July Reads!

Hi Readers! How happy are you? 3 posts in 3 days!! Am I on a roll or what? Don’t be too pleased though, because after this post, I’ve got nothing left to give you all till I finish a few books! Anyway, believe it or not, with my sad reading slump period in the first half of July, I still managed to read SEVEN BOOKS this month! As usual, most of them were AVERAGE, only two were REALLY GOOD & one was pretty BAD. Check them out!

 

~~THE BEST~~

~~PRETTY THINGS by JANELLE BROWN~~

My Rating: 4/5

Don’t judge the book by its name, because Pretty Things is an amazing Thriller. It is the story of TWO WOMEN. Nina Ross is a con artist and has been doing that for 3 years. But, she is an ethical con artist. She only steals from extremely rich people who won’t notice a few things are missing in their huge mansions. On the other hand, we have Vanessa Liebling who is born into money but also into a complicated family. This story weaves a mutual hatred between these women based on decade-old issues caused by their respective families. They also both carry a self-blame for those decade-old issues when in fact, they were not to blame at all. The story sometimes mirrors these characters so well despite their differences & that is what got me hooked into this book.

Check out the full book review here!

 

~~OF MICE AND MEN by JOHN STEINBECK~~

My Rating: 4/5

I am not a fan of reading Classics, but if the language is not that old & the novel is short, I can do it! Of Mice and Men was just such a beautiful novel. I read this book for the category of ‘A book mentioned in another book.’ This book was mentioned in Dan Brown’s ‘Origin’. And from that mention, I had a bit of an idea of what I was getting into but that still did not prepare me for the heartbreak! If you haven’t read this book yet, you must! You are missing out on so many feelings!

~~THE AVERAGE~~

~~THE WATER DANCER by TA-NEHISI COATES~~

My Rating: 3/5

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates is the story of Hiram Walker, set in the times when coloured people were treated as slaves. We watch Hiram, who has lost his mother, to go seek shelter with Thena. Hiram starts working as a slave for his white father Howell Walker & half-brother Maynard Walker. Soon after, we see him go through immense struggles to finally become a part of the Underground. We see Hiram start off as an intelligent boy to grow into a sensible one. This story focuses on the cruelties of slavery. It also has a bit of magical realism in it. It is a 403-page book with not a lot to offer.

Check out the full book review here!

 

~~THE NICKEL BOYS by COLSON WHITEHEAD~~

My Rating: 4/5

The Nickel Boys is the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction & so I had to read it. I had heard a lot of praise for Colson Whitehead as well. The story is based on real events that happened at Dozier School for Boys. I really liked his writing style & how impactful it was. There was so much injustice that those boys faced. The harrowing truths about it unfolding years later gave me goosebumps. The book is a mere 203 pages, but the story had a lot more potential to be put forth in more pages to make it more complete. I was also shocked by the ending & gave an extra point just for that! I think everyone should read this book. Now that I have read this, I can’t wait to read The Underground Railroad which also won a Pulitzer in 2017!

 

~~THE GUEST LIST by LUCY FOLEY~~

My Rating: 3/5

The Guest List is set on a spooky island near Ireland where a famous couple decide to have their wedding. The groom Will Slater is an actor on a show called Survive the Night while the bride Julia Keegan is the founder/owner of an online magazine called The Download. Both the parties are obscenely rich. The book is divided into two story lines; one is the NOW where the setting is of the wedding night, and second is THE DAY BEFORE until it catches up to NOW. The story is told through FIVE different people – Aoife (The Wedding Planner), Hannah (The Plus-One), Jules (The Bride), Johnno (The Best Man) and Olivia (The Bridesmaid). From a thriller standpoint, you get a lot in this. An isolated creepy island, a dead body, messed up characters & many secrets from the past!

Check out the full book review here!

~~A LITTLE BOOK OF HAPPINESS by RUSKIN BOND~~

My Rating: 4/5

I read this book because it sounded so promising & given the current circumstances, everyone needs a little more happiness. This is a small book with a lot of happy quotes. Some are by Ruskin Bond while some are by other authors or philosophers and such. It is a really nice book to read before you sleep.

 

~~THE WORST~~

~~A BEAUTIFULLY FOOLISH ENDEAVOUR by HANK GREEN~~

My Rating: 1.5/5

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is a much-awaited sequel released 2 years after the first novel, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. The first book ends on a cliff hanger so interesting that you can’t not read what happens next! In this book, we see the aftermath when the Carls disappear. We see how every character in the book copes differently with it & how they move on in their own lives. This book is divided into chapters for all of April May’s friends, so we get to see their point of views & their current happenings.

Check out the full book review here!

 

 

So, that’ about it! Initially I had planned on reading the physical books that I own, but then I ended up reading mostly e-books because come what may, I had to get out of the reading slump! I hope I can do that in August!

Until next time,