July Reading Wrap-Up

It felt like a slow month, but I caught some sun and read some big books so I think the fact that I didn’t come close to finishing out my TBR for the month is completely acceptable. I really liked everything I read this last month–there’s nothing rated below 4 stars, so I think the enjoyableness of my reading also makes up for the fact that I didn’t accomplish as much of it as I’d hoped. Here’s what I read in July –>

1. A Million Junes by Emily Henry. 5 out of 5 stars. I started this magical realism YA adventure at the end of June, but powered through the last 2/3 of it on the first day of July because I just couldn’t put it down. There are so many categories this book fits in, but I should also mention that it’s a sort of Romeo-and-Juliet retelling. It made me laugh, it (almost) made me cry, and I will definitely be reading more of Henry’s books in the future. It was a tough choice, but I think I can officially name this one my favorite book of the month.
2. A List of Cages by Robin Roe. 4 out of 5 stars. This hard-hitting contemporary YA novel has been on my radar since January and I don’t really know why I decided July was the time to read it, but I did. It’s one of those fiction books that also teaches something about the real world. Reading this one was a lot like watching a car crash–grisly and a bit frightening, but I couldn’t look away. It was a quick but powerful read, although I liked one of the two main characters significantly more than the other.
3. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. 4 out of 5 stars. Summer is a great time for a book full of laughs, and I definitely found this contemporary adult novel amusing. I read this one partially outdoors in the sun, and it was a great story for that, with some powerful messages about love and life under a whole lot of humor. I had been debating for a long time whether or not I should buy this book, but then I found it front and center on the “new books” shelf at my library so I picked it up immediately and I’m glad I did–I don’t think I would want to reread it, but I might be picking up other books by this author in the future.
4. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. 4 out of 5 stars. I had been wanting to pick upthis new YA contemporary since it first released in May, because the great reviews were already rolling in well before its publication. This was the first of the lengthier books I read this month, but the pages practically turned themselves, it was so captivating. I debated for a while between 4 and 5 stars, but in the end I settled for the lower option because while it’s a beautiful (and highly recommended) book, it didn’t surprise me the way I want my favorite 5 star reads to do. I got exactly what I expected from it.
5. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. 4 out of 5 stars. Here’s the YA book you guys helped me choose from a selection of historical fiction choices I was considering for July. This is another case of an important story that gave me what I expected but didn’t surprise me. Sepetys writes beautifully, and there were some elements of this one I liked more than in her related novel, Salt to the Sea, but in the end I think I preferred that book to this one. I’m glad I’ve read them both now, though.
6. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. 5 out of 5 stars. This adult high fantasy novel was a reread for me, but the rest of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series won’t be. Even though I already knew what to expect from my first read four years ago, this book still impressed me and I can’t wait to continue with A Clash of Kings in August. I’ve also watched the entire first season of the TV show now, and I love that as well. Politics are not always headache-inducing, as this book reminded me. It was my longest read of the month at 807 pages, but well worth the time.
7. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. 4 out of 5 stars. Here’s one book I’m glad to cross of my TBR because it also means the end of a hefty trilogy. This was another long book, at 568 pages, but I liked it significantly more than the first two books in this trilogy. I’m glad to finally be seeing some progress in my Cassandra Clare reading goal for the year, and hopefully next month I’ll get to announce that I’ve also reached the end of the Mortal Instruments series. But for now, I’ve got an eye out for the spin-off trilogy starring these characters which starts hitting shelves in 2018. This one was a YA urban fantasy/steampunk/historical novel featuring Cassandra Clare’s signature Shadowhunters.

And an honorable mention: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I’m still in the middle of this one, because I’m developing this bad habit of picking up my classic of the month as my last book of the month, with less time to read it than I actually need to finish. But I like pirates and I like classics and the copy that I own is full of annotations and illustrations that are keeping me fully engaged in the story, so I should be finishing soon. Tonight, I’m hoping. I’ll post my review of this one in August’s wrap-up, because that’s where I post my reviews of classics. Not having finished this book by the end of the month is the only thing I really feel bad about in regards to my monthly TBR, but I am really enjoying the read and will probably also rate this one highly, so keep an eye out for that next month.

All I can do is try harder next time, because July is officially over, and a new month is upon us.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Sincerely,

The Literary Elephant