June reading wrap up

My June reads ATE this month. Honestly, my average rating was 4.39 stars and I am a notoriously tough critic.

There were three books in particular that I think actually changed me as a person at a fundamental DNA-level, which I hope every single one of you will consume with ferocity.

But first! I read eleven books this month which I’d like to mention, is not a normal reading month for me, especially when only three of these books were audiobooks. I usually average about five to six per month with two or three being audiobooks, so this one was unusual, but I put it down to two things:

1. The reads were just so freaking good, I couldn’t put them down
2. Most of them were 300 pages and under

There were one or two that were just ‘meh’, but most of these books absolutely slap and I would read again in a heartbeat.

Thank you for reading Fiction and Fauna. This post is public so feel free to share it.

The Manicurist’s Daughter by Susan Lieu: 4 Stars

I haven’t written a full review for this one yet, but it’s coming!

An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery

Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers about her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success―until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened.

For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone―why did the most perfect person in her life want to change her body? Why would no one tell her about her mother’s life in Vietnam? And how did this surgeon, who preyed on Vietnamese immigrants, go on operating after her mother’s death? Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty.

Bunny by Mona Awad: 5 Stars

I haven’t yet written a review for Bunny but I will say that initially after reading it, I was a little unsure and rated it 3 stars. However after having some time to think about it and let the story percolate, I upgraded my rating to 5 stars. My unhinged women stans, this one’s for you.

Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and seem to move and speak as one.

But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon," and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus "Workshop" where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.

The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.

The Love of My After Life by Kirsty Greenwood: 4 Stars

Delphie Bookham died at the age of 27, choking on a microwave hamburger. Who will miss her? No one really. Maybe Mr Yoon, her elderly upstairs neighbour whom she checks on every day to make sure he hasn’t burnt his flat down by leaving the stove on but other than that?

Literally a virgin who can’t drive, Delphie’s life was dull and lonely. When she arrives at Evermore, the Afterlife facility, she realises there’s nothing much to look back on fondly really. But in death? Well, things kick off to a roaring start when she literally runs into a new “dead arrival” who happens to be her soulmate. Although when it turns out there was an admin error and he’s promptly sent back to earth, Delphie is desperate to know what life might have been like if she’d only been able to meet this handsome stranger.

So Delphie’s been given a second chance. She has just 10 days to find this mystery man and get him to kiss her of his own free will. If she’s successful? She gets to live. If not? Well… she’ll be sent straight back to Evermore and that will be that.

Let the manhunt begin!

Ok I loved this.

So much so I actually devoured the whole thing in a day. I do not do that for just any book!!

The Love of my Afterlife took me completely by surprise. I had no idea what to expect and the story just kept taking unexpected twists and turns that kept me on my toes — incredibly refreshing for a romance novel in which they are so often very formulaic and (comfortably) predictable. But this story was so much more than just a romance.

Not only were the MMC and MFC compelling and engaging, but there was a surprisingly large cast of characters who were all unique, loveable and wonderfully charming. Each had their own magic to bring and added meaningful layers to the story.

Kirsty Greenwood is actually kind of extraordinary. It’s not easy to create even two well-developed characters, let alone as many as exist in TLOMA. The dialogue was engaging and fun, every character had a distinct personality and tone of voice and I could practically *see* and hear them as I read.

I can completely imagine this book being adapted into a movie or Netflix series. It was so vivid and evocative, you can tell that Kirsty Greenwood is a fan of musical theatre because it almost felt like a “company” of characters and musical scenes.

The only thing I would have liked to see more of what a little exploration and closure around Delphie’s relationship with her mother. It felt like the one loose end that was rushed to tie at the end of the novel, and I didn’t really feel that it was properly explored or explained, given the increasing tension and build up that the story was building to. It was a bit disappointing, hence four stars instead of five.

But! Overall, I loved this book. It was fun, lighthearted and surprising.

I would absolutely recommend it and can’t wait to read more from Greenwood.

Thank you to Penguin Books New Zealand for the ARC!

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood: 3.75 Stars

Ok, Ali and I are six books deep now so I feel like we’re pretty well acquainted at this stage.

Not in Love is a fairly big departure from her usual work and as always, I have some THOUGHTS…

Firstly, I love to see Hazelwood exploring her creativity and the boundaries of the genre with her latest works. Both Bride and Not in Love are very very different from her usual style and honestly, I am here for it.

The book opens with a letter to the reader from Hazelwood, explaining that the book is quite tonally different and leans more towards erotic romance, so I was eager to find out what that would mean.

I’m going to break this review down into three parts: characters, plot and execution, because I think they all deserve a bit of solo attention.

Characters

I LOVED the characters in Not in Love. In fact, I think they might be my favourite of all her characters ever?? Or maybe it’s just because for once, the MMC had a fully fleshed out and developed storyline which has always been one of my issues with Hazelwood in her previous work. Eli was so great and he could have carried the entire story on his own, I loved the chapters from his perspective.

I also liked the MFC Rue, mainly for the fact that again, for once, she actually felt materially different from all Hazelwood’s other female leads and not just the same character with a different name.

I loved that she knew herself and her needs, wasn’t afraid to advocate for her desires and didn’t make stupid nonsensical decisions like some of the previous female leads. She actually felt hyper-intelligent and every action supported that.

The friends in the surrounding circles were also fantastic and they each felt quite well-rounded with the exception of Hark, who I felt had some unresolved tension at the end and it was quite weird that he just disappeared off the page about three quarters of the way in ??? Anyway..

Plot

For once there was no stupid nonsensical misunderstanding between the MMC and MFC!! They both behaved like intelligent adults!! Yay! But I will say this story was a bit of a slow burn for me and the first 20% or so was not as engaging as usual. Typically my experience with Hazelwood’s book is they come crashing out the gates with a roaring start, sag in the middle and then rush to tie up the loose threads at the end. This one was different. It was a bit slow and confusing at the start but it found its feet by the midway point.

Without spoiling anything, the ending just left a little something to be desired for me. I don’t know what it is but it just didn’t hit me in the feels or have the huge climactic pay off that I would have liked.

Execution

The only reason I want to speak to execution specifically is that this novel differs from Hazelwood’s usual style in that it shifts between two perspectives: Eli and Rue.

I enjoyed this change and found it definitely added some interest, but I actually wound up feeling like it may have been better written entirely from Eli’s perspective as he was definitely the more compelling of the two characters. In contrast to Eli’s chapters, Rue fell a little flat at times,

I also wonder if part of the tension was lost in the dual-perspective approach because nothing was left to guess, we knew exactly how both characters were thinking and feeling the whole time.

Soooooo overall, 3.75 rounded up to 4 imo. The plot and execution is what brought it down for me but I did love the characters. Also, I always genuinely enjoy the shit out of all of Ali Hazelwood’s books and I will read every single one of them until I die.

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth: 5 Stars

This book completely eviscerated me.

I am winded.

My soul is on fire.

If I could give it 10,000 stars out of five, I would.

Set in the early 1990s in the Irish village of Crossmore, Sunburn follows the coming-of-age journey of Lucy. Born to a devoutly Catholic family with a life-path clearly mapped out for her by her traditional mother and Granny, Lucy struggles to reconcile her growing feelings for her friend Susannah and what that might mean for her life.

Never before have I read such a powerful and visceral depiction of young, queer love and the journey of identity and self-discovery.

I saw myself in these pages, I was transported back to 2011 when I fell in love for the first time at 17 years old with a girl who would break my heart so badly, it took three years to heal.

I felt every moment of Lucy’s experience as though it were my own.

To write a novel this incredible at such a young age is a remarkable achievement by author Chloe Michelle Howarth. Sunburn read like the works of a veteran up there with the heavyweights like Margaret Atwood, Lauren Groff and Donna Tartt.

Whether you identify as queer or not, Sunburn is an important read for all those who have experienced the yearning of a first love, and the pain of first heartbreak.

Matrix by Lauren Groff: 5 THOUSAND Stars

This book left me speechless. Truly.

Matrix is the second novel by Lauren Groff that I have read, and following on from the masterpiece that was The Vaster Wilds, I was not sure what to expect as to whether she’d stay true to the style of TVW or whether Matrix would stand its own with a unique spin.

Well, stand alone it sure does.

As is true to Groff’s consistent theme of strong female characters thrust into harrowing situations, Matrix is, at times, difficult story to read. We follow Marie who is sent to live in a convent at the young age of 17 following the death of her royal mother. Marie is the byproduct of r*pe, and so is deeply shamed within her family.

Initially resisting the abbey, she soon finds her element and begins to rise up through the ranks until she assumes the ultimate power of abbess and baroness to the crown.

Marie is a powerful force to be reckoned with, who brings wealth and abundance to her women, but always at a price.

Every decision she makes has an often fatal consequence, although ultimately benefiting the wider abbey.

Groff is such a phenomenally talented, lyrical writer. Matrix took me on a visceral journey across the broad spectrum of emotion. From joy to anguish, I felt it all, right alongside Marie.

The care and attention that Groff dedicates to researching her subject matter was abundantly clear in Matrix. It had me wondering if it was perhaps based on a true story because it felt so incredibly real and inspired.

Groff’s work is not for the faint of heart and carries some heavy trigger warnings, so readers should take care.

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth: 4 Stars

I did not write a review for Motherthing so I’ll share the blurb below, however I will say that if you love unhinged women in fiction as much as I do, then you will love this one.

A darkly funny domestic horror novel about a woman who must take drastic measures to save her husband and herself from the vengeful ghost of her mother-in-law.

When Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, Abby hopes it’s just what she and her mother-in-law need to finally connect. After a traumatic childhood, Abby is desperate for a mother figure, especially now that she and Ralph are trying to become parents themselves. Abby just has so much love to give—to Ralph, to Laura, and to Mrs. Bondy, her favorite resident at the long-term care home where she works. But Laura isn’t interested in bonding with her daughter-in-law. She’s venomous and cruel, especially to Abby, and life with her is hellish.

When Laura takes her own life, her ghost haunts Abby and Ralph in very different ways: Ralph is plunged into depression, and Abby is terrorized by a force intent on destroying everything she loves. To make matters worse, Mrs. Bondy’s daughter is threatening to move Mrs. Bondy from the home, leaving Abby totally alone. With everything on the line, Abby comes up with a chilling plan that will allow her to keep Mrs. Bondy, rescue Ralph from his tortured mind, and break Laura's hold on the family for good. All it requires is a little ingenuity, a lot of determination, and a unique recipe for chicken à la king…

Cult Trip: Inside the World of Coercion and Control by Anke Richter: 4 Stars

I haven’t written a review for Cult Trip but I will say that it was one of the better books on cults that I’ve read, but I felt part one about Centerpoint could have gone on for half as long, it definitely dragged.

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

A leading journalist's intense, riveting and personal investigation into the worlds and minds of cults.

At a new age festival in Byron Bay, Australia, German journalist Anke Richter is finding her spiritual awakening when she meets a woman – a survivor of the Centrepoint cult – who will change the course of her life and career.

Over the next ten years, Anke pursued a labyrinthine investigation into how and why cults attract, entrap and destroy otherwise ordinary people, asking what the line is between tribe and cult, participant and perpetrator, seduction and sexual abuse.

From the emotional and criminal carnage of Centrepoint in Auckland, New Zealand, to an anti-cult conference in Manchester, the infamous Osho’s ashram in India, the tantric Agama Yoga school in remote Thailand and culminating in a visit to Gloriavale on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island, Anke uncovers a disturbing pattern of violence and suffering.

Cult Trip is a powerful exploration of what really goes on inside the groups we call cults, and how to reckon with their aftermath.

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Praise for Cult

'A powerful must read’ Style

'Phenomenal. I cannot recommend this book enough' Today FM

'Wild stuff. Anke Richter is one of my favourite writers, blurring the line between participant and reporter' David Farrier, journalist

'What a book and what a writer! An incredibly immersive, intense and necessary reading experience put together with doggedness and skill' Noelle McCarthy, author

Painful and powerful - an eye opener, a tour de force and a call for justice' Janja Lalich, author

'Bringing together information from around the globe, Anke Richter pinpoints the internal struggles of those coming out of cults, and the debilitating harm that lingers afterwards' Rachel Bernstein

'Thorough and compassionate ... Cult Trip is a brittle, sensitive book' Steve Braunias

Florida by Lauren Groff: 5 HUNDRED THOUSAND STARS

Ok this is a Lauren Groff fan account now.

When I tell you this book was so exquisite, so profoundly moving and visceral that I dreaded finishing it because I didn’t want it to be over.

Forget favourite book of the year, this might just be the book of my LIFE.

As you know, I am proudly a diehard LG stan. Her writing is like music to my brain and eyeballs and imo she should probably just run for president.

And that was before reading Florida.

Now, if she started a cult I would be the first to sign up and handover my life’s worth.

Florida is a collection of short stories and that in itself is surprising because I do not usually care for short stories!!!

The thing about this collection though, is that each one was like a mini-LG book. Every individual story was complete, moving and engaging on their own. As a short story hater usually, I found myself getting lost in every one and experiencing them like Groff’s novels.

It also made me want to visit Florida which was definitely not on my 2024 bingo card.

Florida is a powerful collection exploring the complexities of family, motherhood, climate change and more with her lyrical prose and dark humour and wit.

Groff somehow manages to make me feel almost the full spectrum of human emotions with all of her writing. Florida is not a book to fall asleep reading as you will not want to miss a single word or moment.

I took my time with this book, luxuriating in every sentence, rereading passages to make it last longer.

I borrowed my copy from the library but I loved it so much, I’ll be purchasing one to keep so I can go back to these stories time and time again.

I really can’t rave enough about it but I’ll leave you with one final thought:

If I had to choose one single book to read for the rest of my life, it would be this one.

Mrs S by K. Patrick: 3.5 Stars

God I wanted to like this, I really did. But unfortunately, I really really did not.

Earlier in the year I saw the author K. Patrick speak on a panel at the Writers Festival, and she explained that she wrote the sex scenes first before writing the rest of the story. Well honestly, it shows. The sex scenes were the most interesting part of the book, the rest was boring and hard to follow.

I think Patrick fancies herself as a bit of a literary muse or something, because her writing was disjointed and confusing in a way that I think she intended to come across as deep, challenging and intelligent, but instead it was just annoying and pretentious.

The writing was incredibly self-indulgent and there was no character development at all across the board and worst of all: I did not care a lick for either of the main characters. For a book that spent so long building to the sex scene, there was a glaring lack of tension between the two main characters. I was not invested in either of them and so all of their interactions felt fake and unnatural because the whole situation did not seem believable.

It makes me sad to write a bad review about a sapphic book because as a queer girly, I wanna fly the flag of pride but this book ain’t the one.

However! I think it would have made an excellent short story.

Guess we’ll never know though…

Rangikura by Tayi Tibble: 5 Stars

I only just finished reading Rangikura tonight so I’m going to put together a glowing review because it was magnificent!

They saw things in me I wanted to see in myself

that’s why I let them see me that’s why I let them see me

on certain nights in certain lights when the planets

lined up like a string of pearls in the sky and the moon

was the correct hue.

Rangikura is the fiery second collection by Tayi Tibble.

These poems live in the space between the end of the world and a new day. They ask us to think about our relationship to desire and exploitation. They are both nostalgic for, and exhausted by, the pursuit of an endless summer.

Sooooo many great books this month! Have you read any of them? Let me know in the comments. Also, please share your favourite book of the month that you read in June too.