July 2021 Wrap Up and TBR

Hello friends! It is a gloomy, rainy day here but I am so glad it’s Thursday and almost the end of the week. However, where has July gone?? I feel like the summer season has only just begun and yet it’s already halfway over.

July was a crazy month for me. If you read some of my other updates this month, you’ll know that we brought in a new puppy into our home and she has been both a source of joy and pain. Still figuring out the biting and potty training stuff, but I love her to bits already. If anyone’s ever interested, maybe I can post some stuff about her here somewhere – though not 100% sure what that’ll have to do with books but oh well.

Okay, now onto the books, which is what you’re all here for! This month was such a good reading month. Not because of the number of books I got through, though I am happy the additional puppy training and walks didn’t take away from my reading too much, but because of the quality of books I read. I loved SO many of these, and they blew me away with their characters, plots and author writing styles. Let’s break it down, shall we?

What did I read this month?

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5 Drink Me Potions

If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

• If you’re looking for a mean girl falling in love with a Shakespearean twist, look no further! I loved Cameron Bright as our protagonist as she balances changing her character for herself instead of for someone else while holding true to who she is that didn’t have to changed for anyone. The romance was the cutest enemies-to-lovers I’ve read and I just couldn’t stop smiling through it all! Definitely a perfect summer read.

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

• The sequel to the hit A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is just as amazing as the first, which is a super high bar to follow. Amateur sleuth Pip wanted to leave behind murders after the ordeal that came crashing down in book 1, but a mystery and potential crime comes to her and this one may leave more scars behind. It was a little eerie, especially reading at night, but I couldn’t put it down or look away as Pip and friends navigate another challenge, but this time in front of a large audience who are watching their every move and/or misstep.

4 Drink Me Potions

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

• The world building was great and the descriptions of Sicilian food made my mouth water half the time (don’t read this on an empty stomach!), but what made this book so great was the tense relationship forming between Emilia, the twin who survived some dark magic attack on the witches in their area, and a Prince of Hell. It was slow burn and drove me crazy as they hunted down Emilia’s twin’s killer together. But of course, when dealing with the devil, one cannot trust them, can they? Or even worse, love them?

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

• With twisty riddles at the heart of the story, who can resist diving into this book that asks the million (or should I say billion?) dollar question: how did a nobody like Avery Grambs inherit billions from a man she never met or knew? Shoved into the spotlight and the Hawthorne family/home, Avery navigates relationships with the 4 Hawthorne brothers and extended family as they all wonder why she was chosen in their place. Sometimes it focused less on the big puzzle and more on the characters and their backstory, but overall this was a unique gem of a read.

Heartbreakers and Fakers by Cameron Lund

• Fake dating with a twist! Unsure why she kissed a guy she hated most of her life – and unfortunately her best friend’s boyfriend, Penny’s social life takes a dive unless she could convince everyone she did it for love instead of a drunken mistake. I love the fake dating trope when done well, and this was such a fun ride as Kai and Penny fake things…until it doesn’t seem so fake after all. Can people who annoy one another actually make this work? Maybe there’re more things in common between them than they ever knew. This was another great summer read!

2 Drink Me Potions

Bone Crier’s Dawn by Kathryn Purdie

• The only book to fall short in my list this month, I wanted to adore Bone Crier’s Dawn so much since I loved book 1. However, the set up from book 1 didn’t make this one as dramatic or action-filled as I wanted, with a weird love triangle taking place between the boy Ailesse fell in love with and the boy she was fated to be with. I had hoped for more romance (not quite there), and an epic finale (also not there). The world building was solid as we learn more about bone criers (who call themselves Leurresses) and their role to guide dead souls, but it alone can’t carry the story. I had high hopes for this one and it just fell flat.

Current reading list

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• Made in Korea by Sarah Suk
• A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen
• Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

TBR list

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• Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
• Witchshadow by Susan Dennard
• They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman

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And that’s a wrap on July! Here’s hoping August is just as beautiful for you all. If you can, go out and breathe the fresh air, say hello to friends and read a good book.