I keep saying this, but I can’t believe how fast this past month has flown by. July started with a holiday, but I already told you guys about that. I was hoping to return to blogging soon, but that failed miserably apart from the Top Ten Tuesday posts I published. But whereas I haven’t reviewed anything and therefore am still incredibly behind on reviews, I have read quite a number of books. And they were of alternating quality. I unfortunately had 1 DNF, but that is not the book’s fault. When looking at my monthly statistics, I found out I read more books than I initially thought, so let’s take a look!
My read books
1. Say You’ll remember Me by Abby Jimenez
I bought this book as I found it for a discounted price, which seemed pretty reasonable for an author whom I hadn’t read back then. In the meantime, I did read one of Jimenez’ books, which still needs to be reviewed. I’m sorry. However, this premise slowly started to pique my interest, so I bought the book and left it on the shelf for a bit. I decided to pik it up on holidays, as it felt like an emotional yet fast-paced novel. I put it on my July TBR – which I never posted on my blog – so I was planning on reading it this month eventually. I have to admit that I enjoyed this book more than Part of Your World, but that it didn’t do any emotional damage to me. I do understand wy this author’s books do appeal to plenty of readers though, but I’m still not able to convincingly jump on the hype train.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (April 2026)
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 06/30 to 07/01
- Rating: 3.5/5
2. Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen
Some books are just unavoidable and this is one of them. It’s yet another romantasy and whereas I stated before that I’m growing a bit bored of this genre, I was still curious for this hyped book. I have to admit that I do understand the hype. Main character Merin is more feisty and fierce than her genre peers, but despite these character traits she doesn’t really stand out. The ending is pretty predictable, but I had an enjoyable time reading this on holiday. Enough so that I got myself the sequel.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (April 2026)
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/02 to 07/04
- Rating: 3.5/5
3. Wish Upon a K-Star by Kat Cho
Earlier this year I listened to Once Upon a K-Prom and really enjoyed this experience. Now I picked up its companion as it felt like a nice holiday read. I really had to get used to the audiobook narration, I wasn’t too fond of this at first. Luckily it grew on me, as there is no ebook available for this. Although it progresses pretty predictably, it still covers some really important themes in today’s society. If you’re looking for a book with KPop and fake dating alongside more serious themes, this is your go-to novel.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (February 2026)
- Read format: Audiobook
- Language read in: English
- Read from: 07/05 to 07/06
- Rating: 3/5
4. A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
This was the first bitter pill I had to swallow this month. Whereas I rated A River Enchanted 5 stars earlier this year, this sequel was a letdown. The writing was still mesmerizing, but the story itself felt a bit sloggish. I found it quite unnecessary, and the ending of the previous book was a well-rounded ending for the story I believe. It therefore took me more than a week before I managed to finish it, I didn’t feel the urge to pick it up. I left it lying around for days.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (March 2026)
- Read format: Audiobook
- Language read in: English
- Read from: 07/07 to 07/15
- Rating: 2.5/5
5. The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay
After the previous book I needed a change of scenery, so I decided to pick up this historical fiction novel set during the Berlin Wall era. Most of this book – apart from the prologue – is set in 1989, a turbulent few days in history. I did enjoy the concept, but didn’t enjoy the execution. The characters are falling flat for me, as well as the historical context. It was not bad at all, but I expected some more depth to the plot and characters. The characters bare more depth with them than said plot, but for me it wasn’t enough to be fully convinced.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/15 to 07/17
- Rating: 3/5
6. Did I Mention I Need You? by Estelle Maskame
This book has been on my TBR since forever. Definitely a decade. I already finished the first book in this trilogy back in 2021, but I never followed it up with the sequels. Until now. I just needed something lighthearted. Well, this not truly is, as Maskame touches upon serious and heavy themes. They provide depth to the story, but are not able to disguise the tropes that were popular at the time. I still had an enjoyable time nevertheless.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/17 to 07/19
- Rating: 3.5/5
7. Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame
I am usually not that kind of reader who reads (parts of) series back-to-back, but after finishing the previous book, I simply had no choice. I wanted to know how Eden’s and Tyler’s Story would continue. I again was glued to the pages, but it still counts as a palate cleanser for me though.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/19 to 07/20
- Rating: 3.5/5
8. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
This is another book I simply could not avoid and I was truly curious about. Excited even. However, this book is not for me, I’m just not the right audience for it. This book is amazing for gamers, something I’m not. I mean, this story really would make a great video game, but just not a great book. I quickly lost all interest and never picked it back up.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/30 to 07/31
- Rating: DNF @ 22%
9. Zijn jongen by Carry Slee
This is a Dutch book by a very renowned Dutch author of children’s and young adult books. I’ve devoured them all when I was younger, they are rightful classics of my youth. However, this author has also written some books for adults, mainly biographical ones. This is the newest addition to that part of the bibliography and I’ve been wanting to read it for a while now. I decided to listen to the Audiobook as I never bought an ebook.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Kobo Plus
- Read format: Audiobook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/20 to 07/21
- Rating: none, nonfiction
10. On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn
I’ve been hearing a lot about this book, mixed things mostly. I still was curious and wanted to decide for myself. Whereas it fits the popular and trendy romantasy formula on so many levels, I still had an enjoyable time. I even want to read the sequels, in hopes for them not to be disappointing for once.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (June 2026)
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/21 to 07/24
- Rating: 3.5/5
11. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
This is another book that is simply unavoidable and also gets mixed reviews. I wasn’t sure whether I would like it, but I never know until I try, right? Admittedly, I still was pretty sceptic for a very, very long time. I was invested, but not really if that makes any sense. This changed towards the end, especially for the final few chapters. The pacing picks up there and the end made me think of something that has been all over the news here in the Netherlands a few years ago. I can’t elaborate more on that because of spoilers, but it really fell into place for me. I had to think about the rating though, because I really didn’t know how many stars to give this one. I’m not easily rating books 5 stars these days, so that’s what I was dwelling on. Should I give this novel all those precious stars or shouldn’t I?
- Backlist or newly acquired: Other legal source
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: English
- Read from: 07/25 to 07/26
- Rating: 5/5
12. Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong
I found this a few months ago for a nicely discounted price, so it wouldn’t hurt too much to try it. I never read anything by this author before, so had no clue what to expect. Rom-coms are usually not my cup of tea, so this was going to be interesting. This book is on a whole other level than the previous one, that was obvious from the get-go. It was okay, your typical palate cleanser that wouldn’t stick though. It’s a fast read, but it lacks depth.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (April 2026)
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/27 to 07/28
- Rating: 3/5
13. The Goldens by Lauren Wilson
Even though I’ve seen this book around a few times on the Dutch side of Bookstagram, I still bought it on a whim. The premise didn’t really sound like something I would typically enjoy, but I found it worth the try for that nicely discounted price. I haven’t seen this book around in the international book community though, so I wasn’t really sure of what to expect. Anyhow, I had an enjoyable reading experience. True, the characters made some questionable decisions, but it was indeed the fast-paced palate cleanser it was supposed to be according to my expectations. However, I don’t think it is too tense, but this could differ for other readers.
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (March 2026)
- Read format: Ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 07/28 to 07/28
- Rating: 3/5
My bookhaul
- Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen
Okay okay, I am totally caught of guard by my tiny bookhaul of this month! I was convinced I hauled more, but that’s just a nice surprise. I made up for this already in August though, trust me LOL.
How was your July?
