I have found lots of good recs in this thread and had a great reading month in June, so I thought I would share. It will be long, so feel free to scrolllllllllll. From best to worst:
1. Autumn by Ali Smith, 5 Stars, contemporary novel
Hard to summarize the plot because there is not a lot of it, but it takes place in the UK just after the Brexit vote and revolves around a semi-comatose 100 year old man and his former neighbor and friend, a woman in her early thirties. I wasn't sure if I was smart enough or clever enough for this one when I started, but by chapter four I was in, and read it in a day. There are a lot of flashbacks, some excellent story telling and a subplot about a female British pop artist in the 60s I am now a bit obsessed with. The way Smith writes about the media and politics and life right now seemed to be just about perfect to me. Loved this.
2. Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams 4.5 Stars Contemporary Novel
A young black journalist in London deals with her life crumbling around her due to internal and external circumstances. Sometimes a hard read because Queenie is so human and makes mistakes you want to jump in and prevent, but I was so cheering her on to get through it all and emerge in a better place. Carty-Williams did a wonderful job. Loved it.
3. If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
4 Stars Contemporary Romance
A lawyer in Manchester gets dumped by her partner of 18 years and ends up fake dating a misunderstood colleague for...reasons. Silly, tropy plot very well executed with extremely likable, well-rounded characters. I felt like I was friends with both of them by the end. Liked this a lot.
4. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo 4 Stars Contemporary Novel
A couple in Nigeria struggles with infertility and familial expectations. This was very good and very sad. The irony is...heavy handed. Not a light read, but a good one. The setting (Urban and rural Nigeria) was also a character and a fascinating one. Liked this a lot.
5. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore 4 Stars Historical Feminist (sort of) Romance
Unmarried, destitute woman from an upper-middle class background in the 1880s becomes part of the first group of female students in Cambridge. Attends because of a scholarship offered by a suffragist organization, who requires her to work for the cause. Through this work, she meets the Duke and romantic and political hijinks ensue. A lot of fun to read; silly and smutty. Liked it a lot.
6. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood 3.5 Stars Sequel (sort of) of A Handmaid's Tale
Takes place about 15 years after the events of the first novel and follows the story of Aunt Lydia (with some very interesting back-story), a young girl/woman in Gilead, and a young woman in Canada who is connected to Gilead. Enjoyed reading more about Gilead and filling in some details and atmosphere. The sections from Aunt Lydia's perspective were mostly strong. The rest was uneven, especially in the second half. The ending was not well developed, in my opinion. However, I think it was worth reading. Liked it.
7. Don't You Forget about Me by Mhairi McFarlane 3.5 Stars Contemporary Women's Fiction
Thirty year old woman in Sheffield has an evil stepfather, cold mother and sister, terrible boyfriend, awful job, and a lovely first love that ended badly. Really derivative of Bridget Jones and Fleabag, but a page-turner. I think it was trying to be a romance, and would have benefited from that being the dominant plot. Mostly like it.
8. Stasi Child by David Young 3.25 Stars Mystery/Thriller
I know I first read about this book here. Mid 70s East German Woman detective tries to solve the murder of an unknown victim whose body is found in East Berlin near the Wall. Loved the East German setting. Young did a good job writing the two primary female characters, but besides the husband, I found the other male characters blended together, even the love interest. I kept having to go back and figure out who this one was. Not really a fan of thrillers and didn't enjoy that part. It was pretty good.
9. The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 3 Stars Closed-circle Mystery/Sci-fi (ish)
Man wakes up in a body not his own in the middle of action. He learns he has seven days to solve a murder in this manor house and each day he will be in a different body, but the day will be the same. (Sort of like Groundhog Day.) Interesting premise but I found it a SLOG through the middle section with a good beginning and end. You do find out a little about why this was happening, which was sort of interesting but I think I would have been fine without that information. Really obnoxious fat shaming in some parts. It was kind of a chore but mostly worth it, I guess.
10. Beach Read by Emily Henry 3 Stars Contemporary Romance
Writers staying in next door cabins on Lake Michigan for...reasons both suffer from writers' block. They decide to try to write a novel in each other's genres. It guess it was a page-turner, but I didn't love either character and found some of the plot clanged me over the head while some of it was under-developed. Just okay for me.
Did not finish:
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne 1 Star Contemporary Romance
Woman and man work in the same office and hate each other. They spend their days trying to make the other miserable. Made it to page 70 and hated the characters and plot too much to continue. Hated it.
I'm getting through it, but I keep having to reread bits from my previous session. It's a good story but I'm not loving it - can't tell if it's the book or me (75% chance it's me).
