I know this post is late (again!), but July was a heavy month of reading for me! I have been spending a lot of time at home, which means I’ve been spending even more time than usual reading. Here’s everything I read last month.
The Art of Vanishing by Morgan Pager
(Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC!) This was a really fun story about Jean, one of Matisse’s sons who never ages as he lives a life inside a painting, and Claire, a museum worker who finds out that she is able to step inside paintings herself. Claire discovers a whole new world as she walks among the various paintings on the walls of the museum, and she also brings something new to Jean’s life, who is stuck inside the same scenery day after day after day. Of course, the two begin falling in love, but their relationship faces numerous challenges. This was cute – not incredible, but a solid, enjoyable read – and I especially appreciated the ending!
Bookshop.org | Libro.fm | Amazon
The Thrashers by Julie Soto
I had so much fun reading this YA thriller, which kind of reminded me of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars. Jodi, along with Julian, Lucy, Paige, and Zack, make up “the Thrashers” – they are the cool kids at school. Jodi has always felt like she’s slightly on the outside, only included because she’s Zack’s childhood friend. Emily was an outsider who desperately wanted to be in, and then she’s found dead. Strange things start happening – fatal near-misses – and whispers start going around school that the Thrashers have something to do with Emily’s death. Jodi is trying to untangle all the pieces and find out where she fits in at the same time. I could tell where this was going, but it was such a compulsively readable journey to get there.
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Mayra by Nicky Gonzalex
(Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my ARC!) This was such a moody, atmospheric read – almost dream-like, where you’re not really sure what’s going on. Ingrid gets a call from Mayra – her childhood friend (who she also had a crush on) – inviting Ingrid to spend some time at her new house deep in the Everglades. Ingrid impulsively accepts, but from the moment she gets there, things are… off. First of all, Mayra has a boyfriend she didn’t mention, and it’s actually his house. And the house is just incredibly mysterious, with seemingly endless rooms to discover and explore. It’s hard to tell whether it’s all innocent confusion, or if danger is lurking nearby. If you enjoy a story where the house itself is a character, I think you’ll really enjoy this one.
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Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
This horror story doesn’t ease into things at all – Cora’s sister Delilah is killed right in front of her, seemingly targeted in the anti-Asian racism of the pandemic. In the wake of the tragedy, Cora gets a job as a crime scene cleaner, because nothing can shock or horrify her anymore. Until she keeps finding bats at her crime scene cleanups – all with East Asian women as the victims – and begins to think she might be haunted by her sister after she ignored her Aunt’s warnings about hungry ghosts. It’s such a powerful story about racism, about trauma, perseverance, and OCD. It’s more sad than I expected from a horror book, but it really stuck with me. I definitely recommend, though the ending wasn’t my absolute favorite.
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The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
(Thanks to Libro.fm for my audio copy of this!) This was good, but I think it was just not exactly my favorite genre. I’m glad I read it, but now I know this is just not quite for me. It’s another story where you’re not exactly sure what is happening – you’re thrown right into the story and have to try to unwind the narrative. A castle has been under siege for six months, with food and drink running extremely scarce – to the point where the survivors may be forced to take measures into their own hands. Suddenly, though, a savior appears. The Constant Lady and her Saints miraculously get through the castle’s barricade, offering salvation to everyone in exchange for their adoration. But a few inhabitants are not convinced the Constant Lady is exactly who she claims to be, and they are willing to go to extreme lengths to fix things. I never really felt connected to any of the characters, which is I think what made it not quite work for me.
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Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
This is a very strange story, and another that doesn’t ease you into things at all. When her child Santiago dies at home, Magos does the only thing she can think of – she harvests a piece of his lung and slowly, lovingly nurtures it until it becomes sentient. Thus, Monstrilio is born. Monstrilio isn’t Santiago, but he begins to resemble a version of him… but a more impulsive, more violent version. The story takes us through three different phases of Monstrilio’s life, told through three different narrators. I liked, but didn’t love – the shifting of narrators felt a bit disruptive to me.
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Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa (translated by Polly Barton)
This is so short, but so powerful – and somewhat disturbing, too, but intentionally. It pushes every boundary and stigma around disabled people, and really forces you to re-examine the biases you might not realize you have. Shaka lives in a care home (owned by her family) in Tokyo, where she uses a power wheelchair to get around and a ventilator to breathe. She spends her time being a perpetual student, writing smut online, and trolling on social media. One day, a care worker at the home tells her that he’s seen one of her trolling posts… and wants to take her up on it. What follows is a story of flipped power dynamics, and a story where the disabled woman isn’t the token “good girl.” I love the boundary pushing in this, and how provocative it is! I can’t stop thinking about it.
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For the Record by Emma Lord
(Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for my ARC!) I flew through this romcom with a lot of heart! Mackenzie and Sam were both members of “rival” bands, whose tension on stage and off seemed destined to go in an “enemies-to-lovers” direction, until both bands disappeared from the scene. Sam pulled back to raise a son he didn’t know he had, and Mackenzie had her own personal issues to handle. Both are tentatively ready to step back into the limelight… and the record company suggests (mandates!) that they do so by working together on a song. Sam and Mackenzie have to work through their own history and decide if they’re willing to move forward together… musically, and maybe more. I loved the banter and I loved how real a lot of this story felt, even as it was about pop stars whose lives I don’t share much in common with! A really cute, fun read.
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A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
I have been waiting for this to come out for over a year now, and it did not disappoint – I just love how she writes cozy fantasy. Sera was on track to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain, but made a choice to do a piece of magic that left her missing almost all of her powers and ostracized from her community. Now, she runs a magical inn with a ragtag group of found family, yearning for her missing magic… until she learns there might be a way to get it back. It’s such a beautiful story about identity and belonging, found family, and love, with really great Autistic representation. I just loved it.
Bookshop.org | Libro.fm | Amazon
Isola by Allegra Goodman
This was so beautiful and moving, but also heavy and sad. It’s set in the 1500s and based on a real story. As a small child, Marguerite seems destined for a life of nobility, but when her parents die and she’s sent to live under the custody of her uncle, everything changes. When he forces her to accompany him to sail to New France, she does something to upset him while on the ship, and he punishes her by abandoning her on a deserted island. It’s a story of perseverance and survival, and of faith and love. It’s just a really incredible story, and I can’t get over the fact that it’s based on a real person.
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The Compound by Aisling Rawle
I love a thriller like this one – more slow-moving and mysterious, with a sense of something slightly ominous and foreboding. Lily is a contestant on a reality TV show – she’s just woken up in a strange house with 19 other strangers, where she’s competing to stay the longest at the compound. The group is filmed constantly, all while completing challenges that win the group basic necessities like food and water, plus personal competitions to win them things like makeup, jewelry, and even bigger prizes. Although the stakes get higher and the challenges more drastic, Lily still can’t imagine leaving – what could be better than this? The world outside the compound is never fully described, though there’s a vague sense of some sort of crisis, and it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on. I couldn’t stop reading this, and couldn’t stop thinking about it after I finished, either.
Bookshop.org | Libro.fm | Amazon
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my favorite authors, and even her “just okay” books are still super solid, which is what this one was for me. We switch back and forth between three POVs – Vera, an unknown actress who has just been cast to play Salome during the Golden Age of Hollywood, Salome herself, and Nancy, a constantly-overlooked actress who had been vying for the role of Salome herself. I did enjoy how most of the storylines came together, but as sometimes happens in a book with that many POVs, one of them was just not my favorite.
Bookshop.org | Libro.fm | Amazon
Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonham-Young
Sarah and Caleb were childhood sweethearts who have been married for years – Caleb was there for Sarah when she started taking care of her mom, when her mom passed away, and during her grief afterward. But now, Sarah’s not sure who she is without Caleb always being there to rescue her when she needs something. After a big fight, the two agree to go on a weekend camping retreat / couple’s therapy to help them get out of the relationship dynamic they’ve been in since they were teens. It felt like such a real story about working through a long-term relationship – about choosing each other, and being willing to put in the work, even when things aren’t easy.
