July 2024 Wrap-Up
It’s that time of the month again.
I haven’t written one of these in a while. I’m very excited.
Despite my lack of posting, both on my website and on my Instagram, I’ve been reading.
Boy. I’ve been reading.
As some of you may know, I moved out of my parents house and I’ve been living on my own since February. I do big girl things like pay rent and stress over leaving a light on for too long, but this also means I’m not buying as many books. In fact, I can’t remember the last book I bought.
I’ve been going to the library.
Hooray for underconsumption!
My July reading was mostly dictated by what was available at the library. I wasn’t the biggest fan of anything I read but I had a good time reading them, regardless.
This is a YA novel about seventeen-year old Quell, who has dark, forbidden magic flowing through her veins. She discovers the Order, which can help her get rid of her dark magic forever, if she can pass three tests and properly debut into their society.
This book was so unremarkable I don’t think I even gave it a rating on Goodreads.
The concept of the book utilizes dark academia and a debutante society but the protagonist has as much personality as a piece of white bread. I saw so much potential, but the author forgot to add the toppings, such as garlic and cheese or ham and mustard. And so the story fell flat.
I guess I’ll give it a rating here.
2.5/5.
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Victor Lawson’s family is comprised of robots. He lives in the forest with them, leading a peaceful life, until he salvages HAP, a robot designed to hunt humans. Not long after, Vic’s father, Gio, is taken to the City of Electric Dreams. Together, the misfit family has to travel to save him before he ends up decommissioned.
This was a funky little read.
I adore TJ Klune. I absolutely adore him and his writing. This book tore my soul out of my body, stomped on it, kissed it, and shoved it back down my throat. That being said, some of the humor missed and the weird obsession with sex was a little off-putting.
I still bawled like a baby. I still had a lot of fun reading it. I also adore the representation TJ Klune includes in his books.
3.5/5.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
The concept of this book is wild to explain.
Olive’s twin is getting married. Olive is considered very unlucky and her sister is incredibly lucky. When her sister and every other guest falls ill after the wedding, her sister urges her to go on the honeymoon. Unfortunately, the groom’s brother, Ethan (he also happens to be Olive’s enemy.) was also told to go on the honeymoon.
The hate to love relationship ensues.
It was kind of funny. It was kind of sexy. It was kind of annoying.
Meh.
3/5.
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Persephone is living her life, keeping herself separate from people, never putting herself at risk for heartbreak. That is, until she gets a phone call that sends her back to Barry’s Bay and back into Sam’s life, a man who she thought she would always have but lost. She’s forced to confront the mistakes she made ten years ago.
The narration goes back and forth between past and present. I normally have no issue with this, but the present sucked. It wasn’t fleshed out, the characters felt flat, the tone was grey and depressing (I understand, but some of it was just weird.) The past was vivid, beautiful, and made me want to go to the lake. The love the author has for this lake and their childhood was palpable in the book.
But Persephone’s mistake was unforgivable. It made her character unredeemable. Read to the 90% mark, and pretend like it’s happily ever after. Pretend like she never made a mistake.
3/5.
(Only for the incredibly vivid setting and nostalgia it made me feel)
Secret History by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn 3.5)
I can’t talk about this without spoiling Mistborn.
I really can’t say a single word. Do not read this unless you have read the entire original Mistborn trilogy.
I cried a lot. I found some of the information to be convoluted and hard to follow, but I didn’t know I needed this until I had it.
3/5
Signa, orphaned at a young age, has been bounced around from family to family. She ends up with the eccentric Hawthornes, a family both dark and glittering. Once she moves in, she realizes they need her help. And the only way she can help them is by teaming up with Death himself.
The spooky autumn vibes of this book were good, but the pacing was off. The concept was cool but a little funky…
Was she groomed by Death?
3/5
I read a fair amount of books this past month. I know one was a novella, but it feels good to be reading this much. I’m so much happier when I’m reading this much. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m doing something I love, or if its because I’m choosing to avoid my problems, but I feel great either way.
What was your favorite read in July? Mine was probably In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune.
I’ll be posting my August TBR later this week. Like I said, I’ve been reading books from the library, but we shall see.