We can’t believe another month is over!! Where is this year going? Both of had another month full or reading! If you want to see our July Wrap Up and how are goals are going, keep on reading!

Candyce

July was another amazing reading month!! I think since we started this blog that I haven’t had a bad reading month. We should’ve started blogging sooner, haha. In July I read 19 books! This brings my Goodreads challenge to 138/160. I think I will complete my challenge in September. In July I finished two series. That brings my challenge to 7/12. This means I am caught up with this goal. I am ashamed to say I didn’t read any backlist books this month, haha. Now let’s see what I read. You can click on the title if I have already wrote and posted my review!

The Accidental Bad Girl – Maxime Kaplan

Kendall isn’t starting off her senior year in a fun way. After being caught with her best friend’s boyfriend, school isn’t easy. On top of that, she ends up mixed up with things she shouldn’t be. I loved that Kendall found her confidence during this book, but I didn’t agree with everything. The Accidental Bad Girl is still a fun read though.

Playing Her Secret Crush – Casey Griffin

This is the perfect read for contemporary lovers! A friends to lovers story, which starts off with both friends being clueless. They share a love of gaming and try to get to a competition. I loved this aspect of the story. Another fun things about this book is that it’s told from both characters’ POV. It may be predictable, but it’s so much fun!

The Downside of Love – Meghan Quinn

I read the first part of this duology last month and the ending was something I never expected. I needed the second book and as fast as possible. The Downside of Love gave me insight in how things happened and I loved the characters, but it still didn’t feel quite right. Meghan Quinn definitely didn’t give us a typical romance.

The Accidentals – Sarina Bowen

Sarina Bowen is known for her romance books, but she decided to right her first young adult book. The Accidentals is a beautiful book. Rachel’s world is turned upside down when her mother dies and her father, who was never there, shows up. She has to deal with grieving, a father she doesn’t know and a whole new school. The Accidentals is a beautiful book with a lot of emotions. I couldn’t put it down and would definitely love another book with these characters.

The Fragile Ordinary – Samantha Young

Besides an amazing cover, The Fragile Ordinary is such a beautiful story. Comet has a special name, but doesn’t feel so special. I connecte with this character right away, because she loves books. The library she has in her room is a book lover’s dream. Tobias is the new kid at school and he has a connection with Comet. They both try and fight it, but it’s not ordinary. Comet and Tobias need each other without even realizing it.

Kiss of the Royal – Lindsey Duga

Imagine using a kiss as a weapon or as a way to heal someone. The royals are the only ones who can use a kiss this way and it’s best when they have a partner. The Royal don’t believe in love. This becomes an issue when Ivy is partnered with Zach who does believe in love. He is convinced they don’t need to use a kiss to fight, but that there are many other ways. Ivy learns there is more to the world than she knows and that there are other ways to solve problems.

Love Machine – Kendall Ryan

I swear Kendall Ryan is a writing machine. I am not used to getting this many books from an author in one year. This is another friends to lovers romance and it’s everything we are used to getting from Kendall. Keaton is the nerdy girl who is best friends with the hot guy Slate. Even though they couldn’t be more different, they just click. Keaton needs help in the bedroom and her best friend who she trusts is the best option. Love Machine has a lot of funny, sweet and romantic moments. Can they keep sleeping together without feelings developing?

The Art of Taking Chances – Kelsey Stelting

This is an anthology that has nine young adult romances. Books like these can be tricky, because nine authors all write differently. Short stories are also tricky, because they can be cute, but can also leave you wanting more. There were quite a few in this book that I would love to have full books from. Others weren’t exactly my cup of tea, but all in all these are fun summer reads!

The Affiliate – K.A. Linde

I love this author’s romances, so I was curious to see what she could do with YA fantasy. The idea of this world is amazing and I loved the story. There was a lot of romance involved though and sometimes it seemed to take over the story. I love good love stories, but I think it took away from some information that would’ve made this first book even better!

Clean Start – S.M. Shade

Clean Start is the final book in The Violent Circle trilogy and I’m sad it’s over. S.M. Shade gave us another hilarious and touching story about two people living in this neighborhood. This book had me laughing out loud and smiling while I was reading. Neal and Veronica were such fun characters. I really hope the author decides to visit this series again in the future.

Love Songs & Other Lies -Jessica Pennington

This was a group read in TBR & Beyond and I loved it! Love Songs & Other Lies is the perfect summer read for contemporary lovers. This story is told in the past and the present and through both character’s POV. Virgina and Cam both have history and a reality show brings them back together. I loved that this was told in the past and present. We didn’t know everything right away and that kept this very interesting. The grand gesture at the end of the book left a huge smile on my face.

A Change of Pace – Freya Barker

I read A Change of View last year and really enjoyed it. A Change of Pace is in the same series, but a standalone. Newt’s teenager daughter is having a hard time, so he moves them to a new place for a fresh start. Frederique is a youth counselor and becomes special to both of them. This was such a good story. Yes, there was some drama, but nothing your typical romance has. No cheating exes or someone trying to break them up. These characters definitely have a special place in my heart.

Yours Truly, Cammie – S.J. Sylvis

After enjoying her debut book, Three Summers, I was excited to see what she would give us next. Yours Truly, Cammie is a military romance. Cammie has one pomise to herself: she won’t date a soldier. After a tragic loss, she doesn’t think her heart can handle it. When Lucas moves in, this gets hard. There is definitely a connection, but can she givet his a try! The main character annoyed me at times, but I loved this love story!

So Glad to Meet You – Lisa Super

Daphne and Oliver lost their siblings to suicide. This isn’t easy and it has impacted their lives in more way than one. One day Daphne finds a list of things their siblings wanted to do together. In the hopes of feeling close to them and learning more they want to do everything on the list. Seeing as things like visiting The Great Wall of China aren’t easy, they find things that fit each item on the list. As they go on this journey they find themselves and realize they’re nothing like their siblings and deserve to tlive their own lives. So Glad to Meet You is an emotional, but beautiful book!

The Bound – K.A. Linde

This is the second book in the Ascension series and it leaves off where The Affiliate left off. I enjoyed this one more than the first one and was happy that there was less romance. It still was a big part of this book, but in a different way. We got more worldbuilding and Cyrene learned more about what is going on. The ending shocked me and I can’t wait to pick up the third book! Which probably already happened when this is posted!

My Plain Jane – Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodie Meadows

After reading My Lady Jane, my expectations were very high. My Plain Jane was a fun and fast read, but wasn’t as good as My Lady Jane. I don’t know if that’s because I haven’t read Jayne Eyre yet or that the gothic aspect in this book made it feel a bit different. I definitely enjoyed every minute of it though and can’t wait for the next one!

Gunslinger Girl – Lyndsay Ely

I have never read a Western before Gunslinger Girl and was hesitant at first. TBR & Beyond had a group read planned, so I decided to give it a try. I am very happy that I did! Gunslinger Girl was nothing like I expected it to be. It takes place in a Dystopian Las Vegas basically. Pity has a whole new world open up to her and realizes not everything is what it seems. The story is left rather open at the end, so I am curious to see what other stories we will get.

Flip Trick – Amo Jones

The cover of the book drew me in. I loved the colors and the font. Amo Jones is an author that I heard about, but had never read anything by. Amethyst has a one night stand, something she’s never done before. Maddox turns out to ber her new step broter and someone she knew in the past. I loved the idea of how they knew each other and found each other again. I expected some drama, but after the third time things went wrong it became a bit much. Same thing as an aspect near the end was a bit much in my opinion. I’m happy with how it ended, but it could’ve gotten there a lot sooner.

Fixing Her – Miranda Elaine

Fixing Her was such a beautiful Romance. Temperance had a lot of plans, but life took another turn. She is now a single mom of an amazing three year old. She never expects her highschool crush, Asher, to come back to town. Asher didn’t either, but life has different plans. Asher had a crush on her as well and now they can’t deny the attraction. There are some things holding Temperance back. Can they get through it all? I loved this book so much!

 

Isabelle

The first two weeks of July I wasn’t reading that much and I felt a bit slumpish I guess. However, around that time I saw some people taking their O.W.L.’s because they missed that readathon in April and wanted to get ready to participate in the N.E.W.T. readathon in August. And I decided to jump on the bandwagon as I also really want to participate in the N.E.W.T. readathon that actually starts today. This gave me great motivation to tackle as many books as possible. The ultimate goal was to read 12 books, so I would get an O.W.L. for every class, did I end up meeting that goal? Let’s take a look 😉

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before & P.S. I Still Love You – Jenny Han

After writing our books to movie post I got in the mood to reread TATBILB and since I had the audiobook that seemed like a perfect opportunity. I once again absolutely loved the book and listened to the second one straight away. This series is one of my favorite contemporary series, possibly my number one favorite. I’m so so so excited for the movie and I’ll probably also listen to the third book before then haha. These were the only two books I didn’t read for the O.W.L.’s readathon.

Down Among The Sticks And Bones & Beneath the Sugar Sky – Seanan McGuire

After I read Every Heart a Doorway last month I just had to continue with this series! I adore the series and I adore the characters <3 DATSAB features my favorite character out of all of them so I was super excited to read that one. It was a tiny bit of a disappointment as it’s prequel story and you basically already know the whole story. Still great to read and a 4 star book for me. BtSS is more of a continuation of the story in EHAD and it was great seeing most of the characters again. I was super sad to find out how long I have to wait before the fourth book comes out.

Animal Noir – Izar Lunacek

I got this graphic novel at the start of the month and it was a perfect fit for one of the O.W.L. classes. Since this is a graphic novel I figured it would be a pretty quick read and I was right! Animal Noir is a pretty dark and gritty novel and while I really enjoyed it, the ending was quite open and that was a bit disappointing.

Starfire Vol 1: Welcome Home – Amanda Conner

I had never heard of this superhero comic but was very pleasantly surprised. This was a really fun read and I hope to read the rest of the series soonish. I really like the alien-superhero storyline where they hardly know anything about the Earth and our customs. It makes for hilarious and awkward moments and I just can’t get enough of it!

My Plain Jane – Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, & Brodi Ashton

This was one of my most anticipated releases this year and it took me kinda long before I ended up reading it. I think it was about 3 weeks before I finally picked this one up but when I finally started it, I flew through it and finished it in no time. Candyce and I did a buddy review for My Plain Jane last week, you can find that one here.

Quiet – Susan Cain

One of my reading goals this year has been to read more non-fiction. Quiet has been on my TBR for over 3 years! So when one of the tasks for the readathon was to read a non-fiction book, I knew this one had to be my read. I was able to listen to the audiobook and I think that made it a bit easier to push through and not put the book down. This was a really enjoyable read and I managed to learn a thing or two as well.

Heir of Fire – Sarah J. Maas

The fourth book in our Throne of Glass reread! Candyce is kinda failing our reread haha, but I’m sure she’ll be caught up before Kingdom of Ash releases. This was my third time reading Heir of Fire and while I did remember more than I did the last time I read it, I still had forgotten so many details. It’s insane how easy those details slip your mind! Sure, I remember the basics of what happened but there were some pretty important details that I couldn’t remember at all. That shows why we’re doing the reread in the first place, I don’t want to miss anything in Kingdom of Ash so I need to be sharp and know all that has happened leading up to that book. I also feel like I cried way more during my read this time compared to reading it the first or second time.

Bruja Born – Zoraida Cordova

I hope to post a review for Bruja Born soon, I got a copy through NetGalley but had to read Labyrinth Lost first. In the end I listened to both and really enjoyed the books. I had hoped to love them but that was the case unfortunately. They were highly enjoyable and I will definitely continue reading the series. I loved the diversity in this book, mostly to read a fantasy based on another culture. Would recommend this series for sure.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling

Again? Yes, this has been the third time rereading HP 1 in less than a year…. But what is a Harry Potter readathon without reading a HP book? And I really needed a book that featured Alchemy. Do you know how hard it is to find those? And have them being interesting and not insanely long? Thus, another reread of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. And I once again loved it.

The Young Elites – Marie Lu

I don’t think I ever really had the intention to pick this one up. However, I saw it listed as a book that has a secret society or secret club and that was one of the last books I needed. And my audiobook subscription service had this one so I decided to give it a go. I enjoyed it more than I expected! And while there were some YA fantasy cliches, I think the main character was pretty unique. Her looks weren’t the usual looks and her personality was a bit different as well. That was interesting and made the book more enjoyable for me. I think I will continue with this series, as all three books are available as audiobooks.

In a Dark Dark Wood – Ruth Ware

And the last book this month! This one had been on my TBR for quite a while as well, a little less than 2 years. It fitted with another O.W.L. prompt so I decided to finally pick it up. I don’t think I would’ve continued reading if this wasn’t for the readathon since not that much happens the first half of the book. It does pick up after that though and while it wasn’t the best thriller I read at all, I did enjoy it and will probably pick up another Ruth Ware book.

So I read 13 books this month and 11 of those were for the O.W.L.’s. That means I passed 11 our of 12 subjects! Pretty great, although I’m a tiny bit disappointed that I didn’t finish all 12 haha. Now on to the N.E.W.T.’s, I’m excited to challenge myself and I’l try to get 11 N.E.W.T’s!

July was filled with a lot of fun books! What was your favorite read in July?