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July 2026 Reading Wrap-Up

July 2026 Reading Wrap-Up

Blog · August 5, 2026

2025 Reading Resolutions

2025 Reading Resolutions

Blog · May 30, 2025

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You can read the full review on my blog by followi

You can read the full review on my blog by following the link in my bio 💌

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I know you’re not supposed to judge books by their cover, but I was so drawn to this one. I first spotted The Wedding People sitting on a shelf in a Welcome Break WHSmith last August, and finally reading it a year later, I’m very glad I did!

Phoebe arrives at a luxurious hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, with no intention of attending a wedding. She doesn’t know the bride or groom, but after a chance encounter with Lila, the bride-to-be, she unexpectedly finds herself swept into the wedding party. As the wedding begins to unravel, an unlikely friendship forces both women to confront where their lives have taken them.

At the beginning of the book, Phoebe is quite broken after her ex-husband cheats on her and ends the marriage. I enjoyed reading about Phoebe’s journey of growth as she meets all these strange ‘wedding people’ and how they touch her life. Through these chaotic interactions, Phoebe proves to be an incredibly relatable, lovable, and complex character.

The book is beautifully written, and Espach has eloquently conveyed Phoebe’s thoughts through the third-person narrative, making her transformation feel deeply personal. While I loved the beginning and the end of the novel, I felt that it dragged on somewhat in the middle.

Overall, The Wedding People was a funny, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful read that completely took me by surprise. Despite the slower middle, I became genuinely invested in Phoebe’s journey, and I’m so glad I finally picked this one up.

#books #bookstagram #theweddingpeople #bookreview #explore

You can read the full review on my blog by followi

You can read the full review on my blog by following the link in my bio 💌

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Jolene is an anxious, cynical, and slightly awkward employee at the company Supershops. To cope with her frustrations at work, she leaves snarky remarks hidden in white at the bottom of her emails. When one of these comments is exposed, Jolene is forced to attend a HR course, leading to her email access being restricted. When an IT mix-up gives her access to the private emails and DMs of everyone at the company, she can't resist snooping. But the more she learns about her co-workers, the more her cynical worldview changes.

At first, I found Jolene an annoying, unlikable main character and thought I would dislike the book. However, as the story progressed, I came to feel for Jolene’s character, loving her quirky, slightly awkward personality.

Because of this emotional depth, there were times I laughed while reading this novel. However, it really is a bittersweet, character-driven story. I was impressed by Sue’s ability to convey humour and melancholy in equal measure.

I’d definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for something heartfelt, funny and very human!

And honestly, if I had access to everyone’s emails and messages, I’d probably snoop too!

#bookstagram #bookworm #bookreview #bookstagrammer #contemporary

July wrapped! ✨️ This was a fantastic reading mon

July wrapped! ✨️

This was a fantastic reading month!! After, a year where reading definitely took the backseat, I'm so happy to have finished three books this month. It might not sound like a lot, but finally getting back into the habit of picking up books again feels like a huge win!

This month I read Never Lie by Freida McFadden, Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, and Saving 6 by Chloe Walsh. From a twisty thriller, to a thoughtful contemporary, to an emotional romance, this month had a little bit of everything!

I'm hoping that August is just as good of a reading month!!!

Full reviews for all three are now on my blog (link in bio)

What was your favourite read of July? 📚

#bookstagram #bookreview #readingwrapped #July #bookworm

You can read the full review on my blog by followi

You can read the full review on my blog by following the link in my bio 💌

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

From the very first page, Strange Houses has me completely hooked. Despite how unsettled the book made me feel, I just couldn't stop reading!

The story follows a freelance writer who becomes fascinated by seemingly ordinary house in Tokyo after his friend, Yanaoka, discovers a mysterious "dead space" hidden within its floor plan. The writer consults his friend Kurihara who is an architect. As more strange houses become connected to the mystery, the investigation uncovers an increasingly sinister truth.

What I loved most was how interactive the mystery felt. The combination of prose and floor plans had me studying clues alongside the characters and feeling like a co-investigator. The story was fast-paced and constantly challenged my theories.

However, I did find that some of the very specific conclusions the characters reached felt a little unnatural.

Strange Houses is a brilliantly original mystery that stands out through its unique storytelling and immersion puzzle-solving. If you enjoy mysteries that encourage you to solve the case yourself, I'd definitely reccomend giving this a read.

I've already started Strange Pictures! 📚

#bookreview #uketsu #bookstagram #books
#bookcommunity

My Pantone Book Recs 🎨 I was quite surprised by m

My Pantone Book Recs 🎨

I was quite surprised by my Pantone colours, as they are colours that I would not usually associate with myself.

I found matching books to my Pantone colours to be quite the challenge, especially for 'solar gold' and 'amber stage', so I ended up only choosing two books per colour. However, this was really fun to put together!

If anything, this has shown me that I need to spend the rest of 2026 reading books with a wider variety of cover colours!

What are your Pantone colours, and do we have any in common?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I just finished reading Ghosts by Doll

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I just finished reading Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you enjoy reading books about love, friendship, and the people who leave their mark on us, then I’m sure you’ll love this novel too!

You can read the full review on my blog by following the link in my bio! 💌

Ghosts begins on our protagonist Nina Dean’s thirty-second birthday. As her friends settle into their marriages and parenthood, Nina finds herself grappling with the realities of dating apps, changing friendships, and caring for her ageing father as his memory deteriorates. Feeling secure in her successful career as a food writer, Nina decides to join the dating app Linx, where she meets Max. As their relationship develops, Nina is forced to confront the complexities of modern love, the shifting nature of relationships, and the many ways people can become ghosts in one another’s lives.

Here's a little bit about what I thought:

I really connected with Nina’s character. She is a very relatable and authentic protagonist, and I quickly found myself invested in her experiences, thoughts, and relationships. Reading this novel often felt like being inside Nina’s mind, but expressed through Alderton’s beautifully eloquent writing.

My only criticism was the storyline involving Nina and her neighbour, Angelo. While I understood the reasoning behind it, it felt slightly unnecessary to me and didn’t quite fit with the rest of Nina’s journey.

What did you think? 📚

#books #review #bookreview #dollyalderton #bookstagram

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