Hello everyone and welcome to this weeks post, where I shall be taking you through the books I read last month and what I thought of all of them. I feel like I have tried and failed many a time to keep a reading journal so many times, which is so odd because I am SUCH an avid journaler, but anyways I feel like wrap-up posts are such a great way to get my own version of a reading journal of sorts, as well as share some recommendations!
I read a total of six books last month, my goal is usually to read at least five so I am pretty happy with that, but also I try not to beat myself up if I get through less in a particular month as I read for pleasure, but my type A personality means that I am a productivity beast and everything is a competition with myself. Anyhoo, lets get into the books I read last month!
The first book I read in July was The Perfect Child, I have spoken about how I, for whatever reason, see summer come around, and then decide that the genre that fits the sunshine, happiness, and good vibes best is… mysteries and thrillers?
As a brief synopsis: Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.
HOWEVER, child, as children tend to be, is slightly… absolutely and completely insane.
This book was absolutely gripping, so gripping that I wasn’t even bothered by reading it on my phone, I literally sat and read 75% of it in one sitting, occasionally gasping or gagging. I gave this book four stars, only because I believe that every single mystery or thriller writer, no matter how good, will always manage to leave me a tiny bit meh with the ending. I just feel like the conclusion of this book, while it made sense, could have gone on just a little longer so that it was properly explained.
Other than that though, I think this book was absolutely great, it was such a gripping read and it was just dark enough for me, though I would suggest looking up TWs just in case.
Continuing on with the mystery/thriller theme, the next book that I read was The Silent Patient.
The Silent Patient follows a psychological dive into the mind of Alicia, a woman who shot her husband and has not said a single world since.
I gave this book four starts for the same reasons as The Perfect Child, I actually really enjoyed the concept of how this book ended, but whether it actually made any sense was a different question. Again, I think had the author actually just lengthened the book a tiny but to offer some explanation, rather than end on an artsy description, the whole effect of the book would have been just a little bit better.
I did love this book though, I loved the jumping between past and present and the different perspectives, it really kept me on the edge of my seat wondering how everything would fall together, its a super quick read and I think would be great for on a plane/on the beach/generally just any time when you will be reading for a big block of time.
If you have spoken to me at all since I read this book, you will know that I am literally in love with it. Idol follows the downfall of a popular wellness influencer, and I truly think this is exactly the type of book that was needed at this time. It explores so many of the issues with wellness culture, which is incredibly fitting considering how much of an issue it has become, it covers the ideas of taking advantage, cultural appropriation, privilege, consumerism, and just the very slippery slope of influencers in general.
I felt that the book as a whole was also just so incredibly written, it was gripping and the characters were so complex and genuinely interesting to read about, please for the love of god read this book.
And then, after a good three book streak, things started to go downhill with The Grimrose Girls. Honestly this book was just kind of… bizarre?
I loved the setting and concept of this book, it is a boarding school mystery with murder and fairytale twists, and yet somehow, the great concept was just completely wasted. I just found that it was so so poorly written, nothing was explained properly and I was bored and confused for the majority of the book. The way that the book was paced was really messy, most of the book was pointless filler and then towards the end, shit just kept on happening and was not at all explained to any degree, and we was just supposed to go with it.
I felt the same way about the characters, we follow a friendship group (which didnt make sense to me at all because they all seemed to hate each other), there is a mysterious extra character, and all of the girls are hinted at to have dark back stories, said stories are constantly hinted and spoken about, but never actually explained, and again, we was just supposed to go with it.
Honestly, by the end of the book, where the big reveal took place, I was so confused that I didn’t know who the character was or why the reveal was significant at all.
Overall, an incredible concept was wasted on this book, and I am very not happy with it. One star.
The next book I read was My Killer Vacation, it is basically a romance but set on a vacation where out main character, Taylor, finds a dead body and tries to investigate it with Myles, a bounty hunter.
My hopes were so high for this one, and they were unfortunately dashed, I did write a full review in last weeks post, so you can check that out for my opinions on this book.
The final book of July for me was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I actually listened to this on audio, and I may or may not have only listened to this so I could have the voice of Eddie Redmayne in my earhole for a few hours, but that’s beside the point.
BUT I did actually really enjoy this as an addition to the Harry Potter books, I haven’t actually ever read this new version of the book since the release of the Fantastic Beasts movies, so it was a really fun experience. I think the tone of the entire book just fits so well with the character of Newt Scamander, and it also fits so well with all the original books. This is definitely a great read if you’re like me and know the books inside and out, and can pick up all the little Easter eggs and references that are in the books.
And there we have it! All of the books I read last month. Though I enjoyed a lot of the books, I don’t think it was the best, mostly due to the slight lack of any fantasy, which is my all time favourite genre, BUT, I can tell you that I have finished my first book of August and I am hoping it is going to be a phenomenal reading month!
Thank you so much for reading, be sure to let me know if you have read any of these books, and also what your reads in July were like, I’d love to hear! Till next week, xx
Between the pages 