July Book Haul.

 

I was meant to be on a book buying ban this month. That lasted like three days? I only bought five books but they did cost me a lot of money… Well not a lot but more than I usually pay for books in a month. But I did get a pretty good deal. I’ll talk about that later though. 

So the first book I got was sent to me from HarperCollins New Zealand. I’d seen this on Booktube I think and thought it sounded like something I’d enjoy.

I think this is about siblings, a brother and sister, competing for the throne? I’m not 100% sure so don’t quote me on that.

This would totally have been a cover buy for me had I not had the opportunity to review it because this cover is gorgeous.

I think I’ve read two books by Charbonneau. So I’m looking forward to reading this.

The second book I received to review was from Allen and Unwin New Zealand to review. I didn’t realize this was a sequel until it arrived so I won’t be reading it until I have a copy of the first book. Which I haven’t gotten around to buying yet.

I haven’t really read much about this because it is a sequel but I know it’s about mermaids, or a mermaid.. Whatever. I’ll figure it out when I get a copy of Lorelei.

This is another book with a gorgeous cover. And it’s even better in person because the gold scales are holo I think.

The next five books I bought for myself. I went into a local second-hand bookstore and these were sitting on the counter. Apparently they were an unwanted gift and the guy took them into the store. I already had the paperback editions of the A Song of Ice and Fire series but I couldn’t just leave them.

So I started talking to the woman in the store about the books and she took $10 off for me and then I was like “okay I’ll take them.” Now I have to sell my other editions.

I have read the series up to A Dance with Dragons twice and I’ve read A Game of Thrones three times. I still want to re-read A Dance with Dragons before the next book comes out. If it ever comes out. So obviously there’s no rush for that re-read.

The next book I got was a surprise from Penguin Random House New Zealand. I’d read the synopsis of this but didn’t request it. I do plan on reading this for ARC August though.

So from what I remember of the synopsis a woman is at home making dinner and the next thing she knows she’s waking up in the hospital… The police are saying she was up to no good. Her best friend doesn’t know what to think. Her husband is on her side. But she’s not sure who to believe. I think it sounds pretty good and I’m looking forward to reading it.

I don’t know when I’ll get to it though because I’m in another reading slump at the moment so yay me. I’m reading The Crown’s Game to try to get out of it. 

Hachette New Zealand sent me a copy of City of Circles to review. This is another book I have on my ARC August TBR.

I think this follows a girl who lost her parents and is trying to find out what happened to them. And something about a circus. But I’m not really sure what.

Fans of Erin Morgenstern will apparently like this. I haven’t read her books though so I’m not sure what to expect. Which I think is good because it won’t let me down.

Okay so this isn’t the kind of book I usually read but it said fans of Jojo Moyes will enjoy this and even though I’ve only read two books by her I did enjoy them.

I’m just going to admit that since I read the synopsis a couple of months ago I cannot remember what this is about. But I am looking forward to reading it. It’ll give me a break from the books I usually read, which is always a good thing for me.

I don’t know when I’ll be reading this though. My TBR is a little crazy this month but I’ll hoping that I can get to it soon. There was also something mentioned about keeping the secret once you’ve read the book. Which seems really interesting… 

Allen and Unwin New Zealand also sent me a copy of Sparrow to review. This was a complete surprise as I didn’t request it. But because it’s by an Australian author I think I’ll give it a chance. One day.

I don’t remember what this is about either. Obviously it has something to do with alligators or crocodiles… I guess I’ll find out whenever I pick it up. I think my mother plans to read it as well. I’m not really sure why… But whatever. I don’t care if she wants to read it first. She probably will get to it before I do.

Hachette New Zealand also sent me a copy of The Taste of Blue Light to review. This isn’t out til next month but I do have it on my ARC August TBR. I’ll probably read this at the end of August though.

I think this is about a girl who wakes up from a coma and her dreams, or nightmares, are all in red. I don’t know what that has to do with blue light but I’m sure it’ll make sense when I read the book.

I thought this sounded really interesting when I read the synopsis so I’m looking forward to reading this as well. There’s a note at the start of the book that made it sound really good too but I can’t remember who wrote it.

I can’t remember who sent me a copy of Slave Power. I think it actually came from the author but that’s not who I requested it from…. 

I did read the synopsis of this but it was so long ago that I don’t remember what the book is about. I know it’s the first in a new series and that it’s meant to have a strong female lead. But that’s all I can remember.

Oh, it’s also by a New Zealand author which is a big reason behind me wanting to read it. I love supporting local authors. I’ve never heard of Raewyn Dawson until I was sent an email about the book.

Anyway, this is on my August TBR, which I will be sharing this weekend.

Bonnier Publishing Australia sent me a copy of And Fire Came Down to review. This is the sequel to Resurrection Bay which I read and reviewed a couple of months ago. If you want to read that review you can check it out here.

I really enjoyed Resurrection Bay so I’m excited to read And Fire Came Down. I think Caleb, the main character, is investigating the death of a woman when it leads him back to his hometown again.

I have And Fire Came Down on my August TBR and am hoping to read it soon. But I also have a couple of other books to read first. 

I received some surprise book mail from Bloomsbury Australia in July. These two were completely unexpected but definitely welcome.

I don’t know when I’ll get to these, hopefully soon, but I have another book from Bloomsbury Australia on my TBR for August. If I can fit one in I’ll definitely will but I’m not sure I will.

I can’t remember what either of these are about but I did like the sound of them when I first read the synopsis.

Walker Books Australia sent me a copy of Tell It to the Moon to review. This is the sequel to The Moonlight Dreamers. Which I read recently. I’m not going to talk about Tell It to the Moon because it is a sequel and I don’t want to spoil things for anyone who hasn’t read The Moonlight Dreamers yet.

But The Moonlight Dreamers was so good. It was about four girls, all completely different and from different backgrounds, that come together and not only become friends but better people as well.

I’ve mentioned before that I’ll be holding a giveaway for both books when I post my review of Tell It to the Moon (sometime in August). So if you live in New Zealand or Australia then keep an eye out for that. The books will be sent from Walker Books Australia. 

The next two books are both from Hachette New Zealand. Friend Request is a mystery/thriller (I don’t know which).

A woman gets a friend request on Facebook from someone she knew in high school. But this friend has book missing for years and people assume she’s dead. So, who’s sent the request? And is this Maria actually dead?

I thought it sounded like something I’d enjoy so I’m looking forward to finding out what’s going on in this book. I do like thrillers so I couldn’t resist requesting this.

I Am Traitor is about an alien invasion and one girl thinks she’s found a way to save humanity (I think) but it means trusting the enemy. I’m pretty sure I got that right. But again, don’t quote me on it.

I love alien invasion books. Not that I’ve read a lot of them but out of the ones I have read I enjoyed them.

I can’t wait to see what this alien invasion is about and what exactly is going on. I think this is set in London if I remember correctly. But my memory is shit so I doubt it. I think this is also out in September so I won’t be reading it this month. Unless I can fit it in right at the end. 

So a couple of months ago I was contacted through my blog about reviewing this book. I don’t normally say yes because it’s always an e-book and I can’t read digital books. But they offered to send me a physical copy of the book.

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold has adventure, pirates, stolen gold, criminals, ship wrecks and some curses.

I’d never heard of this before I read the email but I am always happy to help out indie authors if I can. This is the first book in a series and is also on my August TBR.

So the last two books I received in July were sent to me from Hardie Grant Australia to review. I totally forgot to take a photo of these so I’ll have to just link to their Goodreads pages.

The first book was I Have No Secrets and I thought this sounded really good. This is on my ARC August TBR so I’ll be reading this soon. The second book was In the Dark Spaces which also sounded really good. I’m hoping to get to this soon too.

So that’s my July book haul. How many books did you get last month?

– Aimee.