Sooooo.... I accidentally read a lot of books in August. I read so many in fact that I've had to split my August Wrap-Up into two parts because the blog post would've been way too long otherwise. I ended up reading 23 books overall, so this post contains all the mini-reviews of the first 11 books I read this month. I had a pretty good reading month overall and enjoyed a fair amount of what I read. I had a couple of meh reads, but overall I'm pretty happy with how the month went.
I also succeeded in the Orilium Magical Readathon and manged to get these grades overall:
And here are my reviews for the month! Keep an eye out for my August Wrap-Up Part Two in the next week!
This is an adorable graphic novel that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own. Oh my god, this book was adorable and I'm already excited to read the next one in this series. The characters were so sweet and the relationships were heart-warming. And, of course, the tea dragons were the cutest creatures I've ever seen. I adored the art style and I will definitely pick up more from this author/illustrator in the future - including prints. This is a short graphic novel so I don't want to say much more in case I spoil it, but I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a short, heart-warming graphic novel.
This is the sequel and second book in the Renegades trilogy. I read the first book last month and enjoyed it, so I wanted to continue with the series now, before I forgot anything. The first book is about the Renegades, a syndicate of prodigies - humans with extraordinary abilities - who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone, except the villains they once overthrew. Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice - and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both. I adored this sequel; it was so fast-paced and I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed seeing more of the found-families that Nova has, as well as more of the inside of the Renegades and how it all works. It was also very satisfying seeing certain characters get their come-uppance. The main issue I have with this trilogy is that I honestly don't know how Nova can come out of this with everything still intact. It's so clear which side she should be on, but then all the characters are morally grey so you actually end up liking some of the 'villains'. A really brilliant book that definitely doesn't suffer from 'second-book syndrome'. I was very excited to pick up the finale later in the month.
Well, as the prompt says, I didn't know much about this book going into it. When Cassie was fifteen, all she wanted was to marry Jesse Franklin, the bassist from her favourite band, Franko. Now she’s single, in her late twenties and wondering what happened to that teenage dream. A chance encounter on Facebook soon leads to a transatlantic hook up, and soon, Jesse and Cassie are having a long-distance love affair spanning five thousand miles. Overall, I did enjoy the story and I felt compelled enough to keep reading. I liked the romance between the couple, even if it felt a little like insta-love - I could forgive that especially on Cassie's behalf since she'd had a crush on Jesse for 15 years.
However, the secret that he kept from her was so frustrating. The thing I always hate about the third act break-up is that if they do something that is, in my eyes, irredeemable then I stop rooting for the couple, especially when they've only physically seen each other in person for less than 2 weeks. There were definitely a few things that he said where I was like 'Woah, red flag, get out of there'. Also, when he had months to find out about the thing and just didn't even try, except for one brief message. Another thing that bothered me was that everyone kept saying Jesse was closed off but I didn't really see any evidence of that because he was always so open with Cassie who he'd met just weeks earlier, so that felt disjointed (very telling rather than showing). I did like Cassie's relationship with her best friend for the most part, but I struggled with she started calling Cassie selfish because she was going through a break-up?? That felt really weird and I could never imagine saying that to a friend, even when I was stressed with wedding planning. Overall, it was a fun contemporary, but the issues I had with it definitely dragged the star rating down. Also, as a heads up, this had fade to black scenes for anyone interested in that.
This is a non-fiction collection of essays by the Philip Pullman, the author of the His Dark Materials trilogy. That trilogy has been one of my absolute favourites since I first read it when I was 8 or 9, and I always find it so nostalgic to read now. In this book, Pullman explains which storytellers have meant the most to him, including William Blake and John Milton, why their work has resonated with him, and how it has inspired his own thinking. In over 30 essays, written over 20 years, Philip Pullman reveals the narratives that have shaped his vision, his experience of writing, and the keys to mastering the art of storytelling. I did thoroughly enjoy reading this. Some essays resonated more than others, but I loved reading about his discussions on the craft of writing, his own books, and also on theology and how it related to his works. There were some essays that were related to other texts that I knew nothing about, and therefore, didn't really enjoy as much, which is why this wasn't a 5 star read. Pullman also has some views on fantasy and religion that many readers may disagree with, but if you're happy reading other people's opinions without taking offence, then it shouldn't be an issue. Overall, if you're interested in writing, and particularly the work of Pullman and literary theory, then this is a great book to read.
The Velveteen Rabbit is a children's book that I've heard a lot about but I've never actually read before now. Since it was on Scribd, I decided to read it. This book follows the toy, the velveteen rabbit, and its relationship to its child and the other toys around it. Since this is a short book, I don't want to say too much about it, but it was adorably sweet and I wish I had read it when I was a child. It really conveys a lot of emotions for such a short book.
Oh my god, what an ending. This is the third book in the Renegades trilogy so I can't say what this book is about without spoiling the first two. However, I will say I loved the story overall; it was so fast-paced and action-packed and I loved every second of it. It was also brutally vicious for a YA book with the character deaths, and what happened to certain characters. I loved seeing how Nova and Adrian had progressed throughout the books, and the direction Meyer took the characters in. Some things were a little corny towards the end, but you know what, I didn't care. I saw one of the major plot twists coming, however, I absolutely did not see two of them coming at all - especially that Epilogue. Marissa Meyer can write! I highly recommend this trilogy; it was just a really fun time.
This is another book I can't say a lot about as it's the second book in the the Tawny Man fantasy trilogy, and part of the third trilogy in this world. I'm loving this series though. It's really fascinating to see how the characters have grown up, and seeing Fitz realise that his father figures are actually getting older and aren't as infallible as he once believed. It is also safe to say that Fitz is the biggest fool of them all; the whole scene with the Fool broke my heart, but it was so like Fitz to say those things. I loved the characters and where the plot is going, even though the plot in this book was a lot slower-paced than a lot of Hobb's books. This book focused mostly on characters and the politics around Buck Keep. Thick was so interesting and I loved that we saw more of Chade. The interweaving of the Liveship Trader books was also really cool to see. Overall though, the Fool has my heart and I only want good things for him.
This book was very weird, but in a really good way. It's a thriller that follows Deanna Madden, aka Jessica Reilly, who hasn't touched another person in three years. She hasn't even left her apartment. She makes money from performing to webcams on a sex site. She's doing alright. The dollars are piling up in the bank. She's the number 3 model on cams.com. And she hasn't killed anyone for years. But when Deanna sees on the news that a little girl called Annie has gone missing, the story rattles her carefully ordered world. It's uncomfortably similar to the dark fantasy of one of her most disturbing online clients. She's convinced he's responsible for the girl's abduction - but no one will listen to her. So, she takes matters into her own hands.
I don't want to say too much since thrillers are always best going into to without preconceptions. However, as you can tell by the description of the book, this was very explicit. The thriller part of the plot was extremely compelling. I found this to be very quick to read, with an interesting concept and I flew through the short chapters. Deanna/Jessica was a fascinating character and I enjoyed her inner voice. However, the romance was weirdly unrealistic compared to the rest of the book (which was also quite unrealistic in itself!). By the end of the book I still felt very unsure about the main character and if she is actually compelled to kill, but perhaps that gets explored more in the sequel. I will definitely pick up the rest of this series as the thriller aspect was very well written.
This is a very short dystopian novella that takes place before The Bone Season, which I first read in 2015. I'd never picked this up before, but I decided to read it before my re-read of the rest of the series. In the perilous heart of Scion London, a dangerous and valuable poltergeist is on the loose – and it must be caught before chaos erupts on the streets of the capital. Here, the clairvoyant underworld plays by its own rules, and rival gangs will stop at nothing to win such a magnificent prize. Sixteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working for Jaxon Hall, the most notorious mime-lord in the city. He thinks she is hiding a powerful gift, but it refuses to surface. Maybe this is the opportunity she needs to secure her position in his gang, the Seven Seal. This was an interesting novella; it was a good introduction to this world and it really helped me remember everything I needed ready for my re-read of The Bone Season. I especially liked that we got to see more of the origin of Paige and the gang. I don't have too much to say about it as it's a novella, but I think this is a good place to start for anyone who wants to pick up this series and give it a try.
This was a very mixed book for me. It's a contemporary romance that follows Henley Evans. Between taking night classes for her MBA and her demanding day job at a cruise line, marketing manager Henley barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for the promotion of her dreams, all her sacrifices finally seem worth it. The only problem? Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, is also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend. Their boss tasks each of them with drafting a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos - best proposal wins the promotion. There’s just one catch: they have to go on a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands...together. But when the two meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined.
I will say that I loved Henley's ambition. It was great seeing such a strong female character, even if her single-mindedness was also occasionally her weakness. The setting was so beautifully and vividly written; I felt like I was in the Galapagos, and it made me want to visit and look into the wildlife there. Some scenes also definitely had me laughing - like pushing Nikolai in the bathroom. However, I spent so much of this book feeling frustrated or angry with characters that I almost DNF'd early. I HATED James (which I know is intended). I also didn't like Graeme for so much of the book that it then became hard to change my opinion of him - especially when he said things like 'You shouldn't let him [her boss] talk to you like that' - Like that's how it actually works in the real world with sexism. He never actually apologies for that line either. Arghhh. Henley's sister also annoyed me for the first half of the book. The second half of this book and the setting saved this from being a two star. The characters became more well-developed and more explanations were given, which definitely helped. I know this is intentionally because the reader is viewing everyone from Henley's flawed perspective, but it made it hard for me to do a u-turn when we spend less of the 'good' moments with the characters. It was a fun read, but the frustration dragged the star rating down for me.
A full review of this book can be found here, but this book follows Norah, who escaped a serial killer 10 years previous. Now they say that she's the lucky one, the survivor. But no one knows the truth—the thing she's been running from all this time. How she escaped. Back in her hometown a decade later, she can feel the questioning eyes on her. She can’t shake the feeling that she is being followed, the shadow of a reflection in the glass storefronts, the murmur of footsteps before she turns to look. But no one’s ever there. Then the anonymous messages land in her inbox, overly familiar and insistent: I’m watching. I’ve been waiting for you.
I received this book from Bookouture via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I requested it because I was looking for the next good thriller; it's been a long time since I read a one that really surprised me and kept me captivated and intrigued from start-to-finish like this one did. I don't want to say too much in this review because the best part of a thriller is uncovering the story as you go along.
I loved the process of reading this book. I read it in pretty much one sitting and couldn't put it down; I just needed to know what was going to happen next. The short chapters and flashbacks to the past made it so easy to keep turning the pages. Also, for a thriller and such a fast-paced book, the characters were really well-developed. I loved Norah and her strength both mentally and in her fitness. I wish we'd seen more of her best friend, but I still really liked their friendship throughout. Rob and Owen were also both interesting characters. My biggest complaint is that I wish we'd learned a bit more about Norah's father and especially her mother (both what happened overall and when Norah was growing up). I feel like we heard a lot about what they were like, but we never actually saw very much. I feel like adding that would have made some other reveals have a bigger impact towards the end of the book. Overall though, this is a really great psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes.
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