July 2021 Wrap Up

Hi everyone! Today I’m talking about the books I read in July. At this point, I’m just convinced that my reading slump is now permanent. I’m just not reading nearly as much or as often as I did before, so I guess this is my new normal!

Before we get into the books themselves, lets go through some stats. I read three books in July and all three were published in 2021, one of which was an ARC. Two were hardcovers, one was an ebook, and two were 5 stars and one was a 3 star! For page count, two were 300-400 pages and one was 400-500 pages. All three were new to me authors, with two being debuts!

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A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert – ★★★☆☆

The first book that I managed to finish in July was A Dragonbird in the Fern. This one fell a little bit short of my expectations, but I think it shows promise for this author. The premise is Jiara’s sister is murdered, and in order to find her murderer Jiara decides to take her sister’s place and marry the king of a neighboring country, because she has evidence that the killer came from that country. A lot of this one was really predictable and too convenient, and things didn’t really feel as fleshed out as I would’ve wanted them to be. I did like the inclusion of a dyslexic main character and the struggles she faces in a foreign country where they don’t speak the same language. It was a quick read, but didn’t wow me.

Related: A Dragonbird in the Fern Review

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The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid – ★★★★★

This was such a beautifully written book! It’s inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology about a pagan woman who forms an alliance with a Woodsman captain to stop a zealot from seizing the throne that would endanger everyone. There are so many hard hitting topics that are touched on throughout this book, including segregation, oppression, and ethnic cleansing, which is just the tip of the iceberg for everything that Jewish people have suffered from. It also has a great enemies to lovers romance and I loved how the relationship developed and how it was left at the end of the book. There are so many reasons to read this book, and I hope that many more people read it. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author!

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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – ★★★★★

I bought this book because so many people have been raving about it, and it didn’t let me down! This book was amazing. I loved the exploration of what it means to live a happy life, how every choice you makes impacts all your decisions down the road, and how you need to decide what makes life worth living. It honestly felt like I was reading a novelized version of a self help book, but in the best way possible. I related to a lot of different aspects of Nora’s life and her personality, and found myself marking a LOT of quotes to come back to. I loved this book so much that I ordered two more books from Matt Haig, and I have a feeling he will end up becoming a new favorite author.

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What books did you read in July? Have you read any of these and if so, what were your thoughts? I’d love to chat!