Books I'm Squeeing About in July

I don't quite know how we managed it, but somehow we've made it to just over halfway through the year... Crazy I know! But the first half has flown by in a haze of fantastic books and I'm intending to do more of the same for the second half. So without further ado, here are my top picks for July - we have some highly anticipated reads finally gracing our shelves this month, and my pre-order basket is already full to bursting!

3^rd– Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity
On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.
Acclaimed authors Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan team up to create a witty and poignant story of cool vampires, warm friendships, and the changes that test the bonds of love.


Yes guys, it is that time of year at last! Team Human is so close you can almost lick it. The dynamic duo of Labalestier and Rees Brennan have got comedy and poignant heart break down to a fine art with this fantastic new young adult book. If you love vampires you'll love it, and if you hate vampires you'll love it too! Everyone should buy a copy now!
And if you're as over excited about this book as I am, check back on July 2nd when I will be posting an awesome interview with the lovely Sarah Rees Brennan herself! *swoons*


You can read my non-spoiler review here!

5^th- Stolen Night by Rebecca Maizel

Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human - and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss. With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead...


This book has been teasing me since the start of 2011 with the release date being pushed further and further back. But now at last, fingers crossed, I'm finally going to get my hands on it and see what happens next! 'Infinite Days' was such a fantastically fresh spin on the vampire tale that it shot straight into my favourite book pile, and I'm really hoping the sequel is going to live up to my high expectations.

5^th- Frostfire by Zoe Marriott
Frost is cursed - possessed by a wolf demon that brings death everywhere she goes. Desperate to find a cure, she flees her home, only to be captured by the Ruan Hill Guard. Trapped until she can prove she is not an enemy, Frost grows increasingly close to the Guard’s charismatic leader Luca and his second in command, the tortured Arian. Torn between two very different men, Frost fears that she may not be able to protect either of them ... from herself.


I adore Zoe Marriott's writing, so ever since this first was put on my radar at the end of last year by Walker Books, I have been desperate to see what she has in store for us next. Her writing improves with each book released, and her prose is utterly fantastic. A mistress of plot and characters that you want to pull out of the page, I am unbelievably excited for this next offering from her.

5^th- Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

Meg Lytton has always known of her dark and powerful gift. Raised a student of the old magick by her Aunt Jane, casting the circle to see visions of the future and concocting spells from herbs and bones has always been as natural to Meg as breathing. But there has never been a more dangerous time to practise the craft, for it is 1554, and the sentence for any woman branded a witch is hanging, or burning at the stake.
Sent to the ruined, isolated palace of Woodstock to serve the disgraced Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and half-sister of Queen Mary, Meg discovers her skills are of interest to the outcast princess, who is desperate to know if she will ever claim the throne. But Meg's existence becomes more dangerous every day, with the constant threat of exposure by the ruthless witchfinder Marcus Dent, and the arrival of a young Spanish priest, Alejandro de Castillo, to whom Meg is irresistibly drawn - despite their very different attitudes to her secret.


Witchcraft in Tudor times with Elizabeth as a young girl thrown in? Yes please! Random House Children's Books have done another sterling job of getting me hooked on a book months before I'm allowed to read it. This one looks to have loads of elements that I love, and I cannot wait to throw myself into the story.

5^th- The Flappers: Ingenue by Jillian Larkin
Power . . . love . . . scandal . . .
There’s never enough to go around.
In the city that never sleeps, Lorraine Dyer is wide awake. Ever since she exposed Clara Knowles for the tramp she was—and lost her closest confidante in the process—Lorraine has spent every second scheming to make her selfish, lovesick ex–best friend pay for what she did. No one crosses Lorraine. Not even Gloria. 
True love conquers everything—or so Gloria Carmody crazily believed. She and Jerome Johnson can barely scrape together cash for their rent, let alone have a moment to whisper sweet nothings in the dark. And if they thought escaping Chicago meant they’d get away with murder . . . they were dead wrong.
Clara was sure that once handsome, charming Marcus Eastman discovered her shameful secret, he’d drop her like a bad habit. Instead, he swept her off her feet and whisked her away to New York. Being with Marcus is a breath of fresh air—and a chance for Clara to leave her wild flapper ways firmly in the past. Except the dazzling parties and bright lights won’t stop whispering her name. . . . 


Oh I got so unbelievably excited about the first book in this series 'Vixen' that I have barely stopped chattering about it to anyone who'll stand still long enough. And now we finally get the second book in the series and I cannot wait. A deliciously guilty pleasure, the roaring twenties have taken on a new glitz and glamour for a fresh young adult trilogy.

6th - Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent
I died on a Thursday-killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it. The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school...  Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend. But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life...


After the events of the last book I have been pining for more Tod, and now my wish is finally within reach. Vincent's soul screamers series is a fantastic urban fantasy with a fresh spin on the monsters lurking out there, and after the shocking events of the last book I can't wait to see where she's taking me next.

9^th- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.
Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.
In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.


I'm in the middle of reading this one at the moment and it is utterly fantastic. Completely engrossing, a new world full of intrigue and politics where Dragons can take the shape of humans and live among us. It has an otherworld feeling to it and has completely swept me away.


You can enter to win an ARC copy of Seraphina here!


And read my review here!


So that's what I can't wait for this month, but what about you, are there are any excitements that you can't wait to get hold of?