Summer! It has not been nearly as hot here as it usually is. Blessing and a bit disappointing. Since I am part solar panel, I thrive in the heat. But, there is a point where the heat gets ridiculous. The heat radiating off the asphalt feels like you’re getting a 2nd degree burn on your legs.
As I’ve said before, unless it’s Halloween (not Summerween) or Christmas, I’m not a seasonal reader. So, no beachy reads that are giving all the summer vibes here. I did, however read a few juvenile books, a YA fantasy, a memoir, dark fantasy, and possibly found one of my new favorite reads that I will try to read annually.
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by: Patti Callahan
This is the epitome of a slow burn. So much heartbreak, grief, love, and joy. Fantasy and romance novels have nothing on the years Joy and Jack spent building their relationship.
From Joy’s POV, we watch as her life repeatedly falls apart with Jack being a constant beacon of strength, hope, and a bit of disappointment. Motivated by her hope and love for her sons and an aloof author, Joy continues to persevere.
The community of authors make my literary heart beat with such excitement. It’s akin to reading about how artists like Van Gogh and Gauguin were friends. Or how Harry Houdini was friends with Arthur Conan Doyle and Buster Keaton.
Creatives sharing a passion for their particular art. Although, Lewis’s friendship with Tolkien might take the cake. A circle of pioneers that at the time weren’t as monumental as they are now.
Anyway, the continual examination of how life and religion exist alongside one another without necessarily coexisting, through the eyes of Joy and observantly through Lewis was telling of their personalities.
Patti may have taken some creative liberties, but she has worked hard to stick as close to the truth as possible without this being an unofficial biography. Capturing Joy’ life and personality beautifully. Many have studied and conjectured over her and Lewis’s relationship. Patti has done a wonderful job at bringing the two to life again.
I did let this sit for about a week, untouched, with just a few chapters left. I have read A Grief Observed, I knew what ultimately happened to Joy and was reluctant to read about it. The last few chapters brought tears to my eyes. What she was able to experience in bliss with Jack and her family. A better ending couldn’t have been imagined given their circumstances. I appreciated that Joy’s last few years weren’t dragged out or romanticized. Only recapped by what we actually know and sprinkling a bit of Joy’s preserved personality throughout. Very well done, and highly recommend.
City of Gods & Monsters by: Kayla Edwards
I was absolutely not expecting this book. It may have taken a few chapters to really get into it, but once I did, I hated leaving these characters and this world behind.
Darien is the epitome of a morally gray, possessive, supernatural hero. Burdened by his harsh background and laced with darkness. Broody and loyal to a fault. Darien’s love for Loren is devastating at best.
Loren, your typical human in a magical world. Ready to self-sacrifice at the drop of a hat. She will go to great lengths to ensure not a single soul, familiar or stranger, suffers for even a moment on her account.
A true slow burn. Especially since the moment Darien and Loren meet, you know what’s going to happen. And it is deliciously dragged out.
The world and its magic are not complicated. Intricate at times, but easy to follow. The found family trope runs deep in this story. Like moving mountains type of loyalty.
Is the story, characters, and relationship original? Nope. It’s very reminiscent of a contemporary ACOTAR. That didn’t mean I enjoyed this any less. I have read plenty of books that remind me of others. The reason this one didn’t bother me a bit was that, to me, it held its own. The characters are all their own entity and add to the story. I’m hooked.
Winter Lost by: Patricia Briggs
I have loved this series since the beginning. I have had the intention of reading other series by Patricia, but it just hasn’t happened yet.
This one, while still living up to the standard I have come to expect of this series, is not my favorite. It wasn’t short, average length, but it didn’t seem to have much. Too many subplots are being kept alive at once, but not having a lot to do with this story in particular.
Keeping their situation with Bonarata from the previous book going purely so readers wouldn’t forget or think the characters have. Then, the minor thing with a proposal within the pack.
Gary’s whole story line was lacking. After Mercy and Adam ventured out to save the world as they always do, Gary became an afterthought.
A whole lot transpired but it wasn’t as fulfilling as other Mercy Thompson novels. I suppose I’m a bit biased in my rating because I have come to love the characters of this world.
Heartless by: Gena Showalter
To call this cute and sweet doesn’t seem right, but it is. That will make more sense in a moment.
This isn’t exactly a grumpy versus sunshine trope. Yes, Kaysay, the MMC, is a vengeance-fueled, bitter, self-absorbed, cold-hearted a-hole. Cookie isn’t grumpy, but she’s certainly no Positive Polly. She’s strong, fierce, independent, and beginning to discover her true self-worth. She does tend to look on the brighter side, wanting to head into the future as light as possible.
Normally, in these types of romance, the FMC balances out the MMC. She is the voice of reason between them. In this case, yes and no. Cookie is just as bloodthirsty and ruthless as Kaysar. They both have baggage and a difficult past.
The world-building is decent but lacks detail. The best bit? The animosity between them is never dragged out. They both fall into their personal revelations, yes, both of them have a few, fairly quickly. I hate it when characters are so short-sighted with themselves that they can’t see past their noses. I have never read anything by this author, so I have nothing to compare it to. I only found this series because I came across Ruthless, the second in the series, at Dollar Tree and was intrigued. So happy our library had this.
Be Still My Heart by: Emily McIntire & Sav R. Miller
One fatal mistake I make when I start a new book is reading reviews. I like to go into a book with only my own cynical expectations. Even better, going in completely blind.
Initially I was going in completely blind. I loved Emily’s Never After series; absolutely devoured it. Aside from that, I knew nothing about this book other than it landed on my TBR at some point for some reason. But it didn’t ring a bell whatsoever. But holy mystery, I loved this.
As with most mystery thrillers, the culprit was obvious very early on. BUT, I will argue till I’m blue in the face that it is the journey. Usually if I’m blindsided by a mystery, it’s because it was so concealed, it barely makes sense. Not arrogance, I just really enjoy unraveling mysteries and, through practice, am pretty good at it.
Megan and Lincoln, what a tangled web of awesome. The immediate reaction each had to the other. I have one problem with Megan Sloane, though. She is written to be such a strong, badass woman striving to thrive in a male-driven force. Most of the time she succeeded. But there are a few too many times where she allows her emotions to undermine that strength. It’s not that she shows emotions that was off putting. I love that she allows herself to break down once in a while. She has, after all, experienced a great deal of traumatic events in her life. It’s the ‘where’ she has these breakdowns that bugs me. She fights constantly to prove herself worthy among all the men in the PD. Trying to prove that being a woman doesn’t make her any less capable. But then she walks into a CO’s office with her partner holding her hand for support. Or Alex, her partner, pulls her from a situation to calm her down like she is having the vapors or something. Instead of excusing herself, head held high, she showcases the reason men seem to use as to why they aren’t taking her seriously. While I appreciate that she is emotional and doesn’t always lock them away, confusing that with strength, there is a time and place. Especially as a police officer in the middle of an investigation where she isn’t being taken seriously to begin with. Lincoln is completely swoon worthy. His dedication to his heart and those around him makes him the town hero.
Shatter Me by: Tahereh Mafi
Second read through. Out of nowhere I decided I wanted to read the whole series. I think I might have read the second one as well since I remember there being more to the story.
I don’t really know what to think. The story is a good concept. The writing style and the onslaught of metaphors and similes trying not to sound like prose but the mind of a traumatized teen is quite overwhelming.
At the same time it went with the theme of trauma. In any other setting that would get really annoying really fast. Juliette has basically been traumatized since birth and it keeps piling on.
The prose style writing is highly appropriate if not pretentious. I could do with a little less and still completely understand Juliette’s mental state.
Juliette however, not her biggest fan. I get why she’s a little off her rocker. She’s young and the protagonist in a YA novel. It seems on point that she is annoying, stubborn, and drops half her personality partway through the story because of plot.
Adam is the most boring love interest. Only, that was a half-truth. In the beginning he is totally the mysterious savior that will become Juliette’s hero. He then became full of subplots that were there simply because of…well, plot. Then his obsessive nature came out and not in a sexy alpha male type of way. But more of a stalker if-I-can’t-have-you-no-one-can mentality.
But not nearly as creepy as Warner. Adam and Juliette may be insta-love, no matter how it was intended, but Warner is one kink away from being H.D. Carlton level obsessed. Side note, this is truly a YA book and all ‘spice’ remains PG-13. To stay on brand, it’s all written in prose and metaphors but we get the gist of what they are up to without porn level details.
World-building is minimal. Post-apocalyptic with some dystopia thrown in maybe? Then, taking a page straight from X-Men just to shake things up a bit. We’ll see how far I make it in this series.
Black Klansman by: Ron Stallworth
Clearly, this was written by Mr. Stallworth and not some ghostwriter. Which adds to its personal appeal, like a friend coming over to tell you a story…mostly.
There are many passages that feel like he pulled out a thesaurus and went to town. Choosing the most wordy, pretentious route he could muster in hopes of sounding sophisticated. That was a bit distracting. Ron was a PO, not a scholar. Not to impugn his intelligence at all. We all have our strengths.
I would have preferred if this were written simply. The story is interesting enough without trying to fit in a literary box it doesn’t belong. Ironic since in his memoir, Ron spouts about staying true to himself, not conforming to societal or authoritative expectations. Regardless, this story is a great one.
A black cop becoming a car-carrying member of the KKK. Despite your feelings on racial matters, it highlights, from the inside, the hypocrisy of their racist notions. Now, I need to find the movie!
Southern Storms by: Brittany Cherry
This is the first book I have read by this author. I am not impressed.
Talk about a trauma dump, toxic relationship. I get the author meant to make this a healing friends to lovers story. But, wow, it this full of red flag toxicity.
I’m not even going to get into Kennedy’s ex-husband.
Kennedy caused an accident that killed her young daughter and her parents. Understandably, she is borderline traumatized and grieving even after a year. Throughout the story, she claims that she is working to heal. Here are the things she has done: tried to control her emotions so as not to embarrass her husband, refused to get in a car, bottle her emotions, and hide from the world.
Jax is stuck living in the past, where he grew up with an abusive, berating father who thought his son was nothing but a failure. All the while believing he caused his mother’s death. Jax operates on guilt and penance. The solution? Rekindle an old flame that has as much trauma and is as equally mentally unstable as you! Um, no.
I don’t want to speak ill of the traumatized, but Kennedy is such an unbalanced character. At times, she’s eccentric, then turns around and is insanely meek. Doesn’t want to inconvenience anybody with her emotional baggage, but will fight to hold onto it like a hoarder and use it as an excuse for her life.
The whole ‘sun’ and ‘moon’ nicknames did not work. I get the symbolism, and it was cute when they were kids for the first two or three times. After that, it needed to go.
I know I said I wouldn’t get into Kennedy’s ex. I’m not, but the whole situation was not consistent. From what I understand, when he kicked her out, he served her divorce papers that he had had for a while. Kennedy signed them and left. Later, when he calls her, they’re still married? I don’t immediately recall her ever discussing her marital status with Jax. Then he proposes to her when she’s still married, and she doesn’t hesitate to say yes?! There is nothing about that situation to give any closure other than Kennedy blocking his number. There was more wrong with this story than right.
The Girl with the Ghost Machine by: Lauren DeStafano
This book was not what I had expected. Read it along with my daughter. She really loved this.
We were imagining a girl who had a machine that produced ghosts that maybe ran amok or got into trouble, or simply haunted people. It was closer to Casper.
Emmaline’s father built a machine because he wanted to bring his wife, the girl’s mother, back. The bulk of the story takes place two years after her death. Emmaline has an easier time coping with the fact that her mother is gone. The father becomes obsessed.
It quickly became a story about the aftermath of a loss. How grief looks different for everyone. If given the opportunity, would you want another chance to see that person? What price would you be willing to pay?
The concept is original and very clever. Opens a subject to young readers that many, hopefully, will not have to deal with until way later in life. There is a small cast of characters, and it is perfect. The characters are portrayed as their age. The author really seems to understand middle-grade children and how they act and think. It made the story seamless.
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by: Lauren Tarshis
I Survived #1
Such a great dive into historical fiction for kids. My daughter and I really enjoyed it.
It brings to light a few lesser-known facts about such a historic moment. The characters were relatable and easy to follow.
The story explored so much in so little time. Even dipped into the concept of classism without getting too heavy. Really appreciated that it is a fast-paced story to keep little minds from wandering too much. For me, it’s a quick little snippet of an event I know very well.
This took about an hour to read to her for our homeschool read-and-craft. It was great to finish a book in one sitting. Didn’t bore with too many facts and too little story.
I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 by: Lauren Tarshis
I Survived #2
Didn’t like it as much as the Titanic story. The writing still kept us engaged. I just think it was the story in general – totally subjective.
While it was interesting that a shark ended up where it had, there are only so many creative liberties the author could have taken while still maintaining historical credibility. I had not been aware of this event. Clearly it was not as monumental as ‘The Unsinkable Ship’ sinking, but still interesting.
If escaping shark attacks catches your attention, this book is for you. For me and my daughter, it was an interesting story to learn about, but wouldn’t reach for it again.
2 responses to “July Reads 2025”
Can I write that revenge debut? YOU can give ME pointers.
So…is that a yes or no?