August Recap

August is over, and with it summer has come to an end though you wouldn’t know that if you were in the UK at the moment.

After YALC and everything else July brought with it August was a quiet month, giving me the time to get through plenty of books and to get started on the many I hauled at YALC. I reviewed eleven books this month, which is the most I’ve got through in a long while. They weren’t all amazing, but there were some exceptional ones.

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Books I Reviewed

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins (Editor)

I felt really let down by Summer Days and Summer Nights. Despite being marketed as Twelve Love Stories the majority weren’t, and it made this more of a bittersweet read than sweet.

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Wesley James Ruined my Life by Jennifer Honeybourn

This was another book I was really let down by. I really didn’t like the main character and couldn’t for the life of me get behind her motivations for wanting revenge against Wesley.

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The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

After two disappointments this month The Last Magician was a brilliant read. What it lacked in action it made up for with incredible characters, and luckily there’s a second book in the works.

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S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett

I picked this up at YALC because there was something about the cover that grabbed me, simple but eye-catching. This was a good book, but what made it exceptional for me was the ending.

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ARC Review: Book of Fire by Michelle Kenney

This was a book I enjoyed. The concept was interesting and the individual characters well developed but there were too many downsides, namely the world building I couldn’t wrap my head around.

I received a copy of this book from YA HQ.

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Wing Jones by Katherine Webber

I’d describe this book as contemporary with hints of magical realism, and an amazing read. Wing Jones was better than I expected, all thanks to the incredible development of Wing’s character.

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Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Plenty of people have read and loved this book, so my hopes for Geekerella were high. I thought this was a cute read, with plenty of fandom and Cinderella references I loved discovering.

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ARC Review: A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland

I thought this book would be a fun contemporary read, so I was surprised by the depth it had. A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares is probably my top book of this month, and definitely one of my favourite contemporary reads of the year.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

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ARC Review: Fireblood by Elly Blake

After the hints that Fireblood would have a love triangle I was nervous about picking it up. While I feel like it suffered a little from ‘second book syndrome’ this was still a great read, even the love triangle aspect was well written.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

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ARC Review: Tarnished City by Vic James

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and Tarnished City more than lived up to my expectations. It took the series to a whole new level and I am so beyond excited for Bright Ruin.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

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ARC Review: I am Traitor by Sif Sigmarsdóttir

While I had trouble connecting to the main character, and was a little confused by the format of the story, I am Traitor was definitely an addictive read. I always wanted to know what would happen next.

I received a copy of this book from BKMRK.

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Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Recommendations for …

Top Ten Books I’d Set as Part of my (Fictional) School Syllabus

Top Ten Hidden Gem Books in … Genre

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Waiting on Wednesday

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

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Standalone Sunday

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

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The biggest surprise of August was that I didn’t actually buy any books. It felt so strange knowing no Amazon packages would be arriving for me, walking out of Waterstones empty handed despite spending a good amount of time browsing the shelves. Then again I did overspend and overhaul at YALC last month so maybe this isn’t as much of a surprise as I thought.

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#SFATW

• The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

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Fairy Loot

• Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popović

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There are so many highly anticipated books being released next month that it was a real struggle to just pick one for this part of my Monthly Recap. I manage it in the end and I think it’s almost fitting that last month I featured a book by Leigh Bardugo and this month it’s another book by Leigh Bardugo that made the cut.

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The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo

Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.

Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid’s voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy’s bidding but only for a terrible price.

Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, #1 New York Times-bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.

Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, these tales will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.

This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, all of them lavishly illustrated with art that changes with each turn of the page, culminating in six stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.

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August ended up being a month of ARC reads, and it seems September will be more of the same. I am steadily working my way through my YALC book haul so my Mid Year To-Read Goal is taking a bit of a backseat for now, but it’s safe to say all the books I have to read during September in between the ARCs are books I already own that I need to get through.