June is the first month in a while where I didn’t go by a structured TBR. And I ended up reading around the same – this month I read eight books. In July I will be returning to planned TBRs, but for now, here’s everything I read in the past month.

Star Trek: A Choice of Catastrophes by Michael Schuster and Steve Mollman

⭐⭐⭐

Star Trek: A Choice of Catastrophes is an original series tie-in novel primarily featuring Dr. McCoy. After completing a mission to deliver medical supplies, the Enterprise finds themselves stuck in a part of space where strange events are occurring. First there are power failures, then people are mysteriously falling into comas. Dr. McCoy must get to the bottom of these series of stange events and cure the crew, but at the same time, his own demons return to torment him.

This is the first of many Star Trek tie-in books I’ll be reading (I’ve amassed a small collection primarily from used shops and library sales at this point). I really liked the concept of this book and the way it had potential to drive for a character-based plot, but at the same time, the characterization fell a bit flat for me. Overall, it was still a pretty interesting story, and I’m looking forward to reading more of my Star Trek books in the near future.

You can read my full review on my Goodreads here.

Tin Man by Sarah Winman

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Tin Man is a story about two boys, Ellis and Michael, who become friends when they are twelve years old. After spending many summer days doing everything together, they discover their love for eachother. But ten years later, Ellis is married to a woman named Annie, and Michael is missing. This is the story of what happened in those ten years.

This book has been on my radar for a while, and I finally read it. This book gives away quite a bit from the synopsis, but its the beautiful writing throughout that makes this book so emotional and powerful. I highly recommend it.

You can read my full review on my Goodreads here.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Invisible Man was an instant classic originally published in 1952. It follows an unnamed narrator and his journey across the racial divide in his attempts to make a living and eventually continue his education.

Although this book very heavily narrows in on the narrator only, this element of the book brings a lot to light about how people exercise their prejudices on others. Throughout this book, I found myself so upset for the narrator and his unfair treatment that I had to put the book down repeatedly, knowing that, although he is a fictional character, that his experiences are very real. I’d recommend this classic to everyone.

You can read my full review on my blog here.

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

⭐⭐⭐.75

A Song Below Water is a YA fantasy that follows Tavia and Effie. It takes place in a world where sirens and other mythological creatures exist, and Tavia is secretly one of them. Effie has family secrets yet to be uncovered and a past of her own that she’s trying to decipher. But in a world where tensions are rising, no secrets are safe.

I really loved the characters and the concept of this story, and the way fantasy ties into the issues tackled in this story. The main issue I had is that there was a lot of different plot elements going on for such a short book, but I would have loved if this book was 200 pages longer so I could have stayed immersed in it longer.

You can read my full review on my blog here.

Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards

⭐⭐⭐

Mortmain Hall is the second in a mystery series following amateur sleuth Rachael Savernake. It is the 1930’s, and a group of people, including Savernake herself, are invited to Mortmain Hall because of a shocking similarity between them. But then, a body is found at the bottom of the cliffs of Mortmain Hall – and Savernake and the group must figure out the ties to the death and what happened.

I feel like the synopsis was a bit misleading in a sense because the main event happens 70% into the book. Nonetheless, this was my first mystery book in a while and I definitely want to start reading more of them again after this.

You can read my full review on my blog here.

Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

⭐⭐.75

Men Explain Things to Me is a collection of essays that explores the dynamics of men and women in everyday life. It includes statistical data and examples of real-life events to demonstrate how prevalent domestic violence is and the culture that promotes it.

This book did have some good quotes and conversations, but it wasn’t the most organized, nor did it really focus on the day-to-day conversations and interactions as much as the synopsis promised. Additionally, I feel like there should have been more discussions on intersectionality, but when an opportunity was brought on to discuss it, the author always brought it back to women as a whole. I’d only recommend it to those who have never read anything on feminism.

You can read my full review on my Goodreads here.

The Adventures of Isabel by Candas Jane Dorsey

⭐⭐

The Adventures of Isabel is the first in a mystery series featuring an unnamed ambisexual narrator and her cat, Bunnywit. The narrator’s friend finds out that her granddaughter is dead, and is less likely to get a proper investigation (or one at all) because of her occupation as a sex worker. Hep asks the narrator to take on the job, and in that process, the narrator makes friends along the way and makes discoveries about her identity.

While I liked the commitment to diversity in this book, I didn’t like the execution as much. This book is very dialogue-heavy and it makes the character-based development get lost. Additionally, some of the dialogue the characters used made me question the representation a bit.

You can read my full review on my blog here.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half follows twin sisters Stella and Desiree, two black women that grew up in a small town. After their father is killed, they leave town – and from there, their lives separate. One returns home to her old life, and the other completely abandons her past. It is the story of two identical twins living in a world of black and white.

This book was incredible and so beautifully written. There is so much discussion around identity throughout generations and how the sisters’ lives and decisions after leaving Mallard impacted them and their families. You could easily talk about this book for hours, and I’d be happy to talk about this book for hours.

You can read my full review on my blog here.

And that’s everything I read in June! I wasn’t sure how not having a TBR would turn out, but I read just around the same. I also finally got to read some really great books I’ve been anticipating in the process.

How about you? Did you read any of these? How did your reading go this June? Did you come across any five-star reads this month? Let me know!

Until next time,

-Julie Anna