🏴☠️ July Reviews 🎆
July 1st-31st
July has been another incredible reading month for me. I read a total of sixteen books with a total of 5516 pages. There were so many new favorites for me and I read every book I wanted to for the Scallywagathon.
Book 103: The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists
By Gideon Defoe
Read July 1st-2nd
Pages: 176
Release Year: 2004
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This book is utterly ridiculous and so funny. It had me chuckle so many times throughout, especially at the foolishness of all of these pirates. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists is a parody of adventure novels with some British humor thrown in. The humor is quite silly and had me thinking of Monty Python. I particularly love how the Pirate Captain doesn't even know all of his own pirates. There are so many funny lines dealing with him.
Book 104: The Enchanted Greenhouse (Spellshop #2)
By Sarah Beth Durst
Read July 3rd-5th
Pages: 375
Release Year: 2025
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What I wouldn't give to be able to go into this world and see the greenhouses.
I fell in love with this world last year when I read The Spellshop and I adored this book even more. Sarah Beth Durst does an incredible job making her books feel magical and her characters charming.
We first hear about Terlu in the first book and I loved following her this time around. Her story was whimsical and heartwarming to listen to. It was wonderful seeing her get her second chance. Her relationship with Yarrow was so adorable and sweet and I loved the sentient plants in the greenhouse. They might be the best part, though I did really enjoy the romance and hearing about all of the greenhouses. There is just so much to enjoy about this book.
Caitlin Davies's narration was as great here as it was for The Spellshop. Her voice fits Terlu's character perfectly, along with embodying all of the other voices of the characters. I highly recommend listening to this book.
I'm hoping Sarah will return to this world again. I'd read anything she writes in this world and am definitely planning on picking up more of her books. Her writing style is perfect for cozy fantasy.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.*
I fell in love with this world last year when I read The Spellshop and I adored this book even more. Sarah Beth Durst does an incredible job making her books feel magical and her characters charming.
We first hear about Terlu in the first book and I loved following her this time around. Her story was whimsical and heartwarming to listen to. It was wonderful seeing her get her second chance. Her relationship with Yarrow was so adorable and sweet and I loved the sentient plants in the greenhouse. They might be the best part, though I did really enjoy the romance and hearing about all of the greenhouses. There is just so much to enjoy about this book.
Caitlin Davies's narration was as great here as it was for The Spellshop. Her voice fits Terlu's character perfectly, along with embodying all of the other voices of the characters. I highly recommend listening to this book.
I'm hoping Sarah will return to this world again. I'd read anything she writes in this world and am definitely planning on picking up more of her books. Her writing style is perfect for cozy fantasy.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.*
Book 105: Brume, Vol. 1: The Dragon Awakens
By Jerome Pelissier
Read July 5th
Pages: 64
Release Year: 2023
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Brume is such an adorable graphic novel. I have been wanting to read this series for years and have been hoping it would be translated into English. It has a style that is reminiscent to me of a cross between the Lightfall series by Tim Probert and the Hilda series by Luke Pearson. This volume had a fun little adventure and I like that the story is told from the pig's perspective. This is a great little graphic novel for fans of witchy stories. Such a fun read with beautiful illustrations. I'm highly looking forward to the second volume after that ending.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 106: Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: Whatever Happened to the Fantastic Four?
By Ryan North
Read July 5th
Pages: 152
Release Year: 2023
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I was in the mood for some Fantastic Four with the new movie coming out this month. This is a great volume and I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.
Issue 1: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I love a time loop story. A great start to this volume. The set up with the first couple of pages was very clever.
Issue 2: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- This was such an interesting idea with the town. I like how each story is dealing with different members of the Fantastic Four since the split up.
Issue 3: ⭐⭐⭐
- Each issue has had a distinct feel to reflect who is telling the story and I like how they have all had contained stories along with the overarching one. Johnny's is my least favorite of the group so far.
Issue 4: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Finally get to see what the Fantastic Four did to make the world hate them... and it's justified. Goodness
Issue 5: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The art has been great with each issue but this one goes above and beyond.
Issue 6: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Great way to end this volume. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Issue 1: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I love a time loop story. A great start to this volume. The set up with the first couple of pages was very clever.
Issue 2: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- This was such an interesting idea with the town. I like how each story is dealing with different members of the Fantastic Four since the split up.
Issue 3: ⭐⭐⭐
- Each issue has had a distinct feel to reflect who is telling the story and I like how they have all had contained stories along with the overarching one. Johnny's is my least favorite of the group so far.
Issue 4: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Finally get to see what the Fantastic Four did to make the world hate them... and it's justified. Goodness
Issue 5: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The art has been great with each issue but this one goes above and beyond.
Issue 6: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Great way to end this volume. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Book 107: Jane Eyre
By Charlotte Bronte
Read July 6th-8th
Pages: 650
Release Year: 1846
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I'm so happy to be able to say that I loved Jane Eyre so much. What really drew me to this story was Jane's character. Her spirit, wit, and strong will stand out from the very beginning of her novel. I loved that she is telling the story many years after its events, oftentimes directly to the reader. We get to see her from a young age and her grow up over the course of the novel. Her strong personality shines through every scene even when she was a young child. She is always standing up for herself even when it gets her into trouble.
Even though I was spoiled for many of the events that occur in the novel by a friend years ago, I still enjoyed watching them unfold. This was a very entertaining read. There are so many clues to what is going on in Thornfield from the beginning of Jane's time there. I loved picking them out as I read.
I never expected to love this novel as much as I did or how much I would love Jane and Mr. Rochester. Their banter was so enjoyable to read. I did not think this book would have me laughing as much as it did, but Mr. Rochester had me chuckle quite often to myself. He is a man so used to getting what he wanted and I loved how she played with that. I cannot say that their romance is aspirational but I enjoyed ever minute of reading about it. There are so many scenes in this book that stand out as favorites.
This is one of the best classics I have ever read and I don't say that lightly. It's just that great.
Even though I was spoiled for many of the events that occur in the novel by a friend years ago, I still enjoyed watching them unfold. This was a very entertaining read. There are so many clues to what is going on in Thornfield from the beginning of Jane's time there. I loved picking them out as I read.
I never expected to love this novel as much as I did or how much I would love Jane and Mr. Rochester. Their banter was so enjoyable to read. I did not think this book would have me laughing as much as it did, but Mr. Rochester had me chuckle quite often to myself. He is a man so used to getting what he wanted and I loved how she played with that. I cannot say that their romance is aspirational but I enjoyed ever minute of reading about it. There are so many scenes in this book that stand out as favorites.
This is one of the best classics I have ever read and I don't say that lightly. It's just that great.
Book 108: Oathbringer
(The Stormlight Archive #3)
By Brandon Sanderson
Read July 9th-13th
Pages: 1248
Release Year: 2017
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I love this book so much! The Stormlight Archive just keeps getting better and better with each book. The major character focus this time around was on Dalinar. We still get the many different character perspectives for the present day scenes in the novel, but then we also get scenes from the past of Dalinar. I have been wanting to see his past the entire series.
We are always being told by characters about his reputation but we never got to really see much of it until this book. During the present day events, he is trying to get the kingdoms to work together and we see many characters apprehensive to work with him because of him being “The Blackthorn.” I liked seeing this along with the scenes of him acting like that. It shows how much he has changed from those years.
One of my favorite parts of this series are the artifacts scattered throughout each of the books. I especially enjoyed the ones in this book with Wit’s notes on them and also the maps. I’ll always love a book with some great maps in them. Each of these artifacts make this world feel even more real.
There are so many powerful messages just like in the previous books. I did not enjoy Shallan’s part that much until about halfway through, then it grew on me tremendously. Shallan is a complex character who is able to outwardly change herself for whatever situation she is in. There are so many people who try to change themselves in real life to make those around them happy, she is able to physically do this because of her illusions. I really loved the message given for this in the book. I won’t spoil it here but it was wonderful.
Again, I enjoyed following Kaladin’s journey. He will always be my favorite of the main characters in the series. We also got plenty of scenes with Wit, which made me very happy. This had one of my favorite scenes with him yet.
I love that this book had me both tearing up in scenes and then laughing out loud in others. It is another great part of The Stormlight Archive and I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next book, Rhythm of War.
We are always being told by characters about his reputation but we never got to really see much of it until this book. During the present day events, he is trying to get the kingdoms to work together and we see many characters apprehensive to work with him because of him being “The Blackthorn.” I liked seeing this along with the scenes of him acting like that. It shows how much he has changed from those years.
One of my favorite parts of this series are the artifacts scattered throughout each of the books. I especially enjoyed the ones in this book with Wit’s notes on them and also the maps. I’ll always love a book with some great maps in them. Each of these artifacts make this world feel even more real.
There are so many powerful messages just like in the previous books. I did not enjoy Shallan’s part that much until about halfway through, then it grew on me tremendously. Shallan is a complex character who is able to outwardly change herself for whatever situation she is in. There are so many people who try to change themselves in real life to make those around them happy, she is able to physically do this because of her illusions. I really loved the message given for this in the book. I won’t spoil it here but it was wonderful.
Again, I enjoyed following Kaladin’s journey. He will always be my favorite of the main characters in the series. We also got plenty of scenes with Wit, which made me very happy. This had one of my favorite scenes with him yet.
I love that this book had me both tearing up in scenes and then laughing out loud in others. It is another great part of The Stormlight Archive and I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next book, Rhythm of War.
Book 109: Fantastic Four, Vol. 2:
Four Stories About Hope
By Ryan North
Read July 14th
Pages: 136
Release Year: 2024
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Another great volume in this series. I'm highly enjoying it.
Issue 7: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- More time travel antics
Issue 8: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I like how so many of these issues have a mystery that the Fantastic Four have to solve.
Issue 9:⭐⭐⭐⭐
- There are so many stunning page spreads in this series, especially in this issue. I absolutely love how this one started and how it was from Alicia's perspective.
Issue 10: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Definitely the best issue from this volume. I love this science fiction story so much!
Issue 11: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Another pretty great issue.
Issue 7: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- More time travel antics
Issue 8: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I like how so many of these issues have a mystery that the Fantastic Four have to solve.
Issue 9:⭐⭐⭐⭐
- There are so many stunning page spreads in this series, especially in this issue. I absolutely love how this one started and how it was from Alicia's perspective.
Issue 10: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Definitely the best issue from this volume. I love this science fiction story so much!
Issue 11: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Another pretty great issue.
Book 110: My Salty Mary (Mary #3)
By Cynthia Hand
Read July 14th-15th
Pages: 448
Release Year: 2024
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A book that has two of my favorite things a retelling of my favorite fairy tale and female pirates!
My Salty Mary is the humorous pirate book that I have been wanting. I love how this is a take on historical figures again, along with a retelling of "The Little Mermaid." These fit so well together. The Janies are great at creating witty stories that make me happy. I enjoyed Mary, Tobias, and Jack as main characters along with Anne. I will always love a female pirate story.
Book 111: Darth Vader- Dark Lord of the Sith,
Vol. 1: Imperial Machine
By Charles Soule
Read July 15th
Pages: 154
Release Year: 2017
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July 2025 reread:
Had a great time rereading this to refresh my memory of it before finishing the series.
May 2023 read:
This graphic novel was a great read that I enjoyed. I have been wanting to read more Star Wars content like this and I will continue to look for even more. Can’t wait to continue on in the next volume and see what happens next. It’s interesting to see Darth Vader right after the events of Revenge of the Sith and this is exactly what I was wanting from a comic about him. I definitely recommend this one.
Had a great time rereading this to refresh my memory of it before finishing the series.
May 2023 read:
This graphic novel was a great read that I enjoyed. I have been wanting to read more Star Wars content like this and I will continue to look for even more. Can’t wait to continue on in the next volume and see what happens next. It’s interesting to see Darth Vader right after the events of Revenge of the Sith and this is exactly what I was wanting from a comic about him. I definitely recommend this one.
Book 112: Darth Vader- Dark Lord of the Sith,
Vol. 2: Legacy's End
By Charles Soule
Read July 16th
Pages: 144
Release Year: 2018
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July 2025 reread:
I'm highly looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next volume. This is a pretty great series so far.
July 2023 read:
I have started two Darth Vader graphic novel series and I think that this is the best out of them both. It feels like it is a direct continuation from the prequels. The characterization of Vader in this volume was interesting especially in the parts when he is mediating. I enjoyed the visualizations in those sections so much. Cannot wait to see where else Soule takes this story in the other two volumes.
I'm highly looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next volume. This is a pretty great series so far.
July 2023 read:
I have started two Darth Vader graphic novel series and I think that this is the best out of them both. It feels like it is a direct continuation from the prequels. The characterization of Vader in this volume was interesting especially in the parts when he is mediating. I enjoyed the visualizations in those sections so much. Cannot wait to see where else Soule takes this story in the other two volumes.
Book 113: Darth Vader- Dark Lord of the Sith,
Vol. 3: The Burning Sea
By Charles Soule
Read July 18th-20th
Pages: 176
Release Year: 2018
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I didn't enjoy this volume as much as the earlier ones in the series, though I am still really looking forward to the next volume.
Book 114: Darth Vader- Dark Lord of the Sith,
Vol. 4: Fortress Vader
By Charles Soule
Read July 21st
Pages: 168
Release Year: 2019
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I enjoyed this final volume of this series, especially it's conclusion. There are some very powerful scenes in this one.
Book 115: The Well of Lost Plots
(Thursday Next #3)
By Jasper Fforde
Read July 23rd-25th
Pages: 375
Release Year: 2003
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It took me a couple of days to get into this one but once I did I was hooked. Jasper Fforde is so clever. I love the literary references throughout this entire series and how creative he gets with the humor. This was another fun read and I definitely plan on picking up the next book very soon.
Book 116: Animal Farm
By George Orwell
Read July 26th
Pages: 141
Release Year: 1945
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"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
Animal Farm is a story I have known the basics of for a long time, but I didn't quite know the story of these animals. It is an allegory that is very pertinent in our world today and thought provoking. It's chilling how real it feels and I was surprised by how heartbreaking this was at times. Definitely, my favorite out of George Orwell's works that I have read.
Book 1117: Greenteeth
By Molly O'Neill
Read July 26th-27th
Pages: 304
Release Year: 2025
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I loved the beginning of this book so much, especially the setup for the adventure with Jenny, Temperance, and Brackus. Jenny's narration is atmospheric and drew me in almost instantly. She was the perfect voice for this story and I believed this would be another favorite of the year. I like that the story is told by this creature who is often considered a monster and how we get to see a very different side of her.
English and Welsh folklore will always entertain me and I enjoyed how it was used for the most part in this book. But as the story continued on, it lost me. The banter was great in the first half of the book and then it was gone as they went on their quest. Quest storylines are almost always favorites of mine, but this one really didn't stand out. It lost its momentum and my interest went with it. The ending also did not help either. I predicted pretty early on what was going on and I'm sad to say it didn't pay off in the end.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
English and Welsh folklore will always entertain me and I enjoyed how it was used for the most part in this book. But as the story continued on, it lost me. The banter was great in the first half of the book and then it was gone as they went on their quest. Quest storylines are almost always favorites of mine, but this one really didn't stand out. It lost its momentum and my interest went with it. The ending also did not help either. I predicted pretty early on what was going on and I'm sad to say it didn't pay off in the end.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 1118: The Book of Lost Hours
By Haley Gelfuso
Read July 27th
Pages: 400
Release Year: 2025
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I
absolutely adore books that play with timelines and that slowly give
you the pieces of a mystery along the way. This book focuses on the
characters Lisavet, Amelia, Ernest, and Moira. It is a story about
memories, time, and what lengths people will go to to save the ones they
love.
We start the story in 1938, when Lisavet Levy is trapped inside what is called the time space, where memories are held in books and being erased by people called the time keepers. Lisavet grows up in the memories and among the ghosts haunting the halls of the space. In 1949, she meets an American named Ernest Duquesne, who works for the American time keepers and changes her life forever.
The story goes back and forth between Lisavet's perspective and the story of a sixteen- year-old girl named Amelia Duquesne, who is mourning her uncle Ernest Duquesne. At her uncle's funeral, she is approached by a CIA agent, Moira, who lets her know about the watches that the time keepers use to travel to the time space and how they work. She is forced into helping the American's who are searching for a book that her uncle knew about in the time space.
I found the way the plot was organized very interesting. This leads to the reader not knowing all of the pieces of the story until much later. I will say that I basically guessed much of the mystery of what was going on pretty early in the story, but that did not ruin my enjoyment. There were still a couple of surprises which I did not see coming.
My favorite of the characters was definitely Azrael, who was a guide and father figure to Lisavet in the time space. He was such a great character and I would have loved to learn more about him and his past.
This book had me thinking of The Time Traveler's Wife quite a bit, along with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which are both books I absolutely adore. It is a powerful novel which I highly recommend.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
We start the story in 1938, when Lisavet Levy is trapped inside what is called the time space, where memories are held in books and being erased by people called the time keepers. Lisavet grows up in the memories and among the ghosts haunting the halls of the space. In 1949, she meets an American named Ernest Duquesne, who works for the American time keepers and changes her life forever.
The story goes back and forth between Lisavet's perspective and the story of a sixteen- year-old girl named Amelia Duquesne, who is mourning her uncle Ernest Duquesne. At her uncle's funeral, she is approached by a CIA agent, Moira, who lets her know about the watches that the time keepers use to travel to the time space and how they work. She is forced into helping the American's who are searching for a book that her uncle knew about in the time space.
I found the way the plot was organized very interesting. This leads to the reader not knowing all of the pieces of the story until much later. I will say that I basically guessed much of the mystery of what was going on pretty early in the story, but that did not ruin my enjoyment. There were still a couple of surprises which I did not see coming.
My favorite of the characters was definitely Azrael, who was a guide and father figure to Lisavet in the time space. He was such a great character and I would have loved to learn more about him and his past.
This book had me thinking of The Time Traveler's Wife quite a bit, along with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which are both books I absolutely adore. It is a powerful novel which I highly recommend.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 1119: Reflections: On the Magic of Writing
By Diana Wynne Jones
Read July 28th-29th
Pages: 405
Release Year: 2012
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