Every thing I Learn in June 2025

This was an enormous month of studying as I by some means managed to learn 12 books. It was additionally an enormous month for buzzy books. So lots of the books I had pre-ordered arrived; my TBR pile felt like Christmas. I felt like I used to be simply glued to my books this month, as I used to be simply so excited to learn. Actually: it was all I needed to do, which to me, is one of the best feeling. The brand new TJR (Ambiance) was a spotlight for me, similar with the brand new Lisa Jewell. To have a brand new e book from each of these authors come out in the identical month? Such a deal with. 

Learn on for mini opinions of the 12 books I learn. And inform me what you learn and beloved final month! I stay to your feedback and proposals.

Lastly, don’t neglect about my Library web page. It has the whole lot I’ve learn prior to now 10+ years, simple filters, and its personal separate search that can assist you discover the proper e book.

Thrillers

Inform Them You Lied, by Laura Leffler

This can be a fast-paced thriller a few poisonous feminine friendship. When Anna and Willow meet in artwork college, they develop shut instantly. Willow is moody, mysterious, cool, and stylish… whereas Anna is extra earnest and hardworking. Anna grows to worship Willow, as Willow takes her below her wing, opening her world as much as new alternatives, artwork’s nice secrets and techniques, cash, and pleasure. 5 years later, the younger ladies live collectively in Brooklyn, Anna is ready tables, and Willow is a gallery woman. With out sufficient cash to purchase artwork provides, Anna barely survives off her suggestions, whereas Willow is immensely privileged and appears to get no matter she needs.. When Anna appears like Willow is pulling away, she does the unthinkable. She phases a mugging for Willow, with the intent that Willow will come working again to her. However the mugging isn’t on any day. It’s on September 11, 2001. As town reels from the day’s occasions, Willow doesn’t come residence. And Anna is left to surprise if her prank is responsible for Willow’s disappearance. The e book alternates between artwork college and life in New York. There’s a set off for sexual abuse. It’s very darkish and twisty. I preferred however didn’t love this e book, and I can’t say I discovered it to be satisfying to learn! Total Rating: B // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

A Killing Chilly, by Kate Alice Marshall

I actually beloved this. It began a teensy bit sluggish, nevertheless it picks up. I couldn’t put it down as soon as I acquired into it (about 25-30 pages). I learn it in below 24 hours! Theodora Scott (Theo) has had it tough. She doesn’t bear in mind the primary 4 years of her life, and her adoptive dad and mom put her by way of hell. Nonetheless, she’s pulled herself up, dwelling in LA and dealing at a bookshop. When she snags the person of her desires, Connor, they’ve immediate chemistry and are engaged inside three months. All of it appears like a fairytale. Connor is rich, charming, and a member of the highly effective Dalton household. When he brings her to their household’s winter retreat for the vacations, Theo begins to expertise some unusual issues. The place feels oddly acquainted, like she has been there earlier than. Connor’s household is lower than welcoming. But additionally, there have been menacing notes, telling her to steer clear of Connor and that she shouldn’t have come. She tries to disregard the messages, however can’t shake the sensation that one thing is unsuitable. And why does this place really feel so acquainted? Slowly, recollections start to come back collectively, and Theo realizes that there are stunning secrets and techniques the household will do something to maintain hidden. It’d simply value her the whole lot… not simply the brand new life she’s labored laborious to create for herself. Her life is at stake. Total Rating: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

The First Gentleman, by James Patterson and Invoice Clinton

I wasn’t so positive about this, however I’m glad I learn it, because it was an absolute delight. I need to return and skim the opposite Clinton/Patterson books! Madeline Wright is the primary feminine president. And she or he’s up for reelection. The one factor standing in her manner? Her husband, Cole Wright, is on trial for homicide. A pair of investigative journalists is sizzling on Cole’s path, resurfacing secrets and techniques from his youthful years when he performed for the New England Patriots. He’d had a secret relationship with a cheerleader, who disappeared on the evening they’d had plans. As Garrett and Brea (the journalists) race to determine what occurred twenty years in the past, an internet of secrets and techniques is revealed, and key witnesses maintain turning up useless. Is Cole a killer, determined to cowl issues up, or is one thing else at play? We’re launched to a solid of politicos, mobsters, a mysterious professor, and extra. I couldn’t put it down! I did guess the twist, nevertheless it was nonetheless completely definitely worth the learn. I beloved it! Total Rating: A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Subsequent to Heaven, by James Frey

This e book (and its creator) are very controversial. Frey lied about issues being true in his memoir, and has admitted to utilizing AI (although I consider, at the least from what I’ve learn, only for analysis, which I don’t discover problematic). After I picked this as my e book of the month, I didn’t bear in mind the primary scandal (sorry! It was 20 years in the past!), and I hadn’t heard concerning the AI stuff. If I had, I wouldn’t have chosen it. (In the meantime, BOTM referred to as it “NSFW Gatsby,” and the WSJ gave it a glowing assessment.) However I did select it, and it was actually an satisfying learn. I just like the direct writing fashion and quick sentences, and located it to be artistic–completely different from different thrillers I’ve learn. The plot was scandalous and interesting. There’s a homicide, nevertheless it doesn’t occur till 70% in (although you recognize concerning the homicide from the e book description, and there are breadcrumbs main as much as the homicide). The e book is about in a small Connecticut city, among the many richest of the wealthy. It felt like an extension of studying Your Mates & Neighbors, which I missed, which is why I loved it. Two ladies resolve to throw a swingers occasion, which alters the city’s dynamic completely. And when a homicide rocks the city even additional, we aren’t positive who’s responsible. This was wealthy folks behaving badly at its most interesting; an awesome alternative for a seaside learn. Total Rating: B+ // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Jill is Not Joyful, by Kaira Roud

I gained’t beat it across the bush: that is most likely the worst thriller I’ve learn in a very long time. The writing is actually unhealthy. That can usually be the case and the plot will make it price it, however that was not the case with this one–the plot wasn’t nice, both! There’s no massive twist and the ending was deeply unsatisfying. Jack and Jill stay a gorgeous, privileged life. However they’ve secrets and techniques. Jack is over it. He’s having an affair with a youthful girl, and plans to go away his spouse. However Jill has been retaining secrets and techniques too. And she or he is just not going to let Jack go so simply. The 2 take a highway journey to Utah. Jill thinks it’s a reconciliation journey; Jack thinks it’s the final time he’ll need to take care of her. Jill’s deliberate each element and is about on retaining Jack’s consideration. I learn it in a day, considering it will get higher. It didn’t. That is extremely skippable. It did maintain my consideration for that afternoon, nevertheless it was folllowed by that “ugh, what did I simply learn, why did I simply waste my afternoon on this” kind of vibe. Total Rating: B- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Park Avenue, by Renée Ahdieh

This was described to me as Succession, however make it a few Okay-Magnificence model. That acquired my consideration! Jia Track is a younger, bold lawyer. She’s the daughter of Korean bodega homeowners and has at all times had a style for the finer issues in life. She’s already made junior companion at her agency and is about to attain the Birkin bag of her desires. Issues get much more thrilling when a high-profile case is dropped in her lap. She would possibly have the ability to fast-track herself to senior companion earlier than hitting 35. The Park household is imploding and wishes Jia (and her agency’s!) assist. The household’s internet price is estimated at a billion {dollars}, with a brilliant profitable Korean magnificence model that has dominated the wonder world for over twenty years. Besides: the household patriarch has left his dying spouse, absconding with a a lot youthful girl, and (we predict!) hiding the household fortune. The three grownup youngsters can’t cease preventing and rent Jia to assist. It’s her job to determine the place Seven (the daddy) has hidden the cash. Jia finds herself immersed in a world of personal jets and horrible conduct ans she and the three Park siblings race to make issues proper. Darkish secrets and techniques come out, and Jia is compelled to resolve what is definitely vital to her. Total Rating: B // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

The Final Ferry Out, by Andrea Bartz

This was a enjoyable learn; I wolfed it up in only a few days. Abby arrives on Isla Colel (a tiny island off the coast of Cancun… I considered Holbox), she is broken-hearted. Only a few months earlier than, her fiancée Eszter died there, and Abby needs to make sense of all of it. As soon as a bustling vacationer hub, Colel is now run down, with only a handful of residents. Even the ferry runs simply as soon as every week… perhaps! Abby befriends a bunch of pleasant expats. She realizes they might be retaining secrets and techniques when one evening, her new good friend Brady tells her she deserves to know the reality about Eszter, solely to vanish the following day earlier than he may inform Abby what he needed to say. As Abby worries about Brady, the opposite expats appear manner too relaxed about it. Abby races to determine what occurred to Brady, however as she does that, darkish secrets and techniques and shady pasts emerge. Can she belief her new buddies? She realizes that Eszter had lied to her about a lot. Does she even know the lady she was about to marry, and might Abby work out what occurred to Eszter earlier than turning into the island’s subsequent sufferer? Total Rating: B+ // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Don’t Let Him In, by Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell is certainly one of my absolute favourite authors, so when my pre-order arrived, I dropped the whole lot to learn it. And in true Lisa Jewell vogue, it didn’t disappoint. For a stable 36 hours, it was all I may take into consideration, and I felt mad that I needed to work and couldn’t simply learn! Nina Swann has simply misplaced her husband in a tragic assault. When a condolence card arrives from an previous good friend of her late husband, they meet as much as share recollections. Nick is a fifty-something-year-old silver fox. Charming and charismatic, he appears to be good! Although it feels just a little too quickly, the 2 start a relationship. Nina is head over heels for this stunning, charming man. In the meantime, Nina’s daughter worries he’s too good to be true. One thing feels off, so she begins digging into Nick’s previous. We additionally meet Martha. Martha is a florist, dwelling within the subsequent city over together with her toddler daughter, teenage sons, and devoted husband Alistair. However these days, one thing feels off with Al. He’s touring lots, disappears for days on finish, and doesn’t reply his cellphone. He at all times has a proof for his absence, however Martha’s intestine tells her one thing may be very unsuitable. The precise reality is darker than Martha, Ash, or Nina can think about. Because the three of them dig into the previous, secrets and techniques are unraveled, they usually notice they aren’t the one ones being focused by this harmful man. Total Rating: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Romance

Ambiance, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This was laborious to categorise, because it skirts the road between romance and thriller! I selected “romance,” nevertheless it’s a lot greater than that: intensely researched, deeply suspenseful! I had pre-ordered this a yr in the past and was thrilled when it arrived within the mail. An ideal excuse to remain residence, curl up, and pathologically learn. TJR is certainly one of my favourite authors, and this one didn’t disappoint. Additionally, it has to have been an enormous endeavor to jot down, as it’s about astronauts going to area! This has the whole lot: romance, thrills (it’s anxious typically), laughter, and tears. I skilled such a spread of feelings studying it. Joan Goodwin is a professor of astrophysics and a doting auntie. She’s at all times led a quiet, lonely life, however is comfortable! In the meantime, she has been obsessive about the celebs for so long as she will bear in mind. When she will get the chance to use to be one of many first ladies scientists to hitch NASA’s area shuttle program, she jumps on the likelihood. She applies, and (out of 1000’s of candidates), makes the reduce. In her class of candidates, she finds a bunch of finest buddies and a selected household. Becoming a member of this crew has modified her life. She finds goal, friendship, and even romantic love. Then, in 1984, on mission STS-LR9, the whole lot adjustments immediately. I’ll say no extra, however components of this are HIGH STRESS in the very best manner. This was an bold e book, and one which I loved studying. I additionally beloved the 80s nostalgia! Total Rating: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Modern Fiction

Notes on Infinity, by Austin Taylor

Ooph, this e book fully crippled me and broke my coronary heart! Zoe and Jack are two bold, passionate Harvard college students. When Jack refers Zoe to a place in a prestigious professor’s lab, they develop into entwined in one another’s lives as colleagues. When their analysis results in a promising (groundbreaking) discovery, the 2 drop out of college and located Manna, a biotech startup. They announce that they’ve found a treatment for getting old. Instantly, Zoe (not sufficiently old to drink!) is giving TED talks. Their firm dominates nationwide information tales. Zoe is profiled in Vogue. However when the 2 obtain a startling accusation, the whole lot is at stake: their lives, the corporate they constructed, their partnership. I couldn’t put this down. I don’t need to give away any spoilers, nevertheless it made me cry and I can’t bear in mind the final time a e book made me cry, which is why I gave it an A.  Total Rating: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

The Compound, by Aisling Rawle

A reader urged that I learn this, and I’m so glad I took her advice, as I actually loved this. It’s a dystopian actuality tv present set sooner or later. We don’t know the way far sooner or later, however we all know there have been a number of devastating wars and that the skin world is falling aside. It felt like a mash-up of Huge Brother,The Starvation Video games, and The Bachelor. Ten boys, ten ladies. Each day challenges that they have to full to earn prizes. A number of the prizes are luxurious (champagne! clothes!) whereas others are requirements (meals, water, a entrance door). Lily is bored and delightful, and appears like her life goes nowhere. The present will give her an opportunity to earn prizes and probably safe model offers when she returns to the actual world. However will or not it’s price it? How far will she go to earn extra prizes? Because the challenges develop into more and more uncomfortable, pressure mounts between the dwindling variety of contestants. This was that uncommon mixture of lovely, literary writing and a page-turning plot. I devoured it in simply over 24 hours. Total Rating: A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Non-Fiction

Authentic Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cowl-Up, and His Disastrous Option to Run Once more, by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson

President Biden’s Decline, Its Cowl-Up, and His Disastrous Option to Run Once more. I’ve to confess, this was a troublesome pay attention. I breathed out an enormous sigh of aid. And I’ve blended emotions about all of it (Biden’s determination to remain within the run, but additionally Jake Tapper’s election). It’s all an enormous mess. However I’m glad I listened to it. I feel it’s vital to grasp what occurred, so we don’t make these sort of errors once more. However it was a tough pay attention, and felt very anxious at occasions, particularly given the present political hellscape. Woof.  Total Rating: B // Order on Bookshop or Amazon