It’s book day! Crazy how fast that comes every month, right?! For June, my goal was to get through as many books on my shelf in Netgalley as I possibly could. You know, so I can request more and keep up my ration. Ha! But also to follow along with Dani and Erin‘s Read My Books challenge. Full disclosure, One True Loves was the only book that I did not have prior to this month, the rest I pulled from my Netgalley shelf from requests that were approved before June. A few of them may have been archived for more than a month….oops. Better late that never. Obviously I am also linking up with the queen(s) of books, Steph and Jana!

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

This book is a retelling of Taming of the Shrew. One of my favorite movies, 10 Things I Hate About You is also a retelling of Taming of the Shrew. I found myself thinking of those characters a little as I read this novel. The book is short, less than 250 pages and I felt like Anne Tyler did a good job at retelling the famous comedy. The writing itself was great and if I didn’t know it was a retelling, I would have compared it to Taming of the Shrew.

Had this story been just a modern day tale, there are a few things that would have irked me about how Kate was just supposed to submit to her father and marry Pyotr. The way he is always expecting Kate to take care of him like its her life duty and such. But I appreciate all her snark and the contrast between her and her sister Bunny.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a good retelling of Taming of the Shrew, this is it. It is a quick, summer read.

Rating: 3/5

I received a copy of Vinegar Girl from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I knew that when I saw this on Kristen’s list last  month. it would be right up my alley. I really enjoyed this book. What would you do if your husband was thought to be dead and you had moved on with someone else…..only to realize that he never died. I really liked the characters in this book, both guys were likable as was Emma. This was a beautifully told love story and I had my mind made up about half way through where I wanted Emma to end up in the end. And I loved loved loved the ending.

Bottom Line: Read it! I adored this book.

Rating: 5/5

That Darkness by Lisa Black

This book was just ok for me. There was a lot of action and an interesting story line, but it didn’t pick up as much as I would have liked until I was 80% in to the book.  While I appreciate all the crime scene analysis and details that make up the story, it was sort of boring at the same time. Perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood for this type of book when I read it? The book did make me question whether you should do the right thing or the legal thing. How I would feel if the justice system failed me. And my thoughts on vigilantes.

Bottom Line: If you are in to crime books, this would be a good option for you. I really did like the story line and concept of the book.

Rating: 3/5

I received a copy of That Darkness from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.

Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton

I am a huge Janet Evanovich fan, I just love her Stephanie Plum series. I also recently read one of the books from her Fox and O’Hare series a few months back and it was great too. Curious Minds is (hopefully) a new series with Janet Evanovich pairing with Phoef Sutton. I really enjoyed this book!!! I liked Riley, the lead female character. She is sort of quirky like Stephanie Plum, but maybe put together a little more. And then there is Emmerson, the eccentric millionaire that grabbed my heart. These two made quite the team while trying to solve the mystery of fake gold in the Federal Reserve. I literally read this book in one day, that is how much I enjoyed it. I just flowed for me and I wanted to find out what was going to happen next!

Bottom Line: If you like the Stephanie Plum series or cozy mysteries in general, then this book is for you.

Rating: 4/5

I received a copy of Curious Minds from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.

First Comes Love by Emily Giffin

I was a little worried, as Giffin’s last book was pretty terrible, I knew this would have to be better. The chapters rotate between Josie and Meredith’s POV and I liked that. The book takes place in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. I lived in that area for several years and I loved hearing all the places I recognize like the OK Cafe, Tin Lizzy’s, Five Paces etc. I recognize all the street names and can picture everything as it is being described.

I liked that the characters of this book were relatable. You have one sister who seems to have the perfect life with the husband, the kid, the fancy career, etc and then you have the sister that is a little bit of a mess who appears carefree and selfish. But things aren’t as they seem. I liked that the characters weren’t perfect and it was a real sibling relationship.

Bottom Line: I really enjoyed this book. It was a great read and I really felt like I got to know the characters.

Rating:4/5

I received a copy of First Comes Love from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.

Wanting it All by Chrisi Barth

This is the second book in the Naked Men series. I reviewed the first book a few months ago. The Naked Men is actually a blog and podcast that a few best guy friends share where they are completely candid and uncensored about their real thoughts on topics. This book focuses on Knox, the incredibly successful and smart bachelor who typically goes through women like a buffet until he meets Madison. Madison is a strong and compassionate girl who has a one track mind to marriage. She is also in DC to find her long lost brother, none other than Knox’s best friend Logan. This was quite an interesting read watching Knox transform and see Madison adjust to big city living.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a cute love story, this is it.

Rating:3/5

I received a copy of Wanting it All from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.

Currently reading:

Still Alice by Lisa Genova