Hi everyone!
I hope everyone had a wonderful month of July and you got to read lots of great books! And even if you did not, I wish you would find lots of five-star reads in August.
I'm so excited to be doing another one of these new style wrap-ups again. I couldn't do one last month because I had just started 11th grade, and it was fun and exciting and exhausting all at once.
AND even though the workload has just seemed to get heavier, I had so many thoughts to share on my recent reads that I just had to do this post.
Table of Contents
So without further rambling, let's get to all the books I read this month:
Some Reading Stats
Favorite Book(s) of the month
(Note- Full reviews of each book are linked to the title. Read on with a click!)
RATING- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Easily the BEST book I've read this month When You Call My Name is an achingly beautiful story of love, youth, and friendships. It's the story of two young boys, Adam and Ben, living in New York at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
That serves as the central theme of the story- the impact it has on their and their loved ones' lives.
It's so, so amazing and heartwrenching and like, gently painful. I fell in love with every single character and this was a book that made me very teary-eyed after a long time.
2) Foul Lady Fortune (Immortals #1) by Chloe Gong
RATING-
Can a person ever go wrong with Chloe Gong though? I don't care that someone or the other will probably come to me and say "oh, but she's only published 3 books", I will forever stand by the fact that I will always love whatever Chloe Gong writes. I might not absolutely LOVE it (Can you blame me? Victoria Schwab did write Addie LaRue eventually), but I am confident that I will always enjoy it and have a good time with it.
Tbh I was kinda skeptical about Foul Lady, mostly because I wasn't too fond of Rosalind as a character. BUT I WAS SO WRONG. And I've never been happier.
After reading FLF, I can easily say that I love Rosalind. She is so feisty and complicated and badass and amazing. I could say that about every character in the cast of FLF, but Rosalind imo somehow embodies these characteristics very strongly.
Foul Lady Fortune was a tale packed with action, humor, adventure, rage and so, so many unexpected twists and fun.
It is very different from These Violent Delights tone-wise. Like even though it's the same Shanghai, it's set in a rapidly changing and tumultuous time period. The umbrella themes like colonization and revolution are also similar, but in FLF, it's more specifically about what it entails, the cost of freedom, ideologies, and loyalty.
IT'S SO, SO AMAZING and I have in no way been able to express my thoughts properly here, so if you really wanna know more, check out my full review on Goodreads linked in the book title above.
Disa
ppointments
Rating-
I had really expected this one to be just a straight five-star read because the synopsis sounded so interesting and such an important topic being taken on by a South Asian author was something I was very excited to get into.
But unfortunately, I ended up DNFing it halfway and then just flipping to the last two chapters to find out what happens. The main reason was that the writing felt very youthful and the MC acted as if he was a teen. That's not a dig on YA books at all. I love YA. But in this case, when a topic like interracial relationships and prejudice is being discussed, the other elements of the story like character voice and writing should match the tone of the theme.
(I also found the MC to be a bit whiny?) But overall when it comes to the crux that pulled into the story, I feel it maybe did do its job there.
Rating-
Another one that I was really excited about because I have loved a lot of books by Eden Finely. And I also really liked Iris, the first book in this series.
But this book was just too happy-go-lucky for my taste. There are high stakes in the study, but they don't feel high. It's like everyone is on a picnic/adventure but they could also potentially die.
One of the MCs, Trey, was a complete child and just irritating. Apparently, that is supposed to be a part of his "defense mechanism" but it didn't endear me to his character one bit.
General Reviews
1) Vows of Empire by Emily Skrutskie-
Rating-
Even though I absolutely loved the first book, Bonds of Brass, I never liked the following books as much. In the second book, I just thought it was a middle-book syndrome thing. But even after reading the conclusion (third book), I honestly thought it was very underwhelming as just did not deliver on the emotional impact as I was wanting it to. Because I LOVE the characters. In certain moments, sure I like Ettian better than Gal, but that's just personal preference. Not a writing flaw. And Wren undoubtedly is a force to be reckoned with,
But... (and I say this with extreme regret)
Rating-
ARC received via NetGalley.
Do you remember those days when every single fantasy was compared to Game of Thrones or Six of Crows? Yeah, this is not one of those times. For some reason, it makes me so happy when a book is marketed right? And Violet Made of Thorns was compared to Cruel Prince and Serpent and Dove, and at first glance, it seems like they just name-dropped the most popular YA fantasy with "strong" female characters they could think of. But after reading this book, I can say that this book is genuinely a good combination of some of the elements of those two books.
Violet Made of Thorns is an incredibly fun, intriguing, story filled with all the drama, the angst, and characters-making-bad-decisions kinda story that I love. Imagine a more impulsive, optimistic Cardan without magic and a version of Jude who is just as self-serving but she can see your future.
I had a lot of fun reading this one and I'll definitely be looking out for the sequel, though that may not happen for quite some time.
Rating-
ARC received via NetGalley
Another one in a line of "fun" books as I like to very creatively call them, This Vicious Grace was a high of pure serotonin and adventure. If you're looking for a story that will give you high stakes and tension, but also great banter and friendships... and a sweet romance with the bodyguard trope, this book has been custom-made for you.
I adored the romance between our two main characters, and the little twists and turns that we keep getting throughout the story kept me turning the pages.
The magic system and setting are also very interesting. Our MC has a power that allows her to amplify the power of other magic users, but up until now, she has killed three of those people she was supposed to be working with (by mistake, of course. It's her magic that kills people when she touches them).
And unless she masters her power, she will not be able to save her kingdom from an upcoming Doomsday and fail as the Chosen One.
It's really not as gloomy as it sounds. It's actually really cute, and fun and just a good time to curl up with on a weekend.
Rating-
Blog Posts I've Loved
How to Manage ARC Stress & live your best bookish life by Kai@Reader Voracious
19 Most anticipated non-speculative releases for 2022 – July to December by Fadwa@Word Wonders
Stuff I've Been Watching
Life Updates
July has been a hell of a confusing month. Most of it was spent as an adjustment to a number of things- offline school, new subjects, going back to the tight routine, and all the torrent of emotions that is the coming of Board exam results. I would like to think that I did pretty decently (89%). There is this bit of regret that I could've done better had I just done this or not more of that, but isn't there always?
So barring that depressing thought, I did have quite a lot of fun this month. It has been amazing reconnecting with friends and getting back into that structured life. I don't know about everyone but I love it when my days and weeks have a purpose and some routine.
For some good news, I won a trophy last week! It was an inter-school competition (Book Discussion on Frankenstein) and after working through consecutive headaches and practices that strained my throat, we won. If nobody talks to me about Frankenstein again, it'll be too soon. (BUT if anybody ever wants to talk about the parallels between Frankenstein and Vicious and This Savage Song, both by V.E. Schwab, then I'm always free to chat haha!)
It was a great reading month for me overall. I'd love to know more about your reading month! Don't hesitate to connect with me on any of my socials linked down below!