Hello everyone. This is a short roundup because numbers are down this month with only eleven reviews of ten books. I’m guessing this means that you’ve all been going to the movies or taking long walks in the freezing cold instead of curling up with a good book.

Normally with this low number I would have selected four books for the roundup but this time I will only chose three as most of the books reviewed for June are ones that have been highlighted fairly recently. Nothing wrong with that of course but I am sure there are some gems lying in wait for worthy readers to uncover, say in the last ten years or so.

The Lake HouseComing in with two reviews Is Kate Morton’s The Lake House. Veronica Joy at Goodreads writes: “Kate Morton is a masterful story teller, observing the small nuances of human nature, things that don’t change through time, giving the reader parallels between mother and daughter ( they were so alike although Alice never saw the side of her mother the reader was privy to) and the parallels in characters of the 1930’s and those in 2003.”

Georgina at Goodreads was also enamoured. “The premise of a missing child never fails to draw me in! Kate Morton is a master of blending past and present, weaving subtle clues and red herrings into the narrative to draw us further into the mystery.” Oh, and thanks for that girls. The Lake House has now been added to my TBR pile and is number 954!

skinFor something completely different we have Skin by Ilka Tampke.”Ailia is a young woman without “skin,” or totem. Her family is unknown; she was discovered as a swaddled newborn on the doorstep of her Tribequeen’s kitchen in the year 28 AD, and raised by a servant called Cookmother.” Sarah from Reading the Past writes: “The geographic setting is deftly realized; Ailia’s homeland of Caer Cad is a hilltown in what’s now known as Somerset, and the great Glastonbury Tor makes several appearances.”

Sarah does advise however: “Fans of traditional historical fiction should be aware that the novel spends much time within the spiritual realms.” I find it amazing how fiction is not so clear cut as it used to be. Mostly I think that is a good thing. I recently finished reading The Woman in the Photograph by Dana Gynther about the photographer Lee Miller. The book is both fact and fiction and is happily accepted as such by readers of today. Twenty years ago readers would have been saying “well, it can’t be both”.

Kate Forsyth, The wild girlThe last book The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth is to my mind such a book. “Growing up in the small German kingdom of Hessen-Cassel in the early Nineteenth century, Dortchen Wild is irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the young and handsome fairy tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm.” Elizabeth at Earl Grey Editing observes: “I was a bit taken aback at the darkness of the story. Not only does it deal with the desperation of poverty and the horrors of war, but it also details physical and sexual abuse. Considering the nature of Grimms’ fairy tales, this seems fitting, though it is something of which readers should be aware.”

So, peoples, how is the reading going this very cold July? I am hoping to really get my teeth into some interesting reviews next month.

My name is Debbie Robson and I am a bookcrosser, booklover and author. I love researching the 20th century and finding those small but relevant details that can make the past come alive. You can find me on twitter: lakelady2282.