**I pitch the blankets up over some chairs and light some candles. I lay some pillows and blankets in my little fort and curl up with my book and cup of tea. I read by candle light long into the night until the wax drips and the candle gets smaller. I rub my tired eyes and turn page after page of my book until I turn the last page and fall asleep.**

Let’s hear it for my biggest wrap-up of the year so far! I read six books in July, which is the most I’ve read in a month in a while. I am actually hoping to read more in August, but let’s get into the wrap-up before getting too far ahead.

• The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

I’m not someone who reads books in a series back to back, but I ended up doing that with this series. I read The Cruel Prince maybe two years ago, but then read books 2 and 3 back to back since I got them from the library. I’m sure everyone knows what this series about, with Jude, a human, being taken to the fae world as a child with her two sisters. I think that this series is very quick to read and engaging, but I don’t really like the characters and it’s not a series I loved. However, I was still hooked and couldn’t put it down for some reason. I think The Wicked King was my favorite in the series. This one did have a scene I really liked between Jude and Cardan though.

• Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson

This is actually a reread for me, which is a pretty rare occurrence. I really wanted to fully annotate the book, which is what prompted the reread. This is about two girls who spend the night in New York City where a lot of things go wrong, like having no phones and getting separated. I love Morgan Matson and really enjoyed my reread. I think this book has some great discussions on friendship and family that make for some emotional moments. I’ve seen a lot of people who don’t like Teri’s storyline, but I think it’s a fun addition.

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This is another reread for me. This book follows a woman stuck between life and death who gets transported to a library where each book holds an alternate life she could have lived. She has many regrets so she gets to try each life to see which one suits her best. I do think I liked this a bit more the second time around. The idea is interesting but it just wasn’t something I could really relate to. Though I will say I wasn’t bored and the idea of seeing other possible outcomes is very interesting. I also really enjoyed the discussion on multiverse theory.

• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz

This is definitely out of character for me. I never read nonfiction, or listen to audiobooks, but this book was recommended to me so I decided to give it a try. This is about an FBI negotiator who shared his tips on negotiating in hostage and normal life situations. I think that there were several key takeaways from this book that would be interesting to try in a real situation, but it also dragged in some parts that made it hard to enjoy. I did read this for the recommendation, but I also have a blog post that this book will be used for sometime this month so I’ll discuss it more there.

• Carving Shadows Into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

This is the second book in the Forging Silver Into Stars series, the spinoff/continuation to the Cursebreakers series. This series follows three characters in two kingdoms and plots against the crown. I love Brigid Kemmerer’s writing and this book was no exception to that. The world is my absolute favorite and I love spending time reading about Emberfall. I like the characters’s stories as well. They all have their own story even though they all share a basic storyline. The characters aren’t my favorites, but they’re not bad. I think that Callyn is a bit naive and her romance story makes me kind of mad. Tycho has his moments, and Jax isn’t too bad either, but a bit hypocritical. My absolute favorite parts of the book are when Harper and Rhen are on page. I love those two and need so much more from both of them.

• Regular Show Volume One by KC Greene

I love Regular Show so when I saw this in the used bookstore I knew I had to get it. This is just a comic that follows Mordecai and Rigby as they get themselves in more crazy situations. I think it was pretty similar to the show. Some of the additional short stories at the end were also pretty good, though there were one or two I didn’t love. It was okay, but I don’t think I’m going to continue on.

I read a lot of different books in July, and can’t wait to see what I read in August. Here’s hoping to a good reading month.

xoxo,

Just another reader