Monthly Wrap-Up

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2024

Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

I just got around to posting my June wrap-up and it’s now time for July’s! This month had more going on than June but the latter half slowed down considerably. My brother’s wedding reception took place at the start of the month and that was lovely. I wrote a bit about it in this post if you want to see some pictures from the day! 🌻 Unfortunately, after that I got knocked out by a severe throat infection for a week. I couldn’t swallow for days and it took much longer than anticipated for me to bounce back. I’m doing okay now though and for the rest of the month, I’ve just been focusing on getting through the work days and restarting my Animal Crossing game play! 💜

On the gaming front, I’ve also been loving Potion Permit, an open-ended cosy fantasy RPG where you play a chemist from the big city stationed in a small countryside town. There are tons of quests, ingredients to collect, areas to explore, potions to brew, and friends to make. It’s got Stardew Valley style pixel graphics and a similar game play (also to Harvest Moon/SoS). I’ve been playing it on Switch and taking my sweet time with it cos I don’t want it to end! 😂

July was a pretty “mid” month for reading. Although I read a surprising 14 books, close to half of them were just ok or “hate reads” (I went through a phase, lol). A lot of the books I read were romances as it fit my “mindless reading” mode and seemed to be the only genre to stick.

I think this is also the first month in 2024 where I didn’t have a 5-star read. The fickle/funky reading mood has persisted in July and I’m finding it really tough to find something that’ll suck me in. My focus is shot! I hope August is better. 🤞🏽

*covers are linked to Goodreads and the text is linked to my review, if available*
*books are arranged by order read—oldest to most recent*

4.5 pandas

4 pandas

Homerun Proposal, Catching Feelings, Do Me A Favor, The Secret of the Fang, Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses

ARC Do Me A Favor
ARC/TOUR The Secret of the Fang
ARC/TOUR Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses

3.5 pandas

The Second Son, Such Charming Liars, Dust Storm

ARC/TOUR The Second Son
ARC/TOUR Such Charming Liars

Less than 3 pandas

The Newspaper Nanny, Where I Belong, All I Want, When I Fall, Downpour
The only one I’m on the fence about is Downpour. It’s close to 3-stars and this rating might change!

I dropped the ball again with my reading challenges in July! 😂 I read nothing off my backlist and I also didn’t end up reading anything for my Year in Aeldia prompt. If I can be honest, I totally forgot about all of these reading challenges. It’s only by chance that I could actually fulfill the Buzzword prompt!

✔ Project Backlist Reading Challenge: 📚 0 backlist books // 📱 0 backlist ARCs
✔ 2024 Buzzwordathon: June (“measurement”): Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses
✔ 2024 Year in Aeldia: June (“book about a topic you care about”): –

And that’s it for July, friends. How was your month? How was your reading? What was your favourite book and moment of July? I’d love to know! Hope everyone is doing well and taking care 💜

21 thoughts on “Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2024”

  1. Glad you’re feeling better after your throat infection, Dini! I had a cold the other month that absolutely knocked me out, so I know how much it sucks. Sorry to hear you didn’t have the best reading month ever, but I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the latest Everina Maxwell, I keep meaning to pick up their books. I hope you have a better August 🙂

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    • Thanks, Becky! It was hell and I hope to not experience that again anytime soon 😂 I hope you’re doing much better after that cold too! A lot of people have been getting sick everywhere. I would definitely recommend Maxwell’s book! So enjoyable and I was kicking myself for putting them off for so long, lol. I hope you have an amazing August as well!

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    • I know what you mean. I was thinking about it for a long time and I realise now just how difficult it is to get everything that I want to do and I’m not a treasure island girlie so I can’t just easily get new items and money like a lot of other islanders do. 😂 Oh well, it’s a game that’s meant to played slowly and since I didn’t really do that the first time around, I’m trying to enjoy the slow pace more now, hehe.

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  4. Your brother’s wedding was so beautiful 😍 So sorry you ended up with a throat infection. That sounds incredibly painful. Hope you’re feeling all better now. What an excellent reading month!

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  5. I feel like a lot of people are getting sick recently. I know a couple people with bronchitis and I have had a sinus infection for a week. I am glad you are doing better!

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    • Yeah, I’ve been hearing about people getting sick a lot lately. A lot of people in my office are getting ill too! 🫣 I am doing better and I hope to stay away from illness for the foreseeable future at least, lol. I hope you’re doing well Joanna and have a great August!

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  7. Oh gosh, sorry you were feeling sick that sucks but glad you’re feeling better now! Aw Potion Permit looks so cute, I went to add it on my Steam Wish List and just realized it was already on there lmao.

    I hope August will give you a bounty of 5 stars to make up for July’s reading slump ! Although I will say Ocean’s Echo sounds great!

    Also, I hadn’t realized the Magic Readathon was switched to September and my brain was fully ready for a readathon in August now so I have to figure out what to do for my reading! lol

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    • Thanks! Being sick sucks so much and I hope to not experience that again anytime soon 😂 I think Potion Permit is an underrated game but it’s a lot of cosy fun. I hope that you enjoy it if you get around to playing it! Ocean’s Echo is great and I would recommend checking out this series by Everina Maxwell. There are only two books and I’m not sure if there’ll be more but I do hope so. 😃 Ooh, I didn’t realise that the Readathon was not in August anymore but in September—thanks for the heads up, haha! I hope you have an awesome August as well. Happy reading!

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      • Oh gosh yeah It does such so much & I hope so too for you! It sounds like a lovely game and it’s fun finding underrated games. At least it makes me feel like playing and sharing about it is helping the creator more than for games that are already super popular!

        I hope to check it out at some point for sure 🙂

        Haha no problem, I was so confused about it I figured I might as well let other people know in case they were confused too ♥😆

        Thank you, Happy reading to youuuu!

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  8. I am glad you are feeling better now, it must have been a terrible week.

    I also read a bunch of romances in July. I think that with the bad weather I do not have energy for more.

    I got interested in sports romance this year and Orleans University has been on my radar so I am hoping I can get to Homerun Proposal soon. I am also going to read Such Charming Liars as soon as I can get my hold (I am always too late to get them).

    I like how you organize your challenges! I should do something similar but I am not in any official ones, because I never find them on time.

    Have a great August and I hope you make up for this month not having any 5 star reads (though you got close)!

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    • I am feeling better now and I hope to never have another sick week like that again anytime soon! 😂 It was terrible! The weather is definitely lending itself to lighter reads and romances fit that perfectly! It’s been a while since I read a sports romance so I enjoyed the Orleans U series a lot. I also like Moore’s writing and characters! It’s still light enough for the romance I’m looking for right now but the character arcs also have more depth. I hope you enjoy Charming Liars—also another fun McManus book! 😃 I hope you have a great August as well. Happy reading!

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  10. I’m glad you’re feeling better! Here’s to a great August with lots of good books.

    I played Potion Permit for a while, too. I need to get back to that one… it was fun, but I stalled out because I didn’t like the keyboard controls on my laptop. I need to see if it’s more enjoyable to play on my Steam Deck.

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  11. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been sick, but glad that you’re feeling better now 💞 Potion Permit looks cute, I think I have it on my wishlist!! I’m glad you liked Do Me a Favor, I’m excited to read it! 🥰

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