July was a blur, but I read some books. It went so quickly that I can't remember half of it or anything I did. However, thanks to Goodreads, I do know that I read 8 books. I read a bit of a mix in July, some great and some not so great. Let's talk about them.
You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson -
This is a YA contemporary following a girl who decided to run for Prom Queen in order to win a scholarship, but she believes she is too black, too poor, and too awkward to ever win. I really wanted to love this. I love anything to do with competitions in my books, so this plot worked really well for me. I enjoyed the battle for King and Queen and all the antics that entailed. I also really liked the main character, she was great sassy, fun character, as well as her love interest. I thought Liz and Mack were a great couple, all of their time together was just adorable. The one thing that I just couldn't get past was the constant pop culture references. I'm generally not a fan of pop culture references in my books, but they were so constant in this book that I found it to be very jarring and completely took me out of the story. It would have been a really solid 4 star read, but I couldn't get over that element. I will definitely pick up anything else this author writes, though.
Rating: 3.5/5
Accidental Hero by Nicole Snow -
I picked this one up completely at random. This is an adult romance that tried to be a lot of things. It was a hate-to-love, fake dating, bad boy hero-virgin heroine, forbidden romance with daughter's teacher, romantic suspense. It tried to be everything and didn't do any of them particularly well. Essentially, the father of our heroine's student protects her against a date-gone-wrong and pretends to be her fiance, and everything spirals from there. For everything that went on in this book, none of it was particularly exciting or memorable. The characters were also a bit bland and annoying.
Rating: 2.5/5
Out Of Love by Hazel Hayes -
I love Hazel Hayes and have watched her videos for years, so I was excited when I heard she had written a book. Despite the stigma around Youtuber books, I had a feeling this one would be different. It follows a couple who have just broken up and tells their love story in reverse. This was such a unique concept, unlike anything I have read before. I did find it hard to follow at times and had to be concentrating in order to not get totally lost in the story. This isn't a grand, dramatic story, but it is quite beautiful and bittersweet story about love and hope. I'm interested to see where Hazel goes next in her writing and will pick up whatever she writes next.
Rating: 4/5
The One by John Marrs -
After hearing so many good things about this book over the past year or so, I finally got around to picking it up. This is a very unique thriller involving a scientific discovery in which DNA is used to find a person's perfect match. We follow several different perspectives who have found their match through this method and the crazy journey that takes them on. This was such a well-written book. The different perspectives worked so well in keeping the reader on their toes and ensuring you couldn't predict the next move. This was a crazy ride, so clever and unique, and I'm still not over it. It was a little bit slow at times but did always keep me interested and wanting to know what was to come.
Rating: 4/5
Fame, Fate and the First Kiss by Kasie West -
Kasie West is one of my favourite authors and the first book in this companion series, Love, Life and the List, is one of my favourites by her, so obviously I was excited to pick this one up. It follows Lacey, who we met in the first book, as she makes her movie debut alongside a teen heartthrob which isn't quite going to plan. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. I loved Lacey in the first book but this Lacey felt like a different character. She didn't have the same larger than life personality as she originally had and was a bit bland. I felt that the whole on-set sabotage mystery made the story feel quite juvenile and it did nothing to keep my attention. I found Lacey's relationships with the other characters to be the redeeming quality of the book. I particularly liked her friendships with her co-stars, as well as her strained relationship with her father. The romance was quite sweet as well, but not as great as I'm used to from this author.
Rating: 3/5
Crush by Tiffany Allee -
This was a super short novella that I picked up for free and thought I would give it a go. It follows a woman who runs into her childhood crush. who happens to be her brother's best friend, in Las Vegas and the two battle with their feelings for each other. The story was fine for what it was and had a good amount of substance packed into around 40 pages. However, it was really badly written. I wouldn't recommend it.
Rating: 2/5
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas -
I have owned this book for the longest time and it is shameful that it took me this long to pick it up. I think everyone has already read it before me, but it follows a girl who witnesses her best friend being shot by a police officer and has to decide whether or not to speak out. This was incredible! It was a very hard book to read, given the topics it deals with, but so beautifully done. The writing was amazing, so amazing that the pop culture references that usually frustrate me no end felt so natural and didn't once pull me out of the story. The characters were well-rounded and wonderfully developed, each with a unique voice. I loved all of the relationships between characters, Starr's family relationships in particular. I like that this book had difficult conversations and told hard truths, that will hopefully make many white people question their actions and change their attitudes. I think everyone should read this book. I think it's one that children in schools should be reading. Angie Thomas wrote an incredible book, and I can't wait to read more from her. I also watched the movie and while I thought it was a good adaptation, the book was better for me.
Rating: 5/5
Maybe This Time by Kasie West -
Another Kasie West book and, unfortunately, another disappointment. It takes place during nine events over the course of a year, following a local florist/event planner and the new in town son of a famous chef. I think my problem with this book was the fact we only got to see these characters at each of the nine events, meaning we could go months between chapters. To me, this meant the story didn't really flow and the characters didn't have a lot of time to properly develop and show their growing. There wasn't really a lot to the plot, the fashion design aspect seemed like a side plot, so it was very character focused. However, the characters annoyed me, until their moment of growth in which they suddenly realised they needed to change so instantly did. It was an enjoyable enough book, I just expect more from Kasie West.
Rating: 3/5
That is everything I read in the month of July. Eight books seems to be the most I can read in a month this year and I've been pretty slumpy so far in August so it's not likely I'll beat that number this month. I guess we'll just need to wait and see.
How many books did you read in July? Did you read anything great?
Sophie :)
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