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It’s the second Tuesday of the month and time to share my June Reads with Jana and Steph’s monthly Show Us Your Books linkup. I thought June was off to a great start. But in the end, like last month, I only read five books. Quality-wise, most weren’t even that great. But, July is a new month. I feel like I read more in the summer, so I’m hoping that still remains true! Here are my June reads:
2 stars
The Perfect Nanny by Leiia Slimani – This was one of the times that I should have relied on the goodreads rating of this book. This book was translated from French and I was interested in seeing what kind of thriller this would be. Let’s just say this wasn’t suspenseful at all. I felt like it didn’t go anywhere and there were no likable characters. Overall, this was a big disappointment.
3 stars
A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay – I got this book years ago after reading and loving de Rosnay’s book Sarah’s Key. The book focuses on the complexity of family relationships but the secret was a bit of a letdown. I’m happy to have finally read a book off my own bookshelf though and can now pass it on.
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod – This was my non-fiction book of the month. At age 20, Elrod was clinically dead for 6 minutes after being hit head-on by a drunk driver. This accident made him reevaluate his life. He realized the power of getting up early and performing a consistent morning ritual. His morning practice, L.I.F.E.S.A.V.E.R.S., is the foundation of The Miracle Morning. I found Elrod’s story inspiring. And I really believe there’s a connection between being an early riser and success. I just need to actually put this book into practice!
4 stars
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center – Maggie had it all – a dream job, a nice apartment and an amazing boyfriend. However, everything changes on the night of her engagement. She wakes up in a hospital having to face that her life will never be the same. She does a lot of growing and a majority of the book focuses on her coming to terms with her new life. I believe that this book was recommended in the last SUYB. I had wanted to read one of Center’s other books, Happiness for Beginners, for awhile now. I am hopefully going to get to that one sooner than later now, since I enjoyed this book.
The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman – I’ve been a big Viola Shipman fan since I read The Charm Bracelet. Her books tend to have a formulaic quality, with objects, or in this case recipes, leading to a story. This book in particular felt a little repetitive to me at times, but overall it was an enjoyable story.
I might check out Viola Shipman, I don’t think I’ve read any of her books.
I’m not sure if they are your thing, but it’s definitely worth checking one of her books out.
Love the concept behind The Miracle Morning even though I haven’t read that one – definitely need to put it into practice in my own life too. Loved How to Walk Away 🙂
I have heard really good things about How to Walk Away. Sorry to hear you didn’t have a ton of great June reads, but I hope July is a better month for you!!
-Lauren
July is off to a great start so far! How to Walk Away is a great read!
bummer about A Secret Kept, but Sarah’s Key has been on my list for years. i am SO glad you enjoyed How to Walk Away! i loved it – and i’d be hard-pressed to choose between that and Happiness for Beginners for my favourite of hers! so i think you’ll like Happiness for Beginners when you get to it!
Sarah’s Key is a great read. I will have to read Happiness for Beginners soon!
The Viola Shipman sounds really interesting. Ill check that one out
Can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
I felt the exact same way about The Nanny! It literally went no where! So bleh.
Yes, I’m so disappointed when I read books like this.
I’m looking forward to reading How To Walk Away this summer!
I hope you enjoy it!
That’s a bummer that The Secret Kept didn’t live up to Sarah’s Key, but I’m glad that you read a book that you’ve been wanting to read for a long time! How To Walk Away sounds like a really good read!
I was happy too to read a book off my own shelf. There’s so many great new releases coming out that I tend to neglect the ones that I own and haven’t read.
I didn’t read a single book in June and feel really weird about it but I’m hoping to rebound in July! 😀 How to Walk Away is on my TBR.
Wow, hope you rebound in July with lots of reading!
I’m going to read How to Walk away on vacation. I hadn’t heard of The Recipe Box and that author. Thanks for the reviews.
Hope you enjoy it!
I loved How to Walk Away! The Recipe Box was pretty good, but like you said, repetitive at times. Did you know Viola Shipman is actually a male using his grandmother’s name? I thought it added another layer to the stories when I read that.
Yes, I did know that Shipman is a pen name and that he’s really male. He writes so well from a female perspective.
I liked How to Walk Away as well. 🙂 I want to read the Recipe Box! XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
Hope you get a chance to read it.
I read The Miracle Morning last summer and also loved it! It’s a little harder to actually do it everyday though!
Yes, I love the concept, but haven’t actually started it yet.
I thought I’d added How to Walk Away to my list, but I couldn’t find it … So thanks for reminding me that this book exists! 🙂
Hopefully your reads are a little better this month. I’ve been in kind of a reading rut for a while, so I understand how a not so great month (or months!) can really be a letdown.
Yes, July is off to a good start! I hate reading ruts and disappointing reads.
Glad to know I’m not the only one who gets inspired by certain books…but struggles to commit to what I learned and want to put into practice! Argggh. Hope next month has a few more hits for you!
Yes, so hard to commit to the practices that I read about! July is off to a great reading start.
I think I want to read How to Walk Away. I’ll have to put it on my holds list. It’ll probably take 9 months to come in.
It’s been a highly rated book on the linkup for those of us who have read it.
What a bummer about The Perfect Nanny! I had that one on my TBR as well. I do also want to read How to Walk Away, so I’m glad to hear that was a good one!
Yes, unfortunately, I do not recommend reading The Perfect Nanny!
I haven’t read How to Walk Away yet. Hopefully I will get to it soon.
Yes, it’s a good one!
I haven’t read How to Walk Away yet. Looking forward to it. My mom has read all the Shipman books. I have read the Charm Bracelet and enjoyed it. Pam 🙂
I think The Charm Bracelet was my first Shipman book and I loved it!
I keep seeing How to Walk Away pop up around Goodreads and readers’ lists. I’ll have to look into getting a copy.
Yes, it was a good read!
Adding How to Walk Away. I’ve had Happiness for Beginners on my TBR for awhile now too.
I know I need to read Happiness for Beginners sooner than later.