Despite starting the month with a DNF, August has been a very decent reading month. I didn’t read as many books as I’d hoped, but the quality was much higher compared to previous months. I’ve had a lot of four stars and above reads and I really needed that. I also read my first festive ARC of the year and it was great!
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
Read: 3/8/24 – 8/8/24
This was a great book to start the month with. Well, technically I started the month with a DNF but I don’t want any negativity in this post as I’m a little tired of talking about bad books at the moment.
I had a great time reading this. Before I got properly stuck into it, I worried the time loop would get too repetitive and boring, but it didn’t. I’d highly recommend checking this out if you want a fairly light hearted book that has a tiny sprinkle of magic.
Book Review: The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
Synopsis: After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day.
Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. In addition to Josh’s recurring infidelity, Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways.
How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?
My Salty Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows
Read: 8/8/24 – 13/8/24
*I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
This book was so fun. I didn’t realise it was by the authors of My Lady Jane until after I finished it. Not that I’ve read that before or have any opinion of it. I just know a lot of people really enjoyed the adaptation that came out recently.
If you’re a big fan of pirate books, you will love this. It’s also loosely based on The Little Mermaid and has a lot of modern day references woven in – these work surprisingly well and were often quite funny.
ARC Review: My Salty Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows
Synopsis: Don’t call this mermaid “little”—call her “captain,” unless you want to walk the plank.
Mary is in love with the so-called prince of Charles Town, except he doesn’t love her back. Which is inconvenient. Since she’s a mermaid, being brokenhearted means she’ll—poof!—turn into sea-foam.
But instead, Mary finds herself pulled out of the sea and up onto a pirate ship. To survive, she joins them. But Mary isn’t willing to just sing the yo-ho-hos. She wants the pirate life, all of it, and she’s ready to make a splash . . . by becoming captain. But when Blackbeard dies suddenly, Mary has a chance to become so much more: Pirate King . . . or Queen. She won’t let anyone stop her—not Blackbeard’s cute son, not her best friend from back under the sea who’s having a bit too much fun with his new legs, and certainly not everyone who says she can’t be a pirate just because she’s a girl.
She may not be the best man for the job, but she’ll definitely prove that she’s worth her salt.
The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer
Read: 13/8/24 – 15/8/24
I definitely enjoyed this instalment a lot more than the first but it still has the whimsy from the films missing. The writing was a lot better and Enola’s detective skills are really starting to bloom, but the resolution for this one is a little silly.
Book Review: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer
Synopsis: Enola Holmes is hiding from the world’s most famous detective—her own brother, Sherlock Holmes. But when she discovers a hidden cache of bold, brilliant charcoal drawings, she can’t help but venture out to find who drew them: young Lady Cecily, who has disappeared from her bedroom without a trace. Braving midnight streets where murderers roam, Enola must unravel the clues—a leaning ladder, a shifty-eyed sales clerk, political pamphlets—but in order to save Lady Cecily from a powerful villain, Enola risks revealing more than she should…
Heartstopper: Volume Two by Alice Oseman
Read: 16/8/24
Will rereading this series become a yearly tradition? Potentially. I never reviewed them when I first read them and I wanted to post some, hence why I’m (very slowly) making my way through them again.
I love volume two, a lot more than I realised actually. It’s possibly the cutest one as Nick and Charlie are just starting to find their feet in their relationship and it’s so adorable.
Re-Read Review: Heartstopper Volume Two by Alice Oseman
Synopsis: Nick and Charlie are best friends. Nick knows Charlie’s gay, and Charlie is sure that Nick isn’t.
But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is discovering all kinds of things about his friends, his family … and himself.
Songlight by Moira Buffini
Read: 15/8/24 – 21/8/24
*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
It feels like it’s been a very long time since we’ve had a good dystopian novel, but that’s no longer true. Songlight is such an impressive book from a debut author. I flew through the majority of this book, which is impressive given the amount of world building that takes place.
I’d highly recommend checking this out if you’re a big dystopia fan. It’s great.
ARC Review: Songlight by Moira Buffini
Synopsis: We’re two songs joined. And there’s a word for that. A harmony.
Elsa is used to hiding the most important parts of herself—her feelings for Rye, her distaste for a world ruled by men, and, most crucially, her gift of songlight. She buries that secret deep inside. In Brightland, those with songlight are called Unhumans and are abhorred. Rye is the only other person Elsa has known with songlight, and their shared bond has brought them together.
Elsa’s world begins to fall apart one desperate, heart-wrenching day and she doesn’t know where to turn until a girl appears before her. But the girl isn’t really there—her songlight has been drawn to Elsa’s frantic grief.
Elsa lives in a remote seaside village; Nightingale, her new friend, lives in a city hundreds of miles away with her father, a government official responsible for rooting out Unhumans. The two never expected to connect via songlight. But when they do, and when they realize the extent of their power, they’ll be thrust in the middle of a war that threatens their very existence.
Against the Boards by Cynthia Gunderson
Read: 21/8/24 – 25/8/24
I enjoyed the majority of this book but it’s hard to look past an annoying main character. The concept was fun and I liked a lot of the characters, but the constant jumping to conclusions and immature behaviour was too much.
Book Review: Against the Boards by Cynthia Gunderson
Synopsis: Emma can’t fall for a player.
But Tyler’s game is proving difficult to ignore.
Fate takes a slap shot at Emma’s heart when she finds a driver’s license outside a grocery store belonging to none other than Tyler Bowen. The center for her brother’s hockey team with looks that scream plenty of scoring off the ice.
Her overprotective brother warns her to stay away, but after a particularly patronizing comment, Emma decides to break free from the defense. Sean has always tried to control her relationships, and at twenty-nine, she’s had enough.
Emma convinces Tyler to mess with Sean and pretend they’re in a relationship for just one night. Little does she know that Tyler has a surprise in his playbook. He needs Emma’s assistance to face a formidable his father, the ultimate player of hearts.
It was supposed to be all fun and games, but when the photography studio Emma works for is sold unexpectedly and Tyler’s dad offers her a job, she realizes she may have glided too far into enemy territory.
How to Survive a Horror Movie by Scarlett Dunmore
Read: 26/8/24 – 27/8/24
*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
This was my favourite read of the whole month. It was super fast paced and I really didn’t want to put it down. I read the entire book in just under 24 hours and the twists and turns were so good. You really never knew what would happen next.
Synopsis: Horror movie enthusiast Charley is determined to keep a low profile when she’s enrolled to a girls’ boarding school on a remote island. That is, until someone starts killing off her senior class! From elaborate scare tactics to severed heads in fridges, Charley has found herself at the centre of a teen horror movie. And that’s not the only alarming thing that’s happening – she’s now seeing the ghosts of her former classmates!? Haunted by her peers, and with everyone beginning to suspect her, Charley decides to do something about it. She and her only best friend Olive are going to solve the murders and find out who’s killing off the class before graduation. Charley just needs those pesky ghosts to shut up and give her a hand…
Vox Machina Origins Volume II by Matthew Mercer, Jody Houser & Olivia Samson
Read: 29/8/24
I’m having a great time reading this series and seeing what Vox Machina got up to when they first met.
The art style felt super refined this time and I loved all of the small changes to the character’s appearances. Also, we now have all of Vox Machina together!
Graphic Novel Review: Vox Machina Origins Volume II by Matthew Mercer & Jody Houser
Synopsis: Join familiar faces from Critical Role’s smash-hit first campaign as their escapades in Stilben lead them toward new adventure—and a dire threat to Grog when he goes missing in the night. Tracking him down will see the party lose one member, gain another, and reveal parts of Grog’s secret past. But first, his friends have to actually find him.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: What I Watched: August 2024
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