Welcome to the end of August. This year continues to be crappy but I’m pretending to make the most of it, weeee! Since WordPress forced my hand to the block editor I can’t do all the same formatting I used to be able to, which is annoying, but in the world of 2020 almost seems inconsequential in comparison (still going to complain about it though because I have strong feelings). Despite all the chaos and and sadness and anger and heartbreak that was August, I still managed to get some books read! Let’s see how things went.
The breakdown (this includes any I aim to finish by end of day Aug 31st):
- 16 novels, no graphic novels or webtoons this past month
- 13 speculative fiction books (1 Science Fiction, 12 Fantasy)
- 3 Romance
Favorite Reads of the Month:
Due to my mood reading, I loved a lot of the books I read this past month (yay!). I’m narrowing it down to a few favorites here but these were by no means the only books I enjoyed, just some highlights.
- A Dance with Fate by Juliet Marillier – I looooove Juliet Marillier. She puts her characters through hell but she always pulls them out the other side of things so it’s worth it for the emotional journey. This was no exception and I have to say it was one of the toughest journey’s she has taken me on. Loved this book.
- Murder of Crows, Vision in Silver & Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop – These are books 2, 3, and 4 of The Others series. I am LOVING this series and kind of kicking myself for not reading it sooner (but the advantage is that now it’s done and I can binge them all). These three volumes continue to expand the world and the plot, upping the tension and stakes while still giving the reader lots of places to connect emotionally. Can’t wait to read book five!
- The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster. I had this one in my TBR for some time and just got around to it now when I saw some book friends yelling about how good it is on twitter. They were right–it’s such a lovely fantasy book full of fae magic, romance, and family (in all its complicated iterations). What an unexpected delight.
August’s Book Reviews:
I published 9 reviews this past month which is right around average for me. I’m doing pretty good at keeping up with writing my reviews in a timely fashion. 🙂
- Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker – 5/5 stars
- The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole – 4/5 stars
- Drowned Country by Emily Tesh – 4.5/5 stars
- Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey – 4/5 stars
- Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim – 4/5 stars
- Valor’s Choice by Tanya Huff – 4/5 stars
- Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop – 4.5/5 stars
- The Empire of Sands by Tasha Suri – 4/5 stars
- A Dance with Fate by Juliet Marillier – 4.5/5 stars
Other Posts:
Still sticking to my one discussion post a month, huzzah! I may even be able to make it through the entire year at this point. 🙂 I also had a couple of book tags this month–they were fun to fill out. And a rare book tour post!
- To Book Club, or Not to Book Club
- Summer Vibes Book Tag
- Quarantine Book Tag
- Book Tour: The Four Profound Weaves by R. B. Lemberg
20 Books of Summer:
This was my last month for the Twenty Books of Summer challenge. Here’s my list–let’s see how I did! Crossed off books are ones I’ve been able to read.
The Shores of Spain by J. Kathleen Cheney- The Waking Land by Callie Bates
Written in Red by Anne BishopSooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker- The Many-Colored Land by Julian May
The Obsidian Tower by Melissa CarusoThe Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells- A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
In the Garden of Iden by Kage BakerVita Nostra by Marina and Sergey DyachenkoLeviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey- Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
- The Spirit War by Rachel Aaron
Valor’s Choice by Tanya HuffThe Queen’s Road by R. S. Belcher
Since this doesn’t end until September 3rd I still have a couple of days left on this one. I’ll be posting a wrap up then! 🙂
Plans for September:
Let’s first see how I did with August’s plans! I planned to keep things chill and stay with the mood reading. I pretty much did that! I did manage to get a few ‘list’ books read, but mostly my reading was guided by my mood. I also wanted to keep working on my summer reading list and while I didn’t complete my list, I still feel pretty good about how I did because despite my mood reading I still managed to finish 2 (surely by the end of tomorrow it will be 3) more books from my list. Lastly, I wanted to get a couple of more bingo books read and I finished a single book for my bingo challenge so at least that’s some form of progress. I now have 5/25 bingo books read. I’m really going to have to step things up going forward though or I’ll be reading nothing but bingo books early next year but also…eh. If I don’t finish bingo this year….whatever. (I say that now but I will probably start to panic in January when my card is no where near done.)
For September I don’t really have many plans except to mood read. Maybe one or two more bingo reads. I guess we’ll see how things go and what I feel like reading. I’ve been stockpiling some fun books so hopefully will get through some of those. 🙂
And, that about sums things up. How was your month? Leave a note in the comments, I’d love to chat!
Way Too Fantasy 
Looks like you had a great reading month
Thanks! It was a pretty great month for reading, that’s for sure. I think I read almost twice the amount of books as the previous month. 🙂
That’s amazing , I’m keep going in a slump but hoping I’ll get some good books in this month 🙂
Slumps are tough, I was in and out of one for about two months–the struggle is real! Hope things look up for you in September!
Amazing monthly wrap up…
Thank you!
You’re welcome 😊
Looks like you had a good reading month! I hope September is just as good!
(www.evelynreads.com)
Thank you, Evelyn! Hope you have a wonderful September as well.
Yay! A good month for you!
Thanks, it was pretty darn good. 🙂
Well, you read a lot of great books! And I hope September would be better, both for bookish things and real life things!! And I am so so glad you are loving The Others’ series!!!
I did! It was a fun month for reading. I hope September is great for both of us. 🙂
I really am loving it–I only have one more book to go in the original series, then I can start the lakeside books.
So I guess mood reading really works?😁 I’m overwhelmed by my September books but I’m just going to do my best. Its hard to believe summer is over. Or I guess it makes more sense to say “What summer?” Lol.
It seems to be doing the trick haha. 🙂
There are so many releases in September, I’m not even going to try and keep up with anything. As much as I love my new releases, I’m having fun reading what I want at my own pace right now.
It really is like the summer that wasn’t. Not looking forward to winter, but I’ll enjoy the autumn at least.
I’m SO glad you enjoyed Unravel the Dusk!! I hope I can read it soon *fingers crossed* ❤️✨
Thanks, it was so much fun. It’s a bit of a silly book but I had a lot of fun reading it. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it when you get to it! ❤
Yes, read All the Anne Bishop! And when you finish the main series, there’s two spin-offs, Lake Silence and Wild Country. Wild Country is cool in that in takes place in another town, but happens concurrently with book 5 of the Others, so you can see the repercussions of certain events elsewhere in the world.
Yeah, I definitely plan on reading the other books as well. Ooooh, well now that sounds interesting. Hoping to read book 5 in the next couple of weeks.
this looks like it was a good month for reading!! and honestly, wordpress is such a struggle right now, it’s definitely not just you lol. i hope you have a lovely september!💜
Thanks, Kaya! Yes, it is, it’s such a pain! Thanks, I hope you do as well.
I’m glad your mood reading is going so well! It’s so much more fun sometimes to just read whatever you want rather than try to stick to a list. I’ve been focusing on specific books so much lately that I’m so jealous of all the fun you’ve been having!
Yeah, it really is. I’ve got a couple of ARCs to read but luckily they are books that are very much in my wheelhouse so I don’t think it’ll be an issue for me to get to them. I think I’m going to try and stop focusing on specific books so much, maybe just a couple a month and the rest of my reading choices are going to be whatever I’m in the mood for.
A great reading month and also keeping on top of your reviews, I really dislike getting behind. Hope September is just as good.
Lynn 😀
Thanks! I don’t like being behind either, it feels stressful. I’m one review behind right now and even that is stressing me out lol! Thanks, Lynn! Hope you have a fantastic month ahead!