June 2025 Books in Review
Oxford, Tolkien, NetGalley--and a few upcoming Tolkien releases
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
New Tolkien books
I literally just today heard about a new edition of Tree and Leaf releasing at the end of July! This especially makes me squee because it’s illustrated by Pauline Baynes (who did the OG Narnia illustrations).
Preorders seem to be available at both Amazon.co.uk and Blackwell’s; the latter includes free shipping to the US, hence my only linking there.
And then … we have some absolutely new-to-the-world Tolkien material, which thrills me to no end: The Bovadium Fragments. (Similar to Tree and Leaf, preorder listings are, so far, at both Amazon.co.uk and Blackwell’s.)
Publisher's Synopsis
World first publication of a previously unknown short satirical fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien, and accompanied by illustrations from the author together with an essay, The Origin of Bovadium, by Richard Ovenden OBE.
As Christopher Tolkien notes in his Introduction, The Bovadium Fragments was a 'satirical fantasy' written by his father, which grew out of a planning controversy that erupted in Oxford in the late 1940s, when J.R.R. Tolkien was the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature.
Written initially for his own amusement, Tolkien's tale was a private academic jest that poked gentle fun at such things as 'the pomposities of archaeologists' and 'the hideousness of college crockery'. However, it was at the same time expressing a barbed cri de coeur against the inexorable rise of motor transport and 'machine-worship' that was overwhelming the tranquillity of his beloved city.
Enriched by a selection of illustrations by the author, and enhanced by Christopher Tolkien's notes and commentary, readers can enjoy at last this tale of an imagined Oxford viewed through the lens of future (and not wholly reliable) academic study.1
June Reading Highlights
I surprised even myself and picked up a few NetGalley books in June! My library doesn’t always get some of the books on my TBR list, which is fine—cue NetGalley reentry. :) I’m going to read/review them anyway, so why not?
The Oxford Paintings | Francis Hamel
Oh. My. Lanta. This book made me so exceedingly happy. It is truly one of the more nearly perfect books I have read--certainly in 2025. I had no idea how much I would love a book that pairs paintings of my beloved Oxford with literary quotes about the same, but I do.
I absolutely adored the paintings, and by and large the selection of quotes; naturally, those are subjective and therefore variable. But oh, my heart, this read did wonders for me and I am happy.
The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again | J. R. R. Tolkien
This is at least the fifth time I’ve read The Hobbit—and every time, it hits a little different. I love books like that; they are far too infrequent.
My incentive for reading it was to enjoy that much more listening to The Last Homely House podcast’s summer read-along of the book. It was quite fun; certainly a more casual approach than I expected, but good for summer in retrospect—not too academic.
If you’re interested in listening, too, here are the episodes:
Chapters 1-5 | Chapters 6-10 | Chapters 11-15 | Chapter 16-end
I decided after listening to
’s podcast episode on rereading books that The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are ones I’d like to continue rereading every year. After a 15-year run of doing so with the LOTR trilogy, I took a break, and it’s high time I bring it back (and not during Lent, because I also did that and it’s a lot to do during a 40-day span—let’s enjoy the content, eh?).So, being the geek I am, I’m semi-casually planning on quarterly: September 22 (Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday), December 25 (the date the Fellowship departs Rivendell), March 22 (Gondorian New Year, being the date the Ring was cast into Mount Doom), and June 21-ish (around the summer solstice).
Perilous Tides {Hidden Bay series, book 2; expected release July 15, 2025} | Elizabeth Goddard
Elizabeth Goddard is a consistently good suspense writer, and this release is another winner!
It does help to have read the previous book in the series first, for background; it had been just long enough for me, I'd forgotten I'd read it, but Goddard does fill in some of the blanks and that helped.
I grew up in the PNW and so enjoyed the setting (especially as the summer temps ramp up in the South, where I am now); I could vicariously cool off a bit! And now I really want a ferry ride...but certainly an uneventful one, not like in the book. :)
Ongoing action from start to finish kept me reading at every turn ("just one more page/chapter" for sure!).
I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Gelato at the Villa {Suitcase Sisters series, book 2; expected release August 19, 2025} | Robin Jones Gunn
Reading a Robin Jones Gunn book always makes me feel like I'm being hugged! They're comforting, engaging, and encouraging in turn.
This was a great sequel to the first Suitcase Sisters book, Tea with Elephants (and while they may both be in a series, much like the Sisterchicks series, they’re truly standalone and do not cross over).
I loved going to Italy vicariously with Grace and Claire; I've been to Florence before, and that section was absolutely my favorite. Gunn brought it vividly and beautifully to life--though the other two were certainly good, having visited there myself lent it extra depth and, of course, all the nostalgia.
The one (minor) downside for me was a reference to being "back to the best versions of ourselves" (a pet-peeve phrase of mine), but the rest was entirely delightful! I am ready to tour a series of Italian gelaterias now, thank you. :)
I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Blackwell’s. “The Bovadium Fragments.” Expected book release October 9, 2025. https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Bovadium-Fragments-by-J-R-R-Tolkien-author-Christopher-Tolkien-editor/9780008737764.