It’s time for my monthly post of book reviews! July was not a great reading month for me because I felt very underwhelmed by most of what I read. Most of the books were pretty long (400+ pages) and didn’t grab my attention, so getting through them was a struggle. Anyway, here are my thoughts on what I read!

Book club selection: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (3 stars)
This was probably my least favorite Moriarty read by a long shot (her previous two I gave 5 stars). It follows a woman, Alice, who wakes up on the floor of a gym thinking she is 29, newly married, and due with her first child. When, in fact, she is 39, recently separated, and a mother of three. I found Moriarty’s exploration of family and relationships and marriage, and how their dynamics can change through the ebb and flow of life, interesting, but ultimately, I just found the characters to be unlikeable and the book to be way too long (nearly 500 pages!). I also think, being a single gal in my twenties, there was a lot I couldn’t relate to. An okay novel, but not the one of hers I would recommend.

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a book that takes place in Asia): The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi (3 stars)
I really, really wanted to like this book, but I really, really did not. And, honestly, the only reason I finished it was because I was reading it for the challenge. (Side note: This is the one thing I don’t like about reading challenges. In a sense, it forces you to continue reading books you don’t like!) I’ve heard people compare it to a Khaled Hosseini novel, which frankly offends me because the only similarity is that they are both about the Afghan culture. This book wasn’t very well written, it wasn’t engaging, it didn’t grab my attention. I just found the book to be slow and it was one of those books that took me forever to read because I never felt like picking it up. I hate to give such a negative review since I know of a lot of people who loved this novel, but I have to be honest about my experience reading it.

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (an award winner from the last decade): Room by Emma Donoghue (4 stars)
This was the only book I read in July that I actually liked! And it’s funny because it was the book I was least looking forward to reading, ha. I knew the subject matter would be heavy and I didn’t know if I would be in the right mood for it. In this book, you follow the story of Jack, a five-year-old who has been living in a tiny shack for his whole life. His mom was kidnapped when she was 19 (she’s 26 now) and is held prisoner in this shack. The language is somehow perfect – I felt Donoghue nailed five-year-old terminology and speech and syntax. The novel is haunting and poignant and sad and hopeful. It’s so beautifully written. I am so glad I finally read this book!

Others (read for fun!)

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll (3 stars)
I read this because it was getting a lot of buzz and the wait list was short at my library. And I don’t get the hype. It took at least 150-200 pages until the book really grabbed my interest. Before then, I didn’t know if I wanted to finish. None of the characters were likable, and not in a Gone Girl “these characters are so crazy and psycho” way. Just… a boring way. I thought the main character lived an incredibly sad life and she’s someone I would never want to be friends with. The plot felt a bit contrived, and I felt that the author glossed over some plotlines that were more important than others. All in all, not my favorite read.

Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes (2.5 stars)
In this nonfiction healthy living book, science writer Gary Taubes argues that most of the past decades of nutritional research is bad. Specifically, he says that the “calorie in, calories out” model of healthy living is wrong and that what we need to focus on is eating fewer carbs. I appreciate his opinion on this, and I’m not sure if it’s right or wrong (I honestly think it’s probably different for each person), but I want to experiment with this lifestyle soon. For me, though, I found this book to be way too science-y and a lot of it was difficult for me to process. (Which, yes, makes me feel super dumb.) There was only about 10-15% of the book that I found useful.

All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins (3 stars)
This was an alright book. It’s a reread; I read it back in 2010 and had a rave review for it on Goodreads. But I guess my reading tastes have changed over the past five years (imagine that) because I found the main character to be annoying and the plot a little goofy. Also, I really, really dislike how this author continuously bashes online dating. The dates her characters go on are ridiculous and just further the stigma online dating has. It irks me. Anyway, it was a light, easy read, which I needed after reading too many books in a row with heavy subject matter.

BOOK STATS // JULY

# of books read: 6
# of pages read: 2,284
quickest read: Room (5 days)
longest read: Why We Get Fat (10 days)
multicultural: 1
formats: ebooks (3), physical books (3)

What was the best book you read in July?

I don’t really know how it happened, but I managed to read 9 books in June. I think I read a lot of easy reads that only took me a few days to finish because it’s not as if June was a low-key, boring month for me! Hmm. I am so pleased with my reading progress this year – I’ve read 48 books and I am on pace to read 70+ books this year. Wahoo! This month, my favorite book was Big Little Lies and my least favorite was A Deadly Wandering.

Book club selection: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park (5 stars)
This book was just downright adorable. It followed a girl who moves to Boston to attend college and when her living situation falls through, she moves in with her mother’s old college roommate and her family. The main character, Julie, realizes the family is a little… strange… and she gets to work on figuring them out. It’s a book about family, love, and finding yourself. My favorite thing about this book was the dialogue. It was quick and funny and smart, and I was drawn into the story from the get-go because of it. If you like YA and novels that explore dark themes in a light-hearted way, I’d definitely recommend this novel.

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a book published this year): The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (3 stars)
I liked this book, but I didn’t find it as gripping or engaging as I had hoped. It was one I could easily set down. It’s marketed as “the next Gone Girl” but I can’t compare it to that book. I loved Gone Girl and it was a book that gripped me from beginning to end. This book was different. It was still good. It was still intriguing. I found the characters incredibly infuriating, but also interesting and well-developed. I was engaged enough to where I wanted to keep reading and find out what had really happened.

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a romance novel): Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas (4 stars)
Romance novels are my favorite genre to read (it used to be the only genre I read until I started diversifying my selections), so this was an easy category to mark complete for the Book Riot challenge. I’m making my way through Lisa Kleypas’ historical fiction novels, and they are just such fun, easy reads. I like how much depth and personality the characters have; I genuinely felt sad when I finished this novel because I would miss the characters. (Thankfully, it’s the first novel in a series, so I’ll get to read about them again soon!)

TLC Book Tours Read: A Deadly Wandering by Matt Richtel (2 stars)
I reviewed this on my blog earlier this month and you can read my review here.

Others (read for fun!)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (5 stars)
I am officially a huge fan of Moriarty. I had previously read The Husband’s Secret, which I thought was fantastic, and a friend raved about this book so I knew I had to read it. I’m pretty sure this book will end up as one of the top three books I read this year. It was just so good. I love the way Moriarty finds a way to talk about heavy subjects (in this case, domestic violence and bullying) in a light-hearted manner. Not making light of the issues, but writing in such a way that the topics don’t feel heavy or depressing. I loved this book from start to finish and I wholly recommend it. And I would like Madeline to be my BFF, please and thank you.

Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu (4.5 stars)
This book was eye-opening. I have been obsessed with elite gymnastics since I was a little girl and I remember how much I looked up to Dominique Moceanu (even though I wasn’t a gymnast, or even very athletic!) This memoir gave such a detailed perspective into the world of elite gymnastics and how a girl winds up on a gold-medal Olympic team at the age of fourteen. I am impressed by Dominique’s dedication, strength, and bravery because what she went through, both in the gymnastics world and in her personal life, was gut-wrenching. Definitely a must-read book for those who are as obsessed with elite athletes as I am.

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro (4 stars)
This book gripped me from beginning to end. The only reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I felt the ending was a little rushed, and it left me wanting a little bit more. But I loved the setting of this novel – Paris in the mid-1950s and New York in the 1920s – because I don’t read too many books involving that time period. It was an enchanting novel with an interesting plot and such likable characters. I also loved getting a glimpse into what it’s like being in the perfumery world.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (4 stars)
I listened to this on audiobook and the reader couldn’t have been more perfect. She had such a pleasing tone to her voice, which made it easy to follow along. And this story was so charming! The setting was perfect, the sisters were so different and yet so alike. I loved their transformation throughout the novel; it felt natural and authentic. And I honestly couldn’t get enough of the father and his penchant for spouting wisdom through Shakespeare’s quotes. The plot might seem a little slow to some people, but I think that’s what made this book so special to me. It didn’t need to be fast-paced or super gripping – it was a story about change and growth and finding yourself, and most times, that happens at a slow and steady pace.

To the Limit by Cindy Gerard (4 stars)
So, romance novels are my favorite genre to read, but more than that, romantic thrillers are my jam. A good romantic thriller will have characters that aren’t too brooding or badass, a twisty-turny plot that keeps you guessing, and steamy love scenes. A novel by Cindy Gerard has all of that and more. This is actually my third time reading this novel (sorry I’m not sorry?) and I fell in love with the characters all over again.

BOOK STATS // JUNE

# of books read: 9
# of pages read: 3,317
quickest read: Flat-Out Love (4 days)
longest read: The Weird Sisters (13 days)
multicultural: 5
formats: ebooks (4), physical books (4), ebooks (1)

What was the best book you read in June?

May was a solid reading month for me – 8 books read! I am really happy with my yearly book reading progress so far, as I am at 39 books read, which means I could maybe hit 80 books for the year. We shall see! This month, my favorite book was The Predictions and my least favorite book was Love and Miss Communication.

Book club selection: Hush by Kate White (3 stars)
I was the one who suggested this book for book club in May. And it was okay. It’s a thriller, about a woman who has a one-night stand with a guy she works with, only to find him dead when she wakes up in the morning. Knowing she’d become the number-one suspect, she flees the scene and then tries to solve the murder herself. It sounds enticing, right? And it was an interesting read… it just wasn’t as fast-paced as I would have liked it. I was expecting twists and turns, but nothing felt too shocking and I never felt on the edge of my seat. It’s a good read if you’re just looking for an easy mystery, but not if you’re hoping to read a really engaging thriller.

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a book that someone else has recommended to me): The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (4 stars)
I have had multiple people recommend this book to me, most recently a coworker. So it was an easy one to tackle for the recommendation category for the Book Riot reading challenge. It was such a sweet novel! I expected it to be much more of a tear-jerker, but it didn’t make me cry. (Surprising, I know!) Instead, I just found the ending to be so perfect and heartwarming. Enzo is one of my new favorite literary characters. He was so easy to love and while I know it’s a work of fiction, it gave me some insight into my own dog. (I dearly hope he has a rich inner life as Enzo did!) If you love dogs, I highly, highly, highly recommend this book. I didn’t care too much for the racing parts, but I did get caught up in the excitement because of how passionate Enzo was about them!

TLC Book Tours read: The Predictions by Bianca Zander (5 stars)
I reviewed this novel earlier this month and you can find the review here.

Publisher review: Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland (2 stars)
I reviewed this book earlier this month and you can find the review here.

Others (read for fun!)

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (4 stars)
This is the second book in Oliver’s “Delirium” series and it was really good! I found it really fast-paced and engaging. I really liked hearing about her time in New York City, as it seemed like more was happening to move the plot forward there. All in all, a really good read, but I do have to say the ending of both novels in this series have left me with a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Sadness, maybe? There’s always a cliffhanger that makes my stomach knot up… and remain that way for a few days. I’m hoping the last book ties up this series in a good way… and that I’m not left with a stomach in knots at the end!

On the Rocks by Erin Duffy (2 stars)
I really wanted to like this book because I loved Duffy’s first novel so much, but it just fell flat for me. I didn’t really like the main character. The writing was a little cheesy and some of it felt really, really outdated, as this book was supposed to take place in 2012 and there were mentions of using Myspace and beepers. (?!) So, an easy beach read, but not one I would necessarily recommend.

The One by Kiera Cass (3 stars)
This is the last book in The Selection series by Cass, a dystopian trilogy. This has been one of my favorite dystopian trilogies so far because it’s just fun. It’s light-hearted and silly and romantic. Most dystopian novels are so serious and heartbreaking and intense. There was definitely conflict and some sad moments in this novel, but overall, it was a nice, light vacation read. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and I think the author could have cut out some of the conflict with the rebels at the beginning to flesh out the ending so it felt more satisfying. Still, just a really fun dystopian series that I would recommend.

Hot on the Hunt by Melissa Cutler (3 stars)
This is a Harlequin romance novel, but it’s by an author I really love. This is the last book in a series I started reading a few years ago and it was okay. I didn’t love either main character throughout any part of the novel (not even the ending), so it wasn’t easy to root for them. I didn’t find the ending to be all that satisfying. Still, a fast-paced read that kept me engaged the entire time, and I do hope to see more from this author!

BOOK STATS // MAY

# of books read: 8
# of pages read: 2,717
quickest read: On the Rocks (2 days)
longest read: Hush (9 days)
multicultural: zero
formats: ebooks (5), physical books (3)

What was the best book you read in May?