Don’t forget, now you can find all of my 2025 reads in The Blonde Mule storefront. If you’re shopping between July 8-11, Bookshop.org is offering free shipping as part of their Anti-Prime Sale.
Hello!
As you know, I read a lot of books. Once a month, I write a recap of what I’ve read with short descriptions and even shorter reviews. These are meant to be conversational. Imagine running into me at a coffee shop and I excitedly tell you what I’m reading.
Now, let’s get into what I read in June!
First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
This book is described as a modern-day Sleepless in Seattle. The daughter of a single mom calls in to a nightly radio show hosted by a man (🧐) who spends his evenings on air doling out dating advice to the greater Baltimore area, despite not really believing in it for himself.
Positives:
The woman is a mechanic, which I love. My friend Britt is begging for more working class women in romance novels and I agree!
The kid’s dad is gay and lives next door with his husband, who coparent the kid and a little bit parent the mom by making her come over for dinner on a regular basis. We love a blended family.
Negatives:
MMV but I can’t listen to an audiobook with a male narrator reading sex scenes, or describing how his mechanic girlfriend’s coveralls turn him on. In fairness to me, I did not know this about myself prior to listening to this audiobook lol.
Everyone else loves this book, so take my lukewarm review with a grain of salt. I suspect had I read it with my eyes, I would have liked it more.
The Payback by Kashana Cauley
I read Cauley’s first book for Roxane Gay’s Audacious Book Club and really liked it, so I was excited to see an ARC for a second novel.
This is about three Black women who meet working at the Glendale Mall and realize they are all being targeted by a new branch of law enforcement called the Debt Police, who track down people who default on their student loans and beat them up. The three women pull off a heist to free themselves (and potentially others!) from debt. It’s very Set If Off adjacent (complimentary).
The book is available for pre-order now. It pubs on July 15. There’s a good chance it will be my next staff rec for Parnassus, so watch this space.
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Man, oh man, what a book! Five stars! Shout-out to everyone who told me to read this. You were right. I loved it. Potential fave of the year.
First of all, how are you not going to read a book with this cover? Come on! This is one of those books where any attempt to describe the storyline will include spoilers, so let me tiptoe through the plot. Tragedy strikes in a small, New England town and two little kids end up in the custody of a hoarder, alcoholic, lottery winner who is so sensitive to sad news that his ex-wife cuts news stories out of the paper for him. He decides to take the kids on a cross-country roadtrip and at the last minute, his adult, goth daughter (who hates him) decides to join in. Oh, and there’s a stray cat who wanders around town predicting death. Trust me, just read it. Fave of the month!
The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi
I picked this up at Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, NC recently. It’s about a restaurant in Japan that serves remembrance meals to people who have recently lost someone. For the few minutes that your food is hot, the person you recently lost sits down at the table and you are able to ask them any questions, or say any last words that you didn’t get a chance to say before they died. I will note that this book is sadder than some of the other books like this that I’ve read.
Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman
This just came out, but I got to read an advanced copy. It’s supes cozy and fat positive. I’m a big fan of Laura Lippman’s and I’ve watched her put in the work to learn about body positivity and fat liberation. I was elated to hear her shout-out Virginia Sole-Smith and Aubrey Gordon in the acknowledgments. She did a great job with the fat MC in this book.
This is my July staff rec for Parnassus, so you can read what I had to say about the book here. I’ll also add that I listened to this driving to/fro North Carolina and it’s great on audio.
Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline
Heartbreaking, inspiring, and like so many other things started by Black trans women, an instruction manual for how to be in community. This is the biography of Marsha P. Johnson, rumored to have thrown the first brick in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. While telling the story of Marsha, Tourmaline also tells the story of queer NYC.
This is a great book for anyone who wasn’t an adult in 2016 and is kind of spinning out now with this second administration. I mean, we’re all spinning out, but younger folks don’t have as much muscle memory as some of us do. Truly, an amazing book. I hope Tourmaline wins so many awards for this. The audiobook is great, by the way.
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen
This novel is set in modern day NYC and something called “The Return” has happened. A bunch of notable people throughout history have come back to life. Harriet Tubman is one of them. She hires Darnell, a gay, Black rapper/producer in Harlem, to produce her comeback album and subsequent tour. Through the production of the album, Darnell learns the full history of the Underground Railroad.
I’m a huge Bob the Drag Queen fan, which made this a fun read. His voice and sense of humor are so present in this book. It’s funny and original, but lacks the emotional depth I like in a book. But kudos to Bob for writing what is essentially a biography of Harriet Tubman in a way only he could pull off.
On deck for next month:
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
I Want to Burn This Place Down: Essays by Maris Kreizman
Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess
Actress of a Certain Age by Jeff Hiller
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-Kim
ICYMI: Here’s what I read last month:
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I look forward to this roundup every month! Thank you!
So many library holds each time you post your roundup! I’ve read The Midnight Feast and Welcome to Murder Week. I liked them both. I hope you do too.