July Wrap Up

Total Number of Books: 15
Total Number of Pages: 4,984
Physical: 5
eBooks: 8
Audiobooks: 2
Favorite (New) Reads of the Month: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid AND Blackout edited by Dhonielle Clayton AND In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

Physical:

Nobody Knows But You by Anica Mrose Rissi – ⭐️⭐️
Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Blackout edited by Dhonielle Clayton – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

New Taylor Jenkins Reid? Hell yeah! I absolutely loved Malibu Rising—learning about the Rivas family was just a delight. Reading about different locations of Malibu in the 70’s and 80’s made me feel like home. Definitely a favorite of the year. I’m saying this here: Blackout is my favorite short story collection I’ve ever read. Not only is it a collection of some of the best Black YA authors in the game, but how they intertwine the characters and storylines is genius. I really enjoyed the overall story of Meet Me in Paradise a lot, but think it was marketed poorly. The cover and the summary makes you think it’s a nice summer rom-com, but it’s not that at all. I would have like to have seen it marketed in the General Fiction space. I also think there was kind of a lack of chemistry between our two main characters. However, Marin and Sadie’s sister relationship was pure magic. Rachel Lynn Solomon knows how to write great characters—most importantly, great love interests. Tarek forever!

eBooks:

Between You, Me, and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Did I Say You Could Go by Melanie Gideon – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Heartbreak for Hire by Sonia Hartl – ⭐️⭐️.5
In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sunkissed by Kasie West – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Sunkissed was definitely not my favorite Kasie West book, but I always love a summer romance, especially one that takes place at summer camp. I couldn’t believe how much I loved Between You, Me, and the Honeybees. It was an absolute treat and I hope more people will read it. Heartbreak for Hire was a complete disappointment that kind of made me feel icky while reading it. I’ll talk about it more next week, but In the Wild Light is one of my favorites of the year.

Audiobooks:

Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved Leah Johnson’s debut, You Should See Me in a Crown, but man was I disappointed with her sophomore effort, Rise to the Sun. It may have been because I listened to it on audio, but I just could not get in with these characters. Who doesn’t love a second chance romance? Where the Rhythm Takes You was a beautifully done YA reimagining of Jane Austen’s Persuasion taking place at a resort on Tobago.