Tag: what I’ve been reading lately

The Best Books I Read in August (2024)

In August, I read 23 books. Most of these were solid reads, some were “meh,” and a few were excellent.

Where the Forest Meets the Stars, by Glendy Vanderah. I liked this read that had been lingering on my TBR for far too long. It felt like a touch of magic, and the cover is gorgeous.

Cast in Atonement, by Michelle Sagara. I’ve loved all 18 books in this series, so this was a no-brainer. Kaylin’s adventures are always engrossing—and usually good for a laugh or two.

The Story Collector, by Evie Woods. I enjoyed The Lost Bookshop so much, and couldn’t wait to read this. Loved these characters–in both timelines–and had a hard time putting this down. I definitely recommend it.

What I Read in August (2024)

Books Read in August: 23
Books Read for the Year:  147/215
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
Gods and Ends, by Devon Monk (audio, TBR): I really enjoyed this on audio! Loving this series so far.
Where the Forest Meets the Stars, by Glendy Vanderah (TBR): I really enjoyed this book! It felt very magical.
Elsewhere, by Dean Koontz (TBR): The ending felt a little rushed, but I always enjoy Koontz’s work.
Awaken Me Darkly, by Gena Showalter (TBR): THe ending of this was rushed, and a little too good to be true. While I enjoyed the first 75% of this read, the ending made me decide I don’t want to read more of the series.
The Grandest Game, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (TBR): Love this new spinoff!
Artifacts, Dragons, and Other Lethal Magic, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR): Another fun read in this series.

For Review:

My Favourite Mistake, by Marian Keyes. I didn’t really like the MC—she was too whiny for me—but I enjoyed the writing, the setting, and the secondary characters so much that I kept reading.

Second Tide’s the Charm, by Chandra Blumberg. This was a fun read! I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters, and the setting was a new one for me, keeping me hooked.

The Fiance Dilemma, by Elena Armas. This had me snorting with laughter! So many shenanigans! I didn’t understand why the MC was so against marriage, though.

Serenity by the Sea, by Jennifer Vido. I loved the setting here, but the transition from enemies to friends to more was so abrupt it felt choppy.

Ne’er Duke Well, by Alexandra Vasti. I enjoyed this a lot! Bright characters and a lot of spiciness.

It’s All Relative, by Rachel Magee. The MC was a bit annoying and selfish, but I enjoyed this read.

The Thirteenth Husband, by Greer Macallister. This was an interesting read, although it felt a bit plot-less.

Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch, by Codie Crowley. Entertaining in a campy way, although the MC was a bit of a…well, the title says it all.

Medici Heist, by Caitlin Schneiderhan. I enjoyed this historical fiction quite a bit. I love a good heist story, and this fit the bill perfectly.

Strange Folk, by Alli Dyer. This was solidly “meh” for me. It was pretty dark, and I really didn’t care for it much.

The Story Collector, by Evie Woods. I’ve really enjoyed this author’s work, and I loved this one, too. Both timelines were intriguing, although I wished for a slightly different ending in the historical one.

Cast in Atonement, by Michelle Sagara. As with the rest of the books in this series: I loved this.

The Winged Tiara, by J’nell Ciesielski. I really enjoyed this historical fiction/jewel heist caper. Lots of fun!

Fire and Bones, by Kathy Reichs. I’ve enjoyed most of the reads in this series, and I liked this one, too, although Tempe was a bit much in a couple of places.

Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies, by Abigail Hing Wen. This was a cute read. Felt a bit like a tween movie on the scale of believability, though. I liked the male POV. That was a nice change from a lot of YA reads.

The Housekeeper’s Secret, by Iona Grey (forthcoming). I really loved this read! I was invested in the characters from the start, and couldn’t wait to see what happened.

How to Fall for a Scoundrel, by Kate Bateman (forthcoming). This was a fun and charming romance!

Left Unfinished:

The Bookshop Sisterhood, by Michelle Lindo-Rice. These characters got old really quick.

A Great Marriage, by Frances Mayes. This was just too leisurely-paced for me.

Magical Meet Cute, by Jean Meltzer. This is the third book by this author I’ve DNFed, so I probably just need to stop trying, but I couldn’t get behind the idea of the MC being “Jewitch.”

Our Narrow Hiding Places, by Kristopher Jansma. The beginning felt very slow and I couldn’t get into it.

Till Death Do Us Part, by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. I made it about 25% of the way before realizing 1) I was bored, and 2) I didn’t like any of the characters.

A Pair of Wings, by Carole Hopkins. I just didn’t care for the writing style in this.

The Best Books I Read in July (2024)

In July, I read 17 books, bringing my total for the year to 124 books read. Most of those were solid reads, but some were exceptional.

Winter Lost, by Patricia Briggs. Because all of the Mercy Thompson series is fantastic, and this was no exception. A bit chilly for me, though.

The Iron Vow, by Julie Kagawa. A fitting ending for the Iron Fey series. I’m a bit late to the party, but I re-read the entire series and fell in love with the world and characters all over again.

The Lost Story, by Meg Shaffer. I really enjoyed this immensely. This had Chronicles of Narnia vibes and was just a magical story in itself.

What I Read in July (2024)

Books Read in July: 17
Books Read for the Year:  124/215
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
Winter Lost, by Patricia Briggs (TBR): I love this series and these characters!
Alpha, by Rachel Vincent (TBR): I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this series!
The Iron Vow, by Julie Kagawa (TBR): I loved the ending of this series!
Devils and Details, by Devon Monk (TBR): I’m really enjoying this new-to-me series.
A Deceptive Composition, by Anna Lee Huber (TBR): I enjoy this series so much.
I See You, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR): Loving this spin-off of the Adept books.

For Review:

Beyond Summerland, by Jenny Lecoat. I found this to be a pretty depressing read.

Not You Again, by Ingrid Pierce. This was a fun read, although the lack of communication was frustrating.

Writing on Empty, by Natalie Goldberg. This was…beyond disappointing. It was just a bunch of whining and sitting around feeling sorry for herself, and exactly zero actually helpful advice. Don’t bother.

The Darkness Within Us, by Tricia Levenseller. I enjoyed this read, although I liked the background stuff a bit more than the main plot.

The Backtrack, by Erin La Rosa. This was an interesting read. I thought the scenes in the past were very vivid, and the details made me laugh and shake my head.

Dashed, by Amanda Quain. This was such a fun read!

The Lost Story, by Meg Shaffer. I very much enjoyed this story! It had a bit of a Chronicles of Narnia feel, and I found it an engrossing read, filled withe everyday magic.

The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish, by Paula Brackston. I’ve enjoyed Brackston’s other books, so I was excited to read the start of a new series. And it did no disappoint! The historical details are so well-done, and I loved Hecate.

That Prince is Mine, by Jayci Lee. This was a cute read!

Castle of the Cursed, by Romina Garber. This was a very atmospheric, fairly dark read with bits of scifi and family drama mixed together with fantasy and romance.

Just Because: Praying the Names of God, by Ann Spangler. I enjoyed this weekly devotional.

Single Today, by Ryan Wekenman. This was a great audio read.

Left Unfinished:

On the Surface, by Rachel Mcguire. I read 10%, but the characters just all seemed like terrible people, and I wasn’t in the mood for that.

Ladykiller, by Katherine Wood. The first 15% of this felt like a trainwreck in slow motion, involving people I didn’t like, so, no.

The Bright Sword, by Lev Grossman. I only got about 5% into this because it just didn’t hold my attention.

Three Keys, by Laura Pritchett. The MC bored me and I wasn’t interested in her at all.

The Summer Club, by Hannah McKinnon. I read 15% of this and just found it boring, with very surface-level characters.

The Best Books I Read in June (2024)

In June, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 108 books. I also DNFed 15 books—yikes! (I think it’s because I was behind on reading, so I was less tolerant and far less likely to keep reading to see if the story picked up). Of those 20 books, three were really excellent.

The Iron Sword, by Julie Kagawa. I’ve been re-reading this entire series since last year, one book a month, and thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering the world and the characters. I’m reading the final book in the series in July, and I’ve never read it, so I’m excited.

The Mountain Between Us, by Charles Martin. This was the last remaining Martin book I hadn’t read—sob—and it was so, so good! He is a master at his craft, and, as always, manages to work the gospel in there between the lines of the fiction. Now I need to watch the movie.

The Rom-Commers, by Katherine Center. I have yet to read a Katherine Center book I didn’t love, and this was no exception. Emma really made me laugh, but so did Charlie. This was a wonderful, fun read.

The Best Books I Read in May (2024)

In May, I read 21 books, bringing my total for the year to 88. (One book behind schedule.)

Of those, four were really good. My three favorites were:

Thunder and Rain, by Charles Martin. Because obviously. I don’t even have a thing for cowboys and he made Tyler sound appealing. This was a lovely read.

The Dead Romantics, by Ashley Poston. Why had this been languishing on my TBR like it was nothing? I enjoyed every second of this read!

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club, by Helen Simonson. So much to love about this historical fiction read!

What I Read in May (2024)

Books Read in May: 21
Books Read for the Year: 88 /215

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Iron Raven, by Julie Kagawa (re-read). Can’t believe I only have two more books to go in this series!
Thunder and Rain, by Charles Martin (TBR). This made me cry, of course.
Prey, by Rachel Vincent (re-read). Still glued to this re-read.
The Dead Romantics , by Ashley Poston (TBR). This was a great read!
The Irish Cottage, by Juliet Gauvin (TBR). Eh. I liked this at first, but I thought it ended up being kind of meh.
The Guinevere Deception, by Kierstin White (TBR). I enjoyed this! Nice twist on the traditional Arthurian legends.
Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR). Still enjoying this series!

For Review:

The Sicilian Inheritance, by Jo Piazza. This was an intriguing read—but man, the characters were, for the most part, not likable people. Did not make me want to visit Sicily.

A Burden of Ice and Bone, by Kyra Whitton. I enjoyed this read, although it was a touch depressing—and the “twist” towards the end was pretty expected.

Bless Your Heart, by Lindy Ryan (audio). This was a fun listen. A bit like having a flashback to the late ’90’s…unsettling. It ended up being a lot gorier than I thought it would be, but I enjoyed the narrator and the cozy-mystery feel.

The Garden Girls, by Jessica R. Patch. I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read in this story so far. I love thrillers, and I absolutely love the way faith is integrated the darkness these books touch on. This read had several levels of creepiness, but it kept me fully engaged the entire time.

Extinction, by Douglas Preston. Of course I’ve read Relic, years ago,—terrifying—but I haven’t read too many Preston books. I enjoyed this one, although I really didn’t like any of the characters. Just the scenic descriptions and the idea of seeing these animals were fascinating. I had no idea what was actually going on.

The Backup Princess, by Kate O’Keeffe. This was a cute, fun romantic read.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club, by Helen Simonson. Really enjoyed this historical fiction read! Great characters, conflict, and a lovely setting.

The Keeper of the Irish Secret, by Susanne O’Leary. I liked the narrator of this audio book quite a lot. I enjoyed the read and the family drama, too.

Summers at the Saint, by Mary Kay Andrews. This was much more of a thriller than a romance.

The Return of Ellie Black, by Emiko Jean. I really didn’t like any of these characters, but it was a solid read.

One Last Shot, by Betty Cayouette. Nothing unexpected here. I think the miscommunication trope was overused a bit, too.

The Best Life Book Club, by Sheila Roberts. I enjoyed this sweet read about a bunch of friends and their books and challenges.

Every Time We Say Goodbye, by Natalie Jenner. This was a little hard for me to get into at first, but I ended up enjoying it.

Just Because:

Divine Direction, by Craig Groeschel. I enjoyed this audio book. Groeschel’s style is so down-to-earth.

Left Unfinished:

Welcome Home, Caroline Kline, by Courtney Preiss. I tried, but this felt very superficial and way too bogged down with baseball obsession.

A Girl from Nowhere, by James Maxwell. Yeah, this wasn’t for me. It felt very slow and not fleshed out, and I got bored quickly.

Love You, Mean It, by Jilly Gagnon. I think I read about 15% of this before realizing I didn’t care about the characters or what happened to them. Definitely a me problem, and not the book.

The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood. The language was a real stumbling block for me and I couldn’t get into it. And Jerusalem was so hateful!

The Best Books I Read in April (2024)

In April, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 66. I’m behind, but I’m catching up! Of those, several were really excellent reads, but I narrowed it down to three favorites.

The Last Bloodcarver, by Vanessa Le. I really liked the unique magic system here that was combined with an early scientific culture. The characters were great, and I enjoyed even the secondary characters a lot. Can’t wait to read more in this world.

Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt. A POV character is a curmudgeonly octopus named Marcellus? Are you kidding me? That’s all I needed to know to buy this. In hardcover. And it was worth it! I had to ration this and only read a few pages a day, because I loved it so much1

The Bourbon Thief, by Tiffany Reisz. First of all, this cover is gorgeous. Secondly, a friend suggested this after we were talking about the voice of a story I’m writing and how I felt like it should be more of a Southern fiction feel. And she was 100% correct! Beautiful Southern fiction feel, although parts of this were truly horrifying. I was fully invested from the very beginning.

What I Read in April (2024)

Books Read in April: 22
Books Read for the Year:  68/215
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Iron Warrior, by Julie Kagawa. I honestly don’t remember reading this before, but I enjoyed it, as I have the other books in this series.
Pride, by Rachel Vincent (re-read). I forgot how much I enjoyed this series—and how I annoyed I get with the characters, too.
Reached, by Ally Condie (re-read). I actually like the first two books in the trilogy better, although this still reignited my love of poetry.
I See Me, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR). I enjoyed reading this first book in another series set in the Adepts universe.
Bitter Falls, by Rachel Caine (TBR). People are terrible.
Austenland, by Shannon Hale (TBR). At first, Jane annoyed me, but she grew on me, and I enjoyed this read.
Where the River Ends, by Charles Martin (audio). This, of course, made me cry.
Dust Tracks on a Road, by Zora Neal Hurston (TBR). I didn’t care for this as much as Hurston’s other works.
Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt (TBR). A curmudgeonly octopus named Marcellus? Yes, please.
The Bourbon Thief, by Tiffany Reisz (TBR). Loved this. It was dark, it was sometimes horrifying, and it was such a well-done bit of Southern fiction! Phenomenal voice.

For Review:

Expiration Dates, by Rebecca Serle. This was…I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I liked the premise, but the way the MC used the notes as an excuse to just check out/be mediocre about things was not cool.

The Last Bloodcarver, by Vanessa Le. I really enjoyed this! I liked the magic system, and the culture was fascinating. Wonderful characters, even the secondary ones, and I can’t wait to read more.

Sincerely, The Duke, by Amelia Grey. This was a decent romance read, although I had trouble getting behind the big conflict: the MC is a red-haired, green-eyed triplet—which must be kept a secret.

The Trail of Lost Hearts, by Tracey Garvis Graves. I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. reading this, so I could find out what happened! Loved the characters and really enjoyed seeing them change and grow.

Love, Unscripted, by Denise Hunter. I thoroughly enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers read. So sweet!

The British Booksellers, by Kristy Cambron. I enjoyed this so much! A unique to me WWII setting (not the the usual London setting, nor the English countryside) and also a WWI plot, too. I enjoyed both of the timelines so much!

The Reappearance of Rachel Price, by Holly Jackson. This was a twisty YA thriller. The MC was very prickly, but I grew to like her a lot!

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, by Molly X. Chang. I wasn’t a very big fan of the writing. It felt very surface-level, more of a summary than actual narrative, and the whole Rome/Ancient China-esque with inter-dimensional travel setting didn’t really work for me.

Weekends with You, by Alexandra Paige (review forthcoming). I loved the idea of this, the whole group of flatmates dynamic, but Henry was a bit of a prat.

The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple, by Joanna Davidson Politano (review forthcoming). This had a leisurely pace, but I loved the characters a lot, and found myself wanting to stay up and read, even though I was so tired I kept falling asleep.

What’s Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park (review forthcoming). Jackie was kind of a jerk, and I didn’t care for her.

The One that Got Away with Murder, by Trisha Lundy (review forthcoming). I enjoyed this read! Robby was a bit weird to me, but the author kept me guessing who the murderer actually was.

Left Unfinished:

The Bride of Death, by F.M. Aden. I only made it about 5% of this before quitting with no regrets. Not only was it a knockoff of The Bear and the Nightingale, by Kathleen Arden, but the writing needed much more editing and polishing to make it bearable.

Fog & Fireflies, by T. H. Lehnen. This just wasn’t a good fit for me. I loved the cover—it’s absolutely gorgeous—but the feel of the story just didn’t draw me in.

The Best Books I Read in March (2024).

In March, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 45, and DNFed 14 books. Of those, some were really excellent, while others were very good. My four–sorry, can’t narrow it down to three–favorites were:

The Iron Traitor, by Julie Kagawa. I can’t remember it this was a re-read or not, but I still love this world and these characters. The author is so great at creating believable characters and worlds, and I’m always so immersed when I read her books.

Heir, Apparently, by Kara McDowell. Do you know how excited I was to get approved for this galley? This book (and the one before it) was just so much fun to read! Completely unrealistic, but entertaining on all levels, and I loved it.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrik Backman. I was just as transported on this, my second reading of this book, as I was the first time. I love the characters in this, and all the stories are so vivid to me! Can’t recommend this enough.

A Life Intercepted, by Charles Martin (audio). Yes, Charles Martin is my favorite author. And let me tell you why: I do not like football in the slightest, but he made football sound fascinating and compelling in this read, and his characters, like always, are both flawed and so interesting that it’s hard to put it down.