Month: June 2025

Serena’s Review: “Six Wild Crowns”

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Book: “Six Wild Crowns” by Holly Race

Publishing Info: Orbit, June 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: The king has been appointed by god to marry six queens. Those six queens are all that stand between the kingdom of Elben and ruin. Or so we have been told.

Each queen vies for attention. Clever, ambitious Boleyn is determined to be Henry’s favourite. And if she must incite a war to win Henry over? So be it.

Seymour acts as spy and assassin in a court teeming with dragons, backstabbing courtiers and strange magic. But when she and Boleyn become the unlikeliest of things – allies – the balance of power begins to shift. Together they will discover an ancient, rotting magic at Elben’s heart. A magic that their king will do anything to protect.

Review: There are a handful of periods of British history that I’m much more familiar with than others. Often, it comes down to my enjoyment of specific fictional books that took place during that time period. Obviously, as a lover of Jane Austen, Regency England is one of those time periods. But I also really loved Philippa Gregory’s “The Other Boleyn Girl” which set me on a course to learn quite a bit about the reign of Henry VIII. That being the case, I was incredibly excited to check out this new historical fantasy novel that is centered around many of the major players during that period of history.

Unfortunately, I’ll say that this may be one of those situations where the more informed you are about the place/people/period of time, the less you may enjoy this book. Even for those with only passing knowledge of this time period, there were so many questions raised or pieces that were changed as to leave me wondering whether there was any point in setting this book in a specific, real-world time period in the first place! I was much more often annoyed by the failures in its historical representations than I was enamored by the creativity of blending fantasy and history in this way. There are plenty of books that have pulled it off, but this wasn’t one of them.

Instead, I think it would have read much better as a straight fantasy novel. The fantasy elements were strong throughout (part of problem here was that these elements called into question many of the events pulled from history), and, had the character not been connected to real-life individuals, I could have gotten behind Boleyn and Seymour more as well.

But they are pulling from real life people! And the more you know about these two women, the less satisfying this portrayal is! Anne Boleyn is a pretty well-known historical figure, even by those with only a basic knowledge of this time period. And there are some assumptions that one makes about her: that she was incredibly savvy and politically dexterous, charming, and able to wrap a King around her finger, at least for a period of time. The character we had here did not line up at all with that! At times, she was incredibly naive and taken in by the very obviously nefarious King. I know less about Jane Seymour, other than the fact that she was said to be more quiet and reserved. Picturing her as an assassin is also a bit difficult. I also found her incredibly fickle, which was frustrating at times.

I also felt like the themes of feminism and patriarchy fell a bit flat. There was nothing overtly wrong here, but it all felt very surface level, having very little new to say on either topic. Had this book been written 20 years ago, perhaps it would have felt more revolutionary. But as it is, there are quite a few fantasy books out there covering these themes, and this one didn’t seem to have much new to offer.

Overall, this was a rather underwhelming book. I won’t say it’s bad, but it’s definitely one of those rare examples where the more you know about the history side of things, the less you’ll enjoy it. I think I used this word above as well, but “distracting” is the term that comes to mind when I think about the incorporation of the historical elements. Instead, it would have perhaps been more successful as a straight fantasy novel. Even there, though, it didn’t seem to have much to add with regards to its themes and characters.

Rating 7: The real-world historical elements hurt it much more than they helped, unfortunately.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Six Wild Crowns” can be found on this Goodreads list: queer releases june 2025.

Kate’s Review: “Now She’s Dead”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Now She’s Dead” by Roselyn Clarke

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, June 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Last summer, Sara Ellis was found dead by the lake, and only Mandy knows what really happened. This summer, she’s desperate to keep it a secret.

For a few weeks every summer, Sara was Mandy’s best friend. At Highmark, the lake resort where their families vacationed, the two were in a world of their own. Or at least Mandy got to be part of Sara’s world.

But now Sara’s dead. The police ruled her death an accident; a tragic mistake after a night of impaired judgment. For the past year, Mandy’s coped by escaping: leaving home and barely keeping it together at school. The last thing she wants to do is return to Highmark this summer—even if she does need “closure.” As soon as she’s back, though, she hears the whispers: someone killed Sara Ellis. And if she’s not careful, they’ll figure out it’s all her fault.

As evidence resurfaces and anonymous accusations are scrawled in angry red spray paint, Mandy must confront the truths she’s been avoiding about last summer. Because someone wants to make her pay for what happened to Sara that night.

Review: Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Summer is basically here, and while it’s probably my least favorite of the seasons (it’s just so hot), I do really enjoy the vibes and ambiance of sitting by the pool with my book. It’s especially fun if the book is engaging, a little soapy, and filled with lots of drama, shocks, and surprises. Admittedly, I have a pretty picky standard when it comes to books like these, and if it even so much as VAGUELY drifts into no no territory (like last minute twists that don’t feel earned), I will feel sour about it, poolside or not. But I have great news! “Now She’s Dead” by Roselyn Clark is the kind of book that not only would make great poolside reading for the season, it also managed, for me, to not fall into any pitfalls I associate with the genre!

The structure of this thriller mystery is fairly straight forward. Our protagonist is Mandy, a teenage girl who is returning to the lakeside resort where her summer best friend Sara died in an assumed accident the previous year. Mandy off the bat has a lot of guilt, and since it’s first person POV she tells the reader that it is her fault that Sara is dead, and we get a story told through the present summer as a true crime content creator has started sniffing around the resort, and through flashbacks to the days leading up to Sara’s death. It’s a great device, and it’s the perfect kind to have an unreliable narrator drive the story as the audience has to piece together what really happened. When done well this is quite possibly a favorite structure of mine when it comes to thrillers, and Clarke manages to make it flow easily. It has a nice slight of hand, and while I was pretty convinced that Mandy didn’t have all the information and was probably missing something (and side note, her dialog DID sometimes veer to bashing the reader of the head with all the ‘BUT I KILLED HER’ quips), I was still curious to see how it was all going to unravel to what actually happened, and I was surprised a good deal of the time! The clues are there, but the sleight of hand keeps them hidden until Clarke is ready to reveal them for the most part.

And what really kept me going in this book was how it portrays a very complicated, close, but somewhat unbalanced friendship between two teenage girls. You can tell that Mandy and Sara see themselves as incredibly close, but that their closeness and their friendship is in many ways unhealthy, with resentment, jealousy, and insecurities nagging at them both during the lead up to Sara’s death. It’s a bit soapy as Mandy and Sara keep aggravating and baiting each other as disaster looms on the horizon, but what I really appreciated is that while it could solely have been a motive, it’s actually a rather emotional examination of this kind of toxic friendship between teenage girls that may hit close to home for some readers, be they the intended YA audience or not. I know that I can think of at least one close, but at times unhealthy, friendship I had when I was in high school, with my role being VERY similar to Mandy’s in the friendship of the sidekick who is overshadowed and resentful, but also unable to process my own contributions to the toxicity. It felt real and honest, even if most of us in these shoes weren’t dealing with a murder mystery we may or may not have been involved with. Minor details!

“Now She’s Dead” is a sudsy and twisty thriller that should definitely join you on your summer adventures. It’s a fun ride and I really enjoyed it.

Rating 8: A fast paced and well crafted thriller, absolutely perfect for summer reading season!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Now She’s Dead” is included on the Goodreads lists “2025 YA Thrillers and Mysteries”, and “Bisexual Books of 2025”.

Highlights: June 2025

We’re both getting excited for ALA 2025 in Philadelphia! And, while we’re there primarily for the convention itself, you know we both plan on getting in a good amount of personal reading time as well! Alone, in our separate hotel rooms, like true BFF introverts do! Here are a few titles we’re excited to check out this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” by V. E. Schwab

Publication Date: June 10, 2025

Why I’m Interested: V. E. Schwab is one of my favorite modern fantasy authors, so of course I’m looking forward to her new book! I’m particularly excited for this one to see how she tackles vampires. There are so many vampire books out there that I imagine it’s challenging to find a way to approach the topic from a new angle. On the other hand, I’m a bit concerned that this book might be a bit too similar to “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,” both focusing on long-lived beings and the challenges of staying “in the world” when you’re so disconnected from time and death. That said, I did enjoy “Addie LaRue,” so it may all work out in the end anyways!

Book: “The Rushworth Family Plot” by Claudia Gray

Publication Date: June 17, 2025

Why I’m Interested: This is another obvious pick for the month! Claudia Gray has been hitting every one of these books out of the park, and at this point, I’d be foolish to expect anything different. It’s always such a relief to be able to go into a book know that it will be good, and that’s what we have here. Plus, I’m excited to see how she handles a plot that is more closely tied to the characters from “Mansfield Park.” Not only is Edmund and Fanny’s relationship one of the more challenging ones to depict for modern audiences, but there are also several challenging topics, such as slavery and plantation wealth, that will likely be covered. Beyond that, I’m itching to see how Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney’s fraught relationship progresses! The last book left off with their pesky fathers standing in the way of their happy union!

Book: “A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace” by Emily Strukskie

Publication Date: June 24, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I’ve heard next to no hype about this book up to this point, and even without having read it at this point, I feel like that’s a damn shame! The romantasy genre is desperately in need of fresh material and this book, with its focus on common soldiers with no special abilities (or dragons!) to speak of and their slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance, seems like the perfect fix! Of course, it also has to be good, but I have high hopes already! I, too, enjoy an enemies-to-lovers love story, but please, for the love of everything, can we have some variation in our fantasy romance stories??

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Bald-Faced Liar” by Victoria Helen Stone

Publication Date: June 17, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I don’t know why I insist on touching the hot stove of the huge triggering topic that is The Satanic Panic, but whenever a book about this ludicrous and highly maddening time comes out, I have to read it. So of course “Bald-Faced Liar” caught my eye! Elizabeth May is a traveling nurse who has been trying to run from her past as a witness to a high profile trial that involved the Satanic Panic, especially since she was revealed to be a liar who put innocent people in prison. Now she has settled down in Santa Cruz, still hiding, still planning to move on. But then someone starts stalking her, someone who may be eager to expose her identity, and to punish her for what she did. Sounds devilishly twisty.

Book: “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publication Date: June 3, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I have loved every Taylor Jenkins Reid book that I have read, and while this may not end up being reviewed on the blog as it’s outside my genres (though if I love it enough I may make an exception), “Atmosphere” is high, high, HIGH on my anticipated titles for the year. Joan Goodwin is one of the women who has been selected to be a part of the NASA Shuttle Program of the 1980s, fulfilling a dream that seemed impossible until she was given the position. And when she meets Vanessa Ford, an aeronautical engineer who is a skilled pilot to boot, she realizes that not only could she potentially help make history, she could also perhaps find a kindred spirit. If Reid can do for space flight what she has done for 1970s rock bands, dysfunctional families, and tennis players, this will surely be a winner of a read.

Book: “With A Vengeance” by Riley Sager

Publication Date: June 10, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I haven’t missed a Riley Sager book yet and I don’t intend on doing it now! And besides, it wouldn’t be summer time if I didn’t have a Sager book at the ready. And this one sounds a little different. Anna has been plotting revenge against those who wronged her family for years, and her plan has all led to luring her targets onto a train in hopes of turning them all in after she makes them confess to their crimes. But then someone else commits a murder against one of her targets, and that just won’t do. Because SHE is the one who gets to get her revenge, not someone else! So now she has to figure out who wants them dead, and how she can save them… for now. Always nice to have Sager back in my reading rotation!