June was a month of finding new favorites and return to some old favorites as well. The biggest thing to share is that I hit my Goodreads goal for 50 books this month!! I have already increased, going with small increments, and I have no plans of slowing down with reading. (I may have already finished my first book for July before finishing up this post.)
The Waffle House on the Pier | The Stepmom Shake-Up | The Boxcar Children | Whiskey Chaser | Sidecar Crush | That Summer in Maine | Surprise Island | Moonshine Kiss | Dragons Love Tacos | Steam Train, Dream Train
Standout Book
This is more of the start of a series rather than a book, and I am sorry for that. This series, Bootleg Springs, is remarkable. After hearing my bestie, The Girl From Alabama, raving about it, I knew I had to give it a try. I am from the south, so when I tell you I have never seen southern written so well I don't say that lightly. I read half the series this month and I have every intention to finish it next month. And I just might follow in Hunter's footsteps and start working on the backlog for these authors.
Honorable Mention
Although this is mentioned in more detail below, I have to say The Stepmom Shake-Up. I was laughing throughout the whole book and it is one I immediately put on my daughters radar as well. Sit tight and there will be more about it below.
Books for Kids
If you are new around here, you may not know this, but my children LOVE The Boxcar Children. We have returned again to these books over and over again. We are back at the beginning and starting to work our way through again. The picture books you see above? Those were for nights I wasn't reading The Boxcar Children when one of my little boys couldn't sleep. He didn't last through them, but I really enjoyed them.
ARCs Read
I really wanted to love this book. I requested The Waffle House on the Pier from NetGalley and Bookouture due to being stuck at home and the premise sounded light and fun, just what I needed. The cover was gorgeous, and there were bits I enjoyed. One of the standout parts of this book was the family dynamics with the Gammy after the passing of Gampy. Those where the moment that held the action and sadly they were few and far between. The love triangle wasn't very appealing to me and the internal back and forth became so repetitive. I would have loved to see less of that and more development and action.
The Stepmom Shake-Up blew me away. I am just going to dive right in on that. I originally requested this from Netgalley and Random House in hopes it would be a book I could recommend to my daughter. As I started reading, I couldn't put it down!! It had some of my favorite things: dad jokes/puns (that I laughed so hard at), faith shown prominently, and a father/daughter relationship. I love having books I can put in the hands of my little ones that share our faith and different family dynamics. My daughter won't admit it, but I see a lot of the same sass and determination in her. I can see her sabotaging and plotting in a similar way. It was a fun and heartwarming read that I highly recommend for middle-grade readers (and those who don't mind the targeted age).
I really wanted to like this next one, but I ended up just skimming the latter half of the book. That Summer in Maine from Netgalley and Harlequin was one that pulled me in with the family dynamics meant to take place in the story; however, it was told in a way that really kept pulling me out of the story and making me disconnect. I liked the view of family and how decisions affect everything, but I felt like their was two separate plot lines that weren't woven together well.
With everything going on, sometimes you just need an escape, something that you know will pull you right out of things. For me, Hallmark Christmas does that for me. So when I saw Christmas in Bayberry up on Netgalley I knew it was just meant to be. Y'all know me here and you know what is coming next. I loved it!! It is the quintessential Hallmark Christmas (can we please get this one as a movie this year?!) filled with all that we have come to expect and love from Hallmark. It was just what I needed.
How was June for you and reading? I hope that you found some great books and that you added a few to your list today.
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