Yesterday we shared our July bookhaul, so today it’s time to talk about what books we read in July. What did we read? What were our favorites? Are we happy with the amount of books we read? Keep on reading for our July Wrap Up!

Candyce

July was a good reading month for me. I read some really good books and had a lot of fun with all of the buddyreads and group reads that I joined. I was able to read 17 books (6 paperbacks, 5 ARCs, 5 audiobooks and 1 e-book)  for a total of 6,259 pages! My average rating was a 4.3, so it was definitely a good month. Now let’s take a look at the books I read.

Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu Rising was one of my anticipated releases this year and it didn’t disappoint. I loved all the family dynamics and secrets. There was a lot of drama, but it was just so addicting I couldn’t stop reading. Taylor Jenkins Reid is an amazing author and proved it once again with this book.

One Last Stop – Casey McQuiston

Another one of my most anticipated releases and it was a lot of fun. One Last Stop is a love story through time. Our main character August falls in love with Jane. The only problem is Jane is from the 70s and stuck on the Q. I loved the side characters and it definitely made me laugh out loud.

China Rich Girlfriend – Kevin Kwan

After reading and loving Crazy Rich Asians I needed to continue with the second book. China Rich Girlfriend was also filled with a lot of drama, but I’ve definitely come to enjoy quite a few of the characters. I’ll be reading the third and final book in this trilogy soon.

The Library of the Unwritten – A.J. Hackwith

I’ve been wanting to read this book for quite some time and Isabelle and I decided to finally pick it up. The Library of the Unwritten is a bit different than expected, but I still enjoyed it very much. The ending was a bit rushed, but other than that it was a well written book. I’ll definitely be reading the sequel.

A Pho Love Story – Loan Le

As a contemporary fan I knew A Pho Love Story is one I needed to read. The family feud and “forbidden” romance was definitely an interesting aspect of this story. I also loved that it was also about these two main characters finding what they wanted to do in life. That isn’t always easy when your family has a lot of expectations.

Contagion – Erin Bowman

Contagion is a book I received for Christmas a couple of years ago and finally picked up! What a ride! This book was dark, but really good. There were many things I wasn’t expecting and the last few pages left me wanting more. I need to get the sequel.

A Sky Beyond the Storm – Sabaa Tahir

The final book of the An Ember in the Ashes series. It took me so long to read the last two books, but I’m glad I finally did. Sabaa Tahir had me hooked and I needed to know how it ended. Once again this was filled with a lot of action, loss and twists. I have to say I’m happy with how it all wrapped up.

The Unhoneymooners – Christina Lauren

I read The Unhoneymooners last year, but decided to do a re-read when we did this book for the Swoonalong in the TBR and Beyond group. This time around I listened to the audiobook and it was so much fun. I definitely see myself

Forget This Ever Happened – Cassandra Rose Clarke

In Forget This Ever Happened our main character goes to spend the summer with her grandmother. Except things turn out to be different than they seem. I love the creepy small town vibes this gives and all the supernatural. Also, I loved this audiobook. It was like a movie. There were sound effects and everything. I really want more audiobooks like this one.

The Guncle – Steven Rowley

The Guncle is a book I saw quite a bit on bookstagram when it first released and there were so many raving reviews. I decided to listen to the audiobook and this book was such a pleasant surprise. How the main character took in his niece and nephew without really ever taking care of kids while they’re dealing with grief was so heartwarming. The Guncle had me laughing and crying. I’ll definitely be reading this one again in the future.

Hydra – Matt Wesolowski

Last month I read the first book in this series and enjoyed the podcast format and how an old case was explored. Hydra focuses on another case and got really dark. I did the audiobook this time around and it really felt like I was listening to a podcast. I’ll definitely be doing the audio for the third book.

The Dark of You – S.M. Shade

The Dark of You wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I’ve loved all of S.M. Shade’s books, but this one just wasn’t for me. I’m all for darker stories, but falling in love with your stalker? Not something I can get behind and enjoy reading.

Pretty Savage – T.A. Kunz

The cover for Pretty Savage jumped right out at me and I highly enjoyed this story. A student dies and the main characters are trying to find out more. When more kids go missing and end up dead things get very intense. I couldn’t put this book down. Right before the end I figured it out, but that didn’t bug me.

The Soulmate Equation – Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is a go to author duo for me when I want a good rom-com and I was really looking forward to The Soulmate Equation. What if it was possible to see if you’re suitable based on your DNA? This book had me laughing out loud. I only wish we got River’s POV as well.

While We Were Dating – Jasmine Guillory

I haven’t read anything by this author and even though While We Were Dating is the sixth book in the series, you can still read it without the previous books. This book was so much fun! I was laughing out loud. I’m a big fan of fake relationships and the banter between our main characters worked so well! This book was also definitely had more steam than expected. I’ll be reading the other books in this series.

The Taking of Jake Livingston – Ryan Douglass

I don’t read much horror, but the cover and synopsis of The Taking of Jake Livingston definitely had me curious. It isn’t a very long book, so I was finished pretty quickly. While this was a good book and Jake was an interesting character it lacked for me in certain areas. I felt like there was too much going on and that made it hard for the story to really go deep with parts of the story. Definitely a spooky read, but maybe my expectations were just a little too high?

Isn’t it Bromantic? – Lyssa Kay Adams

The Bromance Book Club series is so much fun and I was very excited to be invited to be on the blog tour. I’ve been wanting Vlad’s story since the first book and it didn’t disappoint. He’s such an amazing character and I flew through this book.

 

Summary:
Favorite Book: The Guncle
Least Favorite: The Dark of You
Most Surprising: The Guncle

 

Isabelle

I’m really happy with my July reading! In total I read 11 books (4 graphic novels, 2 manga, 1 eARC and 4 paperbacks). I read 3426 pages, pretty decent I would say and my average rating was a 4.04 so overall very enjoyable reads. Especially happy with all the books from my own TBR I read!

Scales & Scoundrels vol. 2 – Sebastian Girner

I’ve had this graphic novel for a while now and I decided it was time to read it. It was mostly what I expected of it, nothing special but still fun. There were some surprising twists in there and I might read the next volume but I do miss a cohesive overall arc.

The Umbrella Academy vol. 2 – Gerard Way

This one was a disappointment to be honest. I adore the Netflix show and while I usually read the book (or graphic novel) before I watch the adaptation I went the other route with this story. And unfortunately I just like the tv show so much better! They did an amazing job with the adaptation and this story just lacked a lot for me personally. I’m not sure if I will pick up the next volume.

One to Watch – Kate Stayman-London

I started reading this one months ago but put it down in favor of something else. And I’m very happy I did end up picking it back up again. It was a lot of fun and had some great messages. I also really enjoyed the romance (can you believe I’m saying this haha).

The Damned – Renée Ahdieh

Another one I started months ago. I loved the Beautiful but had some trouble getting into the story with this one. There was a bit of a focus shift and it took me a while to get used to that. However, once I hit a certain point I flew through the book and I can’t wait to read the next book!

Heartstopper vol. 4 – Alice Oseman

These books do not disappoint! The only disappointment is that the fifth volume will be the final one. I adore these characters so much and I love the way this story deals with mental health issues. Nick & Charlie are one of my favorite couples ever <3

Descender vol. 1 – Jeff Lemire

I picked this up after hearing about it on G’s youtube channel (BookRoast) but I wasn’t completely sure what it was about. And that turned out to be such a pleasant surprise! I really enjoyed this story and want to read the next book for sure!

This Is How You Lose the Time War – Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

Another book I started a while ago haha. And this is a pretty thin book so I can’t believe it took me this long to finish it. I loved it a lot! The world is insane and I probably didn’t understand at least half of it but there were some beautifully written quotes that hit me hard!

Fruits Basket Collector’s Editon vol. 3 – Natsuki Takaya

I really like this story and I’m glad I continued it. But I have to say I have some trouble keeping all the characters straight haha, there are so many! And I just get a bit confused every now and then. Maybe I have to pick the next one up a bit faster 😉

Library of the Unwritten – A.J. Hackswith

I was really excited to read this one! It was a buddy read with Candyce and I enjoyed it a lot. Like Candyce said, the story didn’t go as I expected it to but I really liked it. I definitely want to pick up the sequel!

Death Note Black Edition vol. 3 – Tsugumi Ohba

I finally read the next one! And I immediately ordered the next one haha. Like with Fruits Basket I had to get used to the story a bit. It has been a while since I read volume 2 and I definitely forgot some details. But I loved this one a lot and I can’t wait to read volume 4!

They Wish They Were Us – Jessica Goodman

I love YA Mysteries and I was very excited to read this one. While it didn’t completely live up to my expectations with less focus on the mystery than I would’ve liked and a pretty predictable end I did like it. I enjoyed the characters and I definitely want to read more by Jessica Goodman.

Summary:
Favorite Book: Heartstopper vol. 4
Least Favorite: The Umbrella Academy vol. 2
Most Surprising: Descender vol. 1

 

So that’s what we read in July! Have you read any of these as well? We’d love to know what you thought. Also, what were your July favorites? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!