What a month! This month was full of crazy shift work, reading, audiobooks, concerts, and just enjoying the summer finally starting to show! There were some setbacks, some sadness, some bumps in the road. I can’t believe July is over, and yet, I feel so drained from this month.
But book wise, I’m pretty happy with my reading progress! Although I’m behind on three reviews (whoopsies) I have made it to 35/35 for my yearly reading goal! I’m excited to beat it again this year, as I managed to get 35/30 last year, and this year I am going to surpass it by so much more! It’ll be my best year yet, and I know I have all of my bookish friends to thank!
Thank YOU, every single person who sets eyes on my posts and stories and reviews. So much time and passion goes into EVERY book blog or booktube or bookstagram, and if it weren’t for amazing readers to share it with, it would be pretty disappointing and lonely over here. So thank you for joining me on this journey!
Now, onto the books of July! (the main reason we are all here)
A Pack of Love and Hate by Olivia Wildenstein (Boulder Wolves #3)
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I am still in shock that I got to be an ARC reviewer of the conclusion to my favorite series. I can boast about the Boulder Wolves all day, every day, for the rest of my life. I have written reviews here (Book 1), here (Book 2) and here (Book 3), and will post forever and ever about them! Also, can we just talk about how sweet and kind Olivia is? Not only letting me, a newish blogger and avid reader of hers, be an ARC reviewer, but she also is selling autographed copies of her books on etsy, AND my review got featured in her newsletter, and those signed up to her newsletter get exclusive, first looks at her ARCs and upcoming projects! This month has been a huge Olivia Wildenstein month, and I am so happy that I found her amazing books!
Now, onto A Pack of Love and Hate. This conclusion to the contemporary, shifter romance that stole my heart, and many others, proved to be every bit as emotional and raw as the two books before it. Without giving too much away, our girl Ness has been torn between two men she cares for, as well dealing with warring packs, family drama, heartbreaking betrayals and lifechanging secrets. As Ness tries to sway the impending battle in an effort to save her pack, and her Alpha, she may just end up sacrificing her own life to do so.
Rose Petal Graves by Olivia Wildenstein (The Lost Clan #1) and Rowan Wood Legends by Olivia Wildenstein (The Lost Clan #2)
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I read these two books in probably 24 hours, and fell in love with Olivia’s writing all over again! I plan to write a review once I’ve finished the third and final book, but I’ve been a little behind on my TBR and it hasn’t happened yet. BUT, it IS coming!
The Lost Clan trilogy follows Cat, a young medical student who is brought home to her small town of Rowan after her mother’s untimely, mysterious death. Cat doesn’t believe her mother’s death was caused by a freak heart attack, and as she begins to investigate the truth about the odd happenings in Rowan, Cat finds more than she bargained for. And I’m talking, centuries-old graves filled with fresh rose petals weird. Let’s start with the fact that Faeries are real, and her family comes from a long-lost line of Faerie hunters that are being hunted down. And the fact that Cat may just be falling in love with someone sworn to be her enemy, while also harboring feelings for a sexy hunter who has an unnatural attraction to her. What the hell is going on in Rowan? Strange doesn’t even begin to cover it…
Cupid’s Match by Lauren Palphreyman
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Cupid’s Match was a super fun Greek Mythology Romance that I couldn’t put down! It was refreshing and hilarious, with a slow burn romance and some romantic tensions that made for an entertaining summer read!
You can read my full review here. But I’ll go ahead with a little blurb of the story.
Lila already has a super wonderful boyfriend who cares about her- so why does she keep getting letters from the Cupid’s Matchmaking Service saying they have found her a match? When Lila goes to confront the service- who she’s never spoken to her entire life- she finds herself in a twisted tale of soulmates, myths, monsters and… evil Cupids?
The Traitor’s Kiss by Erin Beaty (Audiobook)
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Guys, this was my first ever audiobook on Audible, and I have to say it was an AWESOME first choice! I’ve heard so much about The Traitor’s Circle series but never got around to reading it, so I decided I’d try listening to it on my morning commute. The readers were easy to listen to, the plot hooked me from the first chapter, and there were quite a few twists and turns that kept things jaw dropping. If you follow me on goodreads, you might have seen how smug I was that I guessed the big plot twist when all other reviewers were in awe 😏 just saying.
I haven’t written any review or feedback yet, although I have it on my list to do. But for now I’ll leave you with a blurb!
Sage has been labelled undesirable and unmarriable. Which is fine with her- she doesn’t wish to be forced into a marriage when her parents had such a loving, unmatched relationship. Although sometimes she secretly wishes a man would love her for who she is and not shun her for what she isn’t.
When she finds herself apprenticing with the Matchmaker herself, Sage is over the moon to get out of a match and use her brain for once. Sage gets tasked to spy on the men vying for a match, and assisting the Matchmaker in her decision of who her young ladies will be married off to. But this catches the attention of her military escorts- and not in a good way. With political tensions rising, being a spy is deadly work- even spying in the name of marriage.
That is, until Sage gets herself caught up with the soldiers, and is no longer just spying for Matchmaker. The Traitor’s Kiss is a gripping tale of espionage and tested relationships, with a heart pounding slow burn romance that offers Sage with something to lose in the impending war of her kingdom.
The Sin Soldiers by Tracy Auerbach
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The Sin Soldiers was released at the end of July, and I had received an arc for it a few months back that I had yet to read. So, as my last book for July, I told myself to get on this book and get some thoughts out into the world. It’s another one I have yet to review (although my review is in progress) but I’ll give another blurb of this science fiction story.
Set on a planet outside of our own, in a world after the destruction of Earth, The Sin Soldiers is a story of the greed and addiction of human kind. Kai has lived her life on the streets, thieving and struggling to survive. She has always stuck to the shadows, and tried not to engage with the deadly Seven Soldiers- genetically perfect soldiers named for their addiction to the seven sins.
But when a mission to steal money from the Soldiers goes wrong, Kai finds herself kidnapped and enlisted against her will into the army. As Kai struggles with her transition into a Soldier herself, she finds that the people she feared are in the same boat she is- stuck against their will and being injected with chemicals to force them into the ideal soldiers.
Kai never thought she would be the one to bring change to the injustice in their world, but she finds herself helping the soldiers she once hated so fiercely, and hoping she can get them all out of the army alive.
Those were my reads for July! What was your favourite read this month?
Bookish Bex 