Forever Lost in Literature: Month in Review: July 2021

Well, that's a wrap on another month! Somehow we're on to August, and I've given up once again on trying to keep up with anything.

I am still on the hunt for a new job, which has been tiring and stressful, but I've managed to at least start doing a small bit of freelance work so I can at least be doing something while searching. I think all the job stress has been impacting my reading a decent bit because I have just still been in such a weird reading slump. I think I'm slowly pulling out of it, though, so I'm hoping August will be better! I've just been so out of focus and foggy lately, it's certainly been a weird month. I've also been disappointed to see how things are going with the pandemic, my county has had a huge spike in cases, so I really hope things can start leveling off soon.

In book news, I read some pretty great books for such a weird month. Savage Bounty was one of my most anticipated sequels this year, and it was fantastic! I really encourage everyone to check this fantasy series out, it's far too underrated for how great it is. I also got to read Stephen Graham Jone's My Heart is a Chainsaw, which was another amazing book from him, and my biggest surprise of the month was The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina! Contrary to what the cover implies (at least to me), it is not YA and is instead a really beautiful magical realism adult book. Some of the writing and manners of incorporating culture and familial ties reminded me a bit of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, particularly Gods of Jade and Shadow, as well as Isabel Allende. Never Never by Brianna Strum was also a really great Peter Pan-inspired story that I really enjoyed! I'm a huge sucker for all Peter Pan-inspired stories/retellings, as you may or may not know. But anyway... how was your month? Have you read any new favorites books, or anything that just didn't work for you? Do let me know in the comments how things are, I love hearing from you all!

# books read: 11

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones ★★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper ★★★★★

Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

Savage Bounty by Matt Wallace ★★★★★

Source: Owned | Format: Paperback

The Broken God (The Black Iron Legacy, #3)

All of Us Villains (All of Us Villains, #1)

The Broken God by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Paperback

Never Never by Brianna R. Shrum ★★★★

Source: Owned | Format: Paperback

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

The Ice Lion by Kathleen O'Neal Gear ★★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: Paperback

A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power by Deirdre Mask ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

DNF/To-Be-Finished:

The Abominable by Dan Simmons

So I really didn't want to DNF this one because I loved The Terror and was so excited to read more from Dan Simmons. I saw that this one had some negative reviews calling it boring, etc., but I remembered how much time Simmons could spend on characters or certain things that could be boring to some, but that I enjoyed, so I went for it. And oh my god, it is boring. I was hundreds of pages in and we hadn't even gotten to Everest. It was just endless preparation, practice mountain treks described in excruciating detail, and so on. And I tend to like detail in these types of setting, but this time was excessive. And there were more than a few comments either about or involving women that rubbed me the wrong way (in a "it's not just the character/narrator" way). I'd love to revisit this one day, but I just got tired of it. I tried, and the reviews, in this case, were right.