I unintentaionally read a bunch of books with pink and purple spines in July, and did a bunch of vacation reading during the solo part of my trip to Bali. Let’s get into it!

Stats

Total books read: 8

Contemporary romance: 4

Aardvark: 1

If They Come For Us by Fatimah Asghar (5 stars) – I don’t read many poetry collections, but this made me want to start. The poems in this collection are extremely impactful and beautifully written; they contain so much imagery and emotion but are still very accessible. Highly, highly recommend.

This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (4 stars) – I finally finished the seventh and longest book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series this month, after taking a break since the audiobook is over 24 hours long. There were some slower parts and buildup, but once the action started it was nonstop and exhilarating.

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood (4 stars) – OK, so this was maybe my least favorite full-length Ali Hazelwood novel, but that doesn’t at all mean that I didn’t enjoy it. I read this toward the end of my vacation while I was mainly either in or next to the beach or pool, and it was the perfect vacation read, particularly since I was just in Sicily last year.

The Score by Elle Kennedy (4 stars) – After a more lackluster second book in the Off Campus series, I really loved Allie and Dean’s romance in book 3. I wanted to finish this one before I started the TV series, so now I can!

The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver (4 stars) – This is the only YA book I’ve read so far in 2026, and I picked it up at the LGBTQIA-focused bookstore in my city during Independent Bookstore Day. I really liked both the writing and characters, who were imperfect in realistic and endearing ways, as well as the fun fake-dating premise.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 by Beth Brower (3.75 stars) – This series is all over Bookstagram at the moment, and I was curious enough to pick up the first audiobook. I’m hesitantly interested, although not yet blown away, and I’d like to try continuing in this historical series.

Counterattacks at Thirty by Sohn Won-Pyung (3.5 stars) – I picked this book up during my South Africa trip; it’s set in the world of South Korean office workers who are trying to subtly rebel against their circumstances, but it never quite packed the punch I wanted it to.

Love & Other Brain Experiments by Hammah Brohm (3 stars) – I was really disappointed by this contemporary romance set in science and academia, which I was hoping would be an Ali Hazelwood-esque read. However, none of the Ali Hazelwood male main characters would wreak havoc on the career of the female protagonist the way that this one did; it made it impossible to root for him.