June Book Reviews

Well, friends, my list for this month is woefully short. Three books: one classic, one modern fiction, and one historical fiction; two via audiobook and one hard copy. I could give you all sorts of excuses for my lax reading habits, including taking naps in the summer sun, taking long walks to talk with God, going on a road trip, coordinating a concert, revising my novel, being a maid of honor, listening to lots of music, and staying up way past my bedtime. Though all are true and potentially valid (it's been a busy month, ya'll), I choose to blame... Ivanhoe.

Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott

Why this book? I'm glad you asked. 1) I've never read it before and knew nothing about it, and it felt like an important one to add to my literary experience. 2) I had two friends talk about it last month, and I felt left out. Though not as long as Bleak House, this was a doozy of a read because it was really slow-paced and was just a hard style for me to follow and stay focused on. It took me all month (off and on, for reasons listed above) to get through it. I loved discovering that it was set during the Crusades and included such familiar characters as Robin Hood, Prince John, and King Richard the Lionhearted. I liked the overdramatic romantic chivalry of it all. I am glad I read it. I have no desire to read it again.

 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4, Beth Bower 

Just to maintain some variety, I will not say this was my top pick, but... you must know I love this series. I only got to read one because I couldn't get my hands on the hard copy of the next volume. I know they are available in audiobook form, but I like seeing the different font styles and page layouts, and the way Emma crosses out words to edit herself. I know, I'm a nerd, but this all feels part of the Emma M. Lion experience, and I don't want to miss it! For anyone who has already read them or is currently reading them, I will say I'm still very much "Team Pierce" (aka, The Tenant), but the end of vol. 4 did cause me to develop a crush on Young Hawkes... there is just something inexplicably attractive to me about a guy reading a book in a cemetery with his feet propped up on a gravestone... I know, weird, right?    

MY JUNE TOP PICK:

Once and Again, Rebecca Serle

This was my book-club book this month, and the second one we've read by this author. The concept is basically: If you had one chance to undo one event in the past, would you? I like the idea and think it will be a great discussion prompt for our group, and I was interested to see how the author would handle it. There was one scene that got pretty steamy and there was a bit of strong language throughout, but overall, I liked the characters, the setting, and the way the plot wove through time and doubled back when someone took their "undo" chance in a magic-realism kind of way. And I absolutely loved the very end: what the main character finally decides to do with her last remaining chance; it put everything in perspective.