It’s the first Thursday of the month. Time to report!
What is the best book you read in June 2022 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF, or even fiction. We just want to share some great reading material.
Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.
And don’t forget that we always have plenty more reading recommendations on our Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page.
As always, one commenter with a U.S. mailing address will choose a book from our stacks. If you’re outside the U.S., we’ll send you a $5 Amazon gift card.
I tackled an unusually high 10 books in June (5 is closer to my average). 3 were “palette cleansing” thrillers, including the long-awaited conclusion to Steven Konkoly’s Black Flagged series, Vindicta. I also caught up with Jim Butcher’s Dresden series, reading Peace Talks and Battleground together, as they were originally planned as one volume. I read advance reader copies of new works by indie authors Clayton W Snyder and Rob J Hayes, really good stuff. The best of the bunch, however, was Midnight Tides, the 5th (of 10) vume in Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen. After being relatively disappointed in the ptevious book in the series, Midnight more than made up for it, scoring a rare 9/10 from me, and possibly the fastest I’ve read any of these books. Both new and old characters kept me entertained, and some comic relief took the sting out of the usually grim world Erikson depicts.
The best book I read in June was Amor Towles A Gentleman in Moscow. I had very few expectations going into the reading, but a friend had recommended it and so I put it on my Kindle to take on a camping trip. It moves from the 1920s to the 1950s, as we see the Soviet Union through the eyes of Count Rostov, whose nobility has led him to be placed on house arrest inside the Metropol Hotel (an actual place, which still exists today). The voice and writing are assured, the main characters possess a great deal of charm, and Towles does a beautiful job of immersing us in the world and perspective of Count Rostov. It was one of those books that makes you want more from the other books you are reading. 10/10.
I had the same expectations when I read A Gentleman in Moscow. I didn’t think a book about a guy trapped in a hotel could possibly be interesting. It went way beyond expectations. I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads.
What I found very strange about this book, was that the main character felt much more british than russian. Otherwise it was quite good.
Sea of Tranquility- Emily St. John Mandel
I reread The Riddle-Master trilogy and truly enjoyed it again. Sometimes, Morgon’s refusal to accept his fate irritates me and sometimes I completely sympathize with his unwillingness to give up his peaceful Hed heritage. This time I was fine with it.
Tangential stories included One Giant Leap by Kay Simone where an astronaut on a rejuvenated shuttle mission gets into a relationship with CAPCOM (the main on-earth communicator to the shuttle). Author freely admits that she plays fast-and-loose with the science and how NASA works, but I still found it interesting.
Another interesting book was Poppy Dale’s Seeing Blind. One character suffers from prosopagnosia (better known as face blindness) and tries to memorize visual cues to help identify people. He matches with someone on an app and they commence a long online friendship/flirtation.
My favorite was Vengeful by V.E. Scwabb. It was a good quality sequel that was on par with book one.
I LOVE that series! I hope there’s a 3rd book in the near future!
I’m going to say both “The Legacy of Molly Southbourne” by Tade Thompson, and “The Last Cuentista” by Donna Barba Higuera.
The first book is the last book in a sci-fi thriller novella trilogy. “Molly Southborne” and her “sisters” are trying to live together and are attending therapy sessions in order to work through their issues. However, there are 2 organizations (mentioned in the 2 previous books) who are still “interested” in “Molly.” And, there’s another rouge “Molly” on the loose. There is a twist towards the end of this book, which makes you reconsider everything you thought you knew about “Molly Southbourne.” I enjoyed this series more than I thought I would.
Some of you might be familiar with “The Last Cuentista” because it won this year’s Newbery Award. That being said, I wanted to read this book from its release last year. In this story, Halley’s Comet is about to crash into Earth, and the world has selected scientists to leave on spaceships which are heading towards a new planet. The protagonist, her parents (who are scientists), and her younger brother are selected to leave. The protagonist, Petra, wants to be a storyteller like her grandmother (who is being left behind), but instead her parents have science programs “uploaded” into her subconsciousness as she and everyone else are “asleep” for the next 300 years. Unfortunately, when Petra wakes up she learns the ship has been overtaken by a group known as “The Collective” where they believe erasing history equates to peace and harmony. Petra is the only one who remembers Earth and must keep her knowledge a secret as she finds a way to save the remaining survivors. Yes, it’s similar to “The Giver.”
I highly recommend both books!
Marianne Busser’s “Royal Dutch Bedtime Stories”, featuring King and Queen Bobble. So nice to have access to some cute illustrated tales for children from my native country.
I ended up with six 4-star books, no 5-stars in June. The lone fantasy story was “The Crowded Shadows” by Celine Kiernan, the second in the Moorehawke trilogy. The first, “The Poison Throne,” was very good too. They are basic quest stories, a trio trying to keep the kingdom together. Nice escapist reading.
“Groosham Grange” by Anthony Horowitz, which is about a strange and sinister school!
The next Foundation book by Isaac Asimov, Foundation and Empire, which introduces the insidious Mule. Although sometimes I think we could use a more benevolent version of the Mule to influence certain Supreme Court justices.
Legions of Fire, the next trilogy of Babylon 5 novels, begins with The Long Night of Centauri Prime, opening right where the TV series left off as Londo Mollari finds himself a puppet emperor on Centauri Prime for the Drakh Entire.
Kah-thurak,if you live in the USA, you win a book of your choice from our stacks. If your address is outside of the USA, you will get a $5 Amazon gift card.
Please contact me (Marion) with your choice and a US address. Happy reading!