Here is my reading recap for July 2022 with links to books and reviews!

I know the weather is still consistently above 90 degrees and we still have two months to go until its considered spooky season, but I have been all about the spooky books this month. I have been craving the “how long have I been holding my breath” feeling of a good thriller. Plus thrillers have some of the biggest “What the heck just happened” moments. I love a good plot twist. For me a book with and ending I never saw coming is always going to get a high rating.

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This month I always had at least 3 books going at once, (sometimes 4 or 5). I would have a physical book to read before bed with my favorite reading light, a kindle book for on the go reading, and an audiobook or two for listening while doing chores or driving. I like to have more than one audiobook to choose from in case there are little ears near by. That way I can chose books with less spice or mature language when I need to.

Books I read in July 2022

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Ok technically I read this one last year, but I haven’t shared it on the blog yet and I thought it would fit perfectly with some of the other books in this post. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager was a 4/5 for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It captured my attention from the very beginning and kept me invested until the end. I stayed up late for a few nights in a row to finish this book. Not all books compare to an early bedtime for this tired mama, but this one was worth it. I had a few suspicions on what I thought was going on in the house, but I did not expect the ending.

The book is about a woman who inherits her childhood home that they left abruptly when paranormal things started happening. The news did stories on the house and the father wrote a book about it as well. The daughter doesn’t believe any of it is real, but while she is staying in the home to get it ready to sell she is starting to believe there is something to the ghost stories. I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick thriller.

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher is another 4/5 for me. I was so sure I knew what was going to happen when I started this book and by the end I was left questioning everything. Tarryn did an amazing job of making me feel like I was the main character who is narrating the story. Even after the last few pages revealed the truth I was still convinced what happened didn’t really happen the way it did. This book was so easy to read because there were no dull moments. It held me attention from page 1 and didn’t let go until it ended. The ending left me wanting to know more. This thriller should definitely make it onto your TBR. I already ordered more of her novels!

Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore

I listened to Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore on auidiobook. I gave this one a 3/5. Sometimes I have a hard time focusing on audiobooks, but that was not the case with this novel. I loved the unique format the author wrote this in. Parts of the story were told as a podcast and email correspondences as well as chat forums in addition to the main characters narration. It kept me so invested because it was unlike any other books I’ve read. She also made reference to my home state a few times which is always fun to see represented. I thought the ending was very lackluster though. The story line was fun, but I was hoping for a bigger shock at the end.

L.A. Weather by María Amparo Escandón

L.A. Weather by María Amparo Escandón was another audiobook listen. This one was really hard to rate because I wanted to love it, but I just couldn’t connect to the characters. When ever I see Reese’s Book Club I just start reading I don’t even look at the summary. I usually love her choices, but this one really fell short for me. The beginning started out with a huge event that made me think it was going to be an exciting book, but that’s where it ended. The story line jumped around awkwardly and overall I was just bored. Even when major events happened that should have been emotional it felt very surface level. Even the characters didn’t seem to show any emotions. This was a 2/5 for me unfortunately.

Promise not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon

This book had an emotional chokehold on me. I fell in love with the character Del Griswold and was heartbroken over her story. I really connected to the characters and wanted to shout at them a couple times. This book didn’t really creep my out as much as I expected to based off of the summary, but it was definitely entertaining as a murder mystery. The ghost story part of the plot line left me a little confused as to whether it was actually supposed to be a real ghost or not, but it added to the mystery of it. The ending fell a little short for me, but overall I really enjoyed it and I am excited to read more by this author. This was a 3/5 for me. It was a solid enjoyable book, but not something so profound that I would read it again.

Check trigger warnings.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

This book was a 4/5 for me. I am pretty critical over book endings and this was a good one in my opinion. I didn’t suspect the ending at all even though I had many suspicions. The way the book was written was really fun in the way the author has you trying to figure out who died and who the killer was through switching between different characters and time frames. The book gave me chills during a few events and the “boys club” gave me an eerie and uncomfortable feeling. It wasn’t scary enough to make me sleep with the lights, but definitely enough to be enjoyable.

Check trigger warnings.

A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

I have been listening to this on audiobook and I haven’t finished it yet, but I am adding it here anyway because it is a book I started reading throughout July. I don’t want to leave a review for it yet, because I haven’t finished it yet, but so far I am pretty bored. Here’s hoping it gets better in the second half.

The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.

I haven’t finished this one yet, but I wanted to include it because my book club just started reading it. So far I have only read one chapter, but I will post my thoughts in future posts. If you would like to join and read along with us click here.

If you want to join us, but don’t have a copy you can get a free audiobook on audible by signing up with my link.

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