August was a strange reading month for me! There were some real highs and some serious disappointments, and I also made progress with my Summer of Sequels.
The Undead Truth of Us is for anyone who is looking for a story that reads like a John Green novel but with a touch of zombies. This YA contemporary novel looks at grief in a raw and honest way. Though the zombies are real, they read almost like a metaphor and I thought that was beautiful. Overall, this was an impressive debut and I look forward to seeing what Britney S. Lewis writes next!
I was so excited to read Love and Other Words, especially when I saw this adorable new cover, so it pains me to say that this is one of my most disappointing books of the year, if not my most disappointing. I loved the setup and I thought this romance had a lot of potential, but I had some serious issues with the ending that I cannot get into it without spoiling the entire crux of the story! This book has me questioning whether Christina Lauren is for me.
Better Than the Movies was a fun teen rom-com and I look forward to reading more from Lynn Painter. If you were a fan of teen movies from the early 2000s, like She’s All That or 10 Things I Hate About You, I think you will have fun with this book! It made for the perfect beach read!
Lakelore has solidified Anna-Marie McLemore as one of my favourite authors and every time I pick up one of their books I am reminded of just how much I enjoy magical realism. The representation in this book is fantastic and the characters were just so sweet. They had a great connection! Don’t go into this one expecting to have the magic explained to you because I think you will be disappointed. I think that it is probably typical of magical realism!
I am struggling to work out how I feel about Sundial. I wanted to pick up something darker after reading a lot of romance, and this certainly delivered on that front! I am new to horror and I am still working out the kind of horror that I love, but I am not sure that Sundial is it. I was not expecting animal testing and I don’t know that I bought into the science of it all. That said, I was fascinated by the exploration of mother/daughter relationships and there was amazing tension.
I was gifted a copy of Malice for my birthday and it is so outside of my comfort zone that I wasn’t sure I would ever pick it up! I was telling this to some bookish friends and we decided to buddy read. I am so glad that we did because I really ended up enjoying this book in the end and will be continuing with the series. It took me a minute to get a hang of the world and all of the characters, but I eventually became invested. I filmed my entire reading experience and will be posting that video soon!
Tiffany D. Jackson never misses! The Weight of Blood is a Carrie retelling and, even though I know that story, I was not at all prepared for how emotional this book made me. I should have known that Jackson would somehow make this story even more harrowing. The conversations about race and white saviours are powerful and something I am still thinking about. There is also a podcast element so I will probably listen to the audiobook at some point!
I have to admit that I didn’t fall in love with The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy until I was about halfway through the book! I can’t put my finger on why, but I just wasn’t connecting. That said, there was a moment when it all came together and I could not put this book down. I fell in love with these characters and there was a bit of a mystery that had me turning the pages.
Tread of Angels comes out in November and I recommend preordering it! This was my first book from Rebecca Roanhorse and I desperately want to read more from her. This book is only 208 pages, but so much happens and I thought that the world was extremely interesting. I am hoping that she writes more in this world because there is so much more that I want to know. I will say that I didn’t love the ending but the journey was worth it!
The Sequels
I read four sequels in August and am now caught up on all of these series! I won’t say too much more because I will be writing a wrap up on how my Summer of Sequels went with all of my thoughts on the books and what I have learned along the way. I will just say that A Prayer for the Crown-Shy was my favourite book of August!
What was the best book you read in August?
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The best book for me is HONOR BOUND by Hallee Bridgeman
Love Rebecca Roanhorse! I have an arc of Tread of Angels and need to read soon!
Ohh you need to message me when you read it!!
Will do!
Wow, you’ve been busy! It’s so great that you enjoyed most of these and hopefully September will be just as full of new adventures for you!
Ah thank you! I hope the same for you!
Fingers crossed! And thank you! 😊
Great wrap up, I’m glad you read some great books this month. I need to pick up Lakelore as I love Anna-Marie McLemore
It was fantastic! I’m determined to read their entire backlist.
The best of August for me was The Girl From Guernica (ARC) histfic with thriller vibes
Ohh that sounds like something I’d like. I’ll have to check it out!
Maybe you can still snag an arc?
Great wrap-up Kristin!! So happy you are reading John Gwynne. Malice was so good. The series gets better as we go. I haven’t read much horror either. I don’t know if the genre is for me being the biggest wimp that I am. 😅
That is what I have heard about the series. Excited to see where it goes!
I cannot watch horror films at all but I’m learning I can handle the books! I think I just prefer Gothic horror.
I have The Weight of Blood and The Undead Truth of Us on my tbr – I’m excited to read those! Glad to hear you enjoyed them! Looks like you read a lot of good books in August.
I am excited to see what you think about both of those!
Thanks!
The Summer of Sequels is a really great idea! I love how catchy it is, too. 🙂 And that’s a good reminder for me that I need to read more of McLemore’s work. I really liked the one I read so far.
Thank you! I am going to try to plan it better for next year and maybe have some people join me next summer!
I hope to listen to The Weight of Blood audiobook ASAP, I cannot waitttt! Tiffany never disappoints!
As much as I adored Love and Other Words I do agree it is overhyped a lot. There are issues with it. I still loved it but I can understand why you didn’t.
It gets a lot of love and I can definitely see why it is something people love!