Dreadful, the month of July is. Of course I should point out that that was sarcasm. I love July! It was a whole of month dedicated to planning and organizing (note: FBCYA stuff.) Plus, I did not have to think about school. (Not entirely true, but still.) In hindsight, I think it was a good reading month. I read in my usual pace: 2 books by the middle of the month, and 2 books crammed in two days. I am that weird. I met bloggers who I have been dying to meet since I started blogging. I celebrated my first blogiversary. And it was just a month where I got tons of books. I feel weird actually. (Because I got more books for my blogiversary than my actual birthday har har.)

I will be going back to school this August, and I guess I am torn between going back and staying at home. On the bright side, my calendar is all full. I cannot wait to finally study the subject that I have been wanting to see on my curriculum since I started studying in college. I cannot wait to finally get over with our thesis. Plus I will be saying hello to my allowance again. I can now save for the Manila International Book Fair. Yay!

But first, let’s see how my July went.

Solid four books again! This is good for my Goodreads challenge. But to be honest with you, those two at the end are definitely buzzer beaters.

Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven – My month definitely had a fresh start because of this wonderful book. Not only was Jennifer elevated to a higher author status on my list, but she also finally manifested the female lead that I have been wanting to idolize since forever. I read this book for a blog tour hosted by JM at Revelations of a Book Freak, and I will be reviewing the book soon!

Zac and Mia by A. J. Betts – Sadly disappointed by this one. Before I started blogging, this book was high up on my to be – read list. So when I finally had it in my hands, I did not hesitate to read it. But darn, this book is another case of “I didn’t like it because of the female POV” type of book. Not that I have anything against the POV of girls, but the POV just made me want to drop the book. I am not happy with it either, because I was trying really hard to like it.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – This book is… I still don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it, but at the same time I do. I have a thing for rich heiresses and wealthy families. But I was thought to always keep my guard up for this book. And it still blew me away because of that ridiculous plot twist. This book kept me up until 2 am, and half of the time I was contemplating on what happened.

Timekeeper by Tara Sim – As a history nerd by heart, I love how the author twisted an alternate Victorian society through promoting diversity, badass characters, and gorgeous clock spirits. This one’s a keeper guys.

I know. I am practically going to die in August. This is crazy, especjally for a neurotic reader like me. Most of the books in there are the books that I will be reading for the ReadThemAllThon hosted by Aentee at Read at Midnight.

I need to offer some ridiculous lot to the gods. I don’t know how I will pull this off. Oh well, I have always wanted to feel what it’s like to be ahead of your Goodreads TBR. Luckily, most of these are physical books that I have on my book stack. Oh and one of those books is the Fanboy Book Club pick for the month of August! I will go more into my TBR once I post my full TBR for the readathon.

So after months of not even posting any book hauls, I ended up getting 11 books for the month of July! I mean, that’s just crazy! Who knew getting deprived of books for 5 months gets you in a book frenzy? But I will gladly do it again because getting a lot of books is better than slowly hauling. The idea works for me!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The book will hit you with its beautiful prose, with a protagonist so poetic. The deep wonders of the universe can be seen in Aristotle’s own head. I had this urge to read Dante’s mind in the process, because they seem so different. Yet they clicked like two peas in a pod. I do not mind that the whole thing was in Aristotle’s perspective because the way he speaks about everyone is how some people do perceive the world.

Full review here.

 

Sticks and Stones by Abby Cooper

The story is beautifully written, and is equally charming. Even if everyone was practically paving their own ways as well, Elyse stood up to herself, with the guidance of the one with the blue notes. All I have to say that the character writing the blue notes is like a guardian angel. The character was a great addition to the story and her reveal was equally brilliant. There may be side problems here and there, but the story developed its main character into a self-loving individual who inspires other people.

Full review here.

Zac and Mia by A. J. Betts

Zac and Mia is a beautiful book full of aspiring thoughts, a cast of characters that find themselves, and a beautiful setting. I am probably at fault for raising my bar too high because despite the beauty of the prose, it felt flat for me. It was an easy read, and it is digestible for such a heavy topic. But if I had to drag myself to finish it then sadly, this book is not for me.

Full review here.

• I will be joining Aentee at Read at Midnight’s ReadThemAllThon! My full TBR will be up by Saturday (hopefully). If you will be joining, I will be gladly help you out with your CP count.
• I attended Bookworms Unite 2.0 (and I apparently hauled 10 books in a single month). Here’s my mini recap.
• I discussed something different for Potterhead July. It only focused on a single letter, and I had so much fun discussing the various significance of each for that one letter. Link here.
• I launched Fandom Features, and now my Thursdays are all but filled.
• #FBCYA is on a fast pace, because we have surprises as early as September. I hope to post a recap, but maybe next time. Hahaha. Also, our host for the month of August is MC at Blame It On the Books, and we will be reading Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman! Yay!

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And that’s July. Pretty uneventful, right? Oh who am kidding. It’s the best month ever. ❤ Now let’s just hope that August will not swallow me whole.

So how did July go for you? Any plans for August? Comment below!