The Monthly Wrap: July

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A detailed look at March’s reading habits: 24 books read, two DNFs, seven books read from my Up Next Shelf. I also read books continuing four favourite series of mine, and I finally finished the Throne of Glass series!

Overview

July Blog UpdatesJuly Bookish Posts
📖 Weekly Wrap: July 20th to July 26th
📖 Weekly Wrap: July 27th to August 2nd
📚 None this month!

July Reflection and Into August

Feminism was a significant theme in my book reviews this month! I posted three reviews that explore feminism (including its pitfalls through white feminism). July was also a slow reading month – I had a lot of work going on and deadlines, which drew away from my reading time.

The highlight of July was that I finally finished the Throne of Glass series! I put off reading the last two books for over 2-years (because that’s how much I don’t like Chaol, but I digress). I also read quite a few books that continued some of my favourite series, one of which I also completed this month:

  • Age of the Andinna series by Kristen Banet
  • Dark in You series by Suzanne Wright
  • Elemental Paladins series by Montana Ash (Completed!)
  • Legion of Angels series by Ella Summers

I discovered that re-reading books helped me get out of my reading slump. And, I’m making an effort to stick to my to-be-read lists. Hopefully, this way I won’t overthink starting new books or new-to-me authors.

Books I Read This Month

Key: 🔁 re-read | 🤓 reviewed on this blog

Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7) by Sarah J. Maas
Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5) by Sarah J. Maas
The Enemy’s Triumph (Age of the Andinna, #5) by Kristen Banet
The Rebel’s Vision (Age of the Andinna, #4) by Kristen Banet
The Warrior’s Assault (Age of the Andinna, #3) by Kristen Banet 🔁
Secret Catch by Cassie Mae 🤓
Victoria’s Discovery (Taken, #3) by Stacy Jones
Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6) by Sarah J. Maas
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett 🤓
Reckoning (The Elemental Paladins, #7) by Montana Ash
Olandon (The Tainted Accords, #4.6) by Kelly St. Clare
Victoria’s Embrace (Taken, #4) by Kelly St. Clare
The Gladiator’s Downfall (Age of the Andinna, #1) by Kristen Banet 🤓 🔁
The Mercenary’s Bounty (Age of the Andinna, #2) by Kristen Banet 🔁
Omens (Dark in You, #6) by Suzanne Wright
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Accidental Sorceress (Hardstorm, #2) by Dana Marton
Ghost’s Whisper (Legion of Angels, #9) by Ella Summers
Dragon Unleashed (Fallen Empire, #2) by Grace Draven
The Elemental Collective: Volume 1 by Montana Ash
The Perfect Score (Kissing the Enemy, #3) by Maggie Dallen
Snared (Kaliya Sahni, #2) by K.N. Banet
Saved For Me by Abby Knox
Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given 🤓
Knocking Her Up by Jenika Snow
Prison Princess (Paranormal Prison) by Rebecca Royce and CoraLee June

July Breakdown

Most Favourite and Least Favourite*

*Can’t be a re-read

My Most Favourite: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas. See why here.

My Least Favourite: Knocking Her Up by Jenika Snow and Jordan Marie

Longest and Shortest Books

My Longest Read: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas at 984 pages

My Shortest Read: Saved for Me by Abby Knox at 78 pages

Statistics

Most Read Genre: High Fantasy

Most Read Author: Kristen/K.N. Banet

17 New Reads

*Person of Colour includes non-white human characters in fantasy novels

Best Performing Bookstagram Posts

July Book Reviews

Theme of Week 1: Character-Driven

Lovely and Relatable:
When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Quick Take: A powerful tale of lost friendship but also self-discovery. The Heroine is struggling to deal with losing her best friend while also navigating her parents’ separation.

Gorgeous Yet Sorrowful:
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Quick Take: The book blew away my expectations. It was blunt in its grief, decisive in its healing and subtle in its love. For a book that was so sad and emotional, I finished the story with a smile on my face and one thought: I NEED MORE.

Theme of Week 2 and Week 3: Feminism

Impactful and Reflective:
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Quick Take: A dystopian novel that makes overt naturalized misogyny that explores how women support and dissent from the patriarchy.

Performative White Feminism:
Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Quick Take: I changed my rating to 1-star at the end of the 2020 summer. The novel is very similar to Chidera Eggerue’s What a Time to Be Alone. Given’s book also dissects “pretty politics,” not acknowledging that she inhabits every visible privilege “pretty politics” affords: white, non-disabled, thin and cisgender.

Important and Transformative:
Sex and World Peace by Valerie M. Hudson et al.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Quick Take: The book, recommended by Emma Watson as a must-read, shows the need for intersectional feminism as femicide becomes incontrovertible.

Books I’m Looking Forward to in August

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
Releasing August 4, 2020

Helpless by Crystal Ash
Releasing August 28, 2020

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