Mine for June, quite a few this month which is just as well as this year has been slow to date:

Hunting Unicorns - Bella Pollen 8/10 Rather enjoyed this book, loosely about the aristocracy and its problems. A bit predictable but fun.

Found Wanting - Robert Goddard 6/10 I usually enjoy this author's books and this was no exception but I can remember very little about it so not a stunning read I guess!

Eating for England - Nigel Slater 6/10 I was a bit disappointed by this one, it was a lot of nostalgia about the food of his childhood, which is what I wanted, but unfortunately it was a lot of short pieces of prose that didn't always hang together well. He did however remind me about Old English flavoured Spangles - yum!

House of Orphans - Helen Dunmore 8/10 One of the best of hers I've read so far, about a girl who moves on from the orphanage to work for the local doctor. Well written.

Wait until Midnight - Amanda Quick 7/10 I picked this from the library as a Q for my alphabet challenge and it proved a fun mystery romp involving mediums and bits of Victorian scandal. Though it's written by an american it's based in Enlgand, a bit of a cozy I guess.

The Maintenance of Headway - Magnus Mills 8/10 Whilst at the library I picked this one up too and loved it. A short, satirical look at bus timetabliing told through the drivers. Bizarre and great fun.

My Inside the Whale - Jenny Rooney 8/10 A lovely tale of an ill-fated love affair from the past, told by both parties. The style took a little while to get used to but I loved it in the ende.

Dear I Wanted to Tell You - Louisa Young 8/10 I nominated this for the monthly book group and I'll put more comments on the relevant thread. Suffice to say I enjoyed it, as I know many others have.

Amy and Isabelle - Elizabeth Strout 7/10 ~This time the relationship between a mother and daughter, and how it suffers as the daughter begins a relationship during a long, hot summer. Well told with tense, tight prose.

My June reads:

The Point of Rescue ~ Sophie Hannah:  I read this whilst on holiday and enjoyed it overall, although I do think that it dragged in places.  She's a very original author.

The Road Home ~ Rose Tremain:  Another holiday read and the first of this author's books that I have read.  I really enjoyed it, the characters were superb, and I loved the humour.

Dry Bones That Dream ~ Peter Robinson:  Inspector Banks is now a holiday read tradition for me - I really like this series.

Scandals of the Aristocracy ~ Andy K Hughes:  Non-Fiction.   Very accessible and well written - a 'dip in' book that details the horrors of the higher classes through the ages.

Gold ~ Chris Cleave:  Review for Amazon Vine.  I was very disappointed in this one, although I realise that I'm in the minority - it just didn't work for me.

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat ~ Chris Riddell:   Beautifully illustrated children's books.  The story of a little girl left home alone to fend for herself, and her adventures.

The Pools ~ Bethan Roberts:  A book that has been on TBR for years - I enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Black Heart Blue ~ Louisa Reid:  Review for publisher.   I was really impressed by this hard-hitting novel, aimed at young adults.  An author to watch.

The End of the Alphabet ~ C S Richardson:  A quirky, short novel but lacked a little something for me.

Pegasus Falling ~ William E Thomas:  Review for the Author.  I was really impressed by this story set during war time, the first in a trilogy.

Tender at the Bone ~ Ruth Reichl.  Non-Fiction.   Memoir of an American food critic - great writing and some lovely foodie bits.

Where There's A Will ~ Michael Kerrigan:  Review for Real Readers, non-fiction.   An interesting and useful book dealing with death and dying.  Written with compassion and humour.

The Girl You Left Behind ~ Jojo Moyes:  Review for Amazon Vine.  My book of the month - Jojo Moyes just gets better and better, a fabulous read.

The Witches of Chiswick by Robert Rankin

Strange, ludicrous but somehow enjoyable and compelling read.

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Good story slightly overwritten but worth a read if you have it already.

The Creeper by Tania Carver

If you like Mark Billingham you will like this.  Ok crime thriller for a beach read.

Books I absolutely loved

• One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf
• Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid
• The Neighbour by Lisa Gardner
• The Patchwork Marriage by Jane Green
• A Baby’s Cry by Cathy Glass
• White Wedding by Milly Johnson
• Save Me by Lisa Scottoline

Books I really enjoyed

• Revenge Of The Tide by Elizabeth Haynes
• Dead To Me. A Scott and Bailey Novel by Cath Staincliffe
• The Great Escape by Fiona Gibson
• Change of Life by Anna Stormont

Books that were just okay

• A Moment Like This by Anita Notaro

Books that I gave up on despite others really raving about

• After The Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyn

A good month of reading – reading eleven really good books is a wonderful thing.

I didn't hit my 5 book target this month, only managed 4 but some good reads

Alone - Lisa Gardner (audio) - 5/5  An excellent thriller that kept you questioning could it be her, no it's not, yes it is! My first read of hers and won't be my last!

The Small Hand - Susan Hill  - 5/5 I am not always a fan of Susan's as some of her books can be a bit depressing but this small lil book was a good proper ghost story.

5. The Full cupboard of Life - Alexaner McCall Smith (audio) 3/5 - not one of the best in the series, but still one of my fav authors.

Was - Geoff Ryman 2/5 (RISI book club read) - I was so looking forward to reading this but I really struggled through it, one that I was go glad when I got to the end.

Scarlet by Stephen R Lawhead  Second in this series where the author puts a new spin on the Robin Hood story. Not surprisingly this chapter is told from Will Scarlet's point of view. I was annoyed during the first 2/3 of the book where the narrative constantly gets interupted.  However there is still plenty of swashbuckling action and it's a good yarn.  7/10

Devil in Disguise by Julian Clary  I didn't enjoy this as much as his first book.  I felt it was too slow to get to the point, I can see he was trying to build intrigue but because of the humour it lost something in the thrill.  5/10

Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris  Loved this follow-up to Chocolat.  A darker tale told in a 3-way narrative which I found very compelling.  A magical, thrilling story. 10/10

The Prisoner of Paradise by Romesh Gunesekera  Set in Mauritius in 1825 this is a love story set against a backdrop of political unrest.  I found the political bits complicated and uninteresting and the love story was disappointing as well.  5/10

 11 books for me.  It started off being a chick-litty month, trying to work through a back log....

Mothers & Daughters - Kate Long - lots to relate to!

Calling Romeo - Alexandra Potter - pure escapism

The Ugly Sister - Jane Fallon - more family strife

An Autumn Crush - Milly Johnson - gotta love Milly, superb, feel good book

Daughters - Elizabeth Buchan - even more family strife...recurring theme here....

The Last Anniversary - Liane Moriarty - funny, just sit back and enjoy

My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time - Liz Jensen - very different to her others that I've read, a bit odd

Waterline - Ross Raisin - dark and very deep, moving and thought provoking, quite uncomfortable reading but brilliant (and more family problems...)

A Lifetime Burning - Linda Gillard - gripping, loved it (even more famillial troubles)

The Understudy - David Nicholls - okay, predictable but okay

The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne - loved it, very interesting that the woman's side was so sympathetically portrayed by a man, an intriguing work.

Just realised I haven't done this for June:

Monday to Friday Man - Alice Peterson 6/10 Fairly forgettable chick lit, but a nice enough read...

The Donor - Helen Fitzgerald 9/10 Dark, angry, edgy - loved it

The Glass Guardian - Linda Gillard 10/10 Pain of loss + healing power of love - one of my books of the month

Instructions for Bringing Up Scarlett - Annie Sanders 8/10 Superior and engaging chick lit - my first by her, and won't be my last

Missing Persons - Nicci Gerrard 6/10 Only so much navel-gazing you can take really - picked up by the end, but can't say I enjoyed it

The Birds and the Bees - Milly Johnson 9/10 The usual well-written enjoyable romp from one of my favourite authors

Absolution - Patrick Flanery 8/10 Challenging, different, and moving - many images have really stayed with me

The Cutting Room - Jilliane Hoffman 8/10 Tautly written thriller set in the world of snuff clubs - good read

The UnTied Kingdom - Kate Johnson 8/10 Dystopian chick lit anyone? This was good and very different

The Submission - Amy Waldman 6/10 Great idea, but wasn't grabbed by the execution of it

The Charm Bracelet - Melissa Hill 9/10 OK, so her books are a bit similar, but an enjoyable well-written read

Before I Met You - Lisa Jewell 10/10 Quite superb and unputdownable, a real surprise - my other book of the month