Guys, I don't even how but July just got away from me. I skipped my June reading wrap-up on the 30th of June, thinking I'd do it in the first week of July. But before I knew it, I was in the last week of July wondering what the hell even happened to this month?
I blame these gorgeous rainy days and the urge to just sit and spend my time reading one thriller after another and before you know it the month is over.
Well, so today you get not one but two months worth of books and reviews and recommendations.
:)
So grab a drink and get cozy.
Let's do this.
I have 42 books to talk about, so let's begin.
BOOKS OF JUNE 2023:
1. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese: OK, this is pretty much the best book I've read so far in the year. It's brilliant and you have to read it now.
I have a full review, which you can see HERE.
5/5
Love it.
2. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto: This book had been on my radar for ages, I had heard nothing but amazing things about it and I was very pleased to finally read it. However, I liked it but didn't love it nearly as much as I had hoped I would. It's an intense read about grief and loss and finding a new family (of sorts). Nice but not great, in my opinion.
2/5
3. When in Rome by Sarah Adams: I read two sad-ish books back to back and was in need of some much needed cheer and some fluffy romcom. So I quite randomly picked this book up. It's about a famous popstar, who wants a break from her life and ends up stranded in a small town and runs into this grumpy pie baker and romance and shenanigans ensue. This was light and sweet and fun. Just what I needed.
3/5
4. Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott: This book is a slow burn thriller, a domestic one. A pregnant woman moves into her father-in-law's cabin in the middle of nowhere and what starts off as a caring and concerned in-law turns into something a little disturbing. This was a tense read, you feel this dread building up. You could guess a lot of the twists coming, at least I did. I liked it for most part. This author writes really layered and nuanced thrillers, which I tend to like.
2/5
5. Tinkle Origins Vol. 4
6. Tinkle Origins Vol. 5: Read two volumes of my beloved childhood comic book and loved it. These feel like a hug and a little time machine back into the simpler times.
5/5
Always a good time.
7. King of Wrath &
8. King of Pride by Ana Huang: More romance, this time a billionaire romance to swoon over. These were both fun and light and easy and a little bit steamy.
3/5 for both.
9. Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors: I had seen this book all over IG and it's one of those books that everyone was reading and loving and this is the kind of book I like to call 'Cool Girl Reads'. It's essentially a love story of sorts, a couple meets one night and falls hard for each other and get married soon thereafter. And the book is an exploration of their marriage, and in turn what this relationship does and how it effects those closest to the couple. We see friends and family and the couple themselves in the aftermath of this union and I found this interesting and compelling and very nicely written. Plus, it's set in NYC which I love. I liked it. Worth the hype it generated.
3.5/5
10. Wolfpack by Amelia Brunskill: I randomly picked up this book, I saw that it was about a cult and a group of girls within this cult and how one of them goes missing and the rest of them try to make sense of her disappearance. Also it's told in verse, which if done well I seem to like.
I really loved this book. I read it in one sitting and I liked reading about the cult-something I always, always love and I liked getting to know these girls and see life on this commune. I also kinda liked that this cult...wasn't obviously vile and beyond bad. I mean, if you think about a cult/commune can't be all bad if so many people decide to stick around and this cult had it's good sides. It was messed up and problematic but the author did a good job of showing why people here were happy and also how deeply brainwashed folks were.
4/5
11. Mermaids in the Moonlight by Sharanya Manivannan: I read this beautifully illustrated children's book in one sitting over a cup of tea. It's about a mother and daughter and the myths and legends of mermaids from all over the world, which I found so utterly charming and interesting. A good time.
4/5
12. Monster Folktales from South Asia by Musharraf Ali Farouqui: More kidlit for me and this time some monster stories from the South Asia, things and legends and stories and tales from places all over our corner of the continent. Most of these were unheard of, for me and I really enjoying learning about these folktales and monsters. This was fun.
3.5/5
13. Ode to my First Car by Robin Gow: I read another book told in verse and this one about summer, first love, queerness and crushing on someone you aren't sure sees you in the same way. This was sweet and had all the angst of a teenager in love. It was a good read for Pride.
2.5/5
14. The Wicked Unseen by Gigi Griffins: Something else I read for Pride. Set in 1996 this book, set in a very religious small-town talks about the Satanic Panic that had people seeing evil and devil worshiping all over the place. A phenomenon I've read about before. This is about a young queer girl who moves to a new town and is caught up in prejudice and suspicion when the local pastor's daughter goes missing.
Kinda predictable, saw the mystery/twist coming from a mile away.
2/5
15. The Only One Left by Riley Sager: I had to get my hands on this as soon as it came out. It was low-key my most anticipated reads of the month. I buddy read this with my sister and I have review up for this one too.
3/5
16. The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett: Another buddy read for sis and me, I really love how this author tells her stories, she tells them through documents, notes, messages, texts and audio recordings. This one was about a classic children's book and it's supposed hidden code messages. It was fun enough but eventually this fell sort of flat for me. I've read all three of the author's books and this one sadly is my least favourite.
2.5/5
17. How not to get wet in the Rain, 21 Stories for Tricky Times by Sunanda Kulkarni: It was quite rainy in June and this collection of 21 stories was the perfect sort of rainy day read. Sweet and sensible stories for kids and something even adults can enjoy.
4/5
18. Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie: I loved this book so much. It's a split perspective story, the first half told by one cousin and the second half by the other. We see the same situation, same life and same family from two very different view points and I love when books do this. We see one side the story, side with one person, judge the other and then BAM the story flips to the other side and we see a whole new angle. I love when books do this and this book did it so well. I went into this book pretty blind and absolutely loved it.
5/5
19. What we Carry by Maya Shanbhag: A memoir to end my reading month. And a book I had on my wishlist for a while and I read it at just the right time. This is a memoir about a mother and daughter, memory, family and seeing a parent you've put on a pedestal your whole life in a new light. I loved this book. I am so glad I finally read it and I read it now.
4/5
I also read a few picture books and children's books from PBS Story Weaver.
Here is a little list.
I loved them all.
20. Paati's Gold by Meenu Thomas, Art by Kruttika Susarla
21. Roy's Noisy Secret by Yamini Vijayyan and Anjali Kamat
22. At Home by Shweta Ganesh Kumar, Art by Annanda Menon
23. How Old is Muttajji? By Roopa Pai, Art by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan
24. The Scavenger Hunt by Ajit Narra, Art by Arkapriya Koley
25. A Shade of Green by Rya Jetha, Art by Sourav Sarkar
26. Grandfather goes on Strike by K.S. Nagarajan, Art by Neeta Gangopadhya
27. Manu Mixes Clay and Sunshine by Bulbul Sharma, Art by Shanti Devi
4/5 for all these happy little beautiful books.
That was June.
A month of 27 books read.
And some truly amazing books. I had two 5 star reads, which never happens.
A good, solid reading month.
💜💜💜💜💜💜
BOOKS OF JULY:
1. I Fell in Love with Hope by Lancali: I started the month with this flowery, too full of words and very little sense book. This is a TikTok sensation and is good enough reason to stay away from TikTok sensations in the future. This was so...annoying and so cloying and try hard and full of itself. Yikes. Not for me, at all .
1/5
2. The Chaperone by M. Hendrix: I read a dystopian novel after absolute ages. AGES. Remember how ten years ago almost every second book was YA dystopian tale? Well, I think I definitely OD-ed on the genre and needed a little break. This book I picked up randomly and started reading and couldn't stop. It's set in the near future, in a New America, where young girls are never left alone. When they reach maturity, as in the minute they menstruate, the government sends them a chaperone, who will shadow them and teach them the right way to woman and who will keep them in check. Gosh, the mere thought of that is so claustrophobic. I really liked this book and this world, mainly because nothing about it seemed far fetched.
4/5
3. All The Broken Places by John Boyne: Loved it. So much. It's the sequel to The Boy in Striped Pyjamas and while that is definitely a children's book, this one is for grown-ups. This book just broke my heart and made me smile, cry and sigh deeply. So good. Best thing I've read all month.
5/5
4. Quarterlife by Devika Rege: This is a story set firmly in New India, the India of today and three characters, two Indian and one American are trying to make sense of it and where they stand. I liked the writing, I liked the setting- Mumbai and I liked the conversations on family, politics, nationalism and poverty and seeing our world from a Westerner's perspective. Compelling and important and sharp.
3/5
5. The Woman Who Climbed Trees by Smriti Ravindra: A Nepali novel, that I loved so much and learnt so much about our neighbors. For instance, I had no idea about the ethnic tensions between the pahadis and the folks from the flat lands. No idea. I love books that teach me something new. And I love this story about a young girl, who we first meet at fourteen as she is about to wed and we follow her through her life. We see her go from a child, to bride, to bitter, to confused and unhappy and ill and everything in between. An absolute ride that I enjoyed very much.
3.5/5
6. The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander: This is just a cute little romance novel about a tiny village in the UK, new beginnings and love and libraries. Cute and wholesome.
3/5
7. Send Nudes by Saba Sams: I am currently reading this book, I am 45% and a few stories in and I am quite enjoying these stories about women and little moments and some quite messed up situations and people. It's messy, real and quite relatable. I am really enjoying it.
These were all the normal books I read in July and then it got dark and grey and gloomy and I hit my spooky reads hard.
Most of my July has included reading one thriller after another. Guys, it rained and I went alllll in.
Here are some thrillers from the month.
8. The Woods are Waiting by Katherine Green: Set in the Appalachian mountains, this is a story of a small-town and the many superstitions that loom large over this community, kids go missing and people think it's some entity in the woods, This was spooky, creepy and fun. I did guess who the big bad was the first time we met them..so there's that.
2/5
9. A Good House for Children by Kate Collins: This one is a straight up horror novel. Split between 1976 and present day. It's about this one house, that is a little bit creepy and has something that's very off about it. We see two sets of families move here and two women who begin to have a sinister experience. This was fun to read, mainly because I read this as it poured. But I didn't enjoy the lack of answers and the ending wasn't my favourite.
2/5
10. With a Kiss We Die by L.R. Dorn: This one was promising, a true-crime podcaster is asked by two murder suspects to interview them and give them an opportunity to tell their side of the story. The whole book is told like episodes of a podcast. I was enjoying this, till I figured the big twist at some 30%. Why are some thrillers so damn obvious?
2/5
11. White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson: I love this author's books and this one is her first foray into horror and I really enjoyed this. A blended family moves into a gentrified home in a new town. The house is old and something is quite off. The town also has a dark history and something messed up is afoot. Atmospheric and creepy and so much fun.
3/5
12. The Couple in the Photo by Helen Cooper: A domestic thriller but two couples who are super close friends, till one woman spots the other husband in a photo cozying up to a strange woman and this one photo unravels their friendships and old secrets come tumbling out. This one kept me hooked from start to finish and I quite enjoyed the twists and turns and reveals.
3.5/5
13. House Woman by Adorah Nworah: A Nigerian American novel about some very messed up and toxic in-laws and something very fishy. A young Nigerian girl moves to the US for an arranged marriage set-up and feels something is very wrong with her in-laws and fiance. Tense and sad and messed up, this wasn't a thriller per say but it was still thrilling and had a couple of twists.
3/5
14. The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett: Read and loved and reviewed.
4/5
15. Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn: I saw someone on YouTube read this book, which is a children's horror novel and I immediately got it and read in one sitting, well I read this lying down while we had a very, very rainy day. It's set in an old lake house and we follow a thirteen year old girl who is babysitting her five year old cousin all summer and they meet this rude local kid and eerie things begin to happen. There is an old secret and menacing lake. I loved this and ate this cozy(ish) horror story.
4/5
Uff.
Done.
I did start a few books but I never ended them, so I won't be counting them as July reads. But overall July has been good. I read some good books. I bought some books. And I had the best time reading and watching some spooky things.
I hope this has been a good month for you too.
:)
I am so excited for August and doing my All Indian Books in August.
Desi Lit here I comeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛
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