Hello Readers! I have another ambitious TBR for June, which includes mostly ARCs and re-reads, but two new books, as well. I’m hoping to cross off the final books on My Spring TBR, get started on my #20BooksOfSummer23 Challenge, and continue to cross off prompts from My Popsugar Challenge. If you look back at My May TBR, you’ll see a few repeats. Whatever I don’t get to this month, will probably show up on July’s TBR, too. I’ve also been much better about reading on Libby, so my TBR may change if one of my waitlist books becomes available. I’m pretty excited about my reading for this month, so hopefully that encourages me to keep picking up books!

Let’s see what I’m hoping to read!

Golden Hills by Jennifer Weiner

I’ve already read this short story that was my Amazon First Reads pick for last month. I needed something I didn’t have to think too hard about to get me through the last days of May to the first days of June, and this worked well. I’ve read and enjoyed several novels by the author, so I knew it would be well-written. I thought it was okay, but probably not memorable.

Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a heartfelt short story about a complicated friendship and a youthful betrayal that still has the power to shape two women’s lives.

Senatorial favorite Ida Berkowitz is headed for a win. Raised by a hardworking widowed mother, she’s authentic, relatable, and down-to-earth. Voters love her. Polls promise victory. Then her campaign manager utters four awful words: Who is Marissa Schuyler? She had almost managed to forget. Ida’s bunkmate at Camp Golden Hills when they were girls, Marissa was confident, sophisticated, and wealthy. Everything Ida wasn’t. Now the polished wife of a major conservative donor, Marissa’s announced a press conference. About Ida.

Just like that, Ida’s old insecurities come rushing in. So do new feelings of dread. After all these years, she knows what’s on Marissa’s mind. It could undermine everything Ida’s worked for. Because it isn’t very pretty.

Goodreads

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Happy Place by Emily Henry

It sounds a bit ridiculous, but when I discovered Emily Henry’s newest book would only be released in hardback here in the US, unlike her previous books, I went searching for a paperback copy. I knew it would probably be a book I’d want to keep to reread, and I wanted it to match the other books by the author on my shelves. I quickly located a UK paperback through an online used bookstore, which meant I had to wait a few weeks. It finally arrived! Unfortunately it’s still bigger than my US paperbacks, but at least it’s easier to hold than a hardback. 😃 Someday, when they release the paperback in the US, I can replace it. Oh, and I’m currently reading and loving this one!

Synopsis:

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.
 
They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Goodreads

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Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

I’m calling this one a re-read, but I have absolutely no memory of reading it when I was younger. I only know it’s marked as ‘read’ on my Goodreads. I’m currently reading this one via Libby on my kindle. We’ll see if anything rings a bell. I’m anxious to watch the new adaptation after I read it.

Synopsis:

Margaret Simon, almost twelve, likes long hair, tuna fish, the smell of rain, and things that are pink. She’s just moved from New York City to Farbook, New Jersey, and is anxious to fit in with her new friends—Nancy, Gretchen, and Janie. When they form a secret club to talk about private subjects like boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret is happy to belong.

But none of them can believe Margaret doesn’t have religion, and that she isn’t going to the Y or the Jewish Community Center. What they don’t know is Margaret has her own very special relationship with God. She can talk to God about everything—family, friends, even Moose Freed, her secret crush.

Margaret is funny and real, and her thoughts and feelings are oh-so-relatable—you’ll feel like she’s talking right to you, sharing her secrets with a friend.

Goodreads

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Our Place on the Island by Erika Montgomery

My second book by the author, I’ve been saving this one for as close to summer as I could get, and it’s finally time to read it! The early reviews look great, as well.

Synopsis:

For decades, the Campbell women have reunited at the family’s rambling seaside cottage known as Beech House to celebrate life’s many occasions. But this year, they will be called back to Martha’s Vineyard for a celebration of a different their beloved matriarch Cora is getting remarried. And all the town gossips are calling him the one who got away, years ago…

For renowned chef Mickey Campbell, this wedding isn’t just a welcome excuse to return to the place she first learned to cook at her grandmother’s side. It’s also a chance to regroup while she figures out a way to tell her smoldering head chef boyfriend that she’s mismanaged their restaurant into the red.

Mickey’s mother, Hedy, is still mourning the passing of her adored father three years earlier, and she isn’t sure she’s ready to welcome a new man into the fold―and she’s not certain her own thorny relationship with her mother will weather the storm of her upcoming marriage.

But everyone knows a woman’s heart holds more than meets the eye. For Cora, drawing her daughter and granddaughter back to Beech House isn’t just about a ceremony, but a chance to reveal a history she has kept close to her heart for decades. As the days leading up to the wedding unfold, secrets of Cora’s past come to light– a secret that will cause three generations of Campbell women to question marriage, motherhood, and ultimately learn to savor the delicious joy of following your own heart.

Told in dual timelines on the sumptuous beaches of Martha’s Vineyard, OUR PLACE ON THE ISLAND is the sparkling, romantic read of the season.

Goodreads
Expected June 13, 2023

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The Love Theorem by Camilla Isley

Isley, whose self-published books I’ve enjoyed, has signed with Boldwood Books, so some of her books are getting re-released with edits, new titles, and new covers. The Love Theorem was originally released as To the Stars and Back, one of her books I haven’t read yet, so I was happy to be approved for the ARC!

Synopsis:

Are a rocket scientist and Hollywood’s brightest star a match made in heaven or is it a catastrophe headed for a crash landing?

Lana loves four things: science, her cats, her friends, and her books. She’s on her way to earning her professorship when she finds out her long-term boyfriend has been sleeping with her best friend! That discovery has her hiding in the broom closet at a posh hotel.

Only, it turns out broom closets are the place to be these days. 

Christian Slade, America’s sexiest man alive (as voted by fans), in a desperate attempt to escape the paparazzi finds himself in a broom closet with one sobbing occupant. Unable to leave a damsel in distress, he offers help, only to realize she has no idea who he is! It’s like he’s been given a gift. A smart, beautiful woman, who isn’t after him for fame and fortune . . .

Soon Christian is buying a Tesla to impress his scientist with his eco credentials and taking her on dates where no one will recognize him. 

But as Christian falls in love he worries what will happen when Lana finds out who he is?

A STEMinist romance with an unforgettable meet-cute perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood!

Please note that this title was originally published as To The Stars And Back.

Goodreads
Expected June 13, 2023

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

It’s been about ten years since I first read The Hunger Games and I’m hoping to reread the series before I pick up the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Fingers crossed I can at least start with the first book this month.

Synopsis:

Could you survive on your own in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don’t live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love.

Goodreads

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The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy

And if I have time, I’m hoping to get to my only July ARC at the moment, the third book in the Avalon Bay series by Elle Kennedy. Each book can be read as a standalone, but I enjoyed the first two in this summery romance series!

Synopsis:

College student Cassie Soul hasn’t spent an entire summer in Avalon Bay in years, not since her parents divorced and her mother spitefully whisked her away to Boston. Now that her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel that’s been in their family for five decades, Cassie returns to the quaint beach town to spend time with family, ring in her twenty-first birthday… and maybe find herself a summer fling.

On her first night in town, she finds the perfect candidate: Tate Bartlett, Avalon Bay’s fun-loving golden boy.

Tate, sailing instructor and lovable player, is no stranger to flings. In fact, he’s always down for a good time. But the moment he meets Cassie, he knows she’s not the girl you play games with. Cassie is gorgeous, hilarious, and, frankly, the coolest person he’s ever met. The last thing he wants to do is risk breaking her heart, and so he reluctantly puts her in the friend-zone… only to realize he made a huge mistake. Soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. He wants that fling now. Big-time.

And maybe even something more.

As Cassie and Tate walk the line between friends and lovers, they’re about to discover that their situation is the least complicated part of this equation. Because Avalon Bay is full of secrets—and their relationship might not survive when those secrets come to light.

Elle Kennedy’s next spicy and emotional romance in the blockbuster Avalon Bay series.

Goodreads

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Have you read any of these books yet? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!