And just like that, summer is over. Well, pretty much. June and July are always the months I consider summer. August was never part of this season even though the weather clearly feels otherwise! Once August hits, life turns back to school and work and even though I’m not teaching again this year, I still feel like the end of July signals the end of all the carefree months of summer. Ahh, it was good while it lasted, right?
This past month I read 11 books. There were a lot more 3 star reads for me in July as compared to May and June, but I loved a lot of books too! Here’s what I read last month:
The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund
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My newly rediscovered love of YA contemporary is still going strong! Since I loved Cameron Lund’s Heartbreakers and Fakers in June, I ordered a copy of her other book, The Best Laid Plans. I really liked this one. It was a friends to lovers romance that had its swoon-worthy moments. Cameron Lund is an auto-buy author for me now. Love her stories!
Rating: 4 stars
How to Kiss Your Best Friend by Jenny Proctor
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I’m always on the hunt for a new indie author that writes romance series. There’s nothing better than finding a book series that you love and that allows you to stay in the world a little longer with all your favorite characters. I was hoping to find that with Jenny Proctor’s series featuring 4 brothers in a small town, but sadly I didn’t love this one. It’s a super quick read. I think I read it in a couple of hours, but I didn’t love it. It was fine, but it didn’t stick with me and definitely didn’t make me want to continue in the series.
Rating: 2.75 stars
A Thousand Miles by Bridget Morrissey
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Road trip romances are always a favorite of mine, so I was really excited to read A Thousand Miles. Second chance + high school sweethearts + road trip? Sign me up.
This one wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great either, but it wasn’t bad. There are still parts that I remember and loved, but overall I didn’t *love* it. It could definitely be a timing thing for me though because I was starting back to work when I picked this one up. It was a “good, not great” story for me.
Rating: 3.5 stars
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
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Let me tell you, if GMA hadn’t selected The Dead Romantics as their July bookclub pick and if Berkley hadn’t constantly posted about this book, I would not have picked it up. I guess you could say marketing did a successful job with this one because it sold me!
I didn’t think I was going to love this book because it sounded nothing like I normally read, but I loved this one! It was quirky, fun, and surprisingly insightful at times. I loved it!
Rating: 4.75 stars
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
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If you had told me I would be giving 5 stars to a Katherine Center book, I wouldn’t have believed you, but here we are. Center’s books are normally a miss for me because I find them a bit too cheesy, but I *loved* this one so much! It was swoony and adorable. One of my favorites of the year! Color me surprised!
Rating: 5 stars
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
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I was really excited to read Riley Sager’s newest book because everyone either absolutely loved it or realllllly hated it. I love to read polarizing books like that and see which side I fall to.
For the first 250 pages, I found this to be a really typical, boring mystery/thriller, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why everyone loved or hated it. I was feeling pretty indifferent.
And then the twist happened.
Y’all. I have never been so shocked. I absolutely loved that I was blindsided.
Will some people love the twist? YES
Will some people hate it? Most definitely.
Now you can see why people either love or hate this book. I was firmly in the love camp!
Rating: 5 stars
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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I was SO excited to receive an early copy of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s newest book, Carrie Soto is back.
Did I just meet my new favorite fictional character of all time? Quite possibly! Truth be told, when this book was first announced, I couldn’t remember who Carrie Soto was from Malibu Rising (which I loved, but there were a ton of characters, right?) Once I remembered, I grew even more excited about this new TJR book because it would revolve around the world of tennis. And let me tell y’all, this book is heavvvy with the tennis content. That’s my only complaint, although it’s minor because this book is just brilliant. It’s incredibly well written and contains some of the most quotable and insightful lines. BUT, there is a lot about tennis. I mean, a lot. You can tell TJR did her research when it came to the book’s topic, but at times I feel like there’s so much about the individual tennis matches and the grueling training practices that it takes away from the plot slightly.
But again, my only complaint is so minor because this book is just fascinating. It’s a brilliant character driven novel. I was so anxious when I read it because I truly didn’t know how it was going to play out. TJR made me feel like I was right there with Carrie as she stepped onto the court.
I loved the father/daughter relationship theme, but nothing could top the parts with Bowe Huntley for me. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there is a part in this book that is now one of my favorite swoony moments of all time.
Rating: 5 stars
Thanks for my early copy, Random House!
A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole
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I was starting to get in a slight book slump when I picked up A Thousand Boy Kisses and sadly I didn’t love this one. I knew it was going to be sad when I started it, but I didn’t love how insta love it was. I also had a problem with some things that happened at the end. It had its moments though. I just didn’t like more parts than I loved. If that makes any sense.
Rating: 3 stars
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
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I was *so excited* about our July mystery/thriller but it wasn’t exactly what I expected. Crime fiction isn’t my favorite and this most definitely fell into that genre. I loved the idea of the story, but how it actually unfolded didn’t leave me reeling. And the ending?? I really didn’t love some of the things that happened in the end. I felt like we got a lot more focus on the mystery than story and I really wanted more story. I think that’s why I don’t love crime fiction. It felt cold and distant at times. I wanted to read about characters and situations that happened that led to the murders, but it was mostly just facts about the evidence or timeline. Overall this was a 3⭐️ for me.
Rating: 3 stars
The It Girl by Ruth Ware
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Ruth Ware is an author that I always want to try, but hardly ever enjoy. 😂🤦🏼♀️ I was really nervous to read this one even though it sounded like a book I would really enjoy. I don’t always connect with this author, but this one was really good. I feel like it’s one of her best! It could have been a lot shorter and still told the same story, but overall I really enjoyed it! If you liked In My Dreams I Hold a Knife (my favorite book of 2021) you’ll love this one!
The actual mystery itself was very well executed. I was guessing until the very end and never could have predicted how everything went down.
This one had more of an early fall feel to it, so if you’re looking for a good academic mystery/thriller for around September, I think this would be a good pick!
Rating: 4 stars
Reverse by Kate Stewart
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Drive was my first romance of the year and also one of my favorites. When Kate Stewart announced she was writing a sequel, I was beyond thrilled. Now, I don’t want to say much about this one because talking about the characters spoils something major from Drive. You absolutely have to read Drive first. I loved Reverse, even though it was a bit insta-love in the beginning, The rest of the book definitely makes up for it though. Loved this one!
Rating: 4.75 stars
Check out my past month’s book reviews here:
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I’m knee deep in REVERSE right now. Wowzers!