Weekly Wrap-Up: 8/4 – 8/10

It’s slightly late, but something came up later in the day yesterday, so I didn’t have time to finish this up. Oh well. At least last week went pretty well – I’m actually pretty satisfied with what I was able to do.

I did three blog posts this past week. Three in one week – that’s the first time in a while. Which is simultaneously both unfortunate that it’s been a few weeks since it last happened, but also fantastic that it happened again. I really hope that this is a sign of good posting to come for me. Oh, and I did read (part of) a book last week as well, so there’s progress on that front, too.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!

Tuesday 8/5: The Most Interesting Looking New Books of August 2025

Last Tuesday, I posted a list of the books that I’m looking forward to this month. Or, at least the ones that I think look the most interesting. It was the Most Interesting Looking New Books of August 2025. As always, it’s basically only fantasy and science fiction, as those are the two genres I primarily read. This time I had four books on my list.

Wednesday 8/6: Can’t-Wait Wednesday

This past Wednesday, I did another Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the first time in two weeks. I also made a new graphic for the featured image!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.

Sunday 8/10: July Reading 2025

On Sunday, I posted my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up for July 2025. And it was posted at a reasonable time of the month this time! For those who don’t know, monthly wrap-ups are when I go over the books I read over the past month, as well as my stats over on The StoryGraph.

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, last week was a big improvement in regards to my blog activity, and I at the very least, read something. And with how the summer has been so far… I’m counting that as a win. I’m hoping that I can keep this up.

For blog posts this week, I’m planning on doing a couple of the usual ones that I participate in sometimes. In particular, one that I haven’t done at all for the last couple of months. I also might do another post that is one of my originals, though I’m not sure yet.

Regarding reading books, I ended up DNF-ing the one I tried to read last week. I just couldn’t get into it, though I did like the writing. For this week, I’m gonna finally get back into buddy-ret One Piece with my spouse. It’s been ten months since we left off at the time skip (which was the perfect spot to pause, honestly), but it’s definitely been too long I think, and we’re eager to get back into it. I don’t know if I’ll read anything else this week, so there probably won’t be a review since I dropped the novel I read this past week as well. We’ll see.

Concerning stuff outside of books and blogging… Nothing has really changed, honestly. We’re still trying to eat better and be more active, but that’s kind of all. I guess my spouse and I finally finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 last weekend, but other than that we haven’t done much besides hanging out and watching YouTube.

I guess we also both read/are currently reading Aurora: Volume #1, so I guess we’re technically buddy-reading that, but that’s involved with books. I’m gonna try to talk to them about figuring out something more specific to watch next, other than stuff on YouTube because we can’t just watch that all the time, so hopefully that’ll pan out.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Monthly Wrap-Up: July Reading 2025

Another month, another reading wrap-up! It’s a little bit late, but I’m not posting it as late as I have the last couple of months – particularly last month, ew – so I’m considering this a win. Anyway, here it is: my reading wrap-up for July 2025!

Like in June, and earlier in the year during February, my reading in July was kind of pretty not-good. I also once again didn’t post as much on the blog as I wanted to, but whatever. I’m definitely planning on doing better during August, but we’ll see what happens.

Anyway, let’s just start talking about my StoryGraph statistics from last month!

July Reading 2025

I read 1 book and 384 pages

😐 MOODS: I had three Moods in July, which is the same as the month before. The Moods from this past month were: AdventurousLighthearted and Funny.

👢 PACE: The book I read last month was fast-paced.

🔢 PAGE NUMBER: The graphic novel I read last month was 384 pages.

📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction. As usual.

🎭 GENRES: There were two Genres on the graph this month. They were Fantasy and Graphic Novel.

📄 FORMAT: This pie chart was once again correct. Four months in a row. I didn’t know the Format chart had it in it.

⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 5.0, which makes sense as I only read one book and that was the rating I gave it.

📉 PAGES READ DAILY: My reading during July, as I’ve mentioned before, was pretty terrible. I didn’t really read anything until the very end of the month, wherein I read the novel over the last two days.

The Books I Read in July

★★★★★ • my review

Wrapping Up the Wrap-Up

So yeah, my reading was not great in July, and my blog activity was also not the best. I really, really want to do better in August though. Summer has always been kind of difficult for me where productivity is concerned, and that includes reading books. I don’t know why that is, and I hate that it is that way for me, but that’s just kind of how it is. The past two months have been particularly bad, though – I’ve never had a June and July come out this bad. But August is sometimes when I’m able to get back into it, so I’m hoping that’s the case for this year.

I absolutely have contingencies for my reading this month though. For one thing, I’m definitely (finally) getting back into reading One Piece in August, and the next arc is three super-volumes/omnibuses, so that’s three books right there. I’d also really like to read at least two other books, so hopefully that will also happen. I don’t know yet if there’s gonna be stuff from my TBR, if I’m gonna spontaneously pick stuff or it’ll be both yet, though. I very much want to get back on track with everything – I love reading more than mostly everything and this blog is important to me, even if sometimes both feel like a bit of a slog.

Anyway, as always, thank you for joining me in checking out my StoryGraph stats for my July reading in 2025. Thank you also for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 7/14 – 7/20

So… yeah… this is late. I don’t have an excuse. It was just a bit of a rough start to the week for me, I guess. At least I can say it’s not Thursday this time? (I hate that I can say that.)

Though last week wasn’t great in the reading books department, it was pretty good for the blog posting department. I finally did more than two posts in a week in July 2025! Yay! Four would’ve been better, but, oh well.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!

Wednesday 7/16: Can’t-Wait Wednesday

Last Wednesday, I did another Can’t-Wait Wednesday again. One more week and it’ll be a streak!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.

Thursday 7/17: June Reading 2025

On Thursday, I posted my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up for June 2025. It was posted later than I’d have liked, but with all the stuff at the beginning of this month, I’m not surprised or too disappointed it took this long. For those who don’t know, monthly wrap-ups are when I go over the books I read over the past month, as well as my stats over on The StoryGraph.

Sunday 7/20: Birthstone Book Covers

This past Saturday, I participated in Birthstone Book Covers. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun little post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black.

Each month, for the post, you feature book covers that are either the same color of the month’s birthstone or include the color in the title. This month was July, and its birthstones is ruby. So the color of the month was red.

Books I Read Last Week

💖🎁 Wrapping It All Up 💖🎁

So yeah, my blog activity was pretty decent part week, and I’m happy with it. Regarding books and reading them though… yeah that could’ve been better. I dunno what it is about the summer months – I just have more trouble than normal getting into books and stuff.

This week I’m just planning on some of the usual stuff. Like, I’ll participate in or do some of the usual suspects. You know. I also want to try and finish a book and maybe do a review of it before the end of the week. Hopefully.

Last week was cleaning week, so we cleaned the house and stuff. Other than that, it’s pretty much just the same old kind of thing going on. Just watching what we’re eating and taking care of ourselves.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Birthstone Book Covers: July 2025

Like last month, t’s a little later in the month again, but I’m here again participating in another Birthstone Book Covers!

Birthstone Book Covers is a fun monthly post created by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black. Each month, she features book covers that are either the same color of that month’s birthstone or include the color in the title.

July has one birthstone – Ruby.

Rules:

📚 Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black) and link back to her so she can check out your post.
📚 Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
📚 HAVE FUN!
📚 Nominate people if you want!

Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher
The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake
The Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen

What are your favorite books with red book covers? If you participated in Birthstone Books, which books did you choose this July?

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have the most amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 6/30 – 7/6

Yeah, I know I’m a day late again with the Weekly Wrap-Up. But this time it actually wasn’t my fault! I actually managed my time and stuff properly yesterday, and was raring to go with this! It was the art program I use to make graphics and images – it was misbehaving and wasn’t saving any changes to anything you made and needed some fixing. But it’s all good now, which is why I’m posting this!

Last week, in comparison to yesterday, I didn’t really manage my time and stuff as well. I only really read like a part of a book – and a novella at that! – and I only managed to get two posts out. Suffice to say, I’m annoyed with myself. And I want to do better this week.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!

Thursday 7/3: The Most Interesting Looking New Books of July 2025

Last Thursday, I posted a list of the books that I’m looking forward to this month. Or, at least the ones that I think look the most interesting. It was the Most Interesting Looking New Books of July 2025. As always, it’s basically only fantasy and science fiction, as those are the two genres I primarily read. This time I had four books on my list.

Friday 7/4: 4th of July – Independence Day

Friday was the 4th of July 🎆🎇🎆🎇 otherwise known as Independence Day 🇺🇸🎊🇺🇸🎊 for America. It was a lot of fun, part of my family always has a 4th of July party, and there was great food and great company. We unfortunately don’t really do fireworks anymore, because of the area the people hosting the party live, as well as the time of day that the party is at, but it was still a good time.

Afterwards, my spouse and I just kind of went home and chilled, and that was really nice. We also ended up watching a fireworks show streamed through YouTube on our TV, with fireworks sounding off in the background from the streets around our house to complement it. Anyway, it was a great day.

Sunday 7/6: How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps Review

On Sunday, I did another book review, this time for a novella I recently read. It was Bow to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe. It was a fun little book with lots of The Legend of Zelda references, and I definitely recommend it to fans of the video game series. It was also an entertaining little fantasy book without the Zelda stuff and I gave it ★★★★✯.

Books I Read Last Week

💖🎁 Wrapping It All Up 💖🎁

So yeah, last week wasn’t the most productive with either blog activity or reading books, but it could’ve been worse. It definitely also could have been better, but, yeah. I’m hoping to improve during this coming week.

This week I’m absolutely going to post my monthly reading wrap-up for June 2025. I’m also probably going to do a couple of the other weekly posts I usually do, and hopefully I’ll get another book review out as well. I’m also hoping to start a new book, too, though I’m not sure which one yet.

Nothing else really happened last week aside from the holiday, but I’m still doing my usual stuff like watching what I’m eating and more home cooking. My spouse and I did finish with our rewatch of Avatar: The Last Airbender though, and are figuring out stuff to watch next. We’ll definitely continue making our way through Frazier, which is something we’ve been doing on and off for the last couple of months, and I’m looking forward to that.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

The Most Interesting Looking New Books of July 2025

Hey there everybody! Another month, another bunch of new books that are coming out! Yep, it’s The Most Intriguing New Books of July 2025.

This used to be a quarterly post, but I’ve recently decided to do it monthly instead. Also, even though this post is about new releases, it’s primarily focused on fantasy and science fiction, as those are the genres I tend to prefer to read. (Not to say other genres won’t ever appear on these lists – it just isn’t super likely; it’s likely to be a very rare occurrence if it happens at all.)

If you’ve seen this post by me before, you know the drill; I’m only interested in these books – there’s no guarantee that I’m gonna read all of them. There’s not even a guarantee that I’m gonna read even half of them. We shall see. Anyway, let’s get going! This month there are four books that have caught my eye.

RELEASING: July 1st

A young thief attempting a daring casino heist during a high-stakes tournament is torn between two warring brothers in Den of Liars.
 
Lola St. James is the world’s best kept secret. When her father’s loss in the Liar’s Dice Tournament–a high-stakes competition where players are forced to gamble with their deepest secrets–made her a target, she was rescued by the Thief, the notorious leader of the Tentacles. But the Thief’s kindness came with a Lola’s heart. In the years that follow, she and the Thief form a bond like no other, able to feel each other’s emotions because of their shared heart.
 
Now, living under the pseudonym Astra, she is determined to prove herself and become a full-fledged Tentacle. But when a critical heist goes sideways, the only way forward is for Lola to compete in the Liar’s Dice Tournament herself. Lola is confident in her ability to pull off any heist, but the Thief’s mysterious brother, the Liar, runs the game and he turns out to be more than she bargained for. As her attraction for him grows and illusions run wild, she will be forced to confront the secrets of her past, the truth of the brothers’ shared history, and the lies she tells herself.

RELEASING: July 15th

New York Times bestselling author Sarah Beth Durst invites you to her new standalone novel nestled on a far-away island brimming with singing flowers, honey cakes, and honeyed love. The hardcover edition features beautiful sprayed edges.

Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.

This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.

But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.

This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.

Funny, kind, and forgiving, The Enchanted Greenhouse is a story about giving second chances—to others and to yourself.

RELEASING: July 29th

Ninth House meets Legendborn in this thrilling first book in a dark academia fantasy series about a teen who’s willing to do anything to find her brother—even infiltrate a secret society full of monsters.

When August’s brother disappears before his sophomore semester, everyone thinks the stress of college got to him. But August knows her brother would never have left her voluntarily, especially not after their mother so recently went missing. 

The only clue he left behind was a note telling her to stay safe and protect their remaining family. And after August is attacked by a ten-foot-tall creature with fur and claws, she realizes that her brother might be in more danger than she could have imagined. 

Unfortunately for her, the only person with a connection to the mysterious creature is the bookish Virgil Hawthorne…and he knows about them because he is one. If he doesn’t find a partner to help control his true nature, he’ll lose his humanity and become a mindless beast—exactly what the secret society he’s grown up in would love to put down. 

Virgil makes a proposition: August will join his society and partner with him, and in return, he’ll help her find her brother. And so August is plunged into a deadly competition to win one of the few coveted candidate spots, all while trying to accept a frightening reality: that monsters are real, and she has to learn to master them if she’s to have any hope of saving her brother. 

RELEASING: July 29th

Fans of the hit webcomic Aurora, will delight in the first series installment in print, which follows a found family of heroes on a journey to save a god from an immortal witch. 

The shining city of Vash in the world of Aurora is protected by a great and powerful god of the same name, but even Vash’s incarnation cannot withstand the Collector, an immortal sorceress bent on unmaking the world. Vash’s city is destroyed and his soul abducted, leaving only ruins and the wounded, empty body of his incarnation. When newborn soul Kendal awakens in the body, he is driven to rescue the imprisoned Vash. Now Kendal must grapple with living as a mortal and defeating a force powerful enough to sunder the gods.

Kendal is aided by the friends he makes along the way: Alinua, a volatile elven hermit terrified of her uncontrollable life magic; Erin, the prideful Elemental Magus, master of all six elements, who is burdened with a world-shattering curse; and Falst, a surly beastman trying to find his way in a world that hates him. Together, they will journey through magic and mystery, explore perilous environments, and confront ancient forces. Stars dance beyond the shimmering curtains of Aurora; it is time to draw those curtains back…

With exclusive author commentary and bonus story content, Aurora (Volume 1) has plenty for both fans and new readers to enjoy. 

So yeah, these are all of the books releasing in the in July 2025 that I’m at least a little interested in. What books are coming out soon that you’re looking forward to? Do we share some of the same ones?

As always, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar