What a reading month I had in July! I’ve become obsessed with young adult fantasy and sci-fi novels and can’t get enough of them. They’re soooooo good! Well, the ones I read were.

Once again, with so many amazing books, I’m hard-pressed to choose a favourite but I think the honour has to go to…

The Starbound Trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Yep, not one but three books are getting my favourite vote of July: These Broken Stars, This Shattered World and Their Fractured Light.

Oh, and the related short story This Night So Dark by the same authors.

Sci-fi is not normally my thing but these were absolutely amazing. I read all three books in a matter of days. They were so addictive I was reading every chance I had, and if I wasn’t reading I was thinking about the characters.

The world-building was fantastic, the conflicts and stakes huge, the characters vivid, and the romance… OH MY GOD, THE ROMANCE! Completely sighworthy.

Loved. LOVED!

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Amie Kaufman is now officially an auto-buy author for me, which means I’ll be buying Gemina, the next in this new series, as soon as it releases, which is soon. Whee! Also sci-fi but what makes this different is the way the story unfolds. It’s told via a ‘file’ of interview transcripts, diary entries, intelligence appraisals, schematics, graphics, and all sorts of interesting things. I wasn’t sure it would work for me but it absolutely did. Not quite as romantic (but still containing a satisfying romance) as the Starbound books but another fantastic read that I devoured in record time.

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Book two in the young adult fantasy Red Queen series (told you I was on a binge) and it didn’t disappoint, except for ending on a cliffhanger but I half expected that.

If only it wasn’t so long until the next book!

The Summer Bride by Anne Gracie

I’m so sad to end this wonderful, wonderful series! The Chance sisters and their heroes were all gorgeous and I just adored Lady Beatrice, who was terrifically sly and naughty but in the best possible way. I was thrilled to see Daisy and Flynn get their happy ever after, and see all the other threads in the series tied up satisfyingly. This one was particularly poignant because of both Daisy and Flynn’s backgrounds.

The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon

Wow, what a stunningly written book. The premise is very clever: a girl cursed by her dying mother to never make a sound and imprisoned by her father finds magic and power in words. That probably doesn’t do it any justice at all and I recommend you check out the bookstore pages and reviews for just how incredible this book is. Even if fantasy isn’t your thing I think you’ll find this beautiful.

Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz

Poor Odd, trouble always finds him, and in this case—the fifth book in the Odd Thomas series—it’s quite big trouble in the form of a recluse and his strange mansion.

I’m intrigued to see where the Annamarie storyline goes. It’s curious, that one. I own all the books in the series so I guess I’ll find out.

The Tournament by Matthew Reilly

And also the related story Roger Ascham and the King’s Lost Girl. This was fun, as you’d expect from a Matthew Reilly book, and I adored seeing all the historical characters popping up. Fast paced and interesting, with a good lashing of sex and chess facts thrown in that never slow the story, this was an entertaining and enjoyable read. As was the accompanying short story which you can download for free from ebook stores.

What were your favourite reads?