Reading Roundup: June 2025

Two books from my last TBR list read, more Rivers of London and Secret Wars!

Some Big Life Stuff happened in June, but I also read lots of great books… and I bought arguably too many books. I also got really into reading Claremont’s 1980s X-Men again, I had a bit of a lull with it in May, but we’re into some really good stories where I am at the moment!

4 books read: 2 audiobooks and 2 ebooks!

Carry On (Simon Snow #1) by Rainbow Rowell⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed this re-read, and it was even more fun on audio. It’s a gentle Harry Potter parody, with a fun magic system, a surprisingly compelling romance and the type of silly humour that really tickles me.

Persepolis Rising (The Expanse #7) James S.A. Corey ⭐⭐⭐

This was better than book 6, but I still found it dragged, and it is almost entirely set up for the final trilogy in the series arc, so it had little resolution to anything. This is the last one in my re-read; the final two books will be entirely new to me!

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata⭐⭐⭐⭐

There are a couple of standout short stories in this collection that resonated with me. Murata has such a weird brain, and I love the way she thinks and writes!

Broken Homes (Rivers of London #4) by Ben Aaronovitch⭐⭐⭐⭐

A new favourite in the series! This had all my favourite elements – brimming with Peter’s architectural observations, partnered with Lesley and a decent amount of Nightingale! Also, big developments for the series! (I bloody knew it!)

Marvel Unlimited

Between Uncanny X-Men and Secret Wars I have been quite glued to Marvel Unlimited!!

Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 8

Collecting X-Men #161-167.

I think I got confused in my last roundup over what stories were in which issues/collections! This is the collection with the random issue where Storm becomes Dracula’s consort!

Otherwise, this dragged on, battling The Brood (again) for several issues. However, I have really enjoyed Carol Danvers being along for the ride, though and seeing her transform into Binary!

I did not like that Colossus kisses Kitty. He is a grown man (19 maybe?) and she’s 14! This moment also comes a few panels after reminding us that she’s 14 (having passed a birthday). This couldn’t have been OK even in the 60s, right? She’s a child, and she is definitely written as a child. Her crush is fine, but having Peter reciprocate is gross…. extra disturbing that the rest of the X-Men seem to be totally fine with it.

An earlier story in this collection also sees Illyana – his little sister – get trapped in a demon dimension and age up from a seven-year-old into a teenager, which makes her now around Kitty’s age too.. and now her best friend!

Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 9

Collecting X-Men 168-175

I’ve been reading on Marvel Unlimited, so I’ve lost track a bit of which issue is in which collection!

This run of issues had the introduction of Madelyn Pryor… and I found it very strange how nobody questioned how healthy it might be to have a relationship with (and marry!) a woman who looks exactly like your dead ex-finance.. Nobody thought this might not be a healthy relationship?

Anyway, I look forward to the Goblin Queen in the future! (And Mr Sinister!!)

This issue also saw the maybe return of Dark Phoenix (or is it?).

This is also where Rogue joins the team to the disgust of Carol Danvers (Binary), who punched her into fucking space (I love Carol!), and then tell the X-Men to F’ off. Fair enough.

Rogue joins the X-Men and Carol (as Binary) leaves Earth. (Uncanny X-Men #171)

This also kicks off Storm’s identity crisis, which leads to her mohawk era!

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (Jim Shooter)

Issues #1-12 (1984)

Uncanny X-Men was interrupted by this event, so I’ve hopped over to it!

I really enjoyed this, more than I expected to. It is a very comic booky story (don’t think about it too much) with a very random selection of villains and heroes that don’t quite gel.. and that’s the point.

I particularly liked that this story understands the X-Men and Magneto, and the different place in the world that they occupy as mutants, and so they didn’t automatically get along with all the other heroes. The X-Men understand Magneto’s motivations, whereas Captain America etc just see him as a straightforward villain. This causes a rift, and they work as separate factions for most of the issues.

There is also tension between Storm and Prof. X (well Storm and everyone, including herself!) carried over from Uncanny X-Men, that may not make sense to readers who haven’t been immersed in that run.

It does become The Dr Doom Show at a certain point – Doom has got to Doom! – And I haven’t read much of him yet, so that was fun. It also introduced me to Klaw!

Secret Wars also sees the origins of Titania and Volcana, and maybe Spider-woman (No. 2)? it seemed like nobody knew who she was anyway!

This is also where Peter Parker gets his mysterious new black and white suit (using the wrong alien machine!) … which I am pretty sure is going to turn out to be Venom! And it ends with She-Hulk going to fill in for The Thing in The Fantastic Four.

Currently reading

I just finished Bridget Jones’s Diary and have started My Husband (I am, for onc,e actually making my way through a TBR list!). On audio, I just finished Foxglove Summer (Rivers of London #5) and have to wait a while for the next in the series, so I think I’m going to dip into Equal Rites as an audiobook re-read (Discworld, Witches #1).

Adding to TBR

I went a bit mad in June buying 99p books from the Kobo Store.. turns out they email you about stuff on your wishlist if it pops onto an offer, which is nice.

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy – this has been on my eBook deal watch list for years (and on my list of the oldest books I want to read)! Finally, it was 99p!
Retreat by Krysten Ritter – I enjoyed Bonfire so I’m giving her second novel a try!
She’s Always Hungry by Eliza Clark – I was blown away by Penance so excited to see what else this author has to offer.
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark – as above! I am less sure I’ll like this one, but I could be surprised!
Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata – her latest novel, after loving Convenience Store Woman and Life Ceremony I’m excited!
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh – I can’t remember how this crossed by path, and usually I don’t love Hugo award nominees/winners… But I’ll give it a go, I’m always hoping to find new sci-fi I can love! (I don’t know why this so hard!)

I also ordered three gorgeous Folio Society special editions.. which cost a lot more than 99p! I got a targeted Instagram ad for the beautiful special edition of Piranesi by Susanna Clark, which is one of my favourite books, and a story well deserving of such treatment! Once I’d got that in my basket, I also couldn’t resist (to save on postage, of course) Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. They arrived a few days ago and they’re absolutely wonderful quality.

The problem I have now is I want more… They have some Philip K Dick editions that are very tempting…

Book Tag/TTT!

I’m really loving joining in with Top Ten Tuesday! I’ve now added a category to my blog for these posts to make them easier to find. It is a really fun way to find new blogs and potential book friends.

I missed a week in June (busy getting married), so just three to report.