July 2017 Wrap Up!

July has been my best reading month so far in 2017, so I’m feeling pretty good about that! This month I finished 26 books. Below I’ll share each of the books I read and let you know which were my favorites!

All of the titles link back to Goodreads, so be sure to check them out!

These are all of the books that I rated 5 stars. Last month, I only had one (!!) 5 star read, which was really disappointing, so I’m relieved that this month was much better!

• (#1) Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell – this was a hilarious nonfiction book written by a manager of a bookstore, where she quotes funny (and often ridiculous) conversations she has with customers. A definite must read for anyone who loves reading! You’ll fly though this one in less than an hour!
• (#2) The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker – this ended up being one of my favorite thrillers of the year so far! It’s fast paced, and full of twists, AND it’s set in Chicago, which is where I live!
• (#3) Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – this one has been all over Goodreads and bookstagram, and I’m so glad I decided to read it! It’s a beautiful written YA fantasy book about a boy on an adventure. Pacing wise, it is a little slower, but it set the ending up perfectly for an action packed sequel.
• (#4) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – this YA contemporary was written about the Black Lives Matter movement and is about a black teen who witnesses the death of her childhood friend by a police officer after he was pulled over for having a break light out. It’s heart wrenching, real, and raw, and I can’t recommend this one enough.
• (#5) Liar by K.L. Slater – a thriller by an author I love about a man who starts dating someone new after the death of his wife, and the fact that his mother feels like something is really off about the new girlfriend.
• (#6) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – a really cute YA contemporary about a girl finding herself during her first year in college while also continuing to write her popular online Fanfic.
• (#7) Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – another YA contemporary (can you tell I was in a mood this month!?) similar to fangirl in the sense that a shy high school senior is the creator of the wildly popular online webcomic. When her online identity is accidentally revealed, her relationship with her boyfriend falls apart and she struggles to move forward with her webcomic.

I’m up to 56 books on my backlist challenge, and since I set my original goal at 40, I’m happy that I’m on track to hit 100 (or more) this year! I’ve included Fangirl in my “favorite reads” list, but that was also a backlist book!

• (#8) What You Wish For by Mark Edwards – 2 stars – had I known this was going to be about aliens/UFOs, I would have passed on this one. I love Mark Edwards, but this was my least favorite of his books so far.
• (#9) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – 3 stars – I feel like I was in the minority with not completely loving this one
• (#10) Twisted by Andrew E. Kaufman – 4 stars – a really trippy horror/thriller book that I totally loved!
• (#11)  Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher – 3 stars – I liked the first book in the series a lot more than I liked this one, however that’s largely due to the fact that this one was focused on werewolves, which isn’t my thing. I’ll read the rest of the series though!
• (#12) Most Likely to Die by Lisa Jackson – 4 stars – a thriller about a group of adults planning a high school reunion that start to die one by one
• (#13) Penal by Dathan Auerbach – 2 stars –  I really was hoping this one would be a lot scarier than it was. The premise was great, and could have been really creepy, but the execution was completely lacking in order to pull off the creep factor

Aside from Lies and The Fourth Monkey, both of which I received from Netgalley and were listed as some of my favorite July reads, here are the other books I read through Netgalley/Edelweiss/publisher or author request.

• (#14) Each Little Lie by Tom Bale – 2 stars – I found this one unbelievable and I didn’t connect with any of the characters
• (#15) The Second Captive by Maggie James – 4 stars – a thriller about a girl who was kidnapped and then developed Stockholm Syndrome

• (#16) The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn – 2 stars – this was marketed as a thriller, but I found it slow, predictable, and not at all thrilling
• (#17) Only the Truth by Adam Croft – 2 stars – a thriller about a man who comes back to his hotel room to find his wife dead…but she was supposed to be at home
• (#18) Evelyn, After by Victoria Helen Stone – 3 stars – a thriller about a woman who gets a phone call telling her that her husband was in an accident…with another woman in the car
• (#19) Seed by Ania Ahlborn – 4 stars – a horror novel about a family plagued by an unknown source of evil
• (#20) Rumi Poetry: 100 Quotes on Life, Love, and Happiness – 2 stars
• (#21) Rumi Poetry: A Compilation of 100 Poems and Quotes on Love – 2 stars
• (#22) Adulthood is a Myth (Sarah’s Scribbles #1) by Sarah Anderson – 4 stars
• (#23) Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine – 4 stars – a thriller about a woman who finds out her husband is a serial killer and then starts experiencing odd things around her – is her ex-husband still watching her from prison?
• (#24) One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus – 4 stars – a YA mystery that reads like a game of clue about a group of students who enter detention together but one of them dies and the police think the remaining students had something to do with it
• (#25) Deceptive Practices by Simon Wood – 3 stars – a thriller about a woman who hires a company to get back at her cheating husband, but is then blackmailed about his murder
• (#26) Paranormal Intruder by Caroline Mitchell – 4 stars – a true story about a family who is plagued by an evil presence in the house they just moved into

**How did you do on your July reading goals? Have you read any of the books I read last month? Let me know in the comments!**