July Wrap: a bit of an odd month?

I know, July ended, like, 2 weeks ago… but here we are.

July was… well, let’s just say it was an interesting reading month for me. I had a lot of good reads, but ended the month on a handful of DNFs and bad reads, plus the entire month as a whole was MOSTLY comprised of graphic novels and other short reads that left me feeling wickedly unaccomplished. Ah, well.

I’m trying a new format layout for my monthly wrap-up starting this month. Let me know what you think!

books completed: 25 (3 DNF, 22 completed)
average rating: 4.23/5 (not counting DNFs in calculation)
pages read: 5,666

✨ graphic novels, manga, etc. ✨

	There Are Things I Can’t Tell You by Edako Mofumofu ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨??? mini review (goodreads)
	A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, Vol. 1 by MISAKI ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨??? mini review (goodreads)
	Fangs by Sarah Andersen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨? mini review (goodreads)
	Daphne Byrne by Laura Marks ⭐⭐ ✨? mini review (goodreads)

✨ adult & new adult ✨

	The House on Abigail Lane by Kealan Patrick Burke ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ? (with Bex) review
	Full Tilt by Emma Scott ⭐⭐? ?? (with Misty) RTC / goodreads
	Witchcraft Cocktails: From Aphrodite’s Love Potion to Mercurial Grounding Elixir, 75 Seasonal Drinks Infused with Magic and Ritual by Julia Halina Hadas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨ review (goodreads)
	Beach Read by Emily Henry ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨? (with Ellyn) review
	The Complete Grimoire: Magickal Practices and Spells for Awakening Your Inner Witch by Lidia Pradas ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨ review (goodreads)
	Crossroads by Laurel Hightower ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨ review
	Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children, #6) by Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨?? (with Melanie) RTC / goodreads
	The Wives by Tarryn Fisher ⭐ ✨? (with Malliumpkin) review
	Llewellyn’s Little Book of Moon Spells by Melanie Marquis ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨ review (goodreads)
	The Green Witch’s Grimoire: Your Complete Guide to Creating Your Own Book of Natural Magic by Arin Murphy-Hiscock ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨ review (goodreads)

✨ young adult ✨

	Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨?? (with Maggie) RTC / goodreads
	Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨??? review
	Mirage by Somaiya Daud ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (again) ??? (with Whitney, Tasha, & Fadwa) original 2018 review
	The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨?? RTC / goodreads
	Pet by Akwaeke Emezi ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✨?? RTC / goodreads

✨ middle grade ✨

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (again)

?????? (with Ellyn)

original 2019 review

The Puppet’s Payback and Other Chilling Tales by Mary Downing Hahn

⭐⭐

✨

mini review (goodreads)

The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead

(no rating)

✨???

mini review + explanation for lack of rating (goodreads)

✨ left unfinished ✨

Wicked as Sin by Shayla Black

✨?

DNF explanation (goodreads)

Perihelion Summer by Greg Egan

✨

DNF explanation (goodreads)

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

✨?

DNF explanation (goodreads)

	Confessional (2019, Shudder) ⭐⭐⭐? A neat premise with somewhat mediocre execution, but I enjoyed it and loved the normalization of so many queer characters in one horror film.
	? Twister (1996) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Honestly so much better than I remembered it being. I think I just thought I disliked this movie because my mom watched it so much in my childhood that I got a little burnt out on it.
	Candyman (1992) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I can’t believe I had never seen this whole movie before, but WOW, it was incredible! Such a fantastic commentary on gentrification and racism’s effect not only on Black communities but also on the erasure of Black history (i.e. Candyman becoming this local urban legend while so few people discuss the trauma that created him in the first place).
	47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019, Prime) ⭐ I didn’t think this could be worse than the first one was. I was sadly mistaken. Terrible acting, some of the worst effects I’ve ever seen, and a painfully formulaic plot.
	The Beach House (2020, Shudder) ⭐⭐⭐? 1) Why do we not have more cosmic horror films? 2) The scene with Mitch… literally imprinted in my brain. It’s been a MONTH and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.
	Pet (2016) ⭐⭐? Meh. This should have been better, and I hated the characters.
	? Nightmare Cinema (2018, Shudder) ⭐⭐⭐ I basically just rewatched this for my favorite segment, “This Way to Egress”. As a whole, I think this anthology film is pretty meh, but that one segment? Flawless.
	? Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I’ve seen this movie so many fucking times and it just never gets old for me. I love the music, the setting, the aesthetics, all of it. I miss Alan Rickman. ?

REVIEWS:
OTHER POSTS:

(click the thumbnails to see the videos!)

Laura @ thebookcorps reviewed BOYFRIEND MATERIAL and made me need it in my life RIGHT NOW PLS
GracieKat @ Sci-fi and Scary reviewed Bhoot: Part 1 – The Haunted Ship and shot this to the top of my watchlist
Sofii @ A Book. A Thought. posted an amazing discussion on reading slumps
Brian @ Sci-fi and Scary reviewed Kingdom and made me realize I’m seriously missing out by sleeping on this show
Cassie @ Let’s Get Galactic shared an AWESOME list of novella recommendations!
Noura @ The Perks of Being Noura shared a delightful and honest discussion about bookish opinions
Sumedha @ The Wordy Habitat talked about how non-bloggers can support book bloggers (YES PLS)
Malliumpkin @ Chapter Malliumpkin reviewed THE WIVES and said everything I wish I knew how to say ?