Best Books of June

Did you find great books to read this month? We read some really terrific books and we wanted to give an extra shoutout to our favorites and encourage you one more time to get the book. Because real friends share great reads with their friends.

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The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant

My favorite this month was The Court of Miracles. It's an intense and visually beautiful novel, with lots of intrigue and the family connections both of found families and well as bonded relationships. I was able to really sink into this new world and completely forget the one that we're in, which is an added bonus given the stress we're all under. Read my full review. ~MK

In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city is divided between merciless royalty and nine underworld criminal guilds, known as the Court of Miracles. Eponine (Nina) Thénardier is a talented cat burglar and member of the Thieves Guild. Nina's life is midnight robberies, avoiding her father's fists, and watching over her naïve adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie).

When Ettie attracts the eye of the Tiger--the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh--Nina is caught in a desperate race to keep the younger girl safe. Her vow takes her from the city's dark underbelly to the glittering court of Louis XVII. And it also forces Nina to make a terrible choice--protect Ettie and set off a brutal war between the guilds, or forever lose her sister to the Tiger. (Goodreads)

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Stories That Bind Us by Susie Finkbeiner

This is a beautifully written heartwarming family story that shows with love and faith, even the most severe problems can be overcome. I loved the characters in this book - not just the main characters but the secondary characters, too.  Betty is a kind and loving woman, Hugo is a delight as he learns to be a child and have fun without worrying about his mother all the time, Marvel and the twins are funny but also very protective of Hugo.  And the entire Sweet family is full of love and caring for each other.  This story takes place in my home state of Michigan and these people all resemble people that I knew growing up in the 60s.  I also enjoyed the references to places like Belle Isle and it brought back a lot of memories of going there with my family. This is a beautiful book about love and faith and family and shows that family isn't just family by blood but people that you love also become part of your family.  I loved this book and can't wait for the next book by this author. Read my full review. ~ Susan

Betty Sweet is still recovering from the loss of her husband when she becomes the temporary guardian of a five-year-old nephew she never knew she had. As they struggle to move forward, they build a relationship upon the foundation of storytelling and its special kind of magic. (Goodreads)

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Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

This month it is extremely difficult to choose which book was my favorite. I loved many of them for very different reads. I'm going to say my favorite read of June was Becoming Mrs. Lewis. I thought I would enjoy the book, but I didn't think I would love it as much as I did. I don't read a lot of biographies or books about famous people, but I've enjoyed another Becoming Mrs... book. I was really gripped by the story and even though I cheated and read Joy Davidman's Wikipedia page, I still cried through the last few chapters. My full review will post on Thursday. ~ Donna

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story—a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all. (Goodreads)

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What book did you read this month that you love so much you can't stop telling about? Please share it with us in the comments. We love hearing about great books.

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