Books Added to My Shelves in June 2025

This is my monthly roundup of books that I added to my shelves in June 2025. Some of the books came directly from authors or publishers, others were purchased, or were given to me as gifts. You’ll find books from all kinds of genres, including adult and children’s books. I’ll even share a few updates from our family’s life in the last month as well.

Family and Life Update

It’s my second summer spending my Tuesdays at the Youngville Cafe. This historical gas station-turned cafe on the famous Lincoln Highway is one of my favorite things about my summer. See our spot on the PBS show, Road Trip Iowa, HERE. We are open every Tuesday from 11:00-1:30, serving sandwiches and the best homemade pie around. Stop by if you are in the area.

I’m loving my coffee with Jesus time, watching the sunrise on the front porch. I am usually serenaded by a wren, robins, and a cardinal every morning, plus I’m getting that good UVA to start my day.

I finally finished this PuzzleTwist Iowa Spirit puzzle I received for Christmas. It was a bit tricky, but fun to see all my favorite spots to visit in our state.

We had a great Father’s Day with the kids in Des Moines, eating at The Chicken and hanging out together.

Now, on to the books! 

Where did June go? Phew, this has been a fast summer already, as I’m sure many of you can agree. July is full of weddings, family time, and a vacation, so I expect it to go just as fast. So much fun ahead!

I finished 7 books in June. One way to be sure you finish a book is to always have a book with you, no matter what. I hope this encourages you to read in the small and big pockets of your day. Even 10 minutes at a time can make a big difference. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, HERE, to see snippets of what I’m reading or what’s going on in my daily life.

This month’s list includes some new and upcoming historical fiction, popular fiction titles, and numerous upcoming children’s books. My current reads include THE ROSE CODE on audio for book club, and I’m still reading GITEL’S FREEDOM and THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD BEACH AND BOOK CLUB for review.

If you have missed any of my recent book reviews, you can see all of them by clicking HERE.  Or you can stay up to date with my monthly Quick Lit Roundup.

Clicking the photos of each book will take you to a link to purchase. If you choose to purchase through any of the links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.

ADULT FICTION AND NON-FICTION

THE BELGIAN GIRLS
By: Kathryn J. Atwood
Published: May 8, 2025
Publisher: Catherine Rose Press
YA/Historical Fiction
Format: eBook for Review

Historian and writer Kathryn Atwood’s novels are written for a teen/young adult audience but can be enjoyed by all. I learned a lot about women in history by reading her book, WOMEN HEROES OF WW1.

When the Germans overrun Brussels during the First World War, Gabrielle is infuriated to see her newfound happiness shattered. It isn’t long before she is faced with an impossible choice. Three decades later, shy and bookish Julienne moves to Brussels with her widowed father at the height of the Nazi occupation and is horrified to witness the city’s callous treatment of Jews.

In this dual timeline novel inspired by the life of Belgian spy Gabrielle Petit, two very different young women must discover their inner strength to become the heroes their city needs. And when loyalties are tested and decades-old secrets are revealed, their legacies will become entwined forever.

DEAR MISS LAKE
Emmy Lake Chronicles #4
By: AJ Pearce
Published: August 5, 2025
Publisher: Scribner
Historical Fiction
Format: eBook for Review

From the first in the series, DEAR MRS. BIRD, to this new addition, I have been fully invested in Emmy Lake and her dear friends. I can’t wait to jump back into their lives.

London, July 1944. Editor Emmy Lake’s career is Woman’s Friend magazine is a huge success, and she is finally realizing her dream of becoming a War Correspondent. On the personal front, Emmy’s husband Charles has been posted closer to home, and her good friends Bunty and Harold are planning their summer wedding in the countryside. They all know how lucky they are.

But after nearly five years of war, the nation is struggling with loss, deprivation, and fear. The “Yours Cheerfully” advice column receives more letters than ever, and even though there are high hopes for the war to finally be over by Christmas, the situation is far from resolved. And soon Emmy will find herself in her greatest battle yet, forced to rally her community and keep her own spirits up even when fearing the worst.

Endearing, engaging, and full of heart, Dear Miss Lake is a testament to the saving power of friendship when all seems lost.

THE ROSE CODE
By: Kate Quinn
Published: March 9, 2021
Publisher: William Morrow
Historical Fiction
Format: eBook purchase

This is our book club choice for the month. I’ve never read any of Kate Quinn’s books, but I know she is much admired for her historical fiction novels. The eBook is on a Kindle Deal right now, but I also have the audiobook on Libby. For novels like this that have a lot of details and characters, I find it helpful to have a version to read or reread as needed if I miss something in the audio version.

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of East-End London poverty, works the legendary code-breaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter—the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger—and their true enemy…

ABSCOND
A Short Story
By: Abraham Verghese
Published: July 1, 2025
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Fiction/Short Story
Format: eBook through Amazon First Reads

This was an Amazon Prime First Reads choice last month. I loved CUTTING FOR STONE, so this was an easy choice.

It’s a New Jersey summer in 1967, and thirteen-year-old Ravi Ramanathan has the makings of a tennis prodigy. His surgeon father encourages his ambition, while his mother dreams of their only child following his father’s path. Surrounded by his parents’ love, Ravi chafes a bit at their daily routines and little traditions. Then one unexpected day, everything changes. Realizing how much he took for granted, Ravi must grow up overnight and find a new role in the life of his family

THE RIVER IS WAITING
By: Wally Lamb
Narrated by: Jeremy Sisto
Published: June 10, 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Audible

This was listed in the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide. I have loved Wally Lamb in the past, but I wasn’t sure about this one until a few more people had read it and raved about it. I chose it as my Audible credit.

Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that’s before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart.

Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model. Buoyed by them and by his mother’s enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?

THE BRIGHT YEARS
By: Sarah Damoff
Published: April 22, 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Fiction
Format: Hardcover purchase

This was an obvious choice for me from Book of the Month.

Ryan and Lillian Bright are deeply in love, recently married, and now parents to a baby girl, Georgette. But Lillian has a son she hasn’t told Ryan about, and Ryan has an alcohol addiction he hasn’t told Lillian about, so Georgette comes of age watching their marriage rise and fall.

When a shocking blow scatters their fragile trio, Georgette tries to distance herself from reminders of her parents. Years later, Lillian’s son comes searching for his birth family, so Georgette must return to her roots, unearth her family’s history, and decide whether she can open up to love for them—or herself—while there’s still time.

Told from three intimate points of view, The Bright Years is a tender, true-to-life novel that explores the impact of each generation in a family torn apart by tragedy but, over time, restored by the power of grace and love.

WHAT KIND OF PARADISE
By: Janelle Brown
Published: June 3, 2025
Publisher: Random House
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Purchase

Another Book of the Month pick and one mentioned in the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide.

The first thing you have to understand is that my father was my entire world.

Growing up in an isolated cabin in Montana in the mid-1990s, Jane knows only the world that she and her father live the woodstove that heats their home, the vegetable garden where they try to eke out a subsistence existence, the books of nineteenth-century philosophy that her father gives her to read in lieu of going to school. Her father is elusive about their pasts, giving Jane little beyond the facts that they once lived in the Bay Area and that her mother died in a car accident, the crash propelling him to move Jane off the grid to raise her in a Thoreau-like utopia.

As Jane becomes a teenager she starts pushing against the boundaries of her restricted world. She begs to accompany her father on his occasional trips away from the cabin. But when Jane realizes that her devotion to her father has made her an accomplice to a horrific crime, she flees Montana to the only place she knows to look for answers about her mysterious past, and her mother’s San Francisco. It is a city in the midst of a seismic change, where her quest to understand herself will force her to reckon with both the possibilities and the perils of the fledgling Internet, and where she will come to question everything she values.

CHILDREN’S FICTION AND NON-FICTION

BABY, EXPRESS YOSELF
Because Baby Knows What’s Up
By: Elizabeth McConaughy-Oliver
Published: September 16, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Fiction
Format: Board Book for review

A cute and distinctive board book.

Here’s a board book like no other! Originally made as a present for a girlfriend having a baby, this witty and hilarious gift will charm parents and little ones alike. From Baby’s rise ’n’ shine to flexing her undeniable style to catching some z’s after putting in the work, each page is filled with colorful verve, adorable sass, and an empowering call to action for every child to bring their best game to each and every day.

From “BOOM” placed on Baby’s bottom to the “BOSS” on Baby’s socks, author-illustrator Elizabeth McConaughy-Oliver sense of humor is pitch-perfect throughout. This baby knows best and she’s here, starring in her very own book, to express herself loud and clear.

BABY BASICS: MY ANIMAL SOUNDS
By: Xavier Deneux
Published: August 19, 2025
Publisher: Twirl
Non-Fiction
Format: Board Book for Review

I previously shared MY BOOKS by Xavier in this same series. He also wrote, BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST.

Moo! Baa! Oink! The animals are talking! Sound chips provide the interactive element to Xavier Deneux’s high-contrast illustrations of familiar animals. What does the dog say? How about the elephant? Young readers can find out by pressing the pages. What fun!

JOLLY RIDDLES
A Christmas Lift-the-Flap Book
By: Victor Escandell
Published: September 23, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Fiction
Format: Interactive Board Book for Review

Victor is the author of the Sleuth & Solve series that I’ve shared, HERE.

Toddlers will delight in guessing the festive surprise hiding beneath each flap? Adorable and humorous illustrations fill each page with helpful hints, and then it’s up to clever little minds to guess the correct answers. What keeps your feet cozy? What is sweet and crunchy? What lights up your tree? Lift each flap to find out!

A PLAYFUL GAME IN A BOOK: This interactive novelty book will have the youngest readers guessing and practicing identification skills as they learn all about Christmas.

BALLOON
By: Bruce Handy
Illustrated by: Julie Kwon
Published: October 14, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

A sweet seek-and-find story with minimal words.

What’s better than holding onto a brand-new bright orange balloon?

Oh no! What’s worse than accidentally letting go of a bright orange balloon and watching it float up . . . up . . . up into the sky?

In this nearly wordless book, sharp-eyed readers will spot something orange and round in every scene as they join an endearing journey from disappointment to hope to a surprise ending better than they could have imagined. A balloon, seek-and-find play, and a (literally) warm-and-fuzzy ending—who could ask for more?

MY QUIET PLACE
By: Monica Mikai
Published: August 19, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

For kids who have trouble with sensory overload, anxiety, or ADHD, this is a great book for teaching them how to find their quiet place.

In our loud and busy world, finding a moment or place to think, dream, or rest quietly can be challenging. My Quiet Place highlights one child’s difficulty in dealing with the volume and action that swirl around her as she moves from the serenity of dawn to the bustle of breakfast, the cacophony of street sounds, the jostling of playground fun, and the everythingness of people’s lives packed together in a crowded bus or market. With focus and determination, she identifies all the ways she can find quiet when she needs it and even share it when someone else needs a bit, too.

LOST AND FOUND HANUKKAH
By: Joy Preble
Illustrated by: Lisa Anchin
Published: September 23, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

A holiday story that also shares a family’s struggles with a recent move and new memories.

Nate’s beloved menorah was lost in his family’s recent move, and finding the perfect new one isn’t going well. With Hanukkah one night away, Nate is missing his menorah and everything else about his old home, where everything fit just right. Then, a trip to a local shop with his dads results in something else lost—Kugel, the shop’s cat. Nate sets out to help, and by the time he’s ready to light the first candle, he discovers that, like in the story of Hanukkah, everything in his new home can be made right again, too.

This sweet and reassuring Hanukkah story feels like a cozy hug on a winter night! With endearing characters and a super satisfying, heartfelt ending, families will reach for this new holiday classic again and again.

I AM WE
How Crows Come Together to Survive
By: Leslie Barnard Booth
Illustrated by: Alexandra Finkeldey
Published: September 9, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Non-Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

Crows are not my favorite bird, but I do know they are one of the smartest birds. They are truly a fascinating bird.

Caw‑Caaaaw! Crows are fascinating and resilient birds. What is the secret to their abundance and survival, especially throughout winter seasons crawling with crow-eating creatures? I Am We unpacks these mysteries, exploring how and why crows roost together by the thousands and their reliance on cooperation and community.

Sharing a home in our urbanized ecosystem, crows are the ideal subject for learning about how animals interact with the environment and with each other. With dazzling color illustrations and irresistibly engaging and educational text, this beautiful, bewitching book will delight readers throughout the spooky season and all year round.

THE WORLD ENTIRE
A True Story of an Extraordinary World War II Rescue
By: Elizabeth Brown
Illustrated by: Melissa Castrillón
Published: September 2, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Non-Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

Such an important children’s book about real people and events from WWII.

Here is the true and powerful story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who, against his government’s commands, helped refugees flee France to escape the Nazis by granting visas that allowed them entry to Portugal.

In one of the greatest individual acts of rescue in World War II, Mendes saved many thousands of people, including the artist Salvador Dalí; H.A. and Margret Rey, the creators of Curious George; professors of medicine, biology, and physics who would go on to teach in America; and thousands of others whose lives are less known but no less precious. He and his family paid dearly for it, but Aristides never regretted his actions, believing to the very end of his life that every life is worth saving.

TARO GOMI’S BIG BOOK OF VERBS
By: Taro Gomi
Published: August 5, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Non-Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

This follow-up to Taro Gomi’s BIG BOOK OF WORDS focuses on verbs for kids to learn.

In Taro Gomi’s inimitable world, every scene brims with energy. From a bustling marketplace to a lively school to a dazzling amusement park, each illustration is filled with action. How many characters can you find

Running, riding, or climbing
Looking, choosing, or eating
Sleeping, screaming, or reading
Bumping, twirling, or chatting
And, of course, laughing?

Just as in Taro Gomi’s Big Book of Words, toddlers are introduced to words—this time in verb form—in unforgettable ways. Open the pages of this book to read, play, and learn!

THE FARAWAY FOREST
Wally’s Route
By: Debbie Fong
Published: September 9, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Graphic Novel for Review

This is a delight! A great introduction to graphic novels for younger readers.

A colorful cast of animal friends stars in this charming new young readers’ graphic novel series by award-winning author-illustrator Debbie Fong.

Wally, the Faraway Forest’s mail carrier, always tries his best. In addition to delivering packages of every shape and size, he and Bo, his best friend, also deliver kindness and a helping hand along the way. But can they win over their grumpiest neighbor, the cantankerous Mr. Sternbill? Wally and Bo are definitely going to try!

Follow this pair of friends as they discover the power of kindness and community in the first book in The Faraway Forest series.

Which books are you adding to your reading list?

Click HERE to see all the posts featuring new books on my shelves.

So many books, so little time!