July Reviews & Wrap-Up I

Here are the books I finished pre-holiday. Most of these are library books I had to return and I plan on finishing a ton during my holiday (and won’t be back home until August) thus, two wrap-ups this month!

I truly loved ALL of these in different ways.

PLAIN BAD HEROINES (69): an epic horror tale, and beautifully paced and told the story of young love and weaving together stories of the past + present. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

HOSTAGE by Clare Mackintosh (70): a plane crash-ish thriller (I think I liked the concept because Lost was one of my favourite shows) about a flight attendant who is threatened to let a man into the cockpit during a flight or her daughter will be hurt. It was fast-paced and held my attention enough given the plot is not a super unique concept! ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

PINES (71): twisty, mind bendy & envisioned it as an HBO miniseries starring Justin Theroux. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE MOTHER IN LAW by Sally Hepworth (72): Hepworth is the queen of domestic thrillers. This audiobook (thanks Scribd!) about a rough relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had me listening intently. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE DAMAGE by Caitlin Wahrer (73): a story about how a sexual assault impacts the victim and their family. I really liked Wahrer's characters and storytelling. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

HELL OF A BOOK (74): a modern-day story of what it means to be Black in America, with the lines blurred between the real + imaginary ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME (75): a woman’s husband disappears with one request: to protect his daughter at all costs. Loved the suspense and mystery, the pacing, how the story unfolded and how Hannah and Bailey’s relationship developed. How stepmom and stepdaughter formed a bond they didn’t think was possible. The last page totally made me tear up. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE NINE LIVES OF ROSE NAPOLITANO (76): the story of a woman who has always been childfree by choice, and whose husband changes his mind. After one fight, we see nine different versions of her life play out. I loved Rose. I loved her steadfast belief in who she is and what she wants. I *love* a bit of magical realism sprinkled in books and this was just so, so well done. I liked having my little post-it notes with reminders of what was happening in each of her nine lives and (I can’t give much away without spoiling) but loved how certain things were just meant to be. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️