July was a crazy busy month for me! It was my first month of summer vacation and I had a bunch of stuff on the go: a garage sale, a wedding, camping, and helping my parents move! However, in between and around all those things I was able to get a bunch of reading done. I read 26 books in July. You can find my Wrap Up and brief reviews under the cut.
1. In the Woods (aka Summer Howl) by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel
Rating: 3 stars
Format: eBook
Review: I have a full review of this up on the blog. Check out my thoughts here.
2. Spill by Leigh Fondakowski
Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: My audiobooks are all out of order on my GoodReads, so what follows is in no particular order. The audiobook recording of this play was really neat. It was about what happened with the Deepwater Horizon and it was personal accounts of family members and those who survived. It isn’t high on my lists of personal interests, which is kind of why I gave it a three, along with the fact that it felt kind of disjointed, but this is definitely going to be really far up someone’s alley.
3. Othello by William Shakespeare
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I finally got a little bit back on my Shakespeare train! It was really exciting because I had this audiobook recording of a performance of the play from the Audiobooksync website. It was a nice low pressure way to get me back into it while I organized things in my room. I really liked Othello. It’s definitely a crazy story, but it’s a fun one to read, or in this case listen to.
4. An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This play (audiobook recording of) was kind weird. I liked the idea of the plot but the story was kind of strange for me. I’m still glad I listened to it because it fit in with some of my bookish resolutions this year.
5. Doctor Cerberus by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This play was peculiar, but I think that was the point. However, this was a decent story representation wise and it was neat to listen to the coming of age story. This wasn’t for me, but for someone who needed it, it could be just the thing.
6. The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky
Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This book was really strange. As you can tell, I read some strange audiobooks this month. However, it was intriguing and worth a listen. Basically a bunch of school girls lose their teacher on a field trip and have to deal with the consequences because it’s never really clear what happened. It was intriguing for sure.
7. Swing by Kwame Alexander
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I really like Kwame Alexander’s work, but I definitely liked this one better than Solo. In this one, the main character has a crush on his best female friend and he tries to express his feelings to her. The romance wasn’t successful but it gave me the feels, and the ending of it killed me. 🙁
8. Fire by Kristin Cashore
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I’m really liking this series by Kristin Cashore. I’m glad I listened to my friend’s recommendation. However, this one took me longer to get into comparatively to Graceling. I was a bit confused as to what it had to do with the universe other than the prologue, and then it all became clear and eventually the story just got me hooked and I needed to know what was going to happen. Fire was a really cool character as well. I highly recommend it.
9. I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: eBook
Review: I have a review of this one on the blog, so rather than repeating myself here, just go check out the review? You can read it here.
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Rating: 5 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I finally completed my Harry Potter re-read. I was so emotional after I finished this book. This series just makes me so happy and when I finished my re-read, I was just flooded with emotion. I will never stop loving Harry Potter.
11. Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
Rating: 2 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This story just made me really uncomfortable. It’s from the perspective of two different girls who graduate from a special education program and are helped to be functioning members of society. I feel like it was an interesting perspective, but I just didn’t enjoy the way the story played out.
12. This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
Rating: 5 stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This book blew me out of the water. I read it in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down. It’s neat because it takes place over about 54 minutes and is multiple point of view. It does deal with a school shooting, so trigger warning for that. However, it was really well written. The characters were very compelling as well. I was also really intrigued by the story. Also, it made me bawl. Almost always when I have a deep emotional reaction to a book, I give it a 5. That’s an impressive thing for a book to do.
13. Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
Rating: 2 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was a filler audiobook that I picked up, and I was just really meh about it. I think I actually read it before when I was younger and it was kind of interesting but I just didn’t care all that much. I found myself skipping bits because I just wanted to finish it and I could really figure out what was happening without those bits. I just couldn’t be bothered.
14. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: As much as I don’t necessarily agree with the idea of ‘boy’ books versus ‘girl’ books, one of my goals for my summer reading this year was to read some more stuff that was less ‘girly’ or that are sort of different kinds of genres. So this was one of those books. I really liked this. Novels in verse are always an unexpected surprise to me, so it was really neat to read this one about basketball. I wasn’t sure if I was going to love it, but I really enjoyed it. I liked the poetry, and the story was really good, and I’m really pleased I read this one.
15. Booked by Kwame Alexander
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: My reading of Booked was based on a similar reading of The Crossover. And I really liked this one too! I think I actually liked this one slightly more than The Crossover. It had a bit more depth and I just enjoyed the content a bit more than the other book. This one is about soccer. Again, the poetry is really well done and I super appreciate what Kwame Alexander does.
16. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Rating: 5 stars
Format: eBook
Review: There will be a review for this book coming up on the blog in early August. However, I’ll give you a little taste. This was such a good read! I started out somewhat skeptical, but then I just got really into it. It’s spooky and atmospheric. I really liked the protagonist, not as a person but as a character, and the twists were so good! This is some of the best work that Ruth Ware has done!
17. Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: eBook
Review: There will be a review for this book coming up on the blog closer to its release date in September. However, I’ll give you a little taste. This was a really interesting historical fiction set in the 90s. I really liked the themes of female empowerment and how relatable the characters were. It wasn’t the best thing I’d ever read, but I did really enjoy it.
18. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was an interesting reimagining of this story, and while it was adventurous and somewhat entertaining it kind of fell flat. A weird thing that really bothered me about this book was the swearing. It wasn’t excessive but it kind of felt that way. Normally I don’t have an issue with swearing but for some reason it bothered me in this one. I also wasn’t super keen on other aspects of this book.
19. The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari
Rating: 3 stars
Format: eBook
Review: I will have a full review of this book coming out closer to its release date. As a brief hint, I will say that I liked the story for this one but it kind of fell flat in its execution. Certain comparisons that were made hyped me up too much and the story just didn’t compare.
20. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: There has been so much hype for this book so I knew I had to pick it up. I wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to own and I am trying to be better about buying books so I put the audiobook on hold at the library. This book was super cute. I loved the development of the romance, and I loved all the characters. I really was rooting for Alex and Henry. I also really enjoyed all the bumps in the road.
21. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Rating: 5 stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This book was a really interesting reading experience, as it was different from other books by the same author. It took me a bit to get into but then I devoured it once I got used to the footnotes and the writing style. Mia is an epic protagonist and I’m totally looking forward to continuing on with this series and all of her adventures. Pretty sure it will rip my heart out. This will definitely be an acquired taste for some readers. Also I can’t emphasize enough that this is not YA.
22. Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff
Rating: 5 stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I absolutely loved this book. I loved that it was an Anastasia retelling and that it kept me guessing at every turn. I really wanted to finish it way sooner than I did but because it was a book club read, I had to delay and chunk it out. This book has a cool world and awesome characters and I can’t wait to continue on. I’ve already picked up the sequel.
23. Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was my TBR jar pick of the month, and I accidentally procrastinated on it til the end. However when I finally got to it, I devoured it. It’s not my favourite thing I’ve ever read, but I had fun reading it. I loved the way the author translated the classic story into a modern version.
24. An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This book was fascinating and disturbing. It’s not my favourite thriller that I’ve read but I liked the dual POV. I also was really intrigued by the basic premise. I highly recommend it because it definitely kept me guessing.
25. Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was my last full length novel of the month, and boy was it a quick read. I devoured this book in a couple of sittings. It does deal with a school shooting so tw/cw for that, but that’s not really what the story is about. This got a four because there was a bit of a plot hole that bothered me, but on the whole it was really engaging and interesting. This book also made me cry on several occasions. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
26. Say Something by Jennifer Brown
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This novella was included at the end of my copy of Hate List, and to be honest, I kind of wished some of the information in it had been included in the novel. It would have filled the plot hole and made the novel better in some ways. So if you read Hate List, definitely try to get your hands on Say Something too.
So that’s everything I read in July. What did you read? Let me know in the comments below!
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