Wrap Up: July 2016

It’s the end of another month, which means that it’s time to revisit all the books that I read during the month. I had a little bit of a reading slump in mid-July but recovered pretty nicely towards the end of the month. Still, I feel like I’ve lost a little bit of enthusiasm for reading and was kinda forcing myself to read. Hopefully August will be a better month for me. I’ll be participating in the #ReadThemAllThon, created and hosted by Aentee @ Read at Midnight. With this readathon, I’m hoping to read a lot of books that I was excited to pick up but haven’t read yet.

1. My Lady Jane – Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows 

A hilarious and lighthearted historical retelling of Lady Jane Grey, My Lady Jane was probably my favourite book that I read in July. It had a wonderful magic system and very endearing characters.

2. Sophie Someone – Hayley Long 

This book is about a young girl named Sophie who is trying to figure out exactly who she is after finding out that her parents are hiding secrets from her about her identity. It has a very unique writing style where lots of words are replaced by other words, almost like a code.

3. Something Real – Heather Demetrios 

Heather Demetrios hits it out of the park again. This was a wonderful contemporary story about a girl who has been a reality TV star since her birth, when she was actually born on camera. The book is about what it means to be a reality TV star and how restricted their lives can be.

4. Alex + Ada, Vol. 1 – Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn 

Alex + Ada is probably my favourite graphic novel/comic series that I’ve read so far. It’s a sci-fi, futuristic story that is set way into the future where technology is super advanced and androids act almost like human beings. Alex + Ada explores artificial intelligence and sentience and I loved it so much.

5. Disruption – Jessica Shirvington 

This is the first instalment of a sci-fi dystopian duology. Set in a United States where everybody has to wear an M-band that not only tracks your health and vitals, but also has the ability to match people based on pheromone ratings, the protagonist Maggie is trying to rescue her father and get revenge on people who have imprisoned him due to his inability to rate positively with other people… This book has one of my all-time favourite OTPs and you won’t be disappointed!

6. Corruption – Jessica Shirvington 

Corruption is the sequel to Disruption and was so epic and intense and everything that I want in a sequel. There is more swoony romance things and I loved it sooooo much! I highly recommend this duology!

7. Alex + Ada, Vol. 2 – Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn 

While I enjoyed this second volume of Alex + Ada, I found that it progressed a little bit too quickly for my liking. I felt like it could have been two separate volumes instead with more filling in of the gaps. Having said that, I enjoyed Alex and Ada’s blooming relationship and how Ada made friends with others around her.

8. Alex + Ada, Vol 3 – Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn 

This final volume of Alex + Ada was fantastic. I loved everything that happened in this last volume, but again I felt like it could have been developed a little bit better. Everything moved a little too quickly for my liking. Still, it was a highly enjoyable story and had a nice ending.

9. Unicorn Tracks – Julia Ember 

A short YA novel set in an African-inspired fantasy world, Unicorn Tracks has a wonderful story that incorporates mythical creatures like unicorns, chimeras and phoenixes. It also has a lesbian romance. My main criticism of the novel is that it is far too short and lacked development and a proper climax and resolution.

10. Stitching Snow – R. C. Lewis 

Stitching Snow is a sci-fi retelling of Snow White. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy The Lunar Chronicles. I just wasn’t really able to connect with the main character or the love interest. I thought it was a little bit average and, at times, boring.

11. Soppy – Philippa Rice 

This book is great if you need a pick me up! It’s a beautiful collection of illustrations by Philippa Rice about the intimate and regular daily moments in her relationship with her boyfriend. I read this one in about 30 minutes and then I reread it again straight away. The colour scheme of red, white and black works wonderfully and I just loved it so much.

12. Where Things Come Back – John Corey Whaley 

I loved John Corey Whaley’s Highly Illogical Behavior and thought I would pick up his highly acclaimed debut. I didn’t love it as much as Highly Illogical Behavior but I still thought it was a wonderful story. There is a strong religious aspect to it that I didn’t really connect with. But I loved the writing and thought it was a strong book.

13. Seven Ways We Lie – Riley Redgate 

Even though this book has seven different perspectives, I thought it was done quite successfully and I didn’t feel overwhelmed by it. It’s an interesting contemporary novel that explores the relationships between people and also the ways that a person is able to develop when there is some sort of catalyst. This novel is packed full of diversity and I really liked the reading experience.

14. Nevernight – Jay Kristoff 

This has been probably the most anticipated book release around the Aussie book community for the past few months. It’s a dark and intense fantasy story about a young girl who trains at a school for assassins in order to become a fully fledged killer who will exact revenge on the men who ruined her family. I adored this book so much, even with all the blood and gore.

15. London Belongs to Us – Sarra Manning 

Sarra Manning was my queen for most of my teenage years and I loved London Belongs to Us so much. It was crazy and wild and just a super fun adventure around London during one summer’s night.

I posted three Top Ten Tuesday posts in July:

• 05-07-16: Ten Great Books with Under 2000 Ratings
• 12-07-16: Ten Bookish Facts About Me
• 19-07-16: Ten Books Set Outside of the US

Other posts that you might be interested in:

• #PotterheadJuly: Dramione and how it’s shaped my reading preferences
• #ReadThemAllThon TBR Pile

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I have a really exciting month of bookish things coming up in August. National Bookshop Day is in mid-August and I’ll probably be hauling a lot of books then. A week later, my co-blogger, Jeann @ Happy Indulgence will be coming to Sydney to do something super exciting! I can’t wait for everyone to find out what it is! And finally at the end of August, I will be travelling to Melbourne for the weekend to attend Melbourne Writer’s Festival and meet Rainbow Rowell and David Levithan.

Of course that isn’t all. There are lots of bookish events in the first few days of September. Allen & Unwin is holding a YA Fanfest event with some wonderful authors in attendance (TBA). And I’ll also be attending the Rainbow Rowell and David Levithan events in Sydney.

Basically what this means is that I’ll probably have a really big recap post in August, full of fangirling and squealing.

Thanks for reading! What was your favourite book of July?

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