Book Haul | July 2023

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Hello Hello! How are you?

Another month has whizzed by and we are already in the 8th month of the year! I can’t believe how fast August has come around but I’m not complaining because I’m so ready for autumn. The summers in France can get really hot and stuffy and just plain uncomfortable, so roll on autumn!

I’m going to try to be a bit more controlled in my book purchases in the coming months as I generally start Christmas shopping in September/October to keep the costs down at the end of the year, and I always get a load of books for Christmas and birthday, so I won’t be missing out. That being said, I once again treated myself to quite a few books this month.

In July, I added a total of 11 books to my TBR, like the previous month. Half of these on Kindle (one on Audible) and the rest are physical copies! I’ve also started to make my way through them so I guess I can give myself a pat on the back.

Keep on reading to find out what books I purchased in July!

PHYSICAL BOOKS I BOUGHT

Les marins ne savent pas nager by Dominique Scali

This is a French book I bought last month because I keep seeing it about everywhere and it’s supposedly going to win a Canadian/Quebec prize sometime in September, so I figured it would be a good time to get a copy. This book came out at the end of last year and we had it at the library I previously worked at, but didn’t have time to get to it before I left and came back to my local library. I won’t get to it soon because it’s a massive chunky book (708 pages!), but I love the sound of it. The premise is that on this island, no one can swim, apart from one girl. It sounds like it’s going to be really unique and probably have some really beautiful writing, so I’m excited to give it a shot!

Crush (#2 Crave) by Tracy Wolff

I read Crave by Tracy Wolff at the end of June and within the first chapter I was so hooked that I purchased the second book and preordered the third and fourth books (as they are coming out in paperback in August). This series is just OMG! It’s got witches and warlocks, vampires and wolf shifters AND dragon shifters! I don’t know why it has taken me such a long time to finally get to this series but I’m definitely into it now and I can’t wait to continue it. I’ve already started this second instalment and I plan to finish it soon, I’m absolutely loving it!

The Awakening (#1 Zodiac Academy) by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

In the same vein as the previous book is this next series that I purchased the first instalment of last month. I’ve been seeing the Zodiac Academy books absolutely everywhere on the bookish community since the start of the year, just slightly less that Fourth Wing. I’ve also heard a lot of good things about this series and think it would become such a comforting series to read. I also really like books that are set in schools or academies, which is the case here. And I also love paranormal/supernatural characters, which we also have here! I think the premise with the zodiac elements is also unique and interesting, so I’m looking forward to reading it! I’m sure I’m going to love this series, so I couldn’t hold back and had to get myself a copy of the first book in July.

Si Rome n’avait pas chuté by Raphaël Doan

This is another French book that I actually just picked up this past Saturday because I kept seeing it advertised in some of the magazines we subscribe to at my library, and a few articles about how innovative and interesting this book is. It’s probably not my usual kind of read, but the blurb and the explanation behind this book sold me. Basically, Raphaël Doan is the leading French historian on the Classical Antiquities period and he asked some really precise questions to an artificial intelligence app that basically explained what Rome would look like today if there had been the invention of the steam train in that period. The whole point of the book was to show us a world in which Rome hadn’t fallen and where it would now be the centre of the world, but also I believe a kind of warning about artificial intelligences. I think it’s an absolutely captivating idea and I can’t wait to read this book, especially since the AI even invented art and illustrations to go along with its hypotheses and it just sounds amazing!

One Last Stop by Casie McQuinston

And the final physical book I purchased in July is one of my Trope-ical Readathon picks for Team Romance! I read Red, White and Royal Blue by this author when it came out a few years ago and absolutely fell in love with the story and the characters, so when I heard about One Last Stop, I knew I was going to love it as well, but didn’t get around to it as quickly as I would have liked. This is a sapphic romance and it has it’s own sort of unique time travel element, so it sounds like a cute, funny and unique romance that will really help me plow through my TBR for August and just generally be a palate cleanser between all the fantasies I’ve set out on my TBR. I’m really looking forward to reading it!

 

KINDLE/AUDIBLE BOOKS I BOUGHT 

An Echo in the City by K. X. Song

This is another book I bought for my Trope-ical Readathon TBR since it is one of the two team book choices for Team Romance. I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone this year and pick Team Romance instead of Team Fantasy, and I really like the sound of these team books and prompts. I liked the sound of this book when I read the blurb and I think it’s going to be a hard-hitting but also very emotional and possibly cute book. It makes me think of the premise of some other romance books where the characters swap their phones by mistake, and I generally like those stories, so I’m looking forward to trying it out. I got myself a copy on my Kindle because I couldn’t get my hands on a physical copy that would arrive during the month of August!

Curvy Girls Can’t Date Quarterbacks (#1 The Curvy Girl Club) by Kelsie Stelting

I also purchased this book on my Kindle after seeing it a few times advertised on Instagram and being really intrigued by the premise of the first book. This is a large series of books that are sort of connected but that I believe you can read in the order you want, and they all have in common the fact that the main character is a “curvy girl”. Being a curvy girl myself, I wanted to see what these stories were worth as you don’t often find romance stories with bigger characters (you do a bit more nowadays, but not as much as I would like). I’m pretty sure I read this book in one single sitting and was up very late finishing it but I was absolutely hooked. It’s not an amazing literary novel, but it’s cute, it has a tonne of emotions, it’s got curvy characters galore and a stunning love interest. I really enjoyed it, but don’t think I’ll buy all the other books straight away, because I have lots and lots of books still on my Kindle to get through first!

City of Thorns, Lord of Embers and Garden of Serpents (#1-3 The Demon Queen Trials) by C. N. Crawford

OMG this series! Much like the previous book, I saw City of Thorns advertised a few times on Bookstagram and it really piqued my interest as I’m really in a supernatural/paranormal fantasy romance reading mood at the minute, so I decided to give the first book a shot. I literally finished it in a couple of days and purchased the second and third instalments straight away. As I’m writing this, I only have about 14% to go in the second book, so by the time this post goes up I’ll more than likely already be through half of the final book in the series. This series has demons against mortals, magic, romance and OMG lots of sexual tension and it’s literally the best binge-worthy but also well-written and well-plotted story I’ve read in a long time. It’s well worth a read and I’m having the best time!

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And the final book on my July haul is one I got myself on Audible. I purchased a physical copy last month but haven’t really had much time to just sit down and enjoy this book, so I had a few credits on Audible and got it so I could listen to it in the car. Again, as I’m writing this post I’m about 70% into the book and really, really enjoying it, so a couple more trips to and from work this week and it’ll be finished. I believe this is one of Agatha Christie’s standalone novels but I’m having a great time listening to it and I’m glad I’m finally reading what I consider is probably her most famous story. I’ll start again with the Hercule Poirot this month or next month, but at least I’m getting some extra reading in during my commute!

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That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx