July Recap

WHAT I READ

• The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1) by Mary E. Pearson

• Midnight Thief (Midnight Thief, #1) by Livia Blackburne

• Dissonance (Dissonance, #1) by Erica O'Rourke

• Four (Divergent, #0.5) by Veronica Roth

• Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy, #1) by Jennifer Estep
• Poison Princess (Arcana Chronicles, #1) by Kresley Cole
• Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
• Monument 14 (Monument 14, #1) by Emmy Laybourne
• Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
• The Crucible by Arthur Williams
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
• Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
• The Forsaken (The Forsaken, #1) by Lisa M. Stasse

14 books. I didn't exactly participate in the Booktube-A-Thon, I didn't set a specific TBR for the week or try to meet any of the challenges, I simply tried harder than usual to read as much as I could during that week, which did drive me to read a lot of short novels, but ultimately didn't do that much good, especially since I honestly couldn't read a lot during that particular week as I was constantly plagued by a migraine. A really, really horrible one. I blame the heat and also the toxic fumes of the colours we used to paint the walls at our school. Anyways, clocking in at 14 books, that's not bad at all, especially considering that I pretty much didn't read anything at all for the last third of the month, because I was so busy watching all of the TV shows and freaking out about them and stuff like that. I feel like I've barely read anything this month, but looking at that number, I'm more than pleased. I really expected this month to fall completely short, since I've had such high intensity reading months in May and June where I read like 20+ books a month, so I was counting on a major low as backlash for July, sooo I am happy. Also, ever since I officially reached my goal of reading 100 books this year, I'm pretty chill about my TBRs and so on, I don't feel a lot of pressure to compulsively read anymore.

PLAYLIST

1.) ANCHORS & DIAMONDS by D AT SEA

“Will I find peace under the horizon / or at the bottom of the sea? / Should I be searching for anchors and diamonds / or is this all just a dream?”

2.) RACING BLOOD by THERE FOR TOMORROW
“Lighten up these heavy hearts of ours / Chase me through the bends & breaks / Watch the walls all fade away / It's never over / Until we say it's over.”
3.) DROWNING by BANKS
“Take it from the girl you claimed to love / You're gonna get some bad karma / I'm the one who had to learn to build a heart made of armor.”

4.) STINGRAY AFFLICTION by ISSUES
“Ask me what I see in you / I don't see nothing, I see right through / You're transparent, I know you don't wanna hear it.”
5.) FIND YOU by ALEX GOOT feat. AGAINST THE CURRENT
“I'll build a city that dreams for two / And if you lose yourself / I will find you.”
6.) ENGLISH LOVE AFFAIR by 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
“A hideaway in Mayfair / All the great and good there / Drinking all the way to third base / Every single step had me begging for the next / Before I knew it, it was serious.”
7.) HARD TO PLEASE by STATE CHAMPS
“Take what's left, make it your last request / I think it's obvious we'll both escape the selfishness before I'm gone / Maybe I'm a bad person / It only matters if it's worth it / I think I'm just afraid to fall.”
8.) LOST BOY by 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
“Is anybody there who can rescue / Somebody like me? / 'Cause I'm just waiting / For somebody like you.”

Yes, this month was the month I truly discovered 5 Seconds of Summer for myself. I had listened to their two most famous singles before, and I did kind of skip through their album a bit when it came out, but I never really sat down and listened to it attentively. So when a friend of mine sat me down and raved to me about them, which was a few days after Alex DeLeon of The Cab tweeted how much he admired 5sos, I decided to give them another go and — yup. Their music is right up my alley. And YES, I admit I might have a teeny tiny celeb crush on Luke. His voice does things to me. But in all seriousness, I think this band has serious favorite potential for me, I can easily see myself still liking them and their music a few years down the road, which is great.
Anyways, a lot of new music came out this month as well, although not all of it that great (Maroon 5's newest single, for example, while not terrible, wasn't as good as the first one). Also, Young Guns made an announcement that they'll release new music soon?! HELLO YES COUNT ME IN. Another great discovery this month was State Champs, who have been brought to my attention by another very good friend. Thanks!

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Not as much as I was hoping for happening this month in this category, actually. There's Teen Wolf for one, continuing with season 4 and ever since episode 5 I am finally in my well known Teen Wolf fever state again. Seriously, up until then I was slowly losing hope and admitting to myself that it just isn't the same anymore without Allison and Isaac, but while that is still true — it feels really strange without them — it's also still as great as ever. There's been some new characters that I am slowly starting to fall in love with (EVERYTHING IS JORDAN PARRISH AND NOTHING HURTS. also, bby Liam shhh), as well as some new ships — Marrish is slowly starting to be a placeholder for Allisaac in my heart. Obviously, I'll never ship them as hard as I did do Allisaac, but they are quickly becoming one of my OTPs as well, sooo .. yeah. Bite me. I don't even care that she's "a minor" or about the age gap, honestly. Not like they'd have to have sex right away.

Next, I'm obviously continuing on with Legend of Korra, which I started last month if you recall — I'm still liking it. I know shipping Makorra is "out" now and hating Mako is, in fact, the new trend, but I still like both, the ship and the character. Sorry not sorry.
I also started watching Arrow, which... some of the actors and scenes are horrible, honestly, and the plot really seems extremely random as well at times, but all in all, the show is entertaining and I liked it. The best thing, though, is Olicity if I'm being honest. On another note though, why does Colton Haynes never take his shirt off in this show? He should. He definitely should.

AUGUST TBR

• Sisters' Fate (Cahill Witch Chronicles, #3) by Jessica Spotswood

• Silver Shadows (Bloodlines, #5) by Richelle Mead

• Gates of Thread and Stone (Gates of Thread and Stone, #1) by Lori M. Lee
• Defiance (Courier's Daughter, #1) by C. J. Redwine

I already started Silver Shadows and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to finish this TBR at least, because to be perfectly honest, I'm expecting this month to be another one of my low point backlash months in which I read next to nothing. But who knows. I'm definitely getting an operation this month so I'll have lots of free time on hand, but then again, I only have this month left basically. My summer vacation started July 25th and I'll be back in school September 8th again already, so I feel like I'll have to make the most out of August and do all of the things.