This month I managed to read 6 physical books and even squeeze in an audiobook! I’ve definitely got a newfound love for audiobooks and I enjoyed practically all of my reads this month. I’ve read 7 books a month since May which I am extremely happy about, maybe in August I can manage 8!
I really enjoyed some books that I have read this month but a couple of them just did not live up to the hype for me! I also managed to write some reviews on some of the books I read in July. If you want to see a bigger review/more of my thoughts they will be linked below!
Turtles All The Way Down by John Green
Rating – ★★★★★
I definitely started the month off with a great read. I rated Turtles All The Way Down five stars and I will be re-reading this book in the future! The authentic representation of the realities of mental health, particularly anxiety and OCD are explored in this masterpiece of a novel. I also enjoyed the mystery aspect to this novel and I would definitely recommend this! I don’t want to give too much away, my full review is here.
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
Rating – ★★★★★
For me (and I think most people), I always worry that the sequel to a book or film will never live up to how great the first one is! Luckily, Holly Jackson did not disappoint with this sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder! I buddy read this with my friend Ruby and it was really fun to discuss theories with her. I also wrote a review for this too and you can find it here!
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Rating – ★★★★
I was immediately drawn into the premise of this psychological thriller. I buddy read this with my friend Alice and we both enjoyed it. I was drawn to the idea that Alicia hadn’t spoken a single word for years and I definitely thought of several reasons why she had put up a kind of mental shield. If you enjoy psychology or you are interested in psychological thrillers this would be a good start. It was quite a slow start but it built up during the second half and the twists began to unfold!
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
Rating – ★★★
Unfortunately I did not love Blood Orange! I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I found it to be quite a predictable “thriller” and honestly would not really class it as a thriller after reading it. It was a slow burner and I really did not relate to or like the characters, which I know is not always the case but I just didn’t get the hype about it. The ending was really clean cut too; I feel like it was swept under the rug and no explanation was really given!
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Rating – ★★★★★
Divergent was one of my favourite reads of the month! I bought it years and years ago and just did not get round to reading it. I have to admit, I was put off by the sheer size of it (nearly 500 pages) as I tend to stay away from bigger books. But honestly it did not disappoint. I enjoyed watching Tris’ character development and I go into more details about my thoughts on Divergent in my review here!
Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson
Rating – ★★★★.5
I was gripped by the premise of this novel as I am intrigued by psychology and the idea of memories! It was a slow burner but it worked really well in this novel and I loved the epistolary style. It was interesting to hear about Christine’s life and how she struggles with her anterograde amnesia. Waking up everyday in a strange room, with a strange man sounds scary enough, but when she begins to document her day and the memories that are coming back to her, Christine definitely finds out more than she bargained for! I loved this thriller and would highly recommend if you haven’t read it already.
Imperfect Women by Araminta Hall
Rating – ★★★★
I listened to Imperfect Women as an ARC on audiobook thanks to Net Galley and it is out on August 4th. I liked how authentic the women were and the title is definitely well named. I’m going to post a full review soon so look out for that if you are interested!
Thank you for reading. What was your favourite read in July?
Books and Baking 