August 2019 Wrap-Up

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!

Happy September everyone! I'm so happy fall is around the corner. I am definitely a basic bitch and you can bet the day pumpkin spice was released back in Starbucks I was there getting my PSL. Unfortunately I live in Phoenix and therefore can't utilize my array of sweaters and leggings and boots and scarves. Not until December at least, hopefully. I wish I still lived where it snowed.

Anyways, you're here for the books I read this past month! I felt like it was both a productive and unproductive month. I read fifteen books this month which is about my average, but for some reason I feel like I read a lot more. Oh well.

On with the books!

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1. The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace - ONE DAY READ
Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 156 pages
Read: Aug. 4
Thoughts: What a beautiful journey to self love. I was completely enraptured.

2. The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace - ONE DAY READ
Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 192 pages
Read: Aug. 4
Thoughts: An incredible homage to the woman's rights movement, as it should be known. I'm finding myself falling more and more in love with her writing. And taking the witch trials back and bringing the parallels of today's world along with them...I have no words. 

Witches. We're fucking strong.

3. The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One by Amanda Lovelace - ONE DAY READ

Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Page count: 210 pages

Read: Aug. 4

Thoughts: This. Just this. 

#metoo

4. The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken

Star rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Page count: 362 pages

Read from: Aug. 2 to Aug. 5

Thoughts: This was going to be a 4.5 star read but I knocked a star off because of that ending. Cliffhangers like that really bother me, but as it’s a middle grade I do understand why Bracken wrote it that way.

5. Persephone by Loic Locatelli-Kournwsky - ONE DAY READ

Star rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Page count: 144 pages

Read: Aug. 9

Thoughts: The art style was pretty but I didn't care for the storyline at all. 

6. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki - ONE DAY READ

Star rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Page count: 304 pages

Read: Aug. 9

Thoughts: That was really good. Very hard hitting in some places, and I’ve definitely been where Freddy was most of the book. I appreciate all the queerness too, makes me wish I had a band of queer girls in high school I could run to when I needed help.

7. The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill - ONE DAY READ

Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Page count: 72 pages

Read: Aug. 9

Thoughts: Well that was just the cutest thing I have ever read. I really want a Peppermint Dragon

8. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman 

Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Page count: 416 pages

Read from: Aug. 4 to Aug. 10

Thoughts: I read this for the second time this year as a part of my Radio Silence buddy read with all of my booktube friends! It was much better the second time around, I caught onto a lot of things I glazed over the first time. I have a full review of it here.

9. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Page count: 456 pages

Read from: Aug. 10 to Aug. 12

Thoughts: I am in absolute awe. I don’t even think I have proper words to describe how I feel about this book. Wow I love it.

Okay now that I am more coherent here's what I have to say. I would absolutely want to live in this world and be a librarian like Elisabeth. And I am just completely in love with Nathaniel. He's so sure of who he is, which is really nice to see in fiction. Like don't get me wrong, I love coming out stories or people discovering their sexuality, but reading about a bisexual character who is confident in his bisexuality and is already established really gets to me. I love the rep. 

10. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Star rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Page count: 208 pages

Read from: Aug. 12 to Aug. 15

Thoughts: How heartbreakingly beautiful. And so full of hope. 

11. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Star Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Page count: 559 pages

Read from: Jul. 13 to Aug. 15

Thoughts: I’m sorry but what in the fresh hell did I just spend the last month reading??? That was the most twisted, confusing, batshit crazy book I believe I have ever read. I don’t even know if I liked it or not. I suppose I’ll have to spend another month meditating on my thoughts of it. Good lord.

12. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Page count: 416 pages

Read from: Aug. 21 to Aug. 22

Thoughts: WHAT. HOW. WHAT. SCREAMS. SHOOKETH TO THE CORE.

13. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Star rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Page count: 503 pages

Read from: Aug. 16 to Aug. 26

Thoughts: 2.5/5 stars with an extra half star tacked on for nostalgia, so all in all 3/5 stars

It really wasn’t that good, but like I said the nostalgia made it a lot better. You can definitely tell that this was written by a nineteen year old, but I mean all things considered that really is an extraordinary feat. It’ll be interesting to read the rest of the series however since when I was younger I only read the first one.

14. Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Star rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Page count: 375 pages

Read from: Aug. 27 to Aug. 30

Thoughts: I like this a lot more than I thought I would. It was pretty chaotic and there were a lot of twists and turns, feeling more like a rollercoaster ride than anything, but overall it was pretty decent. The raging bisexual disaster of an MC definitely helped. I only wish that the MC ended up with the princess and not her final love interest. Or better yet, the three of them happily together, just three girls loving each other and everything. That would’ve been so good.

15. The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson

Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Page count: 352 pages

Read from: Aug. 30 to Aug. 31

Thoughts: That was absolutely incredible and so easy to get through. A fantastic beginning to what I’m sure will be an unforgettable fantasy series. Honestly the best part was that there wasn’t a love triangle, and the romance didn’t even play a heavy part in the overall story. I love that. 

Two thumbs up, 10/10 would recommend, cannot wait for the sequel.

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Total page count: 4,725 pages

Favorite book of August: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Least favorite book of August: Persephone by Loic Locatelli-Kournwsky

No DNF'd books this month

Unfinished books of August: The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (again)

Lovely War by Julie Berry

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

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Okay, that's all for this month's wrap-up! A pretty good month overall, no one star books and no DNF'd books! I'm excited for September's books, I already have so many books on my TBR!!

Until next time!