July Wrap-Up.

Ok so I didn't manage a fair amount of my actual chosen reads, only four actually but I did sneak in a couple of extras to make up the numbers so I'm still pretty pleased with my status this month! I managed a grand total of six books!

1. 'The Sleeping Prince' by Melinda Salisbury. I wouldn't say that I've been necessarily avoiding this book. But I was worried about this book because I didn't enjoy the first book as much as I'd hoped and it was either going to restore my faith or put me off forever. There were still a couple of issues with this book, but the change of characters was definitely a good idea. Errin was a badass MC, the romance was a lot more appealing and I liked seeing more of the world. 3.5/5 Stars.
2. 'Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls' by Francesca Cavallo & Elena Favilli. I purchased this book fairly recently and after flicking through it and finding that the chosen stories really intrigued me, I took some time to sit down and read them all. There's a great mix: women of both past & present who are either great queens or models and tattoo artists from all over the world. I loved that diversity! As they are styled as children's fairy tales, I felt the 'endings' could use more work, but this is a great book for children, especially young girls, to read. 4/5 Stars.
3. 'Through The Woods' by Emily Carroll. I was gifted this by a close friend of mine and overjoyed to finally be reading it! I've been eyeing up Graphic Novels as a genre to get back into for months now, and this is a good place to start. The short stories were spooky and atmospheric for sure, and the artwork was absolutely gorgeous! I liked the similarities to fairy tales too, but I wish that the endings had not been so vague. They felt very unfinished and for the most part, I didn't 'get it'. 4.5/5 Stars.
4. 'The One Memory Of Flora Banks' by Emily Barr. This book has such mixed reactions all over the internet, and I went in a little wary about what I'd find. In the end though, it was mostly 'okay'. The characters were well formulated, I especially liked Paige and Agi because they demonstrated complicated but likeable friendships. Flora's time in Svalbard was probably my favourite portion of the book. I liked the idea behind the book too, but I felt that due to Flora's condition, elements of it were so repetitive almost to the point of boredom. Her conversations with Drake (the sexting in particular) made me feel really uncomfortable too because of her amnesia. It all felt a bit creepy. 3/5 Stars.
5. 'What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours' by Helen Oyeyemi. More fairy tales? Yay! I've been looking to get into Oyeyemi's work for a while now, this looked like a good opportunity to do so. I was totally captivated by the magic within the pages of this book, and I have to say that I adored the magical realism of it all. I don't normally like that genre, but Oyeyemi handled it masterfully. Despite that, I still left feeling disappointed. Each story had such a great premise, especially as some characters appeared in more than one. Each one, as with previous reads this month, felt 'unfinished' too. I really think I'd like Oyeyemi's full-length novels more, where she'd be given a chance to fully flesh out her endings. 3/5 Stars.
6. 'The Final Empire' by Brandon Sanderson. This is the book I've been waiting for! It was the perfect end to the month! A friend bought it for me such a long time ago, and I felt so bad for putting it off this long. But it was definitely worth the wait, as this felt like the best fantasy book I've read in a long time. Fantastic characterisation, gorgeous world-building, and a good plot that kept me hooked throughout. I even liked the romance aspect because it didn't interfere too much! I can't wait to read more of Sanderson's work as it all looks amazing!

Now it's time to see how I did with my challenges this month!

This month I have read two books for the Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to eighteen. My reads were:

- The One Memory Of Flora Banks

- What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

This month I have read one books for the 2017 New Releases Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to eight. My reads were:

- The One Memory Of Flora Banks

This month I have read two books for the LGBTQIA Challenge, bringing my yearly total to eight. My reads were:

- What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

This month I have read two books for the Diverse Reads Challenge, bringing my yearly total to twenty two. My reads were:

- Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls

- The One Memory Of Flora Banks

And here's my update on this quarter's Bookish Bingo card, courtesy of Pretty Deadly Blog!

Over 5 Years Old: Green Rider; Kristen Britain.
Red Cover: Good Bones; Margaret Atwood.
Latinx MC: One Of Us Is Lying; Karen M. McManus.
LGBT+: Release; Patrick Ness.
White Cover: A List Of Cages; Robin Roe.
Blue Cover: Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls; Francesca Cavallo & Elena Favilli.
Name In Title: The One Memory Of Flora Banks; Emily Barr.
Royalty: The Sleeping Prince; Melinda Salisbury.
A Book With A Map: The Final Empire; Brandon Sanderson.
Flowers On The Cover: What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours; Helen Oyeyemi.
Award Winner: Through The Woods; Emily Carroll.