Wrap Up: July 2018

Hello and happy Wednesday, everyone! Can you guys believe it’s actually August already? AUGUST. We’re so far into 2018 already and I feel like I haven’t accomplished much outside of reading a ton of books which kind of sucks. But, maybe I’ll get stuff done still? We’ll see. xD

But as it’s the beginning of a new month it’s time to talk about the previous months reading and my god, you guys. I only really actively read on about 15 days of this past month and I still read a total of 9 books. And the ninth and final book of July also marked my 50th book for the year which means I’ve officially completed my Goodreads reading challenge! YESSSSSS.

And now, before I ramble on for much longer, let’s just jump right in and talk about all the amazing books I read this month!

At this point, do I even still need to tell you guys that I’ll be linking to any previous reviews I’ve done on the blog at this point in my wrap up? I feel like it might be getting a bit redundant and no one wants that. And while these aren’t exactly reviews, I’ve still talked about both books on the blog very recently and I don’t want to repeat myself over and over. Click here to read all about my thoughts on The Wicked Deep & The Brightsiders. 🙂

     

Another book I had previously reviewed on the book is Children Of Blood And Bone which I read shortly after its release in March and reread as a buddy read with Caro this month. And I have to say, this is hands down one of those books that gets even better the second time around! Also, I picked up on so much more of the commentary Tomi Adeyemi made here – I read the book too quickly the first time around to pick up on quite a few things. Click here to read my review for this book. 🙂

The first book I want to talk about for this part of my monthly wrap up isn’t actually a single book but instead an entire trilogy! I had made it my mission to reread And I Darken and Now I Rise before getting into the finale Bright We Burn (because I don’t remember what I did two days ago, let alone what I read a year ago) which happened at the beginning of July. Don’t you love how organized I am??? I left it to pretty much the last minute to finish my reread. Go me!

But anyways, as you can see from my little wrap-up image, I loved, loved, loved Bright We Burn (and the rest of the series too, actually! The Conqueror’s Saga gets a 5-star rating from me overall!) and I need every single one of you to read the series too.

If you’re a bit of a history nerd or just love reading about women who kick ass and take names? This is your book! We follow a gender-bent Vlad The Impaler (and yes, the books do get as bloody as you would imagine) from his birth to his end. Kiersten White actually made me shed a few tears by the end??? So rude, I’m telling you.

Just in case you guys want some like proper convincing as to why you should read this trilogy, I did a post about it last year (it’s still relevant so I’m sharing it here) which you guys should check out – there are no spoilers too, so it’s completely safe!

I don’t even want to actually talk about this book, you guys? At this point, I feel like it’s not really a secret that I’m a huge fan of Alice Oseman’s writing and books but unfortunately Solitaire just ended up being something that didn’t click for me. At all.

Not once did I really connect to Tori and what she was going through, neither did I find myself interested in the side characters? Not even Nick and Charlie who I’ve kind of gotten to know a little bit through Alice’s web-comic (turned actual physical comic with a KICKASS fundraising campaign that blew everything out of proportion) so this book ended up being a bit of a letdown.

I have to say, I’m quite glad that I read this book last because I fear that I may not have continued on otherwise – or maybe I’d have given I Was Born For This a chance because of the fandom nature of the story, but other than that? Yeah, I feel like I might’ve passed on Alice’s other books and I would have missed out on some really great stories.

How do you guys feel about this particular book of Alice’s? I feel like most of really enjoyed her other two releases quite a bit from what I’ve seen around the people I follow!

Everyone, if you’re feeling kind of ‘meh’ and want a pick me up, can I recommend you pick up To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before?

You’ve probably heard quite a bit about the upcoming movie (the trailers have been giving me all the happy, fluffy, fun feelings) around social media or on my blog last week and if you’re the least bit curious and want to check it out (it drops on Netflix on August 17th!!! So close, yet so far away!), please consider reading the book too?

I first read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before last summer and wasn’t that impressed with the first book in the trilogy (I had rated it at just 3-stars – shocking, I know!) but my god, has my opinion changed! I flew through this audiobook again and I just loved everyone so much more the second time around and now I’m even more impatiently waiting for this movie.

And seeing how I was already reading this trilogy and loving it so much, I decided it would be the perfect time to reread PS I Still Love You too. I mean, why wait, right? And what better way to fill the time until the movie drops then by rereading the entire trilogy!

I have to say though, while I absolutely loved, loved, loved the first book, the second one kind of didn’t convince me as much. I felt like the drama in the second book was a tiny bit too much which took away from my love for the trilogy. But it was still a 4-star read and now I’m super stoked to get to the final book as that one was my favorite last year!

As I said in my own post, I am so looking forward to a fun teen movie that I can watch over and over again without getting bored (you guys don’t want to know how many times I’ve seen movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, Save The Last Dance, etc.) or that I can turn to for a quick pick me up. We all need those movies at our fingertips right? Right!

How about you guys? What are some books you read this month? What was a book you really enjoyed and which book did you maybe not enjoy as much as you had hoped? Speaking of books you might not have enjoyed as much – what’s your ranking for Alice Oseman’s books? From most to least favorite? I’m curious to see if our rankings overlap!

Have you guys read any of the books I read this past month and if so, what did you think of them? Let me know in the comments down below! 🙂