I’ve been on a reading binge–anything and everything. As you’ve probably noticed, I don’t read just one type of book, I read all over the place. I always have. And my July reads were no different as evidenced by these four very unique stories.

Looking for something new? Have you read:

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

How is it that I missed this series the first time around? I should be pointing fingers at all my friends who didn’t insist that I READ the Kate Daniels series

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, starting with the first book, Magic Bites, but apparently now is my turn to dive into this fun and snarky and witty urban fantasy series about magical detective, Kate Daniels. The world building is fascinating, the characters sharp and well drawn, and Kate, well, Kate is just what you want in an urban fantasy–tough, hard as nails and wise-cracking. I adored her. Now I have an entire series to devour and kick ass through. Lucky me.

And hell yes, “Here, Kitty, Kitty.”

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

In Mary Robinette Kowal’s reimagined history of the space race

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, the earth has been hit by a huge meteor, giving the need to get off the planet a whole new urgency. But further than that, The Calculating Stars gives us a female heroine who will shake up the status quo and push toward a more inclusive vision for the future of space travel and society.

The Calculating Stars is a tour de force in both science and society

, as Elma York, mathematical genius and pilot aiming for her spot in space, takes center stage in saving humanity. I can’t wait for the next one, The Fated Sky, which will be coming out in a few weeks.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

I went down to Denver to see a bunch of friends who were in town for Romance Writers of America, and what did we talk about? Why books, of course! And The Alice Network was mentioned several times.

So this amazing piece of historical fiction immediately got slipped to the top of the July mix. And, OMG, what an incredible read. I LOVED this book. The Alice Network is the story of two women, both involved in war time tragedies (World War I and II) and how their lives get entangled after WWII.

This book has all the great chills–adventure, suspense, a bit of romance and of course, the bonds of friendship. I could not put The Alice Network down and have been telling everyone to read it since I finished it, like yesterday.

Now I am telling you. Hint. Hint. Nudge. Nudge.

Dollybird by Anne Lazurko

Dollybird was recommended by several people I met at the Western Writers Association conference in Montana in June. Intrigued, I ordered it. The story centers around the story of a young woman from Eastern Canada who finds herself unwed and pregnant and sent by her family to Saskatchewan to have her baby far from prying eyes. But after a series of mishaps and the loss of her money, she ends up a “dollybird”, the hired housekeeper of a man trying to make it on a rough claim in the middle of the prairie. I wanted to love this book, and I liked a lot about it, but I do wish that it had more depth. I wanted that next emotional layer that seemed to be missing. But all in all, I would recommend it because it is a wonderful examination of life at the turn of the century when there was still a lot of wild country left to be settled.