Welcome to my July Wrap-Up! Once again, I didn't read as much as I normally would, but I'm definitely not mad about it because I had a really fun time mood reading this month. Unfortunately, this was my worst reading month of the year which only 11 books and 4548 pages read, however, I still mostly enjoyed what I read, and now I'm super hyped for the Magical Readathon in August! (Keep an eye out for my TBR!)
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1. The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz ★★
This is an adult thriller and the premise intrigued me when I first heard
about it: Five attendees are selected for a month-long writing retreat at
the remote estate of Roza Vallo, the controversial high priestess of
feminist horror. Alex, a struggling writer, is thrilled. Upon arrival, they discover they must complete an entire novel from
scratch, and the best one will receive a seven-figure publishing deal.
Alex’s long-extinguished dream now seems within reach. But then the women begin to die. Trapped, terrified yet still desperately writing, it is clear there is more
than a publishing deal at stake at Blackbriar Estate. Alex must confront her
own demons – and finish her novel – to save herself.
The first half of this book was incredibly interesting and it really delivered on
the premise. The writing initially kept me hooked and I liked the way Bartz
set everything up; I love books about writers and their process, and the idea of
an isolated writing competition was right up my street. I enjoyed the
beginning; seeing all these characters come together, hearing about the past
between Wren and Alex, and seeing the competition turn even more
fierce. It was nice to see so much representation in a thriller too.
Unfortunately, I really didn't like the way the second half of the book
went; it turned almost absurdist and it wasn't what I expected at all (but not in a good thriller twist kind of way). A lot
of setup from the first half of the book just fell to the wayside and became
irrelevant (I understand red herrings, but this felt more like it was just
pushed to one side out of ease). The characters were all so unlikeable too.
I disliked Roza and Wren from the start, and then Taylor was just as bad.
And the actions of the characters were so unrealistic (or if it was
realistic, then they were delusional to think they could just get away with what they were trying to do). The synopsis is also quite misleading; it implies women start dying
like a murder mystery, but it's not like that at all. I found the ending to
be a bit lacklustre and it solidified my feelings about Alex. Overall, it
was an okay thriller but sadly the twist and turning point meant the book
went in a direction I didn't enjoy.
2. For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing ★★★★.5
I had low expectations because I'd heard mixed reviews, but this adult thiller was pleasantly surprising for me. It follows a
host of characters, but primarily focuses on Teddy Crutcher, an esteemed
teacher at a private school. But something isn't right at that school. It
starts with a techer falling sick. Rumours about a former pupil going off
the rails. But who could've guess it would end in murder?
This book was so twisted and tense and every character was morally grey
or somewhat unlikeable, but you always had some reason to root for them in
some way. In all honesty, the way the characters were portrayed felt very
reminiscent of a combination of Death Note and Confessions by Kanae Minato and I loved that; the build up of
suspense where you are seeing if someone will get caught, but also kind of
not wanting them to get caught, even though you know they're a terrible
person. Yes, it had all of that. The writing was so well done, with short
chapters and switching perspectives to keep the reader hooked - and it
worked. There was just so much going on throughout the book: between Crutcher, Zach,
Fallon, and Frank especially. Crutcher was an awful human, but very clever and interesting to read from
to see his twisted logic. I enjoyed hearing more about Zach too and I liked
how different everyone's relationships were with their families and
friends.
I enjoyed that there wasn't just one big twist too, it was a series of tense
events that built up over time, with mini twists to keep the reader
surprised. I will 100% be picking up more books from this author; it was a
fantastically written thriller and exactly what I needed right now.
3. You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell ★★★★
I've been watching Dan's YouTube videos since 2010 and have always been a
huge fan. So when I saw he'd released a non-fiction, mental health book I
thought I would pick it up. Written by Daniel Howell, in conjunction with a qualified psychologist,
in an entertaining and personal way from the perspective of someone who
has been through it all - this no-nonsense book gives you the tools to
understand your mind so you can be in control and really live. Split into
three chapters for each stage of the journey: This Night - how to get through your toughest moments and be prepared to
face anything; Tomorrow - small steps to change your thoughts and actions with a big
impact on your life; And the Days After - help to look after yourself in the long term and not just
survive, but thrive.
I've read a lot of mental health and self-help books over the years and
this is definitely one of the better ones. It's the sort of book I wish I'd
had 10 years ago when I was really struggling. Dan's witty humour keeps the
tone of the book upbeat, even when dealing with difficult topics. I really
liked that it didn't dwell too much on the humour, or even on Dan's personal
experiences, and it really delved into the psychology of our mental
wellbeing and small actions we can take to help ourselves. While 80% of the
content in this book included things I already knew, I still took a few
things away from it, and it was helpful to read. I think if you haven't
explored much of this topic before, are new to your mental health struggles,
or even if you've had them a long time but have never had help, then this
book will be perfect for you. It's a toolkit you can refer to at any time
and the split chapters really help to know what to focus on. I highly
recommend this book.
4. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid ★★★★
This is the seventh Taylor Jenkins Reid book I've read and while it wasn't
my favourite, I still enjoyed it a lot. In this historical fiction, we
follow the Riva family in Malibu: August, 1983. It's the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer
party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around
the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay
and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and
their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of
fascination in Malibu and the world over-especially as the offspring of
the legendary singer, Mick Riva. The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina
herself. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the
Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in
the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play,
and the loves and secrets that shaped this family's generations will all
come bubbling to the surface.
As always with Reid's books, this was beautifully written; I loved the
alternation between the past and present, the previous generation and the
current generation and how they all got there. Every family member felt so
real, and that is one of the skills of this author, she makes every
character so realistic you can't believe they're not actual people. Seeing
everything June and Nina went through was heartbreaking. There were so many
trash men in this book that had no excuses for their behaviour except that
society let them get away with it; it made me so angry, but it was also good
to see the portrayal of strong women and make the story more about
them. I loved the seeing the family rise from nothing to riches too. I
always love to see the dynamic between large groups of siblings, because it
reminds me of my own childhood, and the Riva siblings loyalty to one another
was so well done. I will say, as the youngest myself, that I really felt for
Kit throughout too. Overall, not as compelling as some of her other books,
but still a beautifully crafted novel that will stay with me.
5. That Weekend by Kara Thomas ★★★
I've read a few thrillers by this author and really enjoyed them, so I
thought I'd pick up her latest release. This YA thriller has a premise that
intrigued me: Three best friends, a lake house, a secret trip - what could go
wrong? It was supposed to be the perfect prom weekend getaway. But it's clear
something terrible happened when Claire wakes up alone and bloodied on a
hiking trail with no memory of the past forty-eight hours. Three went up the mountain, but only one came back.
It's not a unique blurb for a thriller, but I was still looking forward to
it nonetheless. It did start strong and I'm a big fan of Kara Thomas's
writing; she's got a great way of builiding suspense while also progressing
the story at a good pace. However, the reason I didn't enjoy this one very
much was that I found all the characters to be incredibly unlikable -
even to the point where I found Claire to be too frustrating to read from. The
one good thing about Claire was that she never tried to solve anything
herself and always got adults/police involved, which felt realistic and I
appreciated that she was an intelligent protagonist. I also did like the
twists that we got and, while they didn't blow me away, I didn't see them
coming at all.
However, despite the twists being good, the ending was a bit lacklustre and
certain parts felt a bit rushed (like the death scene). We also still had a
few unanswered questions and loose threads at the end that I really wanted
to see resolved. Especially Claire and Jesse's relationship, but there were
a couple of other things that I won't say because of spoilers. I found that
the POV shift that we got later on was a bit strange, but I do think it
worked well overall. If you're a fan of YA thrillers or this author, then
pick it up and give it a try. It wasn't the best thriller I've read by the
author, but it was still an enjoyable and quick read.
6. Hide by Kiersten White ★.5
This is my fourth Kiersten White book and, although I'd heard very mixed
reviews, I did have high hopes for this adult horror novel. However, it
really missed the mark for me. The premise: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don't get
caught. The prize: enough money to change everything. Even though everyone is desperate to win - to seize their dream futures or
escape their haunting pasts - Mack feels sure that she can beat her
competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she's an expert at
that. It's the reason she's alive, and her family isn't. But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes
this competition is more sinister than even she imagined, and that together
might be the only way to survive. Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide, but nowhere to
run. Come out, come out, wherever you are.
The premise itself drew me in and I was so intrigued by the Prologue, but
so many things didn't work for me. Firstly, this reads far more like a YA
than it does an adult novel (the only thing that made this 'adult' was the
amount of swear words). Secondly, this was barely a horror; nothing scary
ever really happened, everything was very 'fade to black', and the most
horrifying things in the book were barely alluded to. That meant that the
book wasn't a horror, barely a thriller, and also far more paranormal than I
was led to expect from the synopsis (which was disappointing to me). The
scariest thing about this book was Mack's past and that was it.
We're also introduced to 14 characters in quick succession, meaning that we
don't get enough time or backstory from any of them to ever care enough when
they died. Having two Ava's was needlessly confusing, and the actual days in
the park itself were just plain boring. Half of the book was dialogue, and
the other half was just sitting around waiting. Then the discovery of what
happens is so convenient and ended up being a lot of exposition. Ava and Mack's
'relationship' was interesting, but I didn't feel like we ever got enough of
anything to really be invested. The ending was lacklustre and abrupt with so many unanswered questions. It
felt like the author just forgot to end it. I don't feel like you can have
something that weird happen in the book and never really explain the how or
why? Overall, this book wasn't enjoyable, didn't fulfil its promise to be an
adult horror, and the best thing I can say about it was that it was
a quick read.
7. The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons ★★★★★
This is the sequel to The Ruin of Kings and second book in
The Chorus of Dragons series. I gave the first book 5 stars and I'm
happy to say I've given this book the same rating. It took me a long time to
finish this one, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because I've had a
very stressful month in my personal life, but I'm so glad I've finally
finished it because it was amazing. I love that it's told in a similar way
to the first book: alternating perspectives of the past with conversation in
between. Even though we're primarily following different characters, I
really loved them all (especially Dorna and Qown). Even some of the more
'evil' characters are explored and we get such a different side of them. I
especially loved seeing Janel's time with Duke Kaen and a certain someone
with a polar bear cub (I did not see that twist coming - or any of them
actually).
We still have a lot of Kihrin even though he's not the main focus, but most
importantly, we get to see how the storyline in this book connects to the
story in the previous book and it's so fascinating. I can only imagine that
this continues in the sequels and I'm already so excited to continue the
series to find out how everything is connected and why certain things are
happening. One thing I especially loved in this one was that it felt far less
confusing than the first book (maybe I'm just getting to grips with it more,
or maybe there was less confusion in the sequel). Overall, this series is
incredibly well-written and thought out - I'm very excited to continue even
though it might take me a while.
8. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan ★★★★
In this LGBTQA+, YA fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the
lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village
with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother
snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and
this time it's Lei they're after - the girl whose golden eyes have piqued
the king's interest. Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight
other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort.
But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the
unthinkable - she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with
an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei,
still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's
willing to go for justice and revenge.
This book was a lot better than I thought it would be. The setting and
culture is captivating to read about; I especially loved reading about the
lore and magic in this world. Ngan's descriptions were beautifully vivid and
I felt like I could picture every part of the palace. Also, the food
descriptions made my mouth water. The cast of characters were all very
unique and I especially loved the supportive female characters that we saw. Lei is a somewhat typical YA main character in the sense
that she is forced into a position she never wanted and we see her
constantly fighting back against it. However, I like that her decisions
never felt stupid. They were usually a result of careful planning or pure
instinct. Aoki's character was sweet and her story really was heartbreaking
with her only being 16. Wren was interesting, but I still feel like we
didn't quite get to know her enough for my liking. And Blue... Blue was so
unbelievably insufferable. There were moments where I was thinking 'oh good,
here's the moment she becomes a better person', but nope. She was always
terrible. Oh, also, nobody warned me about the horrific thing that happens
right at the start of the book - it's something that I hate seeing in books
so for anyone else, here's a warning: there is a pretty awful animal death
in this book. Also, huge trigger warning for rape and sexual assault.
I will say that while I loved the setting and magic, I did find the demons
very difficult to imagine. They're more animal that human, but some of them
were still described in human ways so I felt like I could never quite grasp
what they looked like. Probably a me issue, but it was jarring to me every
time. Overall, this was a really enjoyable book. I'll probably try to pick
up the sequels from the library at some point, but I'm not in a huge rush to
continue right now. I'd highly recommend this if you're looking for a queer
fantasy that is a little bit different
9. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead ★★★★★
This is an adult, thriller novel with hints of dark academia that I'd heard a lot of
good things about and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. A college reunion turns dark and deadly: six friends, one unsolved murder,
and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other for a
decade. Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant
return to southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers
that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she
wants them to see - confident, beautiful, indifferent - not the girl she was
when she left campus, back when Heather’s murder fractured everything,
including the tight bond linking the six friends she’d been closest to since
freshman year. But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette ten years
ago, and not everyone can let Heather’s murder go unsolved. When the six
friends are reunited, they will be forced to confront what happened that
night - and the years’ worth of secrets each of them would do anything to
keep hidden.
Although I'd heard good things, I was still very surprised by how much I
enjoyed it, especially when the main character was so unlikable. All the
characters have a lot of baggage and their own issues and Jessica is no
exception. We see early on how self-centred she is to the
point where I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the book initially. However,
seeing all these characters' secrets unravel and their personalities evolve
over the course of the book was fascinating. The setting was peak dark
academia: the cozy college, the ambition to succeed, and the
tight-knit friendship group that is actually spectacularly fragile when you
start looking at their secrets. I loved every second of it. The friendship
group was interesting to delve into: I particuarly liked Jack and Coop. I
also liked that we got a few different perspectives and seeing how they all
viewed each other versus how they thought everyone looked at them. Cora was
especially interesting in that way.
The writing itself was compelling and once I'd started, I couldn't put the
book down and ended up reading it in a day. Winstead has great skill in
revealing a lot, but managing to hold back enough to tempt you without
leaving the reader feeling frustrated. And the twists were amazing. I only
managed to see them coming a few lines before they were actually revealed.
Overall, an incredibly thriller with brilliant pacing. I will definitely be
picking up more of this author's works.
10. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik ★★
I think this is my fourth Naomi Novik book and it will probably be my
last. I love the concepts of her stories - this book included, but the
execution just doesn't work for me sadly. A Deadly Education is set
at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means
certain death (for real) - until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many
secrets. There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic
ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t
allow its students to leave until they graduate or die. The rules are
deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters
who lurk everywhere. El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without
allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains
and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the
monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might
also kill all the other students.
This was a mixed bag for me. I loved the main character, El - her sarcastic
humour and jaded view of the world was actually pretty refreshing; she had a lot of great lines throughout. I also liked the developing
relationship between her and Orion; the line towards the end where he grabs
her hand had me laughing because I'd fully believed El's point of view up to
that point. The school setting was interesting, and I loved the magic
aspects of the library and the work involved. However, I would say this is
where the good things end for me. The worldbuilding wasn't great. It was
equal parts info-dumping, yet weirdly I never felt like I got a good enough
grip on the world as a whole to understand why things were happening. Also,
I love a bit of exposition in a fantasy, but this was insane. It was pages
upon pages of exposition in a stream-of-conciousness to the point where I'd
forget what the character had initially been doing to get to this thought. I felt so detached from the story at times. It also meant that
really not a whole lot happened in this book - if you took out the
exposition, it's pretty minimal plotwise.
I can definitely see why people love this book and I think if you're
looking towards a more romance-based fantasy and aren't too bothered by less
plot, then you'd probably get on with it well. Overall, not for me and I
won't be picking up the sequel.
11. The Memory of Souls by Jenn Lyons ★★★★★
And here we have the third book in The Chorus of Dragons series.
This was probably my favourite book of the series so far because so much starts coming together. In this one we
follow a combination of the characters from the first two books and it
pretty much directly follows the previous book timeline-wise. I won't say much about the
plot because of spoilers, but I loved the way this one went. We see so many
plotlines come together and finally pay off - especially with all the
parents. But I think my favourite part was the way the 'evil' characters
turned out and how a lot of things got flipped on their head in a way I
didn't expect.
The humour was on point throughout. Between the parents, the 'children',
and even with Senera and Xivan, there were so many times I was laughing
aloud. I adored the relationship between Kihrin, Taereth, and Janel too and
I wish we'd seen more of it. Also that plot twist towards the end with
Suless - I did not see that coming - I was gobsmacked. And that battle at
the end was epic; I could picture it so clearly and it was equal parts
amazing and heartbreaking. It was great seeing Talon back in this book
too. Overall, a fantastic addition to the series and I'm so excited to continue.
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And those are all the books I read in July! Definitely not my best reading
month, but I had a lot of fun with the books I read. What did you read in
July? Or what did you think about any of the books I've talked about, if
you've read them?
