I can’t believe we’re halfway through 2026 already! I have never read fewer 5 star reads in a year before, but we’ll save that conversation for my 2026 Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag. June was a pretty good reading month, as I read one of my favorite books of the year and a few other very solid ones.

Stats:

• Read: 5 books
• One 3 star read, three 4 stars, one 5 star
• Favorite book of June: Into the Blue

Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen

I always tend to gravitate towards road trip romances, and this one set in the United Kingdom was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the banter between Jack and Ada and there were plenty of funny scenes along their speed bump-filled journey to Ireland. Both characters went through a lot of development and self-growth, which was a huge focus of the story as well. Overall, this was a solid read and I had no major complaints. Rating: 4 stars

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

I caved to the masses of screaming fans and finally read this book, and I’m happy to report that it is romantic and emotionally devastating and compelling and complex and everything that everyone has raved about. Firstly, it’s a love story that spans more than a decade, building AJ and Noah’s relationship from childhood to adulthood with multiple time skips that display their push and pull, will-they-won’t they dynamic. I’m already a huge fan of this style of pacing, and the writing was phenomenal. Brodie brings these characters to life throughout all their seasons of misery and joy, making me care deeply for not just the MCs but also their family members (LOVED the dynamic between AJ and her siblings).

I really enjoyed how the plot revolved around the acting, comedy, and improv spaces, and how the love between AJ and Noah was displayed through these crafts. The romance was some of the angstiest and most emotional stuff I’ve read in ages, and the reason keeping AJ and Noah apart felt realistic; it led to a lot of poignant commentary about whether love is enough for a relationship to endure. Rating: 5 stars

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

This was a very inventive medieval fantasy full of beautiful prose, romance, and clever commentary on the role that war, propaganda, and storytelling play in building nationalism. The time travel aspect was very creative, but it was a little convoluted and confusing for me. The repetitive nature of time loops also made the plot slow-moving at times, but there were still plenty of plot twists along the way. The romance itself was enjoyable but leaned a bit too insta-lovey for my taste, which is understandable when it’s built around the concept of soulmates finding each other through multiple iterations of time and space. This story was extremely well-crafted objectively, but definitely too melancholy and slightly depressing for me to fully love it. Rating: 4 stars

Never Over by Clare Gilmore

This was a really sweet second-chance romance with a completely healthy, non-toxic romance. In fact, the main conflict had almost nothing to do with the relationship itself and more to do with the characters’ differing outlooks on ambition and passion. Liam was such a green flag MMC- he was communicative and kind and could almost do no wrong. Both characters showed a lot of emotional maturity and reflection. However, this reflection was sometimes heavy-handed and spelled out to the readers in slightly cheesy dialogue and monologues, which I did not love. Still, I enjoyed reading about Liam and Paige falling in love in dual timelines and liked delving into the world of songwriting. Rating: 4 stars

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

This didn’t really do it for me, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m starting to outgrow the YA genre or the story just wasn’t good. I was promised faeries and fantastical elements, but there was a distinct lack of those until the very end. The romance felt very underdeveloped and a lot like insta love. I couldn’t understand why the FMC and MMC were in love with each other after so few interactions. There was an attempt made at the found family trope with the female friendships, but all the other girls were flat as characters and interchangeable in my mind. The plot twist was convoluted and was not explained very well. Still, nothing was overtly terrible or offensively bad, so that’s a win!  Rating: 3 stars