This month really blew me away reading wise when I looked back at how much I read this month. I think part of it was because I didn’t travel anywhere this month, which gave me a lot of extra time at home to read. I also read a few books that had me hooked from the start or also felt like it was a face pace to read.
There were two books that I read this month that were part of a partnership with an indie publishing company in exchange for an honest review and I was able to read both of those books quickly. One of them I can’t find anywhere to share links with y’all, so I won’t be sharing it on this post. I think having a deadline for the review helped push me through it quickly. I also did a few projects around the house that allowed me to listen to my audiobooks for a long period of time. I also made my usual mistake of putting a few books on hold and having them all release at the same time, so that also helped push me to reading book quicker than usual. So overall, I put more time and energy to reading this month and it paid off with the amount that I did read/listen.
I did join the hype of finally reading Fourth Wing after having multiple friends and coworkers tell me that I needed to read it. I also dived back into the Young Adult genre and rediscovered a love for it, especially on audio. For some reason they just translate really well into audio and get me hooked within the first hour of listening. It was so hard to stop listening to them when it was time to open the restaurant for customers and I’m so glad that I had a painting job that allowed me to listen to them for a few hours.
Here are all the books I read in August:
A Very Typical Family – Sierra Godfrey
Natalie Walker is the reason her older brother and sister went to prison over 15 years ago. She fled California shortly after that fateful night and hasn’t spoken to anyone in her family since. Now, on the same day her boyfriend steals her dream job out from under her, Natalie receives a letter from a lawyer saying her estranged mother has died and left the family’s historic Santa Cruz house to her. Sort of. The only way for Natalie and her siblings to inherit is for all three adult children to come back and claim it—together. Natalie drives cross-country to Santa Cruz with her willful cat in tow expecting to sign some papers, see siblings Lynn and Jake briefly, and get back to sorting out her life in Boston. But Jake, now an award-winning ornithologist, is missing. And Lynn, working as an undertaker in New York City, shows up with a teenage son. While Natalie and her nephew look for Jake—meeting a very handsome marine biologist who immediately captures her heart—she unpacks the guilt she has held onto for so many years, wondering how (or if) she can salvage a relationship with her siblings after all this time.
This book seemed like it had such great potential, but I spent most of the book trying to figure out what genre it was trying to be – thriller, family drama, contemporary fiction, romance? I’m not sure, however I was invested in it. It was a predictable read and the big reveal of where Jake was was kind of a let down. The epilogue was also one that was a brief period after the last chapter, which is not my favorite because it doesn’t feel like it’s really showing where the characters are after the story. Rating: 3.5/5
Yes, Chef – Waitlyn Andrews
I’ve sworn off romantic relationships, stifling family expectations, and self-doubt. The trifecta, really. Returning home to run the family business is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean I can’t spend some time carving my own path of culinary success. In Paris. Because who doesn’t love Paris? Because Paris has the best food scene in the world. And I want to earn this my way. Dammit. Not to brag, but the first four months of living abroad and working at one of the chicest, up-and-coming restaurants in France — everything is going exactly as planned. I go to the market every morning, I run my own schedule, and I don’t have to think about my cheating ex or Meredith-Blake-of-a-Mother. Croissant and espresso every morning? A given. Living abroad has been perfect. It’s the Nancy Meyers’ Dream. That is, until a tall, all-American golden boy enters my space as the new Head Chef of Teaks. Chef James Sullivan is too attractive for his own good, and I’ve strictly written off workplace romances. But, lucky for me, he only chooses to acknowledge my presence when he’s critiquing my work every five minutes. Maybe I can tune out those broad shoulders and denim blue eyes….if only those eyes would stop staring at me so intently.
I read this book in exchange for an honest review and I loved it! It’s a closed door romance with the trope of coworkers with a touch of enemies to lovers, but one sided enemy. I loved how she really explored a different type of dining experience of a fusion of Teppanyaki with a menu changing daily based on what’s the catch of the day or what’s the best available at the market that day. I honestly could’ve read the entire book and been happy if it was just focusing on the food and the scenery of Paris, but the romance was also cute. My only complaint about the building of the relationship is that it took a majority of the book for them to start the relationship and then it moved at an extra fast speed that almost gave me whiplash and confusion. This book is now available on Kindle Unlimited. Rating: 4/5
New Adult – Timothy Janovsky
Twenty-three-year-old Nolan Baker wants it all by the time he’s thirty. Too bad he’s single, barely able to cover his own expenses, and still paying his dues at a prominent NYC comedy club. When faced with his perfect sister’s wedding, Nolan takes it as a wakeup call. It’s time to quit comedy and make good on his practical dreams—most importantly, asking Drew Techler, his best friend, to be his date. But right as Nolan is about to give it all up, he’s asked to fill a last-minute spot for a famous comedian. Score! He crushes his set, but stands Drew up, misses his sister’s big day, and disappoints his entire family. After major blowouts with everyone he loves, Nolan desperately wishes on a set of gift “magical healing crystals” to skip to the good part of life. When he wakes the next morning, it’s seven years later, he’s a successful comedian, and he has everything he always thought he wanted. Everything, that is, except his friends and family, none of whom are taking his future self’s calls. With nowhere else to turn, Nolan sets out to find the only person he trusts to help. Except Drew is all grown up now, too. He’s hot, successful…and hates Nolan’s guts. As Nolan works to get back to his younger self—and the life he so carelessly threw away—he’ll have to prove he’s not the man everyone thinks they know in order to regain Drew’s trust, friendship, and maybe, ultimately, his heart.
This was such a cute read to listen to. I’m obsessed with how chaotic Nolan is and how he’s trying to get his life together, but always seems to fall short. It’s so relatable to what I feel like we all go through. Nolan and Drew were also such a cute best friends to lovers trope with the always in love with the other. The magical part of the story was done in a way that wasn’t distasteful or too out there as far as ideas go. There’s so much more I could gush about this story, but if you’re looking for a cute and light LGBT+ story, I highly recommend this one. I will be reading the other two books in the series that are all stand alone novels. Rating: 4/5
Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret. Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
This book had me hooked from the start and is 100% worth all the hype it is getting. I loved the collegiate aspect of a fantasy book mixed in with romance and friendship. It wasn’t hard to keep up with the characters and the different regions that Yarros created. It looks like a thick book, but it reads very quickly. Once I was finally able to sit down and read it, I flew through it in a few days and couldn’t stop thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. I’m definitely a fan of fantasy books with dragons in them after this one. If you are wanting an introduction into the fantasy genre, this one is definitely the one. Yarros leaves you on a huge cliffhanger at the end of it, and makes you want to preorder the next book and count down the days until it’s released. This will definitely be a top read for the year. Rating: 5/5.
A Court of Frost and Starlight – Sarah J. Maas
Feyre, Rhysand, and their friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly altered world beyond, recovering from the war that changed everything. But Winter Solstice is finally approaching, and with it, the joy of a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, her concern for those dearest to her deepens. They have more wounds than she anticipated-scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court.
This was such a great concept that Maas had creating this “novella” to tie up the first trilogy of the ACOTAR series and starting the shift to the next part of the series. However, after reading an action filled book like Fourth Wing, this one was a little slower for me to read. I kept waiting for some distress to happen. This also redeemed my theory that unless it’s in the same series, I need to break up the Fantasy genre reads between each book with a different genre. A lot of people said you can skip this book because it is just a filler one, but we were introduced to two new characters, or maybe just one if I forgot about the other character in the third book. Rating: 4/5
XOXO – Axie Oh
Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo.
This was such a cute listen on audiobook and made me remember how much I love Young Adult Romances. Very easy to follow along, I loved how most of the story took place in South Korea and you get the chance to learn a little bit about performing arts schools in a different country. I was so hooked into the storyline that I honestly couldn’t put it down and was glad I had a painting job to do to allow me to listen to the second half of the book in one sitting. Rating: 4/5
This May End Badly – Samantha Markum
Pranking mastermind Doe and her motley band of Weston girls are determined to win the century-long war against Winfield Academy before the clock ticks down on their senior year. But when their headmistress announces that The Weston School will merge with its rival the following year, their longtime feud spirals into chaos. To protect the school that has been her safe haven since her parents’ divorce, Doe puts together a plan to prove once and for all that Winfield boys and Weston girls just don’t mix, starting with a direct hit at Three, Winfield’s boy king and her nemesis. In a desperate move to win, Doe strikes a bargain with Three’s cousin, Wells: If he fake dates her to get under Three’s skin, she’ll help him get back his rightful family heirloom from Three. As the pranks escalate, so do her feelings for her fake boyfriend, and Doe spins lie after lie to keep up her end of the deal. But when a teacher long suspected of inappropriate behavior messes with a younger Weston girl, Doe has to decide what’s more important: winning a rivalry, or joining forces to protect something far more critical than a prank war legacy.
TW: sexual predator, sexual abuse. I am officially in a Young Adult Romance kick and am determined to stay in it for as long as possible. This one had the fake dating trope mixed in with academic rivalry. I love a fake dating trope done well and this one is one of those. The boarding school concept was a fun read and I loved how they dealt with having a predator as a teacher and how Doe looked out for the younger students. This was another quick listen for me because I was hooked from the start and couldn’t stop listening to it. I need this to become a movie or TV series. Rating: 4/5
Spoiler Alert – Olivia Dade
Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. The world may know him as Aeneas, star of the biggest show on television, but fanfiction readers call him something else: Book!AeneasWouldNever. Marcus gets out his frustrations with the show through anonymous stories about the internet’s favorite couple, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone discovered his online persona, he’d be finished in Hollywood. April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s long hidden her fanfic and cosplay hobbies from her “real life”—but not anymore. When she dares to post her latest costume creation on Twitter, her plus-size take goes viral. And when Marcus asks her out to spite her internet critics, truth officially becomes stranger than fanfiction. On their date, Marcus quickly realizes he wants more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. But when he discovers she’s Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to keep from her. With love and Marcus’s career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?
I had such high hopes that I would enjoy this book, but it just fell flat for me. I think part of it was that I started this book on audio and either got really lost in what was going on in the story or accidentally skipped over a section of the story without knowing. Then, the audiobook stopped working for some reason, which caused me to switch to a ebook copy of the book to finish it. I think this helped a little, but at that point I was already checked out of it and wanted to finish it because I can’t DNF, but also to see how it ends. I felt like it had such a great concept, but I think the back and forth of the relationship with a weird dynamic and the fact that April basically jumped down Marcus’s throat over certain issues she had just left a weird feeling for me. Rating: 3/5
What books have you read recently? Let me know in the comments below!
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