How was your month? For me, June was another month where I read a lot of speculative fiction – horror, science fiction, fantasy and a mystery thrown in there too. Apparently summer means I want my books to be unsettling, magical, or set in strange worlds.
What I Read in June
I discuss what I read every week in Bookmarked. Since the last one (last week), I finished a cozy fantasy, The Enchanted Greenhouse (Spellshop #2), Sarah Beth Durst and a science fiction novella, The Orb of Cairado, Katherine Addison. That brought June’s total to 9 books which includes 4 novellas.
June Book Ratings at a Glance
Novels …
- A Box Full of Darkness, Simone St. James ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- American Rapture, C.J. Leede ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The God of the Woods, Liz Moore ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Molka, Monika Kim ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Novellas …
- A Mouthful of Dust, Nghi Vo ⭐⭐⭐
- Descent, Wole Talabi ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- But Not Too Bold, Hache Pueyo ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The Orb of Cairado, Katherine Addison ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Favorite Book Read in June
Although I loved almost everything I read this month, there was only 1 5-star book for me this month, A Box Full of Darkness, Simone St. James, which is the first book I completed this month. This is the 6th book I’ve read by St. James, and at this point she’s firmly on my “automatic read” list. Every book I’ve picked up by her has delivered compelling characters, creeping dread, atmospheric settings, and just the right amount of supernatural mystery.
In A Box Full of Darkness, 3 siblings return to their childhood home, drawn by a message from their long dead younger brother. The town where they grew up is a place where a lot of disturbing things happen – and this was the setting for another of St. James’s books – The Sun Down Motel (another must read). The buildup in this novel was just exquisite. I love how the author took the time with the story, teasing it out and drawing out the anticipation.
If you’re looking for an atmospheric summer horror read, put this on your list.
Reading Challenge Update
June was #ReadCaribbean Month, and sadly, I did not finish a book by a Caribbean author. BUT I’m in the middle of Honey, Imani Thompson, and I have a few others on my summer reading list.
- 2026 Key Word Reading Challenge (June key words: Box, Apple, Castle, Fool, Middle, Cold, Flight, Become)
⮕A Box Full of Darkness, Simone St. James - 2026 Motif Reading Challenge (theme: Under the Neon Lights)
⮕American Rapture, C.J. Leede - Reading 5 4 3 2 … 1 in 2026
⮕I read a book from my “To Be Read” list (total so far: 3) – The God of the Woods, Liz Moore – and 2 books (novellas) by BIPOC authors – Descent, Wole Talabi and A Moutful of Dust, Nghi Vo.
I’m tracking everything on our FREE 2026 Reading Challenge Tracker Spreadsheet – grab yours if you haven’t tried it yet.
June on Chapter Adventure
I usually publish twice per week on Mondays and Fridays. Mondays are reserved for Bookmarked, a recap of my reading week and interesting bookish links. In June I also published:
- My Summer 2026 Reading List for #20BooksofSummer, #SummerofHorror and #BigBookSummer
- 4 [More] #CaribbeanReads Fiction Novel Recommendations
- 5 of My Favorite Award-Winning Audiobooks
On to July
- #Summerween – An annual readathon July 3-9, 2026. It’s a carnival theme! (on IG @thisissummerween)
- Summer of Horror 2026 – Continues from Jun. 1-Aug. 31, 2026
- 20 Books of Summer #20BOS26 … Pick your goal. Read 20, 15, or 10 books – you decide. Jun. 1-Aug. 31, 2026
- Big Book Summer Challenge – Read books with more than 400 pages – May 22-Sep. 7, 2026
- IG #SummerReadingChallenge for lots of options
—- That’s it from me. Which book are you most looking forward to reading this summer? Are you participating in any of these events?
I absolutely loved A Box Full of Darkness, it’s in my top 5 books of the year at the moment:-)