some meta canon authenticity yo! Hopefully June will prove that my book slump is finally over, ending just in time for those dulcet days of summer when my children run amok on a playground and mommy reads on a park bench simultaneously day dreaming of her chilled glass of 6pm sauvignon blanc.
Julie’s Reads
Wicked Heart by Leisa Rayven is the third book in the Starcrossed Series (Bad Romeo & Broken Juliet) and was released just a few weeks ago, but it is definitely a summer read. This time around, Elisa Holt, Ethan’s sister who we met in the previous two books, gets her shot at happily ever after. While stage managing Broadway’s newest production of Taming of the Shrew – Leisa Rayven clearly has a Shakespeare obsession and I dig it – Elisa comes face to face with her first and true love, lead actor Liam Quinn. All the old feelings come rushing back to Elisa but there’s a tiny problem: Liam is engaged to his female lead. Hot sex scenes, a strong female protagonist (I actually like Elisa more than I liked Cassie in the other books), and a look at the twisted nature of the Hollywood hype machine: what more could you ask for in a book?
How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran was actually a birthday gift that has been sitting on my bedside table just waiting for me. This summer, the wait is over. A columnist for the British paper, The Times, Moran delves into the world of feminism (I know: total summer read.) but uses humor and, my favorite, sarcasm to discuss the issues and struggles that we women face daily. If you’re on the fence about reading it, here’s a little sample:
Because for all that people have tried to abuse it and disown it, “feminism” is still the word we need. That “Girl Power” has been the sole rival to the word feminism in the last fifty years is a cause for much sorrow on behalf of women. After all, P.Diddy has had four different names, and he’s just one man.”
Amen, sister.
Call me obsessed but ever since I finished Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible, a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, I needed more. Undressing Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos is my next adventure into Austen-esque land. I will be honest: the title was what captured my attention, but it was the synopsis that made me purchase. A thirty-something PR agent travels to jolly old England to work with an author. They fight, don’t see eye to eye, and have palpable sexual tension.
Sound familiar?
Thank you to the TN Team for this awesome list of June books. Guys … that’s 90’s female coming of age, fanfic IRL!, sexy young adult, 50s socialites and feminist manifestos! If you can’t find something for your June book, where else can you look? The rest of our book section could probably help you out there.
