Books I read in July

Another month of 2020 is in the books, and I spent the majority of July with my nose in a book.

Curious how many books I read in July? Did I read something other than romance? Keep reading!

Oh July, what a reading month you were! Between the various series and the Reading Rush readathon, it was a wonderful month. No that isn't strong enough. It was an unbelievable month. Never have I ever read THIS MANY books in a month. Never. Will I ever top this number? I highly doubt it. Because this is just not "normal" for me.

Let's dive into the books, and yes all but one were from the fictional romance genre. Before you even ask, yes there was hockey romance involved as well. It's me, how could there not be. 😁 Hey stick with what you enjoy, right?

I kicked off July by finishing up the Hollywood Royalty trilogy by Natasha Madison. I had read book one, Hollywood Playboy at the end of June so it only made sense that I move on to Hollywood Princess, and wrap things up with Hollywood Prince. I'm so glad I did. If you're into celebrity romance, check out the trilogy. 

Next up was a new to me author. I had found Crystal Perkins through a group on Facebook, and the Griffin Brothers series had me hooked. If alpha males are your thing, go now. Also, the steam factor. Yeah.  While I was immersed in the the Griffin Brothers series, two books I had preordered had been released! So yes, I pressed pause on the alpha men, and went to visit some favorite characters from other series.

Issued to the Bride: One Sergeant for Christmas by Cora Seton is the sixth book in the Brides of Chance Creek series. This book follows the love story of Sergeant Emerson Myers, and Wyoming Smith. Now those of you who have read the series know Emerson is the right hand man to The General, so what The General wants he tends to get. So knowing how the previous stories have gone, you already know that Emerson knocks on the door at the house and let's Wy know he's here to marry her. I loved their story, and my heart wants to stay at Two Willows forever.

Southern Sunrise by Natasha Madison is the fourth book in the Southern series. Southern Sunrise takes us a few years into the future, and we reconnect with Ethan. Yes, that Ethan. As in Savannah's "little" boy. Except he's not so little any longer. Now he is in the military, and he is hiding from his past. Ethan is also hiding from Emily. The woman he loved, and promised to love forever. Can Ethan ever find love again? Can he heal from the issues of his past? Can he forgive those who hurt him? This was hands down my favorite book in the series. It topped Casey and Olivia's story, and that's saying a lot because I freaking loved Southern Comfort!

After I finished those two new releases, and wrapped up the final Griffin Brothers book, I headed into the the Griffin Brothers spin-off series called Corrigan & Co. Corrigan & Co follows a group of undercover female operatives who are amazing at their jobs, and are also searching for their HEA. I loved it. I wanted more of it. But, 10 books was sufficient. I guess. Strong women, alpha males, and a whole lot of action. I cannot wait to move onto the next two spin-offs, Society Girls and Company Men. After all I will get to return to Vegas, and read more about the happenings of the company. (by the way, as of today Crystal still has a lot of her books for free on Amazon.)

Next up was Homecoming King by Jami Albright. This brand new release follows professional footballer Cash King. He has returned to his hometown of Ryder Texas to buy his mom a house. Not just any house though, but the childhood home of one Tiger Lyons. The woman he embarrassed back in high school. That home that Cash has purchased is currently being remodeled, and who is in charge? Tiger. For fans of the enemies to lovers trope, give this one a try. Just do it. (and yes, there is more to the story than just the relationship between Cash and Tiger)

After finishing up that enemies to lovers book, I moved onto a story featuring a fake dating relationship. I know, I move from one trope to another. What can I say, I love the majority of tropes. Dating Games by TK Leigh was suggested to me through a Facebook ad. The premise sounded interesting, the price was right, and so I decided to jump on it. Dating Games had me laughing at times, cringing (for the characters) at others, having my heart crushed, and then brought back together. Since this is a series, I decided to dive into Wicked Games. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas right? Um, no. No it doesn't. Wicked Games falls into the forbidden romance trope, and we have a teacher/student relationship happening. Except our characters didn't find this out though until Lincoln walks into the room and heads to the front of the lecture hall. Then there is also the fact that Lincoln works for Chloe's dad. Yeah. 

The second half of July brought about The Reading Rush readathon. This was my second year participating, and the prompts they provide can bring you to some interesting books. If you're curious about the prompts, and what books I selected for each, check out this post: The Reading Rush Wrap-Up.

Piper Rayne had perfect timing for the release of the next Bailey series book. It arrived right in time for the readathon. Winning My Best Friend's Girl follows Kingston and Stella. As we learned in Secrets of the World's Worst Matchmaker, Stella has returned to Alaska, but she's laying low. Stella definitely doesn't want Kingston to know she's back in town. I want to say more, but I also don't want to reveal too much. Also, the other Bailey's have stuff going on, and that is revealed as well. As much as I want Sedona's book now, I also don't because I don't want my time with the Bailey's to end.

Stealing Cinderella by A Zavarelli was an interesting one for me. Steph (from Steph's Romance Book Talk) has talked about the Sinister Fairy Tales collection many times on her youtube channel, so that made me want to check it out. This book is dark. It covers things that may make you uncomfortable. Underneath it all though is a love story. You may find yourself wanting Ella to run, and at other times wondering what is making her stay. Of course you may also find yourself cheering for Ella and Thor. I now need to check out other books by A. Zavarelli, as well as the other books in the Sinister Fairy Tales collection.

Now we come to the portion of this wrap up where I throw a curve ball at you. I read a book that does not fall into the fictional romance genre. I know. Trust me. For the readathon, I decided to read a book of poetry. So I was browsing through Amazon Prime Reading, and stumbled across The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur. I found myself highlighting occasionally, and really thinking about others. One of my favorite lines was: "why is it that when the story ends we begin to feel all of it". I'm glad that I branched out and gave this book a try.

The Family Journal by Carolyn Brown is another book that I discovered through Amazon Prime Reading. The thought of a journal that tells the history of your family, through diary entries, sounded so intriguing to me. Add in the small town factor, returning to your childhood home, and a love story, and I was hooked. 

Bet Me by Lila Monroe is the second book in her Lucky in Love series. Lizzie has had bad luck when it comes to dating. One night after having a bit too much to drink, Lizzie thinks she's sending her sister a video message. Instead, she was live streaming. Needless to say, her little rant about dating has gone viral. A local mens magazine has even put out a challenge to it's readers, offering a payout to whomever can get Lizzie to break her vow. Of course she knows nothing about this until she thinks she's found the guy. Sigh.

Who wants a royal rom com? Ooh, I do! Well then friends, step right up to the Crown Jewels series by Melanie Summers. Imagine you're a blogger, and your topic of choice is the royal family. Except you're not a fan of the royal family, so your blog is as anti as you can get. Now imagine you're a Prince, and things are not looking good for your family. You figure that you'll invite someone from the press into your home, and give them (almost) full access to what you go through each day. Tessa is on the job. She's going in to this assignment to confirm her suspicions that the royal family is not needed Will those thoughts still be true at the end of this?  Or will Tessa have a change of heart, and save the family before they are ousted? Based on the titles of books two and three, I think you can see how book 1 ends. Also, I really want to read the Crazy Royal Love duet, so I can see what happens with Princess Arabella.

Last but not least, let's cover the hockey books that I read this month. First up was The Hockey Gods series by Xavier Neal. Now typically college hockey is not my go to read. I prefer reading about professional hockey players. BUT I am making an exception for this series. I don't know what it is, but Xavier Neal was able to capture my attention, and has made me fall for these characters. Never mind the fact that these kids could be my kids. We won't go there. But still. I read, I swooned, I was frustrated, I was mad, and then my heart recovered for the HEAs I needed. I'm hopeful there is more to come with the guys from the Vlasta Vipers hockey team.

Blocked by Elise Faber was my final read for the month of July. This hockey romance was not what I was expecting.  I mean how often do you read about female goalies in the NHL? Oh, did that capture your attention? I know it did mine. I loved the story. My heart also broke for what Brit has experienced. Then there is Stefan, and truth that comes out about his upbringing. Oh my heart. MY HEART!  Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go download the rest of the Gold series so I can stay with the team. (and hopefully get snippets of Stefan and Brit)

So that was my July.
Thirty-seven books read.
Discovered seven new to me authors.
Loved pretty much every book I read.

My final page count for July was 9.657.

Not my normal by any means, but I will take this exceptional month as I highly doubt it will ever occur again.

What was your favorite book that you read in July? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? If so, which one and what were your thoughts?