July Reading

or I need to stop stressing

📚 Every month, I will post a wrap-up of the books I read. ✨

Some months I read with a theme 🎭, and others are just a mishmash of what I felt like reading 🎲📖.

There is usually no rhyme or reason to this — I’m easily distracted 🐿️☕, but I’m also prone to getting a little obsessed with a topic 🔍📚🍰.

My goal for this year is to read books I already own, with an emphasis on all of the Book of the Month and Amazon First Read books I have but haven’t read and Advance Reader Copies I never got around to reading. Another part of this goal is to complete reading all of my favorite authors’ books and finish series I started. 📚📖

I read 17 books this month, which is more like what I usually read than last month. I still felt like it was a roller coaster and was stressing me out a little. I didn't write any individual reviews, apart from ones that will be posted here later this month. I realized that doing “Fresh Off the Shelf” each week was not working for me, so I won’t be doing that anymore. I may try something different, but I need to let that go.

📊 So how did the month turn out? 🤔✨ Here’s the breakdown: 📚🍵📝

✨📚🍰 Five Star Books☕🌟💛🍒

I read just one 5 star book. It was Lady Luck, the second book in Debbie Viguie’s new series, ROAR. I am really enjoying this series and can’t wait to read the next one!

📖🍂☕ Four Star Books 👍🌼💫🍪

I read eight four star books this month. I read my first Elin Hilderbrand books, Natural Selection and Five Star Weekend. I really enjoyed both of them and will read more of her in the future. I also read the last three books in the Petticoats and Cowboys series by Mary Connealy. These were really great books- I posted a full review earlier today on The Husband Tree and I’ll be posting Wildflower Bride later this month. I definitely recommend you read this series! My last two were part of the Freddy and Grace Mysteries by Pepper Basham. I’ve been reading this series since I’m posting the last of the series tomorrow (I haven’t finished the series yet, but went ahead and read the last one).

📘😐🍵 Three Star Books 🥄🌸📝

I read eight three star books this month. These were all good books, but several were forgettable. I enjoyed Gingham Mountain, but it wasn’t as good as the rest of the series.

📚Book of the Month 📚

I read one- The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

📚Amazon First Reads 📚

I read one- Natural Selection

📖 Advance Reader Copies 📖

I read four ARCs this month. One from 2023, one from 2025, and two from 2026.

✍️Authors ✍️

None

💖 Series 💖

I finished Petticoats and Cowboys.

How was your July reading? 🥳📖

For August, I’m going to focus on working on my goals and lean more into mood reading since that is what works for me.

Any plans for your reading?

Happy reading . . . always 📚🍰