Hello Readers! August was a mixed bag for us. My husband and son had their first bout of Covid, my oldest daughter returned home from an amazing month-long trip to São Paulo, Brazil, my middle child turned 21, and my youngest started dual credit classes (online this semester) through the local community college. And amid all this busyness, I participated in the Trope-ical Readathon!

I’m not a fast reader, so the fact that I had my best reading month all year, reading 13 books, made me very happy. If you look back at My August TBR—which I kept light to allow for mood reading off my Readathon TBR—I read all 7 of the books I had planned, plus 6 more, for a total of 4,010 pages—7 ARCs and 6 backlist books. I also managed to cross off 5 books from my #20BooksOfSummerChallenge and fulfilled 5 prompts on My Popsugar Yearly Reading Challenge, bringing my progress up to 52 books read out of my goal of 63. Yay for multi-tasking!

Let’s see what I read!

Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!

August Wrap-Up

(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

I started off the month reading Bend Toward the Sun, a debut novel by Jen Devon, and I’m predicting it might be among my favorites for the year. This one crushed my heart and put it back together!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on August 9, 2022

Next, I picked up Stay Awake, my third mystery/thriller by Megan Goldin, but my least favorite of hers so far. I was entertained and intrigued, but a little underwhelmed with the reveal.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐.5
My Review
Published on August 9, 2022

I read my first book by Sarah Grunder Ruiz, Luck & Last Resorts (Love and Fancy Ships, #2), and I adored it, reading late into the night to finish.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
My Review
Published on August 9, 2022

I continued ploughing through my ARCs, picking up With Love From Wish & Co., my second book by Minnie Darke. I had some mixed feelings with this one, thinking it was beautifully written and charming, but the characters made some choices that fall into morally gray areas. It gave me plenty to ponder!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on August 16, 2022

One of my most-anticipated books, I was nervous to pick up TJR’s latest, Carrie Soto Is Back, with my sometimes tepid reaction to her books, but I didn’t need to worry! I think it’s my favorite of her books so far!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
My Review
Published on August 30, 2022

I was invited to read and review Kate Quinn’s Amazon Original short story, Signal Moon, and I thought it would be a nice way to give the author a try. I was very impressed with this time-bending historical fiction story!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on August 1, 2022

I finally picked up Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, a backlist book waiting on my physical shelf. I thought it was raw, powerful, and beautifully devastating! It fulfilled a specific prompt on my Popsugar Reading Challenge: An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Next, I picked up another ARC, The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe, a debut romance with an academic setting, body positivity, and the (often) dreaded miscommunication trope. I enjoyed this one!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Publishes on September 13, 2022

My third book by author Samantha Mabry, Tigers, Not Daughters, this YA novel was haunting and beautifully done. A quick read, I read it in one day. It fulfilled another specific prompt on my Popsugar Challenge: A book with a tiger on the cover or “tiger” in the title.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Another backlist book waiting on my physical shelf was Tweet Cute, my first book by Emma Lord. This book also fulfilled a very specific Popsugar prompt: A book with an onomatopoeia in its title. I adored this YA romance!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

When I was recently approved for the ARC of the fourth book in this series by Jen DeLuca, I knew it was time to get caught up, having only read the first book so far. I was able to borrow Well Played, the second book in the series, through Libby. I knew it was the least popular, so I went into it with low expectations. I have to agree it’s just okay. But worth the read for fans and continuity.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐.25

I’ve been eager to read Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu since I won a copy through BookishFirst. This gender-switched retelling of The Outsiders didn’t quite hit the mark for me, though. I did manage to read it in one day using a combination of my physical book and the ebook through Libby.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐.25

I managed to squeeze in one last shorter book for the month, finally picking up From Thailand With Love by Camilla Isley, a romance that’s been waiting on my digital shelves for awhile. Unfortunately, it was just okay, as well.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐.25

In case you missed it…

• Book Review, Unboxing, & Giveaway! | The Witchery by S. Isabelle
• Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set In A Place I’d Love to Visit
• ARC Book Review | Alias Emma by Ava Glass
• Top Ten Tuesday: My Ten Most Recent Reads I Didn’t Review On My Blog #3
• Let’s Talk Bookish | Reviewing Books
• Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Loved That Were Written 10+ Years Ago
• Let’s Talk Bookish | Unhauling Books
• Top Ten Tuesday: Book Series On My Shelf I Still Need To Start
• Top Ten Tuesday: The Last Ten Books I Read With Academic Settings

What I’ve been watching…

• We finished Better Call Saul. Tears were shed, and I thought it was a perfect conclusion to the Breaking Bad world.
• We started Donald Glover’s Atlanta on Hulu, House of the Dragon on HBO, and I binged the first season of Single Drunk Female on Hulu, about a 20-something’s journey through AA. I recommend all three!

How was your reading month? Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!