Best of the Bunch ~ June 2014

Best of the Bunch is a monthly meme hosted by Always Lost in Stories on the last day of every month. The aim of this meme is to share the best book that we have read in that month and give it our Best of the Bunch award.

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Books read in June:

Hard as a Rock by Mina Carter ~ 3 stars 

Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer ~ 4 stars 

The Guard by Kiera Cass ~ 3 stars

Charles Darwin and the Mystery of Mysteries by Niles Eldredge and  Susan Pearson ~ 4 stars 

Unravelling the Mysteries of Ancient Places by Brien Foerster and others ~ 4 stars

Straw into Gold by Gary D. Schmidt ~ 3 stars

Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard ~ 5 stars ~ Review to come

Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii by Vicky Alvear Shecter ~ 5 stars ~ My Review

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios ~ 5 stars ~ Review to come

Only Pretend by Nora Flite ~ 2 stars
The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter ~ 3 stars
The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan ~ 4 stars

Dirty Angels by Karina Halle ~ 4 stars ~ My Review
Play by Kylie Scott ~ 5 stars ~ My Review
Play Me by Blue Ashcroft ~ 3 stars ~ Review to come

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll ~ 3 stars

And the Best of the Bunch winner of June 2014 is...

Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Published May 27th 2014 by Arthur A. Levine Books

When your world blows apart, what will you hold onto?

TAG is a medical slave, doomed to spend his life healing his master's injured gladiators. But his warrior's heart yearns to fight in the gladiator ring himself and earn enough money to win his freedom.

LUCIA is the daughter of Tag's owner, doomed by her father's greed to marry a much older Roman man. But she loves studying the natural world around her home in Pompeii, and lately she's been noticing some odd occurrences in the landscape: small lakes disappearing; a sulfurous smell in the air. . . .

When the two childhood friends reconnect, each with their own longings, they fall passionately in love. But as they plot their escape from the city, a patrician fighter reveals his own plans for them -- to Lucia's father, who imprisons Tag as punishment. Then an earthquake shakes Pompeii, in the first sign of the chaos to come. Will they be able to find each other again before the volcano destroys their whole world?

Honorable mentions go to:

Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard

The Phantom of the Opera, dude! <3

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios

F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

David Levithan never disappoints. I devoured it. Also, it's so cute and little!

Play by Kylie Scott

Mal. Oh, Mal! Let me play with you!

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What was the best book you read this month?

Let me know!