july was, in short, a disaster. it’s what happens when you place responsibility and expectations on me, basically no turn out 😁 yay thats fun.
i pretty much spent the ENTIRE first half of the month watching booktube and cooking shows and completely ignored reading and my art and really, this is what my peak existence looks like.
but aren’t we ALL GLAD the reading rush™ happened bc that was the ONLY thing that saved my reading career and gave me content for this wrap up.
ALSO I WANT TO MENTION, i feel absolutely CHEATED that i read over 500 pages of Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, that mammoth of a book and i am NOT allowed to include it in my wrap up bc i still have 500 pages to go.
what kind of discrimination is this??? i want to talk to the manager
ahem, anyways.
I read a total of 16 books. 6 physical books 📕, 4 e-books 📱, & 6 audiobooks 🎧
YARC reads will be represented with this emoji: 🍚 i’m currently at 29/50!! and you can track my progress and mini reviews HERE
Links will take you to my reviews for each book.
🎧 I Owe you One: ✦✦✦✧✧
this book is so !!sophie kinsella!! witty and funny and charming with lots of heart. i wish we got to see more development of the romantic relationship (bc it was freaking CUTE) and more development of the characters who had to make up for their past actions 🧐
📕 How to Make Friends with the Dark: ✦✦✧✧✧
the first half of the book showed so much grief and heartbreak, delving into the truly tragic conditions of the foster care system. but the second half almost took an entirely different turn and well
🎧 The Idiot: ✦✧✧✧✧ 🍚
i thought this book was pointless and trying to be edgy and heh the love interest was such a boring plain piece of limp asparagus, byeeeee
📕 Homes: ✦✦✦✦✦ 🍚
THIS MEMOIR BROKE MY ENTIRE HEART. gosh, it so sad and terrible but also so hopeful and raw and my heart just weeps at the thought of what some, especially children, have to face
📱 Becoming the Dark Prince: ✦✦✦✦✧
an entire novella from thomas cresswell’s point of view??? the only question is, when are we getting a full length novel?
🎧 The Night Tiger: ✦✦✦✧✧ (3.5 stars) 🍚
really interesting premise and the book was artistic in the way it weaved the story and connected back to itself. the romance wasn’t my thing and i confused characters a lot (bc the cast was huge rip)
📕 Kings of Wyld: ✦✦✦✦✧
this book is a Circus. absolutely ridiculous and silly and action packed and filled with clowns. i had a lot of fun reading this disaster.
📕 Night of Cake & Puppets: ✦✦✦✦✦ (4.5 stars) #TheReadingRush
this was a reread and this was Beautiful
🎧 My Lovely Wife: ✦✦✦✦✧ (4.5 stars) #TheReadingRush
lately thrillers have been letting me down but NOT THIS ONE. this was messed up and is going to give me trust issues for a while but damn the complexities of this book and its characters were another level
📱 Sea Witch: ✦✦✧✧✧ #TheReadingRush
i mean,,,,,,it wasn’t the worst thing i ever read and it wasn’t the best and basically nothing happened for 90% of the plot so, i was Bored to say the least
📕 Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss: ✦✦✦✧✧ (3.5 stars) #TheReadingRush
this was so cute??? kasie west delivering soft boys and sweet romances and cute plots
🎧 The Weight of our Sky: ✦✦✧✧✧ (2.5 stars) 🍚 #TheReadingRush
rating this is difficult bc the actual story was so eye-opening. i had never heard anything about the 1969 chinese-malay war and this book brought such attention to it. my main issue was how other aspects of the book felt so repetitive and the writing didnt connect with me
📕 Everyone’s a Aliebn When ur a Aliebn too: ✦✦✦✦✧ 🍚 #TheReadingRush
this was the cutest most depressing book i’ve ever read and i want to give little jomny a hug
📱 The Marriage Clock: ✦✦✧✧✧ 🍚 #TheReadingRush
this COULD have been such a cute, fun, drama filled book but instead it played me and ruined everything and im still bitter about it
🎧 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society: ✦✦✦✧✧ #TheReadingRush
okay listen, i will never repeat this again, but the movie was SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE BOOK. i cried and screamed with happiness and cried again
📱 I Love you so Mochi: ✦✦✦✧✧ 🍚#TheReadingRush
this was really freaking cute and had such beautiful themes of acceptance and finding yourself and family. it didnt blow me away and i found some parts redundant and long but overall, super cute.
some reading rush™ stats bc im an absolute stat nerd and it makes me very happy to see it all organized
did YOU participate in the reading rush?? how did it go? were you able to complete your tbr (is that even possible??)
✨ complete “way of kings” & “words of radiance” by brandon sanderson can you hear me weeping over the sheer amount of pages that’s going to be??
✨ read 15 books
✨ write 10,000 words for my WIP
✨ limit my youtube intake (this is a full lie)
✨ publish 5 blog posts
…and lets see how that goes
so tell me, how was your july? have you read any of the books i mentioned above? what did you think of them? what book was your favourite book of the month and pls do tell me, i need more books that were written to ruin my life (in a good way!!!)
okay friends, that’s it from me,,,,,for now,
Part of me feels gutted that you rated the weight of our sky 2 stars but I’m glad you still enjoyed it in some way(?) also, I don’t think I’ll be reading the way of kings until a long way into the future because the sheer amount of pages, & also I can’t fathom having to wait for such a long time for the sequels! Best of luck reading them though because from what I’ve heard, the series is a masterpiece. Also, congrats on nailing the reading rush!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😭😭😭 im sorrryyyy. my rating comes from a PURE enjoyment perspective (if that helps heh) bc i think the actual content of the book was incredible,,,,,just didnt work for me
waiting for the sequels is going to kill meeee. and the books are freaking huge its going to take me months just to finish. what did i get myself into?? better be worth it lol
thank you so much!! hope youre having an amazing august 💖
LikeLike
STOP READING SO MUCH!!!! it’s making all of us look bad
first of all I can’t believe you read 9 books for a readathon that took place in like 7 days but…… sure you’re like a god whatever. second of all look at those cute graphics!!! adorable!!!!! third of all wow I wish I slumped for only half the month but I was lucky and slumped the whole month 😎 v excited to see your 5 posts this month because I know they’re going to be all high quality!! also v excited for you to send your entire WIP to me because I know it’s going to be the highest quality!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOOK READING IS THE ONLY THING I HAVE
1. okay but some were smol and i had audiobooks to help hehe
2. youre the graphic legend, im just trying to be like you 🙂
3. okay thats not true you GOT BOOKS READ and big books too so you shush
pls lets not talk about the wip, its not going at all and im trying to ignore it
LikeLike
whattt are we like the same person i slumped the first half of the month too!! (except i didn’t read as much as you dhajsks) i’m sorry you didn’t like the weight of our sky
my favorite book i read this month was girl made of stars (though girls of paper and fire was a close second!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
no wayyyy, i found my slump twin!!!
honestly i’ve heard so MUCH positive reviews about girl made of stars AND girls of paper and fire and now it looks like im going to have to read both. thanks for the recs!!
and i hope youre having a lovely august!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
wow wow wow I cannot believe you slumped so much and then read so many books like………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. how the hecccck. also maybe I should have participated in the reading rush because maybe then I wouldn’t have been a huge DISAPPOINTMENT because listen. I’ve read like 10 asian books and I’m aiming for the badge of 50 books. Hahahahahahahaha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
JU ITS TIME TO GET WORKING ON THOSE YARC BOOKS CHOP CHOP
but okay listen, my binging only came from the reading rush, otherwise i am a reading failure
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am honestly feeling that Reading Rush fomo HARD OKAY
LikeLike
OMG AWESOME WRAP-UP, MAY! I’m so jealous that you’ve to read so much and here I am being not just a moody reader, but also a slow reader! 😭 I hope you’re going to have an even better reading progress this August! x
LikeLiked by 1 person
THANK YOU SO MUCH 😭💖 being a moody reader is so tiring, i feel your struggle!! hope youre able to find those bingeable books and that you love them! 💖
LikeLike
May you absolutely killed the Reading Rush!! Congrats on getting every badge!! (And also for reading amazing books – like seriously, how CUTE is Night of Cake and Puppets 😍)
LikeLiked by 1 person
flkdjlkfja THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! 💖💖night of cake and puppets is the cutest, most adorable book i’ve ever read and i want it to be a full length novel
LikeLiked by 1 person
I want to read My Lovely Wife!! And West’s novel! I need to catch up. I was going to participate in the Reading Rush but I didn’t have the time what with being in Puerto Rico for vacation and visiting family. Hopefully next year 🙂 Looks like you did good!
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
LikeLiked by 1 person
ahhh that’s too bad but i hope you had a great time vacationing and spending time with your family, sounds like so much fun!! my lovely wife was SO good and i hope you love it when you read it!!
hope youre having a great august 💖
LikeLike
stop reading this many books pls
LikeLiked by 1 person
no pls i need this
LikeLike
Ohmygosh, I love that you spent most of July watching Booktube & cooking shows & STILL managed to fit in 16 books – you definitely don’t wanna know how many books *I* read then 😂
Hope you have an even better August! 😄
💛 Ngoc
LikeLiked by 1 person
hahahah thank youuu 💖 it’s basically me just ignoring life for an entire month. i’m sure you did amazing 😀
hope youre having a great august too 💖
LikeLiked by 1 person
if you have any advice on limiting youtube intake, I’LL HAVE IT! i spent most of my winter break just watching non-sense content on youtube and i need to stop. like, the sims speed builds when i do not even Play the sims? and family vlog channels talking about potty training when i’m eighteen. it’s a problem and i need to stop.
but congrats on reading so much even though you were slumping at the beginning! i also read the weight of our sky this july and i thought it was pretty good, though i wouldn’t say enjoyable, since most of the themes were pretty dark and made me feel really sad overall.
wishing you an amazing august, may! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
hmmmm, so far no youtube fix yet, but i WONT GIVE UP!! hahahaha thats TOO relatable, you find yourself on the strangest videos and no one knows how you got there.
thank youu!! i’m glad you enjoyed reading it, yes the weight of our sky made me so sad and the whole historic element was so heartbreaking to learn about.
thank you 💖 hope youre having an amazing august too
LikeLiked by 1 person
YOU GOT THIS ON YOUR AUGUST GOALS!! 😀
I haven’t actually read any of these books, but I’m gonna add My Lovely Wife to my TBR. I’m hoping to branch into the thriller genre soon and I’m glad to see that it impressed you!
Ahhh, I wish I could have participated in The Reading Rush but I participated in Camp NaNo in July which meant I put most of my energy into writing over reading. And dude, how did you manage 9 books in 7 days? Please teach me your magical ways!
I did read 4 books in July tho and my 2 favorites were Red, White & Royal Blue and In the Time of the Butterflies.
Happy reading! I look forward to reading more posts from you! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
THANK YOU!!! 💖💖
i can’t wait to hear your thoughts on thrillers, they can be so polarizing but when you find a good one, its SO gratifying
dude youre a legend for participating in camp nano. get that book going!!! hahah thank youu! it was a lot of staying up past my bedtime and listening to audiobooks
ooooh i never heard of in the time of butterflies but i’m going to go check it out now
thank you so much!! 💖 i hope you’re having an amazing august!
LikeLike
Lol, I’ve noticed that whenever I look up thriller reviews on Goodreads!
And haha, thank you! I love Camp NaNo because you get to personalize your writing goal and I’m always the most productive when I participate! Would totally recommend it!
Yesss, check out In the Time of the Butterflies! It’s historical fiction and definitely an emotional read but I found it so interesting and I loved the 4 distinct voices of the sisters!
Hope your August is also amazing! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, I’m honestly so impressed and I can’t believe that you were also in a slump! and now I’m actually inspired to read – not gonna lie so I might do that in a bit 😂. Anywhooo, I really hope you end up accomplishing all your goals for August! ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
yesssss go onward and READ!!! thank you so much 💖💖 i hope youre having an amazing august!
LikeLike
It seems like you had a good July, despite not being able to focus on reading in the first days. I’m hoping next month will be better!
I think I had a good July, I read more books than I was expecting and I tried to spend some quality time with friends. Every year I try to participate in the Reading Rush and every year I fail, because something happens. This year, I was out of the city for most days and I wouldn’t have gotten any reading done anyway. But good job, you did very well!
I haven’t read any books from your list, but I was hoping to read The Sea Witch. Good to know it’s not that exciting, probably I’ll change my mind about wanting to read it after all.
Happy August ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you!! the second half of july was so much better for my reading lol
i’m so glad to hear you had a good july and got to read a lot and spend time with friends, thats always a great feeling.
thank you so much! i hope youre having a fantastic august!! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
YOU READ SO MUCH, HOW, I ASPIRE TO BE ON YOUR LEVELS OF BINGE READING.
My screaming aside, wow, I’m so impressed and your graphic with the books you read is so cute and organized too!! I read Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss recently too and it was adorable and I couldn’t have loved Donavan any more. *cries*
Good luck with all of your goals for the month and I hope August is awesome for you!<3
LikeLiked by 1 person
I ONLY BINGE OR SLUMP OLIVIA, I NEED TO STOP THIS
flkdjlkj thank you so much!! your graphics are always absolutely adorable so i’m just trying to be like you hehe
donavan was literally the perfect guy, how come boys like him arent real 😭😭
thank you so much!! i hope youre having an amazing august! 💖
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know I shouldn’t be thrilled to see that you didn’t like Sea Witch, but every other review I’ve seen for it has been positive and I’m just so happy to see that someone else didn’t enjoy it 😂 That’s awesome that you participated in reading rush! It looked so stressful 😅 Hope you have a great August!
LikeLiked by 1 person
hahaha okay fair point. i totally felt like i was MISSING SOMETHING BIG when i read sea witch, solidarity!!! lol
it was definitely stressful but also so much fun! thank you so much, hope youre having a great month too 💖
LikeLike
16 books is amazing!! hope August is also amazing for you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you so much lovely 💖
LikeLiked by 1 person
“the love interest was such a boring plain piece of limp asparagus” BWAHAHAHAHAHA OKAY YOU ARE OFFICIALLY THE FUNNIEST PERSON I KNOW, MAY! Like, I actually laughed out loud when I read that. Also, I knew The Way of Kings was big, but I didn’t realize it was 1,000 pages big. WOW, I applaud you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
hahahha omg thats literally the highest praise anyone could give me, im truly humbled 🤧 im glad to hear someone likes my lame jokes :’)
KAT ITS 1000 PAGES BIG AND ITS (FIGURATIVELY) CRUSHING ME. 200 pages left, pray for me
LikeLiked by 1 person