July 2022 Book List

7/1: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley (library, 2021) - Excellent YA crime thriller/investigation into Ojibwe culture in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  What a very impressive debut novel.  5/5 stars

7/1: Marrying Winterborne (The Ravenels #2) by Lisa Kleypas (library ebook, 2016) - Another disappointing entry from Kleypas.  2.5/5 stars

7/3: Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4) by Tana French (library, 2013) -  Disappointing. 2.5/5 stars

7/6: Shaman's Crossing (Soldier's Son #1) by Robin Hobb (library, 2006) - I adore The Realm of the Elderlings from this author, but this series gets mixed reviews from fans. So far, I do not enjoy it nearly as much as ROTE.  2.5/5 stars

7/12: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCollough (library, 1977) - Sweeping family epic on the Australian outback. Wonderful setting, meh characters. 3/5 stars

7/18: Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon (library, 2015) - Alternating chapters on each woman. Absolutely fascinating to me. 4.5/5 stars

7/19: Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (library, 2020) - Charming book about a teenager discovering their gender and sexual identity. 4/5 stars

7/21: The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels (library, 2020) - Very good book set in the 1980s about a young man returning home with AIDS.  Sad, but powerful. 4.5/5 stars

7/23: Madam by Phoebe Wynne (library, 2020) - Nice little Gothic thriller set in a girls boarding school.  I thought it was good. 4/5 stars

7/24: In the After by Demitria Lunetta (library, 2013) - Pretty good sci-fi dystopian YA novel.  I liked how the main character was a badass. 3.5/5 stars

7/24: A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli (library ebook, 2021) - This book was so boring. I skimmed the last 40% in the hopes that it would get better. It never did. I just kept highlighting examples of bad writing.  2/5 stars

7/26: Flying Solo by Linda Holmes (library, 2022) - Strong book from Holmes. I didn't care for the ending as much as I had hoped and knocked it down a star for that. 4/5 stars

7/30: The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R. F. Kuang (library, 2018) - Fantasy military novel. I liked the first part of this book when the main character was at school, but as soon as the actual war started, I was less enthused.  Some people like endless battles and strategizing, but that's not really my jam. I won't read any further in the series. 3/5 stars

Total: 13 books

Average star rating: 3.46/5 stars

Did Not Finish

The Simple Wild (Wild #1) by K.A. Tucker - Enemies to lovers romance that takes place in Alaska. The main guy is a total dick - if some guy stole my luggage and told me that I looked better without makeup and refused to answer basic questions, I would never "fall in love" with him. Argh. I read quite a bit before I realized that he was never going to be rehabilitated in my mind. DNF at 50%.

Galway Bay by May Pat Kelly - In the first twenty pages, there were endless lists of X from County Y, love at first sight, and way too much "history as storytelling." Snooze. Snooze. I just couldn't continue, despite the fabulous Goodreads reviews. It's definitely a book for a different reader. 

Meet Me Halfway: Milwaukee Stories by Jennifer Morales - It was just too sad. Maybe someday I'll return to this one, but I didn't want to spend summer days feeling lousy. DNF after about a chapter and a half.

Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3) by Evie Dunmore - I adored the first two books in this series, but I honestly could not even convince myself to read one more page of this somnific tome. DNF at 12%.