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July was, even with a few misses, a fantastic reading month for me. I can’t remember the last time I’ve given out two five-star ratings in a month, much less two favorites.

The Pretty Good:

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

I reviewed this book here if you want to read my thoughts on it. Take it with a grain of salt though, because some people seem to adore this book.

A Room of Ones Own by Virginia Woolf

Not going to review a classic essay that many seem to read in school. It had concepts that were familiar to me now as a woman living in the 21st century who is already all too aware of the historic inequalities women faced in Woolf’s day, and is even more aware of the ways they still present even now. I enjoy Woolf’s writing and stream-of-consciousness style, but this was a bit dry and at times maybe repetitive. Maybe this is naive of me but I expected her to be talking more about literal rooms? Still, its short length and insights make it worth a read/listen.

The Bad:

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

A negative review was bound to happen sometime, I guess.

The Really Good:

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

After finishing my second book by him, I am ready to declare that S.A. Cosby does not miss. Crime thrillers aren’t generally my thing, but I love the settings of his books and the dark, complex stories and characters.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

Read my review of this one here!

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

This tiny book (150 pages) has so much character and charm in it that it reminded me of being in the video game world of Stardew Valley in some way, which is really high praise. I’ m definitely interested in reading the sequel!

The Wedding People by Allison Epach

I’d heard nothing but great things about this one going into the audiobook, but I also had said that about Remarkably Bright Creatures and was underwhelmed, so I kept my expectations reasonable. I really, really enjoyed this book though. It strikes a really great balance between sadness, existentialism, and laugh-out-loud humor.

The Incredible New Fantasy Favorites:

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

I actually put this book down for well over a year when I just felt like I wasn’t in the right headspace for it. I picked it back up and tore through the rest of the 400 or so pages in a few days. Loved it. So scared to read the third book in this series. When I finished both Dragon Republic and The Poppy War I just felt like all I could do was stare at the wall for a few hours and ponder everything. What happens if Burning God makes me feel that way for days?

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Look, I have no idea what gave me such a strong urge to abandon the TBR books I had previously decided on to instead pick up an 800-page epic fantasy that had been sitting on my shelf for about three years. But I am so glad I did. Priory is incredible, and honestly even if it had been 1000 pages I wouldn’t have minded at all. Loved the world, the characters, the story, writing, every bit of it. New Samantha Shannon fangirl right here.

The DNFs:

Ward D by Freida McFadden

I got this for free on my Kindle from the Prime Reading section, and while I know not to expect literary masterpieces from McFadden’s thrillers having read a few, this one just felt especially bland. The structure of the story and some elements reminded me a lot of her other thriller, The Inmate, which I had fun with. But while reminiscent of The Inmate, Ward D’s characters and concept did nothing to pull me in, and at about thirty percent in I decided not to bother with this one.

Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio

I tried listening to this book on audio, and by about a quarter of the way in I knew it wasn’t for me. I think this is an adult novel, and the main character is in her early twenties and mentions having graduated from college, but she was coming across as extremely young and, frankly, annoying to me. It’s a bummer because I liked the concept, but I just knew I wasn’t going to have fun with this one and moved on so I could enjoy something else.