An Open Book: June 2025 Reads

Somehow, it's July. Where did June go???

Last month was packed with many wonderful things, including a large reading stack! I mostly read fiction in June, which was a great way to relax and unwind. I'm linking up with An Open Book as I review my recent reading adventures. Let's dive in!

A vampire in Bavaria, by Suzannah Rowntree (Miss Sharp's Monsters book 3)

In the beginning of this novel, Liz Sharp is trying to get rid of a bomb, and winds up angering Queen Victoria and all the other governing powers (which includes revenant policemen). She finds herself in the fight of her life as she tries to untangle the political corruption and chaos of Europe, her identity, and her growing affections for Inspector Short. This book was so hard to put down! It was immensely satisfying to read, and I loved seeing how the characters continued to develop and grow. This book felt like the darkest of the trilogy, and some scenes were a bit disturbing and illustrated the fight against evil so well. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I am so glad that I stumbled across this trilogy! 

Sister, Soldier, Surgeon: The life and courage of Sister Deirdre Byrne, M.D., by Leisa Marie Carzon, Ph.D.

This book explores the life and work of Sister Deirdre Byrne, a Catholic religious sister who is a doctor and formerly worked in the military. Learning about her was absolutely fascinating, and it was particularly intriguing to read about how she would walk into a military hospital wearing her religious habit and then walk into the hallway in scrubs. It was beautiful to read about the work she has done and continues to do as she faithfully prays and witnesses to the dignity of all human life. Sister Deirdre seems awesome, and I would love to meet her someday. This was a great book! 

The Stolen Kingdom, by Bethany Atazadeh

This Aladdin-inspired YA novel follows Arie, a princess who has a Gift: she can hear the thoughts of other people. This is problematic for many reasons, foremost being that in her country, women who manifest Jinni Gifts are convicted, stripped of their Gifts, and then die. Desperate to find answers, Arie embarks on a quest to find a Jinni and discover peace for herself. I really enjoyed this book overall. However, there were moments when it was hard for me to grasp what the world and setting looked like. The dialogue was good, and the storyline was awesome, but I think the worldbuilding could have been a little stronger. It was very fun, though, and when a Mere showed up in the book, I knew I needed to read the next one, because I love the original Little Mermaid story!

The Jinni Key, by Bethany Atazadeh

In this Little Mermaid retelling, Rena, a Mere princess, travels to the surface of the ocean for the first time-and she sees a man, a Jinni, fall from the sky. After she rescues him, she returns home and continues to dream about that Jinni and a life with him. Not content to stay in her home, where she is regularly tormented by her sisters, Rena decides to take matters into her own hands--even if she'll suffer the consequences. This book really pulled me in, and I thought the worldbuilding was much stronger. The story was fascinating, and I loved seeing how the author wove elements of the original Little Mermaid tale into this fresh and new story. It was also neat to see this book intertwine with Arie's adventures. I really enjoyed it! 

The Cursed Hunter, by Bethany Atazadeh

Nesrin lives in a village with her family, near where dragons live. Nesrin dreams of finding a dragon's egg, so that she can help her family climb out of their immense debt. As she sees her father try and fail to negotiate with creditors, Nesrin leaves, determined to help her family. She winds up finding more than she bargained for. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and it was AWESOME. I loved the dragons, the characters, the Beauty and the Beast influences, and how it fit within the overall plotline of the series. I loved it, and immediately had to jump into the final book! 

The Enchanted Crown, by Bethany Atazadeh

In this final book of the Stolen Kingdom series, everything is falling apart. Arie is mentally and physically drained as she navigates the painful experiences she had in prior books, and the kingdom is struggling. Gideon, Rena, and their companions are trying to help Arie, while also seeking to do what's best for the kingdom. Nesrin doesn't realize how much other people need what she has. Seeing the characters gradually untangle their issues was really fascinating, and even with multiple POV to keep track of, I thought the story was easy to follow. Apparently, this story is a "loose" Sleeping Beauty retelling, but I didn't realize that when I read it. I'm not sure that even matters, though, because this book was just great. I loved seeing how all the different story threads came together. I enjoyed this series quite a bit! I have to say, though, the original covers are way better than the "special edition" covers. I watched the video where the author went through her reasoning on redoing the covers, but my opinion stands. 

The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown

A friend once recommended the movie version of The Wild Robot to me, so I decided to read the book first, and it finally came in! My six-year-old and I read this out loud together, and it was completely delightful. In this story, crates containing robots wash up on the shore of an island. All of the robots are destroyed, except one, Roz. Roz has no idea how she got in this island or what she's supposed to do, and the island's inhabitants are all scared of her. However, she finds herself taking care of a young gosling, and this process leads her to discover how to connect with the animals on the island--and in the process, becoming a bit wild herself. The story was delightful (and had some good commentary on motherhood) and the prose was absolutely perfect for reading out loud. I really appreciate that the book dealt with heavy topics like the way technology interferes with nature, or the natural processes of death and destruction in the natural world. I loved this book, and I am excited to read the books that follow it! (also, we did watch the movie after reading this, and the movie deviated from the book a bit. My kids loved it, and it was fun to watch, but it was not nearly as good as the book)

Rewild Your Home, by Victoria Harrison

I saw this book on display at the library, picked it up on a whim, and read through it. It was a fairly quick read, with lovely photographs that illustrate different ways to "rewild" your house and incorporate the natural world inside. I thought it was neat that the book went way beyond having houseplants, and instead focused largely on using natural materials, incorporating the colors found outside in your local area (for wallpaper, linens, and decor), and using lots of curves and natural shapes instead of clinical straight lines. It also talked about following the natural flow of daylight in your home, which I had not thought about at all. I don't know that this is necessarily a book I'd reread (I don't read much about interior design), but it gave me some good ideas to ponder and possibly incorporate in my home. 

Seeing a large cat, by Elizabeth Peters

This novel follows Amelia Peabody, her husband, and Nefret as they journey to Egypt and reconnect with Amelia's son, Ramses, and his friend. Shortly after the family is reunited, they are excavating a tomb and find a mummy. Instead of being an ancient mummy, however, this is a recently mummified woman. As the Emerson family tries to unravel this mystery, they also are swept up in a crisis that some acquaintances are experiencing: a man is obsessed with an ancient princess and is trying to contact her with the assistance of a psychic medium, and his wife is frustrated with her husband's mental state. Interspersed throughout the book (which is written from Amelia's perspective) are pieces of an alternate manuscript that provide insights into what Amelia's adult children are getting into. That was an interesting dynamic, and I enjoyed reading this book, but there was a lot going on and it was hard to keep track of it all at times. Fun to read, but not my favorite Amelia Peabody book. 

Thanks for joining me this month! If you have any book recommendations, please drop them in the comments!