August wasn’t my best reading month. I did read some interesting books, but I felt like I was in a bit of a reading slump for a good part of the month. It couldn’t be helped. I was also busy and had a lot of course work. I did end up reading 20 books, and I hauled one. You’ll find them below the cut.
Books I hauled in August:
- Into the Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Books I read in August:
1. Influencer Island by Kyle Rutkin
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: There is a full review of this up on the blog here.
2. The Barren Grounds by David Alexander Robertson
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. I like fantasies where you end up going into a different world, so this was fun to read an updated version of it with Indigenous perspectives. I think it would be really great for fans of Narnia, and honestly, in my opinion, I think it was even better than Narnia. There are lots of good themes you could pull out to discuss with students. I liked how Morgan and Eli grew closer over the course of the book and became more like siblings. I also liked how Morgan grew to accept her identity more and more.
3. The Order of the Night Jay by Jonathan Schnapp
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: There is a full review of this up on the blog here.
4. The Bend of Luck by Peter Hoey
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: There is a full review of this up on the blog here.
5. Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: There will be a full review of this up on the blog closer to its March 21st, 2023 publication date.
6. The Maid by Nita Prose
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: There is a full review of this up on the blog here.
7. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I really enjoyed this mystery. I like how Lucy Foley hides who the victim is, but also how she gives you all these different perspectives and you get to see how various characters think. This one was well written, and followed a slightly different pattern than the other Lucy Foley’s I have read. I very much enjoyed the story and all the twists and turns. The narrators were all well written and unique. I liked how they interacted. It very much kept me guessing straight until the end.
8. The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: There is a full review of this up on the blog here.
9. Marionette by Antonia Rachel Ward
Rating: 2 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: There is a full review of this up on the blog here.
10. Pax by Sara Pennypacker
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: This novel was very cute in a heartbreaking kind of way. It broke my heart a bit. It was very well written, and I enjoyed it a lot. The premise was interesting to me, and I liked that we got the perspective of both Pax and his boy. They were both very interesting, and brought something unique to the table. I liked that we had a fox narrator. It was a unique touch, and not what I expected. I will. admit that the end of the book definitely made me cry.
11. Life is a Book by Cassandra Clare
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: I really enjoyed reading these extra moments from the Infernal Devices all packaged together. They were very cute, and I liked getting to see moments between Will, Jem, and Tessa. They are still, and likely always will be, my favourite love triangle. I enjoyed the writing, and I really enjoyed the characters. It was great.
12. Sixty Years in Winter by Ingrid Chabbert
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: There is a full review of this on the blog here.
13. Pygmalion and the Ivory Virgin by Serge Le Tendre
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: There is a full review of this on the blog here.
14. Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: There will be a review of this up closer to the October publication date.
15. Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: I really enjoyed this story. I felt like it was well written. I also appreciated the way that it was sectioned up; it helped with the pacing of the novel. It was quite well done. I really enjoyed getting to see how she came to be a big tennis star, and how she decided to make her comeback. I liked the subtle references to the other books that TJR has recently published. I recieved this through NetGalley as an eARC.
16. The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I found that Lexi was an interesting character. I was intrigued by the premise of this book. I did feel that it could have used a bit more development in some of the elements. Certain characters needed a bit more to them for me to rate this a five star. I found the. aspects with the witch kind of spooky. I was very happy with the resolution of the story.
17. The Ash-Born Boy by V.E. Schwab
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was a good addition to the story. I liked getting to know more about this character that we knew so little about the original novel. I wanted to know more about him. You do feel for him as a character. The people around him were pretty awful.
18. The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943 by Inge Scholl
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was an interesting period of history, and these young adults had tried to change people’s opinions and make them see the light. It’s unfortunate that they had to die. I liked the way this book was written and how it included a large section of historical documents at the end for you to learn even more.
19. The Pretenders by Charlaine Harris
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I enjoyed this story. It wasn’t my favourite book that I’ve ever read, but it was fun. The protagonist was interesting but I wanted a bit more out of the story. It felt complete as a story arc, but I wanted more answers to the questions that I had about what exactly was going on.
20. Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physcial Copy
Review: This was a cool fantasy novel. The protagonist was kind of unlikable, but I have to admit that I liked that. about her. I liked the dynamic between Violet and Cyrus. They had interesting romantic tension. The world building wasn’t thhe best I’ve ever read, but it was still a really interesting world. I liked the magic system.
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