Whew. July was hot-hot-hot, y’all. The heat definitely had an impact on my reading {as well as everything else}, and it slowed way down. I think it was the middle of the month before I finished my first read? I only managed to squeak out this many {a staggering 5 books} for the month by finishing 3 separate books on the 31st. Talk about cutting it close … August has dawned with a break in the heat, a nice little rain, and I’ve already finished my first book! So there’s hope for us yet … Meanwhile, before we get too far into August, let’s look back at July. I am happy to report that I knocked out 3 Austenesque reads for Summer of Jane/A Very Jane Year.

📱 Austen at Sea | Natalie Jenner | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy of this one. Imagine being an American Janeite, and writing to her brother of your admiration for his sister, only to receive an invitation to visit. I loved this historical imagining, and the literary references throughout – complete with Louisa May Alcott making an appearance.

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) | Jesse Q Sutanto | DNF @ 75%
I don’t usually include DNF books in this manner, but I feel like I need to. This started out with the same tone and feel as the first, with the hilarious twist of Vera learning to navigate social media in her quest to solve the mystery of influencer Xander’s death. But it took a very dark turn {which I was partially expecting after seeing Lisa’s blurb, but not that direction}, with a very real case of the ick by the time Millie writes a letter to Vera. I actually didn’t finish reading the letter, because I did not need/want those images in my mind, and I returned the Libby loan on the spot.
Content Warning: trafficking.

🎧 Stuck Up and Stupid | Angourie Rice & Kate Rice | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This Australian-based retelling of Pride & Prejudice was an easy, breezy listen. Loved the fact that the main characters are the daughters of 5 sisters who are clearly the Bennet sisters, with their respective histories. The update for Collins was beautifully done, as was the Wickham figure.

📖 Mansfield Park | Jane Austen | ⭐⭐ 1/2
Oof. At least I finally managed to read this one, even if it did take quite literally the entire month. Full thoughts and impressions can be found here.

🎧 Atmosphere | Taylor Jenkins Reid | ⭐⭐⭐
I’ve seen several reviews that say the same thing I’m about to: I wanted more space. As far back as I can remember, space has fascinated. I remember the Columbia, but was too little to remember Challenger. I wanted more of the astronaut journey. I wanted to watch the women – and men – involved in the growing shuttle missions. I wanted space. I should have know from the “a love story” tag that it wouldn’t be all space geekery, but I also did not expect the romance that we were given. So … mixed impressions. But masterfully narrated by Julia Whelan, as always.

📱 Heart in the Highlands | Heidi Kimball | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was an instagram book club pick that got a little lost in the shuffle. Oopsie. But loved the Scottish Highlands setting, and found the story enjoyable. Although Callum and Kate could have solved all their problems much earlier with a solid sit-down conversation. Sigh.

Listening:
Not as many audiobooks {I had actually started Vera on audio, so “lost” some reading time there}, but continuing the podcast listening and a lot of Spotify playlists.

Watching:
Slightly more watching happened this month … Emphasis on slightly. We did at least manage to finally catch up on our backlog of YouTube videos.

• 🎬 Gilded Newport Mysteries: Murder at the Breakers | Library DVD
  You can read more of my thoughts here, but this was an enjoyably quick watch. The filming locations are absolutely stunning.

On the Blog:
You can tell it’s garden season when there are fewer bookish posts {and the reverse is true once it gets colder}. I did launch my first Page to Screen movie night post however, and it took quite literally all month but I finally managed to read Mansfield Park. The quarterly-ish update post on my book blanket progress went slightly viral and I had some very large blog view days/it is now my most popular post by a longshot. And of course, the big announcement that we officially have two roosters in our little flock. {Still waiting on those first eggs!} We harvested onions and have been feasting on the fresh and wonderful things growing in the garden.

It was a very slow month of reading, between garden busyness and the persistent and awful heat, but it was also a substantial book haul month. That’s what happens when it’s your birthday month, and you enter a new decade: you get book treats. {It’s science!} It is probably a good thing I skipped the August BOTM, because y’all … I’ve got oodles of amazing books to read!

As mentioned earlier, I’ve already finished my first book of August {and officially hit 50/100 of my Goodreads goal!}, so hopefully the trend continues and there’s more to talk about next time.

How did July treat you? Was your reading sluggish or did you tackle your TBR with gusto?
What was the best read of the month?