So it seems that July was a productive month up until things started happening in Real Life: weddings, relative visits, more event planning and more events to come in the next month... I wrote several review drafts that haven't been finalized yet. I have a lot of written notes for unwritten reviews I am planning. But I hadn't had time to go back and actually write, or reread and rewrite, or even edit anything. And I even decided to skip the last two Top Ten Tuesdays for this month, mainly because there was just too much going on outside of my reading life.
I had even thought about skipping a reading wrap up for July. But since I start drafting these posts at least a month in advance, I decided to just go ahead and finish it off and publish it. It's not like these are difficult to write anyway since I'm really just listing books.
Anyway...
Life really does just happen when you least expect it. Nonetheless, July was still a pretty productive month, readying-wise, I suppose. It was my blogging that got lazy.
Books Read
Silent Night by C.J. Kyle
Secrets of the Dead by Kylie Brant
Blood Dreams by Kay Hooper
Blood Sins by Kay Hooper
Blood Ties by Kay Hooper
Echoes at Dawn by Maya Banks
Shades of Gray by Maya Banks
Softly at Sunrise by Maya Banks (novella)
The Prophet by Amanda Stevens
He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not by Lena Diaz
Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
Turn Up the Heat by Kimberly Kincaid
Scorched by Laura Griffin
Exposed by Laura Griffin
Books Dropped/On Hold
On Hold
Currently Reading/Listening to
Reviews & Notable Posts
- Reviews
Secrets of the Dead by Kylie Brant
- Top Ten Tuesdays
7/7/2015: Top Ten Hyped Books I've Never Read
7/14/2015: Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession
7/21/2015: Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters -- SKIPPED
7/28/2015: Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds -- SKIPPED
- Other Posts
First Impression: Secrets of the Dead
Anticipated Release for 2015: Career of Evil!!!
Reading progress update: Magonia -- Up to Chapter 8 (92 out of 309 pages)
Reading Progress Update: Uprooted -- Page 93
Reading Wrap-Up
14 books total were read in July. I think I did pretty well in the "I really enjoy these books" area of reading during the month, but unfortunately, things started to slow down real fast after I realized that there just isn't enough time in the day. I had to put Richard Castle's Frozen Heat on hold because my library check-out expired, but a couple days ago my library pinged me again and now the book is back in my possession. I plan to pick up reading it within the next few days and hopefully have it finished so I can move onto the next book of this series.
- Series I started reading in July:
Deadly Games by Lena Diaz
Pine Mountain by Kimberly Kincaid
- Series I completed in July:
None
- Series I have made progress on in July:
Mindhunters by Kylie Brant
Bishop/Special Crimes Unit by Kay Hooper
KGI by Maya Banks
The Graveyard Queen by Amanda Stevens
Tracers by Laura Griffin
My favorite books read in July were, of course, the three Kay Hooper Bishop/SCU installments... even if I sort of had my reserves. I finally got around to finishing what's available of The Graveyard Queen's books and found myself wondering why it took me so long to read--granted, I also had my reserves about The Prophet, but the book was written beautifully and I very much enjoyed it. Maya Banks has become a guilty pleasure read and so I always find enjoyment with those books.
As I am still in the middle of reading Uprooted, I don't have a really finalized opinion of it, but so far, I'm loving it! The writing is beautiful, the culture and world is creative. And I love the characters, especially our main heroine, Agniezka.
I was a bit disappointed in only few books. Lena Diaz's He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not was a Romantic Suspense I'd been looking forward to considering it has an interesting premise. But the book felt awkward and the hero and heroine were so carbon copy stock standard perfect hero and heroine that I got a little eye-roll-y at some points. I may or may not finish the rest of the series.
Laura Griffin's Tracers series has become a personal favorite of mine for reasons, and the previous two books were excellent and exciting... Scorched and Exposed felt a little... off. Scorched was fast-paced and suspenseful, but the characters were hard to relate with (or even like at all), which is disappointing because I love osteology and forensic pathology, so I thought I'd love Kelsey Quinn. Exposed was just a little... flat.
I'm still undecided about the Kimberly Kincaid Pine Mountain series. I really enjoyed the first three Line series novellas of hers and I have a sort of thing for books that incorporate food porn. And her writing style is enjoyable and fun... but the Pine Mountain series is very formulaic and the characters are hard to like in the beginning.
And also, I'm undecided about Magonia and whether or not I'll write a review expressing my conflict about whether or not I liked it. Maybe.
Coming Up Next (tentative scheduling)
- Tentative TBR for This Month
- Tentatively Planned Posts/Reviews
Review: Shades of Gray by Maya Banks
Review: Scorched by Laura Griffin
Review: Exposed by Laura Griffin
Review: Beyond Limits by Laura Griffin
Review: Turn Up the Heat by Kimberly Kincaid
Review: Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper
Review: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Review: Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson
Two Book Review: Crazy Wild & Crazy Kisses by Tara Janzen
Review: Frozen Heat by Richard Castle
*This is assuming that I am both motivated enough and have enough time to write all these reviews...
Book Haul / TBR Additions
- Amazon Kindle Deals (free)
- Audible Purchases
Whispersync with Kindle book (low price/discounted):
- Checked Out From the Library
Reading Challenge Updates
Original 2015 Reading Challenge Post
- General Reading Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge -- GR list/shelf
BookLikes Reading Challenge -- BL list/shelf
My Goal: 150 books
Progress: 109/150 books read
- Outdo Yourself Challenge
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: Getting My Heart Rate Up: read 1 - 5 more books
(I read 154 books for this challenge in 2014 / My goal will be 155 - 159 books in 2015.)
My Progress: 100/155
See Also: 2015 Outdo Yourself Challenge shelf for list of books
- Romantic Suspense Challenge
-- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 4/9/2015
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: SWAT: read 21+ romantic suspense novels
My Progress: 55/21
See Also: 2015 Romantic Suspense Challenge shelf for list of books
- Men in Uniform Challenge
-- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 3/17/2015
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: Chief: read 16+ men in uniform novels
My Progress: 33/16
-- 16 books read -- COMPLETED -- 3/17/2015
See: 2015 Men in Uniform Challenge shelf for book list
See: 2015 Men in Uniform Challenge post for detailed list
- 2015 TBR Pile Challenge
Hosted by Roof Beam Reader
My 2015 TBR Pile Challenge Summary Post
My Progress: 7/12
See Also: BookLikes shelf / Goodreads shelf
- 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge
Hosted by Because Reading & Fantasy Is More Fun
My 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge Summary Post
My Goal: Reading Level 5: 48 books (4 books/month), 4 Extra Credits, 1 Pass
My Progress: 28/48 (No Extra Credits or Passes used)
See Also: BookLikes shelf / Goodreads shelf
- Mount TBR Reading Challenge
Hosted by My Reader's Block
My Goal: Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR pile/s
My Progress: 25/48
See: 2015 Mount TBR Challenge shelf for book list
- The Series That Never Ends Challenge
Hosted by Delighted Reader
My 2015 The Series That Never Ends Challenge Summary Post
My Goal(s):
1) Surviving the Book Tsunami -- 5-9 books -- COMPLETED 6/1/2015
2) Removing the Thorn From My Side -- 10-15 books
My Progress: 13/15 books
Listed Series Goals Completed: 1/3
See: 2015 Series Never Ends Challenge shelf for book list
Final Thoughts
Once again, one of the things deterring me from keeping on track of my reading are books with slow starts as well as a wandering attention span. Some of the books I started reading in July weren't terrible, but they DID manage to start off without much of a hook. On top of that, Scribd has been announcing lately that a lot of books will no longer be available in August, so I scrounged to figure out which ones I needed to get read before they disappeared on me. Then I decided that I needed a new audio book (on top of the several I already own, but haven't listened to yet) for my drive to and from work, or during those times wherein I need to be multi-tasking, so I went and bought the next two Pamela Clare audio books available for her I-Team series and spent more time listening to those...
Basically, my biggest issue was the lack of focus and an overwhelming sense of not having enough time to read all the books I want to read. Because once I feel overwhelmed, I spend more time trying to decide what I want to read (making lists, creating book draw jars, giving myself reasons and excuses) rather than actually doing any reading.
And so... yea. July started off promising, but various factors ended the month off a little disappointing. Hopefully next month will be better, but I have a feeling things will be just as hectic. I have some vacation days coming up in September and October, however, so maybe at some point, I'll just take a long reading R&R week or something.
Previous Wrap-Ups
Reading Wrap Up: 2015 So Far (Jan., Feb., Mar.)
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- Looking Back at April
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- What Happened in May
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- So That Was June
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