July Wrap Up & August TBR

I was planning on posting this tomorrow but I need an extra day to finish my current read (The Good Girl) so I bumped this up a day.

Read in July

July was kind of a slow reading month for me. Life got in the way and I went through a bit of a reading slump caused by temporarily losing one of my most anticipated books of the year. But I was able to read a total of 9 books and am very close to finishing a 10th book. Okay so it's eight books but I will finish 9 by the end of the month.. And now that I say it, that is a good month. 

1.) Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 9 out of 10 Full Review

2.) The Awakening of Miss Prim 

by Natalie Sanmartin Fenorella

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Full Review

3.) Looking for Alaska by John Green

Rating: 9 out of 10 Full Review

4.) Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Rating: 9 out of 10 Full Review

5.) The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson

Rating: 7.5 out of 10 Full Review

6.) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein 

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 Full Review

7.) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Rating: 9 out of 10 Full Review

8.) The Fracking King by James Browning

Rating: 6 out of 10 Full Review

9.) The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Rating: ??? Full Review to Come

10.) The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

Rating: ??? Full Review to Come

To Be Read in August: Historical Fiction

So first things first I will be taking part in an amazing and very cool challenge hosted by Octavia and Shelley over at Read.Sleep.Repeat called ARC August. The goal of the challenge is to tackle that giant pile of ARCs and that Netgalley or Edelweiss Queue that have just been sitting there unread. I have barely made a dent in my BEA ARCs and I keep requesting eARCs on Netgalley even though I have tons that I haven't read. So I am taking part in the the challenge. So most of my planned books this month are ARCs and I hope to read at least five of them.

Now onto my theme! This month I will be reading one of my absolute favorite genres, Historical Fiction. It was originally going to be historical fantasy but then I realized my theme for next month and decided to stick with straight Historical Fiction. I know a lot of fellow bloggers are just getting in to Historical Fiction but I love it and I'm really excited to read a lot of different books and hopefully you can find some you may be interested in. Here's the list!

ARCs from Netgalley

1.) Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little - Add to Goodreads

This one doesn't fit the theme, it's a mystery/thriller but it's an ARC 

2.) Grace and the Guiltless by Erin Johnson - Add to Goodreads

A YA Historical Fiction set in the Wild Wild West with a kickass female heroine? Yes, please!

3.) Neverhome by Laird Hunt- Add to Goodreads

I'm so intrigued by this book about a woman who disguises herself as a soldier when her husband leaves for the American Civil War. I usually love those kinds of stories!

Physical ARCs

1.) Salt and Storm by Kendall Kulper - Add to Goodreads

YA Historical Fantasy about whaling and a witch who has to live in a non-magical world. Also the phrase "tattooed harpoon boy" is a serious draw!

2.) Jackaby by William Ritter - Add to Goodreads

A supernatural detective in Victorian England. I cannot wait to read this one!

The Classic

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Add to Goodreads

My original theme was historical fantasy and this is classic Historical Fantasy!

The Series 

1.) Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard - Add to Goodreads

2.) A Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard - Add to Goodreads

3.) Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard- Add to Goodreads

The final book just came out so I'm really excited to binge read this steampunk series about zombie fighting in the Victorian era. I've heard nothing but good things!

What have you read in July and what are you planning to read in August? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING! 

June Wrap Up and July TBR

Am I the only person who is shocked that this year is half over? It seems like yesterday the "polar vortex" was freezing my butt off and causing me to slip on the copious amount of ice on the sidewalk when in fact yesterday I was sweating buckets and my skin was hating me because I am very sunburned! WEAR SUNSCREEN! Well now that I got that off my chest, let's talk books!

Read in June

June was a great reading month for me. I read a total of 9 books, including a few ARCs from BEA that don't come out till the fall so look for those reviews closer to their release dates. My theme for the month was retelling and I broke with the theme more times than I usually do but I still ended up reading five different retelling. I also read some phenomenal books and three of them were 10 star reviews, earning their way into my top books of the year list! Here is the list in full.

1.) Hexed by Michelle Krys Rating: 7 out of 10 Full Review

2.) Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige Rating: 9 out of 10 Full Review

3.) Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Full Review

4.) Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo 

Rating: 10 out of 10 Full Review

5.) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum 

Rating: 7 out of 10 Full Review

6.) Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson 

Rating: 10 out of 10 Full Review

7.) The Quck by Lauren Owen 

Rating: 7 out of 10 Full Review

8.) Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth 

Rating: 10 out of 10 Full Review in September

9.) Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Full Review in August

To Read in July

I'm really excited for some of my July books. If you saw my Top Ten Tuesday post a few weeks ago you got a sneak peek at my summer themes. I was originally planning to do this theme in August but when I realized the ARCs that fit this theme were released before the ARCs for the theme I had planned, I decided to flip flop themes and do this one in July. So this month's theme is... GEEK BOOKS!

By this I mean books where the characters are stereotypical nerdy types. I did this theme last November and really loved some of the books that I read and a few books this month are books that I have really been waiting to read for a long time!

eARCs from Publishers via NetGalley

1.) The Awakening of Miss Prim - Add to Goodreads

A woman answers an ad to become the librarian for a wealthy man living in rural France. A book about bookish people with references to classic romance novels!

2.) The Fracking King by James Browning - Add to Goodreads

A book about a boy who is a Scrabble prodigy attending a boarding school that is struggling with the affects of gas drilling and he takes up the cause

3.) The Kiss of Deception - Add to Goodreads

This doesn't fit the theme but I'm really excited to read it and it's released this month. Everyone has amazing things to say about this book!

Physical ARCs from BEA

4.) Landline by Rainbow Rowell - Add to Goodreads

A woman whose marriage is on the rocks finds a way to communicate with her husband just before he proposed and has to decide what to do with this power!

5.) The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman - Add to Goodreads

The final book in a trilogy about a guy who is obsessed with a fictional series about magic and ends up becoming a magician and travelling to the "fictional" land. I sort of consider this a fantasy satire but I love the series and cannot wait to finish it!

Finished Copies - Audiobook, Classic, and Others

6.) Vicious by Victoria Schwab - Add to Goodreads

My audiobook for the month. The story about two friends and scientists who discover the key to supernatural powers and then become anti-heroes. I've wanted to read this book for so long!

7.) Looking for Alaska by John Green - Add to Goodreads

I've wanted to read more John Green for some time now and many of his books seem to fit this theme. After much input from other I have chosen this book.

8.) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - Add to Goodreads

My classic for the month. This has been in my TBR pile for awhile now. I've heard great things about this coming of age story that was recommended to me after I loved The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

9.) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - Add to Goodreads

This book doesn't really fit the theme but I've wanted to read it for awhile and I'm going to hear Elizabeth Wein speak in a few weeks and I figure, I should read the book first!

That's my plan! I may read a few others considering that I have already Landline but I'm not sure which books yet, they will probably be an ARC I got at BEA. What are you reading in July? Leave me a comment with your TBR list. Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts? Let me know. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING