Ceelee's "June Is Busting Out All Over" Reads

[Ceelee]

My summer has been going quite well so far, and I am enjoying some time in the mountains at the moment and loving it! North Texas has also been having a "mild' summer too. Great for reading outdoors! I have been reading a lot but haven't finished much, at least in June. So here goes with my June reads and all were awesome books!

I got to finally read BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM by Peter Swanson.



I really like his writing. He creates characters that I totally dislike but want to root for them anyway. Great book that got my summer reading time off to a great start!

I also did a re-read of JAMAICA INN by Daphne du Maurier.



Gothic novels have always been my guilty pleasure (along with regency romances) I have been reading then since I was a preteen and still get a nostalgic thrill from them. It always takes me back to younger days when I sat out under a big shade tree reading the afternoon away or staying up way too late to read while a summer storm passed through. I think that is a big reason I like to read outdoors especially during the summer. While reading JAMAICA INN this time I sat on the front porch while a summer shower came through. Heaven!

Anyway, I have loved du Maurier since I read Rebecca which is still my favorite book by her. She wrote it in 1936 but it is pure 19th century gothic! Bliss! I can't ignore the fact though how women's roles were pretty much limited during that time and daughters were usually sent to a relative after their parent dies and they are pretty much unpaid servants. I think that is a topic that was probably of interest to du Maurier and why a modern writer would choose to focus on that time period and type of novel.

The last book I finished before the month's end was THE LADY VANISHES by Ethel Lina White.



Doesn't that author's name just sound so fake? This book was soooo Agatha Christie it made me wonder if she decided to write the story under a different name. The book was originally published in 1935 ( another 1930's book!) and titledTHE WHEEL SPINS. Alfred Hitchcock directed the film adaptation which is one of my favorites of his 1930s period. The book has lots of twists, a plucky heroine who is determined to solve the mystery, a cast of intriguing suspects, a handsome young man who disbelieves but comes around in the end (I knew he would!) another plucky heroine who becomes a victim, it's set on a train in Europe! i devoured this book! I was thrilled to find she has written other books too. I definitely will read more! Thanks Goodreads! I have the movie on my Watchlist too because I want to see what changes were made in the film that I would have not noticed before i read the book.

So that is my June but it is only part of the story! I have many more books to finish in July including a couple more ARC's from NetGalley and some Kindle Unlimited and Scribd books. I always bite off more books than I can chew! :)

[Ann]

Nice set of books Ceelee! Summer reading nostalgia has struck me too!

[Ceelee]

Thanks Ann! I think summer really is my favorite time of year to read.

[Ann]

Ceelee: Of course there are those cozy nights curled up with a good book in winter too!!
Ceelee wrote: "Thanks Ann! I think summer really is my favorite time of year to read."

[Karly]

Love the Hitchcock picks! Didn’t know the lady vanishes was a book! Loved the movie, I’ll have to read it!

[Carol/Bonadie]

Great summaries, Ceelee! Glad you liked Before She Knew Him. Interesting about The Lady Vanishes

[Ceelee]

I didn't know The Lady Vanishes eas a book either! I found it in a paperback book sale a long time ago and never read it for some reason. There are ebook versions abailable as well as for The Wheel Spins. I want to read that to see how much difference, if any, there is between the two titles.