Halfway Through July And What I'd Read

I'm trying to be a little more timely with my book reviews so here's what I read the first half of July. I have to say, I didn't get as much (in number), or as much of a variety, read as I'd anticipated for summer.

  

Yes, we've been under a couple of heat warnings which fry my brain so I read a little more JD Robb in July than I'd anticipated. However, I was reading all over the series so it was fairly random.

I thought this romcom was okay but I wouldn't rank it as one of the best I've ever read. If you enjoy romcoms, and especially ones which are based around books (and publishing and writing and..), then I would recommend picking this one up.

I loved this book. It was about how much of London life happened underground, in the tube stations, during the Blitz. I thought it was so interesting, and as the three main points of view were women, I really enjoyed their perspectives as well. I would highly recommend this book!

I usually like Beatriz Williams books but I thought this one was just... okay. I think I just expected more from her after really loving most of her earlier novels. I didn't find the story set in Egypt to be all that engaging which I think was part of the problem.

I didn't realize this was a novella. I like Ali Hazelwood but I find her novels really enjoyable and this one just didn't give me enough time to get into it.

 

I think I like Patti Callahan Henry as an author. There were parts of this book I found really intriguing but, for parts of it, I just wanted the story to move a little faster. What was particularly interesting to me is that The Great Smog of London played a role in this novel, and Rachel did a presentation on that particular event in school this past year. I'd never heard of it before this year and now it's come up twice! Do you know what I'm talking about? If not, Google it.

Okay, this is one of the top two worst books I've ever read in my entire life. I will remember this book for a very long time and not in a good way. I rarely feel so negatively about a book but I didn't enjoy this one at all. I didn't like the story, I didn't like the main character, I felt like there were no redeeming qualities about this one. Why didn't I put it down then?

Well, quite a number of years ago I was in a book club with someone who would announce, "I didn't like this book." Then they would admit they'd only read 50 pages of it. I decided then and there that if I didn't like a book, I would try really hard to finish it, just so I could back up my claims. And honestly, sometimes a book turns around in the last few pages and changes the way I feel about the whole story.

This book did not have that. I disliked it to the very end. 

So that's what I read in the first half of July -- some really great books, some bland books, and one book I will advise against ever picking up. Have you ever strongly disliked a book? Tell me which ones to avoid!