reading round-up 6

everything i read from april to june

Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna ⭐⭐⭐

Evenings and Weekends has been on my radar forever but unfortunately it fell a little flat. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters and found myself getting annoyed at them rather than rooting for them. The amount of miscommunication was infuriating — all the conflict in this book could be resolved if everyone just TALKED to each other. Very Sally Rooney-esque.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my most anticipated read of 2026 and I know everyone is sick of hearing how great it is but…it’s great. Natalie Heller Mills — the ‘tradwife’ influencer who suddenly finds herself in the 1800s living the life she romanticises online — is deliciously unlikeable and her downfall is deeply satisfying. My only gripe is the pacing: I would’ve preferred less time in the ‘olden days’ and more development post-plot twist.

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Apparently, I have to read at least one Lisa Jewell book a quarter to get my thriller fix. Once again, Lisa gave me exactly what I needed. This is a twisty, layered psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end. I pride myself on being able to predict endings but every few pages I changed my mind on who was guilty and who was innocent.

Foe by Iain Reid ⭐

I can only give this one star because I stopped reading halfway through. I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid is one of my favourite books of all time — in fact it’s the only book I’ve ever finished and then immediately re-read — so I had high hopes for this. But unfortunately it put me in a colossal reading slump. Reid is a master at creating an unnerving, disconcerting atmosphere that slowly builds but this time round it just didn’t grab me.

Fruit Fly by Josh Silver ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Potentially my favourite of the bunch and it doesn’t seem to be getting nearly as much hype online as it should be. Mallory is a burnt-out author with writer’s block who exploits a homeless drug addict to write the next gay, sad and zeitgeist-y bestseller. It’s fast-paced and darkly funny — I flew through it. Fans of Yellowface will love.

Moderation by Elaine Castillo ⭐⭐⭐

I’m still struggling to make my mind up on this one. The main character works as a content moderator for a social media company, tasked with removing the most horrific content you can imagine. I can’t fault the writing but the plot went in a completely unexpected direction. Potentially my own fault but I was expecting something dark and weird with a morally ambiguous female protagonist (aka my favourite genre) but got a techy, sci-fi romance.

Honey by Imani Thompson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Speaking of morally ambiguous female protagonists, enter Yrsa. She’s a PhD student with a penchant for murdering racist and misogynistic men who, quite frankly, deserve it. Despite the main character being an objectively bad person who becomes increasingly unhinged, it’s just so much fun to root for her.