How is it the end of June, already??
June has been the craziest of months. There has been a LOT going on at school, what with the preparation for next year, report checking, and some other situations that made it quite tough.
And reading is my go to to relax, but even so, I was so exhausted most nights, I fell asleep before getting much reading done! Ooops!
Still, I read, but I also went to the MeetCute Book Festival near Elstree on June 28th, which was an amazing place to celebrate all things romance fiction, and I was even invited to speak there! Such a great day!
Now, back to this month’s reads/listens. There were ARCS and Audiobook listens…
Seven Summers Later: The new emotional and unforgettable second-chance romance by Laila Rafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Yes, yes, yes to another fabulous Desi love story, filled with second chances, grumpy sunshine, lots of Italy, and hints of Mombasa!
Laila Rafi crafts beautiful, heartfelt stories, and Seven Summers Later is no different.
Safiya is back home in London after a painful divorce. She is nursing heartbreak, but it’s not her Kenya-based ex-husband that she can’t quite forget.
Her self-confidence has eroded over six gruelling years in a loveless marriage, cementing the way she was made to feel by a close family member seven years ago. Slowly, she picks herself up hesitantly, dipping her toes back into the career she had always loved, but had lost, because of marriage: interior design.
Murad has worked diligently to achieve his current position. He has a successful career, cars, a swanky penthouse, and money, but his life is lacking in love and romance. Because no one quite lives up to the love of his life, who slipped away seven years ago.
A chance encounter brings them both together, once more, where they are not only forced to work together, but live alongside one another in a small village in Italy to renovate a crumbling villa.
You can feel the emotions from the off, the hesitancy to even want to communicate with one another, as both Safiya and Murad struggle with the situation, but also with coming to terms with feelings they thought had long since been buried.
The story centres around them, but also explores the themes of family honour and expectations, both of which can weigh heavily on the shoulders of many, taking chances and believing in oneself.
I was even happier to read brief glimpses of characters who featured in Laila Rafi’s previous book, First Comes Marriage, a couple with links to the same family.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for an ARC.
Published 5th June, 2025
The Moment of Truth by Shari Low
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another of my audiobook reads/listens.
The story centres around three friends who own a business called Perfect Proposals. Lainey, Tash and Millie are childhood friends who went into business together to help couples create the perfect proposal moments.
They are the ideal team, really, with Lainey being in a solid relationship with Cameron, the perfect poster couple for happily marrieds, and Millie, who is a die-hard romantic. Tash brings realism to the outfit, with a more laissez-faire approach to romance, as she is not one to be tied down herself.
The story is told from the perspectives of all three women, each with a parallel storyline. Still, the focus is on Lainey, who discovers that they appear to be setting up a proposal for a couple, led by the female half… and the male half may be her husband.
There is a lot of wariness, as she battles with whether she should confront him or not, and tries to convince herself that it is a coincidence that the man is called Cameron, with the same surname and job title as her own husband.
I won’t tell you more, but though it sometimes took a while to get going, and I sometimes wanted to throttle her for not asking him straight out, the three friends hash out a plan to find out the truth, in the most spectacular way!
The narrator was really great with accents, and I enjoyed listening to this.
Read Between the Lines by Emily Kerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another enjoyable Emily Kerr story!
Kat Fisher (yes, that is her real name) is a librarian. She feels she is stereotypical, a bit serious, not noticeable to anyone other than her regular library visitors, and unattractive to the opposite sex. So a chance match on a very specific, local dating app, SO OX develops into a relationship that shows promise… until it doesn’t.
Leo Taylor, an ex-police officer, is minding his own business when he visits the library. However, he finds himself the recipient of her tongue, albeit in a hushed tone, as she chastises him for leaving his belongings everywhere, including his shoes, on the seat opposite.
Somehow, they become embroiled in a bit of a covert investigation, when Kat finds herself, well, kat-fished by a smooth-tongued suitor.
You know when you can feel the chemistry from the off? That is Kat and Leo, only they can’t quite get their act together, even though everyone around them seems to sense the attraction!
There are some fantastic side characters, including a retired CEO, Doris, who now has a penchant for smutty books and even has a spicy bookstagram following!
I enjoyed this read!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC
Released 13th June, 2025
Over the Sea to Skye by Sue Moorcroft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ll start by saying that I haven’t read books 1 and 2 in the series yet, and though it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this story, I 100% will be going back to catch up on the backstories of the others.
Over The Sea To Skye centres around Valentina Wynter, a newly single parent, on her way to Skye from Inverness with her son, Barnaby, for a hopefully relaxed summer, after a fraught few months following the break-up of her marriage.
Well, that is the plan, but you know what they say about the best laid plans, and all that?
Valentina is the oldest of three adopted sisters, and the only one with no link to her biological family. So, being in Skye, where her two sisters, Ess and Thea, live, is the closest she can get to being with people who love her.
On the train journey, they end up seated with American tourists, Xander and his nephew Macdonald, who are here for some heritage searching and a bit of a break as well.
What follows over the summer isn’t quite relaxing, but dealing with an unwell ex, needy, overbearing in-laws, a whole new branch of family, plus a sudden attraction to a certain Pittsburgher is undoubtedly worth it!
I loved Xander. He showed a depth of feeling and emotion that is rare in men, and his relationship with his nephew is exemplary.
Valentina and Xander are a partnership I was rooting for from the off! Yay for #ValeXander!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for an ARC.
Released 5th June, 2025
Girls Just Want to Have Sun: A hilarious novel of sun, surprises and chaos from Jo Lyons by Jo Lyons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
If you want a book that will have you giggling on the sunlounger while beside the pool, then I think you have found your holiday read!
A rom-com that gives so much com that I found myself laughing out loud at several points!
Connie is a singer, stuck in a rut. She’s still grieving the loss of her mother and desperately trying to fit into the hole her mother left in the singing world. but nothing is going right.
Her manager, Nancy give a last chance opportunity to her, to travel to Benidorm for a week, replacing a popular tribute act, with the Dollz as her warm-up act.
The moment we meet the Dollz, you know they aren’t going to let any part of this working break be boring! Their outlandish makeup and outfits, sudden group ‘slut drops’, and pure party girl mentality are a touch too far removed from Connie’s usual life.
And the journey starts with explosive moments, including Connie making quite an impression on the passenger sitting next to her, and not in the most positive of manners!
There is drama, some funny situations and plenty of twists as Connie seems to mess up all her opportunities, both with her career and potential lovelife.
The Dollz; yeah, maybe a tad too over the top, but they certainly never let anything get boring…
And Connie? She gets there, in the end!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.
Released 14th June, 2025
Once Upon a Thyme by Jane Lovering
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Tally is a woman in her late twenties who runs a herb farm. It has always been a part of her family, first belonging to her grandma, then her mother, before Tally buys it outright from her mum.
It’s a tough gig, especially as she has caring responsibilities for her mother, unwell with an unknown illness, but she loves being with the plants, and her guinea pigs, and especially Big Pig, her sow.
She ends up with Zeb, a marketing consultant appointed by her mother, tagging along as she goes about her life.
A chance visit from an up-and-coming band who want to use the farm to shoot videos gives Tally the chance of some more income, much-needed funds to continue her small, struggling business, and under the guidance of Zeb, she hesitantly agrees.
But there are lots of things going on, with thinking about a certain band member, as well as looking out for her mother, and trying to quell feelings that are building about someone else.
It’s a slow-rumbling romance, with a slightly darker moment when secrets are uncovered; however, it’s a lovely summer read.
A gorgeous story filled with love, a twist of mystery and a lot of hope.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.
Released on 24th June, 2025
Three Sisters by Heather Morris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve listened to another audiobook, and it’s the third in the Auschwitz trilogy by Heather Morris.
This is another beautifully told story of the three Mellor sisters, who made a promise to their father on his deathbed, when they were mere slips of girls, to always look after each other—a promise they upheld, and then some.
The three sisters go on quite an emotional, and often tragic journey through the war, separated then reunited in the most awful of places; Auschwitz.
But their journey doesn’t end there. They separate once more for two to go on another massive, eventful trek to Israel, to help create a homeland for the Jewish community.
Though all is thankfully well for them at the end, this book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions: sadness, fear, terror, hope, and confusion.
Why the confusion? Because of the mention of Gaza and Palestine within the book. What hit me was that this story of persecution, and an entire community just looking for a safe space, echoes what is happening right now in Gaza, and yet this time it is the same people who suffered, causing suffering to another innocent community.
True, it is a whole new generation, but I know of many older Jewish folk who are horrified, feeling and hearing the echoes of what they experienced, happening all over. Still, this time the persecutors are their own. The stories from Auschwitz and many other concentration camps, the death marches, losing unnecessary Jewish lives… Stories uncovered and retold many years later, and yet we are seeing the horrors to innocent Gaza residents in real-time, and still it’s not stopping. It’s not about religion, it’s about one-upmanship, and no consideration for lives destroyed so horrifically.
Sorry to get political in a review; it hit a nerve.
The Dirty Version by Turner Gable Kahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reading the blurb after the title pulled me in and made me eager to read this book. Now, was it worth it?
We have Tash, an author whose first novel, a female-centric dystopian piece, has reached the level of fandom that it is being commissioned for adaptation as a TV series. Only the producer wants it to be ‘sexed-ed up’ more for the screen, as well as a significant change to the ending.
Tash battles with this idea, as it is so far from her ideals and the book’s concept.
Threatened with the loss of any say, she teams up with an Intimacy Co-ordinator, Caleb, celebrated in his field for helping to create, well, hot scenes!
Here, we end up with a bit of a grumpy-sunshine workplace romance, as Tash battles with her more visceral feelings towards her work partner and her strong feelings about her book, which is going to be ‘butchered’ for the screen, losing all integrity.
An easy-to-read summer romance, but considering the title The Dirty Version, any action is very much closed-door!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Verve Books for an ARC.
Published 26th June, 2025
The first of my July Book tour arcs. I’ll be featuring the full review on 2nd July! And it’s a cricket-based romance, so given my family obsession with the sport, it just had to be read!
Whisked Away at Christmas by Mahi Cheshire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I listened to this title as I walked, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Gina and Nick, two pastry chefs with a history and each with a thirst to win the Golden Whisk Award.
I really enjoyed this story of two individuals who are so perfect for each other, but with huge barriers, such as misconceptions that they struggle to clear up.
Set with the backdrop of Vienna at Christmas time, it’s a perfect Christmas read(listen)!
Dear Miss Lake by A.J. Pearce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It was a pleasure to leap back into the world of Emmy Lake and her fellow Magazine colleagues as they clamber through the murky end-of-war years.
We are treated to weddings, a relocation, and a fair few tragedies, as well as some mystery as Hester disappears for a while.
I loved this last installment, and AJ Pearce really helps the reader get a feel for what many families on the home front would have felt like, nervously awaiting news of their loved ones in Europe, as war sounds like it is ending.
There are less of the Dear Miss Lake letters, as Emmy gets engrossed in helping women and families trying to trace their family members who are prisoners of war, and that is not without emotion.
An enjoyable addition to the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC.
Published 3rd July, 2025
An early July Blog tour review will be up for this one, so be patient!
12 books this month! Which one did you fancy?
But I Smile Anyway... 