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Ashley’s July 2025 Book Haul and Reading Wrap Up

08.01.2025 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

July was such an excellent month.  I love being on summer vacation and getting to just hang out at home and have fun with my husband and friends.  It was so, so wonderful to be able to just read a whole bunch.  I did also go a little crazy on books hauled, but I have already read some of them, so I like to pretend that that makes it okay.  Below the cut you will find everything I read and hauled in July!

Books hauled in July:

  • Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
  • Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage
  • Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
  • Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman-London
  • Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
  • Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab
  • Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstrong
  • Tenderly I am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone
  • You Belong Here by Megan Miranda
  • The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware
  • The Beautiful Maddening by Shea Ernshaw
  • The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
  • If We Were Villains by ML Rio
  • Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
  • The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden
  • Ruthless Redemption by Katee Robert
  • How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLoui
  • Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas
  • Soulgazer by Maggie Rapier
  • Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage
  • Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage
  • Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage
  • Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
  • Love is a War Song by Danica Nava
  • Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods

Books I read in July:

1. We Won’t All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall

Rating: 5 Stars

Format: eBook

Review: There is a full review of this book up on the blog here.

2. Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Audiobook

Review: I love Ali Hazelwood and this was no different for me.  The toxic culture of academia as depicted in this book makes me really glad I don’t work at a university.  I really enjoyed the mix ups and mishaps that were depicted in this book.  I had a really fun feel to it.  I love a secretly obsessed with the FMC male love interest, and Ali Hazelwood does that so well.  I think I would read her grocery list.

3. VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

Rating: 3 Stars

Format: Audiobook

Review: Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC.  This was interesting, but I didn’t love it.  I thought that the POVs were interesting, but I found myself occasionally confused.  I liked the witchy vibes of it though.

4. Wenjack by Joseph Boyden

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: I really enjoyed this story.  It’s a quick read but that doesn’t make it any less impactful.  It is well-written and emotionally compelling.  It’s important to acknowledge Canada’s horrific history, which makes this kind of book an important read.

5. The Duke Alone by Christi Caldwell

Rating: 3 Stars

Format: Audiobook

Review: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.  This was an interesting enough book.  I liked it well enough, but I don’t super love regency romance to be perfectly honest with you.  I did think that the Home Alone vibes that this one had going on were kind of fun.

6. Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This was such a good romance.  I loved the tropes that it included, and I loved the dynamic between our FMC and MMC.  I was just obsessed with the way they were drawn to each other.  I also really loved all of the side characters, so I’m excited to read the next books so I can see more of their love stories.  It was very well-written and just on the whole a lot of fun to read.

7. The Land of Unfinished Dreams by Marco Ventura

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: eBook

Review: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.  I liked the premise of the story: A character being sucked in to their own story is really fun and unique.  The art style is really good.  I liked the character design and I liked the message of this story.

8. The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This was a really compelling mystery to me.  I really found the premise unique and intriguing.  I wanted to know what happened and who did it.  I liked getting snippets of the past mixed in with the main storyline of the novel.  The main character was interesting to me, though I’m not 100% sure if that’s how ghostwriting works.  I was really satisfied with how the story played out.

9. The House of my Mother by Shari Franke

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Audiobook

Review: The instant I heard about this book I was really intrigued by the premise and seeing more of an inside perspective about the negative aspects of mommy bloggers/vloggers.  Obviously, the Ruby Franke situation is to the extreme of this one, but it was still really interesting for me to read.  It was really hard to hear about the things Shari Franke went through, but it’s important to understand her perspective.  I really appreciate that she read the book herself as well.  I appreciate the efforts she went through to protect her younger siblings.

10. Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

Rating: 5 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This was so, so good in my opinion.  I really enjoyed the world and I’m interested to learn more about it.  I also want to learn more about the Guardian and Odessa.  They both really kept me engaged throughout the book, but I hope we get the Guardian’s POV in the second book.  I liked the pacing of the story and of the romance.  It was really compelling to me.  I was also super intrigued by the monsters.  I can’t wait for the next book.

11. Psychic Investigators, Evil Exterminators by KT Healey

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: eBook

Review: Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this eARC.  This was a really cute graphic novel about coming of age and how grief can affect you.  I also liked the element of wondering if ghosts are real. The art was really well done.  I liked this one, and would be happy to read another in this world.  I want to know about the creepy eyes!

12. Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: eBook

Review: This was such a sweet romance.  I really enjoy a good grumpy x sunshine romance, and so this was perfect for me and the mood I was in.  I was impressed with the structure of the story and the way everything played out.  It kept me wanting to read and know what was going to happen next.  I needed to see how things were going to play out.

13. The Red by Tiffany Reisz

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Format: eBook

Review: This was a really odd read for me.  It was really structured in a way where most of the text was sex scenes, which were mostly unconventional.  They were rather explicit.  However, they still managed to carry somewhat of a plot through the book.  I was intrigued enough by the premise, but on the whole I didn’t love the resolution.  It was strange on the whole.

14. Famous Last Words by Gillian McCallister

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This was a really twisty thriller.  I liked how it jumped time periods so that I could see how the events played out over a longer time period.  It really extended the suspense and created a fuller picture of what happened.  I liked the dual narrators.  Getting both Cam and Niall’s perspectives gave you the best of both worlds when it comes to mystery books because you get the police perspective (Niall) and a non-police person’s perspective (Cam).  They were both really intriguing characters.  This was a very fun read.

15. Girlmode: A Graphic Novel by Magdalene Visaggio

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: eBook

Review: This was a lovely graphic novel about what it means to be a girl.  I really enjoyed the main character who was a trans girl.  Her character arc was really compelling to me, and I really liked how she struggled to figure out who to be.  The art style was really, really good.  The characters were well designed.  I felt that the representation was great.  It was a very impactful read.

16. End of Story by AJ Finn

Rating: 3 Stars

Format: Audiobook

Review: This had an interesting enough premise, but I just didn’t love it or how it played out.  I felt that the representation wasn’t really the best.  I wanted something else from it.

17. Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole

Rating: 5 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This book was so beautifully written.  It was incredibly impactful and a hard hitting read.  The main character was very interesting to read from.  She felt so real, and her character arc was deeply compelling.  It had a good message about how people cope with trauma differently, and that it’s not always in a ‘good’ way.  It was devastating.  This was just so, so lovely.

18. Dearest by Jacquie Walters

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This was a hard read because of the horror elements.  Some of them were just really kind of gross and disgusting, as horror books can often be.  The story was still really compelling though, and I really felt for the protagonist in her motherhood journey.  It’s hard to be a mom, and I imagine it’s extra hard to do it on your own.  There was some really interesting twists and turns that made this book very hard to put down.

19. The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Rating: 5 Stars

Format: Audiobook

Review: This is a book to ensure you have tissues on hand when you read it.  It was such a fascinating story, and not at all my usual kind of read.  It was really well-written, and it was an absolutely fascinating character study.  The main character was especially interesting and I felt so much empathy for her.  Her mental health journey was really interesting.  On the whole, this hit me in the feels.

20. Mascot by Charles Waters

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This was a really interesting book.  I liked that it was multiple points of view, and it tackled an issue from multiple sides without shying away from how tricky it can be to talk about.  It dealt with some complex issues in a way that is accessible for younger students, such as how being an ally as a white person needs to be done with sensitivity and empathy.  The poetry was really good.

21. The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: I had such a great time reading The Soulmate Equation.  The book had me giggling and kicking my feet because I just loved the dynamic between the FMC and the MMC.  The characters were so great.  I will admit that there did seem to be some liberal use of the miscommunication trope, so I wouldn’t read this if you hate that element.  However, I felt that it worked for the story and it was really compelling.  I had so much fun reading it.

22. Forced Bonds by J. Bree

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: eBook

Review: This series is total junk food for me, but I’m genuinely hooked and having so much fun reading it.  It’s definitely a bit formulaic in the structure of the story, but that’s not that big of a problem for me.  I’m enjoying it in spite of that.  Oleander makes for an interesting character.  I like seeing her come more into herself and her powers.  The cliffhangers are killer though, so at least all the books are published.

23. Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Audiobook

Review: This was just so, so cute.  I loved how cute and nerdy it was.  I liked both the FMC and MMC, and their dynamic together.  I’m starting to realize that fake dating is one of my favourite book tropes.  It just has me giggling to myself and wondering when they’re going to fall for each other.  This was just a great young adult romance.

24. Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This book was so ridiculous but I had a great time reading it.  It kept me hooked all the way through with a compulsion to see how the book was going to play out.  The author had such an interesting voice, and did a great job at depicting the delirium that Alexis felt at various points of the novel.  I cannot wait for the next book.

25. Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

Rating: 5 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: I am so obsessed with this, and had a hard time putting it down.  I read it in less than a day because I just needed to know what was going to happen.  The premise was so intriguing to me, and it was written in such an engaging way.  I loved Jet as a character, and her emotional journey was deeply compelling for me.  I loved every second of this, even the seconds that ripped out my heart and stomped on them.

26. Lovelight Farms by BK Borison

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Audiobook

Review: This was a very cute romance.  I like the fake dating elements, and I liked that it happened with the best friend that she had been pining over for quite some time.  It had a really lovely atmospheric setting with the small town and the Christmas tree farm.  I liked how invested all the townspeople were in their love story.  The side characters really charmed me and helped to bring the story alive.  I loved all the interpersonal dynamics.

27. Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical Copy

Review: This was such a cute nerdy romance.  The main characters were so great, and I loved their dynamic together.  Noah was so great about meeting Sadie where she was at and accepting her where she’s at.  It was so great.  I also loved the dynamic of their D&D group, and how they all got along and supported each other.  I also liked that we got their D&D campaign included in the book, so we could see their characters fall for each other too.  However, it was unrealistic because they managed to meet every Sunday for several Sundays in a row.  Still had a great time though!

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Filed Under: Ashley, Book Hauls, Wrap Ups Tagged: advanced readers copy, anticipated releases, book, book review, books, fantasy, fiction, graphic novel, haul, mystery, opinion, Personal, rating, reader, reading, reading wrap up, reads, review, Reviews, romance, thoughts, what to read, young adult

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Ashley’s Goodreads

The Complete Works
The Complete Works
by William Shakespeare
The First Part of the Contention Between the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster, &c., 1594
The First Part of the Contention Between the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster, &c., 1594
by William Shakespeare
All the Stars and Teeth
All the Stars and Teeth
by Adalyn Grace
I Am Still Alive
I Am Still Alive
by Kate Alice Marshall
Blood of Elves
Blood of Elves
by Andrzej Sapkowski

goodreads.com

Kari’s Goodreads

The Name of the Wind
The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss
Contagion
Contagion
by Erin Bowman
Crown of Midnight
Crown of Midnight
by Sarah J. Maas
Queen of Shadows
Queen of Shadows
by Sarah J. Maas
Ruthless Gods
Ruthless Gods
by Emily A. Duncan

goodreads.com

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