I read 25 books in July. It seems like I avoided the summer slump I’ve experienced the last two years, so that’s exciting. I read a lot of really amazing books too and several ARCs that I haven’t gotten to share my reviews of quite yet. I went on vacation and spent a lot of time at the beach and now my freckles are really popped. I essentially look like one giant freckle on my face and my arms. It’s… certainly something. Anyway, let’s talk about the books that I read, shall we?
Dungeon Crawler Carl
I’m putting this first because I finished the DCC series in terms of the books that are currently out, which is to say I read The Butcher’s Masquerade, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, This Inevitable Ruin, and A Parade of Horribles. Genuinely, no part of me thought that I would actually like this series, let alone that I would fall in love with it. I’m already considering starting a reread because honestly, this world is addictive and I can’t believe where we started to where we are now. Carl and Donut and Mongo and so many more people and things that I won’t name because of spoilers. I think this world is so expansive and creative and the social commentary has increased steadily throughout the series. I’m really looking forward to seeing if the portrayal on screen can capture the same dynamic. Also, for all that everyone raves about Jeff Hays narration, I actually read all but books 1 and 8 entirely by way of my kindle.
Hidden Legacy
I mean, the real surprise is that it took me this long to do my first reread of the year. As per usual, I love this trilogy. I will probably read Catalina’s at some point this year too, but I really just wanted to read about Rogan and Nevada this month.
5 Stars
So my absolute favorite book of the month was ABSOLUTELY Lost and Found by Tarah DeWitt. Lost and Found broke my heart, but also repaired it just a little bit. I devoured this book. It’s just so… full of emotions and heart. It’s absolutely stunning. I truly just cannot explain how much I loved this book. Like there are no words.
But I also gave five stars to Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly and The Summer Girlfriend by Kristina Forest. Yes, Chef is an ADHD x ADHD romance and that was a delight. It has a lot of family dynamics and sort of learning to trust yourself vibes, which are things that I adore most of the time. I also enjoyed the writing style tremendously. I have a review forthcoming that will be a bit more detailed than what I just gave you. The Summer Girlfriend is a perfect summer book with fake dating and also can someone please pay me to be their girlfriend? I will be so good at that. Just help me fund some travel plans, please and thank you! 😉 Anyway, I feel like Forest nailed a summer romance with this one.
4.5 Stars
Abby Offsides by Anna McCallie is my perfect contemporary fiction with a heavy romance subplot type of book. I love when a woman moves to a new place and starts over. I vibe with that storyline 9 times out of 10 pretty sure. And to start over in England with a soccer team? It gave Ted Lasso vibes AND I read it while the World Cup was still happening so it was just the perfect vibe.
In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto was really fantastic, but since I’ve already give my full review, I’ll not belabor my points. By the Bootstraps is my other 4.5 star ARC and this is the one that could most easily be moved up to a 5 star. This book is a ROMCOM and I was having a blast. This book is also a grief novel. I could handle that pairing just fine right up until the drama with her uncle. But even so, I really did have SO MUCH FUN with this book. It was just such a good time and I really liked the characters and I loved the small town. It inspired me to start a rewatch of Friday Night Lights and I finished episode 11 last night so you know, it did a lot for me.
By the Bootstraps is my other 4.5 star ARC and this is the one that could most easily be moved up to a 5 star. This book is a ROMCOM and I was having a blast. This book is also a grief novel. I could handle that pairing just fine right up until the drama with her uncle. But even so, I really did have SO MUCH FUN with this book. It was just such a good time and I really liked the characters and I loved the small town. It inspired me to start a rewatch of Friday Night Lights and I finished episode 11 last night so you know, it did a lot for me.
Exposed by Kristen Callihan is everything I love about Callihan’s writing and I still want to know if we’re ever going to get the last guy’s story. But in the meantime, I love this book. It has a few more sex scenes that I was currently interested in that affected my overall enjoyment, but I think for most people, this book will land perfectly. I love the emotions contained in this book. I like the way everything is handled. I think Brenna’s emotional journey is so important and is really well crafted. And Rye remembering how to let people in was really lovely. A very satisfying conclusion (for now!).
4 Stars
I have already written full reviews of The MASH Up and Destination Funeral so I will not belabor my points here. I will simply say that I love books that play with time and these were both fun, but not quite perfect for me. I’ve also given my full review of Scandal of the Summer, which is fantastic news for me. I did really enjoy that fun romp though too!
The next three books are also ARCs where I have not, unfortunately, already written my reviews. The first thing I want to say is that you should not read Fossil Feud and Just a Highland Fling back to back the way that I did because despite the fact that these two books are extremely different, they are also both books where the MMC is a professor from a different country than the FMC. The resolutions of each book wound up being so similar that I’m still having trouble separating out which one was which. So learn from my mistakes. Read them much further apart than I did. Anyway, they are both a good time! Fossil Feud is definitely for the dinosaur people, but I actually had a good time with it despite not being a dinosaur person. (Truly, they freak me out.) It’s always really nice to have a character who is deeply passionate about her work, at least, in my opinion. I think you’ll really like this if you liked Ali Hazelwood’s early works in the sense of the FMC having that passion and if you like a solid plot to your romances. I liked that the FMC is emotionally closed off outwardly, but inside, she’s a puddle of emotions. I liked her learning that she can be open with others and that’s not a bad thing. Just a Highland Fling has a more melancholic sense about it in the way that Kumar’s romances have so far, at least in my opinion. But I love that. And I loved that she is in reality tv production because EVERY glimpse of the reality tv part was the best. Mind you, there’s not a lot of that! So for people who aren’t into it, this is a great pick still, I promise. This book is largely about learning to communicate with a family member who let you down because of their own shortcomings and I think it’s really well done. Anyway, full review of both of these is coming, I promise!
Also forthcoming is a review for The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher, which, as per usual, was a fun, vibe-y time. Asher’s worlds are always real world with real things heavily layered with the paranormal and I’m never totally sure how to deal with that. But I did have a good time with the Anti-Aphrodite fake dating her rockstar neighbor for good press while planning his sister’s wedding. This book is fairly plot forward in a way that I think works for the story, although the sense of a timeline is nonexistent in a way that bugged me just a tad. I love the casual diversity of characters in this book and I really enjoyed the friendships. I look forward to the next books in the series.
Nine Month Contract came to me at the perfect time where I had tried to pick up Daggermouth, which was much too dystopian in a scary way for me immediately (literally two chapters) and I was like, nope, sorry, I need a wacky good time instead. My enjoyment of this book is the perfect example of how much of a mood reader I am because this book is exceptionally voice-y in a way that was perfect for me in the moment, but in the wrong moment, I would have DNF’d it and never thought about it again. There was too much spice content once that started for my personal enjoyment with some things that I don’t always love to read about, but regardless, I had a blast and plan to continue picking up the other books in this series when I’m in the mood for a wacky good time.
3.5 – 3 Stars
Here’s the thing, I loved parts of each of these books. The beginning of each of them really hooked me. And then along the way each of them lost me. One Last Shot and Die for Me both fully lost me somewhere near the end for reasons that feel like they would spoil the books for me to go into detail about so all I will say is that it didn’t actually feel like they ended with an HEA. The Missed Connection lost be somewhere along the way because the plot went wackadoodle in a way that’s fun to watch but not always fun to read. Riding the Line lost me for reasons I still don’t understand. It just fizzled out. I do have a full review of Riding the Line and One Last Shot posted. A review of Die for Me is forthcoming! Hopefully soon. I have a lot to think through about that one.
Closing Thoughts
It’s nice to have a definitive favorite book of the month for July. I feel like June’s favorite was a little more up in the air and I could have gone with a few different things. This month? There is actually no doubt in my mind that Lost and Found is a favorite of not just the month, but also of the year. It’s up there for me with Star Shipped. Like which one is actually my favorite of the year? I’m not sure. But I look forward to the next five months of reading and figuring out what will ultimately be crowned my favorite book of the year. Anyway, what was your favorite book of July? Let me know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 