June is often a pretty light month for new books, but I'm thinking it's not this year? Or maybe there are just a bunch I happen to be excited about this time around. There's not much better than sitting in the shade with a good book and listening to birds, so I'm going to hurry up and finish this post so I can go do that!

Wishing you all the good things and the strength to fight against the bad ones. Pride is a tough month this year, so please remember to advocate for your queer and trans siblings.

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Ratings are based on whether or not I recommend them to fellow readers -  DNF (Did Not Finish), Pass, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), Read It, Read it Soon.

It's May! May and June are objectively the best months of the year, so let's go outside and touch grass. (Bring a book.)

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In a Jam reminded me why I fell in love with romance novels. It's beautifully written, with dedicated arcs for both of the main characters and a hard won romantic arc that somehow feels epic and down-to-earth at the same time. 

Come on, sunshine and flowers and birds and the sense of renewal that will hopefully bring positive change. We just gotta work for it.

Here are some new books!

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New quarter, new Shop Your Shelves board! I reused some squares from the first two boards, but I hope you'll find the new ones fun (and challenging)!

Below you'll find rules, explanations for the squares and a link to square and story boards.

More mini-reviews!  Reviews of This Poison Heart, My Dear Henry, Blood Debts, Cruel Illusions, So This is Ever After and Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove. I liked or loved all of these audiobooks, a couple of which I felt were enhanced by the listening experience.

I'm way behind on writing reviews, so the only two books I can give accurate content notes on are My Dear Henry and Blood Debts.

Hope you find something you'll like!

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K.J. Charles starts a new series with The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, an historical gay romance set in rural Kent, England. Gareth and Joss are together for a couple of blissful weeks at a London meeting house for gay men, but when Joss says he needs to go back to Kent for a while to tend to his business, Gareth breaks things off entirely. Gareth's father, a selfish nobleman, left young Gareth with his uncle when his mother died and started a new family. Gareth quite reasonably has abandonment issues and doesn't want to be left by another person he loves.

Harper Collins Romance Mini-Reviews

After three long months, Harper Collins and the HCP union reached an agreement! That means us bloggers and reviewers can safely post coverage of Harper Collins books without crossing the picket line.

Among other things, the union secured wage increases for staff, which led the other big NYC publishers to increase wages. I mention this because unions aren't just good for the people in them, they're good for labor overall. I urge you to support the unions around you, even though it's "inconvenient" at times. I was really disappointed in my peers who continued promoting HC titles, reviewing them on Goodreads, etc. during the strike. Let's do better, friends.

On to the books!