My June weekends were mostly full of all sorts of things like hosting a birthday (my own, round 50) 🎂, hunting for a fridge (old side-by-side started dying, see A Tale of Two Fridges), shopping with my daughter 💜, and some reno-related stuff I don’t even have the energy to get into. Surprisingly enough, I still seem to have found time to read almost as much as any other month. June reads were a mix of long-awaited sequels and new releases from favorite authors, and some completely new finds.

• A Letter from the Lonesome Shore, by Sylvie Cathrall – I loved this sequel to A Letter to the Luminous Deep ❣️ The same ethereal ambiance, some twists and turns and a happy ending.
• Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me, by Django Wexler – Sequel to How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying. Fun and gamey, but a bit more of a serious undertone as life for Davi is not a game anymore. Mysteries are unraveled and yes, this book too has a happy ending.
• The Amalfi Curse, by Sarah Penner – A superb witchy realism story where past meets present and romance wins.
• The Haunted Housekeeping series (4 books), by R.A. Muth – Funky, quirky cozy mysteries with just a touch of supernatural and magic. A bit “easy” reading for my liking.
• Fearless, by Lauren Roberts – book 3 in the Powerless series (the final one), which was, well in line with the other ones, but liked it somewhat better again than the first one. I think Book 2 was my favorite in this trilogy (series – as it has a book 1.5 which I somehow didn’t feel like reading even though I have it).
• The Resurrectionist, by A. Rae Dunlap – Historical gothy fiction from a time when autopsies were considered sacrilege, but the more advanced though hushed Parisian syle training, ie. hands on and cutting corpses open, was in need of bodies to work on. Also, forbidden gay romance 💜
• The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris, by Evie Woods – magical realism romance, sweet and heartwarming, while quite predictable.
• Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by V.E. Schwab – Three vampire women, destiny tied together in a way that is not entirely guessable in the beginning. Intriguing travels through centuries, stopping here and there for a bit longer to shed light on the evolution of the characters.
• Phantasma, by Kaylie Smith – Not quite as enchanting as I expected, not quite as ingenious as I hoped. More like a “everything tries to kill you and you just need to survive (though you’re really not up to the task)” kind of a story than witty and puzzly, like I’d prefer. Quite enjoyable none the less, and now I’m a bit past the half mark on the sequel, Enchantra (which is more of the same while different).
• Enigma, by RuNyx – I absolutely love RuNyx and her way of weaving these dark romance mysteries. Full of twists and turns and secrets to unravel bit by itty bit, clues to tickle your brain and lead you astray, passion, even obsession (which maybe is not my thing, but I can accept it here). Can’t wait to get more RuNyx!

June 1, Finally, finally reading (well, started already yesterday) A Letter from the Lonesome Shore, by Sylvie Cathrall I loved the first book, A Letter to the Luminous Deep; this sequel is one my most anticipated reads of the year!

June 14, Started the fourth book of The Haunted Housekeeping, by R.A. Muth, series last night. While the books are kinda funny and quirky – enough to keep me reading through them all, especially when they’re not very long – they are a bit simple to my liking. I realize cozy mystery (even with a paranormal/fantasy/magical realism twist) is just not my cuppa. Things are too easygoing, a bit lame and simple. I want some actual suspense, gory bloody gruesomeness and such. Go figure.