Welcome to my July reading wrap-up:
Total of Books Read in July was: 18
Of these: None were a Library Books, 13 were E-books and 5 were from my physical TBR pile
Then: I discovered 5 ‘new for me’ authors (i.e. the first time I have read their work).
And: 6 of the books read were written by Australian authors.
Best Book of the month:
I had a few top reads this month, all of which veer towards the lighter side of reading, so while some of the subject matter can be on the edgy side (such as forced marriage, child abduction and murder) the delivery is done with sensitivity and lightened with humour. I honestly can’t pick out any one of them to be better than the others, so, I am going to cop out and say that I recommend all of my ‘A’ reads to be very good examples of their genres.
Least Favourite Book:
I say ‘least favourite’ because my lowest ‘score’ still means the book in question is very readable, but for one reason or another I found it a bit of struggle to stay focused and finish. I was lucky enough to not struggle with any of my books during July.
General Summary:
Being an eclectic reader I read many different genres. This month the main genres covered were Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Women’s Fiction, Historical and, strangely for me, two from the horror genre. Some of the books were a blend of two or more genre.
My Australian authors for July were 2 of the new-for-me authors Rinelle Grey and Lisa Ireland as well as Jane Tara, Kate Forsyth, Skye Melki-Wegner and Randa Abdel-Fattah. Just to clarify an Australian author is defined by me as either an Australian born author no matter where they live and write in the world now, or an author who currently lives and writes in Australia even though they may have been born elsewhere.
Finally, the 5 ‘new-for-me’ authors this month were my Aussie authors Rinelle Grey and Lisa Ireland along with Terri Reid, Robyn Neeley and Elizabeth Adler. I would happily read all of these authors again.
The List
So let’s get onto what this post is about – here is the list of books that I read during July:
A = Excellent Stuff – a real page turner and hard to put down
Hamlet’s ghost by Jane Tara – (Paranormal Romance) – Full review to follow
Opens: “…Rhiannon Dee felt like she was having an out-of-body experience…”
Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen – (Historical Mystery)
Opens: “… November in London is absolutely bloody…”
Night Broken by Patricia Briggs – (Paranormal Mystery)
Opens: “…The phone rang while I was elbow-deep in sudsy dishwater…”
Good Tidings by Terri Reid – (Paranormal Mystery)
Opens: “…The superstore was filled with holiday shoppers who, in the spirit of the season, battled for remaining Black Friday specials...”
The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth – (YA Fantasy)
Opens: “…Hannah Rose Brown was not quite thirteen years old when she first discovered her family was cursed…”
Twin Curse by Rinelle Grey – (Fantasy Romance)
Opens: “…‘What do you think of Terion?’…”
Timeless by Gail Carriger – (Paranormal Mystery)
Opens: “…‘I said no such thing.’ grumbled Lord Maccon allowing himself, grudgingly, to be trussed into a new dinner jacket…”
B = Really Good Read
Containment by Vanda Symon – (Mystery)
Opens: “…What started as a small crowd of bewildered residents huddled against the seeping chill of a dark Dunedin winter morning had grown to a string of awed and silent spectators lined from the tip of The Mole to the end of the spit... ”
Breaking the drought by Lisa Ireland – (Romance)
Opens: “…‘Jerk alert at twelve o clock’…”
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs – (YA Horror)
Opens: “…We rowed out through the harbour, past bobbing boats weeping rust from their seams, past juries of silent seabirds roosting atop the barnacled remains of sunken docks, past fishermen who lowered their nets to stare frozenly as we slipped by, uncertain whether we were real or imagined; a procession of waterborne ghosts, or ghosts soon to be. We were ten children and one bird in three small and unsteady boats, rowing with quiet intensity straight out to sea, the only safe harbour for miles receding quickly behind us, craggy and magical in the blue-gold light of dawn….”
Skyfire by Skye Melki-Wegner – (YA Fantasy) – Full review to follow
Opens: “…The sky catches fire at midnight…”
Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich – (Mystery)
Opens: “...It was late at night and Lula and I had been staking out Salvatore Sunucchi, better known as Uncle Sunny, when Lula spotted Jimmy Spit…”
Batter Up by Robyn Neeley – (Romance) – Full review to follow
Opens: “…The selected bachelor of Buttermilk Falls stood frozen, waiting for Emma Stevens to deliver the life-changing news...”
Tiger’s Eye by Barbra Annino – (Paranormal Mystery)
Opens: “…If my high school softball coach could see me now, she would probably take a bat to my kneecaps…”
The Seventh Witch by Shirley Damsgaard – (Paranormal Mystery)
Opens: “…The clock on the top of the rough hewn dresser ticked away the final moments of the old woman’s life...”
C = Above Average – very readable and enjoyable
Cat out of Hell by Lynne Truss – (Comic Horror)
Opens: “…The following story, which is absolutely true, was brought to my attention when I was holidaying recently on the coast of North Norfolk…”
Summer in Tuscany by Elizabeth Adler – (Romance)
Opens: “…Let me tell you right from the start, you wouldn’t want to know me…”
No Sex in the City by Randa Abdel-Fattah – (Women’s Fiction)
Opens: “…It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a student visa must be in want of an Australian wife…”
D = Average – it was OK, a bit of a struggle to finish
No ‘D’ books in July
So onward to August – I wonder what book goodies I will discover this month?
Books and Musings from Downunder 
Leave a Reply