Recent Reads! | July 2020

So. Embarrassingly, up until June/July of this year, I had only read TWO books in 2020. Who am I? Between pregnancy sickness, emergency surgery, and losing my baby girl, I just couldn't focus. Well, I'm happy to say that I have officially gotten my reading back in the swing of things. I actually have a ton of books to wrap for this post. Getting back into reading has been so great for me. I have found something to occupy my time and stop my mind from wandering. It's also been a great form of escape. I have been using my library again and as stupid as this sounds, having appointments to go pick up books helps me have something planned for my day. Not to mention I have read some awesome books lately. Let's chat through them, shall we? 

A Curse So Dark And Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

This was a YA Beauty and the Beast retelling and oh was it so fun. Great adventures, emotional baggage, secrets, a badass heroine, and a swoony romance. 4 stars!

 

Scythe by NEAL Shusterman

In this utopian society, death and pain has been conquered. Since no-one dies of natural causes, scythes have the role of systematically "gleaning" (aka killing) to help with population control. You follow two apprentices who quickly become swept up in fixing the corruption within the Scythedom. This book was FANTASTIC and I gave it 5 stars. I checked out the sequel from my library immediately after finishing this book.

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

A sugar baby/ sugar daddy relationship goes very wrong. This one was ADDICTING and I read it so quickly! I gave it 4 stars. 

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Camino, who lives in the DR, and Yahaira, who lives in New York, discover they are half sisters in the wake of their father dying in an airplane crash based on the horrible plane crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in November 2001. This book was written in verse. The two girls navigate family drama, grief, and love in this story. I adored it and gave it 5 stars.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel 

I loved this book but I can for sure say it is not for everyone. It's best to go into this book blind because the twists and turns truly start within 20% of the book. Lane moves in with her grandparents and cousin Allegra after her mother's suicide but quickly leaves Roanoke after one summer. Years later, she returns when Allegra goes missing. Maybe look up trigger warnings for this one! It's a doozy but was overall so intriguing. 4 stars. 

The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham

I read this twisty-turny psychological thriller in 24 hours and I LOVED it. Agatha is pregnant, waiting for her absent boyfriend and father of her baby to come home from the Navy. She often catches glimpses of Meg, a stay-at-home mommy blogger with the picture-perfect life, from the window of the grocery store where she works. When she finds out Meg is pregnant and due in the same month she is, they become friends. This changes the course of the two women's lives forever. I gave this one 4 stars! It was suspenseful and quick to get through. I just found out it is being adapted so I will have to check it out.

I am also currently in the middle of a couple books. 

The girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

A historical fiction, magic centered, fantastical story about time travel, the Berlin Wall, and the Holocaust. It's really good so far!

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

This is the sequel to Scythe. I'm only 20 pages in and already sucked in. Ugh it's just so good.

Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard

I haven't started this one yet but I know it's written in a different format. The story involves a crime being captured on film and the book is broken up in sections of play, rewind, and fast forward based on the video. It seems like it will be interesting! I've never read a book like that before. 

I also have these on my "up next" list. I maaaaaay have overestimated how fast I can read in a three week time span and checked out way too many books. But it made for a great photo! 

Linking up with Steph and Jana.