Recent Reads - June 2017 Show us Your Books

I've been looking forward to this day for MONTHS - the release date of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo! Oh, and Show us your Books too! ;) I can't wait to read this book and share my thoughts on it soon. For today, I'm linking up with Steph & Jana to talk about the books I've read in the last month or so since the last link up. Head over to the link up here to check out some other recommendations too!!

This was another pretty decent reading month overall. Even though I got through quite a few books there were plenty of evenings that I was just WAY too tired to even crack a book open. I also had 5 books on the go at once at one time and then finally just decided to return a couple of them to the library. Reading should never be overwhelming, but I went a bit crazy requesting holds from the library when some summer reading guides came out and to plan ahead with Erin's Book Challenge, so I had about 20 books out at once and not enough time to read them!! I'll get to them eventually ;)

Here are some books I've read recently, in no order besides when I read them:

FOX by Kelly Oliver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book reminded me a bit of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series even though the characters come from a slightly different background. I definitely saw a lot of it coming, but it was still fast-paced enough to hold my interest. I didn't realize before reading it that it is the third in a series, and I am guessing that there will be more in the series moving forward. Overall, this book passed the time nicely and added a bit of a different element to the genre. I will likely pick up the next in the series just to find out what happens to all of the characters because I felt like this one ended a bit abruptly.

Thank you to Netgalley & KAOS Press for the advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review.


84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a quick but charming little book (Seriously, it's just over 100 pages long and I read it in one sitting). It is written in letter format and it was nice to read. It took place shortly after the second world war and the bookishness of it was so charming and cute.



Toward a Secret Sky by Heather Maclean
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This book was a bit different than anything I'd read recently. The fantasy element of it was quite interesting and I enjoyed it. It had a pretty quick pace, and a few twists (though I definitely anticipated one of them). The setting was fun and the characters were good. It ended on what seemed like a bit of a cliffhanger or a to-be-continued arc so I will probably try to pick up its sequel someday. Also, I hate to always be pointing this out but what a GORGEOUS cover, right??? Thank you to Netgalley & Blink for the advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review. 


The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I think I liked this better than her debut, Behind Closed Doors which was one that I tore through in a day, so that's saying something. This one was a bit less *terrifying* for some reason, even though the idea behind it was quite a scary one. I definitely did not anticipate what was going on for quite awhile and it was hard to know who to trust, which is what I like in a book like this. This was the first book I won through a Goodreads giveaway, which was super exciting!!! Thank you, Goodreads and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book which comes out July 18, 2017.

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I had high hopes for this book, and while it was definitely entertaining and fun, it wasn't QUITE as funny as I expected. It was entertaining though, and I really enjoyed listening to a lot of her stories, particularly about awards shows and being on set and life in L.A. I also realized that she has been in a few movies I have yet to see - so I want to get on that! I also have to say that I really enjoyed the narration which was done by the author.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh man...this book was slow-going for awhile there, much like the first one in this series, but I got hooked partway through it and finished the rest up pretty quickly. I think one of the things that made me want to put this book down is the world-jumping. Although I do appreciate that and it is a major element to the series, I felt like sometimes I just wanted to continue to find out what happened in one world or with one character. This is likely a timing thing for me because I have enjoyed plenty of books in the past that jumped around but my attention span wasn't great these past few weeks so it was harder to follow.
The world that is created in these books is SO good.The characters are spunky, quirky, fun, and complicated all at once. This book was a great addition to the series and I feel unbelievably happy that I waited until the 3rd book was out to begin this series because AHH cliffhanger ending. I will absolutely be starting book 3 ASAP from the library.
I also wanted to point out that I really enjoyed the new characters introduced in this book - Alucard in particular. The big event was fun. Learning more about Rhy was fun. Looking forward to the adventures that will happen in the third and final book.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so, so good. I loved the audiobook. There were truly so many great stories about life in South Africa and the storytelling technique in this book is phenomenal and SO interesting. Trevor Noah makes his childhood humorous even though there are quite a few sad moments or moments that give you pause as well. I would highly recommend this book if you are looking to just get a different point of view on what it might have been like to grow up in a country very different from ours in North America. I'd highly, highly recommend the audio version of this one because Trevor Noah's narration is perfect.

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Due to the success of The Girl on the Train (which I actually enjoyed because I did NOT see any of it coming), this book had a lot of hype but I heard mixed things about it too. It sounded intriguing enough so I was still really looking forward to reading it and it did NOT disappoint me in the least. I found it to be quite intense and the pace was pretty quick too. I finished it in 2 days. It was a pretty sad story with a few triggers but I really rooted for the characters more in this book than I did for The Girl on the Train and this one had a more consistent feel overall. I definitely recommend it if this is your genre of choice (which it is for me, apparently, this year).

Currently reading: He Said/She Said (this one is good so far and I would have normally finished a book like this but I just needed a bit of a break), Glass Houses (SO happy to be back with Gamache et al and thank you SO MUCH Netgalley), and A Man Called Ove on audio. I also started a few books and returned them to the library to try out another time instead. So basically, summer socializing and soccer season and working has fried my brain for sustaining reading. I'm looking forward to some amazing books to come this month though!!

Here's something I found online yesterday, too. What do you think?!

I think I would go with the aqua pill but the blue pill sounds so tempting too!!!

What have you been reading lately? I'd love to add it to my ever-growing TBR!!!