I really enjoy summer, but New York is in the middle of some really gross, sticky, hot weather and I am very ready for fall right now. Fortunately we’re headed in that direction now that August is officially over, which means it’s time for a monthly recap!

August Recap

Don’t forget to click on the titles to see my full thoughts on Goodreads if this little snippet isn’t enough for you!

Frogkisser by Garth Nix: This book was so unexpectedly fun! It wasn’t really on my radar, I just bought it to support Nix at a book signing, so I put it off for a long time. But I really enjoyed it! It’s a fairy tale that pokes fun at itself and doesn’t take anything too seriously while still telling a traditional tale, and I was really impressed.

Mirage by Somaiya Daud: I loved the first half of this book, but then I thought the romantic relationship really through it off course, which is so disappointing because it had so much promise! You can read my full review here.

My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas: I read this in anticipation of going to a romance class. I didn’t make it to the class, but I’m so glad I read this! It’s just such a rich romance full of so much tension, and it’s incredibly well done. Plus it’s set in western China, which is a setting I’ve never seen in a romance novel before!

Born to be Wilde by Eloisa James: I was highly anticipating this book because of how much I enjoyed the hero and heroine’s setup in previous books, but I was disappointed by this one. It just didn’t have the sparks I was expecting, and I didn’t think the hero had that much respect for the heroine.

The Works: Anatomy of a City by Kate Ascher: This is such a fascinating look at how cities work! I’ve always wondered about how water and electricity get here and where the trash goes and just how so many people can live in such a small space, and this book, while a bit dated now, did a great job addressing those topics and more.

Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas: I liked Soulstealer well enough, but I wasn’t blown away by it like I was kind of expecting to be. I just didn’t like Selena for most of the book, as her true motives didn’t come out until later.

A Notorious Vow by Joanna Shupe: I’m so obsessed with this hero! He’s just so wonderful, and I really enjoyed this story. And he’s deaf, which was really interesting to see in a historical romance. Read my full review here, and keep an eye out for it later this month!

Meet the Sky by McCall Hoyle: This isn’t something I would normally gravitate towards, but I thought it was a pretty solid book. Definitely check it out if you’re into survival stories and YA contemporaries that deal heavily with grief. You can read my full review here.

Intercepted by Alexa Martin: This is such a great debut contemporary sports romance! I really liked Marlee and her friend group, and of course, Gavin is a pretty dreamy hero. Be sure  to grab this when it’s released on September 11! Read my full review here.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han: I LOVED this book when I read it last year, but I reread it after watching the movie and just didn’t like it as much! I thought Peter was kind of a jerk and generally just preferred the movie. Check out my full thoughts here.

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mary Hartnett, and Wendy W. Williams: Every time I learn more about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I can’t help but be even more impressed with her. She’s such an amazing woman! I was already familiar with a lot of the writings in this book, but I still got a lot out of reading this and definitely think it’s worthwhile for RBG fans.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han: I couldn’t stop after just the first book!

What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell: Omg, I forgot how much I love Lenora Bell! This was just such a wonderful historical romance, and I really liked Edgar and Mari together. I can’t wait for her next book to come out later this month!

Pride by Ibi Zoboi: I need to stop reading Pride and Prejudice retellings already. I give this one a lot of credit for being incredibly unique and a really interesting take on the beloved classic, and the fact that I finished it says a lot since I usually DNF Pride and Prejudice retellings. But I’m such a huge fan of the classic that I couldn’t help but compare the two while reading, and Pride just didn’t live up to Pride and Prejudice for me.

Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates: I think I’ve been reading too many Maisey Yates books too close together, as they’re starting to feel pretty repetitive and indistinguishable, and she has this habit of writing full sentences and then repeating them with sentence fragments that I noticed all over this book and couldn’t stand. It was still addictive enough that I immediately picked up the next book, but I think I need to take a break before starting the Gold Valley series.

Book News

I actually don’t have any book news I want to be sure and share from August! It was a slower month for book news, but also I just wasn’t on Twitter as much because I did a fair amount of traveling in August. I suspect we’ll see a lot more pop up next month, though!

Bookish Articles

I have some really good articles to share with you this month that I think you should check out!

First up is a great interview with Alyssa Cole about her latest release, A Duke by Default. In case you missed it, I loved this book. They talk a lot about how she developed Tavish as a character, what it was like to write Portia’s ADHD arc, how she engaged anti-immigration bigotry in the book, and so much more. Seriously, Alyssa Cole is amazing, and this interview only affirmed that.

I also really enjoyed Jenny Han’s opinion piece in the New York about how important it is to finally see an Asian American teen starring in a movie. It’s a really powerful read about representation, and I highly encourage you to read it. And then go watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before!

Author Kristin Cashore also wrote a really important piece this past month about her upbringing in the Catholic school system of Pennsylvania, where the Catholic church has come under fire for a massive sexual abuse scandal. While she wasn’t personally abused, the whole culture still left a really deep impact on her that she wrote into the Graceling books. It gave me a new level of respect for a series I already love, and I really appreciate that she shared this.

Switching back to movie articles, I was really impressed by this article on Bustle about how one of the female screenwriters of Crazy Rich Asians helped strengthen the female characters for the film adaptation. I thought the book was just ok, but I really enjoyed the movie, and I suspect a lot of it was because they really strengthened the characters, especially the female ones, for the film, so this was a cool read.

Last but not least, if you need a good laugh, check out this Buzzfeed article about the dick soap debacle. Yes, you read that right. No, this is not safe for work. The whole situation is bizarre, but Twitter’s reactions are hilarious, and this article does a great job capturing some of the best tweets about the whole thing.

Blogging Recap

So I’ve pretty much abandoned my blogging schedule at this point because it just wasn’t working this summer. If I missed a planned posting day, then I’d wait to post until my next planned day even if I already had something written, and it was ultimately just resulting in fewer blog posts. So for now I’m just kind of posting whenever with the goal of posting at least two to three times a week, but hopefully later this fall when things slow down more for me, I’ll be able to get back on track with my schedule.

Anyways, here are the posts that went up in August:

• Fantasy Arc Roundup: Trail of Lightning, Spinning Silver, Time’s Convert
• Monthly Recs: Underrated Books
• 3 Fun Ways to Pick Your Next Read
• One-Year Blog Anniversary (I still can’t believe it!!)
• To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: I Liked the Movie Better
• YA Arc Roundup: Mirage, Seafire, Meet the Sky
• Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2018
• Romance Arc Roundup: A Duke by Default, The Governess Game, Intercepted, A Notorious Vow
• September TBR

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How was your reading in August? Let me know in the comments!!