July 2018 in Reflection - Best and Worst Reads

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Let's reflect on the best and worst of the previous month's books.....

I know I can get so focused on what is next that I forget about all the wonderful books I read for the previous month's challenges! Summer is winding down - though you wouldn't know it by checking our local weather! Kids locally are back to school in just a couple of weeks - which is crazy to me! When did you always go back to school? For us it was always right after Labor Day, we got the one last fling before getting back to the grindstone. When my kids were little, the lie I told myself was that things would get calmer once school started again but it just got busier with all their activities. I still managed to find time to read though!

Did you discover some gems last month? DNF a few? Find your new book boyfriend or a heroine who personifies TSTL? Come on, we all want to know! Are you using reading to escape the weather like me?

[MountainKat, Moderator]

I had three 5 Star books last month - pretty nice!

Rainy Day Friends by Jill Shalvis
Jumping Jude by Lucy Lennox
Getting Schooled by Emma Chase

They all just hit the spot and left me smiling!

Several other standouts too, all strong 4 Stars:

Lucas by Sawyer Bennett
Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean
The Curse of Tenth Grave by Darynda Jones
Gentleman Nine by Penelope Ward
Come As You Are by Lauren Blakely
Master No by Lexi Blake
Ride Dirty by Laura Kaye

So duds and I'm very happy about that!

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader)]

Out of 23 books only ones that were 5 star reads for me last month were The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata. I particularly loved WoWaM and want to re-read it already. It was wonderful.

Least favorite at 2 stars was Balance by Lucia Franco. Just....no.

[MountainKat, Moderator]

I've heard great things about The Wall of Winnipeg and Me - I'm going to need to read it sometime!

And only one dud isn't too bad out of 23 - though any dud wastes valuable reading time...

[Fran, Moderator]

My favorite read of July was . I'm totally interested in reading more of the series now :)

No duds for me in July....these were both good- ,

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Fran wrote: "My favorite read of July was . I'm totally interested in reading more of the series now :)"

Such a good series!

[Trio]

I had a few good ones in July... I discovered a new author, (new to me) and loved - wonderful!

Also absolutely loved the audio version of .

And I gave 5 stars to and .

The only real stinker I read in July was - that was bonkers, crazy ridiculous, but I did finish it...

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

I had such a fab month!

My great reads this month were:
Armed & Dangerous - doing a reread of the series and I'd forgotten how much I truly enjoyed this one.
Pick Up the Pieces - great setting and interesting characters
One Giant Leap - LOVED this one! Need to reread already.
Truth and Consequences - and this!
Maelstrom - such a consistent author. Great stories.

Disappointing reads but still 3 stars were:
Who We Truly Are and Late in the Day~ I expected more from these two authors.
Soul Mate for Sale - not exactly enthralling

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Wow, so many good books! I love it!