July Book Reviews

Here's a recap of what I read in July with no-spoiler reviews.

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Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

What I Liked: Best enemies to lovers book I've read.

What I Didn't Like: You can tell it's a romance first with dystopian fantasy built in. The world building feels like an after thought.

Overall: I read this book for the romance so I loved it. The tension between Juliette and her two romantic interests, Adam and Aaron, is at it's pinnacle for the Shatter Me series in this book.

Outside of the romance aspect, there are some twists and turns that kept me engaged. Juliette is finally coming into her own and figuring out how strong she can be.

This was my favorite read this month and I'd recommend it to a friend. :)

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Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

What I Liked: Girl power, the female main character finally shines in the end.

What I Didn't Like: Similar to above, the world building feels a bit half hazard but unfortunately so do the plot itself and romance elements.

Overall: I think this is my least favorite in the Shatter Me trilogy. I just had a hard time getting into it. The first half feels like we're going round and round in circles as the characters try to figure out what they want to do.

The back half feels rushed so it seems like all of the meat of the plot is kind of brushed over. The war itself could've been a much better focal point.

I still enjoyed it enough, and you can't read the first two without seeing it through to Juliette's happy ending.

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Sweet Nightmare by Tracy Wolff

What I Liked: Not a whole lot.

What I Didn't Like: Plot, characters, scene, prose... pretty much everything.

Overall: I'm being generous with the two and a half stars. I picked up this book with low expectations and was still disappointed. I'll be honest, I was a huge Crave series fan in the beginning and she started losing my interest to the end. One of the few things I liked about the last couple books was Remy so I wanted to get to see what happened to him. I understand he'll (hopefully) get his chance to shine later in this series. But this book was a train wreck that probably would've been better summed up as a prologue in whatever she has planned next.

I wouldn't recommend this one at all unless the series gets better later. Hold off. X

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The Troop by Nick Cutter

What I Liked: Everything I want in a horror novel.

What I Didn't Like: Not much really which is why it got the highest rating. The only reason it wasn't my favorite read for the month is because I'm in my romance era. Haha.

Overall: This book has all the perfect elements of a classic horror novel with enough of a unique and modern twist that it hit everything I was hoping for.

I full blown ugly cried at points which is a huge reason it got the five stars. It's about a troop of boy scouts about my son's age so that could be why, I really felt for the poor boys on a deep level.

It is a believable scary story that will have you freaked out and thinking "what if?" So, if you like scary, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this one.

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Talismans, Teacups & Trysts by K. Starling

What I Liked: It was so cute and I loved the humor built into the mystery.

What I Didn't Like: Like I said above, I'm in my romance era, and I think this would've been cute with a romantic element. But I absolutely understand why Starling didn't add it in there.

Overall: I've decided to start reading at least one self-published book at a time to support my fellow indie authors and I couldn't have picked a better one to start out. This book didn't disappoint AT ALL. This is what you'd get if you mixed Bridgerton with Enola Holmes and sprinkled some fantasy elements in along the way.

The main character is solving a mystery that spirals into a much deeper mystery and is surrounded by a cast of hysterical characters and mystical animals that are painted in a whole new light.

Of all the books I read this month, this one gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION. It's on the shorter side so it's a quick and easy read, but it's also cute, pleasant, surprising, and funny in a way most mainstream novels don't get to be, the narrators makes some cute quips along the way. <3