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And the storygraph wrap-up

A info graphic titled “@gillyreads June 2025 monthly wrap-up”. Two coloured boxes across the top show the stats 17 books and 5,849 pages. There are three book covers showing first, middle and last read. These are The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman, Mazin Grace by Dylan Coleman and The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochran. It states the average book length was 363 pages and average time to finish 3 days. A pie graph shows 94% fiction and 6% non-fiction. A bar graph shows the most read genre is romance (9 books), followed by contemporary (7 books), fantasy (2 books), historical (2 books) and mystery (2 books). Compared to May books down 6% and pages up 15%. There is a graph that shows how many pages were read/listened to each day in June. And a pie graph that shows 82% print, 12% digital and 6% audio.

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Final June reads, plus five ebooks not pictured

A stack of 12 books on a wooden shelf. The books are Broken Dreams by Bill Dodd,
Blood by Tony Birch, Mazin Grace by Dylan Coleman, Washpool by Lisa Fuller, Silverborn by Jessica Townsend, Into The Fairy Realm by Samantha Ellen Bound, Aster’s Next Good Thing by Kate Gordon, Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston, The Perfect Find by Tia Williams, The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochran, Those Who Perish by Emma Viskic, and The Last Love Note by Emma Grey.

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Not sure I would have persisted with The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun if it wasn’t for book club. I found the tense very frustrating to read.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover shows an illustration of a set with two spotlights meeting in the middle. In the background is a row of silhouettes of women. In the front are two people. A white man standing in a suit and one brown man casually dressed, with a headset and clipboard. The text reads “The Charm Offensive. Alison Cochrun.”

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First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison was pretty fun.

A digital book cover. The background is half peach coloured and half pink. There is an illustration of a man and woman sitting together, the man has on headphones, the woman is listening on a phone. Behind them is a sign reading ‘on air.’ The text reads “First-Time Caller. B.K. Borison.”

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Washpool by Lisa Fuller is a vibrant and imaginative middle grade fantasy. Really hope she writes a series.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is pink with two Aboriginal girls looking to the side, with illustrated colourful leaves and flowers along the bottom. The text reads “Washpool. Lisa Fuller.” There is a black sticker in the top corner that says “black & write! fellowship writer”

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Sounds Like Love was excellent. Ashley Poston really gets what the best of the romance genre can achieve and then adds a weird twist. Love it.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The book is bright pink and the cover is mostly taken up with white text that has yellow and navy blue drop shadows. It reads “Sounds Like Love.” Along the top reads the text “Ashley Poston.” Across the bottom is a silhouette of two people dancing, a stave with music notations wraps around them.

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Tony Birch’ debut novel, Blood, is incredible. Both the writing and the story he tells are utterly gripping.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The book has an orange cover with a white circle in the centre. In the circle is a pattern of black lines with white dashes that look like a road. The text reads “First Nations Classics. Blood. Tony Birch. Introduction by Larissa Behrendt.”

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Bill Dodd’s memoir Broken Dreams was an interesting read, written in a matter of fact but warm voice.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The book has a grey-brown cover with a white circle in the centre. In the circle is a pattern of red Akubra hats. The text reads “First Nations Classics. Broken Dreams. Bill Dodd. Introduction by Gayle Kennedy.”

100

Silverborn was everything I didn’t know I wanted it to be. Totally forgive Jess Townsend for making us wait 5 years between books.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The book cover has an illustration of a dragon breathing fire above a city street. The sky is dar blue. Fireworks are in the background. Standing on the street is a girl with dark hair, wearing a black coat over a red dress. She is loving fiercely up at the dragon. The text reads “Jessica Townsend. Silverborn. The Mystery of Morrigan Crow. The fourth book in the Nevermoor series.”

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As usual, Emma Visick wrote a compelling mystery with richly complex characters but I didn’t like Those Who Perish as much as the rest of the series.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is a photo of a cloudy sky, with birds flying along the bottom. The text reads “Emma Viskic. Those Who Perish.”

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Mazing Grace by Dylan Coleman is a beautifully written book with very effective use of child protagonist as narrator.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The book has a purple cover with a white circle in the centre. In the circle is a pattern of orange butterflies. The text reads “First Nations Classics. Mazin Grace. Dylan Coleman. Introduction by Claire G Coleman.”

100

In The Last Love Note, Amy Grey writes a very moving portrayal grief but the romance was a bit meh.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is an illustration of a pink sky with a hint of green. Along the bottom is a black silhouette of a car with suitcases strapped to the top, driving over a bridge. The text reads “The Last Love Note. Emma Grey.”

100

I love how Tia Williams writes but The Perfect Find just didn’t work for me.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is yellow, and has a photo of a black woman looking at a bridge. Her back is to the reader. The text reads “Tia Williams. The Perfect Find.”

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The Faerie Realm is a fantastic concusion to the Seven Wherewithal Way series by Samantha Ellen Bound. Highly rate if you enjoy middle grade fantasy

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is purple, with silver text and a circle in the middle. On either side of the circle is an illustrated person. One side is an adult in a red robe, the other is a younger girl. They are looking at each other. The circle is silver and show an outline of a ramshackle looking house with a garden. The text along the top reads “Seven Wherewithal Way.” Smaller text around the circle reads “into the faerie realm” and the text below reads “Samantha Ellen Bound”

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Kate Gordon’s writing is so tender and makes your heart ache. Aster’s Next Right Thing is no exception. A lovely end to one of my favourite children’s series.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is varying shades of blue with an illustrated silhouette of a tree with an adult swinging a baby into the air while an older child stands a little apart. The text reads “Aster’s Next, Good Thing. Kate Gordon.”

100

I didn’t realise that This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan was the second book in a series, but I still quite enjoyed it.

A digital book cover. It shows a black woman with natural hair, looking over her shoulder. The background is fades from pink into yellow. The bottom counter shows some pink flowers, around which are some orange line illustrations of flowers and butterflies. The text reads “Kennedy Ryan. This Could Be Us.”

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I thought Book Lovers was pretty good. Since her good books were written first, it seems clear that Emily Henry has completely lost any capacity at pace by publishing every year.

A digital book cover. The background illustration which shows the sun peaking out from behind some mountains. The sky is yellow, there is water in the front, with two boats. Each boat has a person, one with a man rowing and the other with a woman reading. The text reads “Book Lovers. Emily Henry.”

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Really did not enjoy Happy Place. Definitely the worst Emily Henry book.

A digital book cover. The background illustration shows a couple sitting on a pontoon in a body of water. Two other people are jumping into the water. The sky is pink, and along the waterline there are bushes and a building. The text reads “Happy Place. Emily Henry.”

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Gillian H @gillyreads.com · 01/06/2025

Thoroughly enjoyed The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman.

A digital book cover. The background colour is cream. The illustration is of two ladies in pink and purple regency dress sitting in a curricle. The text reads “Alison Goodman. the Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin. An Ill-Mannered Ladies Novel.”

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Storygraph infographic for Mayer

A info graphic titled “@gillyreads May 2025 monthly wrap-up”. Two coloured boxes across the top show the stats 18 books and 5,085 pages. There are three book covers showing first, middle and last read. These are Funny Story by Emily Henry, Deep End by Ali Hazelwood and Black Convicts by Santilla Chingaipe. It states the average book length was 293 pages and average time to finish 10 days. A pie graph shows 89% fiction and 11% non-fiction. A bar graph shows the most read genre is romance (9 books), followed by contemporary (5 books), comics (4 books), historical (4 books) and poetry (2 books). Compared to April books up 290% and pages up 245%. There is a graph that shows how many pages were read/listened to each day in February. And a pie graph that shows 83% print and 17% digital.

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May reads apart from 3 ebooks.

a stack of books on a wooden shelf. The books are: Beg, Borrow or Steal by Sarah Adams, Lakeshire Park by Megan Walker, Theory & Practice by Michelle de Krester, Captain Marvel 2: The Undone by Alyssa Wong, Ms Marvel: The New Mutant by Iman Vellani, Spider-Woman 2: The Assembly by Steve Fox, Deep End ~ Ali Hazelwood, The Nightmare Sequence by Omar Sakr and illustrated by Safdar Ahmed, Plains of Promise by Alexis Wright, Stuff I’m (Not) Sorry For by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, Unbury the Dead by Fiona Hardy, Kit McBride Gets a Wife by Amy Barry, Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry, and Black Convicts by Santilla Chingaipe

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Black Convicts by Santilla Chinaigpe was another #ReadTheStella. Lots of interesting archival research.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is black with white text. Across the the cover are lines grey text that can’t be read in the photo, these are names. The shape of the australian continent and tasmania is in the middle. The readable text says “on the first fleet at least 15 convicts were of African descent. 500 more followed. Who were they?” Across the top. In the middle it says “Black Convicts: How slavery shaped Australia.” Across the bottom “Santilla Chingaipe”

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Manic Pixie Dream Earl by Jenny Holiday is utterly charming. Especially if you enjoy historical romance with a sense of ridiculousness.

A digital book cover. The background illustration is a detailed picture of a beach, the Brighton Pavilion is in the background at the top. The illustration includes people sitting on the beach, sea bathing, a person painting on the beach and someone riding a horse. The text reads “Manic Pixie Dream Earl. Jenny Holiday.”

100

Once again, Great Big Beautiful Life was mostly fine but just feels like Emily Henry could do much better if she slowed down a bit.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is an illustration of two people sitting on a beach, with a red and orange sky and pink blue water. The text reads “Great Big Beautiful Life. Emily Henry.”

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Kit McBride Gets a Wife by Amy Barry was such a pleasure to read. Yay for beautifully written, fun romance.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is pink, has an illustration of mountains, with pine trees and a wood cabin in the background. There is an illustration of a couple on a horse in old fashioned clothes. The man is throwing a rope, which turns into the first part of the text “Kit McBride” the rest of the text reads “Gets a Wife. Amy Barry.”

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Very satisfying experience reading Unbury the Dead by Fiona Hardy. Exactly the kind of crime fiction I like (actual feelings + moral complexity + not blatant copaganda).

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover has a background image of a car driving down a road in the dark, a hint of sun on the horizon. The text reads “They messed with the wrong women. Unbury The Dead. Fiona Hardy.”

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Seven Days in June is a fantastic contemporary romance. Really recommend.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover is light blue, a black woman is leaning back again a black man, his arms around her, his chin on her shoulder. The text reads “Seven Days in June. Tia Williams” there is a Reese’s Book Club sticker in the corner.

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Loved Maxine Beneba Clarke’s first collection for young people and Stuff I’m (Not) Sorry About was equally excellent

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The cover has a red background with an illustration of a crumpled then spread out piece of lined paper, that looks like it has been torn out of an exercise book, crumbled and then spread out again. Along the top it says “100 more poems for young people” the 100 is crossed out and “99” is written next to it. The rest of the text reads “Stuff I’m (Not) Sorry For. Maxine Beneba Clarke.”

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It was very interesting to read Alexis Wright’s first book Plains of Promise. It was fantastic.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The book has an olive green cover with a white circle in the centre. In the circle is a pattern of purple seed pods. The text reads “First Nations Classics. Plains of Promise. Alexis Wright. Introduction by Mykaela Saunders.”

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The combination of Omar Sakr’s poems with Safdar Ahmed’s illustrations was quite devastating. Incredible collection.

A hand holding a book in front of a white wall. The top half of the cover shows a dark bluish drawing of a person seated with their head in the arms. The text across the bottom reads “The Nightmare Sequence. Omar Sakr & Safdar Ahmed. Introduction by George Abraham.”

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Enjoyed Deep End by Ali Hazelwood, I would have liked to see more feelings. It got a bit summarised at points.

A hand holding a purple book in front of a white walls. The cover is illustrated, the left bottom corner shows the edge of a swimming pool and the right bottom corner has two people’s arms coming out of the water, holding hands. The text reads “Ali Hazelwood. Deep End.”

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