July Wrap Up

July wasn't much better than June for me: I read five books, one more than last month. However, I did enjoy most of what I picked up in July, so I'm counting this month as a win. Except for the fact that this is going up much later than I initially planned, due to a number of reasons. Chief among them being that I forgot about it. Oops.


Mr Mercedes by Stephen King
After End of Watch was published I vowed to finally read this trilogy, and I did. I loved Mr Mercedes from the moment I picked it up. It kept me interested and I was even tempted to skip ahead in some places in order to get the answers. It's definitely the most 'un-King' King book I've read, but then it's a thriller rather than a horror. Very good if you're new to him as an author, but don't think that all of his books are like this.

Finders Keepers by Stephen King
After the high that was Mr Mercedes, of course I had to pick up Finders Keepers. It took me a little longer to get into this one, though, but I did still enjoy it. There were new characters and a new crime at the centre on Finders Keepers but I was still very much wrapped up with the Mercedes killer so I couldn't get too excited by this. Nevertheless, I did still enjoy it, and it definitely did pick up closer to the end.

End of Watch by Stephen King
The final book in the Bill Hodges trilogy was very bittersweet for me. It was probably my favourite of the three - as I was so impatient to find out who Z Boy and Dr Z were, and what the 'Z' signature at crime scenes meant - even with the sad ending. It was probably the most fitting with King's regular style as well, as it had a slight paranormal element to it. And the fact that it can be read as a standalone makes it all the better, so you should all go and pick this up now.

Dragon Dreams by Dusty Lynn Holloway
I received a copy of this from the author and have a full review up (which you can read here) so I won't go into too much detail. But basically, I felt that a lot more work could have been put in to the story in order to refine it and make things less nonsensical. It's a shame that I didn't enjoy it, as I love dragons.

Atlantia by Allie Condie
Disappointment at the lack of mermaids aside, I did initially like Atlantia. It wasn't until the end when Rio finally made it above that I started to dislike things. It was such a short book, so I felt that the ending was rushed and that it was all happily ever after for Rio and Bay as they paired off and continued to live separately - which undid the entire book, as most of it centered around Rio's desire to find her sister again. Perhaps if it had been longer with more room for explanation and an unhappier ending I would have liked it more.

What did you read in July?