It’s a new month so we’re back with a list of our Monthly Reads to share with each of you. This is where you’ll see what each of us has read and what our favorite books and our least favorite books of the month are. Check it out.
Casee: June was the month of reading for me. I don’t know what was going on, but I read a shit-ton of books. I’m in the double digits this month, y’all. Thirteen. One three.
Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews (audio) | 5 out of 5
Quiet Man by Kristen Ashley | 4 out of 5
Hellion by Shannon McKenna | 2 out of 5
Dream Maker by Kristen Ashley | 4.25 out of 5
Headlong by Shannon McKenna | 2.5 out of 5
Rock Chick Reawakening by Kristen Ashley | 4.5 out of 5
Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews (audio) | 4 out of 5
Hellbent by Shannon McKenna | 3.5 out of 5
Held Captive by the Cavemen by Shoshanna Evers | 1 out of 5
Right Through Me by Shannon McKenna | 3 out of 5
Rock Chick by Kristen Ashley | 2.5 out of 5
Rock Chick Rescue by Kristen Ashley | 4 out of 5
Forever Only Once by Carrie Ann Ryan | DNF
My favorite book of the month by far is Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews. I also really loved Rock Chick Reawakening. My least favorite was Held Captive by the Cavemen. It was just a waste of paper. I enjoyed the characters in Carrie Ann Ryan’s book, but the pace was just too slow for me.
Holly: So far 2020 has been a tough reading year for me. I want to read, but I can’t seem to focus for any length of time. Hopefully someday soon my reading will go back to normal. I did better this month than I have previously, however. I read 15 books, and the majority were new-to-me reads.
Rock Chick Regret (Rock Chick #7) by Kristnen Ashley (reread) | 3.75 out of 5
Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1) by Danielle L. Jensen (audio) | 4.0 out of 5
Hidden Huntress (The Malediction Trilogy #2) by Danielle L. Jensen | 3.75 out of 5
Warrior Witch (The Malediction Trilogy #3) by Danielle L. Jensen | 3.5 out of 5
Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3) by Jennifer Estep (reread) | 3.5 out of 5
Complicated by Kristen Ashley (reread) | 4 out of 5
Fairytale Come Alive by Kristen Ashley (reread) | 4 out of 5
Dream Maker (Dream Team #1) by Kristen Ashley | 3.75 out of 5
Sin & Surrender (Demigods of San Francisco #6) by K.F. Breene | 3.75 out of 5
Entreat Me by Grace Draven | DNF
A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas (audio) | 3.75 out of 5
A Court of Mists and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas | 4 out of 5
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas | 4.5 out of 5
Cupcakes, Trinkets and Other Deadly Magics (The Dowswer #1) by Meghan Ciana Doidge | 3 out of 5
The Rise of the Phoenix (The Society #1) by Mason Sabre (novella) | 2.75 out of 5
My favorite read of the month was A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, though I enjoyed the entire series. My least favorite read was The Rise of the Phoenix by Mason Sabre. I actually enjoyed the story itself, but the writing wasn’t my favorite. I may read more in the series to see if things improve.
Giveaway Alert
Three lucky winners will choose their prize (one book) from any of the books we logged this month. If you want to be entered to win, leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite – and least favorite – reads of the month were.
I read almost all of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series in June and liked them all; my favorite is Komarr. I put aside books unfinished that didn’t speak to me, so I’ve no least favorite book to report.
I read Nora Roberts’ latest book, Hideaway. It was good, but NR has one repetitive writing habit. In case it’s a spoiler, I’ll write it below.
Nora always makes the heroine’s mother an unfit parent. Rarely is it the hero’s mother. It gets repetitive when it occurs in every book.
I have a poor memory, Kim, but now you’ve had me pondering mothers in Nora Roberts’ books.
I seem to recall that the mother of the heroine in Blue Smoke was a good mother.
I should have said many of her books have this trope, instead of saying they always do. Here’s just a few of the books I’m talking about: Hideaway, Under Currents, Vision in White, Born in Fire & Shelter in Place (the mother is portrayed as overbearing, not unfit, but the heroine was more at fault in the relationship).
I’ve read all of those, Kim, and I can’t disagree!
I had a great reading month—30 books—of which my favorite was Mia Sheridan’s DANE’S STORM, a second-chance romance with a “surviving the elements” plot. Beautiful and melancholy.
I read a number of other very good books in June. I especially enjoyed Genevieve Turner’s six-book series, A Cowboy of Her Own, about a ranching community in Southern California. Each book features a different trope: unplanned pregnancy, antagonists-to-lovers, opposites-attract, second-chance, etc.
Didn’t have any bad reads, some ok, and some pretty great ones. I read all of Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series and some of the Green Valley books from her (various authors) Smartypants Romance line. I also loved Grace Burrowes’ A LADY’S DREAM COME TRUE. I needed a non angsty month of books.
Betrothal by Jenna Jaxon- one of the worst books I’ve come across
Where the Forest Meets the Stars Glendy Vanderah was interesting