I Should Read That

I read 13 books this month, and one of the main reasons is a heavy focus on ARCs. One of my main focuses for the past month or so has been to actually stick to one of my new year’s resolutions – getting any advance reading copies read and reviewed within 6 weeks of receiving them. Because of this, I’ve focused really heavily on NetGalley copies, which resulted in a wild reading month! July’s ratings range from 4.5 stars all the way to 2 star disappointments.

Books I read

There were a huge mix of ratings this month, and I think a lot of that has to do with my focus on ARCs rather than books I’ve researched and purchased. I read a lot of books that were just fine, but I did absolutely love Brigands and Breadknives and The Haar.

I think the biggest surprises were my two-star ratings! Delilah S. Dawson and Chuck Tingle are usually among my favourites, but their new books didn’t hit the mark for me. I will still be going back to them in the future, but I was shaken to my core by how much I disliked House of Idyll and Lucky Day!

Books I bought

July marked the start of my preorder extravaganza. I always do my preorders during Waterstones double points weekend, and those orders are starting to come through. I ended up with copies of some of my most anticipated books of the year – Human Rites by Juno Dawson, The Bewitching by Sylvia Moreno Garcia, and Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I also picked up one of 2025’s lady knight books – The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling – apparently it’s super weird medieval horror and I can’t wait to read it.

Books sent by publishers

As we approach the autumn publishing season, loads of ARCs have found their way onto my Kobo and my nightstand. An amazing mix of horror and fantasy books, these are all titles I cannot wait to read! The biggest highlights for me are Itch!, A Theory of Dreaming, and Crafting for Sinners.