July reading summary and August TBR

I have been so busy since returning from RWA. Seriously. Last week was a blur. I spent most of it working on polishing up “Eve of the Fae” to submit to Pitch Wars. Plus, it’s been a very busy week at work. I’m hoping things calm down a little this week so that I have a little more time for reading.

Most of what I read in July was read on vacation. I miss vacation.

Here are the books I read in July (links go to Goodreads):

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Kindle, library) — This book was so good. I loved Every Heart a Doorway, her first book in this world, and I think this one is even better. If you grew up reading portal fantasy like The Chronicles of Narnia, and you haven’t checked out these books yet, you’re missing out. Run, don’t walk to your nearest library (or bookstore of choice) and get yourself a copy of this one and the first book.
Hold Me by Courtney Milan (Kindle) — I had no idea what to expect here except that I liked the first book in the series (Trade Me), and I love anything by Courtney Milan. So, no surprise, I guess, that I *really* enjoyed this book. Also, the heroine’s internal conflict hit home with me and unexpectedly hit me pretty hard in the feels.
Ninefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee (Kindle) — I waited to read this until I had a solid chunk of time to immerse myself in this world because I’d heard it took a little effort to get into it. For me it wasn’t that different than any hard fantasy/sci-fi with good, immersive world-building, and I loved it from the start. But, then again, I’m also a fan of military space opera. This was possibly my favorite book I read this month. I can’t wait to read the next in the series.
One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Kindle) — For the past several years, I’ve been reading these romantic suspense books while on vacation in the Adirondacks (where these books are set). Unfortunately, I think this is the second to last one in the series. I’m saving the last one for next year, but unless the author decides to write more in this setting, I’m soon going to have to find a new romance series set in the Adirondacks for my vacation reading. So sad. I’m going to miss these characters.
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (Kindle, library) — Prepare for unpopular opinion time…I didn’t love this book. I know it’s winning all the awards, but it just didn’t sit right with me. I feel like it leaned a little too hard into literary tropes, and the writing felt like the author was trying to “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” poke fun at the SFF genre. I got a strong “look, I’m writing *literary* SFF” vibe from this book and it took away from my enjoyment of what, based on the premise, should have been a story I enjoyed.
Letters to a Solider by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Kindle) — This shouldn’t even really count, but I’m adding it here anyway. It’s bonus material from the author, meant to go along with One Was a Soldier. I read this first, but I think it might have got more out of it if I’d read it after One Was a Solider.

Now, on to August…How is it already the last month of summer? It’s “Fogust” here in the Bay Area, aka perfect reading weather. Unfortunately, my schedule this month is not leaving a lot of free time available.

Ignoring the realities of available reading time, here are all the books I put on my August TBR:

In general, there are WAY too many books on my TBR this month. This is a ridiculously ambitious list. Many of these have been featured already in previous TBR posts. So, I’m not even going to give you a breakdown. Instead, I’m just going to say that the priority this month is going to overdue library books (A Closed and Common Orbit, The Prey of the Gods, Raven Stratagem) and books for my Read Harder Challenge tasks (Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free, Falling in Love with Hominids, The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost, Signal to Noise). I’d like to work a little more romance into the rotation, especially fantasy romance (Nice Dragons Finish Last, A Promise of Fire, Heiress Without A Cause), but it will depend on how much time I have and what sort of mood I’m in. And damnit, when am I going to have time to read Our Dark Duet?! Not to mention the fact that (not pictured here) The Stone Sky comes out this month…