Hello Readers! August is here. Whether we’re ready for it or not. As we get closer to the end of the year, I am surprised by the fact that I’m hopeful. Hopeful that things will get better. Let’s just say, I’m feeling optimistic. I may feel completely different tomorrow, though. 😉
Looking back at My July TBR, I was happy to see I read all but one—and I’d completely forgotten I’d added that one (The Last Star) on my tbr. Oops. I can’t believe I ended up reading 16 books (4,862 pages) this month! That’s way more than I typically read. And it’s all thanks to a readathon.
(I apologize for the lengthy post. I really didn’t want to break it into two.)
Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!
(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)
July Wrap-Up
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves is a romance book that is not for everyone. I’ve had this one on my shelf for awhile, so I was happy to finally cross it off my list. I read this one for my Popsugar Summer Reading Challenge. Surprisingly, the May-December romance wasn’t creepy. I gave it four stars for entertainment, but the writing was lacking.
Rating [usr 4]
The Vacation by T.M. Logan was the perfect summer thriller. Great characters, great setting, and unputdownable.
Rating [usr 4.25]
My Review
available 7/21/20
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is more mystery than thriller, but I enjoyed the podcast host spin!
Rating [usr 4]
My Review
available 8/4/20
Bronte’s Mistress by Finola Austin was a lovely surprise! Very well-written and researched, and it shows.
Rating [usr 4]
My Review
available 8/4/20
Anna K by Jenny Lee is a surprisingly hilarious retelling of Anna Karenina set in New York. I loved this one, but it’s not for everyone.
Rating [usr 4.25]
My Review
My husband participates in a yearly mountain biking challenge in July called Judgement Day. (Who knew mountain biking would also be one of the best socially distancing sports, as well.) He rides 70 miles in 24 hours on various trails throughout the area. And I’m his driver. Which means a day of reading in the car for me. This year I decided to reread Twilight in preparation for the release of Midnight Sun. I had so much fun. 🙂
Rating [usr 5]
My Reading Rush Books
I decided to participate in The Reading Rush readathon. This is only my second time to participate in a readathon, and now I’m like Readathons, where have you been all my life?? Once I set my goal, I refuse to fail, which is great for ticking off a lot of books at once. 😉 I only read one book that wasn’t on my original TBR, so I feel happy about that. I just ran out of time and steam by the last day.
- Read a book with a cover that matches the colour of your birth stone.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff Rating [usr 5] - Read a book that starts with the word “The”.
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang Rating [usr 4] - Read a book that inspired a movie you’ve already seen.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker Rating [usr 4] - Read the first book you touch.
Charlotte Perkins Gillman Great American Short Stories Rating [usr 3] - Read a book completely outside of your house.
The Popular Girl by F. Scott Fitzgerald Rating [usr 3.5] - Read a book in a genre that you’ve always wanted to read more of.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia Rating [usr 5] - Read a book that takes place on a different continent than where you live.
Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman Rating [usr 4]
My Review
I spent the last few days of July reading for fun! I’ve had I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella on my kindle for years. I’m so happy I finally picked it up. I think it’s my favorite of hers so far.
Rating [usr 4.5]
The perfect summer read, I flew through Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch in one day. There’s nothing like a good travel story when you can’t travel.
Rating [usr 4]
After loving Love & Gelato, I couldn’t wait to read Love & Luck, and I think I liked it even more. Ireland may be my new dream destination. <3
Rating [usr 4.5]
July Book Haul
The only physical books I added to my shelves this month came from Paperbackswap.
- Two Alone by Erin St. Claire (Sandra Brown)
(Funny story here. I remember sneaking and reading my mother’s romance novels when I shouldn’t have been, and I’m pretty sure this is one that I read. ;)) - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
- A Bad Character by Deepti Kapoor
- Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
- Passing by Nella Larsen
- Well Met by Jen DeLuca
The eARCs
Soooo, I didn’t do so hot keeping my eARCs down this month. But how could I refuse these amazing books?? And two of them are for 2021. I could keep going with the excuses. 😉
- The Lost Love Song by Minnie Darke (10/13/20)
- Hadley & Grace by Suzanne Redfearn (1/19/21)
- Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land by Toni Jensen (9/8/20)
- Fable by Adrienne Young (9/1/20)
- Happy Singles Day by Ann Marie Walker (1/19/21)
I picked up I Temporarily Do by Ellie Cahill free on Amazon after I saw it recommended by a fellow blogger. <3
We were granted two free picks for our Amazon First Reads in July and I chose Across the Winding River by Aimie K. Runyan and Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Allison Winn Scotch.
Whew! If you made it to the end, you deserve a reward. How was your reading month? Do you recommend any from my haul? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
Sounds like July was a great reading month for you! I hate it when I forget about books I’ve added to my TBR. If I’m going to not read all the books on my list, I want it to be because I didn’t feel like reading that one or ran out of time, not because I forgot. 🙂
Here’s hoping for a great August! And welcome to the readathon club! 😉
Right??!! And I really should have added it to my August TBR, but I’m thinking it probably just needs to be a mood read. Ha!
Happy Reading to you, too!
What an amazing month!!! I totally love that you read Love & Gelato and flew into book 2. I’m totally going to try and read book 2 this month! I have such a hefty TBR with Trope-ical readathon but I’m hoping!! Readathons really push you to read more! I’m starting up Fable tomorrow! I hope we both like it! I hope you have a great August. <3
I soooo want an arc of Love & Olives, but I doubt I’ll get approved. 😉 I’m so happy I’ve discovered readathons, but I have to spread them out. It takes me a few weeks to mentally prepare. Ha! Oh I can’t wait to hear what you think of Fable! Happy Reading!
Wow! What a great reading month! You read so many that are on my TBR….and it’s good to see that you liked them. If only I had more time to read…I could get to all those books that I have my eye on 🙂
I hear ya! I had to let so much slide while reading last month. But I did enjoy it. 😉
Wow, you absolutely slayed this month and you did so amazing with the Reading Rush! I thought I was going to participate and I even signed up but then I totally forgot and was unprepared (story of my life in 2020 it seems ?)! So many cute romance covers that I see here and will be keen to check out! I hope August is just as amazing for you ❤️
Ha! You had a perfectly good reason for forgetting. 😉 Hopefully you have an amazing reading month in August, too! <3
Oh you did so great during the reading rush. Seven books is great for a week of reading.
Thank you! I was fully prepared to double up on prompts, but happy when I didn’t have to. 🙂
oh, wow, your husband’s mountain biking sounds hardcore. I think a day to sit there and read sounds even better, though. xD He obviously doesn’t realize what he’s missing haha. I still need to read The Lies of Locke Lamora! I bought it for my brother-in-law for Christmas, and I’m waiting for him to finish it so I can steal it. xD
Ha! I tell him that all the time! Just relax and read a book already. lol I can’t even remember how I discovered The Lies of Locke Lamora. I just remember it was HIGHLY recommended. The thickness of it scares me, though. 😉
Great job on your reading! I don’t do well with read-a-thons but I LOVE the idea of them. I should try them more often – see what happens. This month I am doing ARCAugust though, which is really just about reading as many ARCs as you can during the month. I have quite a few I need to get to, so it’s a good motivator. 🙂
-Lauren
I definitely have to spread out my readathons. I can’t do them back to back. I hadn’t heard of ARCAugust until a few days ago. I guess I had my ARCAugust in July. 😉
Well done on the Reading Rush! I got three days in and kind of just gave up. 😀
Ha! That’s okay. It happens. <3
Looks like July was a good book related month for you. Enjoy all your new books.
Yes! There’s no way I’ll keep up with that pace this month. But it was fun. 😉 Happy Reading to you, too. <3
I’ve recently order my copy of Lies of Locke Lamora – I’m patiently waiting for it to arrive, what a lovely haul and reading month you’ve had!
Here’s my summer book haul if you want to have a look https://readwithstefani.com/summer-book-haul/
Oh yay! I’ve heard such great things about it. Hopefully I can pick it up soon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of those that waits on my shelf for awhile. 😉
Sixteen books is so awesome! I have never been able to do that unless I included the picture books I read as I read very slowly–one book a week mostly. I haven’t read any of the books you’ve read and I really want to read The Night Swim now that I know more about it. Hope your August has been going well.
Thank you! I’m not the fastest reader, either. I was basically reading non-stop the week of the readathon. Ha! I hope you get to pick up The Night Swim and enjoy it as much as I did. Happy Reading! <3