Friday 1 August 2014

Monthly Recap: July


Hi all! I hope July was a fabulous reading month for you. Sorry I haven't been around commenting much in the last week and a bit, my cousin got married this week, so I've been super busy with family and wedding preparation. My room still looks so chaotic, but hopefully with family going back home :( things will slowly get back to normal and I can get back to reading. I also have some great author events coming up soon, I get to meet Mila Gray (Sarah Alderson), Leigh Bardugo and Moira Young this month, which I'm super excited about. 

So here's how our reading month of July went for us!


Number of Books read:
Jasprit: 5
Rachel: 10

Highest rating:
Jasprit: 4.5
Rachel: 5
Lowest rating:
Jasprit: DNF
Rachel: DNF

Books reviewed:

Jasprit: 
(click on titles for review link)


  
  



Rachel: 
(click on titles for review link)

Five Ways to Fall (Ten Tiny Breaths, #4) Written in Red (The Others, #1) Prototype (Archetype #2)

Better Homes and Hauntings Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3.5)



Best read of last month:
Jasprit: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. This book did take me a while to get into, but only because I had hardly anytime to read it, but a lot of readers whose opinions I highly trusted told me what a gem of a read this book was, so I really couldn't wait to get stuck in. And for the first time in a while, I found myself utterly absorbed into it. Also one of the characters in this book was just simply amazing!

Rachel: 
I reviewed three 5 star reads this month so things really started off well.  I think my favorite of the three is Written in Red by Anne Bishop. That series quietly sucked me in and I'm dying for book three! Everything, from the world, characters and romance (in the works) is superb!

Book which surprised me the most: 
Jasprit: I'm going have to go with The Darkest Minds again. This book honestly kept you on your toes with the shock factors, at times I thought I could guess what would happen, but really loved it when I was left flummoxed at times.

Rachel: 
Five Ways to Fall by K.A. Tucker was amazing but I was surprised at how funny and lighthearted it was in parts.  There is some emotional heft as well, but I had so much fun reading it. I kept laughing out loud. 

Fictional crush of the month:
Jasprit: Liam from The Darkest Minds. This guy was just everything you could hope for in a fictional crush, he was sweet, defensive when he needed to be and funny, I truly appreciated everything that he bought to this wonderful story. 

Rachel:
Sweet and sexy Ben from Five Ways to Fall! I love it when a man can have a good time and make me laugh! Plus, a man who loves, respects and treats his mamma right gets a thumbs up from me!

Three books I'm most looking forward to this month:

Jasprit:
 (Click on titles for Goodreads link)

  
  

After having loving The Darkest Minds, I knew I had to order Never Fade straight away, I am hopefully prepared for the rollercoaster ride that this book will be. A lot of bloggers I know have read and loved The Kiss of Deception, and to be honest after reading so many reviews, I am highly excited about giving this book a go. And it feels like we've had the longest wait for Isla and the Happily Ever After, but August is finally here! I can't wait for my copy to arrive!

                                            
Rachel:
(Click on titles for Goodreads link)

The Beautiful Ashes (Broken Destiny, #1) Since You've Been Gone Silver Shadows (Bloodlines, #5)

My friend Crystal compared The Beautiful Ashes to the Fever series which is one of my all-time favorites!  Andrea @The Bookish Babe as usual tempted me with another book with her wonderful review of Since You've Been Gone.  Sounds like chick-lit at its best!  I held off on reading The Fiery Heart because of the awful cliffhanger and so I'm excited to read it and Silver Shadows back to back!  I'm nervous about them, though. Richelle Mead can gut you with her plot lines! 

Bookish Photo: 


Book Soup on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood.  I (Rachel) saw Laini Taylor for the first time here at this dinky, but interesting book store!

Book Soup
Click for photo credit courtesy of Flickr

We have no blog poll for you this month.  Maybe next month.


16 comments:

Siiri said...

YESSSSS!!! Moira. Mila. Leigh. --so happy and jealous for and of you! I hope this means a few recaps for us though ;) I had a DNF too this month, but mostly 4 stars and a few 2-3 stars. One 5 star read though ;) YOU LOVED THE DARKEST MINDS I CANNOT EVEN WHAT IS LIFE YESSSSSS. And I'm so freakin' happy that Rachel loved Five Ways to Fall. I laughed out loud too! Such a cute and awesome book :) LIAM. BEN. I CAN'T BREATHE. I LOVE THEM BOTH SO! I hope you girls enjoy your picks for August. Need to catch up with Bloodlines since Sydrian (!!) and can't wait to read The Kiss of Deception :) Never Fade will be left for fall :) CAN I COME WITH YOU TO THIS PLACE, RACHEL? I'LL BE THERE IN MY MIND :') SO PRETTY!!!!

Mel@Thedailyprophecy said...

I really want to read The darkest mind! It has been on my list for such a long time now. That bookstore looks gorgeous :D

Anonymous said...

Jasprit, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed The Darkest Minds. I loved that book so much! If ever you wanted to buddy read Never Fade. I have yet to read the book myself because of its monstrous size, but if I have someone to read it, maybe I'll be able to get through it. :)

Rachel, I've been hearing such good things about Five Ways to Fall. I have the book and will be reading it soon, so I'm excited to hear such great things about Ben and the book! Can't wait to meet him! :)

I hope you guys have a great August as well!

brandileigh2003 said...

I really enjoyed Ben as well, he was so fun to read about.
Liam is pretty great too though

Mary @ BookSwarm said...

Ooh, yes!! I loved Written in Red so much!! And that's such a cute bookstore. Wish we had indies in my town. Alas.

Carina Olsen said...

You get to meet Leigh? SO JEALOUS. Ack. Hope you have the best time. <3 And yay. Awesome post you guys :) You read lots of awesome books. <3 hope you will read a lot of great ones this month :) I.. did not like The Kiss of Deception :( Hoping you might like it more ;p pfff. I kind of hope you will hate it too, lol :D

Tanja - Tanychy said...

That bookstore! *heavy breathing* So pretty and I cannot wait to hear more about your meeting with Leigh. I love her books. Also now I know that I'll have to read The Darkest Minds! I cannot wait. And also Written in Red! Great post, ladies :)

Jess said...

So excited to meet up again for the Leigh and Moira event Jas! I really liked The Darkest Minds but sadly didn't find Never Fade as polished. I'm so ridiculously excited for Isla! I can't believe that the wait is almost over!

Rachel I'm so excited to read Silver Shadows this month! My pre-order hasn't even been dispatched yet which is a real nightmare because like you I'm desperate to see what is going on after that cliffhanger!

Hope you ladies have a great reading month! :)

Unknown said...

I've missed you both, and am happy you're having a good summer!

Rachel, I'm currently listening to Five Ways to Fall and I'm really enjoying it! I like the actual friendship between Ben and Reese! And I hope you enjoy Since You've Been Gone. I loved it so much.

Have a great August, ladies!

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

So glad you loved Written in Red, Rachel. That is one of my new fav series. I still need to check out The Darkest Mind Series. I too am dying to read Isla, and I am starting Silver Shadows audio today. Can't wait.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

I am SO ready for Isla and the Happily Ever After. I've waited far less than others though. I read Anna last summer, but somehow only got to Lola recently. haha

Keertana said...

Rachel, I'm thrilled to see Written in Red make your favorites of the month--it was definitely a favorite of mine even from when I read it last year. It's just too good and I can't wait to see what you make of the sequel.

Jasprit, I'm so glad you enjoyed The Darkest Minds as it's a book I want to read myself, so I'm really looking forward to diving into the series eventually. I also can't wait for Isla this month--finally! :D

Kailia Sage said...

You both had a great reading month! Jasprit, I agree with you: I can't wait for Isla to come out! I've been waiting forever for it! Rachel: Richelle Mead's books have left me with my heart broken. I'm waiting to read the rest of the Bloodlines series because I want all the books to be out!

Faye M. said...

Ugh, that photo of the bookstore looks so good. Why aren't our bookstores look like that at all? :( Ours are so boring in comparison!

And I'm happy you loved Written in Red, Rachel. That one was a good sequel if I've ever seen one. Just dashing in all of its awesomeness! I never got into The Darkest Minds when I read it in 2012. It just wasn't for me, and the angst in the middle made me so frustrated! Nevertheless, I'm happy you adored it, Jasprit :)

Faye at The Social Potato

Tirta said...

Moira Young and Leigh Bardugo! Have fun, Jasprit!
YASSSSSSS to you starting The Darkest Minds, I also had quite a rough start adapting with the author's writing style but after 100-ish pages or so, I could not put it down at all! Liam and Ruby is one of my most fave YA couple right now, they're just sooo precious <3

Unknown said...

I keep hearing such fabulous things about Written in Red and I was SO excited when I finally got an audiobook copy of it but.. I haven't read it yet. I really need to get on that. lol
Happy reading you two!

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