TBR Picks for July

Once again, I find myself wondering whether to choose any TBR picks for July. I'm currently reading Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie, which is the second book in The First Law Trilogy. I really want to go straight into the third one when I've finished it, so that the story is fresh in my mind. 

I've also picked out several other books that I want to read, but they're all on my kindle, which doesn't exactly help with getting through the physical books! Most of them are fantasy series too, which means, if I like them, I'll probably want to read the follow ups straight away.

So, what to do?

Well, I think I might mix things up a bit by choosing both a physical book and a Kindle one for some of the prompts, and I'll read whichever one I feel like, depending on my mood. But I'll start with the definites, and the definitely maybes.

1. Last Argument Of Kings by Joe Abercrombie - As mentioned, I definitely want to read the final book in The First Law Trilogy

2. Oldest book on my list - The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge - from 2nd Dec 2025. I'm not sure if this is actually a children's book though? And the kindle book that I've had the longest is Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang.

 

3. The Institute by Stephen King - I'll give this a try.

4. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I actually read this a few years ago, but it's come up as a book club choice, although it's a 'maybe' at the moment. I'd need to either get a copy from Vinted, or a charity shop, or see if the price drops on Kindle. I'm tempted to read it again though, because I actually have the two other books in the trilogy.

So I think I'll choose six TBR prompts now to take me to 10:

5. TV/Movie Adaptation (AGAIN!) - The Revenant by Michael Punke. This was made into a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I've read it before and really enjoyed it, so I hope I still like it the second time around. (Annoyingly, The Institute would've fit this prompt too!). On Kindle, I've got The Martian by Andy Weir, which was made into a film starring Matt Damon.

 

6. Pink Book - The Island Home by Libby Page. My copy looks a bit more pink than the picture. And on Kindle, I had quite a few to choose from, but working from oldest to newest, this was the first one - Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.

 

7. Country House Setting - The Lost Ones by Anita Frank. "Imposing country mansion..." And on Kindle, Hawthorn by Elaine Thomson. Not sure if this fits the prompt, but there is a house in a remote area, so it's close enough.

 

8. Thriller - A Case Of Mice And Murder by Sally Smith. Well, I decided I'm not really into thrillers any more, mainly of the psychological kind, so this is more of a murder mystery. It's the first in a series though, and I want to see if I like it and whether I'd want to continue with the others. Looks like I do still have some thrillers on my kindle, so I've chosen The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager.

 

9. Flower on the cover - When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. Not sure about this one, but it's apparently 'feminist and funny'. On Kindle, I've got The Night Counsellor by L.K. Pang.

 

10. Food on the cover - A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers. I think this was actually the only option I had. And on Kindle, The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen.

 

I've just remembered that I also finally caved in and bought the hardcover version of House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and thought I might start reading that on the 1st July and see if I can have it finished by the end of the year!

Obviously I'm not going to be able to read all these, but I'm quite excited about this list and I like that I've given myself some extra choices.

 

June Reading Wrap Up

June wasn't a great reading month, I was definitely in a bit of a DNF / changed my mind kind of slump.

1. The Outsider by Stephen King.

The first SK book that I actually quite enjoyed.

2. The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

Interesting and moving.

3. Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh 

A DNF

4. Red Queen by Christina Henry

Not bad, but not as good as Alice.

5. The Ghost Woods by C. J. Cooke

It was ok, but I'm getting bored of botanical horror.

6. Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

Cringeworthy, love-to-hate main character.

7. The Witches At The End Of The World by Chelsea Iversen

A DNF.

8. There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm

Bizarre!

9. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Bleak, sad, depressing. But good writing.

10. A Haunting On The Hill by Elizabeth Hand

A disappointing DNF.

I didn't get around to reading The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell.

A Haunting On The Hill by Elizabeth Hand

Started: 21.6.26

DNF: 28.6.26

Hardcover

TBR Prompt: ghosts and supernatural

I was looking forward to reading this, but unfortunately I decided to DNF it. I made it to page 212, but by this point I hadn't warmed to any of the characters. They all seemed a bit nasty towards each other, though I realise that that may have been the house affecting them. I found them all quite pretentious too, and the whole storyline of the play was quite boring. I did skip to the end and read the last few chapters, but overall I didn't really feel like this story gave Hill House (as a 'character' in itself) the credit it deserves. The few odd things that had happened up to the point where I stopped - the hares, the tablecloth, the boy in the woods, the magazine - were just that, a bit odd, but not in any way creepy. There were brief mentions of people who had died at Hill House in the past, one of which was clearly Eleanor from the original story, but other than that, no real links to the Shirley Jackson book. I think it might have been more interesting if there had been a link; maybe a descendant of Dr Montague or Luke, or someone researching what had happened to them. 

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Started: 16.6.26

Finished: 25.6.26

Kindle

Book club choice

This book gets rave reviews so I feel like there is something wrong with me for not really enjoying it. The writing was good, yes, I definitely felt the stark beauty and the harsh dangers of Alaska. But I just found the whole thing so sad. I mean, I think that was kind of the point, in a story about the effects of war, about domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, illness, grief for lost loved ones. I don't need perfect happy endings all the time, even though this one did end on a slightly more positive note, but it was mostly just really bleak. 

There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm

Started: 16.6.26

Finished: 18.6.26

Hardcover

TBR prompt: Five word title

I have no idea what I've just read.

The Witches At The End Of The World by Chelsea Iversen

Started: 16.6.26

DNF: 16.6.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Animals on the cover

I only got to page 40, but I was already finding the character of Minna to be quite annoying. I just don't think I was in the mood for female rage and witchy revenge.

Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

Started: 14.6.26

Finished: 15.6.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Yellow book

With themes of racism, cultural appropriation, dishonesty and ambition at any cost, this is a heavy book, but also a really fun one, told from the POV of a cringeworthy, 'love-to-hate' character who goes to great lengths to justify her actions. If you've ever had even the tiniest yearning to be a published author, this story may make you reconsider, and it also shines a light on the horrors of social media, whether you're everyone's darling or public enemy No. 1.

The Ghost Woods by C. J. Cooke

Started: 12.6.26

Finished: 14.6.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Gothic vibes

It took me a while to get into this book, there were a couple of times when I almost DNF'd it. It follows the timelines of two women, Mabel and Pearl, both pregnant but unmarried, which means they are sent to Lichen Hall, a mother and baby home. Here, the expectation is that they will give birth and then their babies will be adopted. Their timelines are only about 6 years apart though, and some of the other characters appeared in both, so I was often very confused about whose story I was reading.

The book demonstrates the social constraints and degrading treatment faced by unmarried pregnant women at the time, and touches on the fear and discrimination felt by the LGBTQIA+ community too. Apparently it's the third book in a trio dealing with nature and motherhood, the first two instalments being The Nesting and The Lighthouse Witches, but I believe they're standalone novels.

I didn't find the creepy elements of the story to be particularly scary at all, but I think that's because I'm a bit over the whole 'botanical horror' trope.

Red Queen by Christina Henry

Started: 7.6.26

Finished: 11.6.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Two word title

This is the follow up to Alice, and I've just looked at that picture and it says THE Red Queen. But my book definitely doesn't have a 'THE', so I'm sticking with that.

Anyway, this is once again a very dark reimagining, involving some of the characters from the original stories. I was looking forward to reading this, but if I'm honest, I think I was getting a bit bored with it, which is why it's taken me a while to get through it. It seemed to be dragging quite a bit as though there was a lot of padding just to make it long enough, and it felt a bit all over the place towards the end. Having said that though, I do really like Christina Henry's writing and I've got quite a few of her other books lined up to read.

Small Book Unhaul

I've just DNF'd Let Me Lie, because I'm not really into psychological thrillers any more. I've had a quick look through my books and pulled out a few more, including two that were on my June TBR list! I've also picked out one or two other books from different genres, that I'm going to list on Vinted.

The books I'm parting with are:

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

The Lake by Catherine Cooper

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

The Sound Of Silence by Sheila Quigley

The Other People by C.J. Tudor

The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas

The Unexpected Joy Of The Ordinary by Catherine Gray

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Just ten books, but it's made a little bit of space on the shelves!