I can't believe July is already over. And although I'm sad that I didn't get to read as many books as I wanted to read over the month, I'm excited to share with you what I did read!
Get ready for some good book recs!
1. Nancy Drew Files Vol. 1: by 'Carolyn Keene'- finished July 4th
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I started off the month reading a Nancy Drew book! If you had no idea, I love Nancy Drew, and I'm also very picky when it comes to giving Nancy Drew the story that she deserves.
I read another Nancy Drew files book a few years ago, and didn't really like the writing all that much. So I kinda knew this wasn't going to get five stars.
But, overall, I thought the three mysteries in this book were pretty good! There were some things I didn't like that Nancy did, but either way, Nancy Drew Mystery Stories will always be better.
2. Our Divine Mischief: by Hanna C. Howard- finished July 9th
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The next book I read is actually not released yet! I got the chance to get a physical ARC of this book, and of course I didn't turn that down.
This book comes out in October I believe, but I really enjoyed reading it!!
It was a cute little fantasy book, and I absolutely love the characters!
Honestly, it's just so good, and I highly recommend!
3. The Grace Year: by Kim Liggett- finished July 11th
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The Grace Year is at the very top of the list of some of my favorite books that I've ever read.
I had no idea going into this book that I was going to love it this much. I'd heard people say it was a little disturbing, and very interesting, which is true. But there's also just the fact that this book means so much more than it is. The underlying theme is just so great.
Pleaseeeee gooo readdd this book. Then contact me. Because if you read this book and hate it, I want to explain why it's so good. You have to read it to understand.
I love this book so much. So, yeahhhh.
4. Miss Match (#1): by Crystal Cestari- finished July 14th
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There were some really good lines at the beginning of this book that stuck out to me, but by the ending I was just kind of bored.
The story was interesting, but also not my favorite I've ever read.
I would recommend this book for the beginning, but not the ending.
5. Love and Other Words: by Christina Lauren- finished July 17th
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Am I the only one who thinks this book is a little too sexual?
So many of my favorite booktubers say this is one of their favorite books, and although romance is my least favorite genre, I kinda don't get the hype.
Honestly, The Unhoneymooners is my favorite Christina Lauren book still.
I really really liked the dynamic of how Macy and Elliot met and how they were always reading together when they were little, but I also felt like it was kinda weird the things they read when they were teenagers. And just some things that happened in this book weren't my favorite.
I enjoyed parts of it and others I didn't.
6. 100 Days of Sunlight: by Abbie Emmons- finished July 24th
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Abbie Emmons is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! In June I read her upcoming book, The Otherworld as an ebook ARC, and I am still in love with that book. I'm extremely excited to buy a physical copy and get to go back and highlight my favorite quotes, as well as just be able to add it to my shelf. It's amazing. One of my favorite books I read this year.
But, when I got 100 Days of Sunlight in the mail earlier this year, I read thirty pages of the book and just really wasn't in the mood for it.
So, after reading Abbie's second book, I decided to go back and read this one to see if I loved it just as much as The Otherworld.
Spoiler alert: I almost did!
I still really enjoyed 100 Days of Sunlight, but I'm going to have to say that The Otherworld is my favorite of Abbie Emmons two released books so far. I'm so excited to read more from her in the future!
Also, Abbie Emmons is not just a writer, but also a sort of writing coach. She has a really great YouTube channel with a lot of very helpful writing style videos. I've enjoyed getting to do her write with me livestreams and just check out her videos while writing my own book.
It has truly been such an immense help to me watching her videos and listening to her advice, and also getting to apply some of that to my writing.
She's the best! And I just love her books!!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND 100 DAYS OF SUNLIGHT.
7. Magnolia Parks: by Jessa Hastings- finished July 22nd
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So, Sara Carrolli, one of my fav booktubers, has been raving about this book series since she read it. And I've been very conflicted for a while on if I wanted to check it out myself and see if it's as good as she says it is.
I was planning on asking for the series for Christmas at first, until Jessa Hastings announced that all of the book were getting new covers, and I started panicking (that's a little dramatic btw) because I didn't really like the new covers and would have preferred to have the old covers.
The only possible way for me to get the old cover of this book was to buy it from a website in the UK. And that's what I did.
Either way, this was a very interesting, and extremely different read for me. Magnolia Parks is basically about a toxic relationship. Which is...not a relationship that anyone really wants to have.
But, regardless of the fact that I didn't think I was going to like this book, I gave it a chance. And, overall, it wasn't really my cup of tea.
I did like the characters, but it's more of a book with a story than a plot. It really just focuses on the characters, and I think you really have to like the characters to enjoy the story.
Even though I did like them, I didn't like them enough to speed through this book, and when it takes me forever to read a book (meaning a week instead of two to three days) then I get bored, and I want to move on.
Do I recommend it? Sure. Am I going to finish the series? No.
8. Unwind (#1; re-read): by Neal Shusterman- finished July 27th
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If you know me, then you probably know that the Unwind series is my favorite book series of all time. And Neal Shusterman is my ALL TIME favorite author. End of story.
The last time I read this series was in 7th grade, and I've been wanting to re-read it, so I finally did...
I actually started re-reading it a few months ago, but set it down and didn't pick it back up. Then, I was suddenly in the mood to revisit these characters and this story, so I did!
I CAN'T EXPRESS IN WORDS HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS SERIES.
If you look up the synopsis, you'll probably think I'm weird, to be honest. Because this book does have a rather interesting and disturbing plot.
BUT, I believe God created me to be unique enough that I'm obsessed with a book series that other people might find disturbing.
Isn't it just amazing how unique each one of us are?
I promise there are many reasons why I love this book. And I'm 100% against unwinding. But either way, diving back into this story made me stop thinking about how school is about to start again when I don't want it to, and just made me very happy.
And also, A TV SHOW IS BEING CREATED FOR THIS SERIES RIGHT NOW. I'm kinda freaking out not gonna lie...
In conclusion, those were all the books I read this month! I actually was very close to reading nine books because I was trying to finish the second Unwind book before midnight on July 31st, but...alas...I did not succeed and went to bed with twenty pages left.
ANYWAY, if you check out any book from this list, know that my favorites were The Grace Year and 100 Days of Sunlight. As well as Our Divine Mischief, and obviously Unwind (but we all knew that was on the list already lol...).
Thanks for checking out my blog post!! If you're curious, check out this blog where I shared some details on my upcoming book (Called By Name; you're the only one that knows what it's called rn hehe): https://miribrooks1.wixsite.com/ella-writes/post/q-a-about-the-book-i-m-writing
That's all for now! ~Ella
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