It's only been a month since my last post, but it feels like forever since I last updated here.
I feel about as reliable as a chocolate tea pot at the moment, but between pain flares, and blinding migraines I just haven't been up to staring at a screen much lately.
I'm hoping things will start to improve soon, and I can begin creating content more often again, but at least for today, I'm back to put finger to key, and catch up with my August reads.
Yes, August. Naturally, I'm still a month behind! I know; I'm hopeless! Haha!:
August Reading Stats:
📖10 books completed, 2 started.
📖4 hardbacks.
📖1 paperbacks.
🎧5 audiobooks
📖2095 pages (4357 pages including audiobooks).
🎧98.08 hours listened at 1.1x or 1.2x speed.
📖4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖Average rating: 4.2 stars.
📖Average book length: 484 pages.
📖Average time to finish: 7 days.
I Read:
📖The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. 4⭐ (Reread).
📖The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig. 5⭐
📖The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent. 5⭐
📖Threads That Bind by Kika HatzoPoulou. 3⭐
📖A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher. 5⭐
🎧The Family Experiment by John Marrs. 4⭐
🎧A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 4⭐ (Reread).
🎧A Light in the Flame by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 4⭐ (Reread).
🎧A Fire in the Flesh by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 4⭐ (Reread).
🎧The War of Two Queens Graphic Audio Part One by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 5⭐ (Reread).
And I Started:
🎧Born of Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. (Reread).
Favourite Reads: I have three favourites from August that I can't choose between- The Knight and the Moth, The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk, and A Sorceress Comes to Call. I was obsessed with each of them, and couldn't choose a favourite if I tried.
The Knight and the Moth is the first book that I've read from Rachel Gillig, but it won't be my last. (In fact, I've just bought One Dark Window, and Two Twisted Crowns to try). I loved the writing style, the enemies-to-lovers relationship between the main characters, and the hilarious, melodramatic, talking gargoyle sidekick who totally made the book for me. If you love seers, creepy cults, knights, unique magic systems, monsters, forced proximity, and surprise twists, I'd highly recommend it.
The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk was one of my most highly-anticipated reads of 2025, and it smashed all of my expectations out of the park. My emotions felt like they'd been put through a spin-cycle while reading it, but despite the trauma of Mische and Asar's story, I loved it (and them!) so much that I was hanging off every word. I especially loved the grumpy/ sunshine relationship between Mische and her reluctant ghostly sidekick, the return of several favourite old characters, seeing the destruction of Obitraes and the Underworld, and Mische and Asar coming into their own as they raced to fix both worlds as they crumbled around them. I can confidently say it's one of the best books in the Crowns of Nyaxia series- definitely as good as The Serpent and the Wings of Night (book one), and Six Scorched Roses. If you love enemies-to-lovers vampire stories with forced proximity, trials, battles, humour, adorable skeleton wolves, and a little spice, give them a try!
A Sorceress Comes to Call also had me completely engrossed from start to finish, and was the perfect mix of funny, and unsettling. It was about a teenaged girl being controlled by her abusive, sorceress mother and her creepy familiar. She isn't allowed friends, she can't have secrets, and she certainly mustn't close her bedroom door. Children don't keep secrets from their mothers- unless they want to be possessed by said mothers. The poor girl is in despair at the hopelessness of her situation, but life begins to change when they suddenly go to live with a rich squire and his spinster sister at their grand estate. While the mother sinks her claws into the squire and stops at nothing to take down anyone in her way- including murder- the girl is slowly coaxed out of her shell by the feisty spinster and her friends, who go from sewing circles to sabotaging the sorceress faster than one can take a turn about the room. I devoured this book in a few sittings, and laughed my way through it, while developing a new suspicion of white horses. I never thought of horses as creepy until I read this book, but I may never look at a horse the same way again. Luckily, I love how T. Kingfisher always leaves me creeped out by the most random creatures or things, and I'm sure there'll be no lasting damage. Most of her other characters were loveable and fierce, and the story was brilliant, so it's definitely a new favourite. I can't wait to try more of her books.
Favourite Listens: I also listened to some great audiobooks in August... mostly rereads of books I've read in print. I particularly loved The War of Two Queens Graphic Audio Part One (from the Blood and Ash series), especially for the petty feud between Kieran and Reaver, as well as Poppy and Kieran becoming closer friends in Casteel's absence. I can't wait for part two... even if it's not out for another month.
Least Favourites: My least favourite was probably Threads That Bind. Not because it was a bad read- I enjoyed it at times, and found the Ancient Greek threads-of-fate weaponised in a modern day setting interesting... I just wasn't overly excited by it. But considering I'm a little older than its target YA audience, I think that was to be expected. I only had a copy as it was the very first Fairyloot subscription book that I received, and I finally made time to read it to clear some space on my shelves. It's since gone to live with my sister.
I also had a love/hate relationship with the audiobook of A Fire in the Flesh- but only because I despise psychopathic abuser Kolis more than any other villain I can think of, and he made my skin crawl even more in audio form.
So, those were my August reads. Hopefully it won't be another month before I return with what I read in September!
Have you read anything good lately?
You Might Also Like
