July 2022 Book Reviews
This month I finished out July having read 5 books, three of which landed on the “meh” spectrum of okay, but not great!
The Housemaid was my favorite book of the month and the only one that I gave 5 stars! It had me hooked from around the third chapter and I was freaking out over the twist that happens about 3/4 of the way through. I’ll post a full review this week!
My second favorite book was Every Summer After. It was SUCHHH a cute story, and almost landed at 5 stars. There was just one part that I felt was unrealistic, but I won’t mention it here because ~spoilers.~ The full review for that one is a few posts back!
Final breakdown for this month:
Ugly Love - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Throne of Glass - ⭐️⭐️⭐
Every Summer After - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Housemaid - ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️⭐️
Wait For It - ⭐️⭐️⭐
Total pages: 1,685
2022 Goal progress: 42/52
Overall favorite of the month:
The Housemaid
July 2022 reads at a glance
Ugly Love
3/5
throne of glass
3/5
Every summer after
4/5
The housemaid
5/5
Wait For It
3/5
Book #1: Ugly Love
Author: Colleen Hoover
Rating: 3/5
Don't be fooled by the smize on my face in this pic... I was not enjoying the book.
*This review may contain spoilers.*
Okay... I didn't love this book. Where was the DEPTH?? I feel like we learned NOTHING about Tate, apart from the fact that she's a nurse in grad school. Like, you never really learned anything about her on any deeper level? Maybe that was intentional given the situationship of her and Miles. But I don't think it was, and I didn't like it. I feel like she was a cool character but nothing helped support that! What is she like at work? What are her hobbies? We got nothing.
I didn't find myself even KIND OF enjoying this until the last 1/4th of the book when you start to learn why Miles is the way that he is. Of course, his journey with grief is deep in and of itself, but I wish we had had a glimpse into what he was dealing with earlier in the story. I think it would've made the rest of the book much more enjoyable (or at least UNDERSTANDABLE) and I would have been rooting for Miles. Without that knowledge, I didn't like him. I didn't feel sorry for him - more so frustrated that he was treating Tate like GARBAGE and didn't seek the help he needed to get past whatever he was dealing with. Of course, once I learned of the reason, his behavior made more sense. But I still wish he would've done something to try and overcome it without Rachel's help. Also couldn't we get more PRESENT Miles POV than just the last chapter?? That would've made his character much more understood.
Honestly, his only redeeming quality was that I pictured him as Miles Teller.
Also I couldn't stand Corbin. I understand a brother being protective but I feel like he crossed the line so many times. It bordered on weird to me.
All of this is to say, I DO enjoy the fact that Colleen Hoover's books go much deeper than standard romances and are always more unpredictable. They deal with real issues that you don't see in your everyday romcom read. This is the third COHO book I've read, and I'm excited to read some more!
You’ll like this if:
You love uber toxic men and don’t care to know anything about the main character.
Book #2: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 3/5
I jumped into Throne of Glass in the midst of a severe ACOTAR hangover, and I don’t think that’s fair to the series. Despite realizing this, I wasn’t as in love with the book as I’d hoped to be!
Though Celaena is a really cool character, the story felt overwhelmingly slow and had me struggling to make progress. By the last 1/4 it was finally picking up enough action that I felt compelled to keep reading, but I still felt underwhelmed.
I had a lot of questions. The first being, why didn’t Celaena tell anyone about the Wyrdmarks? That would’ve helped to take care of a certain character right from the get-go. And given her background and former uhh… occupation, I expected different scenarios to unfold.
I really liked Nehemia’s character, and I even felt like Dorian was charming despite everything. Chaol to me was mostly boring and miserable.
Overall, this was a hard one to get through, but I plan to continue with the second book in the series. I’ve heard people absolutely RAVE over these books, so I’m hoping they get better from here!
You’ll like this if:
This book is marketed as perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones, so there you go! Just expect the first half to be very, very slow.
Book #3: Every Summer After
Author: Carley Fortune
Rating: 4/5
I LOVED this book! I've been sick of the cliche romances, but nothing about this one felt cliche to me. I loved so much about it, from the lake setting and the storyline to the way we see Percy & Sam's story unfold each summer starting when they were thirteen. The way their story evolves is so cute!
**Spoilers beyond this point**
I did only give it 4 stars because there were a few things that bothered me, starting with the fact that Percy and Sam jump right back in after TWELVE years of not speaking. I understand that they just ~connect on a deeper level,~ but 12 years is a LONG time. Especially so when you're only 30! People change so much in their 20s, and I found it unrealistic that they were able to just get back together no questions asked without any time to get to know each other again. They are not the same people they were at 18... nobody is.
I also found it surprising that Sam wasn't upset with Percy for waiting 12 years to tell him about Charlie. I understand that he had time to process everything, but I feel like most people would have been upset with Percy for waiting so long to come clean.
Overall, I loved this cute summer vibes story and was really happy with the ending. I wasn’t sure if they wouldn't end up together, and I like that I questioned it because that meant it didn’t have the Hallmark predictability that so many romances do.
You’ll like this if:
You have fond memories of summers at a lake, you love cute happy-ending stories, and you like books that span multiple years.
Book #4: The Housemaid
Author: Freida McFadden
Rating: 5/5
Talk about a thriller! This story was so good and I was IMMEDIATELY sucked in. As soon as Nina started her BS, I couldn’t put the book down.
I quickly felt like something was up as things started to get eerie and Nina’s behavior got weirder and weirder. And Cecelia? Weirdest and creepiest child ever. I half expected her to start pulling psycho horror-esque keeps-a-collection-of-dead-rabbits style behavior, so I was shocked when I learned the truth about her brattiness toward Millie.
When my suspicions were proven and answers started taking shape, what unfolded was nothing like what I expected. I mean I might have had a small idea, but I wasn’t close by any means.
I really think any thriller readers will love the twist that this story takes! I also L O V E that we get Nina POV.
You’ll like this if:
You love thrillers, crazy plot twists, and gaslighters who receive nice doses of karma.
Book #5: Wait for It
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Rating: 3/5
This is one of my favorite book covers ever. I only wish the story itself matched!
Wait For It is your standard romantic comedy full of self deprecating humor and “yep, called that” storylines. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.
Romcoms are typically predictable enough, so I can’t stand when the cherry on top is an unrealistic event that takes place under the guise of comedy. So when Annabelle SWALLOWS an engagement ring by chugging a glass of champagne that just so happens to be holding said ring? And when instead of a massic ER surgery she has to PASS it??? Not funny — juvenile.
Oh, and she says no, by the way.
(Considering that happens at the beginning of the book, I don’t consider it a spoiler.)
Anyway, this book was okay. Nick got on my nerves a bit, but I appreciated his character development. I actually enjoyed the secondary workplace plotline more than the romantic one.
You’ll like this if:
You enjoy the standard romcom and want a low-stress read about a 28 year old balancing her career and personal life.
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