My July Reads were a mixed bag, but I really loved a few of them.
I absolutely loved Only a Monster by Vanessa Len. It’s a YA time-travel romance, where the main female lead is the monster, as in the bad guy. It’s been on my TBR for a while now, and July was the perfect time to read it because I was teaching a writing monsters and creatures bootcamp for teens that month. I read it as an ebook, but now I need a signed hardcover for my little library because I’m obsessed with book. Will definitely read it again for a deeper study!
Demonic Prince by Karen Kincy was a dragon shifter romance that was ehhh. Three stars.
Paladin by Sally Slater was really interesting. Girl dresses as a boy to become a paladin (my favorite trope and very reminiscent of Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness, which was a favorite of mine as a teen and probably why I love this trope). The demon plot was really cool, and I’m excited to read the rest of the series once it’s out. Five stars.
Crave by Tracy Wolff has been on my TBR for years. It’s a YA (I think?) vampire romance, like Twilight. It was binge-able, but I’m not certain I’ll continue the series. Maybe through an audiobook while I’m exercising or cleaning. It’s still up for debate. Four stars.
Mint Chocolate Vol. 8 by Mami Orikasa. Essentially it auto-delivered into my Kindle library and I lapped it up. Love this series. It’s totally my dirty secret series. Would not recommend, but here I am still reading it.
Bitten by the Doctor by Luna Wilder. I honestly can’t remember why I picked this one up. I think the blurb on a Facebook ad was interesting. Anyway, two or three stars. I won’t be continuing the series. It’s a shifter romance, part of a series, and it just didn’t stand out from the other shifter romances I’ve read. Two stars.
Wanted by Matsuri Hino. Matsuri Hino created one of my favorite all-time manga (Vampire Knight), and something made me remember this one, so I reread it. I haven’t read this one since high school. It’s a one-shot volume, teen girl disguises herself as a pirate to find her lost love. So so cheesy. But sometimes we need the cheese. And I always enjoy reading a favorite mangaka’s earlier works. It’s fun to see how their storytelling and artwork have changed over the decades. Four stars.
