Books I Read in June

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
Having a fear - whether rational, irrational or somewhere in the middle - can be very debilitating and it takes a lot to share it with someone.  Paige's boyfriend drowned, and she hasn't gone swimming since.  But Paige is headstrong and doesn't want her fear to control her, so she creates a list of things she wants to do (including swimming) before the end of her junior year.  But, as life usually happens, a curveball is thrown Paige's way in the form of Max Chase, the cousin of Paige's longtime crush.  Max ends up being the most helpful person in Paige's mission to check off boxes even though they don't go how she originally imagined.  But the items on the list are hard for Paige and what is she supposed to do when they're all completed?  Also, Max came into her life after the list was written so why does he start to feel like the most important goal?

All the Little Lights by Jamie McGuire

I love Jamie McGuire, especially her Beautiful books, but I was excited to read this story since it had been a little while since she's released any novels.  This book's main focus was on Elliot and Catherine and how reconnecting with someone can be even harder than first introducing yourself if enough time and life events take place.  Catherine has secrets in her life she's not willing to share with anyone and Elliot has to work hard to keep his anger at bay.  But as they're trying to figure out who they are some of their classmates start to disappear and the town is rattled. And HO-LY PLOT TWIST.  Now, I am someone who will skip to the end of the book and spoil the ending for myself, but with this one, willpower I was warned that there was a twist so I used willpower and kept from ruining it for myself which was the best decision I could have made.  I was completely stunned and super impressed since the plot twist totally threw me.  It was so good!  

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer
You know how there are some people in your life you only know in one setting?  For example, if you've ever had a teacher that was very private with his personal life, it may shock you to learn that the toughest grader in your school is unable to say no to his nephew's requests.  That's kind of what this book is like.  Two people start communicating with each other anonymously so that it is easier to share their pain with one another, but they know each other in real life too and seem to hate each other.  And when one of them figures out the other's identity, a decision has to be made whether or not to keep the other in the dark.  Innocence may be bliss, but the truth gives a clearer picture of who these two are and whether or not their connection is only through the written word.  My mom always says, "You never know what happens behind closed doors" which is extremely fitting for this story.

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

This book is similar to the other two books I read this month in that it's two people who kind of know each other, but then discover that there is so much more to them (apparently that's a theme I enjoy).  Skylar wants out of her hometown and college is the way to do it, but when her mother starts to make poor decisions Skylar starts to rethink where she wants to be and where she needs to be.  Josh came back from Afganistan having traded a leg for PTSD.  The two of them have enough issues of their own to keep themselves busy and yet they end up using the other's problems as the perfect distraction.  They care for and understand each other in ways even their best friends never did.  

Defending Allye by Susan Stoker
Release Date: August 7, 2018
I got this book through NetGalley, but you can get it by the end of this week.  This book starts off a new series all about Veterans who now work to take down sex-traffickers and other gross, bad guys.  This book begins with Gray rescuing Allye from the worst trafficker of them all, but when it becomes clear that the sex-trafficker isn't going to give up so easily, and when his feelings for Allye grow, this mission is far from standard for Gray.  He has to let go of his past if he's going to have any form of a future with Allye.  This book has got action, suspension, and love, so naturally, I loved it.

More than This by Jay McLean

Mikayla meets Jake on prom night, moments after finding out her boyfriend has been cheating on her with her best friend for half the length of their relationship.  Jake decides to ask Mikayla to join him and his friends to prom to help turn her night around.  And it works.  Until he tries to drop her off at home and she discovers her family has been murdered.  Jake does everything he can to help Mikayla, but she begins to panic that so much in her life changed in one night that she doesn't know who she is anymore.  Now she has to decide if she can figure that out with Jake around or if she needs to take a step back from him.  Jake has no choice but to let Mikayla do whatever she wants, but he certainly doesn't want any space between them.  How do you balance when so many good and bad things happen at once?