Wrap Up | July 2015

July has been a pretty eventful month for me, as it was the first full month of my summer break. Despite being so busy, I did manage to read more books than I have read in a month so far this year. I read a total of 10 books and a novella, which I think is pretty impressive, at least for me.

My Life In July...

- I spent an amazing week looking after a great group of kids at a church Summer Camp.

- I went on holiday to France with my mum and had a great two weeks in the sun.

- While in France, I got to go to Disneyland Paris! I had the best day ever since I am a child at heart.

Watched In July...

- Big Hero 6 - 4/5

- One Tree Hill Season 2 - 4/5

- Breaking Dawn Part 2 (rewatch) - 5/5

Read In July...

Free Four by Veronica Roth -

This is a novella within the Divergent series in which the knife throwing scene from Divergent is retold from Four's point of view. I found the stories within the novellas in Four to be very interesting from Four's point of view so expected to find this similarly interesting. I did enjoy this novella and find it interesting but it was so short that it really did not seem necessary. I didn't think it added anything to the series. 3/5

Our Story by Collabro -

I absolutely love Collabro, the 2014 Britain's Got Talent winners, so as soon as I knew they had published a book, I had to read it. Obviously, since I love them so much, I loved finding out more about their lives before Collabro and their stories. I loved the insight into the process of Britain's Got Talent, through the audition process and the live shows, and some of the things that went on after they won. I really enjoyed this book. 4/5

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - 

I started rereading this again back in April but ended up distracted by other things after only the first chapter. I decided to continue with my reread this month and I loved it just as much as I did the previous two times I have read it. This book is so nostalgic for me and just makes me so happy. As much as it is criticised now, and I know it isn't the best book ever, I still love this series and I am not ashamed to admit that. 4/5

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson -

After reading Amy & Rodger's Epic Detour back in May, I started listening to Morgan Matson's second novel as an audiobook. I had heard really great things about this book but was a little intimidated by the size of the book, since most contemporaries are generally under 400 pages, so audiobook seemed like the best option. I really enjoyed this book, and the experience of listening to it. The story itself was heart-warming and emotional and I love the way it incorporated elements of family, friendship and first love. The narrator of the audiobook was great as well, and added to the overall experience. 4/5

The Naughtiest Girl In The School by Enid Blyton -

I bought this on iBooks for the Biannual Bibliothon challenge to reread a book from your childhood. I didn't manage to get to it during the readathon but thought it would be fun to reread it anyway, since I had bought it. I enjoyed reading this story again but there were aspects I picked up on, that I would not have at such a young age when I first read it, that made me enjoy it slightly less. I love the boarding school aspect of this book and that element made this very enjoyable. However, some of the behaviour promoted in this book I really did not like. 3/5

The Geography Of You And Me by Jennifer E Smith -

I had such high hopes for this one after loving The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight when I read it last summer. Unfortunately, this was a little bit of a disappointment for me. I didn't hate it, by any means, but it didn't live up to the standard I was expecting. I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it, it was just an okay read for me. I loved the travel aspect, as I love travelling, but there were other things that I didn't particularly enjoy. 3/5

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell -

I have finally read a Rainbow Rowell book! I decided to read her books in publication order and I was very surprised by how good her first book was. I really enjoyed this book, it was so much better than I had expected. I loved the characters, particularly Jennifer and Beth. I thought their emails were hilarious but there was also a lot of information given in them, including more serious things. I love the way Rainbow Rowell wrote this book, with the unique format and great writing style. 4/5

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead -

I have owned this book for at least 5 years and have finally gotten around to reading it. I have heard so many people talk about this series and how much they love it that I was a bit intimidated, but I decided to dive into it and see what the fuss it about. To be completely honest, I'm still not entirely sure what the fuss it about. I liked this book, but I didn't love it. There were various aspects that I found interesting, like the different types of vampire, but I don't really understand all of the hype. I do see potential in this series though, so I will probably continue with it. 3/5

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban by JK Rowling -
Finally I have gotten around to continuing with the Harry Potter series. The third book in the series seems to be a lot of people's favourite so I did feel a bit of pressure to love it. Luckily, I did! I am really enjoying this series, as expected, and am definitely enjoying the books more now that I don't know the story before reading them. 4/5

Alive Souls: Inception by Elena Yulkina -
I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This was very short, only 66 pages, but full of complex fantasy elements. This could have been good if the plot and characters had been properly developed. I think the author tried to fit too much into such a short number of pages. 2/5

Cabin Fever by Mandy Smith -
This is non-fiction, documenting Mandy Smith's life as a Virgin air hostess and was something I was really looking forward to reading. Unfortunately, this was a disappointment for me. I really enjoyed reading about her training experience and her stories of life as an air hostess, however these things only made up around 1/4 of the book. The majority of this book was taken up by stories of her personal life, including intimate details of her sex life, stories about her non-work travelling and details of all of her relationships. 2.5/5

Blogged In July...
- I wrapped up June.
- I hauled all of the books I bought in June.

That is everything I read in July. What have you read this month?

Sophie :)