The Adventure Log is my monthly wrap-up post!
Happy August! Another month has come and gone, and yet again I am baffled as to how it is already August. I really dislike how fast yet slow time drags on, exacerbated by the pandemic. I also took another unplanned hiatus for the past couple of weeks because I just couldn’t bring myself to write any content. I’m becoming more aware of my cycles of productivity now, so hopefully I can get adequately ahead before I turn into a potato again.
You’ll notice the formatting and sections for my monthly adventure logs have been updated this month (and hello there new featured image… what are you doing here? 👀). I’ve largely decided to keep most personal updates on my Patreon to steer away from treating Reader Voracious as an online diary, but don’t worry – I’ll likely still overshare on Twitter and Discord!
Books I Read
I think I might have been replaced by a pod person, friends. I read so much in June. It’s literally been at least two years since I was in such a reading groove and I don’t want the feeling to go away because it was so much fun!
Books Read
Pages Read
DNF
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
✨ I hear queer polyam romance with vampires and pick up a copy of the book. I don’t make the rules.
This book is perfection and I loved every word. RTC — but as a note, the audiobook is INCREDIBLE! I read along with my paperback and not only does the narrator do an amazing job but the epistolary style of narration lends to the medium.
I also read the free epilogue short story, An Encore of Roses, and it was so perfect.
Raybearer (Raybearer #1) by Jordan Ifueko
Jordan Ifueko’s YA debut fantasy Raybearer is a must-read for people who love rich world-building and found families.
I re-read Raybearer for two reasons: it cured my reading slump last summer and I wanted to get to it’s sequel, Redemptor. It worked. This book is magic and everyone should read it. And listen to it: the audiobook narration is incredible.
Redemptor (Raybearer #2) by Jordan Ifueko
ARC review to come!
I devoured the conclusion to the Raybearer duology and loved every darn minute of it. I can’t wait for the audiobook to come out so I can pick it up for myself (in addition to my pre-ordered hardcover — yes, I have a problem) because the narration really brings the book to life and I missed it during my first reading.
Posts on Reader Voracious
Here’s all Reader Voracious posts published in July in case you missed it!
Book Haul
I have a lot of complicated feelings about the consumerism of book blogging (IG and TikTok, too) and my role within the capitalist machine. My role as a bookish influencer is to talk about and promote books, and I feel like I do a great job of that with anticipated reads, wrap-ups, and book reviews. I’ve opted to incorporate hauls into my monthly adventure logs moving forward so I can focus my content schedule more on book reviews and other content.
Flame Tree Press Gothic giveaway win 
July 2021 Book Haul
- Black Sci-Fi Short Stories with foreword by Temi Oh
- Terrifying Ghosts Short Stories with foreword by Claire Frances Elliott
- Curse of the Divine (Ink in the Blood #2) by Kim Smjekal [ARC Review]
- Small Favors by Erin A. Craig
- In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland
- ARC I Am Margaret Moore by Hannah Capin
- ARC The New Kingdom by Wilbur Smith
- Castle of Sorrows by Jonathan Janz
- The Darkest Lullaby by Jonathan Janz
- The Raven by Jonathan Janz
- The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz [ARC Review]
- The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz [ARC Review]
- House of Skin by Jonathan Janz
- Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
- The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
- The Duke and I (Bridgertons #1) by Julia Quinn
- The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons #2)
- An Offer from a Gentleman (Bridgertons #3)
- Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (Bridgertons #4)
OKAY SO, I know this haul looks a little intense but I promise it looks much worse than it is! I got the six Jonathan Janz books during the Flame Tree Press 4th of July sale; each book was only $5 and it was free shipping! The Kara Thomas titles are first editions that I got used from Better World Books for like $5 each, and the two FTP Gothic collections were giveaway wins for sharing my sale haul on IG. (They are so pretty and I love them.)
I also couldn’t help myself and splurged on the Once Upon a Book Club Bridgerton box. I’ve talked about my complicated relationship with book subscriptions before, but I can say that I’ve never been so thoroughly pleased by a box in my life. Everything is super high quality, ties in with the books (and individually wrapped!), and are useful. Not pictured but also included were a few bags of tea and some fancy gloves that don’t fit my huge hands lol. I haven’t read the books yet, or watched the Netflix series, but am looking forward to it!
Posts Around the Blogosphere I Loved
I started the month alright but fell off blog hopping again pretty quickly. Please be sure to share a post or two that you’re proud of from last month in the comments so I can check them out!
- Luminosity Library wrote a great post breaking down the ableist trope of the Miracle Cure.
- Charvi at Not Just Fiction shared 5 cliches she can’t deal with that I totally relate to.
- Jawahir the Bookworm shared the top reasons they love reading!
The Reader Voracious Patreon
As always there’s no pressure to join but if more behind-the-scenes blog content, reading vlogs, and extra essays are something you’d be interested in – for as little as $2 a month you can support me & my content, along with some cool features that are in the pipeline.
July Patreon Update for my personal update, content schedule for this month, and more!
Let’s Chat!
Despite it being a rather blah month for me personally, I had an amazing reading month and I love that for me!
💬 How was your July? Did you do anything fun?
💬 What books did you read and enjoy?
💬 Share a link to one of your July posts for me to check out!
Let’s go on another adventure together!
Dowry of blood is getting such rave reviews!! I should immediately pick it up. I have been procrastinating too much. Also sooo glad you loved Raybearer duology!! It’s one of my all time favourite YA fantasies.
AHH, I hope you pick up A Dowry of Blood asap because the book is so good! I listened to the audiobook again the other day just because I felt like it, which never happens!
I kinda miss reading fantasy but I think it’s not for me anymore. I just enjoy it on a different medium, I guess. I love your book haul! I’m interested to read Erin Craig’s small favors too!
Ahh that makes sense and considering how burned out I am pretty much only on fantasy, I am wondering if I may be outgrowing it? I hope not… but I do like the opportunity to read other genres a bit more.
Wow those are a lot of books in this month’s haul! And ooh polyam vampires? I might look into that.
Thank you so much for including my post <3333
I know I keep buying books and I can’t help myself. The worst thing is it’s my preorder addiction that’s the big issue right now hahaa. YES! Queer polyam vampires. 15/10 must recommend.
Dowry of Blood is on my TBR but I haven’t seen too many reviews so I’m super happy to hear you liked it! I’m also looking forward to seeing your thoughts on Small Favors when you get to that one from your haul 🙂
A Dowry of Blood is honestly a hidden gem and I am soso thankful for the Gothic fiction thread that recommended it to me earlier this year! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
I really need to get my copy of Redemptor. I loved Raybearer when I read it last year!
AHHH you really do, it was such a solid end to the duology! I plan on going through it again with the audiobook because I remember loving the narrator so much. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
It boggles my mind that August is here already!!! Like, where did my summer go?! I also slacked majorly on my blog this summer, and it makes me sad, but also, I think about all the adventures I got to take in the last couple of months, and I can’t be sad about those. I got loads of books in July as well, so I’m with you on the big book stacks haha :’)
Yea I swear it was March and then I blinked… and now we are in September? I really don’t like the way Pandemic times really messes with and blurs time more than usual. I am so glad you got some adventures in this summer though, that’s what it is all about, right?!