More June Reading

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

You know those books that you sneak away to read, even if it’s only a few pages? The ones you can’t put down, that live and breathe in your brain, that envelope every moment and invade your dreams? Think Game of Thrones meeting Arabian nights, creating the most incredible Middle Eastern world. Chakraborty gives us a strong complicated female lead, a rigid yet compassionate second son, and a hot, fairly amoral djinn, tied together in a world of six unique kingdoms, some political and cultural disagreements, and some pretty cool magic tricks. I was already requesting book two from my library before I was even finished. And since then, I’ve finished the entire trilogy, all 1,800 pages, all 5star reads. This is escapist reading at its finest level!

We the Animals by Justin Torre

On the surface this is the story of three brothers, yet it is so very much more. It is 127 pages of lyrical writing that makes your heart sing, as well as break. It is the story of love and loss, poverty and want, family and warped love, of identity and finding oneself against all odds. And that’s all I’m gonna say except - take an afternoon and read this from beginning to end. It broke me in some places, left my soul aching, but also inspired me with the resilience and talent of this incredible writer. Perfect finish to my Pride Month reading.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

More outstanding Pride Month reading in this adorable rom-com, read to me in the perfect British accent. Luc is the son of a very famous old rock star (think Mick Jagger-ish), so the nasty British tabloids love him, and make his life fairly miserable. On top of that, Luc is rather immature and still recovering from a nasty break up. On the verge of losing his job over his personal life, he listens to his riotously hilarious and totally wonderful friend group and goes about getting a 'fake' boyfriend. Enter Oliver, an uptight London barrister, with a super judgmental family and issues of his own. I laughed out loud so often, swooned a few times with these two lovely men as they fell in love for 'reals' and thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment.

Iron Lake (Cork O'Connor, #1) by William Kent Krueger

I know MANY of you have read and loved 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥  and 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, yet may have never read Kent’s looooong mystery series on Cork O’Connor?! I do love this man’s pen and a good mystery so of course I had to check it out. 𝘐𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 did not disappoint! Take a troubled ex-sheriff, separated from his attorney wife and his children, place him in his hometown of Iron Lake, in the middle of the Anishinaabe reservation, and mix in a few murders, some politics, some money - you get the drift. Solid mystery, very intriguing characters, beautiful mix of nature and indigenous lore, I already have book two on hold. If you’re as excited as I am about Kent’s new book coming out this August (𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦), a prequel to the Cork O’Connor series, trust me - you’re gonna want to read this first one:)

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

I thought I knew everything I needed to know about the opioid epidemic, the complicity of the drug companies, the bribery of the medical community, etc. But oh, how wrong I was! This deep dive into the Sackler family, from its inception to the finality of settlements in 2020 is utterly fascinating and well worth the many hours of the listen. Patrick Keefe, who also wrote Say Nothing (incredible book about the Troubles in Ireland), is a masterful author, combining long ago history, family connections, interviews with current employees, medical professionals, and FDA authorities. And yes, the Sackler family is a monstrous entity. One of the best non-fiction books of 2021!

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

My heart has been a bit heavy lately so I knew I needed a sweet lil rom-com to lighten the load and this latest from Lauren did not disappoint. My beef with rom-coms is usually the sexism in them, but not with this author! She creates a strong female lead, single mom Jess, a brilliant statistician who runs her own business. Jess meets Dr. River Pena (okay, his name is soooo cheesy!) who has created a new matchmaker app using DNA to find your 'soulmate.' (Okay, the whole soulmate term is also a lil cheesy for me but I rolled with it!). Of course, Jess and River 'match' and all kinds of romance, problems, and issues ensue. Fun escapist romance:)

Majesty (American Royals, #2) by Katherine McGee

This isn't even a potato chip book; its a cotton-candy book. I mean, so sweet, occasionally nauseating, and nothing worthwhile in it and yet...I couldn't put it down. I loved American Royalty and the way it flipped American history on it's nose, with George Washington saying "Yes" to a crown, and hence, we have an American Royal family. This sequel was not quite as good for me, maybe because it no longer felt so unique? The royal kids are still getting up to their shenanigans and I did chuckle out loud a few times, but I also gagged more than once, so there's that. If theres a third, I don't think I'll bite.

The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker

Oh my, I felt like I needed to take a shower after this book. I mean, the premise alone is rather stomach churning: After an eight year old girl commits murder, we see her now as a young mother, trying to raise her own child. The time line moves back and forth, showing us the neglect and abuse of Chrissie, the truly devastating impact on a child, the aftermath of the years lived in custody, the attempt to assimilate back into society. This book asks some big questions: is a child responsible for horrific crimes? Is a parent responsible for those crimes? Is it possible to find redemption, remorse, a moral compass? The brilliance of this book comes in the aftermath of reading it, as to be honest, I didn't care for it much as I read it. It was just so ugly and dark. Yet...I have thought about it since, rather more often that I would like. It made me think more deeply about how our society today neglects abused children, looks away, ignores, or throws the book at them - what is the right answer?

Providence by Max Barry

The Martian meets up with the Hail Mary Project, unleashes Alien on Independence Day, and we get the ending of every Bruce Willis action film ever. Yeah, this sci-fi took me on a ride! I loved his previous book, Lexicon, also a total mind-f#*k of a plot line. This one is more straight forward: Earth has met aliens, and they’re not very nice, so in typical bull-in-a-china-shop, asshole-American style, we try to kill every one of them (unlike in Weir’s book Hail Mary Project, where they make friends!). Needless to say, this was some awesome entertainment, especially for someone who doesn’t read a lot of science fiction:)