julywrapup – The Bookish Curmudgeon

It definitely feels like summer here. All I want to do is curl up with a good book and a cold glass of lemonade with the AC blasting.

Do you have a beverage you just crave when it’s hot out? Or one you have to have while you’re reading?

July definitely didn’t go to plan, but that’s okay I still got some reading in.

Wrap Up

Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang: 3.5 stars*
The Girl with the Whispering Shadow by D.E. Night: 4 stars*
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson: 4.5 stars/audio 5 stars

Continuing:
Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

*These books were review copies provided to me at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

Mini Reviews

Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang: While I’m still not sure how I feel about this one. I did enjoy reading it. It was hard to put down. Though an adult book, it felt more like a YA novel.
Full Review here.

The Girl with the Whispering Shadow by D.E. Night: This book is what a sequel should be. Stakes are raised. The world building is expanded. And it is just such a fun read, despite some dragging in the beginning.
Full Review here.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson: The audio for this one is out-freaking-standing. The world building is just…well it’s Sanderson… awesome. It is very long, but well paced, and while I don’t love flashbacks and some past events are constantly hinted at, everything comes together quite well. The Stormlight Archive definitely deserves the hype. If you haven’t loved Sanderson’s other works this one is still worth a read.
Full Review to come.

Thoughts so far:

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi : Onyebuchi’s writing just pulls you in and doesn’t let go. Putting this one down has been a struggle. Though I’m not sure how I feel about the characters or the book itself; it is proving to be very different than expected (why do I have expectations anymore?) I like it. I almost didn’t pick this one up due to some mixed reviews. So, I would say give this one a shot if you’re still debating reading it or not.
Prediction: 3 or 4 star read.

What were you’re favorite July reads? What are you looking forward to reading in August?

I decided to combine my TBR and Wrap Up Post for July.

July TBR

So for the month of July I again set out with a slightly ambitious TBR, a lot of it made up of the overflow from unread books in June.

Continued from June:

The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2) by Rick Riordan
War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

July TBR:

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
Summer Days and Summer Nights Edited by Stepahnie Perkins
The Pisces by Melissa Broader
Vicious by V.E. Schwab (group read)
The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #3) by Rick Riordan
The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3) by Rick Riordan
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (kindle)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (audiobook reread)

I was most excited to read Vicious and Hunting Prince Dracula.

Wrap Up:

I didn’t get to everything I wanted to read, but that’s not surprising. I make big lists because as a mood reader I need options.

July Wrap Up:

The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2) by Rick Riordan: 4 stars
My Plain Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows (audiobook): 5 stars
The Pisces by Melissa Broder: 1.5 stars
Vicious by V.E. Schwab: 5 stars (ALL THE STARS)
Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco: 4 stars

Mini Reviews

The Hammer of Thor: Once this book starts it doesn’t stop. This is everything I expect of a Riordan book. It’s hard to put down, it’s funny, there’s action, and really great characters.

My Plain Jane (audiobook): I absolutely adored the narrator for this book. The story was a fun, spooky read. I haven’t read Jane Eyre, but now I definitely want to.

The Pisces: I really didn’t like this book. The protagonist was completely unlikable, as were most of (if not all) the other characters. The “romance” aspects of the book were cringe worth. I read this because it seemed interesting even though I knew I wasn’t the target audience, and while I really didn’t like it I felt compelled to read to the end to see how things were resolved.

Vicious: This book was amazing! Schwab’s writing was completely addictive. I hated putting Vicious down. I loved the characters and found Schwab’s use of dual timelines engaging and masterful.

Hunting Prince Dracula: The book has a great cast of characters and more complex mysteries. The superstitions and folklore at the heart of the mystery and the (well used) castle setting gave it an even creepier vibe then SJTR. I did have a few issues, but overall it was a great read.

Summary

Book(s) I enjoyed the most: Vicious and My Plain Jane
Book(s) I enjoyed the least: The Pisces

Still Reading*

The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #3) by Rick Riordan
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (kindle)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (audiobook reread)
(Forever Still Reading:)
Prey by Micheal Crichton
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

*I don’t want to start The Burning Maze until I finish The Ship of the Dead. I also have no motivation to finish War Storm at the moment, but will come back to it.

What was your favorite July read? What August releases are you looking forward to?(*cough* City of Ghosts *cough*)