The 20 Books I Read in July
Phew, it was a SOLID month of reading! It helps that I traveled and had time to read on flights (PRAISE), and that I had some housesitting time that involved days spent by the pool, and that I did I spent the last weekend of the month doing a readathon that resulted in 4 books being read over 2 days! Trying to catch back up with that dang Goodreads tracker that keeps telling me I’m behind…
Some stats:
•3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads.
• 5 books by BIPOC authors.
• 0 library books. (oops)
• 5 were gifted from publishers.
• 5 nonfiction, 15 fiction, 20 total.
Here are the 20 books I read in July:
The Beautiful Mystery
by Louise Penny
★★★★☆ // amazon
review:
fiiiiinally returned to this series (i’m taking my time and loving it actually) and this one was definitely different than the rest, but still had me hooked! Gamache continues to be such an intriguing main character, with complexities that keep building, and Beauvoir continues to annoy me but in a minimally endearing way, and I’m very curious how the dynamic between them both will play out in the next one.
also, setting this one in a remote monastery and centering it on the murder of one of the monks led to a lot of peripheral commentary on abuse in the church, forbidden relationships among the men, why people give their lives to God, and how we connect with peace and hope, and it was thought-provoking for sure!
The Last Mrs. Parrish
by Liv Constantine
★★☆☆☆ // amazon
review:
the first half was SO SLOW and read like so many other stories of troubled women trying to worm their way into the life of a rich, beautiful trophy wife. (seriously WHY are there so many books like this?! why do i keep accidentally reading them?!)
it did pick up the pace when the POV shifted, but only by illuminating even more layers of messed-up-ness in everyone involved. it wasn’t thrilling, just annoying and shallow and disheartening to read, honestly.
not my cup of tea.
Everyone is Beautiful
by Katherine Center
★★☆☆☆ // amazon
review:
help i’ve fallen down a rabbit hole of mom drama books and i can’t get up !!!
this one was very slow and overall so normal that it felt uninteresting and boring, and i don’t know why i finished it, but i wouldn’t recommend it
The Other Black Girl
by Zakiya Dalila Harris
★★☆☆☆ // amazon
review:
this book was bizarre… 200ish pages of pretty bland workplace banter with a lot of focus on being Black in a very white context, and then a wacky twist that didn’t hold water for me or feel remotely believable or even that interesting? i didn’t get it, tbh. (confession: i totally skimmed some chunks bc i was so checked out from the story, so it’s possible i missed something.)
One Time
by Sharon Creech
★★★★☆ // amazon
review:
still on my mission to read all of sharon creech’s books— this one was so delightful! such a sweet story of imagination, friendship, the power of words and stories, and the value of kind and creative teachers. it was a lovely little read!
Skye Falling
by Mia McKenzie
★★☆☆☆ // amazon
review:
the voice in this one was vibrant in a way i haven’t found in a book in a while (it felt autobiographical/stream of consciousness/inner voice-ish) and it was a fun twist! i wanted to love this one more but ended up feeling meh about it (more of a reflection on me, i think).
the supporting characters here are intriguing and diverse which i appreciated, even though the core of the story centers on skye and the “egg” of a preteen who shows up in her life and ultimately opens her up to healthier relationships.
great side commentary on race, gentrification, sexuality, egg donors, cancer, and family too!
okay wait maybe it was better than i thought???
I Would Leave Me If I Could: A Collection of Poetry
by Halsey
★★☆☆☆ // amazon
review:
these poems had me like 😳🤔😬🥴 — they were pretty sexual, felt a bit too raw/unedited/trying to be “cool” while repeating several metaphors too often throughout different poems. it didn’t vibe with me and verged on triggering with some of its sexual content. 😐
Only When It’s Us
by Chloe Liese
★★★★☆ // amazon
review:
this book had me SQUEALING and feeling FEELS and throwing my kindle across the room because of how cute and perfect and tender and adorable it was!!! (@laurenlovesto captured these emotions on video as proof that i was INVESTED)
i honestly am a puddle after finishing it like how was it SO GOOD and how were the characters SO REAL and how did it keep getting better and better?!??
is this the new gold standard for romance reads? am i undone by how much i loved ryder and willa together? am i immediately starting the next book in this series? yes to all of the above.
biggest fan. gah. 🥰😭🥺
An American Sunrise: Poems
by Joy Harjo
★★★★★ // amazon
review:
i love poetry so much 🥺 this collection from @joyharjoforreal (a member of Muscogee Creek) Nation and the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States) was beauuuutiful, haunting, heartbreaking, and intricately woven. i loved it.
Like Streams to the Ocean: Notes on Ego, Love, and the Things That Make Us Who We Are
by Jedidiah Jenkins
★★★☆☆ // amazon
review:
this book feels like a late night bonfire hang with your most thoughtful, interesting, curious, wildhearted friend (perhaps mixed with the influence of 🍃 or 🍷) — it’s very stream-of-consciousness-ish and feels like you’re inside a pinball machine of random introspective musings, but if you’re in the mood for that, it’s great! 🙃
Always Only You
by Chloe Liese
★★★★ // amazon
review:
flying through the bergman brothers books and swooning so hard at how cute and fun and refreshing they are! loved that this one featured a hockey player 🔥 and a lead female with both autism and a chronic illness 🙌🏼
Body Talk: How to Embrace Your Body and Start Living Your Best Life
by Katie Sturino
★★★★☆ // amazon
review:
being kind to my body has been a THEME of counseling/life lately and it’s v hard for me! enter: this book 💋 it was fresh, funny, helpful, wise, kind, and also fun to read which i appreciated. i’ve got a lot of thoughts about body positivity/body neutrality/loving the skin i’m in… let’s just say the journey continues 🙃 but the more i can fill my brain with things like this book, the better!
Ever After Always
by Chloe Liese
★★★★☆ // amazon
review:
the bergman brothers/sisters books just keep getting better and better 🥺🥰😭 truly loving these stories— they’re romance, yes, but they’re REAL and so incredibly heartfelt with the absolute best characters that you can’t help but love and root for… they’re just so delightful and give me all the feels!
The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm
by Hilarie Burton Morgan
★★★★☆ // amazon
review:
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With You Forever
by Chloe Liese
★★★★☆ // amazon
review:
v grateful for another bergman brothers book popping up on my @netgalley right when i needed a happy, lovey dovey distraction 🥺
i keep thinking i can’t possibly love another bergman couple more, and then I DO. axel and rooney got me gooood 😍 and i truly can’t say it enough— the way @chloe_liese writes real characters with disabilities and differences is IMPECCABLE and so important. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 will forever be hyping these books up and thanking @laurenlovesto for introducing me to them!
Ties That Tether
by Jane Igharo
★★★☆☆ // amazon
review:
this was a cute and fun romance read, heavy on Nigerian culture, and centered around the tension between following your heart or living up to familial expectations. it was 100% predictable but enjoyable all the same!
one random thing that bugged me is the main characters used each other’s names in like every line of dialogue??? and that’s just not how people talk???
I’m Not Dying with You Tonight
by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal
★★★☆☆ // amazon
review:
it’s told between two perspectives (Lena is Black, Campbell is white) and their voices were strikingly unique and distinct (props to the two authors!). It’s the story of one evening and escalating drama, tensions, riots, looting, shootings, and also a friendship, and i think it painted a compelling picture of just how fast things can happen.
The Grace Year
by Kim Liggett
★★★★★ // amazon
review:
HOLY MOLY this book had me like 😳🤯🤨 — truly, it’s a Hunger Games/Lord of the Flies/Handmaid’s Tale mashup that had me HOOKED and blew me away!!! biiiiiiig fan. it’s dark and twisty and horrible, while also being strangely hopeful.
Well Matched
by Jen Deluca
★★★☆☆ // amazon
review:
this was a cute third book in this series, focusing on a single mom with a kid about to leave for college, with the classic "pretend to be my gf to impress my fam" trope! I couldn't remember any of the connections to characters from the first two books (you don't really need to have read them, but I guess it helped to have context), and didn't really love/click with these characters much. it was cute and fun, with a few steamy moments, and a totally predictable happy ever after, with a lot less of the Ren Faire than the first two books had. overall, the series is slipping in my mind as it goes on, but still a fun little read!
