Liz’s Book Reviews & More!

Hello and happy August! I hope everybody is having a wonderful summer! In todays post, I’ll be giving you a monthly roundup of my reads for the month of July!

MONTHLY ROUNDUPS WILL INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

– Rating and review

– Author names

– Links to the review/a reel to my instagram about the book

– Pictures of the covers with links to buy from the authors website/amazon

Thank you in advance for reading!

---

BOOK 1: From the Ashes by Ireland Lorelei.

4/5 star rating

My thoughts: Like everything else Ireland Lorelei writes, I loved this. It was a wonderful story of a woman finding herself again after losing herself in a crappy marriage. I love how much she has to come to terms with her life and the choices she wants to make.

This wasn’t just a tale of a bdsm relationship turned romance, no it was more than that. It was a tale about awakening yourself and loving everything about your life. Even if it’s different, or weird.

BOOK 2: Blood & Vows by K. Easton (Amanda Richardson) Instagram Post of Blood & Vows

4/5 star rating

Trigger warnings: forced marriage, kidnapping, dubious consent, violence, and explicit language, which may be triggering for some.

My thoughts: I have officially found a new fav retelling- this one- dark Bloody Mary- AND OMG it was amazing. Beautiful.

The smut 🌶 scenes were jaw dropping- girl that devil tail 👀👀. I was hooked with the chemistry between Liz and Marius IMMEDIATELY. If you know me I’m a sucker for forced marriages- and this book was no exception.

I loved getting to read about Liz and Marius so much. It was a bit weird because my nickname is Liz as well, but it made the book more touching for me. I cannot wait for the author to continue their love story- definitely going to read it!

BOOK 3: The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

4/5 star rating

My thoughts: I loved this book a ton. I never wrote a review on it, honestly don’t know why. But I loved it. Cant wait for book 2!

BOOK 4: Queen of Hearts by Alta Hensley Instagram Post of Queen of Hearts

4/5 star rating

My thoughts: Such a phenomenal read. I love Alice in Wonderland retellings- and this one didn’t disappoint. It was definitely one for the books.

Nick was such a whirlwind of a MC- I loved his character, but I also hated him. He was a complex character. He was hateful, but loving. He wanted everything good for Lyropie, while also wanting to completely dominate her- in and outside of the bedroom. He was the dominant everyone wants- well at least I want. He shows her how it’s going to be and there’s nothing she can say about it. How rough he was with her and how romantic he was, showed everything about him that was important.

Lyropie was a strong headed independent woman. But as all independent people know, eventually you need somebody. To love, to hold, to laugh with. And she has so much anxiety and anger that she can’t just have that person. Until she confesses it all 👀🥰

I cant wait for the next book- it’s already making me super pumped 🥰🥰

BOOK 5: Rebel (Sterling Falls book 3) by S. Massery Instagram Post of Rebel

5/5 star rating

My thoughts: This was such a wonderful novel of the Sterling Falls series. I love Kora’s badass attitude she now has. She is definitely a inspiration & a woman that I’d love to be like. Rebel had so many different turns and new information given to us- it was jawdropping. The Reverse Harem of the 3 boys- Apollo, Wolfe, and Jace, makes the spice 🌶 even better. We get to see so much 🌶🌶 scenes and I loved them.

Jace definitely became my new book boyfriend. He grew so much from each book, and I loved getting to see it. We got to see some Wolfe scenes with Kora and I loved how much he removed the mask he has.

Apollo- WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON MAN? He’s all over the place it seems. He isnt the headstrong, demanding man he once was, and I understand that 6 months can do a lot to people, but I was so sad for him.

The deaths and betrayals in this book made me so freaking sad- I audibly gasped at almost every one of them. I cried at ****’s death and holy shit-I cant even deal with it. My heart is hurting for all of the characters.

Now the cliffhanger- girl I’m going to be focused on this book until the release of Queen. If you haven’t already, read this series. I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do.

BOOK 6: Book Lovers by Emily Henry Instagram Post of Book Lovers

5/5 star rating

My thoughts: Oh my gosh. Charlie and Nora are definitely my new favorite book couple. Their enemies to lovers romance was ADORABLE. The emails & texts back and forth made it seem super modern and real.

Nora has a love of the city. Her city- New York. She’s a book agent, with a passion for editing, and she’s a shark. She doesn’t mess around, she’s focused on work and her sister, and she never lets someone mess with her.

Nora and Libby’s relationship as sisters was super cute. I love how close they were and how much Nora tries for Libby. Nora may have overstepped a few boundaries, but all out of love and care. But Libby’s idea for the trip was super cute and I loved it. Makes me want to do a bucket list for every vacation 😂😅

Charlie and Nora getting to work together on a project, was super funny. Their banter and comments were hilarious. Charlie was nothing like how the first few chapters made him seem and I loved getting to learn about our small town man. This book is definitely worth the hype.

BOOK 7: Bound by Words by E.L Koslo. Instagram Reel of Bound by Words

4/5 star rating

My thoughts: I have so many feelings and thoughts for this book. I loved the plot twist, the relationship between Kelly and Nathan. The chemistry, the way they fit together, all of it. They are meant to be- and nothing will ever tell me different.

The BDSM, the dom/sub dynamic was such a WONDERFUL TEACHING MOMENT for all doms- don’t be a d!ck to your sub and how to listen to your sub (: it also teaches subs/women how to not be @ssh0les and say/do negative/untrue things because life’s a b!tch.

I cant say more without spoiling it because everything was just- 💓💓💓chefs kiss 💓💓💓

BOOK 8: Love me Later by G. Colgrove Instagram Post of Love Me Later

5/5 star rating

My thoughts: The slow burn romance was definitely worth it. Jackson and Rory’s friendship to romance was BEAUTIFUL. I love getting to see Rory’s and Jackson’s POV, especially teenage Jackson. Getting to see him fall in love with Rory was so magical.

Jackson has definitely made 🌶🌶 about cops a new fav- because that cop, can definitely make my mind go crazy. I love how caring he is, so caring that he doesn’t tell Rory that he loves her and that he always has. No matter how many girlfriends he has or how many boyfriends Rory has, they’re each other’s person. THEY EVEN HAVE MATCHING TATTOOS FOR GODS SAKE 🥹🥹

Rory- I have some words for her, especially for how she treats Brad, but at the same time my heart goes out to the girl. She’s been through so much and she doesn’t want to ruin anything for her and Jackson. Now if only she would’ve realized her feelings for Jackson sooner.

Once the romance kicks in- girl the 🌶🌶 scenes were JAW DROPPING. The nastiness that Jackson thinks, and says, and does 😮😮😍😍, needless to say I loved it. I loved the epilogue as well- super cute and fun.

Now while this book is a 🌶🌶 book- it does have some core values in it. It shows the importance of family love, pushing past your past with some people, and being honest. I do want to warn readers that are sensitive to gun violence that there are a few chapters towards the end where that type of thing does get brought up- the author luckily does warn you before you read, but I like to make sure everyone is okay(: enjoy your smut you filthy animals;)

BOOK 9: Words on Candy Hearts by Augusta Reilly Instagram Post of Words on Candy Hearts

5/5 star rating

My thoughts: Clara and Ian’s love story was adorable. Clara is down on her luck, having just got broken up with, in a TERRIBLE way. Ian just can’t find anyone who won’t use him for his daddy’s money, since his dad is the richest man in town.

They meet in an unlikely, crazy way. And their time spent together was hilarious to read about. I love all of the paparazzi chapters, the energy was just phenomenal. They’re complete opposites, Clara and Ian. But they use an unlikely situation to fall in love.

The epilogue/One year later chapter was so sweet. Ian definitely became who I thought he would and I’m so happy that they got a happily ever after.

BOOK 10: The Trouble with Whiskey by Melissa Foster Instagram Post of The Trouble With Whiskey

5/5 star rating

My thoughts: Holy cow 😍 Dare and Billie’s love story was amazing. I loved the friends to enemies to lovers trope going on. They had so much history and chemistry that it made my jaw drop.

The history of the friend group with Eddie- made my heart wrench. The way that Dare and Billie go on after that tragic event, was hard. Even to read. But I’m so glad that I did because the way that Billie got better as time went on, was amazing.

The spice in there was- amazing. The way Dare handles Billie. And the way she handled him 👀 I need some more of that to read. I cant believe I have to wait so long for the next one 🙃

Now the novel did have its sad moments, but every great novel does. And the tears turned into laughter which turned into happy tears. I loved the ending so much. I definitely recommend this for EVERY spice lover.

BOOK 11: Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

4/5 star rating

My thoughts: I loved the dual perspective of present and past. I loved getting to learn about the past & present of Macy and Elliot. The ending made me bawl, I did love the ending tons.

I don’t like Macy as a person, but I loved her character. She’s been through so much, with her mom and dad. And getting to see exactly what she thought about those events, as an adult and a child. She was not someone who went after love, she ran from it. Because everyone she loved left her, in one form or another. I do wish we got more chapters ABOUT Sean. I don’t like that we didn’t get too many with him and we were soo focused on Elliot.

Elliot is probably one of the LAMEST characters I’ve read about. He didn’t really get any form of explanation during the adult/current chapters, and all of his explanations were as a child/teenager during the past chapters. I wish we were able to get more of an explanation about him. I do wish we got more information about Rachel, she was in like 2 chapters, but seemed to be such a bigger person than 2 chapters worth.

BOOK 12: From the Ashes by Lynn Rhys

4.5/5 star rating

My thoughts: Phoenix was definitely a badass bitch. I love how headstrong she was. She was such an amazing person, who had so much bad shit happen to her. She’s definitely got the rough end of things. I love how she tried to keep her head up with everything going on at school.

I did not like any of the “three kings”. They’re super judgmental towards Phoenix and they believe things without knowing the full truth. I did not like the personality change they did, (okay I liked the writing of it, but I don’t like them). I cant wait to see what the next book has.

BOOK 13: Savage Love by Nichole Greene Instagram Post of Savage Love

3.5/5 star rating

My thoughts: Talon and Elle were so similar, but their lives were so different. Talon is working to get back into his spot in the Bratva, his uncles mob. Elle is one of the daughters of an ex-mob man.

Elle is a fiery spirit. I love how she is never afraid to backdown from a fight & she is always there for her twin sister Nora. I loved Nora’s character and the representation we got for PCOS/ovary problems. It was definitely something fresh in books for me, and I hope to see it again. Elle is definitely a troubled teen. Or maybe she’s just too into the mafia life that she lets it get to her. Because she got herself into trouble, and had to get a security guard. Because she can’t keep herself from lighting cars, and drùgs on fire. 

Talon is definitely a macho, sexy, mafia man. He’s a biker, which is 🥵 all by itself. He shows his cool side to Nora and Elle, and eventually shows Elle more than just the cool side of him. He shows her the loving side, that also rams into her like she’s worth every moment. Definitely a 10/10 boyfriend in my book. I loved getting to see parts of Talon’s past, and that it plays into the sequence of events throughout the novel. Definitely a plot twister.

BOOK 14: The Guest List by Lucy Foley Instagram Post of The Guest List

5/5 star rating

My thoughts: This novel reminded me a ton of the game “Clue” but I loved it. We got to see a lot of different POV’s, got an amazing backstory, and even got some chills down our spines. Lucy Foley spins a creepy tale that makes you itching to turn the page to try to figure out who got murdered and who was the murderer.

My favorite POV’s that we got were Hannah and Jules. I loved being able to see into Hannah’s mind, considering her husband can’t keep from flirting with Jules. Charlie was not a favorite from me, from page 1. He seems like the cocky man who had “the right girl but wrong time” and takes it out on his wife.

Jules was such an intriguing character and it really made me love her character so much. She was selfish, Olivia was not her favorite, even though they were siblings. And no matter what Olivia always had to upstage her, as Jules likes to say. But needless to say Jules was the best big sister in the end.

BOOK 15: Fool me Once by Ashley Winstead

2.5/5 star rating

My thoughts: Lee and Ben’s unlikely re-meeting was definitely not just by coincidence. Ben and Lee are too closely in the same profession, and they’re both from Texas. I liked getting to see Lee and Ben work together- that is if you can even call it that.

Lee was not a super likable character for me. I understand where Ashley was trying to go with Lee, but she seemed like a smartass that expects to be the best and to get things handed to her. Until Ben comes back into her life, and she no longer gets it handed to her. And then she pines after Ben? After she was the one that left him and made it to where his life was ruined.

Ben reminded me of the golden retriever, popular boy. He got what he wanted because of his charm & appeal. He made most of the big decisions, and was able to get into situations because of who he knew.

This book didn’t live up to any hype, honestly kind of lived up to the mixed reviews that were there.

BOOK 16: Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore

3.5/5 star rating

My thoughts- Honestly, I didn’t quite love this book and it didn’t live up to my expectations. I love witchy stuff, anything to do with magic, I’m in. But I feel as if this book was anything but that.

We had some magical scenes, some random unexplained things thrown in, but all in all, it wasn’t what I thought it’d be. I felt as if the whole plot/reason of the book- finding or finding out what happened to Violet just didn’t happen necessarily.

I did love Sasha and Quinn. They both were badass women characters. But I feel as if Sasha was painted as someone with HUGE secrets to hide, and in reality she didn’t have too huge of secrets. The ending scene/chapter really left me confused and again, I feel as if we never got an answer to what happened to Violet.

BOOK 17: The Altruist and the Assassin by Sarah M. Cradit My Instagram Post of TAATA

5/5 star rating

My thoughts- Rhiain and Asterin’s story was heartbreaking, but one full of love. The reality of their lives were dark, but they made their lives together as bright as a the sun.

Rhiain didn’t have the easiest life growing up with her father. Her best friend and his family are dead, thanks to her father who decided they had to die to punish her. She was forced to live for 3 years training to be an assassin, even though she’s a Princess. And now her fathers marrying her off to their enemies son. But first she has to go to the Resplendent Reliquary, for a mission for her father.

Rhiain is such a badass. I love how she defied her father’s wrong doings and chooses to do things that she thinks is right. She still has a lot to learn, but she is always going for these things, to learn. She made decisions to help her family, her kingdom, and eventually her love.

Asterin is a complex character. He was closed off and hard to understand, and eventually he became caring and helped Rhiain understand things, she should’ve understood. He’s exceptionally smart and is super handsome. He’s skilled with his sword and is threatening without having to do too much. He’s also extremely skilled in bed, thanks to all his practice.

This book is probably my favorite out of The Book of All Things series by Sarah. I loved every second of this read. I recommend this for any fantasy lover who loves 🌶🌶

---

Thats all of the books I read during the month of July! I read a total of 17 books, 6 physical books and 11 books. I had a grand total of 3,164 pages read during this month. My average star rating was 4.33.

My favorite read for the month is….

The Altruist and The Assassin by Sarah M. Cradit!

Thank you so much for reading this months monthly round up! I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope to see you around again soon!!