Queen of Books: July 2021

Friday, 9 July 2021

JUNE '21 WRAP-UP

Time for another wrap up!

Hey everyone. I honestly can't believe June is over as it went by so fast. I did take a summer class in June and it had a lot of work so I didn't have as much time to read or blog but I'm hoping things will be better soon. I hope you all are doing well.

I read a lot of new favorites this month and I am excited to share them with you. I read a total of seven books this month.

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. This is the last book in The Infernal Devices series and I just have to say that this series completely lived up to the hype. While the book made me cry multiple times, especially in the epilogue, I think it was a perfect end to the trilogy. I rated this one 5 Crowns.

The second book I read was She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen. This is about a basketball player named Scottie who gets into a fender-bender with her nemesis, Irene, after she loses a basketball game. Things get worse when their moms get involved and they are forced to carpool together until Irene's car gets fixed. And then when an opportunity presents itself for Scottie to get back at her toxic ex, she bribes Irene into going with her plan. I adored the characters and their voices. This was such a quick-paced read and it was so much fun. I rated it 4 Crowns.

The third book I read was Written in the Stars by Alexandra Bellefleur. This is about Darcy who wants her well-meaning brother to stop playing matchmaker, especially after a disastrous blind date, so when he asks how the date went, she lies and says that it was a success. Elle is an astrologer behind a popular Twitter account and business, Oh My Stars, and dreams of finding her soulmate. She knows it is "most assuredly not Darcy" who is way too skeptical and punctual for someone like Elle. But when Darcy's brother, who also happens to be Elle's business partner, expresses how happy he is that the two hit it off, she is so confused. Darcy begs Elle to play along so she agrees to pretend they're dating for awhile. It took me a bit to get into this book but once I did, I loved it. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The fourth book I read was Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales. This book is about Darcy who gives anonymous love advice to her classmates by accepting requests through an empty locker at her school. One day, she is caught collecting letters from the locker by Brougham, who, she does not get along with. He threatens to expose her as the person who's running the anonymous relationship advice service unless she helps him get his ex-girlfriend back. So, she agrees to become his personal dating coach at a generous hourly rate. What could go wrong? This book made me laugh and made me cry and was overall such a good time. I loved the representation in this book and this has become a new favorite book of mine. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The fifth book I read was Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston. This is a middle grade book about Amari Peters, whose brother has recently gone missing and no one seems to be looking for him. Then, she discovers a briefcase in her brother's closet which is meant for her eyes only. She learns that there was a lot more to her brother than she'd ever known. He's left her a nomination for a summer 'camp' at the secret Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and she figures that the only way she'll find out what happened to him lies somewhere inside. Once there, besides coming to terms with the existence of creatures such as mermaids, magicians and dwarves, Amari must compete against some of the nation's wealthiest kids who've known about the supernatural world their whole lives. But then Amari is given an illegal ability which makes her stand out even more and with an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, her classmates start thinking she's an enemy when all she really wants is to figure out what happened to her brother. This was such a cute book that was very fast-paced with a ton of plot-twists, and I understand why it is so popular. Amari was such an interesting main character and I loved seeing her grow over the course of the book. I rated this 4 Crowns.

The sixth book I read was King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. This is the companion series to the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows series. King of Scars is set years after the events of the Shadow and Bone and follows Nikolai. I can't say much about this because it would spoil the previous series' but I loved seeing these beloved characters again and going through their grief as well as their triumphs and happiness. I rated this 5 Crowns.

The seventh book I read was Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan. This was about Morgan who is an elite track athlete, forced to transfer high schools late in her senior year when her private Catholic school finds out she's queer and decides that goes against their code of conduct. At her new school she meets Ruby who loves to fix cars and competes in local beauty pageants because of her overbearing mother. The two, despite initially clashing, are drawn to each other and can't deny their growing feelings. Jennifer Dugan wrote Hot Dog Girl which I read last year and loved and this was also such a good book. It took me a little while to like the two main characters, but I still really enjoyed it. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ

NONE

REVIEWS IN JUNE:

NONE

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

NONE

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

NONE

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S: