July was a great reading month, and I was able to finish 8 books! I have been diversifying my digital bookshelf, and I've found some pretty nice books in other genres I don't usually read.
Starting with my favorite read this month—The Silent Patient. This book was recommended to me when I took a quiz called Read Your Color. I was classified as a Red Reader, and its description says that I don't just read stories—I live them. I crave intensity, high stakes, and gripping stories that captivate my attention from the first page to the last. My ideal books are the kind that make my pulse race and my heart pound. And that I like narratives that feel like a rush of adrenaline with love stories that immerse me in danger, passion, and triumph. A bit overdramatic, but yeah, I think that sums up what I always find in a book. And with The Silent Patient, it really satisfied me.
I don't read a lot of thriller books, but when I do, I either love them or hate them. I find thriller mysteries cheesy and clichéd when not executed well. I nitpick unconsciously and find some scenes overexaggerated, unbelievable, and unrealistic in a fictional sense, if that makes sense. But this novel got me hooked in its first few chapters. As the murderer was revealed in the beginning, I was curious to see how the story would go. I love how the story was about WHY the murder was committed, as opposed to the typical mystery of finding out who the killer was. And when the plot twist was revealed, it was a no-brainer to rate this 5 stars there and then.
Malice is a dark retelling of the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty. The protagonist is Alyce, a dark grace, who was abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in her veins. She met the Briar Princess, Aurora, who was cursed to die when she comes of age unless broken by a true love’s kiss, and they became friends. The smart writing of this beloved fairytale piqued my interest, and the plot twists and turns satisfied me so much that I longed for more. It was just a bit slow at the start, but once I was into the story, it consumed me until the end. I am excited for book 2.
Another runner-up is Rebel Witch, the sequel to Heartless Hunter that I loved so much. I had high hopes for this book, but it fell short. The first part was super repetitive, and it felt like the enemies-to-lovers trope was stretched on and on so much that it just became very tiring. At one point, I thought about DNF-ing it because I couldn't stomach the bickering and secret yearning anymore between the main leads. I rated this 3.75 stars because I really just expected more. More fire, more action, more angst done right. It just fell short, but it was still a good read overall.
My least favorite read this month was What the River Knows. This book had so much potential. It has Egyptian mythology and magic, and it promises adventure and intrigue. Unfortunately, it didn't deliver that promise. The river knows no shit, and it really disappointed me because I looked forward to it and I really wanted to like it.
This year, I have 3 apps to track all the books I read: Goodreads, Storygraph, and Fable. I have always used Goodreads since the 2010s, and this time, I wanted something else with more stats when I look back at my reading journey. That's where Storygraph comes in, as well as Fable. Each tracker has different features that I love, and I couldn't decide which to use, so I am using all 3 of them. I love all the details of Storygraph. I can see how many pages I've read in a month and what genre the books are in, and there's a pie chart of what format I've read them in. It's a great app. What I like about Fable is its user interface. It's like social media but for reading. I love how you can share photos and update your reading streak. There are colorful graphs on your profile to show your book stats. It's a lovely app to track your reading.
My yearly reading goal was to finish 50 books. I managed to achieve that in just 7 months, and I'm still reading more. At this rate, I can read over a hundred books by the end of the year. Will I be able to? I guess we'll see. xx
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