Biblio Bae - July Wrap Up of Four Best Selling Reads

Brooke Amidei
5 days ago
4 min read

Welcome to our new series, “Biblio Bae.” Much like our beloved series, “Streaming Sister,” I am here to give you a run down of everything I’ve been reading for the month. You can expect hits and misses, quick reviews of thrillers, fiction, romantasy, lots of fairy smut but certainly not nonfiction… Because, woof. I read for fun, not to learn something. If this sounds like your jam, plan to hear from me at least once a month. I’ve got some fun things planned so strap on your reading boots, because we’re getting literary up in here.

Quick note: While I largely prefer to read physical copies, I will try to denote when these are on Kindle Unlimited or if you can find the audio on Spotify Premium.

Confession: I only read four books in July. Wait, I can explain. The first two (a dark romance duology) left me in such a state that I started three other books and just… couldn’t quite focus.

Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline: The Cat and Mouse Duology by H.D. Carlton

3.75 stars and 4.25 stars, respectively.

Available on Kindle Unlimited, Audiobook Included with Spotify Premium

First let me say, these books get talked about A LOT in the BookTok world. They have become a benchmark of sorts for stalker romances and dark romance. By god, check your trigger warnings because this is not for the faint of heart. However, if you are looking for something to push your boundaries, this might be for you.

Adeline is a young writer who inherits a gloriously haunted house from her grandmother. She also catches the eye of a man (the head of a secret operation that eliminates sex traffickers and helps rehabilitate the trafficked), who in turn pushes her boundaries in a way she wouldn’t have ever guessed.

When I first started this book, I almost put it right back on the shelf. I had to get over the campiness of it (Adeline and her best friend call each other “bitch” all the time, which to me is just… ugh.), but the campiness is what actually helped with the stalker and sex trafficking subject matter.

A bit about the second book: the first half is very dark, and it was hard to get through. However, The second half becomes a retribution/reclaiming oneself story that was incredibly satisfying.

Magnolia Parks: Into the Dark (Magnolia Parks Universe #5) by Jessa Hastings

4.5 stars

Available on Kindle Unlimited, Audiobook Included with Spotify Premium

Let me back up. You’ll obviously want to start with the first book: Magnolia Parks.

This series is told in a way that I have never seen before. Books 1, 3 and 5 are told from the perspective of Magnolia Parks and BJ Balantine, two people who are destined to be together if only they could figure their shit out. Books 2, 4, and yet-to-be-released 6 are told from the perspective of Daisy Haites and Christian Hemmes, who are sub-characters in Magnolia’s and BJ’s story. Books 1 & 2 are the same timeline, books 3 & 4 are the same time line, and so on. If you’re still with me, let me just say that I ended up loving the overlap in characters and storylines.

Once again, I almost put this book back on the shelf, thinking I had aged out of this type of series like I aged out of The Bachelor franchise several years ago (to me it’s just too formulaic and boring). But, these characters seeped into me like a coffee stain and I found myself loving the loquacious way in which they are written. I’ve heard it compared to Gossip Girl if it were set in London. But it’s more like a dollop of One Day, a cup of Normal People, and a small dash of Gossip Girl makes up this recipe.

I loved watching these characters grow into who they are in the fifth book, and weirdly, I’m so proud of them. Now let’s all write strongly-worded letters to Jessa Hastings to get that 6th and last book knocked out!

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

4.25 stars

Audiobook Included in Spotify Premium

This one is a recent release by a much beloved author (if you haven’t read their Shades of Magic series, go go go!!!). I purposefully didn’t know much about this book going into it, so I was a little surprised that it was another sapphic vampire novel (I’ve read several this year already: Lucy Undying and An Education in Malice to name a few).

This story seeped into my dreams several nights, and while the nebulous nature of dreams prevents me from talking about them (is there anything worse than nodding, wide-eyed while someone tries to relay their dream to you?) ...let’s just say, Schwab’s writing is tangible and delicious. Keep a highlighter on you while you read this one because reading about these women, their choices and drives, made me want to annotate my thoughts and observations alongside them. There’s not a lot better than watching women literally devour men and their oppressions, while testing the world at large and their own mettle.

****