#July Reads

[noahhawthorneauthor]

July was a heck of a good reading month, and I've well and fallen into a historical romance hole. Both series by Allie Therin were *especially* good.

[andreai04]

All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

‘I have nothing to forget or forgive, I never ceased to love you.'

[masterjedilenawrites]

Thought I would compile all the fics I read each month as a rec list, for anyone who missed the reblogs of each fic or wants a central place to find stuff. And also for my own tracking purposes as I continue to read based on my notifications.

Period Headcanons by @kimiheartblade | Cody, Wolffe, Fives, Echo, Rex, Kix, Hunter x reader

To Speak Without Words - Ch. 1 by @stardusthuntress | Crosshair x reader

Awake series by @danceswithsporks | Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 | Crosshair x reader

"I think this is the part where you kiss me" by @wings-and-beskar | Hardcase x reader

"Need my mouth on you." by @littlemissmanga | Jesse x reader

I'm Not Alone (That's Good to Know) by @baby-i-just-wanna-kiss | Captain Rex x reader

Battle Scars by @just-here-with-my-thoughts | Tech x Phee

Slow Dancing by @coffeeandbatboys | Captain Vaughn x reader

Slow Dancing - Part 2 by @coffeeandbatboys | Captain Vaughn x reader

End of Avoidance by @hetalianskywalker | Commander Wolffe x reader

Midnight Dances by @dragonrider9905 | Wrecker x reader

A Kiss by @merkitty49 | Wrecker x reader

[bookaddict24-7]

What were some of the books you read in July? ☀️

.

July was such a great month of reading! I had my two week vacation, so I read ALL the time.

.

Here are the stats:

•I read 39 books

•23 of them were physical books (or I owned physical copies of the audiobooks/eBooks)

•My favourite book of the month was To Catch A Firefly

•My Least Favourite was Collide

•I DNF’ed 5 books

•I Unhauled 4 books

[franticvampirereads]

My July tbr kind of went off the rails a bit 😅. Had a couple of DNF’s, read half of a series, really this month had a bit of everything. So here’s what I read in July:

On The Run 5⭐️ {review}

Gearbreakers (not pictured) DNF’ed for now

Covenant vol 1 5⭐️ {review}

The House Witch (not pictured) DNF’ed

Scarification 5⭐️ {review}

Gravity 4⭐️

Last-Minute Walk-In 5⭐️ {review}

Bookshops & Bonedust 4.5⭐️ {review}

This Girl From The Sea 4⭐️ {review}

Scratcher 5⭐️ {review}

Ornamental 4⭐️ {review}

Snakebites 4⭐️ {review}

Icebreaker 5⭐️ {review}

Lore Olympus vol 2 4⭐️ {review}

My favorite books this month were Scratcher and Icebreaker. But I think Icebreaker might just be in contention for favorite book of the year! 😊

[godzilla-reads]

🍄July Reading Wrapup🍄

In the month of July I wound up reading 11 books, bringing my yearly total to 87 books so far! My Top 3 Reads were “Across a Field of Starlight” by Blue Delliquanti, “Thirst” by Mary Oliver, and “Crows” by Candace Savage. Anyway, here’s the list:

🦖 An Alphabet of Dinosaurs by Peter Dodson and Wayne D. Barlowe

⭐️ Across a Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti

🐱 A Man and His Cat Vol. 3 by Umi Sakurai

🧌 Irish Fairy and Folk Tales

🦕 Dinosaur Sanctuary Vol. 1 by Itaru Kinoshita and Shin-Ichi Fujiwara

🏴‍☠️ One Piece Vol. 7 by Eiichiro Oda

🐲 The Book of Dragons by Michael Hague

🐉 Year of the Dragon: Legends & Lore by Nigel Suckling and Wayne Anderson

🐰 Bunny Rabbit’s Story by Amy Prentice

♥️ Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver

🐦‍⬛ Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys of the Avian World by Candace Savage

What was your favorite read?

[brandileigh2003]

July reading wrap-up

Total words: 1,882,930

Average: 60800k/day, 3.3 hrs, 202 pages

Total fics over 15k: 27

---have you read any of these? Do you keep a word count? What was one of your favorite things you've read this month?---

I also wrote 66k this month, 55k of which are published for my 31 chapter hurt/comfort fest ft disability and chronic illness

I've got you

[rabid-reads]

My July Reads Ranked

I don't see myself finishing a book in the next two days.

Prince's Gambit by C.S. Pacat: It's one of the best books I've ever read.

King's Rising by C.S. Pacat: It's my cousin, Charls!

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells: This took me by surprise, I did not expect to love this as much as I did. I HATED Killian at the beginning of this book, and by the end of it, all I could do was keep trying to picture his thighs. It was such a fun time. My only gripe with this book was the use of the word cream, but other that, super fun book.

His Curvy Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells: This is the 4th book in this series, and I ended up reading all 5. This was pretty fun, but it didn't quite hit the same as the 1st book.

11/22/63 by Stephen King: I think if my expectations had been lower going into this book, I would have liked it more. But I don't regret reading it.

Barbarian's Rescue by Ruby Dixon: Not my favorite Barbarian book, but I still had a good time.

The Lone Wolf's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells: This was the 3rd in the series, and I didn't like it. But I liked it more than others. Some of the situations and themes were not it for me. It felt like, after the 2nd book, she started writing for a different audience.

Love Potion for the Alpha by Alice Coldbreath: I read a lot of werewolf smut this month, and this was short and fun. This book is funny.

The Heir Apparent's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells: The love interests had little to no chemistry; their convos were kind of weird.

The Stone Wolf's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells: It felt like Wells wanted to write a period piece in the modern world she had already built. It didn't hit for me.

Then, Earth Swallowed Ocean by Shiloh Sloane: I did not like this book, and that's fine. I have an entire shelf and kindle collection dedicated to books I don't like because it's as important as books I do like. It gives me insight into myself, and I like to pick apart everything I read. It's also fun to rant about books I don't like.

I learned this month, that I really like paranormal romances based on fated mates, so next month I'm going to do a fated mate Merman book. I like fantasy books with romance, but I do like political intrigue as well, so I'll be reading The Stolen Heir duology by Holly Black and One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. I loved the sci-fi elements in 11/22/63, so I'll be reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir because I am so down for an epic sci-fi adventure. I keep trying to read dark romances thinking they'll take, so I'm going to try Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton, but I wouldn't be surprised if I dnfd it.

[readbyag]

July Reads ✨

Books:

Circe by Madeline Miller

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

The Book of Bill by Alex Hirsch

Manga:

Bungo Stray Dogs vol 15 by Kafka Asagiri

Bungo Stray Dogs vol 16 by Kafka Asagiri

Bungo Stray Dogs vol 17 by Kafka Asagiri

Bungo Stray Dogs vol 18 by Kafka Asagiri

Bungo Stray Dogs vol 19 by Kafka Asagiri

Bungo Stray Dogs vol 20 by Kafka Asagiri

Bungo Stray Dogs: Dazai, Chuuya, Age 15 by Kafka Asagiri

Mob Psycho vol 1 by ONE

Mob Psycho vol 2 by ONE

Other:

The Story of a Pet Dog by Osamu Dazai (short story)

Overall: 15 books read (5 novels, 9 vol of manga, 1 other)

Goodreads status: 54/52 (I surpassed my goal!!)

[gothark]

Books I've read in July 2024

And what I thought about them:

The Husky And His White Cat Shizun Vol 1 - I looked at a problematic person and said 'yes, you. i will keep you' no joke though I breezed through this one, so invested like wdym????

5 Stars

The Borrow a Boyfriend Club - literally based on 'what if everyone was a stereotype' and I really wanted the characters to be more than that? and they were, but all that got added was that they were all fucking mean

DNF

The Sky Blues - really didn't like it at the beginning but I didn't want to DNF another book right away so I continued and I think I liked it more at the end? Might just have taken me hostage instead though. Cheesy.

3.75 Stars

Tadek and the Princess - Follow up Novella to 'A Taste of Gold and Iron' and it made me bawl my eyes out. i was ugly sobbing, such a good exploration of grief and not allowing yourself to feel that grief. chefs kiss.

5 Stars

The Lightning-Struck Heart - I just couldn't get into this one. Maybe me and T.J. Klune just don't mix but this kind of humor goes from kinda funny to really fucking annoying in like 4 chapters.

DNF

Reforged - I just got over A Taste of Gold and Iron and this punted me right back into it, very similar feel but also different? I dunno how to explain it but if you liked one of these you will probably like the other one too. This just missed that slight spark to make it amazing.

4.75 Stars

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories - Jesus fucking Christ. Like. WHAT. I hated this, this is legit the worst book I've ever read. If you like stories that sexualise the abuse of women at the hands of men in literally every single story this is the book for you. Maybe I'm just stupid but none of these stories gave women any agency, everything was just done TO them. Hard no. Gross.

0.25 Stars

She Who Became The Sun - Holy Shit. My beloved. Actually just my favorite fucking book ever. Like Shelley??? Hello??? How did you write this masterwork? Still can't decide if Zhu or Ouyang is my beloved (it's Ouyang) Pls, everyone read this. i'm keeping the second book in the series for dark times.

5 Stars

The Past Is Red - It was fine? I didn't like the guy, whatever his name was, i didn't like the rift between the silly names for things and the at times really horrific things going on?? the reveal at the end felt kind of cheap and unbelievable.

2.25 Stars

MADK Vol 1 - Insane? like... wtf did I just read? homoerotic cannibalism the manga. i was intrigued though and the art is really pretty??? (help)

4 Stars

MADK Vol 2 - i have no clue what's going on anymore, i'm just here for the ride. things are happening and my last brainvell has left the chat

4 Stars

The Fragile Threads of Power - CONFLICTED. I liked it? the world is really interesting? the problem was the 50 different pov's and that i really like some of those characters and really disliked others. i was also a little confused at the beginning because this was the first book i read in this universe (which you totally can do, everything you might be missing gets explained)

4.25 Stars

Herald of the Witch's Mark - i thought this was the last book in the series but it wasn't and i was lowkey so glad to be finished with the series because we have a serious love/hate relationship going on. i'm also just not the biggest fae person I've realised. oopsies.

3 Stars

Red Rising - my god, this is so good. completely changes it's vibe like halfway into the book and i'm all for it??? darrow is fucking insane, batshit crazy. this man will lead me to an early grave and I will THANK HIM FOR IT. he is my favorite frat bro who does murder in space. right after she who became the sun in my fave book rankings.

5 Stars

The Lightning Thief - I read the first five books once as a child and man this just hit such a good nostalgia spot, it also has none of the bad taste that harry potter does and this was just such a nice and easy read. like a nice rainy day in a warm blanket. would recommend.

5 Stars

The Extraordinaries - I actually started reading this at the end of 2023 and that should basically say everything. So technically this is my first TJ Klune, not Lightning-Struck Heart but I gave up on it after. Microwaving a cricket to make it radioactive to gain super powers was just too much. also the main character? felt kind of offensive if he was supposed to be a character with autism because no way in hell would any real person actually be like this

DNF

A Darker Shade of Magic - We have the problem here, I like the world but the pov characters are the ones I did not like in Threads of Power (lila) i'm sorry, i just don't vibe with her personally overall a good book though?

4 Stars

Shadow and Bone - man it just took too long to get to the reveal, once again i didn't really vibe with any of the characters (except for mal) and i want to punt the Darkling to the dark side of the moon

3.75 Stars

The Sea of Monsters - what can I say? i'm a sucker for greek mythology so this is just really my thing and it's just such a nice break to take between other books, also the twist at the end? i love that shit lol

5 Stars

Firefly Lane - so this book was basically taking the blueprint for the life of the typical midwest, american white women (maybe a little extra shitty life) and it's this book. it feels like going down a check list. young girls getting sexually assaulted? check. young girls getting with older men? getting pregnant when it wasn't planned? having a miscarriage? getting married to the guy who liked your best friend before he liked you? surprise twins? (being a bad mom lol) but that works for some people, just not really some gay guy who thinks marriage and children are kind of icky (personally, for me) also the parts where it was heavily implied that the one women was only unhappy because she had her dream job but no husband or children??? so ew. the ending got me though because cancer runs in the family. oh also just way too fucking long. needs to be like 40% shorter, so boring for so much of the time

3.5 Stars

[blossomowerecenzje]

July Reads and Currently Reading - Templates 🤍

[lizziestudieshistory]

Books of 2023 - July

Somehow I've read a lot this month but haven't actually finished that many books considering I've been on holiday? I don't really know what happened.

Books read:

Silas Marner by George Eliot - this is by far the biggest surprise of the year. I was convinced I wasn't going to like George Eliot, but after reading Silas Marner I've been enchanted by her. On the surface I should have found this book a bit tedious, I typically don't like novels set in the countryside, however, I was hooked! Eliot's writing style was the big attraction here, she has such a lively style that I swear could make anything interesting after this, alongside her astoundingly convincing portrait of a village community in the 19th century. I came away believing people like those that inhabited Raveloe existed and I was fascinated by them. (It probably helped that I am VERY familiar with villiage communities in Warwickshire thanks to my research, which is where Raveloe is supposed to be.) Honestly this was the best place for me to start with George Eliot and I will be continuing.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Whaton - this was an impromptu read when I wanted an audiobook to listen to while sewing. However, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book! I was swept away into 1870s New York society and was captivated by how casually awful everyone turned out to be. I didn't enjoy it as much as The House of Mirth (mainly because I didn't like Archer, May, or Countess Olenska as much as Lily or Seldon) but I had a fabulous time revisiting Wharton.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare - I love this play, it brings me so much joy when I read it and this time was no different. I still believe Beatrice is Shakespeare's best heroine and I will accept no arguments to the contrary.

Approximately 25 articles, reviews, essays, and introductions about Jane Austen's Emma by various authors - I don't know what's happened to me, I've become an obsessive... However, I have had a great time and learnt A LOT about regency literature in the process? It's given me a greater appreciation of Emma and I don't regret a moment I spent on this. My only problem is I don't really know what to do with all my notes!

DNF:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - I tried okay? However, I finished volume one and couldn't find a single reason to keep reading except completionism. I hated Fanny and the Bertrams, I was bored by the Crawfords, and I missed the style of Emma. Overall, I was left wondering why I was bothering with Mansfield Park as I wasn't enjoying myself. So, I dropped it to read something else that I'd actually enjoy.

Currently reading:

Evelina by Frances Burney - I'm in love with this book, but for some reason I'm not devouring it? I'm taking my time with it and revelling in the experience - I've made my peace with this and will continue to enjoy my leisurely read.

Richard II by William Shakespeare - I'm rereading this and taking it an act a day because I'm making notes. I'll actually finish it tomorrow, but I'm not counting it as read.

The Book of Lost Tales Part Two by J.R.R. Tolkien - another leisurely read because it's so dense and, like Shakespeare, I'm making notes when I feel inclined. I also really struggled to get through the section on The Tale of Tinuviel... (I don't like ANY of the prose versions of Beren and Luthien? It needs to be in verse for me to get into it 🤷‍♀️) But now I've got through that opening section I'm enjoying this a lot more.

Charles I and the People of England by David Cressy - my current non-fiction tome. I'm having a great time with this, but it was going to be a winner considering my unreasonable love for Charles I!

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - I have no idea how I ended up in the middle of this but I'm enjoying it well enough that I'm going to continue (although I think I prefer Piranesi?)

[andreai04]

Can't I simply be devoured without being expected to praise what devours me?

[sidnotcrosby]

July Reads:

We'll Fly Away, Brian Bliss - ★★☆☆☆ Babel, R.F. Kuang - ★★★★★

[sophiesbookishthings]

July Reads

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I read this like 2 days before the allegations against Neil Gaiman came out 🫤. And since now it feels too weird to talk too much about anything regarding him right now, I'm not gonna fully review this book. I considered not putting this here at all, but I want an honest chronicle of the books I've read. And I feel like this little non-review isnt gonna cause anyone to go read his books or support him in any way. So, I will just say that I did enjoy this book, and it's one of my favorites I've read from him, but I'll leave it at that.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Pale Dreamer by Samantha Shannon

This is a little prequel novella to The Bone Season. I enjoyed seeing the dynamic of Paige and her seven dials gang before she gets thrown into the whole main plot of the series. It also gives a bit of interesting insight into why she and the other 6 act the way they do in The Bone Season.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bone Season (author's preferred text) by Samantha Shannon

This is a really interesting dystopian book. This is the first book in a seven book series and I'm intrigued to see where it goes. The main character Paige has really interesting psychic powers that I think are going to get really badass as the series goes on. There's also the rephaim and I really want to know more about their whole thing. Can't wait to keep reading these. I went and got the authors preferred text editions when they came out cause Samantha Shannon is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

I got an absolutely gorgeous edition of this book from litjoy, and I think I read it like a day or two after I got it in the mail. I remember watching the movie when I was a kid, but I'd never read the book. Sometimes, it's better to watch the movie first, I think. Because I liked the movie, but it's not a lot like the book, and had I known that I probably would've liked the movie less. Anyway! I loved the love story in this book. Ella and Char match each other’s energy and quirkiness so perfectly. And the fantasy element of the book is really cool. There's centaurs, fairies, giants, and elves, and the way they were done felt like an old fairy tale, which I feel like doesn't get done too much anymore.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

I'm going to do a single review for these two novellas because I basically read them as one continuous book and I don't know how well I can deferentiate between the events that occur in each one. This book is very philosophical but also very cozy and sweet. There were some ideas and quotes in these two books that I will probably be thinking about for a long time. The friendship between the main characters (a tea monk and a robot) was incredibly well done and I really liked both of them. These books ultimately hold such kindness at their heart and I think we need more of that. I highly recommend these books.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Secrets of Blackthorn Hall by Cassandra Clare

I read this before when it was being released on tumblr but I received the Kickstarter hardback edition and it's absolutely gorgeous. Shadowhunters is always a comfort series to me, especially anything involving the Blackthorns and Malec.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

As per the Stormlight Archive, so much happened in this book, dear lord... So much happened in the last like 300ish pages alone (which i guess is the length of a normal book). This is also the longest book I've ever read, so that's fun. For a lot of this book, I was really thinking that Kaladin/Shallan/Adolin all have two hands, and Sanderson should stop being a coward lol. But anyway... I loved reading from the perspective of bridge 4 through the book and seeing what they're doing outside of kaladin. I need to know more about like all of the singers because I've been lowkey rooting for them since the first book. Which is really a testament to Sanderson's writing because I could tell that they really weren't the bad guys, and that there was something deeper going on, and some of that was revealed in this book.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chlorine by Jade Song

I didn't love this book. I think it was the fact I really didn't like a single one of the characters and there was very little dialog to the point it almost felt just like stating of events and the narrators (usually all negative) feelings about the events and the people involved. I will give it that it had the first scene I've ever read to make me actually physically uncomfortable. It was gay but in a very messy pining way that never really felt like it went anywhere. I think that there are people that would really like this book cause it did have potential, but it just didn't worj for me. I will admit I have been thinking about it a lot, though, so there's that anyway.

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I haven't watched the Amazon series of this, and I'm mad that they changed the songs for it from the ones in the book. I wanted to listen to those ☹️. I feel like I shouldn't like that it was so obviously based on Fleetwood Mac, but I kinda did. I've always found their whole extremely messy deal fascinating, and this was basically the fictional version of that.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

This was really interesting to read after having read the whole lotr trilogy first. This reads like a children's book (because it is) which was a bit surprising because of the much different tone I was expecting after lotr and the Hobbit movies. Also, it basically says the elves are fae. It refers to the Undying Lands as Faerie. Why do people not talk about that more??? It makes so much sense. They act like fae. They're whole vibe and lore is so fae like. It makes sense. Regular elves are little guys! Tolkien elves are fae! Anyway, lol, I really liked this book. I do think I liked lotr more just cause I love books/series that are lore heavy and also Samwise Gamgee.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[franticvampirereads]

July has been super busy! So I mostly read ebooks this month. Which is nice, because my ebook TBR just continues grow. So here’s what I read this month:

Psycho 5 ⭐️ {review}

Psycho bonus epilogue 5 ⭐️ {see above}

Muscles & Monsters 3.5 ⭐️ {review}

Heavy Vinyl Y2KO! 4 ⭐️ {review}

Coyote vol 1 5 ⭐️ {review}

Winter’s Orbit 5 ⭐️ {review}

Nothing To Lose 4 ⭐️ {review}

I think my favorite books this month have to go to Psycho and Wonter’s Orbit. Both were phenomenal and I have all the feels for them.

I also did the 20 Book Challenge thingy here, if you’re interested! 😊