The month of July passed by like a blur. It is a long month, for me, as a lot of things happened that affected me and my work. It was a long and good ride, but somehow I have seen this coming.
Anyway, I am not being sentimental today. I am here to do a wrap-up, which is a bit late. The beginning of the month was not as good as other months, but I managed to catch up with my reading near the end. So for this month, I managed to finish 10 books! However, I will not include the books that I have read during The Reading Rush as I already posted my wrap-up for that readathon. I will link that wrap-up down below if you have not check it out yet.
Also, I have an exciting book haul to show you guys. I only hauled 3 books for this month but they’re so beautiful.
Without further ado, let’s get into the wrap-up!
Reading Wrap-Up📚
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
↠ Four different worlds, yet all are called London. This book reminds me of why I love fantasy books. I am so engrossed with the whole story while I am reading it that I felt like I was transported to this world while reading the book. It is a good start for this month, though it took me some time to finish this book. I truly enjoy this, highly recommend!
Full Review📝
After The Funeral by Agatha Christie
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌘🌑
↠ I pick this book up in a whim. I long ago gave up on Agatha Christie, but I decided to read the books that most recommend as a good book from the Hercule Poirot series. And I might say, this is quite good, especially the revelation of the plot twist. Also, if you’re like me who hates Hasting, this book is for you.
Full Review📝
Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌖🌑
↠ This is another case by Poirot that I found heartbreaking. I saw this in the list of Top Ten Best Thriller by Agatha Christie, and though I don’t find the mystery and plot as exciting, it’s the motive and the reason behind the secrecy that breaks my heart.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
↠ I never thought that I would give a Hercule Poirot novel a 5-moon rating, but here we are! To be honest, this is more of a 4.25 to 4.5 reads, but it reminds me of Detective Conan so I gave it a full 5-moon rating. This is unlike any other Poirot novel. I can’t wait to read And Then There Were None as I heard that is the best book by Agatha Christie.
A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
Rating:🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
↠ This is the first Miss Marple novel that I read, and I already love her. I feel like she is my grandmother. I truly care for her as a character. Story-wise, I enjoyed it as well. You can really distinguish this story from Poirot’s. But there is still the classic Agatha Christie signature in the story, and somehow it works better here than most novels of Poirot that I read.
Check out my The Reading Rush Wrap-up for the last 4 books that I finished this month.
Now that is all said and done, it’s time for the book haul! I haven’t been buying a lot of books lately as I’m meaning to read most of my physical books. But I just can’t resist my latest purchase.
I’ve been seeing this trilogy EVERYWHERE in bookstagram. And I was more intrigued when I read Entertainment Weekly‘s blurb that it was “The Hunger Games meets The Night Circus”. If you still did not know, The Hunger Games is my life. And I may not love The Night Circus as much but I love the story-telling and the whimsical atmosphere of the book. So when you pitch it like that, I am already sold. I just hope this will not disappoint.
So that is all for this wrap-up and book haul! I hope you guys have a good reading month. Stay safe and healthy!
Until next time!
Maria❤
A Daughter of Parchment and Paper 
Hallo, Hallo Maria,
Travelling through the lovely blogs connected to the ‘Tour the World in 30 Books blog tour’ – I commend you for being able to post wrap-up posts each month (or thereabouts); somehow over the years those keep falling by the wayside. I even miss my WWWednesday posts and The Sunday Post as to be honest some weeks/days I’m just not able to compose my thoughts in time to participate which is a bit sad on one level and a bit hopeful on the other that one day I can resume.
I LOVE Agatha Christie myself – I started reading her when I was quite young indeed and she was my gateway into adult Cosy Mysteries as previously I was reading a lot of Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys before I transitioned into the adult world of Mystery. The the first moment I read her stories I was in LOVE. One day I have hopes of reading through her collective works and of starting Poirot all the wayy back at the beginning as I seriously missed out on him as I didn’t get to understand his character until my late twenties/early thirties when I started watching the adaptations on television and of course, the movie which featured him as well.
Miss Marple was my signature Christie character as a kid – similar to you, I felt keenly close to her as if she were a grandmother who loved to sleuth but it was her agility of mind and her wicked brilliant observation skills that warmed my heart to her stories. After you read quite a few of her stories you might want to seek out my favourite adaptations of hers which is the collection of films featuring Geraldine McEwan!! She really hones in on Marple and she’s such a delightful spirit to see capture this infamous character’s quirks, charms and heart.
Speaking of “The Night Circus” – I seriously need to finish reading that book this year as it has been languishing in wait for too many years since I first picked it up! lol Whilst I never was a reader for “The Hunger Games” – I’ll await your ruminative thoughts on this series as perhaps I might be inclined to read it myself. I haven’t heard anything about it (as of yet) that I remember and so that will be a refreshing surprise to see how this new world resonates with you having read both the inspirations being listed on its behalf.
Happy you had such a lovely July! I’ve been struggling since May with my reading queues (courtesy of severe seasonal allergies and an increase in my migraines) but overall, this year felt ‘off’ for reading and it was pre-pandemic as well as it was affecting me just before the ball dropped in Times Square last December. I feel better now in August – reading INSPY for a readathon has somehow given me back something I’ve lost and I’m hopeful the rest of the year will be better for me as a reader and as a blogger.
Here’s to finding new stories we both love to read!
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