What are you reading in June 2022?

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Tell us all about your reading choices this month (June 2022). What are you enjoying, or maybe not enjoying so much? How come?

All genres welcome here!

[Christine]

I'm about halfway through Black Sun which I am enjoying and recommend

[Shel, Moderator]

I really loved Black Sun! The sequel Fevered Star was just released a few weeks ago.

I'm on Brightness Reef again after taking a break to re-read the entire Parasol Protectorate series, which I recommend to anyone looking for high-quality fluff. They are a ton of fun. I needed some brain candy!

[Lindsey]

I (finally!) finished Rhythm of War at the 11th hour last night, so now I'm on a quest to finish more of my half-done reads. First up are the non-fiction Infidel, Music Theory 101 (violin lessons are showing me I missed a few things in my choral years), and Collapse. In sff, I'm working on We Have Always Been Here and the audiobook of How High We Go in the Dark (which has been grim but excellent). After those I'm hoping to go back to October Daye. I finished books 2 and 3 last month and they get better with each entry so far.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I’m slowly working my way through The Briar King by Greg Keyes and then I plan to wrap up the Green Bone Saga with Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee.

[Random]

Finished Will Save the Galaxy for Food which was a lot of fun.
So I then started on Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash

Both have been light and fun, though I am unsure on how to describe the tone. Maybe a mixture of sarcasm and snark.

Makes me think of something I tend to say. If I stop joking, I'll start screaming.

I completely forgot that we were reading The Kaiju Preservation Society this month and I don't have the book yet. But I plan to by the time I'm done with the other.

[Rachel]

Agreed about Fevered Star - I may have actually enjoyed it a bit more due to character development

[Mary]

Excess by Jacob Holo and H.P. Holo

[Nyssa]

I am currently reading:


- Assassin by Andy Peloquin
- The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
and
- Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews (the serialized version on their website)

[Mary]

Holdouts by Thomas Doscher

[Mary]

Uncivil Affairs by Thomas Doscher

[Mary]

Repatriation by Thomas Doscher

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

The Briar King was a slow starter, with each chapter focusing on a different character. Once the author started returning to each of those characters, chapter by chapter, the story moved forward more quickly. Interesting characters (even the minor ones) and a twisty plot with lots left unexplained, setting up the rest of the series, I assume. 7.5/10

[Random]

Finished Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash. It was fun and it looks like the potential for more books in this series seems strong.

Started The Kaiju Preservation Society last night and so far its been fun.

[Shel, Moderator]

I'm still slowly picking my way through Brightness Reef (not sure why it's going so slowly for me!) but I might take a break and read The Kaiju Preservation Society since it's due back at the library soon. I'm sure it'll be as quick of a read as all of Scalzi's others!

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I finished the Green Bone Saga with Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee, 8.5/10. A fitting conclusion to the trilogy, continuing the movement away from a purely gangster clan story into politics, international trade, and espionage while maintaining the core focus of the multigenerational family saga. The author kept a few surprises up her sleeve, even right to the end. This type of “mafia” story will never be among my favorites, but the widened scope begun in book 2 and maintained in book 3 kept my interest. The author allowed her characters to grow and adapt. Well done!

Out of genre next with The Man Burned by Winter by Pete Zacharias.

[Mary]

Dressing the Past edited by Margarita Gleba, Cherine Munkholt, and Marie-Louise Nosch

[Christine]

I'm reading Sweep in Peace which I'm definitely enjoying and highly recommend

[Mary]

MI6 Spy Skills for Civilians: A former British agent reveals how to live like a spy - smarter, sneakier and ready for anything by Red Riley

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

The Man Burned by Winter by Pete Zacharias was a solid mystery, 8/10. Then I continued my intermittent reading of the Leaphorn & Chee books with Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman, 9/10.

Now reading book 2 of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes.

[Mary]

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 9 by Kamome Shirahama

[Mary]

Carthage's Other Wars: Carthaginian Warfare Outside the 'Punic Wars' Against Rome by Dexter Hoyos

[Shel, Moderator]

I finally finished Brightness Reef and am taking a break from the genre with Crazy Rich Asians before continuing on to Infinity's Shore.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes, 8.25/10. This is a well-written and entertaining fantasy, book 2 in a series. The author gives us unusual magical creatures, a varied cast (royalty, monks, knights, maids, the Sefry, a composer, a windmill keeper, and the undead), intricate sword fights, wonderful world-building, and intrigue upon intrigue. Looking forward to book 3 in this series.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, 6/10. Clichéd but very readable, book 1 of a trilogy. The magic of the Grishas and the world-building are two strong elements in the book, but the 3 main characters and their love triangle are really YA stereotypes, as are most of the secondary characters. I read this because June’s category is YA fantasy in the Better World Books Reading Challenge. I had not previously read any of the Grishaverse books, although I’ve heard good things about the Duology that follows this trilogy.

Next up is There Will Be Time by Poul Anderson.

[Christine]

I just finished Scythe and really enjoyed this book; I'm sorry i didn't think to put it up for a group fantasy pick. Now I'm reading One Fell Sweep the third book in this series which I also recommend

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

There Will Be Time by Poul Anderson reminded me of The Boat of a Million Years, our BotM from a while back, also by Anderson. This book was truly about time travelers, while Boat was about “immortals” who lived through many, many epochs of time, but both had that historical fiction feel as the characters immersed themselves in different time periods. 8.5/10

Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman, also 8.5/10, was another solid mystery set on the Navajo reservation and featuring Joe Leaphorn.

Now I’m back in Greg Keyes’s Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series with The Blood Knight.

[Mary]

Other Rhodes by Sarah A. Hoyt

[Shel, Moderator]

Crazy Rich Asians was pretty good fluff - not my usual genre, but someone was giving the book away on my neighborhood Buy Nothing group and I figured I'd see what the buzz was all about.

I don't remember requesting it, but at some point I must have because it popped up as a library loan this week - I just finished The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. I wasn't sure what to expect (especially since I don't even remember where I heard about the book). It was just ok. Kind of a ridiculous premise (Victorian England, where there is an exclusive club of lady pirates who pilot flying houses while committing all sorts of crimes, and then sit down and have tea), and not well-written enough for suspension of disbelief. It was good enough entertainment for sitting by the pool and watching the kids swim!

Heaven's Reach is next.

[Shel, Moderator]

I mean Infinity’s Shore. Heaven’s Reach is next month 🙂.

[Lindsey]

Kathi wrote: "I had not previously read any of the Grishaverse books, although I’ve heard good things about the Duology that follows this trilogy." My opinion but the duology is a big improvement over the first trilogy.

I finished up How High We Go in the Dark and books 4 and 5 (Late Eclipses and One Salt Sea) of the October Daye series. My book club read Sea of Tranquility, which was a decent time travel book, and we started A Winter's Promise. It's a fantasy work in translation and so far it has interesting worldbuilding and a cool magic system. I also did a quick read of Alix Harrow's new novella, A Mirror Mended.

Out of genre, I tried out The Poet X. It is one of the few YA novels that has taken me back to the feeling of being a teenager, rather than rolling my eyes a little (or a lot) at teenage priorities. Highly recommend; the book is 95% told via poems and it worked so, so well to convey the emotions of the protagonist. I also finished Infidel and Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century, both of which were worthy reads.

[Mary]

Tinsel Rain by Moe Lane

[Shel, Moderator]

Lindsey wrote: " I also did a quick read of Alix Harrow's new novella, A Mirror Mended..."

Ooh, I didn't realize that one was out. I really liked A Spindle Splintered - off to request from the library!

[Christine]

Shel wrote: "Lindsey wrote: " I also did a quick read of Alix Harrow's new novella, A Mirror Mended..."

Ooh, I didn't realize that one was out. I really liked A Spindle Splintered - off to requ..."

It's on order at my library