Last month, we had guests over and my Top June Reads was forgotten about…oops 😮 Because of this, I am combining June and July in this one post. The following are the books that I found stood out for me.

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Apollo’s Raven: An epic fantasy full of sorcery, mythology, forbidden love, and an ancient curse. It was just a fun read that I couldn’t put down.

 

What I Loved:

– full of fantasy and romance
– likable and relatable characters
– strong female lead
– good world building
– easy-to-follow writing style

 

 

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Thirteen Reasons Why: A young adult read about a teenage girl who commits suicide and leaves a series of tapes explaining why she ended her life. The reader follows Clay as he tries to understand what happened to the girl that he could have loved.

 

What I Loved:

– double narrative done well
– great plot flow
– likable characters
– good suspense building
– controversial topic that needs to be talked about

 

 

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Breaking Sandcastles: A sweet and pure love tale about a woman who is about a decade older than her love interest.

 

What I Loved:

– sweet romance
– extremely likable characters
– weaves in both present and past nicely
– realistic themes
– plot flows well
– would consider to re-read

 

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As I reflect on what were my top reads the past two months, I realize that out of about twenty books read, I could only choose three as my top. Though there were others I enjoyed, it was hard to choose those as part of this list.

My goal for the next month is to read books that I enjoy more and see if I can back down on some review books. Honestly, out of the twenty I read for June and July, only one was of my choosing. Meaning, no one asked me for a review or it wasn’t part of some review program. I don’t mind some review books since I’ve found some really good ones along the way, but I have a long TBR list that I would like to focus on, as well. We’ll see how August goes!

Thank you for reading! Until next time!