I had such a good reading month for the month of July! I read 12 books, and enjoyed most of them! I also found a few new favorites! As always, click the links in the titles if you would like to read a more in depth review of each book and see the individual trigger warnings.

➽ Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel #2) by Josiah Bancroft – ★★★★
After reading Senlin Ascends at the end of June, I couldn’t resist picking this book up. It’s a perfect steampunk adventure and unlike anything else I’ve ever read before. Plus, I got to buddy read it with my favorite, Petrik!

➽ The Red by Tiffany Reisz – ★★★
This is one of the most erotic things I’ve ever read in my entire life! I really enjoyed it and I love how unapologetic it was towards sex and every kink under the sun. This is for sure not for the prude of hearts, but if you’re looking for something sexy that will push your boundaries then this is for sure the perfect read for you. Also, it features a bunch of famous artwork and I loved the paranormal mystery behind what was going on.

➽ Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas – ★★★★
This was such a unique romance between two people who have only ever known each other as pen pals since childhood. Even though the romance takes place between two consenting adults, it is still set in their senior year of high school, so it didn’t feel as good as it would have if they were at least in college, but maybe that’s just because I’m getting old. I still really enjoyed this and Penelope Douglas made quite the impression on me with this book.

➽ A Fading Sun (The Sunpath Cycle #1) by Stephen Leigh – ★★
This is a paranormal, yet spiritual, revenge story that really displays the consequences of war. Guys, I wanted to love this, I really did, but it was just so god-awfully boring after the first third of this book. I really had to force myself to finish this, and if it wasn’t an ARC I would have DNFed it without a doubt.

➽ The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman #1) by Paullina Simons – ★★★★★
This was such a perfect book. I am still thinking about the emotional impact it had on me. This is a WWII historical romance that is set in Russia and it was amazing. This was also a buddy read with Paloma and this book ended up being everything that the both of us ever wanted.

➽ Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy curated Ameriie – ★★★★
This is truly a mixed bag; some stories are amazing and other stories are not so great. I completely recommend this if you follow and love many of the authors that contributed to this (Marissa Meyer, Victoria Schwab, Adam Silvera, Nicola Yoon), but I’d probably pass if you’re just looking for an anthology about villains. My favorite story was easily Marigold by Samantha Shannon!

➽ An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – ★★★★
I loved this, but I couldn’t shake how much it felt like an (actual) YA version of A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas. I still really enjoyed this, mostly because it stars fae in their fae courts, but I really expected this to be a five star read for me. Regardless, it’s still worth a buy and a read upon release on September 26th, 2017.

➽ The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin – ★★★★★
I am so happy that Gelisvb picked this for us to buddy read, because it has been on my TBR forever, but I’ve just never got around to actually picking it up! Well, it’s safe to say that I quickly and wholeheartedly fell in love. This diverse story is everything I want from the SFF genre, and N.K. Jemisin is a gift from above. I can’t wait to finish this series in August.

➽ Tatiana and Alexander (The Bronze Horseman #2) by Paullina Simons – ★★★★
This was another buddy read with Paloma, because we couldn’t wait after reading The Bronze Horseman! Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one as much as The Bronze Horseman, but it was still a really solid read that lets us see Alexander’s point of view for many of the events in The Bronze Horseman. I just wish we could have gotten more than two chapters of them actually being together and happy.

➽ Age of Swords (The Legends of the First Empire #2) by Michael J. Sullivan – ★★★
Age of Myth was one of my favorite books of 2016, so I was a little disappointed with this next installment. Maybe I had too high of hopes? Regardless, this just fell flat for me and was a little boring to read. Yet, it still showcased Suri, who is one of my favorite book characters of all time. This is an epic fantasy that is set 3,000 years before Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations, but this series is meant to be read separately and there will be no spoilers if you haven’t completed it or even started it.

➽ Atheists Who Kneel and Pray by Tarryn Fisher – ★★★★★
Tarryn Fisher wrote my favorite book of all time, Mud Vein, and I’ve been completely mesmerized by her gift with words ever since. She has unlocked pieces of myself that no other author has ever touched. I have never felt like someone has written a book personally for me more than that book. Tarryn Fisher always makes me feel like all my broken parts are on display, but she somehow makes me feel proud of them. And all of her books evoke this emotional response from me, and Atheists Who Kneel and Pray was no different. This was perfection and easily one of my favorite books of 2017.

➽ Corrupt (Devil’s Night #1) by Penelope Douglas – ★★★★
I loved this so very much! I’m not sure what it is, but this summer I’ve just only been craving erotic romances, and Corrupt was an amazing way to end July. Not only was this an amazing story, but it was also such a fast paced mystery, too! I became so addicted to these characters and their love to hate to hate to love relationship. Also, at this point I’m starting to believe that Penelope Douglas is the queen of erotic stories.

I hope you guys had an amazing reading month in July, too! And I hope you have many more amazing reads this August! Let me know if you guys are participating in ARC August! And happy reading!

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