June, Reimagined

A Novel

By: Rebekah Crane

Narrated by: Amanda Berry

From the writer who brought you the Irish romance The Upside of Falling Down comes a new novel about secrets, friendship, reinvention, and unexpected love in the Scottish Highlands.

June Merriweather is on the run—from her own life. Her brother is dead, her parents are liars, and her college major is a joke. Apart from her best friend, Matt, June is desperate for reinvention. And a one-way ticket out of Cincinnati to the Scottish Highlands is a good place to start.

With a backpack, an urn, and a secret, June begins again. She snags a job at a café and finds lodging at a quaint inn with a quirky cast of housemates. The only problem: the inn’s infuriatingly perceptive (and sexy) owner, Lennox. He’s suspicious of June. After all, no one comes to Scotland in the winter unless they’re running from something. From rocky start to sizzling temptation, June’s new world is exhilarating...and one detour away from disaster.

With her past and her future both vying for attention, June can’t begin to picture where her reimagined life is headed next. And falling in love with the last person she expected is only the beginning.

©2022 Rebekah Crane (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Narrator Amanda Berry’s skill with accents, cadence, and characterizations is outstanding. June appears flighty while Lennox radiates anger—Berry reads them both effortlessly. She also takes time to satisfyingly voice secondary characters as well. Berry’s nuanced narration of Crane’s (The Upside of Falling Down) adult debut elevates this enemies-to-lovers romance.”—Library Journal

“[T]he real love story here is between the protagonist and her authentic life…A sincere story about navigating life and love.”—Kirkus Reviews

4 stars

June, Reimagined by Rebekah Crane is not your typical romance. I appreciate how much substance there is within the pages, as well as character growth. I was initially irritated that the characters were in their 20s as I'll be 40 this year and that's too wide of a gap, but since it was set in 2003, I was able to better relate. It helped that most of the characters weren't overly immature or annoying, although the one that was most entitled worked my last nerve 😂 While I did figure out June's secret (and most of Lennox's) very early on, I chose to stay the course because it wasn't completely predictable.

Amanda Berry has a nice range for the multiple accents and characters. I enjoyed listening to her.

good one

Thos is the first time I've laughed out loud reading a book in a long time!

Lovely rom-com

I really enjoyed this rom com… it had elements of coping with grief, reinventing yourself, and pushing past old stories you’ve come to tell yourself about your past - but all done in a way that wasn’t overly heavy or depressing. Really enjoyed and the love story that blossomed was really nice to see. It was a nice book to do in between some of the longer fantasy novels I’m reading right now too to break things up!

Liked everything except main character

June drove me crazy. I don't think she deserved to end up with the hunky guy. But all in all, I did enjoy the story.

Stereotypes galore

Another story line that’s improbable as much as totally forgettable. If you like fantasy but predictable rom com, then you might like this bunch of waffle