Bookish and Black #29
Hello friends- I wanted to start with a resounding thank you! So many of you reached out offering kind words, support, and job opportunities/ job boards. It was really nice to get that level of support and I’m excited to dive into these fresh opportunities. I’ll keep you all posted- I feel like were on this journey together. Thank you so much!!!
Instead of links this week, I’m sharing my July reading update. I don’t have wifi this year on vacation which makes it pretty hard to do….anything in 2022, especially doing the research I typically do for a link round up. Instead, I’ll share what I read last month and next week, I’ll be home and we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming! For now, let’s talk July.
Reading Update July 2022
If I’m honest, July wasn’t an exciting month of reading for me. I read a fair amount but most of it wasn’t memorable. Or maybe I’m just being negative. Let’s go through what I read and find out:
Neruda on the Park: This was pretty good but there was a magical realism thread running throughout that I didn’t expect which was a bummer for me personally (I don’t love magical realism. I tend to prefer either full in this world or full knowing I am reading fantasy).
Maggie Moves On: A novel about a famous you tuber who flips houses and never wants to put down roots. But! What happens when she meets a hottie landscaper who falls hard and fast for her (if you’ve ever read a romance, you can guess what happens). It was a fun easy read.
Flying Solo: A woman returns to her hometown to clean out her deceased aunt’s home. It was a disappointing follow up by the author of Evvie Drake Starts Over.
Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic: Another disappointing sophomore novel. This follows a woman who wants a family but just went to a breakup. Her friend tells her about an app where people can match to become platonic partners and have a child together. She does this. Some chaos ensues when her ex comes back into her life.
Frankly in Love: YA Rom-com about a teen battling parents who wouldn’t approve of him dating someone non-Korean. Didn’t hate, didn’t love
Rivals: 3rd installment in the American Royals series. Hated this one. It was a DNF (super disappointed because I really enjoyed the first two).
Meant to Be Mine: By the author of Head Over Heels, this one was really fun. It’s about a family whose matriarch has predicted every single match (down to the date they’d meet). We meet our heroine the day she meets her match. This one was okay but I can’t say what fell flat for me without spoiling it.
To Catch a Raven: Beverly Jenkins newest romance which comes out this month. I won’t go into it but I loved it and if you enjoy historical romance, you will do. It’s got a lot of classic tropes (one bed, enemies to lovers, road trip) and great historical context which is par for the course for this author.
Open Water: Wow this is so good. A beautiful lyrical novel about first love. It weaves in themes on race, police brutality and mental health. I loved it so much.
How to Fake it In Hollywood: Also really enjoyed this romance. I didn’t expect much but there is a lot in this about grief, loss, alcoholism, and finding yourself.
Fake it Til You Bake It: The heroine in this novel wasn’t my favorite but it’s a fun read especially if you like a bakery setting (a surprising number of romances feature this).
Looking back, it seems that I felt like a lot of the books I read were mediocre but really did have several stand outs. And I know that the reasons I found some books to fall flat may not be true for others so I hope you don’t let me discourage you if there is something here you enjoyed or have on your TBR!
Right now I’m reading Counterfeit. It’s not the best but its engaging, fun and pretty short. (Are you seeing a theme here? I think it’s me not the books).
Wishing everyone a superb end of the week. Next we talk I’ll be back in the states!
Talk to soon,
Sarah
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