July 2026 Reads

LOL. The last two months have been such a blur, I just simply did not have the energy to sit down and write reviews for the books I read in July. 

To be honest, this is the first time since I started doing these monthly reading review blogs that I considered skipping it. 😬 But, alas, I did read a lot of really great books in July as I finished working on my deck and far be it from me to not record my thoughts on each one. 

(Also peep the unsolicited before and after photos of my now-painted deck. 🙂)

A split image of a outside deck. The top image is the deck with clean bare wood. The bottom image is of the deck painted a cedar brown.

Personally I like it more without paint, but alas, HOA rules and all that.

So with that, let’s get into everything I read in July. 

**All summaries are taken or paraphrased from Goodreads.

The image is a screenshot of the audiobook Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro in the Libby app.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Summary: From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.

My Thoughts: Ugh. Okay y’all. Although this book started just a touch slow, it quickly grabbed me in a bear hug. Klara is an Artificial Friend who has been waiting patiently on a shelf at the store for a customer to come in and choose her. Although Manager warns her not to put too much stock in a human child’s promise, Klara can’t help but be hopeful. When she’s finally taken home to be the AI friend of an ailing girl named Josie, she is beyond excited. The entire book is from Klara’s perspective, so as she’s learning new things like how to interpret human emotions, the nuances to teenage behaviors, and Josie’s dysfunctional family dynamics, you’re also getting hints as to what the reality of this situation actually entails. It’s clear there’s something weird going on related to Josie’s sickness and all arrows are pointing towards something nefarious. However, then the author takes a VERY bland turn with the plot and it was kind of like “...wait, wut?” Idk y’all. I’m definitely going to watch the show or movie or whatever kind of adaptation is coming out for this book, but the plateaued plot and ending just didn’t make sense to me. 

A sceenshot of the audiobook Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe in the Libby app.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES by Rufi Thorpe

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary: As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet's always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naivetĂ© and a yearning for something bigger. Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?

My Thoughts: So although I’ve heard great things about it, I don’t have AppleTV and thus cannot watch this show. However, Elle Fanning is the narrator for the audiobook anyway, so I honestly feel like I’m not missing out on anything because this experience was so much fun! After getting pregnant from an affair with her English professor, nineteen-year-old Margo decides to go through with having the baby. Even though everyone is advising against it and she’s not really sure what this whole “becoming a parent” experience will entail, she’s confident it’s what she wants. Turns out, it’s pretty expensive lol, and she is in dire need of some quick cash to prevent getting evicted. Luckily, there’s this new website called OnlyFans that gives her the opportunity to charge people for “exclusive” content. While Margo endeavors on this lucrative journey of building a brand for herself in a salacious space, she’s also rebuilding a relationship with her ex-pro wrestler, formerly-estranged father, and fighting a custody battle that’s initiated by her baby daddy. This book was an absolute HOOT. I listened to a majority of it while deep into my deck cleaning project and found myself cackling like a squawking bird multiple times. It’s funny, raunchy, wholesome, refreshing, and honestly just a fantastic “rooting for the underdog” story. If you haven’t watched the show yet, I highly recommend reading the book first!

A screeshot of the audiobook for Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino in the Libby app.

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

BEST OFFER WINS by Marisa Kashino

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Summary: Eighteen months and 11 lost bidding wars into house-hunting in the overheated Washington, DC suburbs, 37-year-old publicist Margo Miyake gets a tip about the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, slated to come up for sale in one month. Desperate to escape the cramped apartment she shares with her husband Ian — and in turn, get their marriage, plan to have a baby, and whole life back on track — Margo becomes obsessed with buying the house before it’s publicly listed and the masses descend (with unbeatable, all-cash offers in hand). A little stalking? Harmless. A bit of trespassing? Necessary. As Margo infiltrates the homeowners’ lives, her tactics grow increasingly unhinged—but just when she thinks she’s won them over, she hits a snag in her plan. Undeterred, Margo will prove again and again that there’s no boundary she won’t cross to seize the dream life she’s been chasing. The most unsettling part? You’ll root for her, even as you gasp in disbelief.

My Thoughts: For anyone who has experienced the frustrations and woes of the current housing market recently, this book is for you. Margo and her husband have been looking for a house for more than a year. They’ve lost countless bidding wars and cannot wait to get out of their tiny DC apartment. When they find the perfect house to raise a family in, Margo is determined to make it theirs. Even if that means doing some pretty unhinged shit and creating a lie so deep, she’d have to crawl her way out of it lol. Listen, Margo isn’t necessarily a likable character and she is FOR SURE morally gray, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching just how far she’d go to get this house. There were several times where things started going south or the situation became a little too creepy for comfort, and I was hoping that’d be the moment Margo would ease up on her convoluted plans. However, homie just doubled down on them every time. As I said, if you’ve experienced some recent homebuying woes or are looking for a story that leans into how far people are willing to go to get their dream home, this book is definitely worth it.

A screenshot of the audiobook Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab in the Libby app.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL by V.E.Schwab

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Summary: This is a story about hunger. 1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets. This is a story about love. 1827. London. A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined. This is a story about rage. 2019. Boston. College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge. This is a story about life—how it ends, and how it starts.

My Thoughts: I’m lowkey embarrassed to say that the only other book I had read by V.E. Schwab before this was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Like I know this author has some absolute bangers, but they just haven’t come across my “desk” as much as you’d think. After reading this though, I’m obsessed with her writing. This story follows three women from different centuries, with a timeline hopping between eras and eventually converging in the present (2019) where Alice wakes up feeling a bit off after a one-night stand with a woman she met at the first American college party she attended as a Scottish expat. She’s looking for answers, and the only way to get them is to find the girl who left nothing behind except a single Post-it note on Alice’s lamp as a goodbye. We also get to know Maria who is living in the 1500s and trapped in a loveless arranged marriage. After meeting a woman who claims she can help her escape her monster of a husband, Maria’s life takes a turn she never expected and gives her the opportunity to completely reinvent herself. The way the writing had me absolutely invested in these women’s lives, especially as the story moved between different eras and revealed what happened when their paths crossed. Not to mention, you’re also trying to figure out how they’re all connected in the present. Small spoiler, but some of these characters turn out to be absolute asshole narcissists lol. Overall though, I haven’t felt this immersed in a story in a while. 

My hand holds a book called Annie Bot. The cover is pink and white swirls with Annie Bot written in the center.

ANNIE BOT by Sierra Greer

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner, Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the cute outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard. She’s learning, too. Doug says he loves that Annie’s artificial intelligence makes her seem more like a real woman, but the more human Annie becomes, the less perfectly she behaves. As Annie's relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder whether Doug truly desires what he says he does. In such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

My Thoughts: This book has been on my radar for a few years and since I’ve been so into sci-fi this year, I figured it’d be a perfect time to get it from the library. Annie is a robot designed to be the perfect romantic partner for her owner Doug. He’s trained her to cater to his emotional and physical needs, and satisfying Doug is Annie’s primary goal in life. It helps that her artificial intelligence makes her feel more like a real woman, but the more human Annie becomes, the more mistakes she makes. In a role where she’s expected to be perfect, these new flaws cause tension in her relationship with Doug, and Annie starts to wonder where his heart truly lies. This book was so interesting to read. The entire story is told from Annie’s perspective which means you’re along for the ride as she pieces together what it means to be more human, how to ensure Doug’s satisfaction, and the pivotal moments that have her questioning her purpose and existence. At less than 300 pages with a very likable protagonist, this book was such an easy read despite the parts of this world that are saturated with misogyny. If you’re looking for a short sci-fi with a different flair from the usual, I definitely recommend picking this up!

A screenshot of the audiobook The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt in the Libby app.

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

THE ANXIOUS GENERATION: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary: After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why? In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the play-based childhood began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the phone-based childhood in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this great rewiring of childhood has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.

My Thoughts: Okay, so although there wasn’t anything particularly SHOCKING in this book, it was still ridiculously interesting. Obviously we’ve become a culture heavily dependent on technology, but the demographic suffering the most from its negative mental health effects are children and teens. It was honestly fascinating to hear about the different parenting styles that have emerged as social media and technology have become more prominent in childhood. The author also touches on how fewer daily face-to-face interactions has contributed to a decline in their ability to build deeper interpersonal relationships, read other people’s body language, and more. As a millennial who grew up with a “family computer” in the “den,” it was really interesting to think about how my relationship with tech, social media, etc. has evolved over the years, specifically in my personal life. It also solidified how freaking glad I am that social media wasn’t AS prominent during my key developmental years as it is now. Like ya girl wore a choker, had transition lenses, and was no stranger to snacks. So while that era of my life is now safe to reflect on and cringe at, I cannot imagine what it would’ve been like to be chronically online and comparing myself to influencers through that phase of life. Anyways, I thought this book was really fascinating, well-researched and written, and I highly recommend it. 

A screenshot fo the audiobook The Radium Girls in the Libby app.

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

THE RADIUM GIRLS: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary: The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive—until they begin to fall mysteriously ill. But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.

My Thoughts: If you have no idea who the Radium Girls are, stop what you’re doing and request this book from the library. I had never heard of them before reading this and I am in AWE that more people aren’t talking about it. This book is about the hundreds of women who worked in the clock painting factories in the early to mid 1900s. Their job was to put the numbers onto watch faces with a special paint containing radium which would make the numbers glow. The technique many of them followed was to put the paint brush in their mouth to wet the bristles and bring them to a point, then dip the brush into the paint, apply it to the watch face and then bring it to their lips again. They were told radium is completely safe and they have nothing to worry about. Some of the girls would even paint their faces after their shift so that they’d be glowing when they headed out into the night. It wasn’t until later that the radium poisoning started to manifest in sarcoma cancer, dental necrosis, issues with their joints, and much more. I cannot believe I had never heard of their decades-long legal fight against the big radium companies trying to get retribution for the health issues their clock painting jobs caused when they were led to believe it was completely safe. Although this book is technically a non-fiction, the writing is incredibly narrative, so it feels like you’re reading a historical story. Also, if you’re into audiobooks, I highly recommend listening to it because the narrator deserves all the awards for how well she did. Seriously though, if you’ve never heard of The Radium Girls, this has to be on your TBR list!

A screenshot of the audiobook Wild Dark Shore in the Libby app.

Wild Dark Shores by Charlotte McConaghy

WILD DARK SHORES by Charlotte McConaghy

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore. Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

My Thoughts: If you’ve never heard of this book, I’d be genuinely surprised. I feel like it has been plastered across all of the “top books of 2026” lists since it came out earlier this year. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it, but I ended up being MUCH more invested in the characters than I anticipated. The Salt family has been overseeing the global seed bank located on a tiny island off of Antarctica for the last eight years. With sea levels rising, less researchers have been visiting the island and the Salt family is closing in on their final months before it’s completely washed away by the ocean. When a woman named Rowan washes ashore, they nurse her back to strength but hold her at arms length to keep the secrets of this island locked down. Mirroring their reluctance to trust quickly, Rowan has an agenda of her own: find out what happened to her husband who was on a research mission in Shearwater just last month. This book completely sucked me in and carried a tension that made me feel like someone was about to snap at any moment. As it changes the POV of each character throughout the book, you’re forced to figure out who’s actually telling the truth and what everyone is hiding. Though the kids were much easier characters to like due to their innocence, I kept side-eyeing Dominic Salt (their father) and Rowan. I can’t lie, a majority of this book, I was so set on rating it 3.5 stars, but then the last 10-15% JOLTED it up to a 4-star with a plot twist I did NOT see coming. 😭 If you’re looking for something incredibly atmospheric, with some mildly unreliable narrators and an ending that will sucker punch you in the heart, this would do the trick lol. 

A screenshot of the audiobook I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney in the Libby app.

I See You’ve Called In Dead by John Kenney

I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD by John Kenney

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who is afraid to live. Yes, his wife recently left him for a “far more interesting” man. Yes, he goes on a particularly awful blind date with a woman who brings her ex. And yes, he has too many glasses of Scotch one night and proceeds to pen and publish his own obituary. The newspaper wants to fire him. But now the company’s system has him listed as dead. And the company can’t fire a dead person. The ensuing fallout forces him to realize that life may be actually worth living. As Bud awaits his fate at work, his life hangs in the balance. Given another shot by his boss and encouraged by his best friend, Tim, a worldly and wise former art dealer, Bud starts to attend the wakes and funerals of strangers to learn how to live.

My Thoughts: Listen, as sad as this book’s description might be, it had me bird-squawk cackling the entire time. Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who has kind of hit a low point in life. After another failed blind date, Bud gets blackout drunk, writes his own obituary and then proceeds to publish it on his newspaper’s website. The next morning is a bit of a mess, but the company technically can’t fire him because the system has registered him as dead. So Bud is now stuck in life limbo waiting to see what happens with his job. In the meantime, he and his bestie, Ted, start attending the wakes and funerals of strangers in an attempt to find a new definition of what it means to live. If you love dark, dry, quippy, perfectly-timed, sometimes self deprecating humor, then this book will be your jam as much as it was mine. I loved how effortlessly the author managed to make me laugh throughout a story that really should do anything but. It’s not just the humor though, the relationships between Bud and those around him add such a wholesome and endearing element to this entire experience. I borrowed this book off of Libby on a whim and I’m pleased to report that I was not disappointed in the slightest. If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, I definitely recommend giving this one a try. 

My hand holds a copy of Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman. The cover is mostly green with three figures in the middle.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

THUNDERHEAD (Arc of a Scythe #2) by Neal Shusterman

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames. Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

My Thoughts: Okay I was excited to get into this after finishing the first installment of Arc of a Scythe earlier this summer. This book gives you a much deeper understanding of how the Thunderhead operates within the rules of not interfering with the Scythedom, how much it can control, and we even get some inner dialogue from the Thunderhead itself. Rowan is still on the run after the end of the first book literally went up in flames for him. He’s now taken it upon himself to become a vigilante known as Scythe Lucifer, killing fellow Scythes based on their corrupt morals. Meanwhile, Citra is coming into her own as a newly established junior Scythe. She sees the corruption and cracks running through the Scythe bureaucracy and is working to change it from the inside out with some “new age” thinking. However, her movement has started drawing a line in the sand within the Scythe community and everyone is basically forced to choose which future for the organization they want to support. Not everyone is loving the direction Citra is taking though and now someone is trying to kill her. I love how easily this audiobook pulled me into it. I was already invested in Rowan and Citra from the first book, but it was also interesting to see where their character arcs took them as the story continued to unfold. With the politics of the Scythedom thrown into a tizzy, I cannot wait to see how the last book in this trilogy plays out!

My hand holds a Kindle with the book Happy Ending by Chloe Liese on the screen. The cover is mostly yellow with two people on a beach reading on it.

Happy Ending by Chloe Liese

HAPPY ENDING by Chloe Liese

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Summary: Thea and Alex have three things in common—they love food, they hate where they live, and they’re both divorced. Otherwise, they couldn’t be more different. Thea’s never cooked a day in her life. Alex is a world-class chef. Alex resents feeling stuck in his hometown. Thea resents the town for not feeling more like home. Thea and her ex are in a contentious custody battle for their dog. Alex and his ex amicably coparent their daughter. Beyond a few friends in common, a couple small-world connections (welcome to life in a mid-size city), their lives look nothing alike. Fast forward two years, and they’re truly the best of friends. No one would ever know their friendship began as a lie
 Two years ago, their exes got together immediately following their divorces, and somehow, Thea and Alex found themselves spinning a spite-fueled story about being old friends and first loves. Two years later, what began as a ruse has grown into real friendship—just friendship, despite what friends and family seem to think. But when their exes invite them on a two-week, “two family” beach vacation—daughter and dog included—Alex and Thea start to wonder if this story they’ve spun might have gotten away from them, and if it’s led them to the last place they ever thought it could: a happy ending.

My Thoughts: This was cuuuute! It’s been a minute since I’ve read a Chloe Liese book but what I’ve loved about her writing in the past is how humanly imperfect her characters are. This book had all the best tropes for Thea and Alex’s situation: grumpy/sunshine, friends-to-lovers, forced proximity, and a frustratingly slow burn. Both are recently divorced and end up diving into a friendship after finding out their exes quickly moved on to start sleeping together. What I liked about their dynamics is that this friendship felt like it progressed so authentically and created a really solid foundation for what would inevitably become a romantic relationship. Idk what else to say you guys, this isn’t necessarily a groundbreakingly new romance story by any means, but the characters are older/more mature, it involves a really freaking cute kid, and of course a perfectly charismatic dog with a farting problem lol. It was just a really easy read if you’re looking for something predictable yet enjoyable nonetheless.

A screenshot of the audiobook Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler in the Audible app.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler

PARABLE OF THE SOWER by Octavia E. Butler

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary: In 2024, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future. Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others. When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.

My Thoughts: As a girl deep into her sci-fi era, I knew I had to incorporate one of the genre’s classics into my reading rotation. Although this book definitely scratched that dystopian itch for me, I have to say, it kind of fell short of my expectations. 😬 No doubt, this story had me gripped from the start. We get to know 17-year-old Lauren who lives with her family in one of the few gated neighborhoods left in Los Angeles. Outside those gates, people are killing each other over basic resources, and you never know who might turn on you. It’s not until her neighborhood is raided by a cult of pyromaniacs that Lauren is forced to flee her home. In the aftermath of the chaos and murder that ensues, she and two of her surviving neighbors set out on the open road, heading north towards safety. Listen, this novel is not for the faint of heart. It’s gory, unapologetically obscene at some points, and DRIPPING with tension. It does not shy away from the very ugly things people will do when they’re desperate and clinging to life. That said, I felt like the plot got just a little bit messy. One major part of the story revolves a new religion Lauren creates called Earthseed, which manifests in her basically trying to convert people to being a believer. Then there’s the somewhat random plot point that Lauren has a condition that causes her to experience hyper-empathy, specifically by feeling the physical pain of others. I understood how both elements fit into the larger story, but at the same time, they just felt a little random? I also have to say had I not read this via audiobook, I don’t know if I would’ve made it through. Lauren felt almost emotionless in such an emotionally-charged situation that it sometimes came across cold-hearted. The narrator did a fantastic job of portraying Lauren’s stoic personality, but I’m not sure it would’ve translated for me if I had read it on paper. Am I glad I read it? Yes, Octavia Butler was a FANTASTIC writer and this book is no exception. Will I read the second book? No, probably not. 

That’s it for July! Hopefully I’m a little bit quicker for my August reviews, but honestly, no promises. I will have some exciting updates in my August blog though. 🙂

2026 Book Count: 71

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