Books I've Loved in July

Check out some books I've enjoyed in July. All paranormal romances which I read to pull me out of a reading slump! Maybe you'll find a new favourite of your own...

As many of you may know, I've been in a bit of a (BIG) reading slump. Ordinarily I'd be reading three to four books a week. Over the past twelve months or so, I've been managing far fewer. In some weeks, I've been luck to read any. So, with a view to trying to get back onto the reading wagon, I've decided to share books I've enjoyed each month. Some new, some old faves.

This month is a mix of both. Only three books read, since it's been a busy because I released my first indie published book, One Weekend in Amalfi on the 11th. That was a steep learning curve and what with a really busy day job, meant very little time or mental space for reading. When I get like this, I tend to move away from contemporary romance and pick up Paranormal instead. That's what I've done this month, so check out some books I've loved in July.

Bride, by Ali Hazelwood. Surprisingly, this is the first (and only) Ali Hazelwood I've ever read. I've read it more than once, and it's one I regularly go back to.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast―again. She's been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice or feeling. It's clear from the way he tracks Misery's every movement that he doesn't trust her. If only he knew how right he was....

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what's hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory...alone with the wolf.

I love the worldbuilding in this story. The way Ali interprets Vampyre and Were lore. Things like the history of the last, and disastrous, attempt at a political marriage between the Weres and the Vampyres, infamously known as "The Aster," are really creative. Whilst Lowe is an alpha, there's a softness about him I resonate with (I do like my alphas tough with a healthy dash of sweet). It's clear he cares about his people and about Misery. It's a brutal world and somehow the couple manage to find love and acceptance in it. The takedown of their enemies in the end is deliciously satisfying. I would love Owen's story (just putting it out there...)

Hoarded by the Dragon by Lillian Lark.

Lillian is an author whose work I found on TikTok and she's the only author I've discovered there that I've stuck with. One of my all time favourites of hers is Stalked by the Kraken, which I didn't read this month but which I've talked about before. "Not a fish, Gideon" is a phrase that still has me laughing... IYKYK. But I digress.

Hoarded by the Dragon is part of her Monstrous Matches series. It's worthwhile reading the trigger warnings for these books. The series involves gargoyles, basilisks, werewolves, harpies, kraken, the eponymous dragon in this story... You get the picture. There's some why choose in the series, though not in this story. This book is all about the main characters, Kalos and Katarina.

A thief doing a final job and the dragon caught in a precarious situation that changes both of their lives.

He’s powerful and wealthy and he hates me. But I have something he wants.

It wasn’t a part of the plan. I’m the thief stupid enough to break into a dragon’s hoard… and walk away pregnant with his baby.

As with many PNR, this is a fated mates kind of story. I love the hero in this one, Kalos the dragon. Rich, powerful beyond compare, and with an intense, deep pain that really is crushing and hard for him to overcome. I think that's what I enjoy most about this story: how Kalos had to find it in himself to love again after suffering an unspeakable past tragedy.

Once again, this is a story with more creative world building and lore. There are wonderful, flawed characters who leap from the page. Lillian's humour also sparkles through this book, plus, there's a cat in it which tends to hook me right in. It's well worth reading the whole series if you're into spicy, paranormal romance.

Big Bad Wolf by Suleikha Snyder.

Once again, this is another old fave. Suleikha is a wonderful author. Her story, Tikka Chance on Me is one I return to often and which I've talked about in a linked blog post I did on my love of novellas. Big Bad Wolf was her first foray (I believe) into Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy. There is a related book, Pretty Little Lion, which is another fabulous story in the same world which I didn't get a chance to read again this month.

Did I mention I was in a reading slump?

They call him a monster. More wolf than man―more dangerous than any predator.

They have no idea.

Joe Peluso has blood on his hands. He took out the mobsters responsible for killing his foster brother, and that one act of vigilante justice has earned him countless enemies in New York's supernatural-controlled underworld. He knows that shifters like him deserve the worst. Darkness. Pain. Solitude. But meeting Neha makes him feel human for the first time in forever.

Lawyer and psychologist Neha Ahluwalia knows Joe is guilty, but she's determined to help him craft a solid defense...even if she can't defend her own obsession. Just one look from the wolf shifter makes her skin burn hot and her pulse race. When a payback hit goes wrong, Neha's forced to make a choice: help Joe escape or leave him to his fate. Before long they're on the run from the monsters who want him dead, from their own traitorous hearts, and from an attraction that threatens to destroy them.

Once again we have fabulous world building. The society Joe and Neha live in is dystopian and bleak. Joe is a deeply troubled character who was ex-army and essentially "created" as a paranormal warrior. Neha comes from a loving family and has a solid career yet throws everything away for Joe in a drive for justice. She's sees something in him that he's lost, and helps him redeem himself. Joe may not be for everyone. He keeps trying to decide what's good for Neha without ever asking her what she thinks. Luckily, Neha doesn't listen. In fact, she gives back as good as she gets.

So, that's my brief reading wrap for July. Sigh. I hope that you can find something here you might not have read before, and might enjoy. Or perhaps it'll remind you of some old favourites you'd like to revisit.

So, what about you? Is there a genre of books you go to if you're in a reading rut? And if you find yourself in a reading lump, how do you get out of it? I'd love to hear from you about it here or on social media.

Well, that's it for me. If you want more information about my books you can check out my newsletter. New subscribers get a copy of a stand alone romance novella, His Cinderella Princess, and I often hold great give-aways you don't want to miss. In fact, I have an awesome one coming up in celebration of my tenth book for Harlequin / Mills & Boon.

But for now, stay safe and sparkle! Love, Kali.

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