we were liars – Katie L. Carroll

A person in a hammock, holding the book When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson. A yard of trees in the background. — The hammock is one of my favorite summer reading spots!

How’s your summer reading going? I’m usually a mood reader, meaning I don’t really plan my reading lists ahead, rather I read whatever I’m in the mood for. This summer, however, I’ve decided to make a list and see if I stick to it. No promises!

The month of July is my birthday month, so I’ve decided to celebrate by putting all my novels on sale! ONLY DARK EDGES, my modern-day Hamlet retelling is $1.99 all month long on all ebook platforms, including directly from me on the Purchase Books page. If you’ve been watching the TV show adaptation of We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, ONLY DARK EDGES will devastate you in all the same ways.

A graphic with the book cover of ONLY DARK EDGES by Katie L. Carroll with a background of a stormy sky and sea. The book cover shows a girl with auburn hair flying around her face in the wind, a stormy sky and sea behind her. Text reads, "Beware the Storm! We Were Liars meets You've Reached Sam in this modern-day Hamlet retelling. Sale $1.99"

My five other novels are 50% (that’s $2.49 each) on Smashwords for the month of July! Choose from My YA fantasies ELIXIR BOUND and ELIXIR SAVED, the YA dystopian thriller BLACK BUTTERFLY, and the middle grade books PIRATE ISLAND and WITCH TEST.

After finally having conquered the ability to read audiobooks (see “Long-Awaited Update on Training My Brain to Read Audiobooks”), I’m right on track with my reading goals for the year. I’ll be doing a bit of traveling in July, which should give me some time to conquer my summer reading. I’ll also be working on revising my first ever adult novel, a cozy dystopian that I plan on releasing this fall, so keep an eye out for more about that. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ve already gotten a sneak peek at the cover. Busy, busy as always over here!

I’d love to hear what’s on your summer reading list this year, so please feel free to share in the comments.

I’m dubbing this summer my summer of rereading. There’s something comforting and easy with reading the familiar. And with a newborn and an almost 3-year-old, I’m in much need of comfort and ease. I’m starting with the Harry Potter series because it’s been a few years since I’ve read any of those books and it feels like the right time to delve into the series again. No matter how many times I read these books, I always love them.

I flew through The Sorcerer’s Stone in no time and have started Chamber of Secrets. We’ll see how far I get before the summer ends. So far I’m finding lots of inspiration for my own writing. Being so familiar (I’ve read the first four books probably close to ten times) with the plots allows me to linger over the superb writing in a way I don’t tend to do when I’m reading a book for the first time.

Pretty much every summer I read Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere, so that’s definitely on my list as well. This is a book about 16-year-old Lennie, whose 19-year-old sister has just unexpectedly passed away. I feel like this a book that speaks to my soul. I find it to be uplifting and healing but also very emotional. It hits a little too close to home, given that my sister passed away at 16 (when I was 19).

I’m also currently reading two other stories I haven’t read before, and I’m sure there will be other new books on my list. E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars has been on my list and I’ve heard great things about it, so I’ll probably try to get to that one. Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater (one of my favorite authors) also recently came out and will likely get read.

What are you all planning on reading this summer?