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July Reading Recap: Twists, Trials & Magical Worlds
After ending June with a really good book that was finished on the very last day of the month and which you can read more about here, I started July with fresh powers and a lot more determined to read.
That's how I ended up mixing quite a few different genres for a single month, which reminded me again why I love reading so much. Because each story has its own emotion and world to teleport you into, which, nevertheless, makes daily routines a bit easier to digest. Sadly, as things don't always go as planned, this month I ended up reading more than 3 books because half of the month was spent visiting loved ones and travelling here and there, but overall I am happy that I still managed to finish a couple of books.
1. The Locked Door
It's been a while since I last read something from Freida McFadden, despite having a lot of her books released in my country too.
It's not because I don't resonate with her writing style anymore, but because I was afraid things might get a bit repetitive after more than 10 books I've read from this author. So, despite finding some common aspects that I've met previously in some of her books, the plot twists and overall story did not disappoint.
In fact, it's Freida's signature to never be able to figure out what's going to happen next or who is behind all the crimes happening in each book. Nevertheless, it made me read at night and be really curious to see how the whole story ends, which is funny since no other author made me spend the nights reading lately. Definitely a killer for reading slumps, but also an author you can never go wrong with if you are into crime and thriller genres. And this book made no exception in this case either.
The Locked Door by Freida McFadden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
2. Caraval (Caraval, #1)
Another "it's been a while" moment, also comes in the case of reading fiction, which for a long time was my most favourite genre when it came to reading. The funny thing is that I enjoy fiction books like hell, but then I can barely focus on SF movies, lol!
Anyways, I heard about the Caraval series since it was released, but since the books were dropped in a rather weird period of my life when I was barely reading anything, I kept postponing reading these books.
But as July turned out to be a month with a lot of curiosity in terms of reading, I ended up beginning the series with the first volume, also named Caraval. The title comes from the feeric world two sisters get to travel to with the hope to escape from the toxic life they had at home caused by their father. But what seemed like just a game with not too many risks, it quickly escalates into a chain of challenges, mystery and feelings more confusing than ever.
I won't get too much into details because I hate spoilers and I try not to share them either, but if I'd sum this book into a couple of words, these would be: sisters, love, compromises and decisions. Nevertheless, I'm really curious what the other books would bring since there were a lot of plot twists for a single book already.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3. Legendary (Caraval, #2)
Although I enjoyed it more than the first volume, I rated it the same just because I figured out some of the plot twists, and it ended up a bit abruptly, making sure you will move forward with the 3rd book as well.
But leaving these aspects aside, the 2nd volume of the Caraval series returned with an incredible story which caught my attention even more than the first volume that already felt hard to beat.
This time, the main protagonist of the book was Tella (Scarlet's sister), who joined the Caraval game just like Scarlet did in the first book, but where the prize was a lot more valuable than what the first book had to offer. I won't give any spoilers, but this book felt like a great lesson that although no one can choose his/her parents, they are still important in our lives as long as they are alive. And I really enjoyed discovering a few more aspects about the two sisters' family background.
Sadly, I did not succeed finishing the 3rd book of the series also in July, but I already can't wait to share more about it in August's recap because I am loving it so far!
Legendary by Stephanie Garber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Check out my previous monthly recaps:
- August Recap: 9 Books That Kept Me Hooked
- September Recap: What I've Read Last Month?
- October Recap: My Best Reading Month Yet
- November Recap: The Good, The Cozy, and The Unexpected
- December Recap: The Books That Closed My Year
- January Recap: New Year, New Books
- February Recap: Books That Stole My Attention, Not My Heart
- March Recap: From Thrills to Cozy Corners
- April Recap: Smut, Thrills & Bad Decisions
- May Reading Recap: The End Of My Reading Slump
- June Reading Recap: Chaos, Obsession & Unexpected Turns
- July Reading Recap: Twists, Trials & Magical Worlds
Gabriela Travels is a Curator for Worldmappin and Hive Gaming communities, but also the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences.
At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe.
Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (350+ articles written on this field), but also approaching other topics as well, like game and book reviews, lets plays, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 850+ blog posts.
Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, owning a YouTube channel for each of the two.
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You introduced me to Mcfadden’s books and now it’s been hard to read any other author. You should check out The divorce if you havent already. Im going to check the locked door.
Haha, happy to hear that! She definitely is an author everyone can fall in love with, pretty quick! Haven't read The Divorce yet, but it's on my list. Thanks for the recommendation :)