Sophie Reads YA: July 2020

July Summary

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What I've read this month:

Lady Smoke
Series: Ash Princess Trilogy #2
Author: Laura Sebastian
Published May 2nd 2019 by Macmillan Children's Books (ARC)
Read: June 29-July 3 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Persistent Marquess
Series: None
Author: Susan Payne
Published July 6th 2020 by The Wild Rose Press, Inc. (eARC)
Read: July 3 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Loveless
Series: None
Author: Alice Oseman
Published July 9th 2020 by HarperCollins Children’s Books (eARC)
Read: June 26-July 4 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

The Beast of Beswick
Series: Everleigh Sisters #1
Author: Amalie Howard
Published November 26th 2019 by Entangled: Amara
Read: July 4-5, 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Inheritance Games
Series: The Inheritance Games #1
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published September 3rd 2020 by Penguin (eARC)
Read: July 5-6, 2020
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

The Rogue Not Taken
Series: Scandal & Scoundrel #1
Author: Sarah MacLean
Published December 29th 2015 by Piatkus
Read: July 8-9, 2020
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

A Scot in the Dark
Series: Scandal & Scoundrel #2
Author: Sarah MacLean
Published August 30th 2016 by Piatkus
Read: July 9, 2020
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me
Series: None
Author: Olivia Hinebaugh
Published January 22nd 2019 by Swoon Reads
Read: July 6-9, 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge, 2020 Contemporary Romance Challenge

Any Rogue Will Do
Series: Misfits of Mayfair #1
Author: Bethany Bennett
Published October 13th 2020 by Forever (eARC)
Read: July 10-11, 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

The Day of the Duchess
Series: Scandal & Scoundrel #3
Author: Sarah MacLean
Published June 27th 2017 by Piatkus
Read: July 10-12, 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Lord of the Highwaymen
Series: Hearts & Highways #1
Author: Elizabeth Bramwell
Published July 30th 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: July 14, 2020
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

My Darling Duke
Series: Sinful Wallflowers #1
Author: Stacy Reid
Published December 31st 2019 by Entangled: Amara
Read: July 15-16 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby
Series: Rogues and Remarkable Women #1
Author: Vanessa Riley
Published June 30th 2020 by Zebra (eARC)
Read: July 12-16, 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Fireblood
Series: Frostblood Saga #2
Author: Elly Blake
Published September 7th 2017 by Hodder & Stoughton (ARC)
Read: July 14-17, 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Mr. Malcolm's List
Series: None
Author: Suzanne Allain
Published July 28th 2020 by Berkley/July 28th 2020 by Piatkus (eARC)
Read: July 17-18 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Everything a Lady is Not
Series: Bow Street Beaus #1
Author: Sawyer North
Published August 17th 2020 by Entangled Publishing, LLC (Scandalous) (eARC)
Read: July 19 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

The Return of the Disappearing Duke
Series: None
Author: Lara Temple
Published August 20th 2020 by Mills & Boon Historical (eARC)
Read: July 20 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Pursued by the Rake
Series: Season of Scandal #1
Author: Mary Lancaster
Published July 9th 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: July 21 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Wild Savage Stars
Series: Sweet Black Waves #2
Author: Kristina Pérez
Published August 27th 2019 by Imprint (ARC)
Read: July 18-21, 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Abandoned to the Prodigal
Series: Season of Scandal #2
Author: Mary Lancaster
Published August 11th 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: July 22 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Always the Best Friend
Series: Never the Bride #4
Author: Emily E.K. Murdoch
Published July 7th 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: July 23 2020
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

10 Things I Hate About Pinky
Series: Dimple and Rishi #3
Author: Sandhya Menon
Published July 21st 2020 by Hodder Paperbacks (ARC)
Read: July 22-23, 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge, 2020 Contemporary Romance Challenge

Always the Wallflower
Series: Never the Bride #5
Author: Emily E.K. Murdoch
Published August 6th 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: July 24 2020
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Forever Your Earl
Series: The Wicked Quills of London #1
Author: Eva Leigh
Published September 29th 2015 by Avon
Read: July 24-25 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Kiss of Love
Series: The Book of Love #6
Author: Meara Platt
Published May 21st 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc (eARC)
Read: July 25-26 2020
My Rating: 2 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Scandal Takes the Stage
Series: The Wicked Quills of London #2
Author: Eva Leigh
Published October 27th 2015 by Avon
Read: July 26-28 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Matter of a Marquess
Series: The Duke's By-Blows #3
Author: Jess Michaels
Published August 18th 2020 by The Passionate Pen LLC (eARC)
Read: July 28-29 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 New Release Challenge

Temptations of a Wallflower
Series: The Wicked Quills of London #3
Author: Eva Leigh
Published April 26th 2016 by Avon
Read: July 28-30 2020
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Challenges Update:
2020 Contemporary Romance Challenge: 2 (27 total)
2020 New Release Challenge: 16 (70 total)
2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge: 12 (48 total)

Summary:

July has been a really good month for reading, and now that school has ended (officially) I have to summer to enjoy as many books as possible before the school year starts again in September, and I have a full timetable as a RQT. Here’s hoping life returns to some sort of normality soon enough!

How have you done this month? Let me know below.

2020 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: My Darling Duke (Sinful Wallflowers #1) by Stacy Reid

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My Darling Duke

Series: Sinful Wallflowers #1
Author: Stacy Reid
Published December 31st 2019 by Entangled: Amara

Goodreads Synopsis

Miss Katherine Danvers is a desperate wallflower. Her family is on the brink of financial ruin, and it is up her to save her mother and sisters from a life of indignities. So she transforms herself into the incomparable Kitty Danvers, the fiancée of the enigmatic and reclusive Alexander Masters, Duke of Thornton—once dubbed the mad, bad, and dangerous catch of the Season.

Ten years ago, society and the woman Alexander Masters loved called him a monster, after a tragic accident left him scarred and confined to a wheelchair. His heart exists in cold, lonely exile, until he learns he has a fiancée—a deceptive, clever, and utterly intriguing woman he's never met. Miss Danvers will now learn the consequences of engaging herself to the beast, for Alexander is determined to make her his. Soon, they are involved in a chase, a clash of wills, and though he once vowed to never love again, he burns for the enchanting Miss Danvers. And denying his heart may cost him an exquisite love that happens only once in a lifetime.

Goodreads

Review
My Darling Duke sees wallflower Katherine Danvers, take the ultimate step in order to protect her family. She knows that as the oldest, it was her job to marry well, and push her younger sisters towards their own matches, but a handful of seasons have left her decidedly on the shelf, and her family situation is looking fraught. For nearly ten years, the Duke of Thorton has eschewed society, and is a recluse at his Scottish estate. Kitty claims to be his fiancee, leading to her and her sisters being invited to more and more society events, and it seems her family may be saved. However, when the duke hears all about it, he's not overly pleased, and arrives in London, complete with mask and wheelchair, to first meet his blushing bride, and make her pay. After the fire that left his parents dead, and himself covered in scars and announced unable to have children, Alexander has kept himself away from everything. Only his younger sister keeps him going, and he knows that with his cousin as his heir, there's no reason for him to appear in public anymore. When he hears all about Kitty's actions, he's intrigued, and wants to meet her, and when he forces her to travel to his estate, he soon finds himself more and more in love, and could even decide to change his views on marriage.

This book just hooked me from page one! Kitty was a character I wholly loved, who knew that with her father dead, and her family living in Cheapside, she had next to no chances, but didn't want her sisters to suffer, so would lie to all, and face the inevitable scandal once it arrived - hopefully with her sisters already suitably situated. Her voice throughout the book was perfect, with her being both vulnerable and strong, and her and Alexander's every interaction was pure chemistry. She fell for him, and hard, and he did too in return. Alexander didn't want to let anyone in, let alone Kitty, but she broke through all of his defences, especially when she showed him she wasn't scared or a simpering miss he could push around. She brought out the best in him, and even restarted his feelings of lust and arousal that he didn't think was possible anymore. The inevitable angst was heartbreaking, but I knew it would be sorted because the two of them were just so in love, nothing could stop them. I'm really looking forward to Her Wicked Marquess, which I think will be Charlotte and the Marquess of Sands story, and hopefully we'll see Kitty and Alexander again.

Dates Read:
July 15-16, 2020

Rating
4 Stars

2020 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: Taken by Storm (Raised by Wolves #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

10:00

Anna Bright

Waiting On Wednesday: The Boundless (The Beholder #2) by Anna Bright

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2020 Beat the Backlist challenge

ARC Review: Love Beyond Opposites (Grad Night #3) by Molly E. Lee

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Love Beyond Opposites
Series: Grad Night #3
Author: Molly E. Lee
Published May 7th 2018 by Entangled Publishing, LLC (Crush)

Goodreads Synopsis
If high school has taught mathlete Jade Aaron anything, it's that nerds never get the guy.

So when rock star Lennon Pryor starts pursuing her, It's not rocket science. This doesn't add up.

I mean, sure, he's hot.

And charming.

And a god on the guitar...

But he's also the world's biggest player. Being with him would be a bigger mistake than 2+2=5.

Until graduation night, when a reckless moment leads to a reckless kiss. And now Jade's falling for the one guy destined to break her heart.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

I read the first two books in this series a while ago and for some reason never got around to the final book, but one day I decided it was time to finish the series, and read it in one sitting. Love Beyond Opposites starts with a prologue, when Lennon meets Jade for the first time as she is studying for the mathletes with his father, their tutor. He is entranced from the first moment, and it's obvious to his father, who knows that if his son, who has a new girlfriend every fortnight, were to break Jade's heart, she would crumble. So, Lennon agrees to keep his distance, but still admires her from afar, and collects her drawings as a way to remember her. On the night of their graduation, he hosts a party at home, which is also where his band will perform in order to get a record contract, and things start to go wrong. Jade, however, is there to help, and over the course of the next few hours, they grow close, with nothing really in their way and soon find themselves falling for one another. Can it last the night, or are their diverging paths too much to overcome?

I did like both of the characters, and their chapters, in this book. Both had a distinct voice, and knew what it was they wanted in life - music or drawing - and though others tried to get them to go down a different path, they find kindred spirits in each other. Jade has wanted to change herself, especially with the impeding graduation and the realisation that she never really did much at school except study, and decides to become Jade 2.0, if only for one night. Lennon seems to be the perfect choice, and whenever she is with him, it seems as if she is the only important thing in the world. Lennon can't believe his luck in already being given the opportunity to go on tour with his band, and the chance to spend time with Jade is like a dream come true. He's starting to think that maybe it might be possible for them to be together, but will real life get in their way, or can it happen.

Yes, there are predictable moments, and a load of angst that could've been dealt with differently, but all in all, this was an enjoyable book, and I'm glad I decided to give it a go, after so long, so that I know how all three plot lines intertwine, and how our heroes lives continued after Grad Night.

Dates Read:

February 21, 2020

Rating
4 Stars

2020 New Release challenge

ARC Review: A Duke Will Never Do (The Spitfire Society #3) by Darcy Burke

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A Duke Will Never Do
Series: The Spitfire Society #3
Author: Darcy Burke
Published May 19th 2020 by Darcy Burke Publishing

Goodreads Synopsis
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Untouchables series comes your next Regency obsession: The Spitfire Society... Meet the smart, independent women who’ve decided they don’t need Society’s rules, their families’ expectations, or, most importantly, a husband. But just because they don’t need a man doesn’t mean they might not want one.

After failing on the Marriage Mart, Jane Pemberton has two choices: submit to her parents’ edict to marry their boring neighbor or become a self-declared spinster and take up residence in the official headquarters of the Spitfire Society. It’s really no choice at all, and Jane is eager to embrace her newfound independence. She soon finds an unconscious viscount on her doorstep and nurses him back to health. When he offers to compensate her, she requests payment in the form of private instruction of a scandalous and intimate kind.

Having spiraled into a self-destructive abyss following the murder of his parents, Anthony, Viscount Colton, physically recovers under the care of an alluring spitfire. But it is her charm and flirtatiousness that soothes his soul and arouses his desire—until an extortion scheme forces him to face the sins of his past. Now, to save the woman who’s given him everything he lost and more, he’ll have to pay the ultimate price: his heart.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

I raced through book 2 in the Spitfire Society series, A Duke is Never Enough, within a few hours, and as soon as the next book became available to review, I knew I needed it. This time around we follow Miss Jane Pemberton as she has announced her spinsterhood, and is enjoying living alone, in the new Marchioness of Ripley's home. One day, she discovers that Anthony, Viscount Colton, is lying unconscious on her front step, and she immediately takes him in and nurses him back to health. While under her care, Anthony finds himself becoming sober, and not missing his old roguish ways, and, above all, feeling comfortable and herself for the first time since he inherited his position and his parents were murdered. When Jane comes to him and asks Anthony to teach her how to be intimate, he finds it difficult to be a gentlemen and refuse her. When he returns home, all of his demons come rushing back, and it seems that he is being blackmailed over the murders of his parents, and returns right back to where he was. Can Jane help him to discover who is extorting him, or will he spiral out of control once and for all.

Now, I loved the previous book in this series, but I think this one was even better. Jane and Anthony had always intrigued me, and I felt their story was perfect for the two of them. Jane, who had had five failed seasons, felt so much pressure from her parents, and particularly her mother, and it was just too much for her. When Phoebe married Marcus at the end of the last book, she offered Jane her house, and it was the freedom that Jane had always needed. When Anthony lets slip that there had been a rumour of a scandal involving Jane during her first season, which is the reason she was basically put on the shelf as time went on, she's furious, and wants to find out who spread it, and why they would do that. I loved this part of the story, as well as the mystery surrounding Anthony's blackmail. Anthony has always felt guilt over his parents deaths, as he should have been the one travelling to the country when they were murdered, because of a gambling debt he couldn't repay. With Jane by his side, he finds it possible to confront his demons, and work to discover the extortionist and get justice for what was done.

The chemistry between Jane and Anthony is fantastic, and it was refreshing how many moments of friendship there was, and not only lust and desire. Their relationship developed from mere acquaintances, to friends, to lovers, in a natural manner, and it was perfect for this book. Also, how cute were Daffodil and Fern, what with how they treated Anthony, and how they pined for him after he left. Darcy is definitely becoming a favourite author of mine, and I can't wait for her next book!

Dates Read:

May 7, 2020

Rating
4 Stars