August 2021 Reading Wrap Up

Happy September everyone! Has anyone else gotten their Fall decor out yet? My room has been decked out for a while now, I can never wait until September… It’s still warm now, but I’ve already been wearing sweaters (and sweating in them).

August was an okay reading month for me. My reading has slowed down a lot, but I’ve also only read books that I really enjoyed. Though I have been having some trouble with picking out a book to read. I catch myself sampling a chapter or two from many books before finally settling. Anyway, I read six books last month (well, six and a half, really), so let’s get into my August 2021 reading wrap up! August 2021 reading wrap up

Also no life update this time, because I haven’t done anything. I graduated grad school, but I already knew that would happen before I got the confirmation, so I’m not dedicating an entire paragraph to that. Yay me, now someone pls hire me.

Witchshadow

By Susan Dennard


I’ll be honest, it feels like I read this months ago instead of a few weeks ago. That doesn’t bode well for when the final book comes out. Oh well, I do remember that I really enjoyed reading it. As you may know, I spent some time rereading this series in anticipation of Witchshadow, and I enjoyed how much darker the series became with each book. The world is very vast, and I love how complex the history behind it is. Even though I already forgot a lot of details, I can’t wait for the final book.

Legacy of Ash

By Matthew Ward


After reading Witchshadow I was in the mood for something quick and light. So I picked up a 700+ page epic fantasy, as one does. Something clearly went wrong with my reasoning there… But I really enjoyed this book! It took me some time to settle in to it, but I came to really enjoy the characters. My only gripe with this book is that the ending was somewhat weird. It left open a small hint to the plot of the next book, but nothing that made me go “omg I need to read the next book now.” Coincidentally, I did just get the second book sooo… I’m going to read that soon anyway. The third book in this series just came out, though, so I can kinda binge it!

Lore

By Alexandra Bracken


Finally I started to read some 2021 anticipated releases of mine. I was prepping for my yearly end of year post, in which I list which of my 2021 anticipated releases I actually read. And so far I have read… twelve. Out of 42. Some of those obviously aren’t out yet, but considering I’ve read nearly 60 books so far this year… I could’ve done better.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Lore. In my opinion, Lore (the MC) was very different from the protagonists in Bracken’s earlier books. I really liked this, but it was also a very brutal book for a YA. Lots of murdering going on, and it can get quite graphic. It’s a standalone, so perfect to read in between series. The only downside to this book was that I predicted what the plot twist would be very quickly. This isn’t always a bad thing, but I feel like in this case it was too predictable.

Small Favors

By Erin A. Craig


Small Favors was another one of my 2021 anticipated releases and it did not disappoint. It was the exact right amount of creepy, and I really enjoyed Ellerie’s character. But the best thing about this book to me was the slow demise of Ellerie’s village. The changes among the characters are so subtle, but so huge when you compare the end to the beginning. Especially because the ending was… uh… quite something. Can’t spoil it of course. I just wish I cared about the love interest a teeny bit more.

The Devil and the Dark Water

By Stuart Turton


After reading Small Favors I was in the mood for something similar. Something that had the chance to be creepy, but not necessarily was. I settled on The Devil and the Dark Water. I read The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in 2019 and greatly enjoyed how Turton incorporated many aspects of different genres into one book. This book was kind of the same. It’s set on a ship in the 1600s, but isn’t necessarily historically accurate. Turton explains it better in his note at the end of the book. Anyway, I found this book very enjoyable. I loved how I kept guessing wrong, and in the end the culprit was someone unexpected.

Iron Widow

By Xiran Jay Zhao


Iron Widow was a late addition to my 2021 anticipated releases. I even got to read an ARC! Anyway, this was the last book I finished in August and I greatly enjoyed it. Sometimes it’s so much fun to read about characters who have strong convictions and refuse to actually change them. The MC Zetian isn’t necessarily a bad person, but she certainly isn’t a nice person. It’s quite a fast paced story, but my only gripe with it is that I wasn’t too sure about what the plot was. If you’re interested in reading my whole spoiler free review, you can find it here!

The Way of Kings: Part 1

By Brandon Sanderson


So this is the half book I vaguely referenced. I ordered the Way of Kings part 1 and 2 so that I could maybe finally finish it. I don’t know why, but reading the whole paperback was just too much. Maybe if I trick my brain into thinking they’re actually two books I won’t have trouble anymore. So obviously I finished part 1, but haven’t started part 2 yet. I did like it though! Not much plot, but I enjoy the characters a lot. I’m starting to see how their lives are going to be entangled soon, and even though I haven’t continued reading yet, I’m excited to do so hopefully soon.

And that’s it for my August 2021 reading wrap up! How many books did you read this month? Did you discover any new authors, any new favorites? Let me know!

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