July was a fantastic reading month! You can check out my full wrap up over on my BookTube channel here.

Here are my stats for the month of July

• Total Read: 28
• Nonfiction: 3
• Fiction: 25
• YA: 2
• Adult: 26
• Fantasy/sci-fi: 4
• Contemporary: 23
• Historical: 1
• Graphic novels: 5
• ARCs: 3
• DNF: 3
• 1-star: 0
• 2 star: 1
• 3 star: 4
• 4 star: 5
• 5 star: 9
• Rereads: 3

 

Favorite Books I Read in July

 

Smitten by Lauren Rowe

Two of my most anticipated reads came out this month – this book and Hands Down by Mariana Zapata.

This is a spin-off standalone of both the Morgan Brothers series and the Reed Rivers Trilogy. I do think there is something to be said about reading those first, but you can absolutely read this on its own. It’s about the guitarist of an up-and-coming band who isn’t your typical rock star. He’s very down-to-earth and not drop-dead gorgeous. The heroine is very shy and introvert and she’s also a talented musician.

This book was as sweet as honey and it made me so giddy reading it. It’s absolutely perfect for those of you who need an easy-to-read pick-me-up in the middle of this global pandemic and uncertainty. It’s super low-angst and will absolutely fly by. I challenge you not to have a smile on your face the entire time you read this.

I’ve been listening to the song (that is in the book!) on repeat. It’s so catchy and sweet and if I could describe the book in one song it’d be this one.

 

 

Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley

This reminded me of why I adore YA novels so much.

It revolves around our main character who sees herself as the “Rosalind” of her life – the girl that Romeo leaves for Juliet. She’s constantly the girl who comes “before.”

I adored our main character so much. She is so different than many of the YA heroines I’ve read about in the past. She’s boy-crazy and flirty and so confident for her age – all while having this low-key insecurity about the fact that all the guys she dates end up finding “The One” after her.

What I loved is that she’s not at all jealous of this, she’s actually a little too accepting of it.

I also always love when a character has something that they are super passionate about – especially if they work really hard at their craft to be the best that they can be. This was the case for Megan as well. She loves directing productions and she’s really good at it.

Along with all of that, the romance is super sweet and YA appropriate. It’s a great friends-to-lovers romance and their relationship is such a healthy one, particularly for YA. I love that the hero doesn’t judge her because she’s flirty and he appreciates and supports her.

 

Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl, Melissa De La Cruz

This was another highly anticipated release for me! I’ve been such a huge fan of Little Women ever since I was in my preteens and I used to watch the 1949 version of the movie on repeat.

Since then I’ve shipped Jo & Laurie. This is the book for everyone who wishes Jo and Laurie ended up together.

This book ruined the original story for me, but not in the way you’d think. They did such a great job of adapting this book and making minor enough changes that made complete sense and made this a seamless transition from the original book to this one.

I say it ruined the original story for me because I watched the movie again after reading this book and I was broken-hearted that it didn’t end the way the book is.

 

Radiance (Wraith Kings #1) by Grace Draven

This book ended up being my favorite read of July.

This is an extremely romance-heavy Fantasy about these two different species – there are humans and then Kai. The Kai are humanoid, but they have dark gray skin, yellow owl eyes, fangs, and black claws. Both species find the other completely unattractive and weird looking, however, to show allegiance, the two species marry the youngest prince of the Kai and the niece of the queen of humans.

The two of them meet before they are married by chance and they don’t realize they are to be married, but they hit it off in a completely platonic way and they’re relieved to find out that they are the ones to be married because they get along so well.

This quickly became my favorite friends-to-lovers romance and it’s so unique since the two characters aren’t attracted to each other at all in the beginning. I love how they both have such respect for one another right from the beginning and it slowly grows into love.

 

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

This was a buddy read with my friend Mallory from @FigsLibrary over on Instagram and we both adored it!

I always forget how much I love reading YA until I come across a book like this and Always Never Yours.

Elizabeth Acevedo is a gorgeous writer and I plan on reading her entire backlist. I loved The Poet X and Clap When You Land is on my TBR! This book was so easy to read and I found myself underlining so many beautifully written lines. I loved the inclusion of recipes with a poetic twist.

Emoni is a young teen mom who is navigating high school while trying to stay under the radar, raise her baby girl with her Abuela, and figure out what she is going to do with her future – all while discovering that her passion for cooking could turn into something more than a hobby.

Elizabeth Acevedo really shines when she’s writing about young people discovering themselves and this book is no different. I’ve always been drawn to passionate characters with special skills – and Emoni’s ability to create dishes that can transport people to another time and place was so inspiring. I’m always intrigued by people who have innate abilities like that. Especially when they are young and learning how to hone that craft into something that can take them places.

The romance was subtle, but also very sweet. I love seeing heroes in YA who set a good example for young people about what a relationship should be.

 

Hands Down by Mariana Zapata

My other highly anticipated release this month!

This was a one-click, insta-read, and it did not disappoint. I devoured this beast in one day and I have zero regrets… only that it ever ended.

MZ is one of the few authors who can write a 600-page, slow burn, contemporary romance and I’ll be at page 598 crying that it’s not long enough. This book was no different.

I was shocked and excited when I saw that this was Zac’s book. I’ve been in love with him since we were introduced to him in The Wall of Winnipeg and Me YEARS ago. I never imagined he would get his own book – it was such a delightful surprise.

I love that all of MZ’s books are standalones, but you see glimpses of your favorite characters throughout. In this one, especially, we got to see my fav couple: Aiden and Vanessa. You also see a glimpse of Lukov and Jasmine AND the main character works at the gym that the heroine from The Best Thing used to own! It’s so fun finding all of these little Easter eggs in her book.

This is, by far, MZ’a SLOWEST burn yet. But – as is the case with all of her books – it just makes every single tiny little moment the two love interests have together that much more electric. I loved seeing this friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance build into something undeniable.

The family relationship in this one was absolutely everything I needed in my life. Her relationship with her siblings reminded me so much of mine that my sister was like, “I’m the sister, aren’t I?” and I was like, “Yes. Yes, you are.”

The only downside to MZ’s book is that we have to wait another year until we get the next one! I’m waiting with bated breath for the audiobook so I can reread it!

 

The Forbidden Man by Karina Halle

This age-gap forbidden romance quickly became a favorite for me. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about an age-gap where the heroine is older than the hero. I was a little worried that a lot of the internal dialog would revolve too heavily around her insecurities because of her age, but luckily, it was the forbidden aspect that was at the forefront.

She is the physical therapist for his soccer team and they are not allowed to date. She has also just transferred to this new team after her divorce from the head coach of another team which already has caused a lot of uproar in the media, so starting a relationship with a soccer player on the new team would cause an even bigger stir. Especially for a woman working in a male-dominated career. I loved that most of the focus was on that.

I was a little put off at first because the hero was super pushy, but, luckily, the heroine quickly puts him in his place (asking if he’d act that way if she was a man) and he immediately backed off – which caused even more tension.

This was my first Karina Halle and it definitely won’t be the last.

For me, meetcutes have the ability to make or break a romance novel. It sets the stage for the rest of the book.

Here are five books that have some of my favorite meetcutes:

Jacob (Nightwalkers #1) by Jacqueline Frank

Starting off with a bang here, this book has my favorite meetcute perhaps of all time. This is a paranormal adult romance with beings called Nightwalkers that consist of demons, shifters, vampires, and more. The main beings in this series are demons who have elemental magic and are more like fae then what you would normally consider demons. (No red skin and horns here!)

The heroine, Isabella, is leaning out of her window in a high rise apartment, looking at the moon when she sees a handsome figure walking on the sidewalk below. She thinks that she is free to gawk at him since she is so high up because there is no way he’ll ever notice. Until, suddenly, he does.

Beautiful Liar (Reed Rivers Trilogy #1) by Lauren Rowe

This is a spinoff series to Lauren Rowe’s Morgan Brothers series that I absolutely love. This particular series follows Reed Rivers, an extremely magnetic, successful, powerful head of a record label.

In this meetcute, Reed is being interviewed during a panel session on stage and our heroine is in the audience. As she is watching him, she notices that he keeps making eye contact with her and sending her small smiles and other gestures.

As someone who has unabashedly wished that she would one day be that girl in an audience who the lead singer makes eye contact with, I felt like this meetcute was so swoony.

Lingus by Mariana Zapata

This one isn’t as swoony as the other two, but it’s definitely funny!

This book is a porn star romance that also happens to be one of the best friends-to-lovers I’ve ever read.

In this book, our heroine is attending a porn convention with her porn star friend when the hero catches her and calls her out on picking her wedgie.

It’s so classic Mariana Zapata and such a unique, hilarious introduction.

Hearts in Darkness by Laura Kaye

This is one of my all time favorite novellas and the entire premise of the story revolves around this epic meetcute.

Our love interests meet in an elevator that gets stuck in the dark. The interesting twist is that they never see each other.

By Your Side by Kasie West

In this YA Contemporary Romance, our two main characters meet when they are both locked in a library for a long weekend.

This is probably my favorite Kasie West novel!

Two years ago I wrote a blog post listing some book recommendations with broken heroes. Since then, I’ve added a few more to the list and I thought I’d share them with you, today!

If you’d like to see them all, you can check out my booktube video here:

 

Rhen from A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

I talk about how beautifully broken Rhen is all the time. He’s gone through hundreds of years of torture. He’s riddled with guilt and when you meet him, he has lost all hope. He’s almost despondent. He doesn’t see a way out of his horrible circumstances. He’s accepted his fate, but there is still a hint of who he used to be. A hint of the quick-thinking, strategic, calculating, irreverent prince who thought he was untouchable. Imagine going from feeling completely untouchable to utterly defeated.

 

Jude from Steadfast (True North #2) by Sarina Bowen

When we meet Jude in the first book of this series, we’re a little unsure about him. He’s a recovering addict who seems like he could snap at any moment. He keeps to himself and doesn’t seem fully trustworthy. When we learn more about him in Steadfast, you find out about the awful circumstances that led him to where he is and how heartbroken he is. He’s an inspiring character in how hard he is fighting for his sobriety. His book is a second chance romance.

 

Miles from Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Miles is passed out drunk in front of our heroine’s front door when we meet him. He’s grumpy and all-around unhappy. You get peeks into his past in snippets – all of which, even when happy, have this dreadful foreboding because you just know something awful is coming. And it does. Miles has a lot to work through in order to make his way to the heroine.

 

Luka from Infini (Aerial Ethereal) by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Luka is an example of a broken hero who puts up a facade of holding himself together. His romance is a forbidden, second-chance romance, but he’s dealing with a lot of personal issues. He’s a kleptomaniac and bulimic. In the previous book in this series, his kleptomania almost seems like a cute quirk because he’s such a likeable character. Little do you know he’s hurting deeply inside.

I’m going to be honest. I got a little burned out on the alpha hero a few years ago when it started to get really popular.

I found, especially within the last year or so, that I’ve been more drawn to heroes who are not at all alpha. Not necessarily weak, but certainly not dominating or demanding or high-handed.

Here are some of my favorite anti-alpha heroes

 

Mack – Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Mack is charming, charismatic, funny, successful, and an all-around good guy. But beyond that, he’s a feminist and he loves romance novels. So much that he started The Bromance Book Club – a book club that consists of some high-powered men (professional athletes, successful businessmen) who read romance novels to learn how to treat women.

Though Mack has a touch of irreverence about him, he isn’t without heartache. He has a troubling past and found himself escaping into romance novels as he grew up. This shaped who he is to this day.

And though he has helped countless friends with their relationships, he struggles a bit with his romantic life. He knows all the do’s and don’ts of relationships… at least he think he does… but what he doesn’t know is when it’s real.

That is… until he finally does fall. And when someone like Mack falls in love, it’s bound to be epic.

 

Archer – Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan

Archer was a perfect mixture of that innocence and masculinity that had me absolutely swooning. When he’s finally given the chance to love someone, he does it with all of his might.

 

Jonah – The Best Thing by Mariana Zapata

Though Jonah is incredibly imposing physically, he is shy and thoughtful and loyal and sweet.

 

Seth – Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

Seth is an artistic, soft-spoken, but witty and smart author who is the perfect balance to the heroine’s charismatic and charming outgoing personality.

 

Eli – Behind the Bars by Brittainy C Cherry

Eli isn’t just uber-sweet, caring, thoughtful, and respectful, he’s also full of passion for his music. I’ve met a handful of people in my life who have that extra something when it comes to talent. They don’t just play an instrument, they bring it to life. That’s Eli.

 

Theo – Leo Loves Aries by Anyta Sunday

I fell in love with Theo pretty much immediately. He is one of those irreverent, hilarious heroes that warm my soul and make me laugh all at once. Paired with a love interest who is a bit more uptight, yet appreciates his charm – it’s the formula for the perfect romance for me.

I freaking adored Theo’s relationship with his mom and sister. Despite how he comes off as somewhat careless, he actually cares very deeply for the people he loves. He loves fiercely and I adored him for it.

Keane – Ball Peen Hammer by Lauren Rowe

I think one of the most impressive things about this book is how well developed Keane’s character is despite his somewhat flighty personality. I believe Maddy calls him, “Daffy Duck trapped inside Prince Charming’s body,” yet he is so much more than that.

I think Keane’s character could easily have been completely shallow given he’s both ridiculously goofy and good-looking, but instead of leaving his character at that, LR throws in a bit of unexpected depth.

I’ve known several people like Keane who are what I like to call extroverted introverts — those who can be extremely captivating and outgoing and social, yet need a lot of time to recuperate and recharge after social interactions. And oftentimes those people end up dropping off the face of the earth for a little while before resurfacing again, just like Keane does. I love how that all ties into the initial miscommunication between Keane and Maddy – his tendency to ignore his phone because that’s his way of tapping out and recharging.

 

Jonah – Full Tilt by Emma Scott

Jonah is a sweet, heartwarming, reluctant love interest with a heart condition that loves fiercely. Even though he is the one with the medical issues, he is very much a caretaker and a quiet fighter.

 

Zachariah – Keepsake by Sarina Bowen

Zachariah is so, so sweet and innocent. He’s hardworking and talented but lacks confidence and a little ashamed of his lack of education. He’s still a rebel in his own way. He’s thoughtful and kind and full of wonder.

 

John Ambrose – PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han

The. Perfect. Book. Boyfriend.
He’s self-aware and has a confidence that he worked hard for. He’s the underdog we are all rooting for. He’s incredibly thoughtful and pays attention to the little things.

 

Ben – Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne

Ben, in particular, was such an attractive character… and I don’t just mean physically. He was such a refreshing character. He was confident and slept around, but he wasn’t a conceited jerk. At all. (To be honest, I’ve been so sick of the cocky manwhore character in contemporary romance novels, lately.)

 

Happy Leap Year, book lovers!

As always, when I do these posts, I may have missed some really great posts simply because I didn’t check my feed every day.

If you have a blog post of yours that you are particularly proud of from February, and it isn’t linked here, please feel free to link it in the comments!

Here are my favorite posts from February

Novels and Notions shared their favorite enemies to lovers romances – I LOVE blog posts like this!

Bookmark Your Thoughts shared 6 books to read for Black History Month.

Can I request that everyone write a blog post like Pages Unbound’s 5 Things my Favorite Book Bloggers Do?

I so appreciated Lili’s Blissful Pages’ post listing 5 unforgettable mental illness reps in books.

I loved this Valentine’s Day-themed post from Novels and Notions: 20 Pink and Red Books You Need to Read.

I loved this post from Confessions of a YA Reader, sharing theirmost anticipated Middle Grade books.

Can we get a big AMEN to Chelle’s Book Ramblings post that takes down misconceptions about romance?!

My dear, lovely friend over at Romance Book Binge has joined the BookTube family!

What an awesome idea this post from Drizzle and Hurricane Books pairing favorite tropes with YA books is!

Yay for Romance Week over at CJR The Brit.

I added so many books from Jill’s Book Blog’s Top Ten Tuesday post to my wishlist!

I love love love favorite couples lists like this one from My World of Books.

Bookiverse shared some perfect Wintry reads.

Give me allll the swoon-worthy Romances lists, particularly those from The Book Dutchesses!

Another great list of Black History Month book recs from Nine Tail Vixen.

Pages Unbound talks about whether book bloggers influence book sales.

I was LIVING for Whit Reads Lit’s adventure in reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses series for the first time!

I did a slow clap for Bound to Writing’s post on how not to ask for reviews.

My heart went out to Forever and Everly’s post recommending books to read when you’re sad.

After all the controversy around American Dirt, I appreciated Inkish Kingdom’s recs for similar books that aren’t problematic.

 

 

 

 

A while ago, I wrote a post all about my favorite book boyfriends and I recently revamped that post for my booktube channel.

I decided that it only made sense to do a Favorite Book Girlfriends post as well, because goodness knows there are plenty of amazing female characters that I have fallen in love with over the years.

If you’d like to watch me chat about them, check out my booktube video:

Otherwise, stick around!

WHY I LOVE HER: Zuzanna is fiercely loyal to Karou – the main character in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, despite not having the same supernatural gifts that Karou has, Zuzanna stands by her side and helps her in any way that she can – while also being the comic relief and solid reality when Karou needs it most. I fell more in love with Zuzanna after reading her romance spin-off Night of Cake and Puppets.

 

WHY I LOVE HER: Tella is perhaps the one main character I related to most out of all the books that I’ve read. I agreed with all of her decisions, good and bad. I liked how, though she was mistaken for as reckless, most of what she did and the choices she made was out of love for her sister. I love that she is unabashedly feminine while still being badass. She’s strong and fierce, without being prickly.

 

WHY I LOVE HER: Sadie is perhaps the most mysterious of all the female characters on this list – and in that mystery there is a magnetism. I’m just as obsessed with her as Colton is. She’s extremely dark, extremely smart, and scary as hell. She’s beautiful, but doesn’t feel compelled to draw attention to herself, though she can’t really help it.

 

WHY I LOVE HER: Harper is one of the strongest characters on this list. Her ability to draw loyal followers and take hit after hit, but still stand tall is unmatched. She isn’t defined by her disability and she doesn’t see it as a problem that needs to be solved. Her kindness and loyalty to those she feels are in the right, and particularly to those she loves, is such a draw.

 

WHY I LOVE HER: If I could be most like one character on this list, it would be Georgina. She is the brightest ray of sunshine and pure magnetism that absolutely draws people in and warms anyone within her radius. Yes, her supernatural abilities as a succubus does give her an advantage, but a lot of it is inherent. She’s also hilarious and the fact that she is reluctant about her “job.”

 

WHY I LOVE HER: London is another extremely dark, manipulative, brilliant character. She’s a criminal psychologist who falls in love with her serial killer patient. She’s extremely poised and professional on the outside, and very dark on the inside.

 

WHY I LOVE HER: Flora might be the most swoony character on this list. I didn’t think I would like her in the beginning of this hate-to-love story. She came off as the spoiled, mean-for-no-reason literal princess, but it isn’t long before you realize there is so much more to her than that. And she’s actually so thoughtful, loyal, and sweet.

 

WHY I LOVE HER: Greer is extremely submissive, but within that submission is power. She can work a room full of the most powerful men and women and stand her own ground with grace and poise. She can navigate intricate political relationships with ease because she’s done it her entire life.

 

WHY I LOVE HER: Freyja stuck with me the most out of all the characters on this list. She is not beautiful in the traditional sense – and with that knowledge and acceptance there is a certain power and freedom that Freyja has that most beautiful people don’t. She is not concerned with how she looks. She doesn’t envy others for how they look, she puts no value in it. She also is not bogged down with the worry of looking perfect all the time or the expectation to be beautiful forever. She is comfortable in her own skin – and strong in her body and mind.