What I Read In July + My August TBR
11 books. How did I read so much in July? To be honest, the summer months are when I read the most. I also hit my reading goal this summer! I made a goal to read 60 books and I hit that this month. I am super proud of myself, because that number keeps increasing more and more.
The books I read in July were great! A couple of them were rereads, but since I didn’t read them the first time in 2024, I am still counting them towards my reading goal. (They count on Goodreads, so they count in my brain.)
Here are the books I read in July! Plus, journey with me as I try to find books for my August TBR.
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
This is the first Ali Hazelwood book I read this month, and it did not disappoint. I remember this coming out right after The Love Hypothesis, her big debut and a five star read for me. I remember the reviews not being as great for this one, and tbh, I understand. However, I liked this one! I liked Levi. He was a sweet male main character that looked out for others and was loyal, sometimes to a fault. And Bee! I love that Ali writes strong female main characters, especially those who work in the STEM fields. I really enjoyed this one.
Rating: 3/5
At First Spite (Harlot’s Bay, 1) by Olivia Dade
A plus size romance? Sign me up. I liked the female main character, Athena, in this one. She struggled heavily with mental health issues, such as depression. And Olivia Dade really illustrated that well on the page. It was a big part of the plot, so if that’s a trigger for you, please read accordingly. Other than that, we see Athena on the heels of her failed engagement. Her fiance broke off the engagement, but not until after Athena surprise bought him a house next door to his own house. To spite him, she decides to move in anyway. She bought the house not only as a gift for her fiance, but as a gift to herself—she was burnt out from her teaching job and wanted to start a new chapter. But that chapter started off to a rough start. However, she learns of her other neighbor (besides her ex-fiance, who went on their honeymoon without her), is none other than her ex fiance’s brother, Matthew, who was the reason that her engagement failed. To spite him, she starts playing erotic audiobooks on full blast so that he has to hear it. Overall, I liked this one. It was a delightful romance but also with heavy themes like depression.
Rating: 3/5
Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood
My second Ali Hazelwood book this month! I liked this one. Ali Hazelwood’s books are always fun but also heartfelt and carries a lot of depth to them. Ali said it herself in the foreword of the book—the characters go through deep stuff. Up to the halfway point, I was going to give it three stars but it got REALLY good about halfway through! Other than the romance, which was SO obvious, I liked the mystery and legal thriller that was going on. (I wanted to know what was happening with her workplace!) Overall, I’d recommend. I think Ali Hazelwood did it again with another great romance with strong female characters in STEM. And a sexy male main character in Eli!
Rating: 4/5
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
I read this in 2022, and rated it four stars. Tbh, I read it then on my Kindle when I wasn’t in my Kindle girl era. I did not like my Kindle (I have since changed my ways), so the reading experience while reading this one may have altered my rating and my thoughts on this book. But it’s a fan favorite! So I decided to give it another chance. And I’m so glad I did! I listened to it on audio—narrated by the incomparable Julia Whelan—and I loved it all the way through. I always loved Nora and Charlie, even on my first read through. Charlie is a character with a lot of emotional depth to him, something I really love in Emily Henry’s writing (and we don’t even get male POVs with her writing!). And Nora. Oh, man, I love Nora! Not only do I love the sister relationship that is so obvious throughout this book and said by the popular reviews, but I love her tenacity and passion for books and family. All along, she learned to want things for herself, not for other people, and through the way, she remained the the strong character that she is. I’d highly recommend re-reading this if you haven’t already, and if you haven’t read this at all, what are you doing? Go do it now!
Rating: 5/5 (reread)
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
I read this in 2023, and immediately fell in love with it. There is so much I can say about this book. I wrote a post on my bookstagram that you can read here, and a review from my first read through here. One, I love Will Griffin. Two, I love Annie Walker and can relate to her so much. Three, I love Annie and Will together. They literally give me butterflies. Four, I love the community that Sarah Adams creates in Rome, Kentucky. Overall, I’d recommend this book a thousand times.
Rating: 5/5 (reread)
Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy, 1) by Lauren Roberts
Oh, okay! I liked this one. To be honest, it took me a while to get through, partly because I was reading so many other good books. But I liked it nonetheless! It felt very much like The Hunger Games, which the author has said it inspired her. There’s definitely a lot of romance in here, between Kai and Paedlyn, and I was gobbling every crumb up. I loved Kai and Paedlyn—so much so, I did not want to see any scenes with Paedlyn and Kit! Like, why would the author put scenes between them in? To make Kai look more attractive? Anyway, I would say this is definitely worth the hype. I’m excited to start reading the novella, Powerful, and then the second book, Reckless, soon!
Rating: 4/5
The Au Pair Affair (Big Shots, 2) by Tessa Bailey
Tessa Bailey, as much as I love and respect her as an author, is a hit or miss author for me. She’s a career romance author, and some of her books aren’t hits for me. I wanted to love this one and for the most part, I did. But I felt like there was A LOT of spice and not enough plot. Like, Tallulah was Burgess’s nanny (for his preteen daughter), but there were barely any scenes of Burgess and Tallulah outside of the bedroom. I wanted to see more of Burgess wooing her. Or like when he picked her up outside of the bar and kissed her to make that one guy jealous! I wanted to see more of that. I wanted to see Burgess jealous over other guys interested in her! I love a man yearning for love. Other than that, their relationship was just fine. I loved the Wells Whitaker cameos! I love that man more and more. Contrary to popular reviews, I think I liked Fangirl Down better than this one.
Rating: 3.5/5
Twisted Lies (Twisted, 4) by Ana Huang
I finally finished the Twisted series (on audio) and I love these books so much! Let me just say: this may be my favorite book in the series. But I think I like Twisted Games (book 2) the best. However, this book comes so close to second. Christian Harper is a new favorite book boyfriend. Loved him and Stella. There were so many twists! I also really liked Stella. I like reading characters who are influencers, bloggers, etc. I like reading about their jobs. Overall, I’d recommend this and the entire series.
Rating: 4.5/5
Husbands and Lovers by Beatriz Williams
This one is SO close to a five star read for me, and honestly, that may change once I think more on it. I loved this book so much. It captured my heart and had me in a chokehold that I could not set it down. I haven’t read a book by this author but I will now because her writing style is so good and unique. The way she tells these stories of these characters was truly incredible. While I loved Hannah’s story from the past, I also loved Mallory’s story, told in the past (2008) and “present day” (in 2022). I would recommend this book a thousand times. Beautiful. Gut-wrenching. Even twisty. Romantic. Read my full review here!
Rating: 4.5/5
Business Casual (Lovelight, 4) by B.K. Borison
Oh my gosh, I love this series so much! Nova and Charlie’s story, in book 4, was just perfect. The perfect fall romance. They are so right for each other. The romance and chemistry was off the charts. I liked the “business casual” relationship—the whole, let’s do this for fun thing. That’s a “trope” I see more and more in romance books. A friends with benefits type thing or let’s play this casual relationship until it fizzles out, only it doesn’t because they both fall for each other. Anyway. Charlie!! He deserves the WORLD. He does everything for everybody, because he loves this town of Inglewild, and expects literally nothing (except to be loved and accepted). He is so sweet. He may be one of my favorite book boyfriends ever, and honestly, comes close to my other book boyfriend in the series: Beckett. (Although, Beckett will always have my heart and I loved his appearances in this book, because his sister is Nova.) I loved this book so much. I would recommend this and this entire series a thousand times. Although I give this book a 4.75, I give Charlie six stars.
Rating: 4.75/5 (should I just round up to a 5?)
Kiss The Girl (Meant to Be, 3) by Zoraida Cordova
This book was so cute! I like the Meant to Be series that are Disney princess story retellings. This one is a retelling of The Little Mermaid—which, I might have to watch the live-action movie soon. First things first, Ariel is literally Hannah Montana as she’s coming off her goodbye show with her band, Siren Seven, that she shares with her sisters. Wearing a wig the whole time, Ariel just wants to be normal and experience normal things. She wants to discover herself. She then runs into Eric Reyes, a frontman for the up-and-coming band Star-crossed, and accepts a job with the band who is going on tour, as the merch girl. It’s there she not only discovers herself, but also falls in love along the way. There were a few twists I didn’t see coming, including who the villain was. This book surprised me! It was a cute romance but there was a lot of depth to the story, characters, and plot. Overall, I’d recommend!
Rating: 4/5