Everything I Read in July
If you can’t tell, my monthly book posts are my FAVORITE to write and create! I was a reading machine in June (finishing 8 books), and I had high hopes to keep this pace in July, but a lot of traveling (more about this later!) slowed my reading down. Despite all of this, I read 4 great books this month- a mix of suspense/thriller and beach reads. 2 of these books were found through Book of the Month, a monthly subscription where you can choose a book from a small curated monthly collection. The books are often early or new releases, and will highlight well acclaimed authors or up-and-comers that are getting a lot of buzz. It has been a fun way to find new book recs. Ok enough about that, let’s go ahead and dive in to July’s reads…
First Born- Will Dean
First Born was my July Book of the Month pick, and shocker, it is a psychological/suspense book! It tells the story of a young woman whose identical twin has been murdered. It is a dark and twisty story as she tries to uncover who killed her sister. This is the kind of thriller that you can devour in one sitting, because you are constantly guessing “whodunit.”
Book Lovers- Emily Henry
"This place looks like a Cracker Barrel has a baby with a honky tonk, and now that baby is a teenager who doesn’t shower enough and chews on his sweatshirt sleeves.”
Emily Henry is the QUEEN of beach reads, and I can’’t believe it took me so long to read Book Lovers! The witty and sarcastic dialogue is reminiscent to Gilmore girls, and has you laughing while reading. While the story is predictable (I mean- it is a beach read), you are rooting for Nora, a type-A, over achieving literary agent, to find love. This is a must read for the beach or pool!
The Lost Apothecary- Sarah Penner
I LOVED this book, but funny enough, I am struggling to describe the plot in a simple and concise way! It is a little bit historical fiction and a little bit mystery. It toggles back and forth between the 18th century and present day, where a young woman finds a vial and research its roots in London. She discovers that the vial was used by a secret female apothecary, who helped women find revenge against men who wronged them. She is determined to unearth these lost secrets and learn more about this secret apothecary! My summary does not do this book justice!
The It Girl- Ruth Ware
Ruth Ware is one of my go-to authors for suspense and thriller books! The It Girl is her newest release that came out just this month, so naturally I grabbed it as soon as I could. Kind of reminiscent to the novel, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, this book is about a murder of a young college “It Girl.” while attending Oxford University. The murder is initially framed on one of the college porters, but after ten years, one of her friends starts to unravel the truth. Truthfully, it started out pretty slow for me. However, it picked up at the end as the truth is revealed. Despite it being quite long, I did really enjoy this book. I studied abroad at Oxford when I was in college. I think that small connection made me enjoy the book even more!
These are my honest reviews, and I’m not sugarcoating my opinions on these books! Since I have been reading book reviews and getting recs from blogs and friends, I have been lucky to enjoy almost everything I have read this Summer. I look forward to writing another review for August as well!
As always, huge shoutout and thanks to my dad for indulging my reading habits/letting me steal audible credits!