Welcome to another edition of My Favourite Reads, the series where I chat about the best books I read over the past month and encourage you to add to our to-be-read piles by sharing yours.

June was another quiet month, thanks to more The Grazier’s Son touring and general busyness. On a good note, I did manage to beat May’s pathetic total of two books, but only by one.

It didn’t help that I wasted quite a bit of reading time on a book that ended up a did-not-finish. That was frustrating. It wasn’t a bad book, really, just a touch dull and my to-be-read pile is so feral that I didn’t want to waste time on something average. I want wowsers!

Which is what the following books were.

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Margaret Rogerson writes the most amazing stories. I absolutely adored Sorcery of Thorns. That was a brilliant read (I talk about it here) and its sequel, Mysteries of Thorn Manner, was also a favourite (my thoughts on that here). So when I spotted the ebook of An Enchantment of Ravens on sale I snapped it up straight away.

Ah, An Enchantment of Ravens was lovely. Sweet, funny, loaded with action, and oh so romantic. Not to mention beautifully written.

Artist Isobel was a wonderful heroine—clever, brave and extremely talented. She’s been painting portraits for the devious fae creatures much of her life, cleverly negotiating payments that benefit her family without backfiring (as many exchanges are wont to do).

Then Rook, the autumn prince, arrives wanting a portrait. Except the painting Isobel creates shows Rook with a mortal edge. A weakness no fae creature wants. Determined to make Isobel stand trial for her crime, Rook whisks her to his world.

And that’s when the real drama—and fated love—starts.

Fantastic.

Down the Track by Stella Quinn

Regular readers will know that I rarely read rural romance. It’s not that I don’t love the genre. Of course I do. I write it! But as silly as it sounds, I have a real fear of unintentionally using others’ ideas and so I avoid the genre.

In this case, Stella and I were doing a talk at Nerang Library on the Gold Coast and that meant reading her new release. I’m so glad I did because Down the Track was a wonderful read. Warm and funny, with terrific (and often amusing) characters and a beautifully described setting. I was also struck by Stella’s strong writing voice. It was very appealing.

Palaeontologist Jo is seriously down on her luck. She’s broke, her job contract at the Natural History Museum is unlikely to be renewed, her relationship with her son is fraught, and her love-life is in tatters. So when an invitation to return to Yindi Creek and dig for dinosaur bones arrives, she leaps at it. Only to run into old fling, Hux.

Excellent fun.

The Quiet People by Paul Cleave

I read New Zealand crime writer Paul Cleave’s novel The Pain Tourist last year (read what I thought of that here) and enjoyed it enormously. It was fast paced and entertaining and I wanted more. Cue my purchase of The Quiet People.

When the seven-year-old son of a successful crime writing couple goes missing, they’re immediate suspects. After all, isn’t “write what you know” what writers do? Perhaps they wanted to live what they write. Or show they can commit the perfect crime.

Like The Pain Tourist, The Quiet People is a rip-roaring page turner. The chapters are short and punchy, with endings that make you want to read on, and the tension high. As for the twists… hooly-dooly! I felt physical anxiety for Cameron and Lisa as they battled to find their son and protect themselves.

A cracking read.

What books have you read lately that you think everyone else should read? Share away!