July Reads...

I took this picture the other evening on my way to the grocery store. This is just south, about 1/2 mile, from my house. It's a good example of our July weather. It's monsoon season so we get lots of clouds and thunderstorms this time of year. I can remember as a kid, lying on the grass and watching the clouds. This was usually after some intense playing of tag or riding bikes or climbing trees. It was a great way to rest and relax.

Now, I hardly ever take the time to just look at the clouds. I do have high windows in my living & dining room that are uncovered and offer a view of the sky. But it's not the same as being outside and just watching the clouds go by. I think we could all use a little "cloud time" in our busy lives.

On to the books...

July was a month filled with some very good reads and a few wonderful audiobooks.

Audiobooks

1. Rules of Attraction ~ Simone Elkeles/YA/A
2. Perfect Chemistry ~ Simone Elkeles/YA/A-
3. Archangel's Consort ~ Nalini Singh/PNR/B+
4. Born of Night ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon/PNR/B-
5. Born of Fire ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon/PNR/C
6. Freefall ~ JoAnn Ross/RS/C

I'm all caught up and ready for Archangel's Blade, the next book in Nalini Singh's Guild Hunters series. And I finally dove into the very well reviewed and discussed Simone Elkeles books about the Fuentes brothers. Highly recommend both books. Book 3, Chain Reaction comes out later this month.

The two Kenyon's were okay with heroes very reminiscent of her Dark Hunter heroes. I couldn't help thinking how tortured all her heroes are. I can't think of any who are well adjusted and don't carry scars both physical and emotional.

The Ross could have been better but there were too many characters to keep track of.

Print/Electronic Books

1. His Majesty's Dragon/Naomi Novik/Fantasy/A
2. Heartbreak Creek/Kaki Warner/Western Historical/A
3. Divergent/Veronica Roth/YA Dystopian/A-
4. One Good Reason/Sarah Mayberry/Contemporary/B+
5. Hexed* (anthology)/Ilona Andrews/UF/B+
6. A Gentlewoman's Predicament/Portia Da Costa/Historical Erotic/B
7. A Gentlewoman's Ravishment/Portia Da Costa/Historical Erotic/B
8. Hounded/Kevin Hearn/UF/B
9. Smart and Sexy/Jill Shalvis/Contemporary/B
10. Inside Out/Maria V. Snyder/YA Dystopian/B
11. The Last Goodbye/Sarah Mayberry/Contemporary/B-
12. A Kiss at Midnight/Eloisa James/Historical/C+
13. Aftertime/Sophie Littlefield/Dystopian/C
14. Forbidden Pleasure/Amanda McIntyre/Medieval Erotic/C

The Numbers...

Contemporary ~ 3
Dystopian ~ 1
Fantasy ~ 1
Historical ~ 1
Historical Erotic ~ 2
Medieval ~ 1
Urban Fantasy ~ 2
Western Historical ~ 1
YA ~ 2

Format...

Print ~ 7
E-Book ~ 7

Out of the 14, only 3 were from the TBR pile. The rest were either from the library (I love my libraries!) or the publisher. I'm trying to get through the library books that I've had out for what seems like eons. The city library allows 99 renewals as long as there are no requests. And I know I've had some of them for close to a year. So I really need to get the library TBR pile down.

I'm way behind on the reviews and not sure if I'll try to catch up with these or just go from here. I think the problem was that I was so behind on the June reviews it took me all of July to catch up on those! I wish I could write reviews in 30 minutes. Heck, even an hour would be quick for me. Unfortunately, I'm easily distracted. LOL

A thank you to Nath for recommending the Naomi Novik series. It was such a fascinating adventure with Laurence and Temeraire! I'll try to get a review up soon.

*Hexed anthology - I only read the Ilona Andrews novella. The other stories were part of series that I haven't read yet.