July 2019 Monthly Wrap Up // Reading 19 Books, Turning 18, And Netgally Struggles

Hey so apparently August is here and I don’t really know how that happened but I’m seriously starting to freak out can someone please slow down time I don’t want change thank you very much.

Reading

1. Warrior of the Wild: 4 stars // I really liked this book and breezed through it and its fantastic viking mythology and amazing story!
2. Song of the Abyss: 4 stars // Although it started slow, I really dove into this book and found myself loving the ending!
3. Brave Enough: 3 stars // This book was sad and touching, but the writing itself came across as juvenile and I never really got too invested in this book. 
4. Becoming: 5 stars // Michelle Obama is an absolute inspiration.

5. This Is Not A Love Scene: 1 star // This was absolutely horrible and I hated it. The main character was sexist, mean, and obsessed with sex and nothing else. 
6. The Princess and the Fangirl: 3.5 stars // This was cute and I loved the geekiness and fandom references, but it didn’t live up to Geekerella for me. 
7. Flame in the Mist: 3 stars // This was okay, but a bit boring and underdeveloped.
8. Stain: 4 stars // Although it was a bit dull at times, I loved the story and the fairy tale type writing.

9. Red, White, and Royal Blue: 4 stars // This was so absolutely adorable just like everyone says!
10. Finale: 3.5 stars // This book did not live up to the first two for me, but I still really enjoyed it.
11. The Girl King: 3 stars // This was mostly boring and tropey and felt too long but I did still enjoy it.
12. The Library of Lost Things: 4 stars // This was such an enjoyable and relatable bookworm book.

13. Amber and Dusk: 3.5 stars // This was kind of tropey, but it was still an enjoyable fantasy.
14. Bloodleaf: 3.5 stars // This wasn’t as amazing as I thought, but I still really enjoyed this Goose Girl retelling!
15. I Believe In A Thing Called Love: 1.5 stars // So this is the second Maurene Goo book I’ve given such a low rating… I think I’m gonna pass on her now. The main character is psycho.
16. No One Here Is Lonely: 2.5 stars // This was kind of just… weird.

17. Defy Me: 1.5 stars // This was such a let down considering how much I enjoy the other books in the series… it was all filler and completely unnecessary.
18. How To Breathe Underwater: 3 stars // There were some really annoying things in this book and it was just pretty generic and forgettable but not terrible.
19. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (reread): 5 stars // I was getting sick of all the bad books so I decided to reread this one for Harry’s birthday, July 31!

I read 19 books this month which was my most ever, I think! Unfortunately, I definitely found a lot of ones I disliked and far fewer good ones… My average rating was 3.2, which is  lower than normal, so fingers crossed for August! I also think I’m going to go ahead and reread the entire HP series, so that’ll skew my rating high haha.

Blogging

This month I’ve really started figuring out a schedule! I’ve had a lot more time for blogging too since I’m on summer break!

Reviews:

• This Mortal Coil Review // An Incredible Science Filled Dystopia
• A Curse So Dark And Lovely Review // A Dark And Incredible Retelling
• Again But Better Review // A Quirky, Cute Contemporary
• The Fever King Review // Fantastic Characters In Exciting Science Fantasy

Other Posts:

• Top Ten Childhood Favorites // Lots Of Weird Rambly Nostalgia Ft. Imaginary Lizards, Colorful Mice, and Fruit Cake
• Top Ten Characters I Relate To // Exposing My Socially Awkward, Nerdy, Asian Self
• The Third Annual 2019 Book Blogger Awards // Screaming My Appreciation For The Best People In The World
• Top Ten Auto Buy Authors // I Am Trash So Just Take My Money Already
• Books Set In Summer To Read In Summer // 13 Examples Of Beachy Times and Frozen Treats To Plan Your Summer Adventures By
• Top Ten Favorite Settings // Magic Schools and Libraries, Picturesque Asia, And Other Places I Love Reading About!
• Mini Rant Reviews For All 19 Books I Read In High School // Rants From A Graduate!
• Top Ten Mermaid Books // Mermaids, Fins, Sirens, Selkies, And Others Set Under The Sea

Your Posts

Here are some of the lovely other posts I enjoyed reading this month!

• Kelly debunks some homeschool misrepresentation myths
• Olivia discusses 5 things no one tells you about blogging
• Cait shares how she reads 10+ books per month
• Ellyn shares how to stay organized at university
• Siobhan discusses why age shouldn’t matter when reading YA
• May shares four things you shouldn’t feel guilty for as a book blogger
• Karis talks about why she loves libraries so much

Life

July was both a month of boredom and absolutely nothing (bless summer), and a crazy hectic month, all at the same time?? Here are some of my highlights:

I turned 18. I didn’t want to share the date but since the month is over I’ll gush about it now! So apparently I’m a full blown adult and not a child anymore, which is super bizarre. I still can’t quite fathom that? I ate a lot of desserts on my birthday thought including my own birthday cake that I made myself so that was great.

I went to my college freshman orientation. I was actually terrified for this and spent weeks angsting about it, and although it wasn’t as horrible as I feared, I’m an introvert and the social interaction was exhausting and by the time they released us back to our dorm rooms at 11:30 PM (having walked almost 20,000 steps) I was exhausted and ded but then I had to wake up at 6 AM for another full day… It did get me a little excited for college though.

I finished my WIP! It took me about a month to write, clocking in around 75,000ish words. I know that manuscript is going into a hole to never see the light of day, but I’m still super happy to have finished it and feel super accomplished.

I saw Toy Story 4 because I’m a baby who would rather see a Disney movie than an “adult” movie and it made me cry especially in the beginning when it rehashed TS3 with Andy going to college and I realized that’s going to be me in a month…

I started bullet journaling! I’ve been thinking about doing it for a while, so I just went ahead and started! It’s not as pretty as most people online, but it’s pretty enough for me, it’s fun, and I’m getting addicted.

After blogging for 18 months, I finally made a Netgalley account! I never bothered making it because I prefer physical books so I was like whatever I’ll just wait until they’re out and I can read in my preferred format. I decided what the heck I’ll just make one now that I’m 18 and don’t have to lie about my age. Well… it took an hour to figure out to download the book to my computer, and once I finally got it I was reminded of why I prefer print books, so I doubt I’ll use it, and I’ll just stick to waiting for books to come out so I can get them at the library!

Let’s Chat

How was your July? How has your summer been going? What are some of your favorite books from this month? Do you like using Netgalley? I’d love to chat in the comments below 🙂