July 2013 Wrap-Up

July meant winter holidays here in Australia. With no university, we both got a fair bit of reading done.


July Reviews:
Nara

With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent
A nice finish to an awesome series. 8 out of 10.

The Bad Apple by Clay Held
BOY WIZARD. (Disclaimer: not Harry Potter). 7 out of 10.

Extremities by David Lubar (ARC)
A creepy selection of short stories, complete with weird images. Don't read it at night...8 out of 10

Destiny's Flower by Linda Harley
The writing was a bit too clumsy and cliched. 5 out of 10.

A Really Awesome Mess by Brendan Halpin and Trish Cook (ARC)
Exactly as described. A really awesome mess. 9 out of 10.

Demigoddess 101 by Kacie Ji
An interesting and unique twist on traditional Roman mythology. 7 out of 10.

Belladonna by Fiona Paul
Amazing, even if I felt like stabbing Falco at times. 9 out of 10.

Dualed by Elsie Chapman
Had a bit of trouble connecting with the main character. 7 out of 10.

Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie
Seriously, what was with that ending. What the hell. (In a good way.) 9 out of 10.


Chantelle

The Liberty Tree by Suzanne Harrington (ARC)
Wasn't really enjoyable to read or review. 5 out of 10.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
PANACEA CANDIDATE, the young adult thriller of the year. 9 out of 10.

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally
Light, pleasantly enjoyable, the strong theme of sports was awesome. 7 out of 10.

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin
I'm still not okay after reading this, it was amazing though! 8 out of 10.

Joint Review

Hearts in Exile by Misti Parker


July Discussions:
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Nara)
While pretty good, wasn't as good as I expected it to be. Still gave it 9 out of 10.

Love Triangles 101: Introductory Post
Featuring interesting and intellectual discussions about love triangles. Sort of.

Love Triangles 101: Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi
#Chapter62. Enough said.

Love Triangles 101: Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
Adrian vs Dimitri showdown.

July Events:
Summer Lovin' Read-a-Thon
Once Upon a Read-a-Thon
Love Triangles 101


July Reading Highlights
Nara
I actually had a pretty good month in terms of reading. Nothing under 4 stars! Here are the most awesome:

Paper Towns by John Green
Yep, finally got around to reading it. And of course it was amazing. How could we expect anything less!

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Amaaaaazing, amazing, amazing. Review coming in August!

Belladonna by Fiona Paul
I just really love the writing style in these books. It really feels like you're immersed in Rennaissance Florence. Review here.


Chantelle
My reading choices were incredibly sporadic this month, ranging from children's fantasy books to a whole string of New Adult romances. However, my highlights are still my young adult reads!

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins
Panacea Candidate. This one exceeded my expectations, I especially loved how Higgins handled the romance, it had me staying up until 4am finishing it!

Dark Triumph by R.L. LaFevers
Again, I couldn't put this one down! This sequel was much more orientated around Sybella and her journey rather than the political emphasis in the first (which was still great), but I loved that this one was more personal.



Coming Up in August
In August, we have our post for the Summer Giveaway Hop.
We've signed up for the Beat the Heat Read-a-Thon.
We've signed up for ARC August

Oh and we still have our 500 Follower Giveaway going on. Enter here!