july reading wrap up, we hunt the flame, lady midnight. pride, the worst best man, the bride test, on the come up, queenie, star daughter, lord of shadows, summer bird blue, three hares, you should see me in a crown, a good girls guide to murder, bookstagram, book blogger, goodreads

July Reading Wrap Up

Something new for me! July Reading Wrap Up is the start of hopefully more wrap ups from me! I have become overwhelmed with reviews lately, so those that don’t have a full review will still have a mini one in my wrap up of the month! Of course, there are some books which will have full reviews especially if I have strong opinions about it.

So in total for my July Reading Wrap Up, I read 14 books. That’s a crazy amount for me and I definitely feel as if being in lockdown has encouraged me to read more. Except, now I’m in a slump! I’ve been taking my own advice for how to get out of slumps from one of my blog posts and I think it might be working 😉

As for statistics, e.g. different reading formats, I usually include them in a highlight on my bookstagram. Also before checking out these books, I’d recommend looking up trigger warnings.

The Worst Best Man By Mia Sosa

A quick romance read for me! Lina has to work together with her ex-fiance’s little brother (the best man who ruined her wedding) I’d rate this one 3.5 stars. I appreciated the Brazilian culture in this book! Also, the fact that it included one of my all time favourite tropes- enemies to lovers! I loved the humour and how strong our main character Lina is. Whilst she puts on a strong face, she’s actually such a softie. The chemistry between her and Max was amazing too. I wish I could rate this higher but I did find it too predictable and the drama soon got tiring.

Pride By Ibi Zoboi

A Pride & Prejudice retelling- yes please! I listened to the audiobook and I’d highly recommend it. I appreciated how the story included a Black cast with their differences being poor and rich. I laughed and learned a lot from this book. But I’m still stuck with the rating, I’m in between 4 and 5 stars but either way it’s still a fantastic book!

Lady Midnight By Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare has written some of my favourite books and so I definitely wanted to try binge her other series which I hadn’t read yet. Definetly a fast paced book filled with plot twists and I love the family aspect of this book too. Often in fantasy, the main character rarely has any siblings which is annoying. So whilst shocking, this proved to be wholesome too. I will hopefully have a full review of this one soon! (5 stars).

Lord Of Shadows By Cassandra Clare

I found this a bit repetitive at times with Emma and Julian. And so were other love interests too. BUT, there were a few plot twists where I just couldn’t comprehend what had happened. Especially the last few chapters. At times I did feel like there was too much going on and I couldn’t keep track of it too. Again, I’m in between 4/5 stars.

The Bride Test By Helen Hoang

I read The Kiss Quotient earlier this year, whilst I didn’t love it, I still enjoyed it. But The Bride Test is definitely a new favourite. I binged it within one sitting. Khai Diep has Asperger’s and I found this so insightful to see how it affects him and Mỹ Tran (or Esme, short for Esmerelda, her English name) . Esme is mixed race, living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City. Readers learn a lot from this book, from being poor and an immigrant to understanding autism, The Bride Test really does break stereotypes. Also, the character development and writing is amazing, whilst it did feel a bit unrealistic at times, especially with the ending, I’d still rate this 4.5 stars.

The Three Hares :The Jade Dragonball by Scott Lauder  David Ross

I don’t have much to say about this book. It was gifted as a review copy for a bookstagram tour. A middle grade fantasy book where I had some issues with accuracy of character’s personality given their age and the fact that it’s written by white authors despite it being based in China. More of my thoughts on my bookstagram post, an overall 3.5 star read.

Star Daughter By Shveta Thakrar

I have just done a full review of this and you can read that here. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, with amazing representation of being Desi and Hindu mythology, plus such unique world building. An overall 4 star read!

On The Come Up By Angie Thomas

My July Reading Wrap Up is certainly getting long, but audiobooks really have helped boost my reading this year. I will have a full review to come, but honestly everyone should read this book, it expresses so many important messages. I found I could relate to Bri and her relationship with her family too. She’s a rapper and it was so fun listening to this on audiobook. 5 star read!

We Hunt The Flame By Hafsah Faizal

I found this book hard to rate, at times I felt a bit bored reading this, but as soon as that boredom came to me, a plot twist would arrive. I loved the Middle Eastern culture and I did find myself laughing aloud at the characters antics. Although slow paced, I did enjoy the beautiful writing and tropes presented in this book. A 3/4 star read?

Queenie By Candice Carty-Williams

This book certainly brushed over so many important topics and whilst it did feel repetitive at times and felt disjointed, I enjoyed the character development a lot. Queenie has great British humour and is quite relatable too. This book can get dark and intense so I don’t see the comparision of Bridget Jones Diary. 3.5/4 stars.

Always And Forever Lara Jean By Jenny Han

I don’t really get the hype for these books but I don’t like leaving a series unfinished. Overall, a two star read. I felt that it was repetitive and there wasn’t a need for a third book. Plus the problems just seemed like an unnecessary plot device at times.

You Should See Me In A Crown By Leah Johnson

Absolutely adored this book, so wholesome! It discusses racism, homophobia, mental health and honestly just finding yourself. Liz decides to run for Prom Queen as a chance to win a scholarship, but then she meets Mack, funny and sweet but also running for Prom Queen. There’s a lot to unpack in this book so a full review is to come, but it’s a 4.5 star read for me.

Summer Bird Blue By Akemi Dawn Bowman

Starfish is one of my favourite books so I definitely wanted to read more of Bowman’s work. This book deals with many heavy topics and it was written so beautifully. Rumi’s sister died in a car crash and this book explores grief and love and growing as a person. A full review is to come but this had such good POC rep and LGTBQIA+ rep. A 4.5 star read.

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder By Holly Jackson

I won’t say much except this is a new favourite read from this year and it was so mysterious and intriguing! I do have a full review here, which explains why I rated it 5 stars too!

Wow, we made it! Thank you so much for reading this incredibly long post. I’m excited to hopefully shorten down my review workload with Reading Wrap Ups! I’d love to know if you have read any books from this list and if not, what were some of your favourite reads from your own July Reading Wrap Up? It was definitely a good reading month, it’s rare for me to give out 4/5 stars!

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