Hello Readers! July was a busy month for me. It also included a quick trip to the beach with extended family. I had planned on reading at least one or two books, but I ended up reading zilch. Oops. At least it was a fun and relaxing trip, but my lack of reading almost had me sliding into a slump and then scrambling the rest of the month to catch up. Somehow I had ended up with 6 ARCs for the month and 4 due in early August. I think I must be accepting ARCs in my sleep! 😆

I did end up having an amazing reading month, enjoying everything I read. If you look back at My July TBR, I read most of the books I had planned, plus one I didn’t. I read 9 books, for a total of 2,835 pages—7 ARCs and 2 backlist books. I only crossed off 1 book from my #20BooksOfSummerChallenge, but I did fulfill 6 prompts on My Popsugar Reading Challenge. This was the first month in a long time that I read from such a mix of genres, and I loved it!

Let’s see what I read!

Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!

July Wrap-Up

(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

I started off the month reading Corinne by Rebecca Morrow. This novel involving religious trauma blew me away. Engrossing, moving, and eye-opening, I couldn’t look away.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on July 12, 2022

I finally read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, and if you haven’t read it, I can assure you it lives up to the hype! So smart, funny, and clever, but also packs a punch. I’m excited to watch the adaptation, and hopeful it lives up to the book.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My second ARC for the month was Upgrade by Blake Crouch. Action-packed with lots of twists, Crouch manages to write another thriller that’s smart but doesn’t make me feel stupid. 😉

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on July 12, 2022

I started Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor while in a bit of a reading slump so it took me a second to get into it, but I couldn’t resist this sweet book. I adored the characters, the camp setting, and all the Shakespeare!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on July 26, 2022

In July, my husband participates in an annual mountain biking challenge called Judgement Day, where he rides 70 miles on 10 trails within 24 hours (in mostly 100 degree heat!). And I’m usually his chauffeur between trails so he can rest up in between. Which means ample reading time for me while he’s riding. Win win! This year I read The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera to fulfill a prompt on my Popsugar Reading Challenge. It was a great reminder of why I participate in the challenge. It’s a book that I might not have ever discovered, otherwise. Beautiful and inspiring!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When I was invited to read Up All Night for the paperback release, I couldn’t resist. I’ve been wanting to read it since it came out last year. This collection of YA short stories by well-known authors has something for everyone: mystery, horror, old and new friendships, and of course, romance. I enjoyed the diversity and representation, and it was a fun way to discover new authors!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Paperback published on July 12, 2022
(originally published on July 13, 2021

A few days before it was set to be released, I was invited to read the A Point in Time collection of short stories from Amazon Originals. I knew I didn’t really have the TIME, but look at those authors! Martha Hall Kelly, Paula McLain, Olivia Hawker, Esi Edugyan, Fiona Davis, Thomas Keneally, and Jesmyn Ward. Each story is about 30 pages in length, and I was impressed with how well the authors had me connecting with the characters in so few pages. And once again, I discovered some new authors!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
My Review
Published on July 28, 2022

Alias Emma by Ava Glass is a debut spy thriller set in London, the first in a new series, and it’s been optioned to be adapted! I did not want to put this one down. It’s a thrill ride through London with a kick-ass heroine!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
My Review
Published on August 2, 2022

I spent the last day of the month finishing up my reading of The Witchery by S. Isabelle. I was so impressed with this YA Fantasy debut. It gave me major Maggie Stiefvater and Harry Potter vibes—but diverse! The author has created the coolest characters and put them in the coolest world. She’s hinted at more books, which makes me very happy. I currently have a US giveaway running for my ARC copy, so be sure and enter if you’d like to read it too!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
My Review and Giveaway!
Published on July 26, 2022

In case you missed it…

• Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Goals
• Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Book Releases | July – December 2022
• Let’s Talk Bookish: Romances and HEAs – I just thought I knew how passionate readers were about this topic. Or how passionate I was. I really had no clue. 😉
• Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers That Feel Like Summer
• Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Formats
• Top Ten Tuesday: (Updated) Book Series I Need To Finish
• Let’s Talk Bookish: Long or Short Books
• Top Ten Tuesday: MORE! Books From My Past Seasonal TBR Posts I STILL Haven’t Read
• My Summer 2022 Book HookUp Unboxing

What I’ve been watching…

• My husband convinced me to give The Wire another try. We’re currently in the second season, but we spend much of the episodes confused. Anyone out there want to encourage me to continue??
• We’ve been staying caught up with the new releases of Better Call Saul. I can’t believe we’re down to two episodes left, which will bring the conclusion of the Breaking Bad world. 😭

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How was your reading month? Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!