Hey all, Dani here.
It has certainly been a weird year for me on the reading and blogging fronts. I have not done nearly as much as I’m used to, and that only made me feel worse about everything, which in turn made me read and blog even less. Basically what I’m saying is that mental health is important. Take care of yourself, and do what you need to do in order to feel happy and healthy.
Anyway, because of slumping again after those handful of posts I managed to write up in April, I wasn’t keeping exact track of the few books I was reading each month, and I certainly wasn’t putting together posts about my monthly reading wrap-ups, so since a number of these books don’t have a definitive start or finish date, I can’t say which I read in May or June or July, so I’m combining my reading wrap-up for all three months for you here today.
Let’s get started.
I tried to stave off the reading slump by doing a re-read of a classic YA book series I enjoyed back in high school, and while I flew through the book, I ended up not binge reading my way through the rest of the series. Unfortunate, because they are perfect summer reads, but maybe I’ll be able to finish the series before summer ends. Who knows?
I also picked up a vampire YA story that definitely gave me Twilight vibes, but it was longer than I expected and so I set it aside a couple times, sometimes for days at a time. Don’t take that to mean that the book isn’t any good…because I was dealing with a reading slump. It was entertaining and I need to continue the series soon. It’s just, each book is like 600-700 pages, so it’s a bit of a commitment.
I read a contemporary romance by an author I really enjoy, and read it very quickly. It was a delight. Then I also picked up a fantasy debut that ended up delighting me and sweeping me into a lush forest with a fairy tale atmosphere. Both were definitely worth the read.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares — 5 stars
Crave by Tracy Wolff — 4 stars
Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey — 5 stars
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten — 5 stars
I picked up a shorter fantasy read about hauntings and magic libraries, and it ended up being a pretty decent read. Then I very quickly made my way through three historical romances that I enjoyed overall.
The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu — 4 stars
An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn — 4.5 stars
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn — 4.5 stars
To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn — 4 stars
Honestly I think my reading interests jumped around fairly wildly in these months. I read through a D&D accessory that I can’t wait to use in planning my own world and campaign. I read a delightful and dark YA fantasy. I managed to finally finish a fandom focused YA contemporary that I had started in the pre-slump time. And I quickly read my way through a rather interesting fantasy novella. All in all, some pretty solid reads.
Roll & Play: The Dungeon Master’s Toolbox — 5 stars
In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland — 5 stars
Shipped by Meredith Tate — 4 stars
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho — 3.5 stars
Then I picked up another historical romance, a fantasy fairytale reimagined novella, a YA contemporary superhero fandom adventure, and a YA contemporary that focused on creative writing, so I was definitely interested in the idea. Again, a group of books that I read pretty quickly. It’s quite possible that this was part of the beginning of my return to regular reading, thankfully.
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn — 4 stars
Burning Roses by S.L. Huang — 4 stars
The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune — 4.5 stars
Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant — 4 stars
Then I picked up not one, not two, but three adult contemporary romances, and flew through most of them, though there was slight delays for one. I also realized that I had stopped in the final third of a YA fantasy I had been reading pre-slump, so I finished it…and that concludes my reading for the month of July.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert — 3.5 stars
Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams — 5 stars
Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams — 5 stars
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni — 4 stars
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Is this where I should say that as of my writing of this post, the 4th of August, I’m already at like 7 books read for the month, which is pretty awesome. If I keep going like this then I should be able to do monthly reading wrap-ups instead of combining months like I did in this post.
All right, I do believe that is all from me for today. What books have you read in the past few months that you’ve really enjoyed? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
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