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RedditEvery month I like to recap what I’ve read and my brief thoughts on them. This month I read 24 books which is more than I had thought I was going to read in the month. That being said I was proud of myself for getting through most of my must reads.
My must reads for July were Garden of Serpents, Glow, The Kings of Quarantine Series, and The Harlequin Crew Series. I managed to read all of them and cross a bunch more off my TBR list. August is looking to be a more intense month of reading for me though and I’ll be publishing My August TBR soon.
Books I Read In July 2022
With each book I give a brief synopsis and my thoughts on the book as well as my ratings and thoughts for the book.
Binding Rose by Ivy Fox
Binding Rose by Ivy Fox is the first book in the Mafia Wars series. This series is about several families who create a marriage pact tying the families to one another in order to create peace. Each of the books are why choose romance so if that’s not your thing you might want to avoid them.
I liked the characters in this book and while the book was good I did feel the story was a bit rushed. There were things that were mentioned briefly but nothing came of them and I feel like if more had been done in those parts the book would have been a lot better. I rated this book 3 stars and 3 peppers.
You can check out my full Binding Rose book review here.
Garden of Serpents by CN Crawford
Garden of Serpents is the third and final book in the Demon Queen Trials series by C.N. Crawford. In the City of Thorns demons live and are banned from the human world. Rowan, an anxiety ridden college student, meets Orion, the Lord of Chaos, he mistakes her for another demon and the two work together to try to seek revenge on the King of Demons.
I don’t want to spoil the series so I’m giving a synopsis based on the first book. The entire series gets 3 stars and 2 peppers from me. The first book is really good but then things seem to get lost in the series. While the final book returns to some of what made the first book great, things just aren’t quite adding up.
You can check out my full Garden of Serpents book review here.
Glow by Raven Kennedy
Glow by Raven Kennedy is the fourth book in the Plated Prisoner series. Glow follows the story of Auren, a golden girl with a traumatic past and a hero who saved her. She lives a life where she is locked in a cage for not only her protection but for the protection of others too.
Again I don’t want to spoil the series so I’m giving a synopsis based on the first book in the series. This book was basically all filler, which I didn’t mind because we really got to dive in more to the characters. This series has a lot on trauma healing and it’s part of why I love it so much, this book is no different, but the ending will leave you screaming for the next book. Sadly the fifth book in the series won’t be out till June 2023. I gave this book 5 stars and 3 peppers.
You can read my full Glow book review here.
Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark
Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark is a stand alone mafia romance book in the Brutal Birthright series. When Mikolaj, boss of the Polish Mafia, is seeking revenge for the death of his father he finds it by kidnapping the youngest daughter of the Irish Mafia Boss. While Nessa is innocent and sweet upon first meeting her, he realizes she is so much more than what she appears.
This was a fun read after finishing up a couple of series. I needed something lightweight and easy to read to cleanse my brain before I dive into a couple of series I haven’t yet read. Sophie Lark does a great job with these books and I am looking forward to reading the remainder of the series. I gave this book 4 stars and 3 peppers.
You can read my Brutal Birthright Series Review here.
Kings of Quarantine Series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
Kings of Quarantine is a 4 book series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. It is a dark romance why choose romance set at an academy. Tatum is dropped off at a private academy and just as she’s ready to start making friends a story breaks, blaming her father for releasing the Hades Virus that is sweeping the world. The kids at the academy along with the three boys who basically rule at the academy are making her life hell. Now she needs to survive the bullies and also find a way to prove her dad was set up.
I don’t typically like highschool/prep school settings but the Twisted Sisters are some of my favorite authors. I couldn’t resist the need to read this series and I’m glad I did. It was a fantastic series with a great ending. I gave this series 5 stars, 4 peppers, and a box of tissues.
You can read my Kings of Quarantine Series Review here.
Arrows and Apologies by Sav R. Miller
Arrows and Apologies is the fourth book in the Monsters and Muses series by Sav R. Miller. Cora is searching for her brother who has been missing for the last year. His last known location is Aplana Island. Alistair is the Mayor of Alpana Island and he can’t stop thinking about the woman with Blue hair he met in Boston. She’s trying to figure out where her brother is and how his disappearance might be attached to Alistair.
I freaking loved this book. The books in this series just keep getting better and better. The characters are fantastic, the stories are fun, and the spice is really good. It was the perfect book to read after Kings of Quarantine. I gave this book 5 stars and 4 peppers.
You can read my Monsters and Muses Series Review here.
Twisted Hate by Ana Huang
Twisted Hate is the third book in the Twisted series by Ana Huang. It is a contemporary enemies to lovers romance. Josh and Jules have hated each other forever but after finding out they will be working together they decide to come to a truce. What they don’t expect is to find out there is a fine line between love and hate.
This series has an overarching plot so you will want to read the series in order. This was such a fantastic book and I loved these characters. Jules has been a favorite since book one so I loved getting her backstory and finally getting to know her better. I gave this book 5 stars, 3 peppers, and 1 tissue.
You can read my Twisted Series Review here.
Twisted Lies by Ana Huang
Twisted Lies is the fourth book in the Twisted series by Ana Huang. It is a contemporary fake romance. Stella needs a fake boyfriend and Christian agrees knowing it’ll look better for him to have a girlfriend at events. Neither one of them wants a relationship but it could be good for both them. When Stella’s stalker returns Christian goes above and beyond their agreement to protect her, but she doesn’t understand why he would do that.
This was a fantastic ending to this series and I loved the dynamic and the heat between Christian and Stella. It was a slow burn that is completely worth it with characters that are complex and interesting. I gave this book 5 stars and 3 peppers.
You can read my Twisted Series Review here.
Harlequin Crew Series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
The Harlequin Crew series is a dark romance why choose romance written by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. After a brush with death, Rogue Easton finds herself back in Sunset Cove. She grew up here with four boys she loved who broke their promise to love her forever. Now that she’s back she’s thinking revenge sounds like a treat she wants to indulge in.
I freaking loved this series. It had twists, laughs, tears, and straight up raging moments that made it a roller coaster to read. The Twisted Sisters make emotional damage hurt so good and while this isn’t as bad as some of their other series it was still extremely good. You will fall in love with the characters, the setting, and the story just like I did. I gave this book 5 stars, 3 peppers, and 2 tissues.
You can read my Harlequin Crew Series Review here.
Savage Lover by Sophia Lark
Nero is the son of a mob boss, Camille is a mechanic working in her father’s garage. When she takes the blame for her brother having ecstasy in a backpack she is forced to be a CI for a police officer and needs to find out information about a dangerous dealer. Nero keeps running into Camille at parties and around the city and now he can’t get her off his brain.
I enjoy the Brutal Birthright series but Savage Lover felt off for me. It was good but it felt like there were a lot of things missing from the story. There could have been more twists, more dark moments, and more heat between the characters but it was lacking. I gave this book 3 stars and 2 peppers.
You can read my Brutal Birthright Series Review here.
Fractured Freedom by Shain Rose
Dante Reid is Delilah Hardy’s brother’s best friend and she tricked him into taking her v-card. Then she disappeared and kept her distance. After a mix up at the airport Dante is the one to get her out of jail and now he refuses to leave her alone. He still wants her and wants to know why she avoids him like she does.
This is my first Shain Rose read and I gotta say it was absolutely amazing. Fractured Freedom is a fantastic book and I can’t wait to read more from this author. I loved the writing style, the heat was delicious, and I loved the character growth and development in this book. You will want to check trigger warnings on this book though. I gave this book 4 stars, 4 peppers, and 1 tissue.
Jack Off by KB Cinder
CeCe just found out her fiance is cheating on her so she dumps him and moves back to her small town home to get back on her feet. The boss for her new job as a caregiver remembers her from the night of her bachelorette party and doesn’t have a high opinion of her, that is until he gets to know her better, then things start to change between them.
Jack Off was super cute with a lot of laugh out loud moments. I loved the dialogue between the characters and the inner monologue of them too. This is a contemporary romance with a tiny amount of spice but it’s a super cute, easy to read book. I gave this book 4 stars and 1 pepper.
You can read my Jack Off Book Review here.
Triple Duty Bodyguards by Lily Gold
In Triple Duty Bodyguards we follow Briar whose stalker broke into her home and threatened her. She hires on three ex-SAS bodyguards to help keep her safe. The closer the stalker gets to her the more protective they get and the closer she gets to her bodyguards. She’s fighting to keep doing her job and they are trying to keep her safe.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a why choose romance between three men and one woman. Briar is sarcastic and the dialogue is absolutely hilarious. What I wasn’t expecting was the deep dive into psychology when we start learning about the mental processes of a celebrity stalker, PTSD, and Anxiety. I gave this book 5 stars, 4 peppers, 1 tissue
You can read my Triple Duty Bodyguards Book Review here.
Gravity by Sara Cate
When her twin sister and his brother died in a helicopter crash their worlds also crashed. When Nash shows up at Zara’s work one night she’s faced with a broken man who she crushed on two years prior. Then his father, Alistair, shows up and gives her an offer she can’t turn down, three months on a private island to fix his broken son.
Gravity is a book with a taboo topic that you will not see coming. Unfortunately the taboo will spoil a large portion of this book. I liked the story but this taboo was not at all for me. However, Sara Cate is brilliant and she pretty much owns me, so while it wasn’t my thing I still enjoyed the book a lot. I gave the book 4 stars and 4 peppers.
Free Fall by Sara Cate
Warning: Reading this section will spoil Gravity Do NOT Read if you intend on reading Gravity
After several rough years Nash Wilde is finally back on his feet, well kind of. He’s a workaholic with no social life but at least it appears he has his life together, right? Hanna had it all and then a mental breakdown left her with nothing and under the control of her mother. Elise is successful but heartbreak left him far too broken to trust his ex ever again. When all three of them end up on Del Rey together they will need to learn how to heal from their pasts in order to get the futures they want.
After reading Gravity I was not expecting the story we got from Free Fall. Mental health takes the main stage of the story in this book and once again I was brought to tears through breakthroughs, breakdowns, and the healing each of our characters go through. I will forewarn you this book is a polyamorous romance. I gave the book 5 stars, 5 spice, and 1 tissue.
Resisting Mr. Kane by Rosa Lucas
In Resisting Mr. Kane, we find Elly backpacking during a summer in Greece working odd jobs to get by. On her first night at a local bar she convinces Tristian to go in for a drink so she can keep her job there. He shows up the next night and then they have a one night stand that turns into three amazing nights before it all suddenly goes down hill. Seven months later Elly shows up at her new job and Tristan is the CEO. He wants her back and will do anything he can to convince her to go on a date with her.
Rosa Lucas gives us a cute story with plenty of steam, tension, and laugh out loud moments. I enjoyed the story, the settings, and the characters in this book. I was hooked from the moment I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. There were parts of the story that were pretty predictable, but that never bothers me. I gave the book 4 stars and 3 peppers.
What Books Did You Read
What books did you read in July and what were your favorite ones? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on TikTok and Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your favorite books boards.
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