I read an inordinate amount of books this month and I’m honestly not even sure how? Because of that, this Wrap Up is going to be a little bit different in that I’ve chosen not to review each book of the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh I read because I’m going to be making an entire post about that series, which I’ll hopefully be able to post this weekend.
18. The Kiss Quotientby Helen Hoang
Ultimately, I wound up giving this book a 3.75, but at the same time, I would recommend the book to anyone who thinks it could interest them! There was something about the beginning of the book that made it hard for me to get into, but that could have been something that was wrong with me and not the book. Anyway, if you haven’t heard of The Kiss Quotient, it’s about a woman who is some kind of economist that uses data to predict trends, maybe? I’m not sure. Anyway, Stella has pushy parents whom she wants to please and also a diagnosis placing her on the Autism spectrum that leads her to hire a male escort because she thinks her problem is that she’s not good at sex. Michael, the male escort she hires, is a little angel with some serious issues with guilt about his dad’s actions. By the end of this book, I adored Michael so much, but perhaps because my expectations were so high I just couldn’t really give it a much higher rating.
20. Trade Me by Courtney Milan
As I tweeted like two chapters into my re-read, I really need to ask forgiveness of Tina Chen for forgetting how much I adore her. This book is absolutely amazing, honestly. Although I prefer Hold Me by an infinitesimally small margin, Trade Me is also a five star read and it’s wonderful. Tina is so smart and dedicated to her family. She’s living in this really crappy, definitely not up to code apartment because she’s extremely poor and still sending money to her family to help them out. When she goes toe to toe with Blake Reynolds, the son of a CEO tech billionaire, in class and informs him that if he traded places with her, he would never make it, she never expects that challenging statement to come to anything. And yet… It does. Blake needs an escape from the pressures of his life. So he works it out so that Tina can take over
29. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugoby Taylor Jenkins Reid
I listened to the first five or so chapters on audio and then switched over to reading this book in the physical copy I have. The beginning of the novel felt a little slow for me and then eventually I started to get more into it. Ultimately, I gave it a 4.75 rating just because of the beginning. I do want to say that there are depictions of sexual and domestic violence, which were mildly triggering for me as a person who works in the DV field. Also, anyone who wants to talk about Evelyn’s approach to sex, please talk to me. I have so many feelings.
Oh and if you don’t know, this book is about Old Hollywood movie star, Evelyn Hugo, telling her life story to this relatively unknown journalist, Monique whose life is in a not great place and she’s completely baffled by Evelyn’s choice. Basically everyone loves this book and there’s a good reason for that.
32. Dirtyby Kylie Scott
I started reading this on Scrib’d on a whim and then I listened to it in one sitting. I am completely in love with the heroine of this novel, a plus sized runaway bride named Lydia who just… Her sense of humor was so wonderful. I will warn you that she’s a little bit self-conscious, which I know can be triggering for some people, but it didn’t seem like too much in my personal opinion. And the hero, Vaughan was excellent. He was a little stubbornly dumb about his life choices, but in general, I thought he was an excellent hero and I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. I seriously adored it.
33. The Governess Gameby Tessa Dare
First of all, can I just say how thankful I am for Dani at Dani’s Bookshelf for sending me an ARC of this book? It was the most gloriously perfect book and I loved it. LOVED IT. If you’re like, ugh, a governess romance? Same, tbh, but don’t worry, but TRUST Tessa Dare. She’s funny and wonderful and her books are funny, wonderful, and the happy endings are always so great. Honestly, I just love this book. I can’t talk coherently about it yet and I read it well over a week ago now. Chase is just such a little sweetheart and the children are little hellions and Alex is a queen. I love Tessa Dare.
I read so many good books in July. Obviously, I just read a ton of books in July in general, but it was an amazing reading month. I can’t wait to see what August brings! What was your favorite book you read in July? Let me know in the comments!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 