Reading Wrap-Up – August 2023

Hello, how are you all?

I hope you are having a good September so far? We are finally enjoying the sun we’ve been wishing for all summer, and it’s felt more like the summer holidays this weekend than it did all through August!

August was a bit of a slow reading month for me, I was on holiday for the first week, I read a few low-rated books, then by the end of the month I was reading an 800+ page book which took some time. However that 800+ page book was very good, so it didn’t feel as long as it actually was… but more on that later.

What are you reading at the moment? Let me know in the comments below.

BOOKS READ

THE LAUNCH PARTY | LAUREN FORRY | Standalone | Read 09/08 | ⭐⭐ .5 | Audiobook | Borrowbox & Netgalley | Review Book | Adult | Sci-Fi, Locked Room Mystery | Read my full review here | Unfortunately, this book fell a little flat for me, which was disappointing as the description sounded amazing; a murder mystery set in a hotel on the moon. There was so much that could have been done with this concept, yet, other than a couple of scenes, it could have been set in any hotel. I just found it a bit slow. Not a lot happened and it wasn’t as tense and exciting as I was expecting it to be. Plus, I didn’t get that heart-stopping, edge-of-the-seat feeling when it come to the resolution at the end.

THE COMFORT BOOK | MATT HAIG | Standalone | Read 10/08 | ⭐.5 | ‘Audiobook’ | Passed Over | Buddy Read | Adult | Self-Help, Mental Health | One of my mum’s work colleagues passed this on to her, and when I was down with Flu in July she read some of this to me for something to do (she’s such a great mum, I am very lucky!). We finished reading this together in August. It’s not my usual read but although a lot of the philosophical segments went over my head, it did have an overall hopeful vibe and I did enjoy the inspirational true-life segments. however there was not enough of this for me and too much philosophy.

*BOOK OF THE MONTH* | HOUSE OF SKY AND BREATH | SARAH J. MAAS | Crescent City #2 | Read 26/08 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Mood Read | Adult | Fantasy, Romance, Mystery | Once again Sarah J Maas gets me to read a CHUNKY book while still leaving me wanting more. Her plots are addicting and thrilling, there were some HUGE twists I didn’t see coming. I have marked this book down half a star though as I am still not keen on Bryce and Hunt as main characters (there’s something about them that doesn’t sit right with me) but luckily the side characters in this book really make up for it, and I absolutely adore them. The last 15%/20% of this book was the most thrilling piece of storytelling I have read in a while so I can’t wait for book 3 in January to see how it all comes together!

BOOKS GAINED

WUNDERSMITH | JESSICA TOWNSEND | Nevermoor #2 | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Mood Read | Middle Grade | Fantasy | “The fantastical city of Nevermoor, once a place of magic and safety, is now riddled with fear and suspicion…”
HOLLOWPOX | JESSICA TOWNSEND | Nevermoor #3 | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Mood Read | Middle Grade | Fantasy | “Morrigan must try to find a cure for the Hollowpox, but it will put her – and everyone in Nevermoor – in more danger than she could have imagined.”
THREE SISTERS THREE QUEENS | PHILIPPA GREGORY | The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #8 | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Mood Read | Adult | Historical Fiction | “As sisters they share an everlasting bond; As queens they can break each other’s hearts.”
THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME | JULIA QUINN | Bridgerton #2 | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Mood Read | Adult | Historical Romance | “1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London’s most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.”
HOUSE OF SKY AND BREATH | SARAH J. MAAS | Crescent City #2 | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Mood Read | Adult | Fantasy, Romance, Mystery | “Bryce, Hunt and their friends find themselves pitted against the terrifying Asteri – whose notice they must avoid at all costs.”
FALLING HARD FOR THE ROYAL GUARD | MEGAN CLAWSON | Standalone | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Mood Read | Adult | Contemporary Romance | “From her bedroom in the Tower of London, twenty-six-year-old Maggie has always dreamed of her own fairy-tale ending.”
GIFTS | LAURA BARNETT | Standalone | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Mood Read | Adult | Holiday, Contemporary | “TWELVE PEOPLE… TWELVE GIFTS… ONE CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER…”
SUNBURN | ANDI WATSON & SIMON GANE | Standalone | eARC Graphic Novel | Netgalley | Review Book | YA | Coming of Age, Drama | “Rachel is a teenager who lives a grey suburban life in grey suburban England…When a family friend invites her to spend the summer with them in Greece she jumps at the chance to escape her life.”
THE CHRISTMAS BOOK CLUB | SARAH MORGAN | Standalone | eARC | Netgalley | Review Book | Adult | Holiday, Contemporary, Romance | “Over the course of an eventful week, Hattie sees that the friends are each carrying around unspoken truths, but nothing prepares her for how deeply her story will become entwined in theirs. Will this Christmas be the end of the book club’s story or the start of a whole new chapter?”
DEVOTED | DEAN KOONTZ | Standalone | Paperback | Gift | Recommended | Adult | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | “From Dean Koontz, the master of suspense, comes an epic thriller about a terrifying killer and the singular compassion it will take to defeat him.”
HER RADIANT CURSE | ELIZABETH LIM | Six Crimson Cranes #0 | Hardback | Amazon | Mood Read | YA | Fantasy | “From the New York Times bestselling author of SIX CRIMSON CRANES comes a tale of two sisters—one as beautiful as the other is monstrous—who must fight to save each other when a betrothal contest gone wrong unleashes an evil that could sever their bond forever.”

READING STATS

Books Read	4
Books Read Minus DNFed	4
Total DNFed	0
Total Pages	1679
Avg Days Per Book	16.25
Avg Pages Per Day	75
Audio Hours	19.09
Avg. Goodreads	3.8
Avg. Rating	2.8

TOP GENRES
1. Romance
2. Biography, Mystery, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Health & Wellbeing

READING CHALLENGE PROGRESS

Read 50 Books – 70%
Read 15,000 Pages – 89%
eARC Challenge – 19%

AUGUST TBR

CARRYING OVER FROM LAST MONTH

THE SUN AND THE STAR | RICK RIORDAN & MARK OSHIRO | Standalone, Spin-Off | 44% Complete | Hardback | Amazon | Mood Read | Middle Grade | Fantasy, Mythology, LGBTQ+ | “Demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace must endure the terrors of Tartarus to rescue an old friend”.

TBR FOR THIS MONTH

THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES | SUZANNE COLLINS | The Hunger Games #0 | Hardback | Already Owned | Re-Read before the Movie | YA | Dystopia | “Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price..”
THE CHRISTMAS BOOK CLUB | SARAH MORGAN | Standalone | eARC | Netgalley | Review Book | Adult | Holiday, Contemporary, Romance | “Over the course of an eventful week, Hattie sees that the friends are each carrying around unspoken truths, but nothing prepares her for how deeply her story will become entwined in theirs. Will this Christmas be the end of the book club’s story or the start of a whole new chapter?”

IF I GET TIME

THE LIGHTNING THIEF | RICK RIORDAN | Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1 | Paperback | Already Owned | Re-Read before the TV Show | Middle Grade | Fantasy, Mythology | “Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him.”
GIRLS OF STORM AND SHADOW | NATASHA NGAN | Girls of Paper and Fire #2 | eBook | Amazon Kindle | Continuation of Series | YA | Fantasy, LGBTQ+ | “In this mesmerizing sequel to the New York Times bestseller Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and Wren have escaped the oppression of the Hidden Palace, but their freedom comes at a terrible cost”.

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