July Reading Wrap Up | 2021

Hello, and welcome to my book blog! Today I will be giving you my July Reading Wrap Up! In the month of July, I finished reading 9 books! It’s the best reading month I’ve had so far, and it’s all thanks to free audiobooks off of the Libby app! I loved most of the books I read, some were just okay (but not a bad thing). Let’s get into it!

I loved From Blood and Ash! There was/is a lot of hype for this series and I can understand why. Publishers are bringing vampires back into mainstream popularity, and I’m here for it! This series is very character focused, and those are my favorite books to read. I love falling in love with my main characters, and rooting for them.
I loved how this book shows how toxic the “purity” community/trend is, by making Poppy the Maiden. This book also addresses how important personal freedom and identity is, and how having a romantic partner is nice, but you should love yourself first. How you have to learn how to fight for yourself, and speak for yourself, and how there is so much untapped power within your own veins. You just have to be brave enough to use it.
I loved the new (to me) take on vampires as well!
This is a series filled with fun, steamy, sex scenes, and I’m so here for it!

I read this as a physical book from my personal TBR pile!

This is book 2 to the From Blood and Ash series. The summary provided too many spoilers. Just know that I FLEW through this book! I loved it so much more than the first one, and the ending was MIND BOGGLING. I’m hoping to start the third book soon! I am also hyped for the spin off book being released this October, and the fourth book being released next March.
This book did a great job with handling all of the questions you had at the end of the first one. I love how perfectly paced, Armentrout had this book. I love how growth and development wasn’t rushed (or insta). Poppy, our MC, was taking the practical amount of time needed to absorb new information, change perspective/opinion, heal, and overall grow as a character. This is why character focused stories are my favorite!

I read this as a physical book from my personal TBR pile!

This is the second/middle book in the Once Upon a Con trilogy. Technically, you can read these books as stand alones, but I honestly don’t recommend doing that. Only because the characters from the previous books show up, and I would rather you have known them and their stories already. If you don’t know them, haven’t gone through a journey with them already, then them showing up will be mean nothing to you. You will not be as invested in the story if you have no idea who they are or what the MC is talking about.
With that, this book was so adorable! I loved having the main romance be between two girls. There was another romance between a girl and a guy, and it was alright. That romance was honestly forgettable.
I loved getting to know Jessica Stone personally! I remembered her from Geekerella, and honestly didn’t make the connection that she was one of the MCs at first. She’s my favorite character in the series so far besides Sage!
If you want a fun, fluffy, and geeky retelling: I highly recommend picking this up (after Geekerella ;D)

I listened to this book as an audiobook using the Libby app!

This was my first Elizabeth Acevedo book, and I read it on whim. I loved it so much! I love any story about sisters, and this was a unique story about family and grief. I could listen to Elizabeth narrate audiobooks forever, too. I love her voice, and her overall performance of her book! This book has a duel narrative of Camino’s and Yahaira’s point of views. Their cultures and circumstances are so different, and that’s what kept me reading. You’ve heard of stories of people having secret families, but I’ve never actually read a book about it before.

I listened this book as an audiobook using the Libby app!

I read this story almost immediately after finishing CLAP WHEN YOU LAND. I enjoyed it. I liked how passionate Xiomara is about her craft, and dynamic she had with her family. Each of Acevedo’s books have a slightly different family dynamic, and I’m here for it. I was completely invested in Xiomara’s life from beginning to end.

I listened to this book as an audiobook using the Libby app!

Out of all of the Elizabeth Acevedo books I read in July, With the Fire on High was by far my favorite! I love love LOVED this book! It is absolutely a book I would read again. Emoni being a teen mom shooting for the stars was my favorite thing about this book. I’ve only read one other book where the MC was a teenage mom, and that was a very long ago. The narrative was full of shame, where this book is filled with hope and possibility. Emoni is a responsible mother, but also a person who doesn’t give up on her dreams and bettering herself. I loved her voice, and her growth, and her heart. I absolutely recommend this book!

I listened to this book as an audiobook on the Libby app!

This was one of those books that was most talked about in Booktube when it first came out. I can understand why, it’s a book with a black queer female lead, and it is insanely charming. I enjoyed reading a book that gave the perspective of a young, black, queer person in a conservative town as well. I like how the main romance of the book was f|f, but it wasn’t the main focus or goal for the MC. Like stories like that, because it gets rid of the narrative that a romance is the most important thing. I have total respect and support of Liz and her situation.

I listened to this book as an audiobook using the Libby app!

This book was weird, not what I was expecting, and had a confusing ending.

I listened to this book as an audiobook using the Libby app!

If I’m being honest, I never even heard of this book until I decided to read it on a whim. The forward told me that this book was released in the late 90s, which tells you how in the dark I was about it. I enjoyed this story a lot. I listened to the audiobook, and there were two different narrators for the different POVs. I had no idea what the ending was going to be, and I was incredibly crushed by it. It’s so relevant to what’s been happening in the world right now. It was a quick read, and I recommend this to EVERY ONE. No matter who you are or what you like.

I listened to this book as an audiobook using the Libby app!

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what books I read in July! I am really excited for all I will be continuing to read in August! I should reach my reading goal for the year this fall, for sure. Which is really exciting. Audiobooks have really changed the game for me, especially since I am now working full time and have next to no time to sit down and read with my eyes. Until next time, readers!