What was my favorite book? As it stands now, I read two 5-star books in July: The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts and Divided in Death by J.D. Robb. I say "as it stands now" because I am seriously considering changing the ratings for A Court of Frost and Starlight (to a 5) and A Court of Silver Flames (to either a 4.5 or a 5). When I look at how they compare to other books and how I've rated them, I think my ratings are too low. It would mean also changing the other Sarah J. Maas books I've read, too.
What was my least favorite book? My lowest rated books were Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak and Throne of Jade by Naomi Novak. I rated them both 3.5 stars. I liked both of them, and would recommend them, but they were just a little slower for me than others. Still good, though.
Any surprises? I was surprised by T. Kingfisher's Snake Eater. I had it on my TBR last year, but I put it off. Then I read Wolf Worm in April, and really decided to not read any more horror books at all from Kingfisher. Wolf Worm was disturbing! Then this month I read a review of Snake-Eater, and decided it wouldn't be as disturbing as as Wolf Worm, plus I was looking for a book to fit "darker themes" in the Goober Reading Challenge, so I picked up Snake Eater. I was surprised how much I liked it. It was a great story about a woman who has been abused (emotionally) and how she works through that, moving across the country and making a new found family. Oh, there are spirits and evil things, too.
Trends? I've noticed that this month, I had 7 hybrid reads. For me, a hybrid read is a book I read in two different formats at the same time, switching between them. These are always audiobooks with a print or kindle companion. I took Amazon up on a 3 month trial of Kindle Unlimited, so I've been able to find lots of kindle books to go along with my audiobooks. It means I can read in the car as I drive, and other places, too, where audio doesn't work.
How am I coming with my reading goals? I read 12 books, 75% of which were new to me. I'm up to 74 for the year so far.
