July 2023 Book Review

I've lamented through 2023 that this has felt like a mediocre year of book-reading. Through June 2022, I had 22 5-star reviews. Through June 2023, I had TWO. BUT...July was an amazing month! I had 3 5-star reviews this month! 

I read 8 books in July, and it was a decent mix of reads - some rom coms, historical fiction, nonfiction, thriller... And a very strong contender for the best book of 2023!!

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood - This was adorable. I love everything Ali Hazelwood has written - they are a bit formulaic, but they are so fun. I love that they focus on women in STEM but are also fun rom-coms!

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes - My sister loaned me this thriller, and y'all know I struggle with thrillers. Well, this was not a winner for me. It took SO long to get interested in this - I was interested enough to stick with it, but I didn't find it particularly thrilling.

The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar [audiobook] - I read this sister duo's first book about racist experiences in 2021 and thought it was great. It was the perfect blend of humor AND educational. This was a follow-up book that focused on MORE racist experiences that Amber, Lacey, the rest of their family, and some friends have experienced. I enjoyed it just as much! I listened to this one vs. reading an e-book for the first one, and it was great to hear Amber and Lacey tell their own stories. 

Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding - This was a modern-day retelling of Emma by Jane Austen, and it was so cute. I highly enjoyed this!

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karin Yan Glaser - This is a children's book series that I started with Drew, and we both enjoyed it so much. It follows the Vanderbeeker family's 5 children. They find out a week before Christmas that their landlord isn't renewing their lease and they must move out before the end of the year, and they are NOT going to let that happen. It was such a cute book with adorable hijinks but also a lot of really touching moments throughout. Drew has decided to continue the series on her own and is continuing to enjoy it! Paige heard just enough that she decided wants to read it with me too, so I've now started it with her!

Roots by Alex Haley - Holy cow. This was another goal book of being one of the oldest books on my TBR. And I loved this book so much. It is so hard and heart-breaking but also beautiful. I vaguely knew this book was about a man, Kunta Kinte, who was captured as a young man in Africa and enslaved in America. That is basically all I knew. And while, yes, that's correct, this is a SWEEPING historical family story. About the first 1/4 is Kunta's childhood and I ached reading it knowing what was coming. {Sidebar that the work that went into studying life in the Mandinka tribe in the 1700s blew my mind.} Then to read about his experience on a slave ship was beyond horrific. And I won't break down the entire story here, but the story follows Kunta and his descendants for 6 generations until you get to Alex Haley...the author of this book! I didn't realize the author was telling HIS family history until I got into the book. I just loved this book so much and has so many big emotions throughout the whole thing. This is by far my favorite book of the month and is a very strong contender for favorite book of the year. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld - Gosh, I LOVED this book. Unfortunate that I read it the same month as Roots because in another month it easily could have been a favorite. This follows a writer for an SNL-type show and the host/musical guest for 1 episode. I love the structure with the first part being focused on just the week that host is there. I don't want to give away too much about the structure because I really enjoyed how it was set-up. Well, I loved everything about this book - the structure, the characters, the superb writing, everything. BIG, BIG, BIG winner for me!

And that was July, such a fun month of reading! My average rating through June was 3.5, and July my average was 4.1 - a big jump!