Hello and happy July, my lovelies. This monthly reading roundup is a lot shorter than last month's. I started the month in a book hangover thanks to Chandelle LaVaun's The Coven saga. I knew that if I started something new, I would be comparing it to that series and not giving it a fair shot, so I spent some time re-reading some of my favorites, including the Gamer Girls series by Kitty Cox and Auryn Hadley because there was some crossover in one of the other series I'm currently reading by Cox.

I love rereading series, especially ones like that because I always catch little things that I missed the first go 'round. I've also been slowly rereading the Her Guardian series by G. Bailey, which is an old favorite, and just finished rereading a quick fae trilogy to try to hold me over until some books I've been waiting on are released this weekend.

Anyway, let's get to the good stuff, yeah?

Converge (Shades of Trouble 2)

Author: Kitty Cox

I started this series in May, and this is only the second book to be released. Like I told you last month, the overall theme is about reestablishing a juvenile diversion center in a rural Texas town, but like the Gamer Girls series each book has a specific issue it addresses. Book one and book two bleed into each other with Violet and her Shades of Trouble family working to save the newest shade's, Luke aka Emerald, daughter from a suspected pedophile. As with the Gamer Girls series, this series takes on some pretty heavy topics and has a good amount of triggers, not to mention some unconventional relationships. Cox's character development is on point, and the way she handles these topics is incredibly thought-challenging.

The Long Goodnight (Grimm Files 2)

Author: Selene Charles

I usually don't wait so long between books in a series, but I got caught up in The Coven and this one was put on the back burner. Detective Elle (Arielle, aka The Little Mermaid) and her new partner, Hatter (yes, that Hatter), have been assigned to the Slashers, a band of criminals whose crimes have escalated in an unexpected way. To top it off, Elle's former lover, Hook (yep, from Neverland), has somehow been resurrected from death and is mixed up in it all.

We learn a lot more about Elle's past in this book, and it becomes more obvious that this is a retelling of The Little Mermaid. This book does not have a happy ending and ends on a cliffhanger, though not one that left me pulling my hair out so kudos to the author for that.

Chronicles of Blood (4 books)

Author: Crea Reitan

This was technically a re-read for me since I read them sometime late last year when I believed the series to be complete. However, the author decided in book four that she needed more than four books to properly tell this tale. Now, the second series of this saga, Chronicles of Madness, is nearly complete so I wanted to refresh my memory of this particular Wonderland retelling.

I was originally drawn to this series because of the cover art. Then, I realized that this retelling, and I'm using that word loosely here, is nothing like the others I've read. In fact, it's really not a retelling, at all. Mal is what's known as a fixer, and she's been assigned to find what's made Wonderland turn into a toxic fairytale and reverse it. Turns out, another fairy tale has somehow infected Wonderland, turning it into Laddenworn and changing the whimsical madness into deadly Madness, but before Mal can tackle that she has to face the Bloody Queens.

You've got several of the traditional Wonderland characters, including the Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, March Hare, and Caterpillar, although most are twisted. And in a surprise twist, Mal is not a reincarnation of Alice. If you liked C.M. Stunich's retelling (Alison's Adventures in Underland), I recommend giving this one a shot.

Author: Christi Caldwell

I'm not gonna lie. I was a little disappointed with this book. I was hoping for something closer to a Connie Mason book, but this really didn't come close. Verity is a reporter fighting to keep her job at what's essentially a tabloid. Her make or break assignment is to find the lost Earl of Maxwell, but Malcolm has no wish to take up his title, preferring his life as a tosher in London's sewers. Verity does find Malcolm but doesn't get the story her boss wants and loses her job. Then, she and her sister and old nursemaid secretly move into one of North's unused London homes. Things get more complicated when the papers mistakenly identify her as North's wife.

I stuck with this book, hoping it would get better but it didn't. I didn't really like either of the main characters. I found the plot to be unbelievable and the romance to be forced.

Author: Bella Forrest

I'll keep this one short to avoid most spoilers. Finch and his team of Muppet Babies have found Atlantis, but Finch's issues with Erebus are far from over. Now, they're all trapped in the underwater city with no way to escape while Erebus competes for the queen-to-be's hand in marriage. There's just one problem: Erebus's real wife has tagged along for the ride and she's not happy.

Author: Colleen Hoover

This book has been on my list for nearly a year, but the timing wasn't right for me until now. This is kind of the perfect beach read. It was really quick but as with all of Colleen Hoover's books well written. Beyah has had a hard life - a drug addict mother and absent father. When her mother has a fatal overdose two months before Beyah heads off to college, she goes to Texas to live with her father's new family. There, Beyah discovers a real friend in her stepsister and meets Samson, the mysterious neighbor whose secrets are as bad and deep as her own.